Brewery Vivant

Microbrewery in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States 🇺🇸
Associated Venue: Brewery Vivant

Established in 2010

Contact
925 Cherry St SE, Grand Rapids, MI, 49506, United States
Subsidiaries
Brewery Vivant owns 1 brewery:
Description
Visit the world’s first LEED certified microbrewery housed in a refurbished historic funeral home in the East Hills neighborhood. Live the Bon Vivant with neighbors, brewers, and monks alike enjoying rustic farmhouse inspired beers alongside European inspired cooking from our scratch-kitchen.

We are excited to share our passion for beer, food and sustainability with you. Much of the inspiration behind Vivant comes from the small breweries that dot the countryside in Southern Belgium and Northern France. Often, those breweries are true beer artisans who are also an integral part of their community. They experiment with unique yeasts and local ingredients, always with an artistic eye to their creations. Sourcing ingredients locally makes their beer pair exceptionally well with a meal of locally sourced produce, meats, and cheeses. Brewery Vivant promotes living the good life by brewing farmhouse inspired beer, serving a from-scratch menu, and building a sustainable community one beer at a time.

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7.6/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 7.5
16 ounce can into pint glass, canned on 6/1/2015. Pours lightly hazy bright golden yellow color with a 2 finger fairly dense white head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Light spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of lemon, pear, apple, white grape, peppercorn, coriander, clove, wheat, cracker, bread, herbal, grass, and yeast earthiness. Nice aromas with good balance and complexity of fruity/spicy yeast, coriander, and moderate pale malt notes; with solid strength. Taste of lemon, pear, apple, white grape, peppercorn, coriander, clove, wheat, cracker, bread, herbal, grass, and yeast earthiness. Moderate amount of peppery yeast spiciness and light yeasty tartness on the finish; with lingering notes of lemon, pear, apple, white grape, peppercorn, coriander, clove, wheat, cracker, bread, herbal, grass, and yeast earthiness. Moderate amount of peppery yeast spiciness and light tartness on the finish; with lingering notes of lemon, pear, apple, white grape, peppercorn, coriander, wheat, bread, and herbal/yeast earthiness on the finish for a short bit. Very nice complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/spicy yeast, coriander, and moderate bready malt flavors; with a great malt/spiciness balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Light-moderate dryness after the finish. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, fairly crisp, and lightly creamy/bready mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with minimal warming present after the finish. Overall this is a very good saison style. All around good robustness, complexity, and balance of fruity/spicy yeast, coriander, and moderate bready malt flavors; and very smooth and crisp to drink. A very enjoyable offering.
Tried from Can on 20 Aug 2015 at 21:52

8/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 8
16 ounce can into tulip glass; no canning date, but is a recent release. Pours crystal clear very dark brown color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense tan head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Light spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of big chocolate, cocoa, caramel, brown sugar, toast, dark bread, nuttiness, cherry, plum, light herbal, and toasted earthiness. Very nice aromas with good balance and complexity of dark/bready malt and light-moderate dark fruit notes; with good strength. Taste of big chocolate, cocoa, caramel, brown sugar, toast, dark bread, nuttiness, cherry, plum, light herbal, and toasted earthiness. Minimal herbal/roast bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of chocolate, cocoa, caramel, toast, dark bread, nuttiness, and light-moderate dark fruit flavors on the finish for a good bit. Damn nice complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready malt and light-moderate dark fruit flavors; with zero cloying sweetness after the finish. Very clean on lager flavors with zero yeast ester notes present. Light-medium carbonation and medium-full bodied; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/bready, and slightly chalky mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with minimal warming present after the finish. Overall this is a damn nice doppelbock style. All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready malt and light-moderate dark fruit flavors; and very smooth and easy to drink. This had a pretty restrained amount of cherry juice notes, so this still feels really spot on to the base style. A very enjoyable offering.
Tried from Can on 09 Aug 2015 at 20:13

7.8/10 Appearance 10 Aroma 8 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 8
Poured from a 16 oz can. Aroma is lightly acidic with some nice citrus and tropical fruit notes. Hints of sour cherries as well. Some oak and red wine notes. Light grain notes and hints of stone fruit. Pours a very clear gold with a medium large, fairly thick, white head with average retention. Medium light lacing and medium length legs. Flavor has a medium light shortness with some sweetness to it as well. Lots of cherry character with some lighter stone fruit and tropical fruit. Light citrus. Low bitterness. Hint of alcohol spice. Light oak and red wine tannins. Some red apple as it warms. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with medium carbonation. Low astringency and low, but noticeable alcohol warmth. Overall, a pretty nice beer and better than I was expecting. Great fruit notes with a light sourness. I wish it was lower ABV though.
Tried from Can on 03 Aug 2015 at 00:57

6.5/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 6 Flavor 6 Texture 8 Overall 6
Can: Pours nearly clear, pale, yellow-gold with a soapy white head. Lemon zest, wheaty aroma. Taste is lemon/orange, wheat malt..light spicing. Fairly solid, but not as bright as I prefer.
Tried from Can on 27 Jul 2015 at 16:42

7.2/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 8 Overall 7
Poured from a can dated April 9th, 2015. Aroma is fairly malty with a nice roast character as well as some toasted bread. Nice fruit notes with some plum, cherry and raisin. Some light phenolic notes with a bit of pepper and a touch of alcohol spice. Pours a dark brown, almost black with a medium sized, fairly thin, dark tan head that recedes quickly to the edges and disappears. Small lacing and medium small legs. Flavor is slightly sweet with some light roast and toasted bread with a bit of chocolate as well. Some caramel and toffee as well. Moderate dark fruit notes with raisin, plum, prune and cherries. Some light phenolic spice notes with a bit of alcohol spice. Medium bitterness. Mouthfeel is medium light bodied with medium carbonation. Low astringency and low alcohol warmth. Overall, a decent beer with great malt notes and fruit esters. Some light phenolic and bitter notes.
Tried from Can on 25 Jul 2015 at 00:58

8/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 8
16 ounce can into tulip glass; no canning date, but is a recent release. Pours slightly hazy/cloudy bright golden yellow color with a 1 finger dense white head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a light amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of lightly tart pineapple, mango, peach, lemon, pear, apple, pepper, clove, wheat, cracker, herbal, grass, and yeast earthiness. Damn nice aromas with good balance and complexity of juicy pineapple/mango, fruity/spicy yeast, and pale malt notes; with good strength. Taste of lightly tart pineapple, mango, peach, lemon, pear, apple, pepper, clove, wheat, cracker, herbal, grass, and yeast earthiness. Good amount of peppery yeast spiciness and light fruit tartness on the finish; with lingering notes of pineapple, mango, peach, lemon, pear, apple, pepper, clove, wheat, cracker, herbal, grass, and yeast earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Damn nice complexity, robustness, and balance of juicy pineapple/mango, fruity/spicy yeast, and pale malt flavor; with a great malt/spiciness/tartness balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Medium carbonation and light-medium bodied; with a very smooth, crisp, and fairly sticky mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with minimal warming present after the finish. Overall this is a damn nice fruited saison style. All around great robustness, complexity, and balance of juicy pineapple/mango, fruity/spicy yeast, and pale malt flavors; and very smooth and crisp to drink for the ABV. A very enjoyable offering.
Tried from Can on 22 Jul 2015 at 20:56

7/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 8 Overall 6
Poured from a can dated 05/19/2015. Aroma is malty with some caramel, toasted bread and burnt sugar. Some light raisin notes. Quite a bit of overripe stone fruit and pears with some light cherry. Medium light spicy phenolics. Not very hoppy but some light floral and spicy hop notes with a touch of citrus. Pours a dark, brownish red/auburn with a medium small, moderateky thick, tan head that recedes steadily to the edges. Medium lacing and small legs. Flavor is fairly sweet with some caramel, toasted bread, toffee and nuts. Some spicy phenolics with moderately strong esters. Raisins, stone fruit, pear and red apple are all present with stone fruit and raisins fairly prevalent. Hop notes are floral and somewhat citrusy with medium light bitterness. A light woodsy note. Some lingering phenolic spice and toasted bread. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with medium carbonation. Low astringnecy and low alcohol warmth. Overall, rather malty with a lot of esters. Perhaps too much yeast character for the malts to show through. An interesting and unique red ale, but not great.
Tried from Can on 21 Jul 2015 at 00:45

7/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 8 Overall 7
The Beer Store, Southampton 4 pack: pours light gold with a white head. Aroma is herbs, spices, and bit of yeast. Taste is very saisonesque. It is very simple, but that appears to be the point of it. Nothing off in the taste or anything like that. Nice dryness in the finish. Good.
Tried on 12 Jul 2015 at 15:45

7/10
Let night
Tried on 04 Jul 2015 at 11:58

7.5/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 6 Overall 8
16 oz. can from a trade with cajzr8, thanks a lot Chuck. Clear ruby color without any head. The flavor and aroma are spot on a Belgian Quad, dark fruit, candy sugar, raisins, dates, caramel, English toffee. The flavor also has a mild addition of oak in the finish. I don’t really pick out the bourbon however, the base quad is very nice.

Mouthfeel is more of the fuller side, with a sticky sugary texture. Sweet but not cloying. The yeast also comes out slightly. This by far is the best brew I have sampled from this brewery.
Tried from Can on 13 Jun 2015 at 21:37