When I visit different cities, I make a point to f...

When I visit different cities, I make a point to find a local brewery and take a brew tour, if it is offered. Thus far, Founders is my favorite brewery that I have visited.

I was in Grand Rapids for a weekend at the end of January 2013, and I found out that they had recently opened their doors for tours on Saturdays. But the date and time that I would have been able to go was not available for ticket-purchasing at their website.

I stopped into Founders' Taproom on the Friday night to inquire if I could get on the next day's first tour. When I walked in, it was very busy with everyone from college students to old timers. The atmosphere was inviting and warm, yet it was pretty spacious. Still, I was able to find a seat at the bar, and was served pretty quickly.

In addition to all the "classic" Founders favorites, they also had specialty brews, that you could only have within those walls. I ordered an Oatmeal Stout, which was delightful, and ended up getting an order of pizza bread, which was fresh and yummy-- the bread was awesome.

After speaking with the bartender, she gave me the email of the contact for the brew tours, and I sent him a message to find out if I could possibly squeeze into the first tour time slot. He got back to me promptly, and told me that the tour was sold out, and they have to be very strict with the number of people, due to keeping the brewery sanitary. But he said I could stop by, and be on "stand by," in case someone couldn't make it.

Lucky for me, that's exactly what happened, and I was able to get on the tour and learn Founders' story and history, see the facility where the magic happens, get some insight into what makes their Taproom bread so good, and also get a peek at their future expansion layout.

When the tour completed, I sat down at the bar again, ordered a spicy "Devil Dancer" sandwich and paired it with their Tellicherry Peppercorn ale. It was so freakin' good! The bread really is the star, but all of the ingredients were delicious.

I could have easily spent the afternoon in the Taproom, but duty calls and I had to work in the afternoon. If you visit Grand Rapids, make a point to visit Founders!