Growing Grand Rapids

The past couple of weeks, a few conversations have really stuck with me. The most recent conversation left my jaw on the floor.

I was in Los Angeles, where my friend had moved in January to join the "real world." He talked about how another one of our high school friends is attempting to get a job in California as well, in an effort "to get out of Grand Rapids."

Because Grand Rapids is just that bad, isn't it? Such much so you have to go to the dirty streets and filthy air of Los Angeles and join the crowded workforce that crams the huge freeways every morning, afternoon and night. It's almost as though they don't believe in Grand Rapids, or what it has to offer in terms of potential.

Back at the end of high school, not too long ago for me, I felt the same way. Grand Rapids was a small city,  if I were to get a job out of college in a bigger and better place, then I'd go. But I've also always held a soft spot in my heart for G.R. And every time I came back from college, be it a weekend or school break, I found myself noticing something else getting better.

So I decided I needed to come back to Grand Rapids. I got a job — two actually. One of which is bartending at the Mitten Brewing Co. Being part of the thriving craft beer scene has led me to many observations about Grand Rapids, as well as getting to know a lot of key people in the city. (That beer scene isn't going anywhere, either, but I'll save that for another time.)

Recently Mayor George Heartwell noted that the beer industry is great for the city, not only because it spurs creativity and brings in money, but it draws in a young, "hip" population. That population is key to driving a city's growth. The amount of potential Grand Rapids holds is unlimited, and the more intelligent and influential the young people who move downtown, the better the city will get.

A few weeks ago, I was chatting with a guy from the economic development group, The Right Place. His whole job is to look at Grand Rapids and where it's headed. He said Grand Rapids is right about where Portland, Oregon, Brooklyn and Austin, Texas, were about 20 to 25 years ago. Where are they now? Hip, creative, thriving cities. The thing is, according to him, Grand Rapids is already ahead of those cities in some aspects.

While the majority of Grand Rapids was off on long weekend camping and beach trips during the Fourth of July, I was stuck bartending. The night was incredibly slow, dominated by beer tourists. The night's costumers included an amazing couple from Fort Wayne, Indiana. They were your classic mid-40s DINKS — Double Income No Kids. They both work in an aerospace factory, and made fairly good money, and although they weren't college educated, they were smart, both street and book. They also were well traveled and shared my love for Dave Grohl.

But they were amazed at Grand Rapids. (This also was just a few hours after a pair of guys from Columbus were in and were amazed a "small town" like Grand Rapids was so young, big and thriving.)  I spent a good three hours focused on the Fort Wayne couple. We chatted about everything, from the industries including the big companies, manufacturing, beer and the Medical Mile. They said they would take the Grand Rapids area over many others, because of the climate and the great people and beer.

They were confused when I told them not many of my high school classmates are left in the city. They couldn't understand why someone wouldn't want to come back and be apart of something bigger and help a city grow and be influential. Cities don't become amazing, bigger and better without the help of smart, young, ambitious people.

Then again, some people would rather disappear and be part of a bigger ocean of people.

How Long Can Our Beer City Bubble Last?

Those of you who know me will not be shocked to see that I'm writing about Michigan beer. My love for the liquid from our peninsular state is blatantly apparent, and it doesn't hurt that I've accidentally surrounded myself with people who are extremely agreeable with me on the topic. Known to some (including myself) as the Great Beer State, Michigan has the fifth-highest number of breweries in the nation at 122, according to a 2012 report from the Brewers Association. Homing in on Grand Rapids and West Michigan, we find a handful of them. A brewery tour crafted by Experience Grand Rapids lists 21 establishments, 15 of which are located in Greater Grand Rapids.

Heavyweights like Founders and Bell's easily made the cut onto this tour, as did Brewery Vivant, a particularly propinquitous location to my home that is known for sustainability and Belgian beer, not to mention the fact that it's situated in a repurposed funeral home. Lesser known brewers like Pike 51, White Flame, Waldorff, Harmony and Jaden James were included as well. Notably absent is Perrin Brewing, but that could be due to the operation's relative youth. It's likely that several others didn't make the list, as well.

Keeping track of these breweries has not been as hard as one might think, probably because the whole industry is dear to my heart. Still, I cannot say that I've been to all of the breweries that Grand Rapids has to offer, let alone all of those that I listed. And thinking about the sheer number in our city--let alone West Michigan and the entire state--got me wondering just how long our brewing bubble can last. The number of new companies each year seems to go up little by little (I'm looking at you, Perrin), with some breweries like Founders expanding on what seems to be an annual basis. National data reported by the Brewers Association show that there is still serious growth, year after year with 13 percent by volume in 2011 and 15 percent in 2012.

But growth can only continue for so long. As of 2012, the U.S. had the highest total number of breweries (2,403) since the 1880s. More than 400 breweries (counting both brewpubs and

Excluding Prohibition, the mid-to-late 1970s saw the lowest
number of breweries in the nation, bar none. (Infographic
courtesy of the Brewers Association)

microbreweries) opened in 2012 while 43 closed their doors. Though the closings account for about 10.5 percent of the openings, few people seem to be worried that their dreams of opening a brewery or working as a brewer are endangered. The burst of this delicious, carbonated bubble likely won't happen for awhile, but it should be noted that a saturated market often leads to the weeding of the weak.

So with a swollen craft brewery sector, Grand Rapids moves forward as Beer City USA for the second year in a row. But what does that title even mean anyhow, when it seems that we may have been the only city to circulate a pseudo-political campaign for the win? You saw all of those coasters, right? Grand Rapids had more than half of the total votes cast during the poll with 27,005 votes out of approximately 50,000. Coming in second place, Kalamazoo had 11,150 votes, just above Asheville (who tied with us last year for the title) with 10,075 votes. Maybe our beer is just that good--who knows? But be sure to notice that the top two cities are from Michigan… Could this be a sign that our state is too deeply in love with its own beer? Let's hope not because it's apparently contributing more than $133 million to our state's economy, according to the Michigan Brewers Guild, and it's certainly having a major impact on tourism in Grand Rapids and other cities throughout the state.

--Matt Knaack lives in Grand Rapids and occasionally blogs for ZZP.