While visiting from out of town, we made a stop at Founders Brewing--one of the most recommended breweries in Grand Rapids--and I can see why! The space is huge, with both indoor and outdoor seating, plus a shop stocked with to-go drinks, glassware, and fun souvenirs. Service was friendly, though a bit slow since it was busy, but our server gave us some great recommendations for other stops in the area. I tried a Booze Slushie (a frozen rosé-style drink, I think) while my husband had the Rubaeus. It wasn't his favorite sour, but we still enjoyed it. For food, we ordered the fried pickles and the BBQ chicken quesadilla. The pickles could've been crispier and left us feeling a little heavy, but the quesadilla was fantastic. Overall, it was a fun visit, especially with the shop find at the end. That said, it did feel a little overhyped based on what we tried--I'm sure there are other menu highlights that make it a must for many. read more

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You can feel the history of the place when you first walk in and it's definitely with in season but not a fan of the beer it came off as a bit flat. Service and atmosphere was good though. read more

I'm an alcoholic from California. Loved Founders when I still drank, so on a random visit to Grand Rapids I was stoked to come here with friends. The bar tenders were all super kind and on it with a large crew of Phish fans in town. They also make a mean Arnold Palmer. Thank you for just giving it to me read more

Founders Brewing - Arnold Palmer - Breweries Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

Excellent Beer. Decent good. Good ambience. Legendary in brewing. Don't mind the servers whispering about the coworkers they hate. read more

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Hundreds of Hops Stop #13 on our zself-guided Hop Passport Tour. Beer 5, Service 5, Atmosphere 4 Founders is always going to put out a solid 5 star brew, no need to worry about quality when heading here. They do get busy, and I mean BUSY - so, arrive early to avoid the overcrowding. Be sure to check their website. They are also on reduced hours, with the kitchen being remodeled & will soon close temporarily for the remodel completion. Meanwhile, they do have food trucks, and it smelled of smoky bbq as we walked up. Servers are efficient and work as a team if you belly up to the bar. They interacted well with each other and patrons. I'm thrilled we had the opportunity to come in before they closed up temporarily. read more

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Solid spot to grab some delicious beer and good food to boot. I had the Buddha Bowl with grilled chicken. The chicken was grilled perfectly and the serving size of the bowl itself was large. The service was friendly and attentive. They had bar style seating and very good live music. So good that it made me stick around longer than I was originally expecting to. read more

I've been going to Founders since they were in the Brassworks building and it's incredibly sad what they've come to. Ordered the devil dancer tonight and it was made with only 2 slices of turkey and fries were an up charge. I'll try them at least 1 more time because I do like their beer but the food and the prices they have now are disappointing. read more

Founders Brewing - Sad Devil Dancer, where's the meat? - Breweries Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

--There was a lot of confusion on the pricing of the HH menu. There was a section in the regular menu then also a small flyer. --Also when they poured my beer I asked for them to top it off after the foam settled. The female bartender said no, it's a straight 8 oz. pour.. so what's the full size of the round beer glass? 10 oz.? 12 oz.? If so, then how do they measure 8 oz. In this glass? Eyeball it? I've never had this response in any brewery. And I eat out a lot because I travel for work. --And I thought u got $2 off apps. at HH ??? Is that not right? They charged the full amount. I didn't bother to ask after the beer conversation. --My burger was dry, however the cheese curds were good. I was there around 4:00on Mon. 4/6 read more

This brewery was a Mecca for me. After visits to Boulevard, Dogfishhead, Karbach, Victory... I needed to come here. Was pleased. The food was great. Steak tips as an app and the Devil sandwich with all the peppers as the entree. And beers, which of course, were wonderful. 10/10, would come again. And again. And again. Too bad I live in KC. read more

Founders is wonderful! What's bad is Yelp!! Don't use the waitlist on yelp. Founders has told them to get rid of it but to no avail! Phone the restaurant if you need them to hold a table. read more

Absolutely horrible experience. We made the mistake of going on a concert day. No seating. Fought to share a table with another random couple. Waited in line for drinks. Then had to wait in a different line for food. Then had to wait in a different line for certain food that was on the menu. All the above lines were long and we were not told it was card only until we had gotten all the way to the front to place our order. The food we went to eat was unavailable that day since they had a limited menu. Staff was rude because " all the tips go in together today" The front hostess acted like she was the boss and was zero help in helping us understand the process. The pre made wrap was terrible. It was supposed to be veggie but had HAM on it. We wanted to eat there a few days later and since that day wasn't on their Pre party schedule we went and SAME thing. We walked out disgusted. We drove an hour and a half. Very disappointing since we had eaten there before many times and before the Journey concert and had a wonderful time. We were seated and waited on and had full menu to choose from. I hope they make the back section hostess seating with wait service and the front and patio 1st come 1st serve. Do better Founders. You lost me as a loyal customer. read more

Traveling through, we are big fans of Founders - particularly KBS a we were thrilled to stop in and try more. Sampled the Nitro Oat Stout & Rubaeus (really good for a raspberry lovers - not too tart - the nitro is creamy v. the regular is more carbonated - tried both) and had a full glass of KBS! The staff were so friendly and kind, we really enjoyed our time here. Very large space with so much indoor and outdoor seating. Cool art work and this stained glass image I snapped. read more

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Horrible experience!!!! go to order and they told me that they are NOT allowing me to remove any items from whatever I was ordering!!!! Guess customers don't mean a DAMN thing to this Bar and Grill!!!! Certain things I can't have due to medical reasons and still have to have everything on anything I order couldn't delete any allergens read more

We were in town, so of course we had to come to Founders. We came in on a Sunday for lunch and a flight each. I got to select my dark beers and my husband went for the pales and IPAs. For lunch, I ordered the KBS Burger. A wonderful combination of a 1/3 pound burger with KBS onion bacon jam, lettuce, tomato, garlic mayo, smoked gouda on a brioche bun. OMG the flavor! I chose wisely. It came with seasoned fries which were a tasty accompaniment to my burger and beer. Side note, that onion bacon jam made with their KBS (Kentucky Bourbon Stout) is so delicious! My husband went for the Southwest Salad. It included greens, tomato, black beans, corn salsa, Colby Jack, avocado, and red onion. He opted to add some chicken in there and said it went well with the cilantro lime dressing. Sunday is free street parking, so that was a bonus. We had a great server who chatted with us about the beers and other topics. read more

Founders Brewery is such a great spot! Love the outside patio, great selection of beers. After Creston Brewery closed, Saugatuck brewery was there for a while which also closed. I wish founders would expand and open a tap house on Plainfield in that building! Would bring so much life to Creston neighborhood, and a great spot on NE GR to expand to! read more

normal brew pub vibes, very busy night as I expected. Signs said to order drinks at any bar and find yourself a seat. I ordered at a bar and finally found seat share with two others. Waitress took their order but not ours. Waited on tables there before me, fine. Tried to flag down several times with no luck. Ask a different waiter if I could order food. Said would be around. Came thru again saw me wave but turned away. Took order of a table that just sat down. was there over 20 minutes. Left and went out side. One bar did not have what I was drinking on tap. Went to other bar and bartender told me I had to go inside. Big bar people inside great. But other staff not so great. People outside who carded you and gave wrist band were great. Cannot get the founders ale where I live. I guess I will say no to this place in MI. read more

The food is always good here, I miss the pizza but everything here is good that I have tried. The tables are always clean and ready for the next customer. I cannot wait to try more beer there oat stout is smooth and perfect will try their other beers next time. read more

Founders Brewing - Founders brisket cheesesteak - Breweries Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

Things have improved. I am still going to Founders regularly. The food is now consistently enjoyable. The fries were a nice addition and are generally above average and sometimes excellent. The hated crostini are gone from the beer cheese, replaced by pita chips, although I still miss the toasted bread. The sandwiches are solid, although at times the chicken is a bit dry. Chicken wings have varied somewhat in quality, but often are truly excellent. The happy hour menu is fun with pretty good cheese curds and fried pickles. The beer is still as good as ever, and there are enough taproom exclusives that there is generally something new to keep things interesting. I still miss the old Founders with the 20 odd deli sandwiches and the fun, packed atmosphere. It felt like it was a cool place to be. I don't however miss having to hover over someone signing their check to get a table. Times change, and craft beer is not a cool as it was 15 years ago, but then again neither am I. read more

A great brewery in the Grand Rapids area. Good selection of beer, most everyone should be able to find something they enjoy. This stop was a quick lunch stop and although the menu is a challenge for someone with dietary restrictions, enjoyed our meals. read more

Founders Brewing - Cheese Founders Cheesesteak Sandwich - Breweries Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

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Visited our brother up in GR and had to visit Founders for lunch. The menu is varied and the beer delicious! Settled on the Backwoods Bastard, a pulled pork with bacon sandwich and it was very good. The service was quick and friendly, and while a little chilly, there were plenty of people sitting outside! I had the Solid Gold lager and was very tasty. It's always a "must stop" when visiting Grand Rapids! read more

Waited 20 minutes in line for a beer, terrible bar service. Especially on concert nights, it was really bad

You can't visit Grand Rapids without going to Founders Brewing, so obviously this was our first stop upon reaching the city. We were seated out on the expansive patio immediately - I love the outdoor space! Our servers were friendly and quick to get us our beer. I got the porter and my husband got an IPA - both good, as expected! We sat out on the patio for a while, just enjoying the outdoor space and chatting. The food also looked really good here, but we weren't quite ready for dinner yet. Happy that Founders lived up to the hype! read more

Founders Brewing - Breweries Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

Food and drinks were all amazing! Service was good. We loved having someone coming around outside taking and delivering orders while we waited for a table. We wanted to sit outside because the evening was so beautiful but the DJ music was too loud to be able to visit with each other. (Music inside wasn't much better.) We are all for music as we dine, but we're not there to dance and may not consider Founders next time. read more

Great beer, great atmosphere! Got the Turkey Rueben--good sandwich but would recommend holding the cumin-heavy avocado mash. It was not good; it overpowered the coleslaw and thousand island. read more

Huge patio for summer that also has a fire pit so great for the fall too. Many beers to choose from that are all delicious and the food is always fresh and delish. read more

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Food, service, ambiance, and location were excellent. We had a short visit and ordered a flight and their chili. Loved the chili and the stout beer. Founders has a huge selection of beers and the food is good quality. I also felt I received a lot of food for the price. read more

4/5 only bc I'm comparing it to others In the city & its solely preference. The place is HUGE, with 2 bars and ample seating areas plus nice outdoor area. This is solely a BEER PLACE, so if you love beer come Here.. the vibes inside are brewery and like German beer hall! Not new and modern! From Stouts, IPA, LAGER to sours. They have them all and a lot of options are actually brewed here!! They have a good happy hour and a 3.00 draft beer (rotates to what it is, ask your server)! Service is average but they were busy! Indoors isn't too loud and the main bar has like 50 seats! What we ordered: - 1 vanilla stout - 1 Solid gold Both tasted great, we didn't order the food but the selection was very small! I'd recommend eating elsewhere! Large gift shop inside too, If you are looking for a souvenir to take home! read more

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We went to Founder's on a Saturday and it was pretty busy! It was very open, like a large food hall. Almost every table was filled up. I really liked the relaxed atmosphere. We were seated right away and our server was very knowledgeable of the beers/menu. I ordered the Jambassador and it was great! It was a slightly sweet blueberry beer with a hint of ginger. For my entree, I got the devil dancer sandwich add tomato. We got the whole sandwich and split it. It was more than enough! The sandwich was very tasty, slightly spicy (because of the jalapeños), and the spicy mayo was great! We added Mac and cheese as the side, and it was very underwhelming. It wasn't cheesy enough. There were crunchy onions on top and I really liked that flavor with the Mac and cheese. read more

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Founders has a really big and very nice taproom. Great selection of beer. Food menu looked good but we only were there for drinks. Nice friendly service. This is a good goto spot when friends visit from out of town. read more

Consuming an entire city block near downtown Grand Rapids... is the one and only Founders Brewing. As you approach the steps of the restaurant and bar portion... there is eclectic street art and murals everywhere. The area and around the brewery itself seems very clean considering their closeness to downtown. Overall we all really enjoyed our experience. I got the garden salad and added chicken to stay on the low carb side of things... it was nice to wander in and find drinks on tap and food that accommodates my keto diet! The service was great, ambiance was great, place was clean, company was good and the drinks were even better. If you're in the GR area, add founders to your list! They're worth a stop for lunch or dinner. read more

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Enjoyed my visit to the largest brewery in MI (surpassing Bell's in 2018). This behemoth is a presence in Grand Rapids, and a must visit if you're looking to try some of their lesser available brews. They even have special only available in the taproom pours and bottles! The space has that old timey watering hole feel, but while the decor is rustic, it's modern where it counts. They have a great little cheatsheet for the aspiring beer novice that is an educational and navigational tool when perusing their offerings. The menu was expansive, curated, and perfect for someone who enjoys sampling their heftier abv selections. The entire experience was great from the bar, to the beers, to the staff. An institution in and of itself! Beers Had: 4 Giants IPA 9.2% Barrel Runner IIPA 11.1% Brandankulous DIPA 11.7% Dankwood Imperial Red 12.2% read more

This was my first stop at Founders and surely will not be my last. I've had their beers all over the country fir years but hadn't yet been to the Mothership... Huge beer selection for nearly ever type from big to little IPA's, Stouts, Ales and even Gose. It was open mic night and the talent was off-the-charts. Add in some very good smoked wings and I was all set! Oh also $2 off crowler night, so some of what I liked came home with me. read more

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I'm so glad to be here. What a wonderful taproom and restaurant. Beautiful atmosphere We ate the big pretzel and added the beer cheese sidecar. Delicious!!! My hubby and I shared it. I was so happy they had my favorite founders beer on tap. It's not that great in a bottle. Service was friendly and we were served quickly. read more

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Amazing food, drinks and Staff!!! Great Vibes! Great Neighborhood! Definitely recommend!

TL;DR If you can't find a beer here you like, you're the problem. Everyone in our group got a different beer, with me opting for a the French Toast Bastard. Bourbon barrel-aged ale with maple syrup, cinnamon and sweet vanilla. Oh my was this incredibly good. If it wasn't for the 11 ABV and me being the D.D., I would have had a couple. To offset the buzz we order appetizers of chips and guacamole and chicken wings. Both were excellent. If I lived in Grand Rapids, I would frequent here. The server was very attentive and helpful. read more

Founders Brewing - Snacks and beer - Breweries Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

Fries are excellent, crispy outside, soft inside. We had a pulled pork sandwich and an excellent mac and cheese bowl. The mac was enough for two and very tasty. Lunch during work so didn't sample their brews (sad) read more

Service all around is very disappointing. Unable to order a beer at the bar if you are sitting at a table. If this is the new policy all staff should be made aware and the floor should be staffed appropriately. Founders please get it together!!! read more

This review is for the beer alone. I will come back to review the food! Living in North Carolina has made me appreciate craft beer and after stumbling upon founders (in an NC grocery store) I could NOT wait to check this place out in person. I was on a time crunch but wanted to bring something home with me. This brewery has its own merchandise store attached to it. I highly recommend stopping by, such great stuff! I headed straight for the bar to take a crowler with me. The bartender was awesome and helped me pick out something I wouldn't have picked on my own. I gave him my beer preferences- told him what I preferred and he came back with samples to help me choose. Their menu is very extensive. I love that they have their go to beers, as well as small batch brews you can't get anywhere else. I tried: Call Your Mom (brown ale), Frootwood (bourbon maple aged cherry ale), & Blushing Padre (tequila barrel aged raspberry ale). All fantastic! You can taste the passion they were made with. I typically don't care for brown ales but the "Call Your Mom" was so good. Think maple, sea salt, vanilla all dominant flavors in a brown ale! I was told that batch worked with a local vegan baker. I love hearing (and tasting) local collaborations! I ended up choosing the Blushing Padre, no regrets. Definitely had some kick to it being aged in a tequila barrel but I just couldn't get over the full raspberry flavor and had to have it. I've had many of their beers at other places and I would recommend this place to anyone! If you don't like beer they also have their own seltzers. Pro tip- if you like fruit beers, my all time favorite is their "Rubaeus" (raspberry ale). Get it with Nitro and I swear it will change your life. Too bad you can't bring that one home due to the nitro. By golly is it a must try! read more

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Hands down a great experience! From the taproom to the food, it's all good- and I don't drink!

Just saw the world's largest Potato! Also, just crushed a few Red's Rye IPAs for my buddy Joe in Minnesota. read more

Founders Brewing - Paddle Boarding, Diving, and Suntanning. The new Founders has been a godsend. Check it out now. - Breweries Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan