Harmony Brewing Celebrates 1 Year w/Birthday Barleywine

On Friday February 1st Harmony Brewing Company at 1551 Lake Drive in Eastown will celebrate its year anniversary by throwing a birthday party. As part of the festivities they will release the commemorative beer: Birthday Barleywine.

According to Co-Owner and Co-Brewer Jackson Van Dyke, “We thought that because we are a new member to Beer City U.S.A. and part of a state that is emerging as a beer powerhouse that to celebrate our anniversary we would brew a beer with hops grown in the city of Grand Rapids and use grain grown and malted in Michigan. It is a malty, slightly sweet beer that has a strong hop bitterness and aroma. It is also smooth, so its 9% alcohol by volume is deceptive and will have you in a celebratory mood."

The party, which will include the normal birthday party traditions like cake and balloons will celebrate Harmony’s tremendously successful first year. Harmony quickly established itself as a fixture in the Eastown neighborhood and drew large crowds and a loyal customer base with its small batches of well -balanced beer and rustic wood fired pizzas. In November Harmony was awarded the prestigious Gerald R. Hemholdt Award for excellence in a Neighborhood Business District. They were also awarded the first ever “Best Neighborhood Pint” award.

"It is an amazing time to be in the beer industry!” said co-owner and co-Brewer Barry Van Dyke. “This city is a BEER TOWN: the people know and love their beer. Combine the constant engagement with a pumped up and dedicated client base with the amazingly synergistic relationship that exists with other breweries in the area, and you get a brewery culture that pushes everyone to be highly creative and produce a truly excellent product. I think that everybody expects big things to evolve from the Grand Rapids Beer scene. We’re so happy that our little brewpub gets to be part of the action, it’s more than we could have imagined in just one year’s time."

Harmony Brewing Company is poised for continued growth. An expanded menu is in the works and there are plans for reinvestment in the brewpub’s facilities. Harmony will also be adding taps and featuring a bi-weekly cask aged series.

“We love being a part of this neighborhood.” said co-owner Heather Van Dyke-Titus. “We’ve been able to employ 26 local folks this year. Many of them walk to work. For us to have such a great reception in a neighborhood that we care so much about—that’s a true success. It means the world to us.”

According to Chef and Host of the Great American Brew Trail, Amy Sherman, “Hyper-local is the new local. Places like Harmony Brewing Company and The Mitten Brewing Co. here in GR are perfect examples…no desire to distribute, strong commitment to their neighborhood, thriving places to hang out and drink their own craft beer. I think we will see more of this in the bigger cities, a return to when there was a brewery in every neighborhood. So far this has been a formula for success for the Van Dykes and Harmony. I’m excited to see what this next year brings.”

Harmony Brewing Company is a Neighborhood Brewpub co-owned by three siblings: Barry and Jackson Van Dyke and Heather Van Dyke-Titus. They also own the sustainable real estate company: Bear Manor Properties-whose motto is “investing in communities”.
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