Three Blondes Brewing
1875 Phoenix Street, Ste. BWe left Chicago on Sunday morning just before 10:00 to head back to Michigan after a quick five day getaway. We wanted to get home, but we also had an idea for lunch on the way back.
South Haven is a little out of our way but there’s a new brewery that opened up on the edge of town that J has been wanting to get to. I never say no to breweries so I was on board. When we hit Benton Harbor, we just slid on to I-196 and headed up the lake shore instead of making the drive back east to Kalamazoo.
Three Blondes Brewing is on Phoenix Street about half a mile east of the I-196 interchange. It’s connected to VanDerZee Motorplex. The “Three Blondes” in the breweries name are the the three daughters of the owner of the motor sports dealership just inside the South Haven city limits. The brewery, with a large glass front facing Phoenix Street, is now accessible via a new driveway off of Phoenix that wasn’t there just a few months ago. I forgot that the building only used to be available off Dewey Lane on the backside of the building.
The building doubles as both the taproom and production facility. The dining spaces weren’t quite as big as I imagined they would be looking at it from the outside. There were still a few open tables when we got there a little after noon just about a week after their official opening.
The space is very bright from all the natural light that is let in by the large windows facing the south. They also use a lot of tin and bright colors to keep things lively. There are a couple of TV’s hanging behind the bar with the current draft list and a couple more that were tuned to the World Cup on this Sunday afternoon. Next to the bar is a look behind the scenes as another glass wall provides a glimpse into the production space.
The dining room is divided into a series of four top tables on the bar side of a divider wall and booths and more tables on the other. There’s also an upstairs area that looked like it had a private party going on so we didn’t walk up stairs to see, but there were definitely quite a few more tables up there.
We were seated in the bar area at one of the four tops along the half way divider. Our hostess set down the and kid’s menus so we could start looking before our waitress came over.
Oh, and if you need something to do while you’re waiting, there’s a door that connects the brewery to the Motorplex so you can go buy a jetski while you’re waiting. 🙂
Slips for flights were already on the table with the draft list. The waitress handed me a pen then went to get a couple of lemonade’s for the kids.
The flight board is pretty cool. It’s in the shape of a “3” and two “B’s.” You can either get six beers or four beers plus pretzels and mustard. I did the six beers which let me try everything they had on tap at the time with the exception of one.
The head brewer used to work at Greenbush Brewing down in Sawyer and they come up with some great stuff so I know we’re going to be in for a treat once this place really gets on it’s feet.
I started with the Palisades Porter named after the nearby power plant. Pretty solid porter with the typical coffee and chocolate notes. It’s a good base beer and a good way for me to start with something strong.
My second beer was Triple Moon. This is a witbier with a lot going on. It’s a light, sippable offering with a little bit of a citrus kick.
The third offering was Van Buren Brown. This is not something I would typically order outside of a flight, so I like that I have the option to do so. As their own website says, a “straight forward, no nonense brown ale….” I agree with that description. It’s another good base beer to have in their collection.
Wake and Lake was the fourth beer I grabbed. This is their session IPA offering and it’s pretty good at what it is. A low ABV, but still a little hoppy and very sessionable.
Number five was Trees and Seas. This is an American IPA with a little bit higher ABV than the session and a little more hoppiness along with some citrusy juiciness. Solid IPA offering.
The last beer I tried was Jackmove. This is a Double IPA with a little bit bigger flavor and a little bit maltier back to it. This one might have been my favorite but I love the big, hoppy beers. I always save the DIPA for last.
There were a couple of ciders on tap for J. Neither of them are made in house but they are made by nearby cideries.
The first one she tried was the Skinny Dip Grapefruit from Farmhaus Cider Company in Hudsonville. This sharp, crisp cider is made with local lemonade and a hint of time. It’s listed as a very sessionable cider and it’s true…it really is.
The other cider listed on the menu is The Huntsman from Peat’s Original Cider in Paw Paw. This one is a semi-dry so it’s not quite as drinkable as the sweat one but still has a delicious, fresh flavor.
The food menu is a lot of what you expect from good breweries. There’s some sandwiches, some pizzas, some tacos, soups, salads, and shareables.
My eyes went straight to the burger section of the menu. I picked the VanDerCheez Burger (get it? It’s a play on their name). This burger is two 1/4 pound patties stuff with American and Provlone cheese. It comes with the usual fixins of lettuce, tomato, onion, and pickles then served on a Brioche bun. The sandwich was oozing the cheese when it was set down in front of me. The thing I like about stuffed burgers is you know their fresh…there’s no way to pull off a frozen stuffed burger. The meat was tender and juicy with a little bit of cheese in every bite. The sandwich came with garlic and herb fries but I upgraded that to Truffle Fries. These appeared to be Cisco fries with a garlic, Parmesan, and truffle oil topping.
J picked the Crispy Chicken Tacos. The three flour tortillas are stuffed with fried chicken tenders, queso fresco, pico, pickeled onion, candied jalapeno, and a cilantro-lime crema. There was a lot of food in each of these tacos and even with so many competing flavors, J thought they were delicious. They’re served with tortilla chips and beer cheese…which I stole a little bit of to dip my fries.
There is a kid’s menu at Three Blondes. It was put down on the table along with some crayons when we sat down.
We considered just getting the kid’s one to share but they both said they were hungry….and we believed them.
We got them each a cheese pizza and fries. The kid’s portion isn’t very bit but they’re on a very flavorable, fresh crust with a delicious, sweet read sauce. Of course each one of them ate maybe two pieces and a couple of fries so we took the rest home which J and I ended up eating.
Our meal was right around $65 which seems to be the going rate when we go out to eat anymore.
Three Blondes Brewing really hit the ground running. So many breweries now are getting their beer going first then adding food later. These ladies really came right out of the gate swinging with delicious food, tasty beer, and a very cool space away from the craziness that can be downtown South Haven in the summer.
SW Michigan Dining 