Kelsey Block Brewing Company
41 N. Main StreetAs we were sitting at Paw Paw Brewing eating dinner on Friday night, I remembered a Facebook targeted ad I had just seen the day before. I mentioned it to J who said we should go there for lunch. I said yeah and kept eating my delicious sandwich.
The next day, we were trying to figure out what to do. It was the last day of L being gone so we wanted to spend a little more one-on-one time with B before his sister came home and the fighting over toys commenced. I didn’t really have any good ideas but J brought up that brewery again. We could go get something to eat then take B to the park for a while.
That brewery is Kelsey Block Brewing Company in downtown Three Rivers right on Main Street. The brewery is part of a large building that claims to be the oldest in Three Rivers. The space right in the middle has been several restaurants over the years with a BBQ joint being the most recent tenant.
Parking for the downtown businesses is mostly street parking along the busy Business Loop but there are parking lots behind the buildings accessible from both the north and south ends of downtown.
Our plan was to grab lunch then head over to Scidmore Park for the petting zoo and some play time. We showed up in Three Rivers a little after noon and headed straight for the brewery
The small pub really takes advantage of the age of the building by keeping the brick walls exposed on either side. They mix in a little modern with a new hardwood floor and and muted tones on the walls and bar. There are a little over a half a dozen tables and a some seats at the bar. We grabbed a large round table just inside the door so we could contain B and try to entertain him by watching traffic drive by just outside the window.
The menus were already on the table when we sat down. There are six beers on tap and options for both a six and four flight. The beer tends to be more traditional and less experimental.
The food menus were also on the table and they had a few more options that aren’t on the website menu.
Ordering is done at the bar so once we had everything figured out, I went to put in the order.
I did the six flight beer for myself but there was a catch. One of the beers they had on tap was a limited BBA so that isn’t included in the flight. If I wanted that in a taster, I’d have to pay full price for that then pick one beer to have two tasters of to do the flight. I went ahead and did that because of course I wanted to try the BBA.
I started by picking the style that I don’t really like to get it out of the way. The Irish Red Ale. This appears to be a popular beer but I’ve never been a huge fan of the style. More malty than hoppy and I like hoppy.
The second beer was the Man from Mars Blonde Ale. Again, not my favorite style but I did enjoy this one quite a bit. It’s a low ABV, low IBU, very sippable ale.
Beer three was NEWPA. This is as close as I was getting to an IPA out of this line up. It’s a wheat beer styled after a New England IPA. Nice, subtle hoppy flavor but not in your face.
I actually went backwards on this flight and hit the dark beers at the end. My next beer was Stout, Stout, Let It All Out. This is one of two beers served out of a cask. Nice dark, roasty stout served a little warm to really make the flavors pop. This is the beer I ended up getting two taster of to round out the flight.
The ESB was my next beer and it was also served on cask. I don’t drink a lot of ESB’s because I don’t see them on tap much. It’s a popular English style but many breweries in Michigan stick to the in your face hoppy beers.
I saved the BBA for last. Four Thorns BBA Old Ale is quite boozy with strong bourbon and oak flavors. I get why they don’t include this in the flight but I’m glad I paid the extra for it.
There was nothing on the beer menu that J would like and they didn’t have any cider or wine options so she did a soda instead. Both she and B got an Agave Vanilla Creme Soda from Stubborn Soda. B liked this pop a little more than the root beer he got the night before but still didn’t drink much of it.
The menu is pretty straight forward. There are some appetizers, some sandwiches, and some salads. I ordered the Beer Cheese Burger. This sandwich is a six ounce chuck patty with grilled onions and their house made beer cheese on a brioche roll. The beer cheese is fantastic on this sandwich. It’s smooth and full of flavor. I was taking some of my chips and wiping up the cheese that fell off because I didn’t want to let any go to waste.
J picked the Grilled Chicken Nachos. This plate came piled high with white corn tortilla chips, grilled chicken, cheese, green onions, black olives, tomatoes, lettuce, and a chipotle ranch sauce with IPA pickled jalapenos, salsa, and sour cream on the side. There was enough on the plate for at least two meals. I had some and J still took over half home for dinner. The chips around the edges got nice and toasty which is different…but a good different.
We ordered B the Grilled (Three) Cheese. This take on the classic sandwich is grilled rustic bread, Muenster, provolone, and beer cheese. This sandwich was super gooey and the tanginess of the beer cheese really stole the show. He took a bite then finished the pickle spear and that was about it. J and I shared one half and took the other home which he did eventually eat for dinner.
Our bill before tip was around $45. Kelsey Block Brewing Company has apparently been around for about a year and a half and somehow we have missed them every time we’ve driven through downtown Three Rivers. This is another cool spot with delicious food and a focus on the brewing basics. Good solid beer without trying to one up the Joneses next door.
SW Michigan Dining 