Last week, Thrillist came out with The 33 Best College Bars In America. Let me preface by saying I'm not 21. With that being said, I was surprised that no bars from Holland, Michigan, made the list. For two years in a row, Grand Rapids, Michigan, has held the title of Beer City, USA. I do realize that Grand Rapids is 30 minutes from Holland, and subsequently, Hope College's campus, but I sat down with Claire Trivax, senior at Hope College and Better Drinking Culture representative, to discuss the local bar scene in Holland.
Tell me a bit about the New Holland Brewery Company and what makes it so special.
CT: It's one of my favorite bars to go to in Holland. It just has a really good atmosphere. They are their own brewery, and they make amazing craft beer, and one of the most fun things they came up with is Stein Night on Wednesday nights. You can bring a huge stein and for six bucks you can get it filled up. It's great because a lot of college kids don't have a lot of money to spend on really good beer, and you get a great deal there. One of the most fun events that they put on, and I actually got to go to this summer, is called Hatter Days. It's just this whole big festival with local bands, and they had a circus troupe there and really great food. It was really so much fun and so unique! And it not only brings the college community together but the whole Holland community.
Yeah, I've been there before, and of course I'm not of age yet, so I can't drink, but it was really fun to see people dressed up as Alice, the Mad Hatter, and Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum.
CT: Yeah. And all of the liquor they use for their mixed drinks, they also make and distill themselves. So they not only have a line of craft beer, but they have a line of craft spirits.
Don't they also have really good bar food?
CT: Yes, their pepperoni pinwheels are to die for! It is absolutely fantastic. I buy it for dinner for myself way more than I should.
Alright, so you said this was Wednesday nights. Do you feel like a lot of Hope students go to Stein Night?
CT: You'll see a couple hundred people going and hanging out at New Holland, and then bar hopping. It's a really nice time because you can take a mid-week break and hang out with all your friends.
So they bar-hop to The Curragh?
CT: Yes. The Curragh is this really cool Irish bar and restaurant that is decorated up the wazoo. You feel like you're in England or Ireland at a really cool old-fashioned pub.
So then, what do you recommend someone gets at New Holland and The Curragh?
CT: At New Holland, my favorite is the White Hatter or the Sun Dog. They are both pretty good. I don't know if they have the White Hatter all year round, but it's a Belgian pale ale. The Sun Dog, I want to say is an amber ale, but it's pretty mild. At The Curragh, I get a vodka cranberry or they have excellent sangria, which they make depending on the season. And the Dirty Girl Scout shots are pretty good—they taste like mint cookies.
So it's not just beer at The Curragh— they are not just serving Guinness?
CT: Right. A fun thing a lot of the college students like to do is get the Irish Car Bomb, which is some Guinness and then a shot of Jameson and Bailey's Irish Cream, and you drop it in and have to drink it before it all curdles.
And then, of course, if you go out to enjoy Stein Night or The Curragh, you have to be safe while drinking.
CT: You do need to be safe out, and one of the things I'm involved in is Better Drinking Culture. We are trying to get approved on Hope's campus now. Our philosophy is if you want to drink, go for it, but let us show you how to do it safely. You don't have to binge drink. Four drinks for females and five for males in one night is considered binge drinking, and it can have really bad consequences not just physically, but emotionally, especially if you don't have friends to watch you, so it's really great to learn how to drink responsibly while at one of these events.
Well, there you have it; two great college bars in Holland. Add those to your list, Thrillist.
