Review – Traverse City’s Kayak, Bike and Brew Tours

Traverse City has received two notable tourism accolades so far in 2021. Early in 2021, the town of about 15,000 was voted as the #7 Best Small Town Beer Scenes on USAToday’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards 2021. Earlier this month, Wallethub named it the #1 Lake Beach Town in the US. I knew I had to be a tourist when I vacationed in Traverse City recently, so I booked a tour with Kayak, Bike and Brew to see a few of Traverse City’s breweries in one fell swoop and get a little exercise.

Kayak, Bike and Brew is the sister company for the well-known Paddle for Pints, a “brewery pub paddle on Traverse City’s beautiful waterways.” Kayak, Bike and Brew is similar with the paddling on a kayak, but also includes a few bike rides on beach cruisers throughout downtown Traverse City. Overall, you visit four breweries in four hours. Ticket prices start at $69 for a Kayak, Bike and Brew tour. The ticket price does not include food or drink at the breweries.

The Kayak, Bike and Brew tour began at the KBB Lounge on 436 W Front Street. Each participant received a swag bag and we went over general rules with our tour guide, Coop. After logistics were out of the way and we understood the concepts of staying with the group and that we were at each brewery for 30-40 minutes, we embarked on our Kayak, Bike and Brew Journey!

Silver Spruce Brewing

After a close to two mile bike ride along the TART Trail and the shores of the West Arm of the Grand Traverse Bay, the first stop was Silver Spruce Brewing. I sought out light beer options at each of the breweries on the trip, but at Silver Spruce it was hard to select just one because there were a ton of options available, including MI Lager, German Pilsner, Hefeweizen, Knee High Cream Ale, and Little Spruce Session IPA. In addition to these lighter beers there were six beers and a cider available.

I decided on the Knee High Cream Ale and enjoyed its cereal-like corn flake notes. Overall, I was blown away by the execution of the beers and everyone on our tour group echoed this reaction. The bar backs shared that Silver Spruce is looking forward to participating in upcoming beer festivals to showcase what they have to offer.

Right Brain Brewery

For our next leg of the tour, we rode down to Right Brain Brewery, one of the most recognizable breweries in Traverse City. After grabbing a pint of Smooth Operator and a half pint of Schrute Farms, I tried my luck on one of the many pinball machines scattered throughout the taproom. After losing quickly and spending all of my quarters, I turned to my beers.

Smooth Operator, another Cream Ale, was different than the previous one that I enjoyed. It was lighter and creamy with a touch of sweetness. With so many beers in distribution, I always like to see what Right Brain is brewing up and offering in-house when I visit. As a fan of The Office, Schrute Farms was a no brainer. It had a very earthy taste. The beet tartness came through at the end, but you had to dig for it.

Rare Bird Brewpub

The trip to Rare Bird Brewpub had us utilizing both modes of transportation in the tour group’s name. We biked about a mile to the boat launch on the north side of Boardman Lake and paddled over to the Boardman River on kayaks. In total, the kayak portion was about three quarters of a mile. After a short walk, we made it to Rare Bird’s back patio.

When I noticed a few people in the tour guide ordering appetizers, I decided to grab two beers at Rare Bird – Easy Peezy and VaJaHa. Easy Peezy was a lemon ginger shandy and quenched my thirst. It also gave off strong kombucha vibes, which I enjoyed. VaJaHa was a delicious Blonde Ale with coffee. There were notes of vanilla and hazelnut and was packed with roasty coffee.

The Workshop Brewing Company

The trip back to the KBB Lounge included kayaking, biking, and walking! Once we parked our bikes, we headed over to The Workshop Brewing Company. The Workshop does not mess around when it comes to flights. Each of the four flight pours are roughly 8 oz of beer.

My flight of lighter beers to round out my trip included Shop Light, an American Light Lager; Tenpenny, a Blonde Ale; Slater’s Ripper, a Czech Pilsner and Mallet, a Session IPA. My favorite of the four was Shop Light. It was an easy drinking Lager that anyone could enjoy, especially after a kayak and bike ride.

Overall, I would recommend Kayak, Bike and Brews tours in Traverse City, MI. If you’re looking for an active tour group and are able to bike and kayak a mile or two at a time then this tour is right up your alley to explore a handful of Traverse City breweries.

Cheers!

Disclaimer: Ed purchased everything associated with this tour including the ticket for the bike and kayak and all the brews at the breweries.