Big Lake Brewing

Heard a bunch of co-​workers mention this place so my wife and I decided to check it out. I ordered the Leroy Brown English Brown Ale and I loved it. It is a bit sweeter than other Browns buying didn’t mind.
An interesting thing about Big Lake is it is a bar only, in other words if you want to eat bring it with you. They are more than happy to have you bring in food from other places. This is what makes it a 3 and not 4 star review. The idea of having to go to two places when I really just want one is tiresome. But in all honesty that Leroy Brown is worth it.
If you’re looking to catch a game with friends id look somewhere else. They had 1 32 inch TV above the bar. And while it’s a small bar and therefore the TV is viewable from anywhere it’s not ideal if you’re trying to watch the big game.
I’ll likely be back with friends since I had a fun time. If nothing else I’ll come in for a growler of Leroy.

On the north side of Holland away from the main strip. Conveniently located in a strip mall with lots of parking.
It’s a laid back environment with lots of buzz. It’s a clean microbrewery with lots of beers on tap. What’s cool is that with most microbreweries in Holland you can bring in outside food. With Thai Palace next door this makes for a good spot.
I really liked the atmosphere, service, and the beer. The «Dark Star Stout» is a good dark beer to try.

Yeah, Big Lake Brewing is located in a strip mall, but sometimes it’s not location, location, location: it’s all about that beer! I arrived by bike, and found a convenient bike rack right outside. The interior has a nice bar, and plenty of seating at tables as well. I tried the Ryecoe first, and it gets my highest recommendation, nice balanced hop flavor. The bar back was very knowledgeable and personable, and we had a great chat. I stopped back a couple of days later, and tried the Ramarillo, it too was excellent, but I’d stick with the Ryecoe. Big Lake doesn’t have their own kitchen, so I ordered food from the Thai place next door next time, but I’d go with the pizza place just next door to that. The atmosphere is relaxed and fun, a good mix of locals and out-​of-​towners like me, but very friendly. The strip mall thing works for them! Stop in and give them a try.

Checked this place out while vacationing in Holland, MI and scouting out the local breweries. I will definitely say that I think this place was great! I had a sampler (6 beers for $ 6) and every single one of my beers was fabulous. They had a lot of IPA choices while I was there, and being a huge IPA fan, all of them were quite delicious and impressive. The Mandolin Coffee pale ale was very unique and I loved it! The Rycoe was awesome as was the Stoner IPA and the Overtime IPA. The Citra wheat was also quite refreshing and the Porter was well done. The staff was friendly and attentive and we met a local couple who frequented Big Lake Brewing often and gave us some tips about the breweries in the area — naming this brewery as one of the best in the area. Definitely check it out if you’re in the area! They also make their own wine & mead — however, I did not get to try any of it.

Staff is extremely nice and the beer is great too. Great job, BLB!

I was a bit skeptical pulling up to Big Lake on a Saturday afternoon. Its location in a strip mall made me a bit worried. But as soon as I opened the door my expectations rose considerably. Its a very nice clean space with a nice big bar and quite a few tables. The beer was tasty and very well priced. Most pints are $ 4. I had a flight of 6 beers for only $ 6. A fantastic deal. The Ryecore was my favorite. I tried one of the bourbon barrel beers which I didn’t like as much, but that was just my preference. Everything else I had was great. Service was helpful and it was a nice and quiet place to enjoy an hour on an afternoon.

Good beer variety, plenty of parking. No food but you can bring in your own or order from Jets pizza next door. So they specialize in just the beer. Decent vibe and good prices, about $ 4 for a pint.

I don’t expect much out of new breweries anymore, there are way to many that open with really bad tasting beer. NOT THIS ONE. They had drinkable beer the day they opened, and it’s better every time I go. The Ryecoe IPA is especially nice.
No food, but you can order in from the restaurants nearby.
Stop in, you won’t be disappointed.

This place was excellent. It’s in a strip mall with a nondescript front. We weren’t expecting much. Inside it was very open and has the distinct wonderful smell of a brewery. We had a flight of 6 beers for $ 6. Not only was that a deal, but the beers were quite tasty! Every beer we tasted was great! Definitely a place to try !

Don’t let the fact that it’s in a strip mall discourage you from stopping in. I had my doubts but figured I would at least give them a chance… I’m glad that I did.
They had far more beers on tap than I had anticipated (I think it was around 12), so I got a flight of six— for $ 6. Yea, six dollars. That’s a terrific price if you don’t realize it. And they were decent size samples.
Everything I tried was well crafted. I’d say my favorite was the Brown that was brewed with oats and coffee. Also, the barleywine was very good.
Side note– when I was there, nothing was over four dollars on the tap list which is really nice.
There’s a lot of newer breweries out there and many of them brew a mediocre product– I’m glad this is definitely not one of them.

The beer world is crowded, man. Guess what that means? There’s a lot of bad craft beer out there. It’s always so promising to find a place that actually makes good brews. Hooray!
Loved this little tap room with its friendly staff and simple, no nonsense layout. They just serve beer but many customers were ordering pizza & Thai from two neighboring restaurants. OHMYGOSH it’s a BEER sandwich with PIZZA and THAI bread slices. Who wouldn’t want that?
The range of beers was extensive enough that anyone can find something they like, but not so big that everything is done poorly.

4 dollar pours on beer, wine, meade, and Vandermill cider… what’s not to love? Their new bourbon barrel aged beers are amazing! The people who work there are awesome and friendly! Great place to sit and have a conversation or catch a ball game. They have live music now on Thursday nights! Get a mug club membership and come back for more!

4 dollar pours and cookie Sundays (the day not desert) what’s not to love about this place. Definitely the best micro brewery in West Michigan! Rycoe is the shiznit

Great New Brewery on Hollands Northside, Good selection of Beer, limited seating this place is small so get there early. Friendly Staff and great tasting beer, cant wait to see what to see what winter beers they come up with. Also wife loves the peach cider she says its the best cider in town.

This is a new brewery with great promise. Only a month old, they are doing a good job brewing and pouring some above average beers. I have visited three times (so far) during our one week vacation in Holland. They currently have six beers on draught: a wheat, a brown, a rye, a strong ale, a porter, and a stout. All of their beers are solid, with the Darkstar Stout as a particularly excellent example. Their prices are average for the standard beers, but the price is the same no matter which beer you choose ($ 4/​pint) so it’s a great deal for the high gravities. They don’t have growlers yet but if you bring your own glass they’ll do a fill for $ 10. No food is available, but it looked like people were bringing pizza over from the place next door.
Bottom line — don’t let the unassuming storefront in a random strip mall fool you — there is excellent beer to be had here.