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Brewery Vivant's Bon Papa, a limited release farmhouse IPA, won national recognition from the Good Food Awards.

(Courtesy | Brewery Vivant)

GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Brewery Vivant has tapped in to the national spotlight after receiving an award that recognizes not only good beer, but good ethics, too.

On Jan. 20, the Good Food Awards awarded the brewery for its limited release beer, Bon Papa, which was released in August 2016.

The beer was one entry of about 2,059 entries across all categories, and the only entry from Brewery Vivant.

"To be considered a good food in our category against the competition we're in was really cool," said Kate Avery. "People are identifying with our farmhouse brewery and are recognizing that Lake Michigan makes good beer."

The Good Food Awards highlight the best food in the nation across 14 categories: beer, cider, spirits, coffee, honey, oil, charcuterie, cheese, chocolate, confections, fish, pantry, pickles and preserves.

The awards focus on responsible sourcing and production of the food. The criteria for entry include quality, sustainability and craftsmanship.

"(The competition) is great way to highlight the knowledge of where food and beverages are coming from and where your dollars are going as a consumer," said Avery.

Bon Papa is a farmhouse IPA, made with farmhouse yeast. It has the tartness of a farmhouse ale, like Brewery Vivant's flagship Farm Hand, and the hoppiness of an IPA.

The small-batch limited release brew was sourced completely from Michigan, down to the water, which comes straight from Lake Michigan.

"We've always had the local look of supporting local economies," said Avery. "We have some local spending goals. We want to make a quality product so we will chase after quality ingredients, because as our industry is booming, so are the tangential industries."

Brewery Vivant's website states the brewery's 13 spending and sustainability goals. Among them are that 90 percent of all purchases must be made within 250 miles of the breweries, and 75 percent of those must be from Michigan businesses.

The brewery also strives for zero waste, encourages its employees to volunteer, and gives a percentage of its sales back to the local community. The building that houses the brewery is LEED certified.

Avery said that the brewery looks forward to making the beer again in the future.