Drink Michigan Beer

This weekend was (finally) the Michigan Brewer's Guild Summer Beer Festival in Ypsilanti, our chance to truly try a bunch of Michigan beers. We weren't disappointed! I also handed out a few ChicksDigBeer business cards on Saturday. Hopefully more like-minded women will be willing to write about their favorite beers as well. (Drop me a note if you're interested!)

51 breweries brought 330 beers in 60 different styles- not bad for ONE state! All the breweries were located in 4 big "pavilion" type tents with the exception of the Brewer's Guild's Michigan Grand Crew Saison, which had a stand-alone tent. The Grand Crew is the annual collaboration between all the members of the Brewer's Guild and it was quite tasty!

I sampled a whopping SIXTEEN beers on Saturday, some I liked a lot more (and drank more of) than others. M and I had a discussion with a couple other attendees about regional differences and how it's difficult to judge whether a beer is good when you've never tasted anything like it before. Sure, you can tell someone whether you personally like it, but when it comes down to whether it deserves the awards it may have won it isn't so simple. Best example: in NorCal, I never once tasted (or for that matter recall hearing about) a sour beer, but there were a LOT of them at the fest. A couple of breweries specialized in sours and one offered "Ancient Ales". It would have been fun to try everything, or at least one beer from every brewery, but that would take far more than an afternoon.

That being said, of the 16 I tried, here's a list of my favorites. I was a little surprised by my top two: a rye IPA and a Scotch Ale. (ME???) They were just spectacular beers!

• Michigan Brewing Company Rye IPA - wow. I don't see this beer mentioned on their website, but I hope I'll be able to find it again!
• Old Hat Brewery Scotch Ale. Another wow, and I don't often like Scotch Ales!
• Black Lotus Brewing Company Detroit Hip Hops IPA. Of course I had to have an IPA at the top of my list!
• Michigan Brewer's Guild Grand Crew Saison. See above- this is the collaboration brew.
  
• Founder's Brewing Co. Red's Rye IPA- yeah, another one! Who knew?

In addition to the food and wine offered, there was also the added entertainment provided by people watching and wondering where some of the beer names came from! The brewery that had a female mannequin rigged up with beertaps coming out of her breasts was pretty amusing too. Some of the more intriguing names (and concepts):

• Grapes & Grains of Wrath Porter Shiraz (Fort Street Brewery)
  
• When Monks Get Drunk Belgian Imperial IPA (Fort Street Brewery)
• Quit Jerkin' My Ferkin Real Ale (King Brewing Company)
  
• Haar der Zeige (Hair of the Goat) Maibock (Grizzly Peak)
  
• A Few Schillings Too Many Wee Heavy (Kuhnhenn Brewing Co.)
  
• Norm's Raggedy Ass IPA (Big Rock Chop & Brewhouse)

Judging by the quality of the Summer Beer Fest, I can't wait for the Winter Fest: February 28, 2009 in Grand Rapids. Bring it on!

A Hard Day's Night

Saturday found us unpacking. And unpacking. And unpacking.... so we decided to walk up the street a bit for some food. The restaurant we chose doesn't have a liquor license, and Ashley's was just a few blocks farther, so of COURSE we had to go for a beer! One beer quickly turned into 4? 5? once we began chatting with our neighbors at the bar. I attempted to take coherent notes on what we were drinking and what was recommended, but alas, my note, while legible, don't always make a lot of sense. What I do recall is the following:

• I really liked Victory's HopDevil Ale, a spicy, smooth, not too bold IPA.
• M liked Old Engine Oil, saying that it starts floral, then becomes rather nutty with the body of porter and a nice long finish. This one is a cask-conditioned beer at Ashley's.
• Bell's Two Hearted Ale is hoppy with a nice aroma.
• Our Aussie friend down the bar explained to us how you can tell where an Australian is from by the beer they drink. He drinks Cooper's Pale Ale.
• There was discussion of Unibroue.
• Also discussion of Dragonmead.
• Four of us shared a Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA to finish off the night. This one was waaaay too strong for wimpy little me. I found it to be almost syrupy, with an almost medicinal nose. I blame this one for my hangover. Ugh.
  

Brilliant!

Hope everyone had a fun and safe holiday weekend! We spent it in my hometown in Indiana, chilling with friends and family. It was a dual purpose visit, visiting family for the holiday and my buddy Scott's 40th birthday bash!

Scott had the brilliant idea of hosting a beer tasting party, with everyone to bring a beer they themselves had not tried. Of course, the road to Hell is paved with good intentions, and by the time we got around to actually "tasting", most of us had already downed a few. Let's just say our tastebuds weren't exactly primed for tasting but we soldiered on!

I don't recall every beer we tasted (it was a long evening), but DO recall the following: Bell's Oberon Ale (in a spiffy mini-keg, no less), New Belgium Fat Tire (how it found it's way to Indiana is a happy mystery!), Tommyknocker Maple Nut Brown Ale, Great Lakes Burning River Pale Ale, and Dark Horse's Sapient Trip Ale. I was partial to the Burning River, while my hubby liked the Trip Ale. Some less than adventurous attendees brought Busch Light and Miller Lite, and it goes without saying that they were banned from the beer tasting. (If anyone else in attendance can recall some of the other brews we tasted, please post a comment!)

At dinner last night I tried yet another new brew, Stoudt's Pale Ale from Adamstown, PA. When the pint was delivered to the table, I have to admit the appearance made me a little nervous. This beer was effervescent, which is not generally a good thing in my experience. One taste proved my suspicions to be unfounded: YUM! This APA is light amber in color, made with Cascade hops, and I found it to be very easy on the palate. It has a light and refreshing flavor that leads to a full bodied finish. M compared it to a slap in the face with a glove, as if challenging you to a duel, and actually said that it could replace Sprecher's Pub Ale as his beer of choice at Zingerman's. (believe me, that is a bold statement!)

All in all, a fine start to July!

P.S. Our neighborhood liquor stop in A2 is selling most 6-packs for $9.99 these days... how much are they in YOUR 'hood?