It’s Not About Beer: #Verlander4MVP

 If you’re expecting to read a post about sabermetrics, this is not it (this is: Bill Simmons on Justin Verlander and the meaning of “Most Valuable Player”).  This is more of a drunken rant; a rant from a Tiger fan that thinks our star pitcher deserves not only the Cy Young, but also the MVP.

For most of the season Justin Verlander was in a pretty tight race for the Cy Young award with Jered Weaver of the Angels and CC Sabathia of the Yankees.  At this point, Verlander has pretty much separated himself from the pack and looks like the clear front-runner for the Cy Young.  Verlander leads the league in wins (21), ERA (2.34), and strikeouts (224)—the Triple Crown.  Winning the Triple Crown would essentially give JV a lock at winning the American League Cy Young Award.

While the Cy Young is a prestigious award, Verlander’s spectacular season warrants further accolades—the Most Valuable Player Award.  Without Verlander’s 21 wins, the Tigers are merely a .500 club, and probably not in the playoff race.  With Verlander, the Tigers are leading the AL Central by 7.5 games and are in pretty good shape to not only make the playoffs (knock on wood), but also possibly take a run at winning the AL Pennant and even the World Series.

Of course there are plenty of other players having great seasons—Granderson and Bautista to name a few.  But, are these players truly most valuable?  Despite his career season, the Yankees would likely still make the playoffs without Granderson.  So, while undoubtedly “valuable” to his club, is Granderson really “most valuable” on a team of stars?  Bautista is also having a career season, but on a mediocre team.  Shouldn’t the MVP be awarded to a player who not only plays an amazing season, but also leads his team to the playoffs, with his “value” to the team?  I think so.  I don’t mean to discount Granderson or Bautista’s seasons, just to argue that they are not “most valuable” players.

Maybe this is just the beer talking, maybe this is just a rant.  Either way, it has been a pleasure to watch JV play this year, and I look forward to watching Verlander and the Tigers continue their season in October.  Cheers to Justin Verlander and the Tigers!

Lessons Learned from the Summer Beer Fest

1.             Lines Suck

Waiting in a long line in the beating hot sun with 1000s of other eager beer drinkers is not fun.  If you were in this line with me, impatiently waiting to enter the festival and sample some of the finest beers in Michigan, then you realize what a bummer this was.

You can join the Michigan Brewers Guild as an enthusiast member, which (among other benefits) allows you to skip that huge line and enter the festival an hour early than the commoners.  In fact, don’t wait until next year to do it, join now so you can take advantage of this line jumping privilege at the rest of the beer festivals (UP Beer Fest in September and the Fall Beer Fest in October).

Not only will you be able to skip that long line, but imagine having another hour to sample more beers.  It might even allow you to try some of the special beers that you missed out.  There were a few that I wanted to try that were already gone by the time I got into the festival at 1 (Dark Horse’s Super Juice was one).

2.            Eat a Big Breakfast

Another important lesson learned from the beer festival is to eat a big hearty, greasy breakfast prior to the festival.  A hot day in the sun, drinking beer, especially some of these high ABVs will really take its toll on the underfed festivalgoer.  If you don’t eat a big breakfast, then you should at least pack some sandwiches and snacks to eat during the festival, or bring a few bucks to buy lunch on the fair grounds.

3.            Remember Times of Limited Releases

I was lucky enough to try a few of the timed releases—Founders Blushing Monk, Bell’s The Oracle DIPA and Batch 10,000.  However, I missed one that I really wanted to try—KBS.  In the hustle and bustle of the festival I misread the sign at the Founders booth, thinking KBS was released at 5pm, an hour after it was actually released.  By the time I realized it was released at 4, not 5, it was too late.  The line was long (although not quite as long as the line to get into the festival at 1), and KBS would have run dry by the time I got in line to get my drink.

Life goes on.  We were able to try a few more beers, and then get in line at Bell’s for the Oracle at 5pm.  All was well in the end, but next year I will certainly remember to get my details straight so I don’t miss out on any of the special timed releases.

4.            Support Your Local Brewers

This is something we already know, but it doesn’t hurt to say it again.  Support your local brewers, or we’ll lose ‘em.  The summer beer fest really highlights how many brewers we have in this great state.  If you want to make sure they stay around, then we need to buy their beer to keep them brewing.

14th Annual Michigan Brewers Guild’s Summer Beer Fest

Are you ready for some beer?  In less than 24 hours the gates open for the 14^th Annual Michigan Brewers Guild’s Summer Beer Fest.  The first day of the two-day event kicks off at 5pm tomorrow (Friday).  The festival continues Saturday from 1-6pm.  The festival will have over 450 different beers from over 62 Michigan brewing companies.  With the festivities just a few short hours away, it’s time to make sure you’re ready.

1.             Make your game plan

With over 450 different beers in the program, it’s important to make sure you have a plan of attack.  Take some time to go through the program and figure out which breweries and beers are on your “must drink” list.  Without proper planning you might miss a beer that you wanted to try.

Use the map in this program to figure out where the beers on your “must drink” list are located.  There are several beer tents scattered over the grounds, so you need to know what beers you want to try, and where to get them.

2.            Pack Supplies

It’s gonna be H-O-T!  Like most of the Midwest, Ypsilanti has experienced almost an entire week of 90+ degree temperatures, and the trend is forecasted to continue.  You can bring food and beverages with you into the festival (just no GLASS or outside ALCOHOL, and also please observe the festival’s ZERO WASTE policy), so you’ll probably want to bring some water or Gatorade to drink between beers.  You don’t want to get dehydrated and miss out on all that beer!

You might also want to pack a few snacks, sunglasses, and sunscreen.

Also, bring your cell phone and follow everyone tweeting from the beer fest with the tag #MIBeerFest.

3.             Stay Cool!

Find shade to stay out of the sun and keep cool.  There have been a few ideas floating around online on how to stay cool during the sweltering heat at the festival this weekend.  The best idea on twitter came from @kev2a—frozen bandanas and washcloths.  That sounds like a perfect way to stay cool in this heat.

Have fun, and enjoy lots of Michigan craft beer!

Other useful information:

All the Brews Fit to Pint—The Week in Beer: It’s All About Summer Beer Festival

Michigan Brewers Guild

Michigan Microbrews—2011 Summer Beer Festival (a list of all the beers and brewers)

Michigan Microbrews—Social Media and the Summer Beer Festival

International #IPADay in the Great Beer State!

Earlier this week the Beer Wench, along with many other influential people in the craft beer community, announced the 1st International IPA Day (August 4th).  Like many other craft beer enthusiasts, I was thrilled to see this announcement, not only because IPAs are my favorite beer style, or because I enjoy craft beer in general, but because this event will help draw more attention to craft beer.  This event is not only for those of us that already regularly enjoy craft beer and IPAs, but more importantly for those who don’t; IPA Day is about introducing and promoting craft beer to a wider audience.

In preparation for this event I have started a list of all the breweries, brew pubs, and bars that are participating in this event in Michigan—the Great Beer State.  I will continue to update this list as I receive more information.

•        Wolverine State Brewing Company, Ann Arbor: A fresh batch of Gulo Gulo,  Wolverine’s extremely popular India Pale Lager, will be released on # IPADay.    They will also have a discount on Insolent Mink, their IPA all day.
•        Ashley's, Ann Arbor: 10 IPAs will be on rotation, in addition to the 7 IPAs regularly on tap (Bell's Two-Hearted, Arcadia B-Craft Black, Founder's Red's Rye, Short's Huma Lupa Licious, Arcadia Hopmouth, Darkhorse Crooked Tree, and Bear Republic Racer 5).  Bell's The Oracle DIPA is the first beer confirmed for the rotating taps, with the other 9 likely being a mix of West Coast, East Coast, English, and possibly Belgian IPAs.

For more information on the 1st International IPA Day:

The Beer Wench, International #IPADay: a Message From the Founder

Cherry Pie Whole: 4th of July in Traverse City with Right Brain Brewery

Northern Michigan is well known for many things—sand dunes, lakes, cherries, and of course…beer!  If you’re Up North this summer, be sure to check out some of the local breweries, and you’ll see how Michigan has earned the name: the Great Beer State.  While in Traverse City over the 4^th of July weekend, which coincided with the Cherry Festival, I took a trip to the Right Brain Brewery, and I can assure you, I’ll be back.

Right Brain is located in a renovated warehouse in Traverse City, there’s not much to look at on the outside, but when you walk in you enter a fun room filled with some funky art and groovy beer.  From the nondescript warehouse to the open taproom and imaginative beer flavors, Right Brain had a similar feel to Wolverine State Brewing in Ann Arbor, and like Wolverine, the real focus here is on the beer.

They have all the beer styles you will find at most craft breweries, but what really stands out are their unique, local flavors.  In particular, over the 4^th of July weekend Right Brain had Cherry Pie Whole, a beer brewed with 50 whole Cherry Pies from the Grand Traverse Pie Company, on tap.  Cherry Pie and beer are both things many Americans enjoy on the 4^th of July, but drinking a Cherry Pie beer was a new experience for me.  The sweet, slightly tart flavor really felt like drinking a Cherry Pie, which was perhaps the perfect beer to drink while watching fireworks on the 4^th of July.

Read more about Right Brain and Cherry Pie Whole at:

Drink Michigan, Pie-Whole Beer: Right Brain Brewery

Promote Michigan, Right Brain Brewery Taps into “Cherry Pie Whole Beer”

 

The Beer Fund Series—Drinking on a Budget

As fellow craft beer drinkers you all know that this hobby can take a toll on your budget.  Craft beer isn’t cheap, but then again, if we were looking for “cheap” beer we would just be drinking those macro brewed, fizzy yellow beverages anyway…and who wants to do that!  Nevertheless, we’ve all had times when our beer fund has run a little low, and we look for ways to cut expenses, but still manage to enjoy craft beer on a budget.  This familiar dilemma has inspired me to start a new series—The Beer Fund Series.

For the inaugural post of this series, here are the top 3 ways to start saving on beer:

1.     Join a Mug Club:  Joining a mug club is probably the easiest way to start immediately saving money on beer.  Mug clubs usually have some sort of upfront fee that will get you a discount on beer and sometimes various other benefits.  Be sure to ask about mug club memberships at any breweries or brew pubs that you visit regularly.  One of my favorite mug club memberships is at Wolverine State Brewing.  A $65 lifetime mug club membership will get you a 16-ounce mug for the 12-ounce price and $1 off growlers, along with various other cool perks and discounts.

2.     Drink at Happy Hour:  This is a pretty obvious way to save money on beer.  Many places have happy hour times where beer (and sometimes food) is served at big discounts.  Arbor Brewing has a great happy hour deal that includes ½ off drinks and some food discounts as well.  Happy hour at ABC is from 4-7pm and all day Monday.

3.     Fill-up a Grower:  Growlers are ½ gallon or 4 pints.  The price you pay for a growler will almost always be less than 4 individual pints.  If you’re on a tight budget, but still want to drink good craft beer, then fill up some growlers and have your friends come over to your place instead of meeting at the bar.  Growler refills at Liberty Street Brewing in Plymouth are only $9 on Sundays and Wednesdays—that’s only $2.25 per pint!

These are three easy ways to start saving money on beer, and this series will continue to highlight more ways to save, but still enjoy, craft beer.  Be sure to leave comments or email any of your favorite ways to save money on beer, and maybe your tip will be featured in a future edition of “The Beer Fund Series.”

Bonfires, Baseball & Beer—Summertime in Michigan

Summer beers are on tap, boats are on the water, ribs are on the grill, and the Tigers are leading the division—summertime in Michigan is upon us!  It’s time to grab your favorite beer and enjoy all that Michigan has to offer.  Whether it’s on the lake, at Comerica Park (look for the Atwater beer booth in right field), at a bonfire, or whatever else you enjoy (leave comments with what you like to do!), there are no shortages for great summertime activities in Michigan.

 

Drinking a Bell’s Oberon at a bonfire after a nice summer day on the golf course or lake is probably one of the best summertime activities.   The calm blaze of the fire against the summer night sky, conversation with friends, and sipping a refreshing beer all make for an idyllic Michigan summer night.

As June comes to an end, and 4^th of July just around the corner, it sometimes feels as if summer is already halfway over.  It’s not!  We still have plenty of summertime left, so get out on the lake, head to a Tigers game at Comerica Park, and have a bonfire with friends (I know I will).  Go enjoy Pure Michigan this summer with your favorite Michigan beer!

Missing the Michigan Winter Beer Festival

Over 5,000 Michigan beer fans braved the cold weather, snow, and long lines to sample some of the best beer this state has to offer.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t one of them.   Despite reading early warnings that tickets were nearly sold out, I still was too slow to take action back in January and get a ticket before they were all gone—a mistake I will not make again. 

 

Some patrons left days early and made full-blown beer vacations out of the festival, others went up a day before and enjoyed some of the local bars and breweries before the festival, and others rode in on drunk buses the day of the event.  Certainly all had an enjoyable time in Grand Rapids.

Meanwhile, I was back in southeastern Michigan having fun, despite missing out on one of the most preeminent annual celebrations of Michigan beer, by brewing a Cherry Porter, inspired by Short’s Brewing’s Black Cherry Porter.  As the day rolled on I read Twitter updates from fellow Michigan beer aficionados, reminding me of the fun time I was missing, and more recently reading your summaries and rundowns of the recent beer festival.  All of this made me sure of one thing—I’ll be buying my ticket early next year!

Check out some of these posts below to read all about the festival; they’ll either remind you of the fun time you had in Grand Rapids, or if you missed it like me, you’ll be convinced to go next year:

All the Brews, Winter Beer Fest De-Briefing

Great Lakes Guru, Beef Rest Needs Beer Mugs

Michigan Microbrews, Re-living the 2011 Michigan Winter Beer Festival

Bell's 25th Anniversary: Toasting a Quarter Century of Michigan Craft Beer

Every craft beer drinker in Michigan is familiar with Bell’s—the Great Beer State’s oldest and largest brewery.  Last week while I was drinking a few Bell’s Two Hearted Ales (one of my all-time favorite beers) I started thinking about the legacy of this brewery.  Bell’s Brewery, founded in 1985, celebrated its 25^th Anniversary over the past year, and the festivities continue this week at Ashley’s in Ann Arbor on Wednesday, February 23^rd with 25 Bell’s beers on tap, including a few special and limited releases (see All the Brews for more info).

Bell’s has come a long way since its humble beginnings with a soup pot and Saran Wrap covered open fermenters in 1985.  In many ways, all Michigan craft beer drinkers have grown with Bell’s over the years.  Personally, Bell’s Oberon was one of the first craft beers I tried, and it opened my mind to exploring new beers beyond the bland and overly commercialized Miller/Bud/Coors macro brews.  Slowly I began to expand my horizons by exploring more Bell’s beers—Pale Ale, Kalamazoo Stout, Java Stout, and others.

The success of Bell’s paved the way for other microbreweries to begin brewing in the Midwest.  Shortly after Bell’s opened in 1985, Great Lakes Brewing Co. opened in Cleveland (1988), followed by even more Michigan microbreweries throughout the 1990s—Founders, Arcadia, New Holland, Dark Horse, Atwater, and more.  The rapid growth of the craft beer movement continued during the first decade of the 21^st century, and today it’s one of the fastest growing industries in Michigan.

It all started with a soup pot and a dream back in 1985.  Frankly, there’s no telling where the craft beer movement would be today if it weren’t for the courage and vision of Larry Bell to start brewing and selling beer in Kalamazoo 25 years ago.  The Michigan craft beer community owes a great thanks to Larry Bell for all that he’s done for Michigan craft beer over the last two and half decades.  Let’s all raise a glass (of Bell’s beer) and toast to the next 25 years of craft beer in Michigan being as great as the last!

Bicycles, Beer & Chili: Depot Town, February 20th

The anticipation of a refreshing craft beer might be one of the best motivators to get through a workout.  The Beer Runner (Tim Cigelske) recently wrote an excellent piece about this phenomenon.  If you missed it, you should go check it out after you read this (“Beer and running makes you happy”).  The same idea Tim wrote about for running can apply to cycling, or really any other type of workout for that matter.

 

As the Beer Runner says, anticipation can contribute to our happiness both in running (or cycling) and in drinking craft beer.  During a workout we anticipate the positive impact it has on our health, body, and life, which subsequently makes us happier.  A similar anticipatory happiness applies to craft beer drinking.  Whether you’re eager to drink one of your old favorites or looking forward to trying a new beer that you just discovered, the anticipation can certainly add to the enjoyment of actually drinking the beer itself.  

Experienced cyclists and beginners alike can participate in “Another Chili Ride!” presented by Wheels in Motion and the Corner Brewery this Sunday, February 20th.  Wheels in Motion is encouraging people to get out and enjoy a nice winter ride (don’t worry, it’s not a race!), so this event is FREE for all riders.  Depending on what type of ride suits you, there are three different routes available for the event—28, 12, or 4 miles.  All routes start at Sidetrack in Depot Town (come join me for a pre-ride beer) and end at Corner Brewery.

After the ride you can partake in the Depot Town Chili Challenge.  Chili bowls are available at Frenchies (next to Sidetrack) for $5.  You can fill your bowl with chili at any of the five restaurants participating in the challenge—Aubrees, Sidetrack, Ypsi Food Coop, Café Ollie, and Corner Brewery.  All proceeds for the event go to SOS Community Services.  Corner Brewery will be serving drinks at Happy Hour prices for the duration of the event, so come to Depot Town, get a good ride in, then enjoy some beer and chili!

For more information, routes/state times, or to register for the ride you can go to www.wheelsinmotion.us or call 734-971-2121.

Pints for Prostates: Blue Tractor BBQ & Brewery 2/18

There are many ways to raise cancer awareness—some walk, others wear ribbons, and a few drink beer.  You heard me right, drinking for cancer awareness.  Pints for Prostates is a national campaign that raises awareness for prostate cancer through the universal language of beer.  Over 200,000 men in the US are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year.  In most cases it is a slow growing cancer, often with few noticeable symptoms, which makes annual screening imperative to detecting prostate cancer. 

Rick Lyke, a prostate cancer survivor, founded Pints for Prostate in 2008 because he wanted to share his message with other men.  The goal of the campaign is to educate men about prostate cancer, and the importance of early detection through prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing.  Pints for Prostates recommends that men over 40 have an annual PSA test—a blood test that can detect early stages of prostate cancer, when treatment is most successful.

If you enjoy beer, and want to help raise awareness for prostate cancer, then head on over to Blue Tractor BBQ & Brewery this Friday from 3-8pm.  Pints of beer will be $1 for anyone brave enough to sit in the outdoor patio (sidewalk), with 1/2 of sales going to prostate cancer research.  There will also be discounted bowls of chili and 1/2 off mug club memberships for those sitting outdoors.

For more information call Blue Tractor at (734) 222-4095, visit the U of M comprehensive cancer center website, or go to www.pintsforprostates.org.

Strong Ale Tasting at Arbor Brewing Company

If these dark, cold, dreary days gotcha’ feeling down, there’s no better cure for the Michigan winter blues than drinking some big beers.  That’s exactly what Arbor Brewing had in mind for their monthly beer tasting last Thursday.  Yours truly, along with dozens of other local beer enthusiasts gathered at Arbor Brewing to taste a variety of Strong Ales from Michigan and around the world.

What is a Strong Ale?  It’s not necessarily a specific beer class on its own; the Strong Ale category encompasses several different styles—including Barleywines, Old Ales, and Scotch Ales.  Generally, the Strong Ale category includes all ales over 7% ABV, and the folks at Arbor Brewing had twenty-five different big beers for the crowd to enjoy.

The selection included five house brews from Arbor Brewing—my favorite was the Strawberry Blonde, a flavorful fruit beer that was a new one for me.  Typically I’m not a huge fan of fruit beers, but this was an exception.  The mild strawberry taste was surprisingly enjoyable, but unlike some other fruit beers the fruitiness was not overwhelming, as the description said—this fruit ale doesn’t forget it’s a beer.

There were several other Michigan made beers from Bell’s (Batch 10,000 and Third Coast), Founders (Backwoods Bastard), Dark Horse (Scotty Karate and Reserve Special Black Ale) and New Holland (Pilgrims Dole).  Recently, Bell’s Batch 10,000 has become one of my favorite beers.  The complexity of this beer is astounding, which I suppose is to be expected from a beer with over 100 malts and 60 hops.  I have a case of this in the cellar, and will be curious to see how the beer evolves over time.  Backwoods Bastard was another new one for me.  It sure is a unique tasting beer; there is a very strong oaky bourbon aroma, followed by a similarly bourbon-esque taste.  Backwoods Bastard was one of the most memorable beers of the night, but not a beer that I could drink too often.

In addition to the Michigan beers, there were many others from around the US and even some international beers.  Most of these beers, like many at this tasting, were new to me, but there were also some familiar favorites, including Stone Arrogant Bastard (speaking of Stone, have you tried the Jolly Pumpkin/Stone/Nøgne Collababiere?).  Some of the other beers I enjoyed were Unibroue Trois Pistoles, Avery Hog Heaven, and Duvel. 

This tasting provided the opportunity to sample some remarkable beers (especially beers that I normally might not pick on my own), and I look forward to going again in the future.  In case you’re interested in attending a future tasting at Arbor Brewing, they are the second Thursday of the month from 7-9pm with a different beer style featured at every event.  The style for March is Stouts, and IPAs are coming in April.  You should reserve tickets ahead of time to get a slight price break.  Arbor Brewing’s phone number is 734-213-1393.

Michigan-The Great Beer State

Welcome and thank you for visiting my blog!

Michigan has long been known as the Great Lakes State.  We are surrounded by 4 of the 5 Great Lakes, and have thousands of inland lakes as well (http://bit.ly/g5JGw2)  Lakes are not the only great thing about Michigan--our state is also home to some of the finest craft brewers in the nation!  Two of Michigan's own, Bell's of Kalamazoo and Founders of Grand Rapids, are consistently rated amongst the nation's top craft brewers in various polls and lists (here's an example-http://bit.ly/ewW0XJ).  In addition to Bell's and Founders, there are dozens of other craft brewers and even more brewpubs located in Michigan, making and serving great beers for all to enjoy.

It is my goal with this blog to provide a fresh perspective, reviews, and other interesting information on Michigan's beers and brewers.  Lift a glass with me, and let's enjoy Michigan 1 pint at a time!  Cheers!