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.