May 12, 2008 by Rob
As if we needed another reason to drink craft beer!
This week marks the 2nd year that Craft Beer Week was reverted to a week long event.  In 2006, Craft Beer was actually recognized by the U.S. Congress with the House Resolution 753.   I downloaded the PDF file and found some pretty interesting facts.  Here’s a couple that I wasn’t aware of:
- Craft beer provides employment for more than 33,000 workers
- The United States has more than 1,300 craft brewers, which includes at least one in every state
I think, for the craft beer drinker, this would be a great week to introduce that Bud Light drinking buddy of yours to try an American craft beer. If you’re new to craft beer, maybe our readers could post some comments on some good beers to start off with.  My introduction to craft beer, believe it or not, was probably Sam Adams. Shortly after, a friend introduced me to Bells and my eyes were open to the world of tasty craft beers.
And if anything, be sure to support your local brewery this week and thank them for providing an alternative for people that actually enjoy good tasting, quality beer.  If your spouse asks you why you’re having a craft beer or two with dinner all week, you now have an excuse.  It’s a week long holiday celebration!!  
Posted in Beer Event 
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Well first of all, I have to let everyone know that my computer has completely crashed. The only thing that seems to work is the mouse. It happened 2 only weeks after my digital camera and DVD player both went down. I’m not sure why electronics fail a lot at my house. I am just glad that there are none used in the brewing process. More importantly, there are no electronics used in the serving process either.
And now for something completely different. I wanted to have a toast to the 75th anniversary of legalization of 3.2 beer on May 11th at 6pm but it is Mother’s Day. I didn’t want people to believe that this blog site hates Mothers. I can see the attack ad now “MIbeerbuzz called for a state wide beer toast on Mother’s Day. Do you want these mother-hating drunks with their finger on the button? How would a phone call at 3am go over with some one that would put beer over their own Mother.” Since, everyone at MIbeerbuzz loves their mothers, we will try again next year.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t bring a beer over to your mother’s and drink it at 6pm. Or better yet, share a good beer with your mother. I’m thinking of having a Jolly Pumpkin Biere De Mars. Although I don’t think my mom would quite appreciate it. The good news is I wouldn’t have to share it. Anyone else drinking something special to commerate 75 years of beer?
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May 8, 2008 by Rob
MiBeerBuzz.com’s photography team took a break from lower Michigan (and their jobs apparently), and are currently sitting on bar stools at Right Brain Brewery in Traverse City, MI enjoying some fine brews. These pictures just arrived to my cell phone, so I figured I would share it with you all. I’m jealous, how come the writers of the blog have to sit at work, but the photographers get to cruise around the state drinking beer?! It’s just not fair.
*Thanks Kevweiser!
Posted in Beer Pictures, Brewery/Brewpub 1 Comment »
It’s Thursday, May 11th 1933 at 6pm. What would you as a beer drinker be doing? Most likely waiting 
in line to buy your first legal beer in Michigan for 15 years. Since the beer law was signed on April 7th, the state was preparing for this moment. Trucks and trains full of beer had been delivered to warehouses around the state for the sale of 3.2 beer. Yes, in spite of Michigan being the first state to repeal the 18th amendment on April 10, 1933. You could not sell beer until May 11th. Detroit got its first taste of legal beer on May 10th. One hundred and fifty barrels went on sale that night at a special charity ball by the American Legion. Now, it was the rest of the state’s turn.
Tax on the sale of beer was not the only way the government made money. License fees also brought in revenue to the state.  While beer sat in warehouses, license seeking business owners like bar owners, retailers, restaurants hotels and clubs lined up at government bureaus hoping to get one before the flag dropped on selling of beer. In Escanaba the licenses were actually flown in by airplane to insure that beer could be sold on May 11th.
Most Detroit breweries would not have their beer ready till late June or early July. One exception was Stroh’s. They were prepared for selling their beer. They had 15 to 20 thousand cases ready to compete against the out-of-state breweries. In spite of breweries from other states and Canada pouring in shortages were expected.
Why did it take so long after the U.S. government amended the Volstead Act to make 3.2 beer legal? 
Obviously, Michigan wanted alcohol to be legal. The state was the first to repeal the 18th amendment on April 10th. It was basic government bickering over how to legislate beer. They didn’t want the problems that they had before prohibition. Also, the business had been ran by the mob for the last 15 years and they needed that to be addressed. Unfortunately, what they created was a lot of bureaucracy that is still handcuffing breweries in this state today.
Here is just a sample of the new laws enacted. Beer must be sold to a customer seated at a table. There is no free beer with food, no curb service, no free lunch and no gambling, drunkenness or idling on the premises. All packages must have the state tax stamp put on before it is turned over to retailers. No sales between the hours of 2am and 7am. No wholesaler or brewery can make deliveries to homes. The last law mentioned still hurts MI’s brewing and wine industry today. One thing of interest was that the drinking age was 18.
The May 12, 1933 Monroe Evening News reported that sales were disappointing here in Monroe. I blame Ohio. They had legal 3.2 beer on April 7th.  In Detroit though the party was big. Woodward Avenue was the scene of a party that was compared to an holiday parade. Fortunately, there were only 15 arrests.
So this May 11th at 6pm raise a glass to legal beer in Michigan. It was beginning of a Michigan’s great brewing industry. A brewing industry that is respected and apprecaited all over the world. Oh… and when you do toast, please don’t use 3.2 beer. Toast with one of the finest beer’s Michigan has to offer.
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Posted in Beer History 1 Comment »
While researching Monroe’s brewing history, one of the breweries that popped up was Marx Brewing Co even though it was located in Wyandotte, MI. It’s reach was at least as far as Monroe. How do I know this? That’s the cool part of the story.
I’m not sure on how many years ago, but my work(the Monroe Water Plant) was building a new
structure on its property. Before the plant was built in early 1920s it used to be the city’s dump. When the ground was dug up so were some bottles. A co-worker saved one of the bottles and forgot about it. I spotted it one night and asked him if I could borrow it for a post. He told me to keep it. Now, I have a Marx Brewing Co bottle from circa 1914, give or take 5 years. Thank you Paul Merman.
Marx Brewing was founded by George Marx in 1863. It was located on the corner of Front( later named Van Alstyne Blvd.) and Oak Street. In 1884, George brought his brothers and his son Frank in on the business. Frank took over control of the brewery when his father George died in 1886. The business continued to boom and soon a beautiful dance hall was added with a view of the river and the Canadian shoreline. The brewery sold Export, Pilsner, and White Label brands. These were later replaced by Banner and Gold Star which became their staples. They also diversified their business by selling coal and ice.
Competition popped up right down the street when Eureka Brewing & Ice Co. opened up in 1890. They were located at Poplar and Front. Eureka lasted for twenty years and was beginning to fail when a merger was proposed by the Marx family. Charles Riopelle and Ferdinand Fickel joined Marx Brewery. Soon Riopelle became vice president which allowed Frank Marx to retire.
The brewery expanded operation in the 1910s. A 100-bottle-per-minute bottling plant and 200 barrel capacity kettle were all added during this time. The capacity of the plant was 50 thousand barrels but 25 thousand was more than likely the best pre-prohibition year they had. Brewing operation ceased once prohibition was the law of the state. They tried brewing a non-alcohol beer named Marxie but it couldn’t compete with the beer bootlegged from Canada. They survived by selling ice.
By 1933 the nation’s feeling toward alcohol had turned around and Marx Brewing re-opened in November of 1933. Frank A. Marx, grandson of George Marx, was the only family member left at the brewery and served as vice president. In 1934, the brewery sold 43 thousand barrels of beer. A second shift and twenty trucks were added in 1935. A new ale (possibly in the hybrid category) was added to compete with lagers. However, all of this expansion did not lead to greater sales and by the end of 1935 sales had only increased by 500 barrels over the previous year.
Many of the breweries at this time dealt with a myriad of problems. The one that ultimately caused Marx to fail was that the owners were more interested in making money than brewing beer. Board room disagreements, finicial troubles and a violation of the Liquor Control Act were the source of a lot of their troubles. An attempt to raise capital by a stock issue failed. The brewery was sold. The new owners assumed the debt and changed the name to Wyandotte Brewing Co. They launched new brands named Nine Castle Ale and Bavarian Lager, but rumors abound that it was nothing but repackaged old beer. Only 8,900 barrels were sold in 1936 and the brewery was closed by the end of 1937. However, brewing did eventually return to Wyandotte. Today, you can get microbrewed beer at Sport’s Brewpub located on Maple and 2nd. 2008 marks their tenth year brewing beer.
The leasons learned form post prohibition breweries are still relavent today. Corporations that are in it for a money grab don’t earn respect of the craft beer drinker or their money. That is what the big breweries are for. If a microbrewery wants to thrive the beer must come first. For example, Shorts and The Livery are off the beaten path but they brew fantastic beer so people are willing to make the trip to go to their breweries. Soon, I will be able to go to my local store (hopefully) and Shorts will be on a shelf for me to buy for home use.
For more information on Marx Brewing Co. look for the book “Brewed In Detroit” by Peter H. Blum, the source for this post as well as a great source in general for a comprehensive history of brewing in the Detroit area.
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 This Saturday, May 3rd is National Homebrew Day. It’s a day for homebrewers to celebrate by getting together at their favorite homebrew store, brewery or at someone’s house and brew a batch of beer. Last year Sarah and I went to Fort Street Brewery and Adventures in Homebrewing. Both places were a lot of fun.
This year Doug Beedy of Fort Street is brewing a small batch of beer at the brewery. Doug is a great guy and very informative. Since he is using his small system you can learn a lot about homebrewing from him. They open at noon on Saturday.
Adventures in Homebrewing will be having a homebrew demonstration between 10am - 5pm. As, I mentioned earlier I went to this last year and it was terrific fun. You can learn a lot from the demonstration.  If you are thinking of taking up homebrewing I highly recommend going to Adventures in Homebrewing on Saturday.
What are your plans for National Homebrew Day?
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Kevin and I attended the Founders Michigan Beer Dinner at Big Bear Lodge Restaurant on Thursday night. Beer dinners are one of the few beer events that in my current condition I feel I can still fully appreciate because, while drinking beer is a key component, they still include two other important things that I can enjoy: Great food and good conversation about beer. The Founders Beer Dinner was full of both.
First, we ran into and ended up sitting with Roy Stewart and His wife Cheryl. We originally met Roy at a Belgian Beer Dinner at Fort Street Brewing Company about a year ago. We ran into Roy again, with Cheryl at the Michigan Winter Beer Festival in February. Our discussions were filled with stories about our favorite beers, local water holes, beer events and beer vacations. Roy and Cheryl also recently became grandparents for the first time so it was fun (and comforting) to hear their stories and advice insights on with a fussy new born.
As far as the food goes, the highlights were probably the salad course (which consisted of grilled romaine hearts, tomatoes, goat cheese, kalamata olives and a balsamic vinaigrette) and the intermezzo and dessert courses (mainly because I’ve been on a sweet kick lately). The intermezzo was a stout mocha freeze, which was actually more of a chocolate and coffee gelato made with Founders Old Curmudgeon Old Ale. The stout part was a misnomer. Dessert was a rich dark chocolate truffle tart.
It was these three courses which probably also had the best beer pairings. I did have a small sip of Kevin’s beer for each course so I could experience the pairing with the food. The grilled salad was paired with Founders Red’s Rye and the assertive hop bitterness of this beer was able to cut through the tanginess and acidity of the balsamic, tomatoes cheese and olives. The intermezzo (a light palate cleansing course between the main course and dessert) was paired with the Curmudgeon and slight alcohol warmth and maltiness of the Old Ale was a perfect complement to the icy coffee and chocolate flavors. The chocolate truffle tart was paired perfectly with Founders Rubaus . This is actually the beer that I wished I could have drank a whole glass of. This is strange considering I’m usually not a big fan of fruit beers. However the rich dark chocolate and the raspberry ale were a match made in heaven.
But perhaps the best part of the evening was the fact that Dave Engbers, owner of Founders Brewing, was the guest speaker. Dave told candid, engaging and funny stories about the history of Founders, the ups and downs of the business and the origins of many of their award winning beers. For example, Red Rye is actually an IPA style rye beer and a name change for the beer in the works. (He even let us in on the secret of what the new name will likely be.) He also told us a great story of how the brewery initially received some flack from the state about the name “Dirty Bastard” (the brewery’s famous scotch ale) for being “offensive to both women and children” and how he managed to convince them that that the name was a common one that Scottish Highlanders often called each other. Dave even stuck around for a little while after dinner was over to talk beer a little big longer with us.
All in all it was a great evening. If you’d like to get on the e-mail list for announcments about upcoming beer (and wine) tasting events at Big Bear, e-mail dine3@restaurant.fishbowl.com and ask to subscribe.
I’d also like to say that it was great to meet Carrie and Chris, fellow craft beer lovers and MIBeerBuzz readers! We hope to see you both again and future beer events!
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May is a time for some great beer events. One of the best events of May is Discount Drinks Spring Beer Tasting. It is reasonable priced at $20 for an advanced ticket, $25 at the door. The great thing about this event is that it is perfect for the American style lager fan to be slowly introduced to some great craft beer. We attended last fall’s event and they had a great buffet set up. If you decide to go skip dinner because there will be more than enough to eat. Here are the details…
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 Spring Beer Tasting
     Please Join us for our Spring Beer Tasting. Come and sample all of the wonderful beers from around the world that are sure to suit every taste, style and price range. A terrific assortment of snacks and appetizers will also be available. Mark your calendars and come in to Discount Drinks to reserve your spot!
     Thursday, May 8th, 2008
     7:00PM – 9:00PM
     Italian American Club, 646 Biddle Ave. , Wyandotte
     $20.00 per person in advance *
     $25.00 per person for reservations made after Monday, May 5th
     * Advance reservations must be purchased by Monday, May 5th
Stop by the store to make your reservations today!
Posted in Beer Event 2 Comments »
April 24, 2008 by Rob
Above is a picture of Monroe, MI new lineup of craft beers.  Unfortunately they don’t have any Michigan beer, but it’s still neat to see some of these beers being served in town.  I’m going to try and find out who makes the decisions on which beer should be served and have a chat with them. Maybe it’s management at the store, but I’m kind of wondering if it’s corporate.  Either way, we have a bunch of good options as far as Michigan beer goes for them.  If you go, be sure to mention you’d like to see some Michigan beer in the lineup!
Click here to read article - Ruby Tuesday Serves Craft Beer in More Than 900 of it’s US Locations (Beer Advocate)
Posted in Beer News 2 Comments »
April 23, 2008 by Rob
The popular, Webberville-based Michigan Brewing Company is opening its first off-site location on Washington Square in Downtown Lansing, and is sharing space with MOO-ville, a Nashville, Mich.-based dairy company that sells ice cream, wedding cakes and other hormone free milk-based products…. (read more here)
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Posted in Beer News, Brewery/Brewpub No Comments »
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