By Josh Jackson – Paste Magazine
Years ago, I used to argue that Belgium was the best country for beer, not my birth country of Germany which everyone assumed. But lately I’ve come to believe we were all wrong. Despite making nothing but the worst mass-produced horse swill for the half-century that followed Prohibition, the U.S. is now the greatest nation on earth when it comes to beer. The craft brewing movement that picked up steam throughout the ’90s came to beautiful fruition this past decade, and no where else on earth will you find the variety of beers to match the quality.
This post is aimed specifically at people in Monroe and MTers.
At lunch on Saturday, November 15, I was told that Original Gravity’s Amber is the next beer to go on tap at Harbor Inn & Ale. If you frequent HI&A but have never tried OG’s beer here is your chance. If you haven’t done either please go out a support a local business that supports a local brewery.
Hopefully it will sell and we will be able to enjoy a beer made right here in Monroe County without leaving town.
I happened to be driving through Tecumseh, MI yesterday and stopped by one of my favorite local wineries (yes, I like wine too!) – Pentamere Winery. Whenever I stop there and get wine, I always like to go across the street to The Boulevard Market to get some freshly made Goat Cheese. I’ve been there a few times in the past, but completely forgot about their amazing beer selection (probably pre-MiBeerBuzz.com).
I was once again shocked by all of the unique beers they carried. The Michigan beers I saw were various seasonals from Darkhorse Brewing. I also saw some Bells, including the new Double IPA and Christmas Ale 09. Since I have easy access to Michigan beer in Monroe, I snatched up some Lagunitas Brown Shugga’ (an American Strong Ale brewed with dark brown sugar). They had a ton of other great selections, another that interested me was North Coast Brewing’s Old Rasputin. Definitely beers you don’t see at any corner market.
The owners also suggested, if I don’t see what I’m looking for, that they could special order it for me. They showed me an order that just came in – a Sam Adams Utopia, around $190 per bottle.
So, if you ever find yourself in Tecumseh, MI and wonder if the town has a good beer store – stop in at The Boulevard Market.. and don’t forget to try some homemade Goat Cheese while you’re there!!
When: Saturday, November 14th Where: Ashley’s Westland – 7525 Wayne Rd. Westland, MI 48185 – (734) 525-1667 Hours: 2-6 p.m. What: Michigan Cask Ale Festival – Featuring Cask Ales from Bells, Stone, Arcadia, Arbor Brewing, New Holland, Darkhorse, Founders, Livery, Dragonmead, Kuhnhen, Morland, Ruddles, Green King and more!
What is Cask Ale?
Cask conditioned ale or ‘real ale’ is brewed with only traditional ingredients and allowed to mature naturally. The unfiltered, unpasteurized beer still contains live yeast, which undergoes a secondary fermentation in the keg. This creates a gentle natural CO2 carbonation and allows malt and hop flavors to develop, for a richer tasting drink with more character than regular keg beer.
The typical cask is 10.8 gallons and called a ‘Firkin’ though cask ale can come in any size keg.
About Beer Nation: A Web-Based Series Exploring the Craft Beer Revolution.
Every time you turn around, the taps are multiplying at your local bar. What was once 2 or 3 beers on tap, is now 10 or 15. And these new beers often come from smaller, more creative breweries.
Join us as we explore the raging craft beer revolution and discover all there is to know about beer from the brewery to your pint glass, including the brewers, the drinkers, and everyone else that makes this a Beer Nation.
Saturday, November 7th is American Homebrewers Associations Teach a Friend to Homebrew Day. This is a national event to introduce people to the homebrewing hobby and to establish relationships with local homebrew supply shops.
Each year on the first Saturday in November, homebrewers around the world are encouraged to invite non-brewing and brewing friends and family to celebrate Teach a Friend to Homebrew Day and brew a batch of beer together.
I have attended this event for the past few years, and always have an awesome time. There are usually several brewers set up brewing in the back parking lot. Everyone is more than happy to discuss their brewing process, tips and tricks. There’s usually homebrew to sample and brewers are encouraged to bring their own to share. New brewers or anyone interested in homebrewing are encouraged to attend.
If anyone is interested in heading up, get a hold of me. We’re hitting up lunch after @ The Oak Cafe. Hope to see everyone out there! MuskratMashers@Gmail.com
Jeffrey Raidl has a great idea which is to bring the Rate Beer Summer Gathering to Grand Rapids Michigan in 2010. You can help him by following the vote thread at http://www.ratebeer.com/forums/rbsg-10-voting-info_126641.htm and letting your voice be heard.
The following email was sent to the Craft Beer in Michigan yahoo group by Jeffrey Raidl.
Hello fellow MI beer lovers,
Not sure if you’re familiar with the Rate Beer Summer Gathering’s, but if not, a few cities each year submit proposals on RateBeer to have their city host the Summer Gathering (usually in July of each year). It’s pretty much a long weekend filled with brewery tours, tastings, beer lunches/dinners, and a Grand Tasting. Me and some others from BA and Rate have been working on the proposal and contacting brewers to see if they’d support the gathering, give tours and possibly brew or release special kegs. We sent the proposal to the admin’s on RateBeer last night and they should post a link on their site to vote for who gets the gathering. I know for sure that New York is submitting a proposal and maybe one other city besides us. We decided to focus on the Grand Rapids area due to many reasons including amount/quality of breweries/bars, number of breweries within a short drive, transportation, etc….
I know some of you are members of Rate and if so, please vote for the best proposal (hopefully you think our’s is) when they put the link up. If you are not on Rate and would like to help our cause, please join and also vote for the best proposal.
We have contacted numerous breweries (listed on the bottom of the proposal) and we plan on contacting as many as we can. If you have a connection at a brewery or would like to help, please let me know.
Attached is the proposal. This gives a good idea of what we have in the works, but depending on the dates of the gathering and other factors, the itinerary will likely change.
For any other questions, comments, etc… please send me an email.
Location: The Oak Cafe – 1167 Oak St. Wyandotte, MI – (734) 283-8380
Price: $25 in advance, $30 day of event
Description: This year’s fall beer tasting will feature Shorts Brewing of Bellaire, Michigan. This event will be one that should not be missed! Joe Short Brewer/Owner of Shorts Brewing will be present to introduce each of the beers served. We will be featuring at least 10 different draft beers from Shorts. Each beer will be a unique and rare feature , so don’t miss out. Tickets are $25 pre sale and $30 day of . Ticket price includes at least 10 draft samples and food/snack buffet Pre sale tickets can be purchased at the Oak Cafe if you cannot make it out in time to purchase tickets due to driving distance or other reason please email mike@oakcafe.com or call The Oak @ (734)283-8380 to make arrangements. Please check http://www.oakcafe.com/?a=events&b=45 for the most up to date list of beers to be served. List should be completed within a week as the beers arrive…. but don’t wait to purchase tickets there will be some gems to be served !
Here is a cool event going on at Original Gravity. It is a special screening of the George Romero classic horror flick plus small batch release. Here are the details.
Night of the Living Brew…. Small Batch Beer Release @ 6:00pm – Pumpkin Ale Screening of the 1968 classic Night of the Living Dead presented by Ain’t Doin Right Productions @ 8:00pm
Currently, the big story in the craft beer world is the “Vermonster v. Monster” lawsuit. In a nut shell, Rock Art Brewery (a small craft brewery with only 7 employees) out of Vermont was told by Hansen Beverage Co. to cease and desist production of their barleywine. Hansen Beverage Co.’s arguement is that consumers may confuse Rock Art Brewery’s Vermonster with their Monster energy drink (a brand of Anheuser-Busch, I might add) because of the similarity in their names.
You may have your own opinion on whether this law suit seems frivolous. I happen to think it is. One thing for sure is that a small brewer like Matt Nadeau does not have deep enough pockets to fight a huge corporation like Hansen Beverage Co. And that is all they need to win. Another point: isn’t the word “monster” public domain?
For a video explaining the lawsuit against Rock Art Brewery click on Vermonster vs. Monster. To visit their website follow this link http://www.rockartbrewery.com/. If you wish to sign a petition against the law suit click here. If you want to see Copper Canyon’s Todd Parker’s own brand of ginger vengeance click here. Todd is awesome. I’m glad he calls Michigan home.
All of this got me thinking. I seem to remember a lot of monsters throughout history. These monsters have no problem with Rock Art’s Vermonster or Monster energy drink co-opting their name and hopefully when they call for a jury of their peers, some of them will sit on that jury. Here are some of my favorite monsters:
Monster Island: Home of Godzilla, king of all monsters. Other residents include Rodan and Mothra and that jack ass spider that tried to kill Godzilla’s son in the movie aptly named “Son of Godzilla”. Clearly the best of all the Godzilla movies. It took out the courtship in “The Courtship of Eddie’s Father” and inserted a man in a rubber suit fighting puppets. Now that I’m a father, the most poignant part is when Godzilla lays down for a nap and his son runs off. Which just goes to show, you can’t take your eyes off of kids for a second…Best movie on parenting ever.
The Monster at the End of This Book: This was my favorite book when I was a kid. Spoiler Alert! Grover is the monster at the end of this book. I’m sure some would say it’s a metaphor for humans’ fear of the unknown. I just liked seeing Grover get ran through an emotional roller coaster.
Monster Horror Chiller Theater: This is one of my favorite bits from SCTV. Anchorman Floyd Roberson played the part of Count Floyd and he would introduce scary movies. They were never scary though and he would half-heartedly try to sell them as if they were. The best of the movies had John Candy’s Dr. Tongue in them doing 3D movies. His “3D House of Pancakes” inspired Maggie’s first laugh. Instead of thrusting a plate of pancakes toward her I thrusted my face in what I called “3D House of Big Face Daddy.” One would think that would be scary… but she laughed.
MST3K Monster A Go Go: This is the worst movie I ever saw. It doesn’t even have camp value. I have seen it a few times and I seriously can never remember the plot. To me, that is the number one sign of a bad movie. If my life depended on it I couldn’t come up with more than the fact that I know there’s an alien in it. Joel and the robots make the movie fun to watch. They also make fun of “The Pina Colada Song” which really has it coming.
The Monroe Monster: Apparently there was a big foot type creature that roamed the northern part of Monroe County back when my generation’s parents watched submarine races on the shores of Lake Erie. I don’t buy it. A big hairy mutant living in the woods of Frenchtown? Note: this is before Fermi 2 went online. Stories of seeing the monster ran rampant in the 1960s and one story even included physical contact. It reached into a vehicle and punched a lady in the eye.
Mecha Streisand: This is one of my favorite episodes of South Park. A spoof of my favorite movies when I was a kid. I loved when they had monster week on the 4 o’clock movie. Here they not only played Godzilla but they also played Gamera movies.
In the South Park episode Barbara Streisand is a Mecha-Godzilla type creature that destroys everything in her path in a quest for more power and fame. Only Robert Smith of The Cure (as a Mothra/Jet Jaguar like creature) and his “Robot Punch” can stop her.
In this case, Monster the energy drink is using its size and deep pockets to bully a small craft brewer. Is their goal to protect their name, run them out of business or to steal a chance for Rock Art build brand identity? I don’t know but picking on an operation with 7 employees is a great way to live up to the name “Monster”.
November 16, 2009 by Rob 
By Josh Jackson – Paste Magazine
Posted in Uncategorized 
No Comments » 
Saturday, November 7th is American Homebrewers Associations 
When: Tuesday, November 10th – 7:30 p.m.
Recent Comments