July 10, 2009 by Rob
By Charlie Papazian – Beer Examiner
America’s small and independent craft brewers claim only 4% of the volume of beer enjoyed in the U.S. But taking a look at how they brew and what they brew one quickly realizes that they account for close to 20% of the hops used in the U.S.
U.S. craft brewers use exclusively all whole or pelletized (hops milled to course powder and compressed into “pellets”) hops. The world’s international brewing groups are not interested in the flavor and aroma nuances of hops as much as small brewers, hence large brewing corporations continue to turn to hop extracts (liquid extract primarily composed of hop bitter compounds)…. (click here to read more)
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There was never any good old days
They are today, they are tomorrow
lyrics from Ultimate by Gogol Bordello
When I hear those lyrics I think of America’s brewing industry. Especially after finding this interesting article from the December 29, 1998 Detroit News. It tells the story of the how the city of Detroit gets beer, loses beer, get beer back just to lose it again. Luckily, we live in the era of great American beer. I like to think that we are only on the cusp of this revolution.
I thought I would share it with you.
http://apps.detnews.com/apps/history/index.php?id=80
Posted in Beer History, Michgan products, beer 1 Comment »
The last weekend of this month is the Michigan Brewer’s Guild Summer Beer Festival. For the beer geek, this is our equvalent to Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Coincidentally this year, both days of the festival fall on the 24th and 25th but I 
doubt that could make it seem any more festive. Let’s face it. How can you get more festive than almost 50 of some of Michigan’s best breweries. Especially when the breweries not only bring their usual arsenal of great tasting beer but they also bring beer especially brewed for this events.
Today, the MBG released the brewery list at http://www.mbgmash.org/. One of my favorite new places , Liberty Street Brewing Co., will be making their first appearance at the festival. I also look forward to the smaller breweries that I don’t get to very often like The Livery, Hideout, Kuhnhenn Brewing Co., Dragonmead Microbrewery and Copper Canyon. Sadly, Fort Street won’t be there this year. I am always excited to see what they have brewing.
If you save the aforementioned link, the MBG will release the complete beer list approximately a week before the event.
Posted in Beer Event, Michgan products, beer 1 Comment »
Big Bear Lodge in Flat Rock is celebrating Michigan Beer Month by offering a dollar off all Michigan beer. They are a great restaurant and best of all they respect beer.
I recommend their Garlic Encrusted Whitefish. The Whitefish is from Northern Michigan then it is encrusted in bread crumbs with a garlic sauce and cooked on a cedar planked. I want it NOW!
Below is the newsletter with the details.
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1.00 Off All Michigan Beers
All Month Long!
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July is Michigan Beer Month
Big Bear Lodge is proud to serve some of Michigan’s finest Artisan beers
and in honor of Michigan Beer Month we are offering
1.00 OFF All Michigan Beers
We’re featuring Bell’s, Dark Horse and Founder’s Beers
Stop by in July and enjoy! Ahhh!
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Bell’s Amber Ale
Founder’s Breakfast Stout
Bell’s Oberon
Dark Horse Raspberry Ale
Dark Horse Crooked Tree I.P.A.
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Come in and Support Michigan Brewers
and Save Too! |
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It is getting harder to find the time to post because my10 month old has discovered crawling . She also likes to grab and put in her month the one thing in the room you don’t want her to have. But here is a short post with a link to an article from the Detroit News.
After 2 1/2 years, Frankenmuth Brewery reopens it’s doors today. This is one of Michigan’s must beautiful breweries. I especially love the deck that stands above the Cass River. Congratulations to everyone at Frankenmuth Brewery and we hope you much success.
Click here for a Detroit News article on the opening. Thanks to BrewBubbas for passing this article along.
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We have some exciting news about the tasting. A representative from B. Nektar Meadery out of Ferndale will be there to pour their award winning meads. B. Nektar meads will be served in 1 oz. samples because of the high alcohol and price. Their meads are incredible so please come on out and try them.
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=76831823077&ref=mf
Beer Advocate http://beeradvocate.com/events/info/25830
Here is the entire beer list for the tasting. Beer descriptions are courtesy of the each individual brewery’s web-site.
B. NEKTAR MEADERY
Orange Blossom:A traditional mead made with fragrant orange blossom honey. We source our honey from beekeepers in Florida’s orange growing areas. This mead is light colored, and slightly citrusy. We gently age it on American oak. This is an excellent replacement for many sweet white wines.
Wildflower: A traditional mead made with wildflower honey from the thumb area of Michigan. The honey makes a richly complex mead, full of aromas and flavors of many of Michigan’s natural flora. We age this mead on American oak which softens it and adds some nice vanilla notes.
Wildberry Pyment:Pyment [pronounced "pie-ment"], is a mead that is made withgrapes. This one is definitely our most popular “gateway mead”. It is made with clover honey, shiraz grapes, and three berry concentrates (strawberry, blueberry and blackberry). For a special treat, mix with soda water or lemon-lime soda for an instant sangria-like spritzer.
Vanilla Cinnamon:A light colored and semi sweet wine made with whole cinnamon sticks and vanilla beans. The beans are sliced open by hand before being added to the mead to ensure maximum flavor extraction. This mead won a silver medal at the 2007 AHA National Homebrewing Competition. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Beer Event, beer 2 Comments »
Homer: All normal people love meat. If I went to a barbeque and there was no meat, I would say ‘Yo Goober! Where’s the meat?’. I’m trying to impress people here, Lisa. You don’t win friends with salad.
Bart: [musically] You don’t win friends with salad! You don’t win friends with salad! You don’t win friends with salad!
Title: Original Gravity 1st Anniversary Party
Location: Original Gravity in Milan
Link out: Click here
Description: Celebrate OG’s first anniversary with $2 pints till 4pm, BBQ’n on the patio, beer ice cream, and the spokedrunkies at 7pm. The wildly popular jalapeno beer, 440 Pepper Smoker, will be released. It should taste great with the BBQ.
Start Time: 11:30am
Date: 06-20-2009
End Time: midnight
Posted in Beer Event, Brewery/Brewpub, Michgan products, beer 1 Comment »
Julius Stroh was seventy-seven in 1933 and had been in charge of Stroh’s 
since 1908. In his time as president, he and his head brewer, Otto Rosenbusch, started heating the beer in copper kettles with direct fire. A process Otto witnessed at the Municipal Brewery of Pilsen in Bohemia (Urquell). They also built a new brew house that was completed in 1914.
More importantly, Julius Stroh bought the company time so it would survive prohibition. They got by making pop, malt syrup and, more famously, ice cream. The malt syrup was sold for confectionery 
purposes but everyone knew it was for homebrewing. The ice cream was very successful and can still be bought today. Although, it is no longer made in Michigan. The most important prohibition product they made and sold was near beer. It was called “Temperance Beer” and it was poor quality .5% beer. The label had the words “serve ice cold” on it which helped mask the taste. One of the big breweries still advertises this today (I don’t want to mention the name of the brewery but Rocky Mountain spring water is involved and the founder looks like David Duchovny). Stroh’s had been the only brewery in Detroit that secured a license to sell near beer. Due to the process of making near beer he had a cellar full of beer waiting for dealcoholization. Because of this, Stroh’s was the only brewery that had beer already in stock when the Volstead Act was 
amended. This gave them a huge head start on the competition . Stroh’s supplied Detroit and surrounding areas with its first legal beer in 15 years.
On the eve of legal beer back in 1933, Julius Stroh ran articles about imbibing correctly and in moderation. I am only speculating, but I imagine he wrote these articles for a few reasons: One, it was good publicity. Two, low quality beer is all people had been drinking for the last 15 years and the citizens needed to be educated on properly drinking good beer. Three, it may have been driven by the fear of the future of his business. 3.2 beer was legal in less than half of the states in America, and prohibition was still the law of the land. As of May 11th 1933 (the day the article was printed) only 3 states had voted in the 21st amendment. News of debauchery, alcohol poisonings and deaths might make citizens think twice that ”the noble experiment” (prohibition) needed to end.
The article below is from the May 11, 1933 Monroe Evening News. The rest of the story was supplied by Peter H. Blum and his book “Brewed in Detroit”
Here is the art of drinking beer as revealed by Julius Stroh, brewer, who believes that beer drinking is an art and not a vulgar means of filling your stomach.
“Be temperate in your consumption. Whether it’s beer, buttermilk, soda water or pop too much of it might lead to regrets.”
“Never gulp your beer, because it is bad manners. It should be sipped slowly and leisurely. loss of the carbonic gases and flattening of the head will not affect the flavor.”
“Serve beer in a thin crystal- clear goblet. If you wish to admire its color. Otherwise a heavy mug will do.”
“The container should never be used for milk or beverages containing butterfat or grease. Grease prevents the beverage from coming to a proper head. All glasses should be cleaned with a scrubbing brush or salt.”
“Beer should never be served at a temperature above 50 degrees and below 45 degrees.”
“The size of the collar has nothing to do with the taste. High collars make the glass more inviting in appearance, though not popular with the majority of consumers.”
Posted in Beer History, Michgan products, beer 1 Comment »
Here is more information on the Michigan Beer Tasting at 129 and Beeks Bar and Grille. We will be charging $10 for 8 4 oz. samples and 1.50 for an individual sample. Mt. Pleasant Brewing will be on the menu along with
Founder’s, Bell’s, New Holland, Arcadia, Arbor and Dark Horse.
I am excited to announce Original Gravity’s City of Monroe debut plus Brad Sancho brewer/owner will be there to pour. If you haven’t yet tried his beer here is your opportunity. Remember his beer is brewed right here in Monroe County and we all should support our local brewer.
Original Gravity’s beer list with descriptions from thier website for the tasting…
440 PEPPER SMOKER: Amber Ale brewed with German smoked malt to give a pronounced, but well balance smoke profile. Fresh Jalapenos added during several stages of the brewing process gives this beer the bold Jalapeno flavor and aroma that marries perfectly with the smoke flavor from the malt. O.G = 1.054 – 5.6%
BELGIAN TRAINING WHEELS: Refreshing light Belgian Golden Ale. Straw gold in color this Belgian style “session beer” is brewed with Belgian candi sugar, wheat, and pilsner malt. The unique yeast strain gives this beer a citrusy and slight tart finish. O.G. = 1.054 – 5.8%
IPA: Flavor grenade of American hops! With pronounced hop flavor and aroma this IPA is deliciously citrusy from tons of Cascade and Amarillo hops. Full flavored, hoppy, well balanced American IPA. O.G = 1.064 – 6.6%
Event details…
Title: 3rd annual Michigan Beer Tasting in Monroe
Location:129 Lounge and Beek’s
Cost: 8 samples for $10, $1.50 for 1 sample
Time: 6pm to 9pm
Date: Thursday June 18, 2009
We will post a beer menu a few days before the event.
Posted in Beer Event, Michgan products, beer 6 Comments »
Lisa: Now you’re making your own booze. That’s even more illegal then what you were doing before.
Homer: Remember honey. We’re just breaking a silly 200-year old law. We’re patriots, just like all those people in jail.
Rob has been working his tail off on the Muskrat Mashers homebrew club’s
It features a front page which is where you will find information on our next meeting along with the minutes and latest news. It also has a forum where you can post on anything homebrewing including questions and recipes.
Thanks Rob, the website will be an incredible tool for any homebrewer whether they are a Muskie or not.
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