Vacation day brewery and beer road trip

October 21, 2008

I took a couple of vacation days last week, Thursday and Friday.  Thursday, I spent the day cleaning the house, doing repairs, organizing my homebrew equipment, writing letters, paying bills, and tormenting the dog.   Friday morning, I decided with the house clean and not much else to do, I would devote the day to a mini-brewery/beer road trip.

My first stop:  Michigan Brewing Company in Weberville, MI.  I stopped by Things Beer (homebrew supply store in the same building) and purchased my first 50 lb. bag of grains for homebrewing.  I ended up with an American 2-row, which will be my base grain for a couple future batches I plan on brewing.

I tasted MBC’s Screamin’ Pumpkin Ale and enjoyed their Imperial IPA, always a favorite.  Also, I had a cup of their famous chili.   Absolutely the best chili ever.   I could have stayed there all day, but I had more stops to make. I didn’t leave without filling my MBC growler with one of my fav’s -  Superior Stout.

Next was Jolly Pumpkin.  The drive there was awesome, I took some back roads and saw some gorgeous fall colors (video).  JP is only open on Fridays from noon to 6 p.m., so I figured it would be a perfect day to stop by and check things out.   I chatted to Laurie for quite awhile about all the neat things going on with the brewery.  She gave me a couple of samples, one was their stout that was wonderful.  I decided my favorite from them is their La Roja.   La Roja is an amber ale brewed in the Flanders tradition.  It’s definitely one of the more sour beers they offer, which I’m completely hooked on!   I was keeping an eye on my spending for the day, so I only picked up one bottle, which was on sale for $5.99 a bottle.  Little did I know La Roja costs $9.99 at most stores.

After JP, I headed down the highway to Bello Vino in Ann Arbor.  Kevin introduced me to this place a while back, and I really dig it.  if you’re looking for a unique beer, you’ll probably find it here.   I went back to the beer area after taking a short cut through the cheese aisle and grabbing a few samples.  I stood there for several minutes just reading the various beer styles and brands they offer.   I found one I had been looking for – Southern Tier Pumpking Imperial Pumpkin Ale.   I also picked up Stones new Vertical Epic 08.08.08.   This was being good for me, last time I walked out of there with a grocery cart full of beer. 

Finally, I stopped at Original Gravity Brewing in Milan, MI.  I had the pleasure of hanging out with Brad (brewer/owner) and getting a good look at his small homebrew set up.   Very cool all grain system he has.
I kicked back at the bar with some Milan locals and had a nice time.  I got to taste Brads IPA and filled my growler with my favorite, the Amber Ale.

Unfortunately, my vacation day had to come to end, it was now time to head home to gear up for my weekend plans – which included enjoying that growler of Amber from the OG and drinking the Pumpking Ale from Southern Tier, which was probably the best pumpkin beer I’ve ever had.

Cheers ’til my next vacation day! 

See rest of the photos here.

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Posted in Brewery/Brewpub