Patti F. Smith

The past weekend took me to two somewhat nearby brewpubs: Liberty Street in Plymouth and Fort Street in Lincoln Park. Both were excellent beerventures, serving up tasting beverages and nice atmospheres.

At Liberty Street, I had my tried & true Steamy Windows, a California Common style beer. (I briefly considered trying the new dopplebock but I knew it would be too much for me early in the day.) I generally like this style of beer, which is an ale that is brewed with a lager yeast. There is an interesting (to me, anyway) story behind how this type of beer came to be. The Steamy Windows is like a pale ale but with a crisp taste (I always feel weird writing that…you kind of have to taste it to know what I mean). I picked up some hints of fruit and a low hop profile. Extremely easy drinking at 4.7%.

While at Fort Street, I enjoyed their Keppen Farm Stout. I meant to order the Imperial Stout (as that is one of my favorite types of beer) but for some reason, “the milk stout” came out of my mouth instead. Happily, I enjoyed this beer. It began with some chocolate notes and then mellows into a nice sweet, well balanced brew. Light head, attractive brown color, light-medium carbonation. Glad I made a mistake in ordering!

Prost!

There is something special about tap takeovers. There is an excitement in the air as people try new beers (or enjoy old favorites), the brewpub representatives mill about and share news about the brews and friends who haven’t met in a while get reacquainted over delicious beer. Earlier this month, I got to experience some new beers and a totally new (to me) bar in Saline when I went to the New Holland Tap Takeover at Dan’s Downtown Tavern.

The sheer number of available beers was impressive—12 of New Holland’s beers were available including the Imperial Hatter, Sun Dog and the Poet. Boyfriend Ken and I got the sampler and each picked three beers. My favorites are as follows:

1)      Dragon’s Milk Bourbon Barrel Stout: Seriously, can this ever be bad? I’m beginning to think that it could be poured out of a monkey’s behind and it would still taste awesome. Rich vanilla flavor along with roasty malts all wrapped up in an oak bow…smooth and filling.

2)      Did someone mention monkeys? The Monkey King saison was a new to me beer and a terrific example of the style. Fruity, peppery and medium-bodied—this would be perfect on a hot summer’s day.

3)      Another beer I hadn’t tried before was the Paleooza. This is an American Pale Ale which as a style are hit and miss for me. Some are just too hoppy and my opinion is dude, if I want hops then I will get an IPA. The Paleooza definitely had a taste of hops but they didn’t dominate and made for a solid, easy drinking ale.

4)      Pilgrim’s Dole: To my chagrin, I have found that wheat beers give me a migraine headache. I know that causation isn’t correlation but when you get migraines after wheat beers four out of four times, well, that’s enough for me. Since this startling discovery earlier this year, I have had to limit my wheat beer intake. That is very sad when one is faced with a sampler glass of Pilgrim’s Dole Wheatwine. The beer was sweet and malty with a warm mouthfeel. I also picked up some hints of caramel and oh how I hope they come up with a cure for migraines soon!

5)      Full Circle Kolsch. If ever my day job becomes one of manual labor, I want this beer with me. Light malts, light hops and crispy all the way through, this is the beer that I want if ever we revert back to an agrarian based society and I’m up at dawn milking cows and picking up eggs (or whatever).

Special thanks to the one and only Jimmy Alcumbrack-McDaniel, SE Michigan Beer & Spirits Ambassador, for getting this together and being a terrific host! Prost!

Every warm day reminds me that summer is coming; the signs are everywhere. Leaves on the trees, daffodils on the lawn and Arbor Brewing Company’s Strawberry Blonde in my glass. This past Tuesday marked an annual rite of spring for me:  the yearly release of the most summery of beers.

 

Some fruit beers forget what they are and leave you feeling like you are drinking an alcoholic Red Pop. Fortunately, the Strawberry Blonde is one of the ones that does an excellent job of balancing fruit and fermented grains. The nose gently entices you with the strawberry aroma. The end is a slight hint of citrus. The middle is malty goodness with strawberry and perhaps a hint of spice.

 

This tasty, well-balanced beer is over 7% a.b.v. so go easy, but if you want to experience some summer in a glass, be sure to go to Arbor or the Corner and order this one up.

 

 

Ken & I found ourselves with a free Saturday and also found out that the DIA had free Ann Arbor people day (they weren’t like giving us away…we got to go for free). It wasn’t a tough choice to decide to trek out to the DIA to see us some art. We spent a lot of time in the American art section and particularly enjoyed the modern art (Ken had a great query: what separates modern art from contemporary art? I don’t know but one of them involves me staring at three red blocks stacked on top of a yellow circle and going, “Come ON!”) section.

After we were done we moseyed up to Royal Oak. Naturally, my spidey sense started to tingle at the all of the brewpubs; but first, Boyfriend Ken wanted to check out the Salvation Army thrift shop as he needs some new shirts. He didn’t find any but I found some new pants (and WTF…I had size X jeans on and they are huge on me but the only pants that fit me were also size X so am I size X or size X minus 2? Fuck you women’s clothes makers) and a couple of shirts. I was having a “Fat Day” anyway so I decided to change clothes and see if that helped. It turned out that the Royal Oak Brewery was right across the street from the shop and so I suggested we go there and get a beer and I could change clothes.

It turned out that changing into new/old clothes was just the thing and I felt better. When I got back to the table, Boyfriend Ken had ordered a sampler for us. Bless his heart, he had memorized the order they were in and recited them back to me (I didn’t have the heart to tell him that I could tell by how they looked…he did such a nice job and it was so sweet). Anyway, I have to say that I really liked every single beer on the sampler. That is rare, by the way, as one usually blows. Here is what we had:

Saison (seasonal): This was an excellent saison…light and fruity with some hints of spices. I could definitely see drinking this as I worked on the farm.

4th Street Wheat: Okay recently I figured out that wheat beer triggers migraines so I could only have but a sip…but what a sip it was! Not too heavy on the banana, not too clovey…if you can only drink a sip of a beer, this was a good one.

Brewhouse ESB: I’ve been weary of ESBs in the past as some just taste like “beer” to me. This one was packed with flavor, oh yes! Sweet but not cloying with a hit of hops…yum!

Northern Light: This was the gateway beer and the beer that my dad would have drank without too much of a fuss. It wasn’t bad by any means but definitely mild in taste and aroma.

Pride IPA: Since Boyfriend Ken doesn’t like American hops, this was all mine 🙂 The beer packed in the citrusy hops but was still well balanced.

Royal Oak Red: Oh yummy malty goodness!

Cream Stout: This was Ken’s favorite and so I only got a little taste of it. Creamy, milky awesomeness.

Russian Imperial Stout: I keep forgetting how much I love this style of beer! This was my favorite beer of the bunch. Hugely flavorful and full of roasty, chocolately malt with a hit of hoppy bitterness. This was the beer that might have pushed me slightly over the edge and made me talk about how Ken should have a Daft Punk party where he puts out helmets and plants flowers in them. It was a very good idea at the time.

I’m really happy to have re-discovered this brewpub. (I went there once with Ex-Husband Jeff but can’t remember much about it). It helped banish my Fat Day away and gave me some delicious beers to drink!

I am one of those people who tries to do the things that I say I will do. On the larger scale, I announced during some high school class or another that I would be a lawyer, live in Ann Arbor and never have kids. Note that I got my law license in 1997 and practiced for 7 years, co-own a home in Kerrytown and there are no little squirts running around our domicile. On the smaller scale, I have long been announcing to the world that I would visit Tri-City Brewing in Bay City. They are one of my first stops at every beer fest, I have enjoyed every single beer I’ve ever had and I even know one of the brewers! It took us a little while, but Boyfriend Ken and I finally made it up there last Friday!

As soon as we walked in, we felt at home. The place just seemed to welcome us and we had excellent service the entire time we were there. We enjoyed a sampler and I could probably write about all of the beers but I will limit myself to my absolute favorite: the Dragon Slayer.

This beer is a barrel aged (either bourbon or whiskey…I think our bartender said it was whiskey this time around) Russian Imperial Stout. I often forget how much I love this style of beer and I really shouldn’t do that. As you can tell from the word “imperial”, it definitely has some punch to it:  it is 9% a.b.v. in its non-barrel aged incarnation (the Giant Slayer), 10.5% for this version. No matter what the a.b.v., it went down as smooth as a kitten’s belly (if one is in to drinking the belly of a kitten). It mixed just the right notes of roasted malt, chocolate and coffee and was very well balanced; to wit, Boyfriend Ken generally avoids any stout that mentions it has coffee in it but he loved this so much that he got his own glass of it.

All told, the Dragon Slayer was like being wrapped in a warm blanket of malty goodness as you sipped your morning coffee and nibbled a dark chocolate bar. Make your resolution now to drive up to Bay City (a lovely town), be a woman/man of your word and pay a visit to Tri-City Brewing. Be sure to slay some dragons while you are there!

YANKED from Meg Goes Nom Nom:

• McDonald’s, Burger King, In-n-Out? None of the above. I’ve never eaten at In’n’Out.
• Mountain Dew, Sierra Mist, Sprite? Again, none of the above (God I’m a puke!)
  
• Dasani, Aquafina, Evian? Tap water + my Soda Stream
  
• Trident, Dentyne, Crest? Trident of the three, but I prefer Juicy Fruit
  
• Almond, Peanut, Cashew? Cashews
• Dark Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, White Chocolate? Dark!
  
• Sobe, Gatorade, Powerade? Never had any
  
• Lays, Ruffles, Pringles? Pringles (but prefer Better Made)
  
• Toast, English Muffin, Croissant? English muffin! I don’t like croissants.
  
• Sweet, salty, sour, bitter, spicy? Oh geez..salty, I guess!
• What do you absolutely refuse to eat? Tofu
  
• The most disgusting thing you have ever eaten? Foie Gras
  
• The longest you have gone without food or drink? <24 hours. I try (and fail) every Yom Kippur
  
• Do you watch cooking or food shows? No TV
  
• Do you know how to cook? Yes
• When did you learn how to cook? I don’t really remember. I had to when I lived by myself in law school but it wasn’t very fancy…just heating things up mostly. I was probably married by the time I really “learned”
  
• What did you last eat for breakfast? My usual banana and peanut butter
  
• What did you last eat for lunch? Beef tortilla
  
• What did you last eat for dinner? Eggs and toast–BRINNER!
  
• Would you rather eat alone, with strangers, or with friends and family? Oh definitely with family and friends. I hate to eat alone!
  
• Would you say you have good table manners? I am good with basic stuff but don’t follow the Miss Manners stuff.
  
• If you have pets, do they ever get table scraps? Yep
  
• Ever eaten dog, cat, other animal food? Hell no
  
• First thing you usually feel like eating when you wake up? Cinnamon roll but if I eat carbs in the morning then I am jacked up all day
  
• Do you chew gum? Nope, TMJ
  
• Health food or junk food? Both at various times
  
• Are you overweight? So says the BMI scale.
  
• Have you ever been on a diet? Weight doesn’t stay off me no matter what I do.
  
• Are you allergic to any kind of food? Nope.
• What’s your favorite pizza topping? Just plain cheese
  
• Organic or not? Sure if I can afford it
  
• Are you vegetarian? I am not.
• Favorite Food? Pizza and cheesy breadsticks
  
• Vegetable of the Year? Meat 😉 I don’t like vegetables. Please don’t tell me that it’s because I haven’t had them cooked in the “right” way. It doesn’t matter; I don’t like them and I seriously question it when people proclaim to love them.
  
• Ever eaten spam? Nope
  

My goal for Passover was to give up yeast bread & beer. That is always my goal for Passover and I rarely make it past the first two days. But this year, I’m happy to announce that I’ve almost made it to day seven! (There was a tasting glass worth of Oberon and some toast points that just couldn’t be avoided but otherwise I’ve been SPOT ON!)

Luckily, I have friends who make good margaritas 🙂 Ken and I had a TACO BAR dinner party on Friday and margaritas were supplied. Also luckily, I have friends who know about good wine and that is what I drank at a dinner party on Saturday. But beer–sweet, sweet beer–awaits this week…more to come….

The fact that I have a St. Patrick’s Day birthday has always been cool. As a baby, my parents dressed me in green dresses and ribbons. In elementary school, it meant that my mom brought cupcakes with green frosting to my classroom (except for that poor girl who was allergic to chocolate…she had to have a Twinkie). That birthdate was always fun but it really hit its stride in college. I managed to never drink a green beer but I usually managed to have a pretty good time.

                To paraphrase Bob Seger, now that “sweet 16 has turned”, well, 41, things aren’t quite as wild as they used to be. Nevertheless, I still get out and enjoy myself around town. This year, I created a “birthday shenanigan weekend” event on Facebook and was quite surprised by its success. My friends and I went to a variety of bars, culminating at the Corner Brewery on the afternoon of March 17.

                I had my choice of beer (heck, everyone else was buyin’!) and I chose the Michael Faricy’s Irish Stout. Named for a dearly departed friend of the Greffs, this stout is a rich but not too thick. It has a slightly burnt flavor but is not overly dry. It is well balanced and creamy from start to finish. I limited myself to two and enjoyed every last drop. Good beer and good friends is the best birthday present you can ask for.

                Now! What to do for next year….

Friends know that I am a huge fan of the HBO series “The Wire”. Like many hot blooded women, I found McNulty adorable but such a rascal! The way he drank the Jameson and the beer…it got me thinking that it would have saved the character some time (and money) if those two great tastes came together. I honestly never thought it possible until I attended the annual Rat Fest at the Corner Brewery.

The Rat Fest brings together homebrewing groups who schedule a day (or days) to brew on the Corner’s 10-gallon system built by the one and only manager Danny-Boy Peron.  Nine groups graced the Rat Pad system this time around: Ann Arbor Brewers Guild HopHeads, Ann Arbor Brewers Guild Yeasters, Brighton Brew Club, Craft Beer in Michigan, Detroit Draft Divas, Motor City Mashers, Muskrat Mashers, Sons of Liberty and the Ugly Mug.

These intrepid brewers brewed four different beers a piece (one from a predetermined recipe) and came up with an amazing array of beers including one that combined Jameson and beer (no joke!). Here are some of my standouts:

How Did You Do That?~ One of my favorite flavors is mango. While I’ve never actually sat down and gnawed on the actual fruit, I do enjoy the taste of the juice. I have had several beers that purported to have mango flavor in them, but they have never really retained the taste. Somehow, the good folks at the Ugly Mug made a mango beer that actually tasted like mango but didn’t forget it was a beer. Well played, friends, well played.

Most unique~ Sometimes, people at festivals go overboard on being “weird”. That is not always a bad thing but can lead to some really bad beers. These groups did something different and ended up with great tasting brews, to wit:

Detroit Draft Divas’ Juniperus Zizania. This surprisingly strong (7.7% ABV) beer contained junipers which made for a tangy flavor. Well balanced and malty, this was my first beer of the day and it was extremely enjoyable. And seriously, how cool are female brewers??? Love them!

AABG Yeasters’ Pea Biryani. Brewer Mike O’Brien told me that he had heard about people using peas in the mash. He decided to combine whatever he brought back from his recent trip to India with peas and see what happened…and what happened was a delightful red ale nicely balanced with Biryani spices.

Brighton Brew Club’s Jaeger Blonde. True story: I’ve only ever been sent a drink one time in my life and it was a shot of Jaeger. I had never had it before and didn’t feel the need to have it again until I saw this beer listed. Brewed with a “herbal tincture to mimic Jaegermeister”, the beer still retained its base beer taste without having overpowering flavors of licorice.

Favorites~ I had to pick three and man, it was a tough job but here you go!

3^rd favorite: Sons of Liberty Almond Joy Porter. Yeah, yeah, I know…sometimes you feel like a nut and sometimes you don’t and all that jazz. This beer seriously tasted like an Almond Joy bar. If ever I lose my ability to chew and I feel like the candy bar, I am going to ask them to recreate this wonderful beer.

2^nd favorite (and winner for Favorite Overall Beer): Motor City Mashers’ Salty Dog Grapefruit Gose. As a general rule, I do not like grapefruit and will not eat grapefruit (nor, for that matter, will I drink anything containing Campari). So, I resisted this beer until Boyfriend Ken said, “You should try this, Patti” and so I did and I have to say that he was right (Boyfriend Ken has excellent taste, if I do say so myself). There definitely was tartness but the beer was extremely well balanced and refreshing. The base beer was a wheat beer that the brewers fermented with Hefeweizen and American Ale yeasts. All of these flavors combined to make a clean, zesty brew.

Favorite: Brighton Brew Club’s Bombs Away Stout. I went back for three tasting glassfuls of this and quite honestly, if a glassful appeared in front of me right now I would not hesitate to gulp it down. This beer was amazing—a chocolate stout with the flavors of Bailey’s and Jameson Whiskey. In one mouthful, you got the chocolate and the stout and the Bailey’s and the Jameson and it all combined into a smooth, creamy, slightly minty nirvana. This birthday made me think of St. Patti’s Day (my birthday!) and all of the smooth, creamy, and slightly minty nirvana things that go along with it. It went down a lot smoother than a beer and Jameson chaser (or Jameson and beer chaser if you prefer) like they always had in The Wire…and definitely tastier. Somewhere, Jimmy McNulty is smiling.

 

People have told me that I have a difficult job*. I don’t really think so inasmuch that I am not slaving away in a coal mine, chained to a machine or trapped in an office all day. Further, I don’t have anything to complain about compared to some of the kids on my caseload. There are kids who have chronic illnesses, kids who are blind and kids with cancer. And there are organizations that do a heckuva lot more than I do; to wit, Camp Casey, a Royal Oak based nonprofit that offers free horseback rides and other “horsey” fun to kids with cancer. Kids just naturally love horses and I honestly can’t imagine anything more delightful than opening your door and finding a horse there! Seriously, how awesome is that??

You are likely now wondering how on earth you can help such a cool organization. I have great news for you–you can help it by drinking beer. Yeah I said it! I’ll say it again: you can help Camp Casey by attending the 4th Annual Winter Beer Fest by Westborn Market. This yearly event will be held this at the Royal Oak Music Theater on Saturday, January 26 from 8pm until midnight. Tickets are just $40 in advance ($45 at the door) and get you 25 beer tasting tickets. There will also be a dozen or so local vendors offering beer-inspired food snacks and samples. For more information, or to get your tickets, call or visit Westborn Market or the Royal Oak Music Theater.

Westborn Market is thrilled to present this year’s Fest, enthuses Marketing Director Bryan Bandyk.  “Growth of the craft beer category is staggering in our retail stores, and sponsoring Beer Fest is a great opportunity to support that growth and our craft beer vendors,” says Bandyk, who notes that Westborn offers a “Mix Pak – Craft Your Own Six” special of select craft beers at their retail locations for $9.99.  “There is a terrific local element at Beer Fest – from the beers and food products featured, to the venue itself being right in our Berkley location’s backyard,” he adds.

Come on now, it doesn’t get much better than this! Drink good beer, eat good food and help Camp Casey help some awesome kids! Don’t be a neigh**-sayer–come on out for the Winter Beer Fest!

*I am a special education teacher

**Yes, I did!