Last weekend I took a trip out to Holland, Michigan. I wanted to get away from town for the afternoon. Holland is only about an hour and a half drive, so its not too far to head out there for a short trip. I get to go see the Lake (Lake Michigan, that is), and I also get to go to a great Michigan brewery – New Holland Brewing.

I’ve been to their pub before, and its usually busy. I always end up sitting at the bar. If I’m by myself, it makes more sense than waiting for a table, and its nice chatting with the bartenders. They have great food, good beer, and I always enjoy myself. This trip was no exception.
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So I’m in St Lois MO on vacation, visiting with some family, just catching up since we don’t get to spend a lot of time together.

Its not like any of us live here, or close to it. Far from it. But it was relatively central location (between Indiana, Ohio, Memphis TN, and Minnesota), and there is plenty to do. So here we are.

As you probably know, St Louis is the headquarters of Budweiser manufacturer, Anheuser-Busch. And I’m not exactly proud to say it, but we went on the tour. I dove in, right into the belly of the beast.

How was it? Did I end up finding anything else in St Louis actually worthing drinking?
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A friend with some really great beers that we can’t get in Michigan gave me a can of this a little while ago. He had never had Alpha King from Three Floyds, so I passed one of those onto him. Was it a fair trade?

The can popped with almost no carbonation. It felt strange pouring a beer out of a can and into a glass, so I figured why not drink it straight out of the can?

The aroma is instantly hoppy, but with a nice sweetness to it. It doesn’t scream at you that its going to be terribly bitter, more that its going to have a nice nose and a more balanced flavor.

First drinking it, you can notice the alpha acids in the finish, but they’re not too present up front, making this surprisingly refreshing for an IIPA.

Subsequent drinks reveal a bit more of the bitterness, but its still really well balanced with the malt character. The malt is gently sweet, and a substantial mouthfeel that doesn’t overwhelm.

If we could get this in Michigan, I would absolutely be buying it. Probably the closest an Imperial IPA will ever get to a lawnmower beer – and in this case that’s a good thing.

8/10

Ginger is one of my favorite flavors. I have ginger in my green tea, I garnish my food with it, I even use ginger toothpaste for that extra zing every morning. So when I was looking to satiate my ginger craving in The City (NYC) the big “Ginger” sign on this bottle drew me in from across the deli.

Unfiltered Ginger Ale by Bruce Cost has pure and natural ingredients and a wonderfully fresh mouth feel. Unlike other ginger beers and ginger ales, it doesn’t leave you with an unnatural tongue burn. As you can see in the picture above, the small pieces of ginger settle at the bottom and it is recommended to give the bottle a gentle shake before you drink. It is made it with a surprisingly simple list of ingredients: water, pure cane sugar, ginger, and citric acid .  There is only one Whole Foods Market in Michigan that is stocking this ginger ale but hopefully more will start [full distribution list here].

So this beer was hyped upon its introduction into the Michigan market. Hell, all of Big Sky was, but this was widely recognized as their “best” beer – certainly their most popular.

So does it live up to the hype?

Sure, its tasty. A nice nuttiness to it. A highly drinkable brown.

But at $2.19/bottle? Not really worth it. Nothing too remarkable going on here.

5/10