I figured that if nothing else, I would grab a bottle of Arcadia Ale’s Sky High Rye. Its affordable, delicious, and at 6% abv, isn’t going to be that big a deal. A nice nightcap.

I wasn’t expecting to find something I’ve never seen before. That I haven’t even HEARD OF before.

So imagine my surprise when I see two beers from Saugatuck Brewing Company. A Michigan brewery I’ve never seen? Interesting…

So I picked up a bottle of Saugatuck Singapore IPA. I figure a Michigan IPA is a good thing, and it was only $6.39 for the bomber, so why not?

A pleasant surprise to say the least.

It begins with an aroma right out of the bottle – like you would expect, a nice hop presence in the nose. Some citrus and flowers. Once its in the glass, you even notice some pale malt there.

There’s a little bit of sticky head, leaving a serious lacing on the glass.

Its pretty bitter on the back of your tongue, but well balanced all in all, with some sweetness from the malt lingering up front.

The bottle reads like so:

“Named after the legendary Lake Michigan ghost town, this India Pale Ale is a well balanced blend of bitter & sweet that will not punish your palate.”

And from this Beer Nuts article from eTruth, it sounds like a place worth visiting too.

Not bad. It nice to find a new Michigan beer.

6/10

We decided to go to the Detroit Institute of Arts, and stop by some breweries on the way. Awesomeness ensued.

We chose to hit up Warren, Michigan, for both Dragonmead and Kuhnhenn, since they are in such close proximity to one another.

If you didn’t know already, Brian and I have been on Twitter a lot lately, and you can follow us @BeerandComics. You can also see our latest tweets over on the right side of the website. See? –>

So, I Tweeted the hell out of our trip. Check out details after the jump:

We started our day at the DIA, and saw some awesome art. Not much of it directly comic-related, some pieces that you see the influences:

A collection of busts by J. Michallon the Younger. Top center is titled “Bust of a Man (Hans Christian Andersen?), 1830-1840″.

Wharhol.

“Alphabet – Good Humor” by Claes Oldenburg.

Then, it was on to the beer!

First, Dragonmead. Jo and I both love Final Absolution, so we wanted to try their other belgian-style ales.

The nicest thing about Dragonmead is that they let you build a custom flight of beers. Five half-pints of whatever beers you choose. Its really nice.

We drank them (and thus reviewed them) in order, from left to right. Check the (rather poor) picture for some indication of color.

My reviews went like this – forgive the format, it was Twitter, so short blurbs is about all you can get out:
“Dead Monk Abbey Ale: 7%. pleasent mouthfeel. Surprising amount of bittering hops. Subtle notes of banana, maybe a little citrus. Delicious.”

“Dubbel Dragon: 6.1% sweet nose. Somewhat esthery. Tasty but tough to pin down.”

“Breath of the Dragon Bitter: 4.2% smells kind of musty, with a bit of berries, strangely. Interesting sweetness, kind of nutty.”

“Broken Paddle IPA: 5.8% nothing great going on in the nose. But tastey. A lot of bitter, not a lot of hop flavor. Malt is pleasant though.”

“Copper Shield Bitter Harvest Barleywine: 8% isn’t really a barleywine is it? poured w a ton of head. Maple nose. Syrupy like you might expect. But hoppy. Sweet but very bitter finish. A nice surprise.”

“All in all, I have to say that Dragonmead’s pub is as awesome as their beer. ”

Then it was on to Kuhnhenn.

Kuhnhenn made our favorite beer of the day at last year’s MBG Winter Beer Festival, so my hopes were high.

The pub itself is weird in that its well-lit, open, and basically unlike any other brewpub I’ve ever been in. This isn’t a bad thing, just kind of unusual.

The night started with some drunk a-hole getting kicked out, but after that, it was nothing but awesome.

Personally, I started light, with the Classic American Pale Ale. May have been a bad choice.

I tweeted thusly:
“Classic American: 4.8% nothing remarkable here. Highly drinkable, light, but probably wouldn’t get it again. Good training wheel beer.”

The girlfriend, however, dove in head-first, and got an amazing wheat beer called White Devil.

“White Devil: 8% wheat beer. Michigan wheat. Grapefruit, Ginger. Amazing beer. Girlfriend may be getting a growler.”

As you can see on the left, Jo gives it a thumbs-up.

After that, she got herself one of her new favorite beers, Winter Wonder Lager.

“WinterWonder Lager 13.5% small nose. Big flavor. Fruity and deceptive alcohol content. Awesome.”

Jo ended up not with a growler of this, but a six-pack. Better deal, and easier to cellar. They are now hiding in the dark beneath her basement stairs.

I had the American IPA. While not as good as their Firkin of Dry-Hopped American Extreme IPA from the MBG Winter Beer Fest, it was really, really good.

“American IPA 6.5% floral aroma and – get this – FLAVOR. Weird but amazing. Great dry hopping, really well balanced. A+”

Yeah, it was kind of strange to actually have an IPA taste as floral as it smells, but this one did. Great beer, obviously.

I finished my night off with loads of water as I had to drive. But while Jo finished her Winter Wonder Lager, I had time to drink a rootbeer. It is amazing. Probably the best in Michigan, and that’s saying something, since that’s going up against MBC‘s Miner’s Brew.

All in all, Kuhnhenn was wonderful. The beer, the staff… I can’t say enough. I bought the t-shirt, and I will be going back.

Thanks, Detroit, for the wonderful time, wonderful art, and wonderful beer.

Ian! (and Jo)

So, we’ve all known for some time that Ian and I are great fan’s of Michigan beer.  After all, it is the great beer state.  What does Joe Short have to offer the great state of Michigan?  Well, excellent beer.  Excellent beer that is cleverly named and flavored.  The newest beer he’s crafted that I’ve tasted I had tonight, and that is “The Liberator.”

I don’t know how to describe the Liberator upon initial inspection.  It’s copper, with a solid white head, which lasts FOREVER.  It’s timeless, like Lincoln.

Upon smelling, you are greeted by some citrus and pine aromas, as well as a small amount of malt.  The most prevalent smell is definitely the hops though.  The bitter, delicious hops.

As for flavor, it’s a menagerie of wonderful flavors.  Dominated by the various characteristics of the hops, you taste grapefruit, bitterness, and a hint of malt.  The alcohol is there, but understated.  It’s a bit of a palette-ruiner, but that is just fine by me.

I’m thrilled by this beer.  In my opinion, it’s the best thing Short’s has released to date. This beer will set your taste buds free, like Lincoln did the slaves.  It is to be cherished by mankind.  Beyond that, it’s affordable too!  No 4 dollars a bottle+ here, this was only 2.69 a bottle.  All the bang for the buck you could want.

9.25/10

First off, let me tell you how I managed to come across this beer…  I first heard of it though a good friend of Beer and Comics, Laura Bell.  Yes, Laura, the son of Larry Bell.  The owner of Bell’s Brewing.  Laura has been a good friend of Ian’s and mine for some years now.  We were at a friends wedding when she dropped some knowledge on me about the availability of this beer and that she’d really like to see it reviewed.  I promised that if I were able to get my grubby paws on it, I would review it accurately.  Fast forward 1.5 months to today.  I received this beer as a gift for the completion of my grad school application from my friend Phantom at today’s hash.  I’ve been THRILLED with the possibility to have this for some time, and glad it finally happened.

The pour:  a bit cloudy, and somewhere between tan and amber.  Like a dark orange.  The head didn’t stick around long, and didn’t leave much lacing.

The smell:  This smells like IIPA’s should smell.  Hoppy.  There is a slight sweetness to it, but it’s overwhelmingly hoppy.  And AMAZING.  It is no secret that is what I like, and like to smell in a beer, and certainly Bell’s Oracle doesn’t disappoint.

The taste:  a medium body, with a well carbonated mouthfeel.  It’s very hoppy and bitter.  There’s a hint of malt at the front of the mouth, but it is overwhelmingly bitter.  I LOVE IT.  Fantabulous.

I’m really really happy with this.  I’ve been waiting for Bell’s to do this for some time now, as I LOVE IIPA’s.  If you can still find this out there, do it.

9/10

And so we get to tonight. The wife and I have decided to stay in and watch tv and hang out, and drink beers. Her only request was something hoppy… A woman after my own heart. I trained her well. We bought the Arcadia Hopmouth Imperial IPA so she could put the hoppiness in her mouth. I must say. I enjoy the Hopmouth. It has a wonderful citrus-pine aroma accented by a hint of sweet alcohol bite. The flavor is mostly what you’d expect from the scent, but it’s got more malt. It’s better balanced than the nose would suggest, although that’s not always a positive… This is a great beer, and an old favorite, but I would like to see more hops. Where once I would have given this an 8.5, this has been demoted to an 8.0. It’s a B.

I, on the other hand, am drinking the Voodoo brewing Big Black Voodoo Daddy Imperial Stout. Wifey thinks it smells like bbq, I think it smells a tad smoky, but mostly roasty. It goes down smooth, with sweetness, but stays roasty. It maintains its flavor the whole way through the palette. It’s strong and delicious and wonderfully stout.

7.5… I’ve had lots better, but waaaaay more worse. This brought nothing new to the table.

-brian

You’re beautiful head, your sweet, floral aroma. These are only two reasons to love you.

A deep, rich color, and a nice, not too aggressive bitterness. A sweet malt flavor in the front, and a darker, roastier malt in the finish, hiding behind the bittering hops.

Brian and I both do enjoy ourselves some IPAs, and the Imperial IPA, when well-done, holds a special place in our hearts.

Hopmouth finds its way right into my heart, and makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. And not just from the alcohol – at 8% its not a light beer, but it isn’t going to kill me either.

This beer is one to make any hop-head happy, and is one of the best beers from a Michigan brewery that usually makes only modest English-style ales. A titan among mere mortals.

9/10

Ian!

Stone is reknowned for their big beers and their cocky demeanor, and this beer certainly lives up to both. It’s got the booze (9.5%), some serious hop flavor, and rhe word, “triskaidekaphobia.” It’s got a beautiful deep copper color and a supple creamy head to the pour. It’s got an abundance of hops in the nose with a surprisingly sweet malt scent immediately after the pour. After sitting a few moments, the scent of the alcohol becomes quite dominant, while understated early.

As for the taste, and that’s why we’re here, it’s all hops and caramel. Bountiful bittering hops, fantastic flavoring, and wonderful caramel sweetness. There’s also some really great alcohol flavor. Its subtle, but the taste of alcohol complements the hops so well. This is certainly one of the top two beers of the summer along with hop stoopid. Now if anybody from stone brewing reads this, please contact us about sending us new beers.

This beer was fantastic. It deserves to be up there with lenny at a 9 out of 10.

You’re beautiful head, your sweet, floral aroma. These are only two reasons to love you.

A deep, rich color, and a nice, not too aggressive bitterness. A sweet malt flavor in the front, and a darker, roastier malt in the finish, hiding behind the bittering hops.

Brian and I both do enjoy ourselves some IPAs, and the Imperial IPA, when well-done, holds a special place in our hearts.

Hopmouth finds its way right into my heart, and makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. And not just from the alcohol – at 8% its not a light beer, but it isn’t going to kill me either.

This beer is one to make any hop-head happy, and is one of the best beers from a Michigan brewery that usually makes only modest English-style ales. A titan among mere mortals.

9/10

Ian!

Freakangels.
Gravel.
Fell.
No Hero.

There’s so much to love.

He also loves beer. And that makes me love him more.

Scottish brewery Brew Dog sent him some of their beers to review. Read about it on his blog:

Warren’s Review of Punk IPA.
Warren’s Review of Hardcore IPA.

And yeah, people reacted.

I keep loving Warren more and more. And I really wish we could get Brew Dog’s beers in the States, but I don’t think its available outside of the UK.

I guess in all fairness it wasn’t just the two of us. It was us, 43 Michigan breweries, and nearly 4000 other attendees. Somewhere in there we ran into some old friends, made some new ones, drank no fewer than 24 different varieties of beer, and loved every minute – except for the line for the toilets. That sucked.

I guess its worth mostly talking about the stuff we liked quite a lot, or at least what was very good. There were only a few serious disappointments, and for the sake of everyone involved, I’m going to avoid naming them for now.

(Oh, and that photo right there is Brian and I being sweet, waiting in line for our first beer of the day)

One of the beers we had towards the end of the day was from Short’s Brewing. By the time we got there, they were out of Soft Parade, which I was looking forward to trying again. We got to try their Black Cherry Porter, which I wasn’t impressed with. Maybe I was burnt out on beer by that point, but it didn’t make me want to drink it like I always want to drink, say, Huma-lupa-licious.

Original Gravity Brewing had the one beer that I had all day that was close to being really good, but didn’t quite do it for me. Guys: your Belgian Training Wheels needs some more body. That would have made it a fantastic, classic beer. Certainly drinkable, but not great. Maybe that was the point (as evidenced by the name), to give beginners something that’s highly palatable, while they’re working their way up. Either way, a little more malt and sweetness, and you would have had me.

At Founders we had Kentucky Breakfast Stout and Cerise. Both exactly what I expected, and both fantastic. Kentucky Breakfast will be out in a month or two, and if you like bourbon beers, its a must. The Cerise is replacing the Rubaeus as their Summer/fruit seasonal. Made with Michigan Cherries, it has a great sour cherry character to it, and will be a major part of my beer life when it comes out.

Another highlight was the 4 Elf Winter Warmer from Dark Horse. Dude, it was probably the best spiced winter ale I’ve ever had. I wish it got some distribution (’cause they DO bottle it), ’cause I would love to get my hands on some.

My second favorite brewery of the day was Arcadia. They had their Big Dick’s Old Ale bourbon-barrel aged, which they were calling Pappy’s Big Dick Bourbon Barrel Aged Old Ale. Its a mouthful, either way you look at it. Flavor-wise and name-wise. It was good for what it was, but the real gems at Arcadia’s booth were a bit lighter.

Their Sky-High Rye is amazing. They’re having a hard time keeping up with demand on it, so I haven’t seen a bottle of it yet, but I will be buying when I do. You should too.

They also had a Firkin of Hop Rocket Imperial IPA. Oh man. Three-day dry-hopped Hop Rocket? COUNT ME IN. It was really good. Maybe one of the best beers of the day.

They also had Rick Moranis at their booth.

Taking a break from beer reviews (and a breather before we get to the best brewery of the day), here’s some more of our photos.

Brian and I both love beards and beer – we keep no secret about this. Babe mannequins are also funny, especially when they have beer coming out of their chest. Which is why Rochester Mills gets the Best Booth of the day award from us:

We also managed to find Jeff, Brian’s old co-worker (and occasional B&C contributor). He’s a beer enthusiast, and so are his sister and her boyfriend. They’re awesome. Oh, and his sister special-ordered a case, yes a case, of Goose Island’s Bourbon County Stout. Seriously. Just emphasizing how awesome they are.

Okay, now its time! Best brewery of the day! Who is it? Who is it?!

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KUHNHENN BREWING COMPANY!

From their Bourbon Barrel Barleywine (very good!), to their Raspberry Isbock (great!), to their Tenacious Cassis Fruit Infused Old Ale (a currant Old Ale? Awesome!), it was all great.

Brian and I had to agree that the best beer of the day was without a doubt their American Extreme IPA. In a Firkin! Exclamation marks!

Seriously, this beer is amazing, and has without a doubt one of, if not THE best balance of malt and loads of hops I’ve had in a long time. Bittering, flavor and aromatic hops all coming together… oh man. I want to drink this all the time.

This lady poured it for me. Twice!

This is Brian’s “holy cow beer is sweeet” face.

This is Brian and I drinking our last beer of the day. We were way happier than we look in it. I promise.

Thanks to my manager at work for the tickets, thanks to our friends who shared beer with us, and most of all, thanks to all the brewers making not only the best beer in Michigan, but some of the best beer in the world.

Ian!