Great Lakes Brewing News Archive

Michigan Beer News

Originally Published: 10/97

By Tom Fuller

I like vacations just as much as the other guy but all of mine end up being work. We decided that for our trip we would go to Michigan's upper peninsula and do some camping, a nice and relaxing idea. Since beer is my business, this trip ended up taking me to all of the breweries of the U.P. (currently five) I had to spend all of my time drinking beer. So y'all have a pity party for me please. The worst part is that all of the beer I had was good, so I couldn't stop drinking. I wouldn't recommend any of the campgrounds that we stayed at, they all had some kind of strange spinning sensation every time I tried to lay down to sleep.

Our first stop and main interest for the trip was Grand Marais. If you have not been there, you must. The town is a very small hamlet on Lake Superior with a couple of gift shops, maybe three motels, a hardware and grocery, a diner or two, and two bars. My bar is the infamous Dunes Saloon and home of Lake Superior Brewing Co., who unfortunately only had two beers on tap because all of the damn tourists keep drinking all the beer and buying growlers to go. I was promised though that there would be some Pale Ale and Cherry Wheat coming on soon. The new menu is in place and the scotch eggs are fantastic. They are currently working on their new rock museum that I promise, will astound any rock hounds out there.

Ishpeming's Jasper Ridge has their Oktoberfest on and judging from their other offerings, it will be very nice. October will be Jasper's first anniversary, look for a celebration. You can get glass growlers to go or plastic ones for deer camp. Be sure and have an Awesome Blossom and tell Karl that Tom says thanks much and see ya soon.

Hereford and Hops in Escanaba are currently working on plans for their Grand Rapids location to be located at 28th street and Lacerne. Hopefully it will be open by April. If the new location is anything like the current it will be a must visit. These guys have grills the size of a 75 Ford LTD. The cuts of steak will astound you, and furthermore you can grill it to perfection by yourself or have the chef do it. They even have their own butcher shop, party store and humidor. The basement or the Escanaba location houses a beautiful bar from the 30's that is currently being restored. Get to Escanaba before it's to damn cold and ask Dean his last name for me. Rex Halfpenny of the Michigan Beer Guide is organizing a bus trip pub crawl to the U.P. Get a hold of the fella (248-628-6584) and get up there. Traverse Brewing Co. has their Sleeping Bear Brown out now in draft. Look for their three bottled products contract brewed for Northern Michigan's La Senorita.

Big Buck in Gaylord couldn't tell me anything so I called the new location for information on the Gaylord location and got disconnected. The new location is in Auburn Hills and will be open in October if they can get the phone system down. The Grand Rapids Big Buck is gearing up for its Brewers Dinner at the end of October (call for info). The dinner will feature the fine Big Buck food and a Scotch Ale. Brewer Tim Cabble has left and was replaced with Alec Mull formerly of Portland and originally from Lansing. Check out these guys for some nice wild game meals paired with your favorite beer style. Hey Tim, call me.

Grand Rapids Brewing Co. is offering its Vienna for their Oktoberfest celebration and all through the fall. Also try the Juniper ale. Remember the menu feature page changes every 6 to 8 weeks. The BOB (Big Old Building) on Monroe Ave. in G.R., now has their Bob's House of Brews open. Brewer Dennis Holland, formerly of Leavenworth and Great Lakes Brewing Co. is offering a plethora of beers. Check out their ESB, Brown Ale, Porter and Stout. The end of October you will see the Oktoberfest and a Halloween brew.

Old Boy's Brew House in Spring Lake say that they are not ready to make a statement.

Holland's Roffey Brewing has introduced a stout and is now distributing in the Ann Arbor area. Look for Jim's fine beers at a store or pub near you.

Holland's Black River Bistro is introducing an Irish dry Stout and you can look for some spiced ales for the holidays. When you go, have an appetite because their Cajun Catfish sandwich is fantastic as well as the Angus roast beef sandwich. Both come with fresh thick potato chips. Just a Jason Hanson football kick from Roffey and Black River, you will find the New Holland Brewing Co., the only place where you could bowl on the bar. Their Paleooza (pale) and Kourage (brown porter) are available in bottles and on draft and will knock you out in strength and flavor. Call for info on their Autumn Fest in October with bands, brats and beer. Ichabod Pumpkin Ale will be out in mid October. When you go there ask for the Hopaleooza, a Centennial dry hopped Paleooza.

Dusters in Lawton is kicking ass in the Ann Arbor/Detroit market. Get a Hophead Red at a bar near you, or go visit Phil in Lawton for the full on explosion of flavor and some nice food, too, including Cornish hen. Have the Imperial Stout. While you're there tell him to get the dirigible fixed.

A bit off the subject, I must mention St. Julian winery's Apollo Wine Bar in Paw Paw. This place is fantastic. Not only can you sample all of the wines, you can look at the overwhelming eclectic display of 40's through 60's antiques. The menu is almost a typical pub grub style but the daily specials are quite extraordinary. They also make the best hard cider I have had to date, Gunga Din. Check this place out.

Kalamazoo's Olde Peninsula is holding an open mike night on Thursdays featuring the band Pappawheely. They play, you play with them, you use their stuff, you break their strings and sticks, sounds cool to me. Gonzo's Rokk Ale is on now and truly rocks. Coming up is his fantastic Pumpkin Ale (with pumpkin in the mash) and an IPA. November 25th you can get the spiced porter. Sit down relax, have some Spinach Fettuccini, a few beers and grab a Gonzo Growler to go. Kalamazoo's Kraftbrau is doing a limited quantity of Oktoberfest so get it while you can, and don't forget they will fill your Corny kegs or growlers. Monday nights is their acoustic jam, usually bluegrass, Irish, folk. If you are in the St. Joe area you can find them on tap at the Lighthouse.

Kalamazoo Brewing Co. (Bell's), has their Cherry Larry and Raspberry Ale on tap, but you may miss it so hurry. Look for Double Cream Stout and Best Brown Ale soon. The much asked for Two Hearted Ale has become the new fall and winter specialty so look for it in the bottle and on tap. Every Thursday is Firkin Thursday, with a hand pulled ale (Two Hearted quite often). Live music every weekend and the massive beer garden is open year round. Don't forget Bell's General store across the street for your homebrewing, cigar, hot sauce and bells wearable needs. While you're there, get some Bell's Beer Barrel Mustard and some of the new Hells Bell's hot sauce, and if you see Bill tell him he's a dump truck.

Battle Creek's Arcadia Brewing is having an Arcadia Fest for its first anniversary on October 2nd. The celebration will be of the Oktoberfest style complete with a huge tent, brats and German Potato salad. The event will be complete with live music including Blues, Polka, Celtic, Scottish and Big Band. Look for the limited Anniversary Ale and the huge hops IPA. Also check out the cask ale on at all times.

The cool little town of Marshall (antique haven) is soon to host the Dark Horse Brewpub scheduled to open in early October. Look for their big Dark Horse reserve Black Bier at a whopping 10%. Beers scheduled are Historic Crystal Wheat, Big Al's Cranberry Wheat and Crooked Tree Pale. Look for these guys.

Lansing's Michigan Brewing Co. now has now brewer except for owner Bobby Mason since Derek Foster left but with some overtime they are managing to keep up. They are offering an Oktoberfest that was co-brewed with the AHA's Brewers Publications Author or German Wheat Beers Eric Warner, More on that later.

Ann Arbor's Arbor Brewing will have a Halloween party on the appropriate day with a costume contest and live music. Call for information on the November Belgian tasting. Look for the Oktoberfest and the Dukleweizen. Look forward to December 1st for the return of the Terminator Doppelbock. The Michigan Microbrewery Brewpub Guide at: abrew@ic.net has awarded ten of Arbors beers for the Best of Michigan Award.

Down the street at Grizzly Peaks you can find an Oktoberfest and Vienna Ale (?). Around Thanksgiving, look for the Cornucopia Ale, a multigrain beer with Rye, Oats, Wheat and Barley. Look for the cask ales. Former brewer Ron Jefferies went to Brewbakers and has been replaced with Casey Burke.

Down in Motown King Brewing Co. is busy remodeling its tap room and extending the hours. If your a fan of their Porter it will now be available year round, in fact they are so fond of it that it's going to the GABF along with their Pale and Brown. Look for their first lager, "Fest Beer" available on draft at your local drinking establishment.

Atwater Block Brewing Co. may still have their Oktoberfestbier on if you hurry, but even if they don't you can't go wrong by stopping in.

The Royal Oak Brewery is offering its Strong Nut Brown and Alt for your drinking pleasure. If Wayne has his way you will find some Belgian Ales such as La Trappe's Trippel in their beer garden soon. Look for a new menu soon featuring some spectacular delicacies such as Lamb.

Over in the Christmas town of Frankenmuth you soon will be able to enjoy the wonderful German beers of new brewer Eric Warner. Remember that Frankenmuth that made all those beers and contract brewed Bad Frog and other stuff, that got blown away by a tornado in June of "96"? Well they are rebuilding and renaming. Hofbrauhaus Frankenmuth hopes to open around April of 1998. They have hired Eric Warner (see Michigan Brewing) and are designing a 500 seat restaurant and 20 bbl brewery. I will remind you that the former Frankenmuth Brewery had over a 100 bbl brewhouse. The down scaling and the skill of Eric will hopefully produce a most wonderful German style beer. I can't wait.

Over and up, in Port Huron the new (July 17th) Quay Street Brewing Co. is offering a real Kolsch, a Ginger Ale (beer, not soda), Nut Brown, Cream Ale, a real Hefeweizen, Pale Ale, and a Raspberry Hefeweizen. In November you can get the Pils. All beer are available to go in growlers or 1 gallon Bag in box. The restaurant features American meets California style, including humis, tabuli, ribs, steak and fresh fish. You can sit on the deck on the Black river next to the yacht club and listen to the live Jazz or blues. You gotta love Michigan.

That's it for now, talk to ya in a few months. Remember any complaints or congrats e-mail me at: tfuller@net-link.net. and if you want to send me some beer e-mail me and I'll give you my address or call and bug Bill the editor and he will E-mail me. Just keep in touch with me, especially if you are a brewery, because lots of times you don't call me back or aren't in when I stop. If you don't se you in here, don't blame me. Call Bill and he'll get you in touch with me. AnywayäI'd rather be a good liver, than have one.

This just in:

Arcadia Brewing Company is throwing an Arcadia Fest on October 11, from noon til midnight. The event will celebrate the one year anniversary of the brewery's first batch of its classic British style ales, and the grand opening of the Arcadia Tavern.

Arcadia Fest will be an Oktoberfest style celebration with old world Bavarian foods, entertainment, door prizes and more. A seasonal Dark Cherry Wheat beer and an Anniversary India Pale Ale will debut during the event. Admission is $6, with part of the proceeds going to the Burnham Senior Citizen Center of Calhoun County. They'll have a giant tent at the site, so make sure to go, rain or shine! For more info, call 616/963-9520.