This Saturday, January 28, will see the Royal Oak Music Theater transformed into a big ol’ beer fest featuring over 80 beers from around the state, nation and planet. Over ten new beers will have their own malt-tastic “debutante coming out” party at the fest. What I think is extra cool about this fest is that it benefits Camp Casey, which is a horseback riding campe for kids with cancer. Seriously, could it BE any more win-win??

Speaking of win, check out some of the brewpubs that will be in attendance: Arbor Brewing, Arcadia, New Holland, Brewery Vivant and Dark Horse. !!!! In addition to the beers, there will be local vendors including Chuck & Dave’s Salsa, which will feature beer-inspired food samples. More win!

So what precipitated this event? Well, straight from the horse’s mouth (i.e. Jason Dristan – Beer Fest Co-Founder), “We recognized Metro Detroit did not have a true Beer Fest during the Winter and wanted to fill that void.  This is the third year we have scheduled it the weekend between the NFL Championships and the Super Bowl.  It is the perfect answer to cure the ‘winter blues’.”  Yes, yes it is!

The event starts at 8pm and goes until midnight. The ceremonial keg tapping will be at 9pm and feature representatives from Camp Casey, Westborn Market and the city of Royal Oak. They will tap a special Michigan Brewing Company Winter Cask Ale.
Tickets are $35 in advance or $40 at the door. You will get 25 beer samples, you will help out a great cause and you will satisfy your palate. Did someone say something about WIN…?

Here are some picture of last year’s festival. Because these pictures are awesome, you should by now know that they were most certainly not taken by me! (Thanks to Dana from On the Rocks Detroit!)

I am talking, of course, about the newest brewpub in Michigan: the Witch’s Hat Brewpub in South Lyon. Witch’s Hat opened for business on December 26 with, as mentioned above, crowds and lines and long waits to get in. Before we even talk about how good the place is–and it IS good–I want to mention how awesome this spectacular opening is for the state of Michigan and the state of craft beer. Other than midnight releases of Harry Potter, when is the last time you’ve heard of anything like this?! It was like an, err, “mash” mob (if you will allow me to rip off that term) descended upon the new brewpub and worked it.

Boyfriend Ken and I tried to go a few days after the grand opening and found it full up. (This ended up being okay as we went to Lake Street Tavern, which had good food and a nice selection of craft beer). I finally made it out again last Saturday and it the place was still jam packed! If not for a reservation for my Meet Up group, I couldn’t have gotten in.

So, is it worth the wait? In a word, yes.

The space: Yep, it’s cozy. There’s a little fireplace, darkly colored furniture, a short bar with the requisite stools and of course tables and chairs. Ryan, one of the owners, took our Meet Up group to the back, where the magic happens. A LOT of magic happens in a small space! Magic like….

The beers: There were eight beers on tap on Saturday and I got to sample 5 of them: After Christmas Ale, 1908, Ed’s Brown, American Pale and Train Hopper. My personal favorites were the After Christmas and 1908. The After Christmas is an excellent winter ale with many of the usual winter spices (allspice, cinnamon and ginger) but also with a lovely taste of honey. The 1908 is a smoked wheat beer and absolutely delicious! Malty, well balanced and not too smoky…wonderful! All of the beers were quite good though, so you should have no problem finding a favorite.

The service: The service was impeccable. Our waitress took our orders on little slips of paper and knew our names right away. Glasses were never empty very long and the waitstaff seemed genuinely happy to be there (rare these days). Ryan could not have been nicer and even shared a pepperoni roll with a slightly tipsy, very hungry beer blogger.

All in all, this was well worth the wait! More beers are coming out all the time, so hitch up the wagon and get up to South Lyon. Cheers!

So lucky for me that I discovered Piatto Di Pasta in the southeastern part of town. Nestled in the plaza on the corner of Stone School & Ellsworth, this is an awesome Italian restaurant/take out place. A friend had recommended it and so I decided to incorporate it into my next beer pairing article. The bad news is that I had only porters in my refrigerator and, to my palate anyway, porters and Italian food don’t go that well together. Luckily, I had bought a B.Nektar Zombie Killer Cherry Cyser from Made in Michigan last week and even luckier was how well the tastes went together!

First, the food! I got two entrees, which included bread, salad (or soup) and your choice of meat, noodles and sauce. I got the penne pasta, traditional sauce and meatballs for myself and the cheese ravioli, spicy sauce and chicken for Boyfriend Ken. ZOMG—that is a clove of garlic that you see in that meatball. Yes, a clove of garlic. I ate and ate and still couldn’t finish all of the pasta (if you have ever seen my rather expansive thighs, you will know that I can eat). While waiting for Boyfriend Ken to get home, I liberated some of the ravioli from his plate. Hands down, the best I have ever eaten and in fact, I was kind of hoping he’d work late and leave all the pasta for me

See? It’s a clove of garlic! That clove is now somewhere in my stomach, awaiting further digestion.

Now the Cyser, as I said, went very well with the pasta and meat. This cider is amazing! It is basically apple cider with honey and cherries…but so much more! It’s much lighter than a mead, yet not as heavy as, say, a red wine. The honey flavor is light and adds a crispness to it, while the cherries round out the tart finish. Since Italian food is somewhat heavy, this was the perfect drink to balance it out. (A porter beer, for instance, would have just made the meal too heavy).

One of the best labels, period.

So give Piatto Di Pasta & Zombie Killer a try, individually or together. The food is locally sourced when possible and organic and the “cyser” is too…and they won’t break the bank! And no organic goats were necessary, either!

Atwaters: It poured a nice dark brown hue, slightly fizzy beige head. The smell was all roasted malts and bourbon—yum! Definite bourbon taste, medium to medium heavy mouthfeel and creamy. Nice balance between bitter hops, coffee, chocolate and lightly smoked wood. I looked it up on the Googlez and found that it weighs in at 6.8% a.b.v. (I also found out that a bottle is around 200 calories; information that I didn’t need or want, but it’s there now).

North Peak’s: Poured a beautiful dark brown with slight head. The smell was roasty malts and it had a medium to medium-light mouth feel. The biggest surprise was how bitter this beer was. The bitter hops overwhelmed the other, more subtle flavors that I think were there. We did not get any cherry taste, except maybe a very light cherry finish. It is 5% a.b.v., so definitely drinkable, but not what we were expecting.

Verdict? I would choose the Atwaters, simply because the idea of being sick and drinking bourbon (well, sort of) appeals to me. Also, I simply liked the beer much, much better. Boyfriend Ken gave positive reviews for the North Peak, but it was not the cherry taste that he was expecting.

While the beer didn’t cure my sinus infection (drat!), it helped! Sort of

But what about the beer? Well, luckily for me, Punkin’ Pie Ale was still on tap! If you did not get to enjoy this delicious ale, run down there and see if it’s still available. If not, I’m afraid you will have to wait until next fall. This amber ale tastes like pumpkin pie. Not lying. It tastes like pumpkin pie. It’s ABV is a healthy 5.3% so you can drink more than one, but maybe not more than four.

Don’t be sad if you missed this month’s event, as it will happen again on February 23.  The book is “Honored Guest,” by Joy Williams. The Punkin’ Pie Ale will surely be gone by then, but one thing is sure—there will be books—and beer—on tap!

At some point, my friends and I started consuming rather large quantities of bleu cheese. As my friend pointed out–”Bleu cheese takes like blue” and in fact, it do! (It rhymes; sue me). So the question became, “Which beer pairs best with this cheese?”

The IPA definitely had an edge. The sharp, bitter hoppiness complimented the “blue” tangy taste of bleu cheese. Crooked Tree is crisp and has, to me anyway, a nice dry finish. This finish seemed to go well with the moist texture of the “blue” tasting cheese.

My friends kind of dismissed the stout out of hand, but I think there is something to be said for it. As the name implies, it has chocolate, vanilla beans and strawberries like its namesake ice cream. Because it is a milk stout, it is creamier than many other stouts, and not as dry. I found this creaminess to be a nice compliment to the bleu cheese. It might have been a touch too much dairy for some, but I liked the sharp cheese and smooth beer combination.

Have you tried these beers with cheese? Am I off my rocker? What are some other good beers to pair with bleu cheese?

Back in the day, people gathered in pubs to discuss the issues of the day–politics, fads, local news, gossip…. In fact, I have heard them say that our founding fathers met in brewpubs to discuss the problems with the British rulers. Yes, it all seemed to happen in a brewpub back then. Those were the DAYS, amigos. The DAYS.

Last night, Michigan Radio sponsored an event at the Wolverine State Brewpub that recreated those magical days (albeit without the funny wigs). The event was part of a series called Issues & Ales (temporarily renamed Issues & Lagers, in honor of the featured style of this pub) which gathers folks together to discuss a variety of different issues. Last night’s topic, titled How Michigan Learns, was on the state of public education in Michigan.

After an introduction by the E.T. Crowe (a.k.a. The Beer Wench), the panel discussion got underway. The panelists were Tom Watkins, who was Michigan’s state superintendent of public instruction in the early 00s; John Bebow, executive director of the Center for Michigan, a nonpartisian “think and do tank”; and Michelle Herbon, an education policy consultant with the Public Sector Consultants. Jack Lessenberry from the Metro Times (and elsewhere) moderated the event (and didn’t call on me to ask my question, so I have a bone to pick with that man. Just kidding.).

The conversation kicked off with a deceptively simple sounding question: what is wrong with education in Michigan? Watkins and Bebow opined that it has to be quality education (regardless of if it is public or not) and that there “isn’t enough of it”, respectively. Personally, I liked Herbon’s answer the best–that the education system has looked the same for too long and, as the economy has changed, so too must the school system. While I would like to hear how she thinks it should be changed, I appreciated that she was willing to give a somewhat concrete answer.

It wasn’t long before the panel started talking about money. Several panelists pointed out several times that we spend between $11,000,000,000 and $19,000,000,000 on education (both of those numbers were bandied about and I’m not sure they ever said exactly which one it is; regardless, it is in the BILLIONS). The question was asked–how would YOU spend that much money? Me, I’d give it all to one particular teacher of the blind in the Detroit Public School system. Time did not allow for suggestions, sadly.

Another hot topic–the MEAP and “high stakes testing”–popped up early on. As Herbon said, if she was still a teacher and someone said to her that her pay would go up or down depending on how well her kids did on the MEAP, well, she would teach to the test, too. There is an incentive to “teach to the test” now, and we should be more thoughtful about what incentives we offer to teachers.

As one might expect, the subject of charter schools came up early and often. The most interesting part of this conversation, to me, was when the moderator asked the panelists what a parent is to do when deciding where to put his or her child. That is, the panelists all are educated, all have time to devote to researching schools, but what about parents of less education, with less time? (I would have added: with disabilities, with English as a Second Language, without a car). Watkins said that one had to “make” time as there is no more important decision and that parents should take the time to visit schools and talk to parents and teachers. Bebow said that when he and his wife enrolled their children in Ann Arbor’s school of choice program, they looked at every data point, at how diverse the school was, and so on. Herbon said that one should focus on how well a school is performing.

One of the last questions asked by the moderator was a call for a concrete suggestion to fix schools. The panelists gave suggestions such as focusing on more mentoring of teachers, offering more support for teachers, better teacher preparation programs and early childhood education.

The audience then took polls on how satisfied (or not) we were with the educational system. Not surprisingly, we seemed to not love the statewide system, but thought our local system was doing pretty well. The panel concluded with questions from the audience. The whole format worked very well, even if I wasn’t able to ask my question.

Did we solve the problem of the educational system in Michigan in an hour and a half? Of course not. But we began a conversation that could lead to another conversation that could lead to someone coming up with an idea that could lead to a law that could lead to something awesome happening in the world of education in Michigan.

And it all happened in a brewpub.

Fortunately, things appear to be settling down.  Therefore, here I am!
The most recent beers in my mug were at an Ale Dinner party that I went
to last night. We had five lovely courses, each paired with an equally
lovely beer. My course was dessert, and so I made my tried and true
flourless chocolate cake (always a hit at the Seders). I brought with me
some Bell’s Porter. The party also featured Founders’ Porter (paired
with the roast beef–nice!), and so I decided to do a side-by-side
comparison of the two.

Founders’ Porter – this is a rich, smooth beer. It’s about as perfect of
a porter as I could ask for.  It has chocolate notes to it, a hit of
coffee, and is balanced by the bittering hops.  Having said that though,
it was not (for me anyway) perfect for the cake.  I am not a huge
chocolate fan, and it was just too much. This porter went much better
with the roast beef.

Bell’s Porter – This is also a fine example of a porter. I found it not
as chocolately or coffee-y (?). The dark malts balanced with the hops, a
little more on the bitter side than the malty side. In this way, it made
a much better match with the chocolate cake, as I didn’t feel an
overload. The slight bitter taste balanced the sweet deliciousness of my
cake.

Sorry that I don’t have a picture to share. I could say that my ex got the camera in the divorce, but we didn’t have a camera to begin with  He did, however, get some drinking buddies in the divorce, so if you are available and want the pleasure (?) of drinking with me, please let me know! And if not–hey, I’ve been called a bitch, narcissist, psychopath, told to fuck off and told that I suck in the past few days, so you won’t really hurt my feelings.  (Note: NOT by my ex-husband, oddly enough.)
Eh, whatever. Let’s go drinkin’!

But never fear–like a those whack-a-moles, I just keep popping back up and on my feet.  And I’ve been making resolutions for 2012, to wit:

1) More beer writing and perhaps finally do something about my BEER CABLE ACCESS SHOW!!!!! How many years has that been on my list?!?! ARGH!

2) Get back involved with local foods and local stuff in general (i.e. city, community, etc.)

3)  Read more blogs. Comment on them. Oh yes.

So how about some ideas about local groups or blogs I should know about? How about beer events?

As it turns, you should consider a trip out to Grand Rapids and check out this very unique brewpub. Focusing on Belgian beers and sustainably, the brewpub features some amazing beer and food. Jeff & I were lucky enough to visit Brewery Vivant twice in about two weeks. On the second trip, we had snacks which included something absolutely amazing…deep fried avocado. Again, I ask: how cool is THAT?! We also had pomme frites which I think are just kind of like French fries but full of AWESOME! They also have deviled eggs and bacon peanut brittle (which I did not eat because I do not eat pork but again…AWESOME).

Oh, and the beer is pretty darn good too! Here are my stand outs:

Farmhand Ale: They made this beer with raw, unmalted grains like old farmhouse ales. A quick aside–back in the Day, farms used to brew their own beer to keep their farmhands happy. Also, recall, water was pretty crappy (Ha ha!) and beer was often much safer to drink. But you didn’t want Farmhand Fred getting wasted and, um, fertilizing the crops (if you know what I mean), so you kept the farmhouse ale pretty low in alcohol. This lighter beer was to style and would have kept Farmhand TeacherPatti really happy.

Solitude Belgian Amber Ale: this was a very malty beer, almost bock like, with hints of caramel and raisin. (Not lying, I could really taste those things!)

Triomphe IPA: Nice Belgian yeast gives this beer a slightly sweet flavor, but then it hits you with American (i.e. citrusy hops). I wouldn’t have thought these two tastes would go together, but they did. Kind of like Reeses Peanut Butter Cups! (Hey, you got your Belgian yeast in my American hops! You got your American hops in my Belgian yeast! And on it goes).

Big Red Coq: Why yes, you do pronounce that third word the way your dirty little mind thinks! And yes, I did belly up to the bar and order it like that, but I was kind enough to comment that I’m sure they’ve heard that about a million times and I’m sure people have said “I’m sure you’ve heard that a million times” a million times! Me, I am quite savvy. That’s how I roll. A hoppy red beer, it provides lots of citrusy tastes (I got pineapple) without losing its essential Belgianness (is that a word? It is now)

Brewery Vivant is one of the many brewpubs that is now canning. Ain’t gonna lie–canning beer still does not thrill me. I can’t drink pop out of a can because of the “can” taste, and I haven’t loved the canned beers I’ve had. I am, however, very anxious to try their stuff because it is SO good that I have to think it will overcome the “can” taste.

This is a beautiful place in a lovely area of Grand Rapids. It also uses something quite cool…something called conpoto.com. You see, this allows you to buy your friend a drink, and it will be waiting for them when they show up. Brewery Vivant, in fact, has a board that lists names of people who are receiving their free drink. I don’t mean to be bossy–as I know I can sometimes be–but I’d really love to see some local establishments partake of this and I’d REALLY love to see my name on that board at said local establishments! Come on! I took a huge pay cut at my job and teachers need to drink, too! Just sayin!