Hey Artsy, move over and let someone else have a chance. In preparation for THHG's eminent trip to the Wolverine State Brewing Company next week, here's what we sampled at the Michigan Summer Brewers Festival last month: Garden Weasel! Thanks to The Beer Wench for the sassy brew and sassier talk.
Video: Erin's MISBF Food Review
Hey Guys! When we stopped by the Michigan Summer Beef Festival a few weeks ago, we were pleasantly surprised by the food choices. Jambalaya. Local cheeses. Pulled pork. Tamales. Dang -- they may have to put "Food" in the title next year. Here is Erin, a festival-goer who we ate with. She fills us in on the food and and her favorite brews.
Video: Short's ISP
Hey Guys! Here's a tidbit from the Michigan Brewer's Festival in Ypsi last month. Here, John from Short's Brewing Company convinces LoudGuy to spend one of his precious tokens on a India Spruce Pilsner. Excellent initial hit, with a fantastic shout-out to the north woods. A token well spent, my friends.
Good Things A-Brewing in MI
Howdy THHG Folks. Loud Guy Here. Spent the evening at the 14th Annual Michigan Summer Beer Festival with the new Science Guy. Much video to edit and upload later, but here are some picts to wet your appetite. Lots of beer to love here (62 breweries, about 150 beers). The ones that stuck out for us were: Bell's Batch 9000, Arcadia's Shipwreck Porter, Original Gravity's Barrel Aged Bellywasher, Wolverine State's Garden Weasel, Founder's All Day IPA, Short's Bloody Beer, and Dark Horse's Raspberry Ice Black. But you really can't go wrong anywhere at the Festival.
The Great Beer State
Holy Pants, Batman. Loud Guy here. The Michigan 14th Annual Summer Beer Festival is the hottest ticket in town. And we're gonna be there. Here's a list of what we have to choose from. Any requests?
Always. Try. The. Fish. Tacos.
Hey Kids. I just returned from a motorcycle trip circling Lake Huron. Much more postage to come, but I had to get this up ASAP. Stopping in Grand Bend, Ontario, just north of The Pinery Provincial Park, we stumbled in to the Sunset House at the end of the "road to the beach". Grand Bend has been voted "the Bahamas of Ontario" by at least two people, and The Sunset House is a fantastic place to take it all in. Two outdoor eating places, a full service bar (we didn't partake; we still hand some riding left to do), and some great daily specials. Most importantly, for $11 on Friday nights, you can get homemade Fish Tacos. Now, I am a fan of Fish Tacos (my personal motto: "Always Try The Fish Tacos"). But these were outstanding. Local-caught Pickerel (skin-on) with a spicy tomato-based sauce and plenty of cilantro over hand made soft corn tortillas. You gotta get up here and try this. I'm sure its even better with a cold Canadian beer.
Sunset House, 85 Main St, Grand Bend, Ontario. 519-238-2622
Elmer T. Lee and the Great Mushroom Caper
Hey Philip Pfans! Loud Guy here. I just spent the last weekend in northern Michigan with two friends, a book of trumpet duets, a six pack of Founders' Red's Rye IPA, and a bottle of Elmer T. Lee bourbon. We were supposed to spend the weekend picking Morel mushrooms in the hardwood tree forests of MI, but the mushrooms don't seem to like snow and 25-degree weather. So my Mr Skone, Mr Quint and I spent the weekend getting to know Elmer T. Lee a little better. And this is the start of a beautiful friendship!
Elmer T. has similar vanilla notes to Buffalo Trace wiskey (see THHG video), and is exceptionally smooth. Someone on the internets called it a "gateway whiskey", and I have to agree; no burn on the way down, and a nice linger of sweetness. We paired it with grilled steaks and cornish hens, both cooked over a camp fire. The maple was wet, and the smokiness really went well with Elmer. Before and after dinner, I poured it over ice: nice!
There's not much left of my first bottle of Elmer T, so I'll be heading out to get another, and this time I'll grab some Buffalo Trace too, to do some side-by-side sampling.