Soo Brewing Company. Brand new! (well, like 4 months)

Greetings McGlass-ers!

Communicator Guy here. Visiting my folks this week waaaaaay up here in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and was very pleasantly surprised to find Soo Brewing Company, brand new as of late March 2011, gracing a previously unoccupied space on the main drag of Sault Ste. Marie MI.

True Dat.  Fresh Beer is the Best Beer.

Ray Bauer's longtime dream of opening a brewery presented itself a few years ago, and in 2010 he took his experience as an avid homebrewer and began jumping through the legal hoops required to open his own brewery. On today's visit he had 4 fresh beers on, the Soo Brew, a lovely Hefeweitzen, a citrusy IPA and a wonderfully roasty stout. And in his fermentors are 3 different recipes that will be fresh soon. And the community is responding - his very first week, he sold out of beer! 

Brewmaster and Owner, Ray Bauer.

The Communicator Guy, and The Dad of Communicator Guy.  Cheers!

Craft beer, folks- it's regenerating communities, providing jobs, and changing how people feel about what "quality beer" is. And chances are, it's right under your nose! Now get to Soo Brewing and try Ray's beer. It's worth it. See you next time!

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.

If its not Scottish, its Tract!

Hey HHG -- Happy Guy Joe in MI here. Stopped in to The Blue Tractor in Ann Arbor yesterday night, just in time for 10pm Happy Hour. Half off all of their homemade brews, which takes a pint down to 3 bucks! 

I started with the Scottish Ale, and man, that made my head spin. Licorice and honey notes, with a slap-yo-face start and a sweet finish. Good stuff, but too hard core for me. I switched over to the Java Stout for my second pint. Half off means I get two, right?

For the macro-fans, they have a decent craft pilsner, and if that still scares them off, you can buy cans of PBR, Black Label (my dad's favorite), Stroh's, Blatz and Schlitz for $2.50. 

Wolverines!

Hey HHG! Joe, Michigan Guy-at-Large here. Many members of the Sheep Hockey Team spent Friday and Saturday night at the Wolverine State Brewing Taproom this weekend. Friday was after our 5-3 loss to Carpen; Saturday was to watch the UM Wolverines take on UMD in the NCAA national championship game. Although the good team lost in both cases, the beer and atmosphere a WSB was outstanding!

WSB is doing AMAZING things with Lagers. Until Friday, I was still stuck in the mindset of "ales are good, lagers are bad". Wow - these guys changed my mind, and quick. The Helles was outstanding; their Winter Lager mayb have been the best winter beer I've ever had, and their Porter isn't bad either. In fact, those who drank their way through the menu (and you know who you are, PETE and IAN!) had absolutely no complaints.

 

 

Matt Roy, founder, president, lagerhead, and former UM Glee Club member, took the Sheep on a tour of the brewing facilities. Did I mention that they are doing AWESOME things with lagers? Man - I had it all wrong.  It's not all about the ales. It's all about good craft beer made by passionate people!

By the way - the WSB tap room doesn't have a kitchen, but have Pilar's Tamales in on Friday nights, and on Saturday they had Ray's Red Hots in the parking log. Or you can bring in your own food (the chinese place across the street is a good choice, and all pizza joints in the area will deliver right to to your table).

Summertime, and the Oberon's pouring

Hello out there , beautiful people. Joe here, the Michigan Guy-at-large. I was in Cleary's Pub in Howell on Monday night, and the first sign of spring was there -- Bell's Oberon. Now, if the snow would just stop falling, I can get down to some serious snoozing-on-the-patio chill'axin'.

By the way -- Cleary's (on Grand River, east of Mich Ave) has half-off on pizzas on Monday nights. That's $7 for a large pepperoni. And it may be the best pie in the L.C.

-Joe

Video episode #161: HOW TO start a Nanobrewery. (feat. Blackrocks!)

The Guys head to the Great White North, specifically Marquette, Michigan, where Andy Langlois and Dave Manson (the CoFounders of Blackrocks Brewery) are hard at work. ;No joke; these guys ran out of beer on their opening weekend, and in a very short time this community's thirst for innovative beer has stretched their nanobrewing capacity to the limit.