26. Moon River Brewing Co. - Marmota

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I don't know if anyone north of the Mississippi has noticed anything... odd about the weather, but currently we're experiencing what meteorologists have been calling The Polar Vortex.

So you can imagine my excitement when my mother agreed to come with me on a trip to Savannah, Georgia to visit an option I'd been exploring for graduate school BECAUSE THERE IS NO SNOW THERE.

Nothing was more beautiful in 2014 so far then landing at the Savannah airport, walking out those scary narrow steps off the plane and ripping off layers of coats and sweaters immediately, because it was 73 FREAKIN DEGREES.

ONLY CAPS LOCK CAN PROPERLY DEMONSTRATE MY EXCITEMENT.

I mean really, have you ever seen anything more beautiful and sunny than this? Especially for all of you up north.


 

Those are some clear blue skies, people!

Also, Savannah is kind of, well, special when it comes to beer. Or alcohol in general.

See, from Jones St. to the river (the historic district), you can drink in public as long as it's in a plastic container. There are no open container laws.

So while this unique drinking experience felt highly illegal for the first day or two, I finally started to relax about the whole thing and really enjoyed having the chance to carry my beer from place to place. Honestly, it really helps you pace yourself when you don't feel rushed to finish your beer as well, I think it's a good idea and it works very well for Savannah.

While I tried to drink only regional selections (Georgia and the Carolinas), I think I'm going to talk about one of the beers I had that was brewed right in downtown Savannah.

The first night in Savannah was spent at Moon River Brewing Company. We could even drink out in their new beer garden! I had absolutely delicious brisket tacos, there was great music playing, and in case you weren't from Michigan and thought 58 degrees was cold, there were fireplaces to keep you warm.

My favorite selection for the night was definitely the Marmota, a Belgian APA fusion (6% ABV). This is the unaged batch of their Sombra de Marmota, which was aged in tequila barrels. I would have loved to try that when they had it!

Served in a pint glass, this beer was the color of overripe peaches. Very little lacing or retention.

The aroma was certainly fruity, leaning more on the belgian side. Some nice citrus combined with subtle tropical fruits and a slight caramel malt.

This had delicious belgian characteristics coming from the yeast, banana, cinnamon, clove, but it was balanced nicely with some pineapple citrus west coast style hoppage. The combination actually made the finish on this beer quite hot. Not warm alcoholic hot, but spicy and zesty. It was delicious and refreshing, especially considering it was quite carbonated and airy. I could imagine really enjoying this beer in the middle of spring, though it may even be too heavy for a Savannah summer.


Up front on the left is the Marmota. On the right is the Wild Wacky Wit, also quite nice. Savannah's version of Oberon/Dirty Blonde/Whitsun.... you know what I mean.

Anyway, Moon River is also considered to be incredibly haunted and was featured on that ghost hunting show on the Travel Channel. Savannah is actually the most haunted city in America, so I'm sure if you asked one of the bartenders here they would have some pretty interesting haunted stories!

I'm really in love with this town and I can't wait to return or possibly live here! I would at least love to come to the Beer Festival in Savannah on August 31. Mark your calendars!




Illinois vs. Michigan, How is This Even a Battle?

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Michigan has a tendency to do battle with the states it touches.

Maybe we're more aggressive than other states, but in general (and I am bias), I am pretty sure it's because other people are just jealous.

First, it was the great Toledo War for 1835, a fight for the Toledo strip with Ohio (and kind of Indiana), which seems so ridiculous now, but actually the area was commercially very significant. Unfortunately, Michigan ended up Toledo-less, and you can just feel the fury every time we play Ohio State in basically every sport.

Then, a battle less serious in nature, in 2011 Wisconsin laughably tried to claim that they were in fact the Mitten State. Sorry guys, but that's not a mitten I'd like to wear. There is only one "Mitten State."



Now Illinois is trying to take us down in a beer related lawsuit.

Apparently, a startup brewery in Rockford Illinois has filed a lawsuit against Michigan's own Rockford Brewing Company for their name.

Seth Rivard from Rockford Brewing Company (the Michigan one) is spot on in how he believes the lawsuit will go.

“They own zero rights to that name,” said Rivard. “We’d been using it two years before they even started.”

Rockford Brewing Company (the Michigan one)

Hilariously, Rockford Brewing Company (the Illinois one) claims the origins of its name are from 1849, when a pioneer opened a brewery in the same location.

Rockford Brewing Company (the Illinois one)

I'm sorry guys, but that is quite the stretch. Especially considering the fact that copyright laws have changed drastically since 1849. The current brewery only opened its doors in 2013, where Rockford Brewing Company (the Michigan one) has been around since 2011 catering to mug club members.

We'll all have to wait with baited breath until mid to late February to see how this one turns out. If you have a free minute, check out their Facebook page and show them some support!

That's not witty, it's just plain offensive

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So you brewed this awesome, amazing beer and you want everyone to try it. You just need a way to get people's attention. Perhaps a unique and memorable name for your beer? Or maybe some really great artwork for your label?


This is where the fork in the road between a good idea and a bad idea should become very, VERY defined.


For example, these are really clever. Some are flat out hilarious.

 
Good job New England Brewing Co, bravo!
Gotta laugh at this one, Battle Creek is Cereal City!
Yeah, this one has a "bad word." You should be 21 anyway, you've seen worse.
Just... I can't.


With so many craft breweries competing for unique and memorable names and artwork, I understand the urge to get, well... vulgar. There are names I won't mention here because they may be mildly offensive to people who may have sensitive ears. 

But I have a very thick, decisive line drawn in the sand about what I deem truly offensive. The fork in the road divides when a beer stops being funny, or even childishly crass, and starts to directly target a group of people. Laughing at the expense of minorities in particular is just not funny or original, it's over that very thick and obvious sand line. You have taken the wrong side of the fork in the road! This time, it's the road less traveled because it's flat out not ok.

Here's a list of some of my top offenders, and feel free to dispute these. But these beer names and labels leave a bad taste in my mouth that I couldn't get out, even if the beer did taste good.

1. Mouth Raper IPA, Hop Valley 
News of this beer name has recently started circulating the internet as it is more affectionately known as MR IPA.... I wonder why. For pretty much all of these I shouldn't have to explain my reasoning on, as reading the names out loud to a test group received a chorus of audible groans and sighs without any sort of suplimental description. But after doing some internet searching, it turns out this is the one that most people try to dispute as being non-offensive. There are plenty of arguments floating around that state that IPAs have historically violent names... if this was called Mouth Killer, would we still be up in arms about it? NO. That argument is stupid. Who are you offending with "Mouth Killer," dead people? Actual killers? People who have had family members die from mouth related injuries? If anything, it might make you afraid to drink the beer. But Mouth Raper obviously targets a very tangible, living group of people who have survived a very traumatic event. 1 in 5 women have been sexually assulted in the US alone, and that number gets more staggering when you see how many out of those women were under the age of 18. That number only quatifies the women, and only ones that have come forward. This beer shows an obscene insensitivity towards anyone who has suffered through this traumatic event. I mean, this one is so obviously wrong, it's appalling to me that it's still on the market. Someone get this beer off the shelves immediately.

2. Le Corsaire Brewery as a whole

This Quebec brewery has garnered a lot of media attention because it really is that awful. With names like “The Hooker” and “La Tite Pute” (Little Slut), you can probably guess which group is being attacked here. Once again, another brewery has found a way to marginalize women as a whole. It's disappointing and it's disgusting. You've also got the label (shown above), for La Perruche (the parrot), which could be harmless, except they've given a nude woman parrot wings and stuck her in a cage. Good job, Le Corsaire. Everyone is mad. Next.

3. Oh Me So Hoppy to Wheat You, Oddside Ales

And good ol' Michigan makes the list with this racially insensitve mess. It's a shame because people that I've talked to claim the beer is pretty solid, but again with what I said about the bad taste in my mouth. I wouldn't even be able to taste it after looking at this label. Derisious? Lingers long time? Are we seriously doing this? My friend Franklin said it best when he told me that "If an Asian-American came into the store and asked for a recommendation on a really hoppy wheat beer, I would not feel comfortable recommending this." I couldn't agree more. It's embarrassing we haven't moved past these types of jokes.


4. Polygamy Porter, Wasatch Beers

Some Mormons are upset because the beer is making fun of their polygamous past, others are offended by the nudity. Either way, no one wins when this beer is actually brewed in Utah, where there's bound to be offended individuals walking by this beer daily in their local beer market. Not to mention, their tagline? Why have just one! Come one, now we're back to offending women. No one wins with this beer. Except maybe the guy on the label, he looks pretty thrilled.


5. Malus Pater and Tia Loca, Beer Here
Speaking of religiously offensive labels, this certainly takes the cake for most offended Catholics per pint. "Oh, haha let's poke fun at Catholic priests molesting young boys, no one's ever done that before!"

But they didn't stop there! Oh no, things can only get worse for Beer Here, who decided that their next label should obviously feature none other than cartoon Hitler himself, depicted as Tin Tin. Poor Snowy's been replaced by a snarling German Shepherd and it's raining German sterotypes who are raising a glass as he raises a salut. This should have never happened. It's offensive to basically everyone, and it needs to go.



This list, unfortunately, could go on forever. I understand the struggle to be creative, witty, memorable, and avoid a lawsuit (legal battles happen every day between breweries that accidentally use the same beer name or have similar labels). This isn't an excuse to get offensive. There is no reason to target a specific group of people for your own amusement or for attention from the press.

And to all the brewers out there, if you think even for a second that your beer name or label might offend a group of people, it probably will. I'm begging you, if your beer name or label has offended people, especially if they have contacted you about it, please change it. I, like many others, want to drink your beer. I do! But with a name like that, I just can't.


Why I'm Not Sleeping (more affectionately known as KALAMAZOO BEER WEEK)

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I've kind of been working a lot recently.

I don't mean to brag, but once January ends, I'll have worked every day this month except three. And not just short, quick shifts. Long, grueling, 8-13 hour days and it's been awesome, because it's all for Kalamazoo Beer Week.

Because of how involved I've been in this year's KBW, I feel like it's been particularly magical, and I want you all to know about it, whether you're in Kalamazoo or not. But right now, it's just not fesable for me to write a comprehensive blog post.

So I'm going to encourage you, if you feel so inclined, to follow me on twitter @beautybrew

I'm trying to update as frequently as I can without risking dropping my phone into my beer, so you won't miss a second of beer week awesomeness.

And to make up for this shamelessly promotional post (not to mention it's incredibly short), I'll include some photo highlights from KBW thus far.

Enjoy, and cheers!

Beer, our KBW mascot, is a bear/deer, and is pretty sad about finding his cousin in a local boutique downtown Kalamazoo.

Nothing better than breakfast at Bell's with some live music!

Bites and Flights at Bravo!

Look at those snazzy coasters made by the Imperial Beverage design team!

Beer, glorious beer.

Gonzo shows off his tattoo. Good looking logo!

Right Brain Whole Pie series at Shake's. They brewed these beers with whole pies from Traverse City Pie Company!

Brewery Vivant cans, a beautiful sight indeed.

25. GREENBUSH BREWING CO. - DELUSION

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So I made the stunning transition from non-smartphone owner to iphone owner in December. What's stunning about this is that I am in my twenties, so I understand this makes me an anomaly, being a millennial that just joined the 21st century, but not owning a smartphone.... well, to put it gently, it showed me how to not be an asshole.

I have, too many times, been that person that sits and tries to have actual face to face conversations with people who hardly look up from their device(s) to give me the time of day, and I just do not want to be that person, ever. There are too many real, tangible experiences you'll miss out on!

However, having an iphone has allowed me to actually take pictures, on the spot, no preparation necessary. Something I have never been able to do, so every time since I've gotten this phone, taking a photo has been equally liberating and exhilarating.

We had a great tour, ate a delicious meal complete with every type of pizza on the menu and the best wings I have ever had in all the years I have lived on this earth. Honestly, they made chicken taste way better than anyone else has ever been able to. So juicy, full of flavor, and the perfect amount of hot.



One of Greenbush's winter offering, Mammoth


Some images from the brewery tour with Scott and Jen, their marketing director. You can't not stop if you're anywhere near Southwest Michigan.

I feel safer already!


Between myself and my coworkers, we tried pretty much every beer on the tap menu for the day. Each and every one was delicious, which you should already know coming into the brewery considering Greenbush brews some of the most highly sought after craft beers in Michigan right now.

My favorite of the day was certainly Delusion (11.7% abv), a rye whiskey barrel aged imperial cream stout. Commence cravings.


There's no point in having this image in color. This beer is black.

I adore this beer for so many reasons. It has strong aromas of butterscotch candies, irish cream, espresso, and definitely whiskey. This beer is such a high ABV, even the smell is hot, on the inside of your nose, your eyes, and the back of your throat without burning. You know you're in for a treat.


Right up front, the flavor is whiskey is there, but it subdues into a lot more complex flavors. The booziness doesn't overwhelm other, more delicate notes, like vanilla cream or bittersweet chocolate. There's a consistent, lingering flavor of butterscotch, which was also the predominant note in the aroma, so it's not a surprise. It actually makes this one of the sweeter beers I've had from Greenbush, but not your typical sweet beer by any means. There's a little bit of caramelized sugars, but the bittersweet chocolate, oak and roasted espresso beans balance out the sweet very nicely.

Mouthfeel is substantial, medium body with little carbonation.

Though Delusion is available in bottles (very limited supply), having this beer on tap is a great excuse to finally get down to Sawyer and visit this awesome, up and coming Michigan establishment.... Can we still call Greenbush up and coming? Sometimes it feels like they're exploding in the Michigan beer scene, despite their youth. But Greenbush is truly worth the trip, whether you live near or far. Go down and visit sometime, and tell me when you do! I just might join you...

Though I'll have to bring my mother, she can't pass up antiquing in Sawyer.

24. Short's Brewing Co. - Evil Urges

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This may be a cardinal sin of beer blogging, but I'm about to get political on you.


Michigan's had a rough week, politically. Wednesday, Michigan congress used a disgusting legal loophole to bypass the democratic system by claiming that the signatures of "Right to Lifers" represented everyone in our state with a citizen-initiated bill to make women purchase what many people have rightfully been calling "rape insurance." Basically, women in Michigan now need to purchase separate insurance if they ever, under any circumstances, need an abortion, and the biggest issue people see with this is the women who, on top of being violently assaulted, find out they are pregnant after being raped. The bill is clearly proposed to try and prevent anyone from having an abortion, which I think is wrong in general. Regardless of the reason, I think all women should be allowed to choose what happens to their bodies. But even for people that have moral issues with that (and to them, I say tough shit, but moving on), you're still not making compensations for women who are pregnant from their attackers, or women who need an abortion as a medically necessary procedure because their life is in danger or the life of the child is in danger. I can't find the right words to explain how disgusted I am.

Then, literally THE NEXT DAY our senate passes a bill that would force welfare recipients to take a drug test to continue to receive government aide. This is a touchy subject I've found for a lot of people, but at the end of the day, what you have to understand is that drug addiction is actually an illness, and we need to help these people and treat them like fellow humans, not criminals. Other states that have this law actually have seen more expenses going into the actual drug testing than savings from the people they cut off from welfare because so few of them actually do test positive. On top of that, a wonderful point my friend Christina made is that we pay the salaries of members of our legislator but do we submit them to spontaneous drug testing based on suspicion? No, they refuse.

So basically, my state has marginalized women and impoverished people. Bravo.

I'm sorry, I'll get off my high horse now, but maybe that will help you understand how much I mean this when I say that after this week, I NEED A DRINK.

And a really, really good one at that. So while my boyfriend and I enjoyed The Hobbit at Alamo Drafthouse last night, saying I was thrilled to see they had Short's Evil Urges (9% abv) on tap last night is a gross understatement.

First of all, look at this label.



I mean, LOOK AT THE FACE. I just love it. It made me laugh and say aw. I love the Short's logo in the eyes. I love the evil cats on either side. It's just so great. It looks like my cat, Athena.

Poured into a tulip, this Belgian Strong Ale was completely opaque, but not quite black. The head was thick and tan, but settled into a thin, off white layer with great lacing that clung to the edges of the glass. 

You can probably guess the aroma from the beer type, it was right on point. A perfect blend of roasted malt, pumpernickel bread, cloves, and banana candy.

Taste was nice and warm, exactly what you want when it's been blizzarding for the majority of the week. A lot of beautiful things going on here, but primarily I'm getting a strong triple punch of bittersweet chocolate, cinnamon and cloves, and banana esters. After one sip, I couldn't stop comparing it to chocolate covered bananas. It's less roasty than the aroma would lead you to believe, but nonetheless satisfying. I also got a lingering yeasty earthiness. There's a bit of hops and date at the finish, but overall this is like a thick, dark quad that warms you immediately from head to toe.



Definitely complex, pulling inspiration from a lot of different beer qualities. I really enjoyed it, and for a moment, I forgot the troublesome state of our state and the raging blizzard outside while escaping into Middle Earth with this beer in hand. Unfortunately, I woke up all too aware that the escapist bliss I experienced was only temporary. Now I have to shovel the driveway knowing that when I return home from work, I'll probably have to shovel it again to be able to pull the car in because the snow is seriously coming down out there.

Yep, that's outside my window.... only double that because this picture was taken yesterday.


I've lived in Michigan my whole life, you'd think I'd be used to it! Ah well, back to reality.


This Day in History

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So it's December 5.....

Does that ring any bells? Maybe December 5, 1933 in particular? 80 years ago today?

I don't need to keep prompting you guys, you're smart cookies. You know today is the anniversary of the repeal of prohibition!


But before we passed the 21st Amendment, making the 18th Amendment void, the United States faced a dark 13 years that I think are worth reflecting on today.

With Prohibition came may unintended consequences, including increased criminal activity. And I'm not just talking about theft and murder, though both spiked drastically during this time. Prohibition made tons of average citizens into criminals, through illegal purchase and bootlegging. Because of the amount of resentment the government faced, public drunkenness actually increased because Americans had such spite for the law. America had not only abandoned the will of its people, it had abandoned the national craft of fermentation and distillation.

But just look at us know! Every American supposedly lives within 50 miles of a brewery! Craft beer is a booming industry because in 1933, our government realized that prohibition was not a solution to the problems alcohol may cause. Just remember that the only thing that can solve these issues now, because they are not gone, is personal responsibility for the consumption of alcohol.

So go out tonight and grab a beer, support an American business, and toast with a stranger in the bar to your rights as an American! But also remember that it's equally important to be responsible about it.

Happy Repeal Day!