I know I said this last weekend, but honestly. WHAT A WEEKEND.
I just want to start out by saying it is in no way reasonable to expect to be able to review any of the many, many beers I was able to try at this festival. For Friday, we only had from 5 to 9 to use all 15 tokens, and I really thought I had a game plan, but in reality I was so unprepared for how enormous and overwhelming it all was! It was like if someone dropped off a 5 year old at Disney World and said "ok, you have 4 hours to pick 15 rides.... go!"
I went with my good friend Helen, and we stopped for a second and tried to make a game plan, but after about four beers that whole thing really just goes to hell. There are too many sights and sounds, games to play, people to talk to, new beers being tapped, and food to eat!
So instead of attempting to write incredibly detailed reviews, I'd love to just generally discuss what we had and go through my experience, hopefully to help those who want to go in the future or possibly just for entertainment (because it was a really, really fun day.)
Helen and I first ventured to the back of the festival, because it seemed like all the congestion was around the front. This was actually a really good idea, I would recommend it because a lot of tents that became incredibly popular later when people started moving back past Dark Horse Brewing Co. which was right at the front and had almost 100 beers to choose from!
We started at Saugatuck Brewing Company, which started drawing a crowd mostly due to all the cute beachy cutouts that you stick your face in to take pictures and kiddie swimming pools that you could stick your feet in to beat the heat. I tried the Bikini Bottom Pineapple IPA and Helen had the Ginger Honey Ale. I was really happy with what I had, it was a great way to start out the day and there were no surprises. Both tasted exactly like what they say, the Ginger Honey was incredibly fragrant with a little sweetness and a slightly spicy bite, and the fresh pineapple from my IPA mixed well with possibly citra or cascade hops.
While we drank our beers, we found a spot and tried to sort out a quick game plan that ended up not being relevant after about an hour.
While we went through and highlighted our priorities, I remembered to grab a photo before things got to hectic. I was so excited throughout the day, I really couldn't remember to take a lot of pictures, but this shows how nice and open it was before it was completely packed at about 7:30 p.m. It was a beautiful day for it, not an overwhelming amount of sun, but it was nice and warm all day and it didn't rain!
We then headed to Hopcat which was even further back. This is where I had one of my absolute favorite beers of the day, The Jerk. This was a really delicious pale ale spiced with Jamaican jerk seasoning and it was really, really hot. I mean, make your throat tingle and your nose water hot and I loved every second of it. This isn't for everyone, and the spice left little room for any traditional pale ale flavors or aromatics to come through, but it tasted damn good and I am really into some good heat on my palate on a summer day. They were not afraid to kick this beer up about ten spicy notches. Helen had the Naughty Nicodemus, which was an ale that used a gruit (an herbal mixture used to flavor beers, most popular before the 11th century as the use of hops to flavor beers became a more frequently used method) of juniper, cucumber, and lime zest. This beer was literally the polar opposite of The Jerk, as it was very cooling and soothing. The cucumber came through most powerfully, and I think it's equally a good choice for summer.
Next, Helen and I split briefly so we could get different breweries that were right next to each other. I went to Sherwood Brewing Company for the first time and tried their Wildflower Saison. It was ok. Definitely a decently done saison, but not terribly unique as I got more traditional saison yeast than I did floral notes. But it was good, and I'm obsessed with saisons for the summer months.
Everything after this point was amazingly delicious or unique, but also kind of a whirlwind. The festival site looked like this. Much more packed.
I think our next stop was Greenbush Brewing Company. This was the longest line of the day for us, but well worth the wait. Greenbush, like Dark Horse, came prepared with an enormous list to choose from. Helen and I ended up talking pretty extensively about what to order with quite a few other people, which helped pass the time. This was also the moment we realized over an hour had gone by and we'd had two beers.
It was time for us to take some serious action.
Once we got up to the front of the line, I grabbed the Barrel-Aged Mr. Hyde Coffee Cream Stout, which was spectacular but I can't promise a fair review of this one because this is where I stopped taking notes, and it also was the beginning of what I would like to call my "Barrel-Aged Binge."
We went to New Holland Brewing Company next. This was actually our second stop, because we had went their very early in the day to grab Helen a glass of Rye Hatter, but I knew what I wanted from New Holland and I didn't want to start with it. When we went back this time, Helen had a Firkin tapping of Dragon's Milk (when the same barrel used for fermentation is used to serve the beer) and I had Ashley's Cherry Dragon's Milk which was Dragon's Milk aged in cherry bitters barrels. I am almost positive this was what did us in for the rest of the night, knowing well that at home I can drink a 12oz bottle of Dragon's Milk and quit.
The awesome New Holland Brewery Elvis
That was also the moment we decided to get food. We ended up grabbing tamales, which were some of the most delicious I'd ever had, but we also had the absolute worst beers possible to go along with it. A higher percentage beer is horrible with spicy food because it literally is like dumping oil on a fire. Both the beer and the spice create a burning sensation in your mouth on their own, but together it generally becomes a hot, fiery mess.
Fortunately we didn't care much because both the beer and the food was so good!
We wandered to what was closest, which was Witch's Hat Brewing Company. I told you this was going to be a "Barrel-Aged Binge," so of course I had to get the Bourbon Barrell Well Water Barelywine. Again, no notes were taken. I'm sure it was delicious.
On the other side of the tent, we stopped at The Livery where I grabbed some Barrel-Aged Funkalicious, which was an imperial wild ale with raspberries. It definitely had some funk to it, probably from whatever yeast they used. I remember being pretty surprised by how much earthiness it had.
Then, knowing we were down to about an hour and a half left of time, we pretty much cut the nonsense and went into super sonic beer drinking mode.
We basically ran to Dark Horse Brewing Co.
My first choice was The Mighty Peach Basil Ale, but they had already run out. So I continued along my dark, dark road to intoxication and had the Unpredictable Chocolate Chili Stout. This one also had some nice heat actually. It had no head and the same grainy, heavy mouthfeel of thick, dark Mexican hot chocolate.
Because they had so many, we just turned around and got back in line. I finally turned towards the light and grabbed some Pam's Kitchen Ale, which was made with a mash of fresh lime and cilantro. I may not have been super impressed with this sober, but I just kept thinking of how much I wish I had another tamale to eat with this. Ultra refreshing, full of flavor. The cilantro gives it a bite and the limes were tart.
We then headed towards the back once again. We stopped at Kuhnhenn Brewing Company. We wanted to stop earlier, but with their festive mardi gras decor, they were really popular and hard to get to. I tried one of their cocktail-inspired beers, probably because I was too drunk to be afraid of the idea by the time we got there.
I had the Carnivale: Zombie, a beer inspired by the Zombie cocktail. I mean, it really just tasted like the cocktail, I shouldn't have been surprised! It drank like punch, it was really bizarre.
We then went further back to Sherwood again, because they had no line. They had just tapped their Daily Grind Kona Porter, infused with Kona coffee. I recall this being absolutely delicious.
We met someone who was pouring for Liberty Street Brewing Company, so we headed back with him and I grabbed my first taste of their Clementine Lemon Thyme. I don't remember anything about it, I'm sorry! I tried. I'm sure I liked it enough.
Then we headed to the back to say goodbye to one of Helen's friends, but on the way I saw The B.O.B.'s Brewery had a Chipotle Mango beer. It was definitely too sweet for me, but it wasn't bad to end the day with as it was a familiar flavor to leave in my mouth.
We found our ride (poorly) and headed back to Ann Arbor after that to sleep.
All in all, Michigan Beer Festival was amazing and highly entertaining. I can see why people go back every year, Helen and I turned to each other faithfully every ten minutes to express that yes, this is the best thing ever. Everyone seemed to have a great time (safely, thanks to how well organized the festival was). It was awesome to talk to the people that were pouring who were all very knowledgeable and looked like they were also having a really great time. I'm so thankful I got to go, and I will make sure I can go back again.
The other thing I noticed and loved about the festival was that everywhere I went, I heard people proudly proclaiming that Michigan is the greatest place in the world. What a priceless thing, gathering a group of people to not only celebrate the craft of beer, but also to celebrate what an amazing place Michigan is, especially after Detroit just declared bankruptcy and we're currently in the middle of some seriously strange summer weather shifts (100 to 50 in one week, really?). But we have so much to be proud of! Not only because of our unique and blossoming craft beer industry, but we have four amazing Great Lakes, delicious food from our local agricultural production, beautiful historic architecture, over 100 species of trees, an awesome hockey team, diverse wildlife, and somehow one of the most kind and neighborly populations in the United States despite all that we have lost.
