Recap: Michigan Cask Ale Festival At Ashley's Westland

'Twas brillig! I was on hand as a, uh, technical advisor, which meant mainly getting handed samples of beer and getting asked if it was OK. (Note: it is always OK to give me beer.)

Here is what poured:

Bell's Double Cream Stout
Bell's Amber
Bell's Porter
Arbor Larry Hoppe Imperial IPA
Stone Oak-aged Smoked Porter
Morland Old Speckled Hen
New Holland Mad Hatter IPA
Motor City Brewing Works Pale Ale
Flying Dog Doggie Style Pale Ale
Dark Horse Crooked Tree IPA
Dragonmead Earl's Spit Stout
Dark Horse Scotty Karate Scotch Ale
Kuhnhenn Brothers Loony Kuhnie Pale Ale
Greene King IPA
Founders Centennial IPA
Arcadia Scotch Ale
Greene King Ruddles County Bitter

Unbelievably, I managed to sample all but one! This was mostly due to limiting my sample sizes, though I didn't apply that limit to the Double Cream. All of the Bell's beers were in excellent condition, with nice long lasting foam stand. The quality overall was excellent; some favorites were Arcadia Scotch, Ruddles, and Loony Kuhnie.

Kudos to Jeff Mohr and his staff for pulling this off, and also to our buddy Gary Lawrence and his colleagues at Rave Associates for their planning and hard work. There is already talk about repeating this event in the spring. Count me in!

Upcoming events at Ashley's are posted at www.ashleys.com.