As he writes.....

As Mr Cicerone is sitting beside me writing his post about the Winter Fest (which I didn't attend because I just can't manage being outside in cold weather for 5 hours. Even with great beer.),  I'm enjoying (immensely!) Kuhnhenn 4th Dementia Olde Ale (wow, and wow), while simultaneously dancing to Vusi Mahlasela around our living room. Vusi, an amazing musician from South Africa, has a voice that will make you weep tears of joy. We were lucky enough to see him at The Ark about 2 years ago.
(Oh, and we just finished dinner - weisswurst, braised red cabbage and home-made spaetzl. Accompanied by Metroplitan Brewing's Dynamo Copper Lager and Schlenkerla Eiche Oak-smoked doppelbock.)

MBG Winter Festival Recap

I had hoped to 'live blog' from the festival, but due to a combination of poor signal, phone browser/blogger incompatibility, and who-knows-what-all technical issues I wasn't going to waste valuable festival time battling, I only managed a couple posts. Plus, I didn't want to be that thumb-typing, distracted weenie, I wanted to be a beer-tasting-talking-to-my-buds weenie! As ever, I tasted a tiny fraction of the available beers, what with running my fool yap and all. Some highlights:

• Grizzly Peak Burton-Brussels Express Wood-aged IPA, pleasantly woody, and Verloene Hosen (Lost Pants) (understandable!) Uber-Marzen, a malt-based 'dope slap.'
• Arcadia Panama Red Smoked Imperial Red Ale, liberally hopped with Citra- smokey and hoppy and very more-ish.
• Jolly Pumpkin Bambic, a blend of two lambic-type beers with fresh Bam Biere. Whoo!
• New Holland Envious, a strong barrel aged beer made with pears and raspberries.

The biggest highlight was of course the wonderful feeling of community shared by all of the brewers and beer lovers. Beer people are the best!

Another highlight: I caught Beer Todd being the "thumb-typing" guy, and called him on it, but he had an excuse: "I have to text my brother and tell him he's a big gay pussy!" Since fully 50% of the digital traffic between me and Uncle Dave is comprised of just such repartee, I had to let him off....

The Last Cask at Jolly Pumpkin

We waste no beer!

Beer Fest Update

I live at Jolly Pumpkin now.

Attempt At Blogging Beerfest

Blogger and Droid appear to have irreconcilable differences, so I will update via the barbaric email method... Whooo!

Brew Day, Batch 335: Kolsch

Spring will be here before you know it, and we'll want some Kolsch to drink. That is all....

MBG Winter Festival

Whoo! Beer Fest! Whoo! Tomorrow morning, I am heading to Grand Rapids for the sold out Michigan Brewers Guild Winter Festival. I'll be on the bus from Arbor Brewing with my lil' brother, Uncle Dave. Whoo!

A small blurb about Mexican food & beer.....

Behold these magnificent enchiladas made by Mr Cicerone recently. They are filled with his own smoky pulled pork, and the sauce is made from our own canned heirlooms from last summer. What a treat. Frontera Grill couldn't have done better. Our beer of choice was Mikkeller Chipotle Porter. I scored 6 bottles of this beer at the store, it's gone, and there is no more. (If anyone sees any out there, grab one! The chocolate and chili combination in this beer is outstanding. If you like that combination. Which I do. A lot.)

Talking about all things Mexican, we were mightily impressed by a couple of  beers from Cucapa brewery, of Mexico, that we tried over the weekend. We'd tried a few of their beers before and were not crazy about them, but these two were excellent. Low Rider Rye Pale Ale, at 7.2% (22oz bottle), had everything you might want to taste in a rye beer. Including RYE. Sure, there was some good hop flavour and bitterness in the finish, but not enough to stomp all over the rye. The beer is richly malty, spicy from the rye, and heavy'ish bodied. Wow. (The graphics on the label are hilarious too.) La Migra Imperial Stout was also a winner. Roasty, a wee bit of bitter chocolate, hoppy finish and warming.

Funny label too! Couldn't find a picture of the Low Rider, sadly. Mr Cicerone really loved that one.

Not from the grocery store.....

Or the candy shop. These are real eggs! I used a few to make a mustard hollandaise. To pour over steamed whole okra. Mm Mm.

(Thank Matt & Anka!)

Brew Day, Batch 333: Rye Peppercorn Pale Ale

Yeah. Like this. Haven't been brewing much, owing mainly to cooperage gridlock. We've blown a few kegs, so I'ma ramp up production again....

Happy Birthday Fort Street!

Today is the sixth anniversary of the opening of Fort Street Brewery, and we will be heading down there to toast them with a bottle of Doug's Opus Amor wheat wine we've cellared since their fifth anniversary. Whoo!

Lots of new small batch beers will be released all through the week to celebrate. Check it out.

Some great events coming up!

The first annual FeBREWary- tomorrow! Feb 12.

FeBREWary at Detroit Beer Co. You can win tickets to the sold out Michigan Brewers Guild's winter fest. Read all about it......
http://www.michiganmicrobrews.com/home/2011/1/31/febrewary-on-broadway.html


Fort Street Brewery's 6th anniversary celebration- starts on Monday 14th! Some information.....
http://www.fortstreetbeer.com/fort_street_new_design_009.htm

And, Ashley's Belgian Fest at Ashley's Westland. Starts next Wednesday 16th. Read all about it....
https://sites.google.com/site/ashleysbbf/home

Remember this?

It's back. Well, in Ohio anyway. (Thanks to our friends Doug & Tracy for bringing us back a bottle!) Enjoyed immensely with a recent dinner of pan-fried calf's liver with a light sauce made from deglazing the pan with Mr Cicerone's Schwarzbier and adding a touch of pomegranate molasses. And a side of rich caramelized onions. Mmmm, good.