Michigan Brewers Guild Summer Fest '12 Is Over

...watcha wanna do next? How 'bout...

Whoooooo!

Hot Glass Cold Beer. An awesome event!

Thursday August 2nd, 5-10PM, at Furnace Design Studio/Glass Academy, Dearborn. These lovely people know how to make gorgeous works of (glass) art, and they love Michigan beer! Mr Cicerone and I will be pouring beer at this event. There will be 5 Michigan breweries at the event, glass blowing demonstrations, and beautiful objets d'art for sale.

For those on Facebook, details here. For those not, details here.

Wanna drink your Michigan beer from this? Then come by!

My turn! It's Michigan Craft Beer Month

Wow, haven't been able to get a word in, what with Mr Cicerone brewing up a storm, and blogging about it. So here's a small one......

July is Michigan Craft Beer Month, officially declared by our legislature! Support our local brewers by buying Michigan-made beer this month! Not only will you be helping our local economy, you'll be doing yourself a favour by buying some of the country's finest beers! It's a win-win if I ever saw one!

Here's one beer that will leave you very happy, and refreshed during the hot July days! And, there's a couple of facts in there about the Michigan beer industry, too. (Oops, after watching it, my accent makes it sound like I said "Legislator", but it was, indeed, "Legislature". Us Australians and our weird pronunciations.)

An Intriguing Beer Dinner

Rattlesnake Club is doing an all-IPA beer dinner next week on Thursday. A very interesting idea; check it out here. What other beer styles would you think might lend themselves to such an adventure?

Beer Week! Whooo!!

This week, we are on the "Beer Dinner A Day" diet, a grueling marathon. The first event, the Dogfish Head dinner at Slows, was amazing; Mrs. C has loads of food-porn pix, and will recap the dinner, but just let me say, Whooo!!

It warms my heart to see a beer dinner at Slows again after so much time off, and to see Chef Brian and Chef Mike so happy to be doing what they do so well. Can't wait for the next one. Meantime, we're off to Foran's Grand Trunk tonight for a dinner featuring Barry Johnson's Saugatuck Brewing Co. beers.

Detroit Beer Week Approaches

We're still a bit short on details, but here is the executive summary:

When: October 13-23, 2011
What: Beer related special events
Where: All of your favorite beery places around town
Who: All of us!
Why: Beer! Whoooo!!
How: Show up thirsty....

A growing list of some of the events can be seen here.

We would also like to point out that the Michigan Brewers Guild Fall Festival will be on the 22nd at Eastern Market. Whooo!

Dragonmead Dinner At Foran's Grand Trunk

I'm a little late in getting this up, but it's still worth salivating about...

Menu, click to embiggen.

This dinner was great from end to end, and we were very happy to dine with our friend Mr. Bill Wrobel, one of Dragonmead's owners, and his son Andrew. Bill is an active supporter of the homebrewing scene, and a first-rate beer judge.

The first course was pretty exciting for us, as it combined so many of our favorite foods in one course (polenta for Mr. C, prawns and Manchego for Mrs.) The beer, which has a lot of depth in both the malt and the hop department, seemed to tilt one way or the other depending on how much of each morsel was on the fork.

The sweet sloppy joe and zippy slaw were really good with the Ring of Fire; both carried heat but also tempering sweetness.

Guest Chef Marc Djozlija's pork loin dish was very carefully put together, and it paid off. The potato/goat cheese puree was a good foil for the apricot ale, with its tangy and earthy flavors. The pork and stone fruit compote resonated with the fruity and malty flavors in the beer, and it was all bound together with a drizzled reduction made from cooking down some pork bones with, among other things, (if I recall correctly,) some of the beer. A great pairing. We look forward to Marc doing a beer dinner again some day at his place of employment. It was interesting to find out from Bill that "Castlebrite" is actually a variety of apricot, the name making it a compelling ingredient for Dragonmead....

Dessert. Well. Mrs. C. and Mr. Wrobel just basically thought all they needed was some of the Calders Vanilla and the Sin Eater beer, a strong Belgian Dark type ale as an ice cream float. The ice cream melted quickly on top of the battered, deep fried apple, but they just poured it right into their beers! I must admit that although this was aesthetically challenging, it tasted OK. The apple, with a light crispy fried batter coating, lit up a sense memory for me, and it took some rummaging around in my dusty old brain to figure it out: McDonald's apple pie! They don't make these any more, because they're unhealthy(!?)(Who knew you're not supposed to subsist on fast food?) but they were standard apple pie filling inside a crispy, deep fried batter coating. And they were awesome, if you weren't so eager that you burned your face off on the scalding thing. A tasty blast from my distant past.

The next beer dinner at Foran's will feature New Holland beer, and is on Tuesday, August 16. We'll be there!

MBG Summer Festival 2011

The heck with Christmas and all of those Hallmark holidays, this is my idea of a red letter day. I just looked at the final brewery and beers list, and it is staggering. I didn't count, but am told there are a total of 450 different beers. Check out Dark Horse's lineup- it looks like they account for about 50 of 'em! Michigan Microbrews has the .pdf of the official festival program here.

As if time wasn't short enough to conduct our important field research, we are taking time out to participate in a Brew Bubbas panel discussion on Ciceronery. The program schedule is here, but I suspect that the "subject to change" disclaimer is already in effect... see you there!

UPDATE: The schedule at the link above is finalized, unless someone gets hit by a blimp, or something....

Ashley's Cask Fest line-up

The line-up, and the tapping times of each cask has just been announced. Read all about it HERE.

Dark Corner- What's your vote?

Arbor- cocoa in the nose, cocoa & chocolate in the flavour, and 'twas, sadly, a tad muddy, despite us leaving a half inch behind in the bottle. Better suited to a dessert pairing.
Dark Horse- malty, with black malt aroma & flavour, & fruity esters also apparent. Balanced hoppy finish. Poured a rich brown colour, and 'twas perfectly clear. The winner with our dinner (salmon marinated in oil, soy, and tamarind, seared, with a side of sauteed fennel, onion, shitake & oyster mushroom.)

Liberty Street BC Beer Dinner at Foran's Grand Trunk

This coming Wednesday we are headed to Foran's for a four course dinner featuring Liberty Street Brewing Co's beers. Here's the menu:

Clementine Lemon Thyme Wheat Ale

       with

Wild Mushroom Bruschetta

Liberty Belle Blonde Ale

       with

Baby Spinach Salad with Creamy Dill Dressing,
Blue Cheese, and Crispy Shallots

Steamy Windows Amber Ale

       with

Braised Beef Short Rib "Wellington"
Mushroom-Leek Duxelle, Crisp Pastry Shell,
Root Vegetables, Natural Jus

prepared by guest chef Jason Stoops
Executive Chef at the Inn at St. Johns


Starkweather Stout

      with

Chunky Chocolate Brownie
Calders Vanilla Ice Cream a la mode
Saigon Cinnamon Caramel Sauce

Sounds great, and our buddy Joe Walters will be there representing the brewery. Can't wait....

Arbor Beer Dinner Tonight at Foran's Grand Trunk

Sunday, we were at Foran's to take advantage of their delicious brunch before participating in Marche du Nain Rouge, and found out about this. We booked our seats right then. Should've got this up sooner; check out this lineup:

MENU:

First Course
Tallywacker Scotch Ale
Saffron-Crab Bisque served with Jalapeno Cheddar Corn Fritters

Second Course
Brasserie Blonde
Vietnamese Chicken Fresh Rolls with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce

Third Course
Red Snapper Roasted Pale Ale
Crispy Shredded Pork Flautas with Avocado Puree and Smoked Red Pepper Coulis

Fourth Course
Faricy Fest Irish Stout
Chocolate Malted Milkshake

Wednesday, March 23, 2011
7:00-10:00 PM
612 Woodward Ave.
Detroit, MI 48226
313-961-3043

Advance Tickets are $40 pre-sale only. Call ahead to Forans Grand Trunk Pub to reserve your ticket today. Seating is limited.

Love the two-fisted fourth course! Maybe I'll put a straw in each, and drink them simultaneously!

Downriver- a great beer destination!

We already have Fort Street Brewery and The Oak Cafe. Add to that The Rockery in Wyandotte. Recently sold to new owners (and cleaned up!), and run on a daily basis by the lovely and smart Melanie.

The (new) Rockery boasts 4 taps- 3 Michigan taps (currently Celis White, Arcadia Hop Rocket & Arcadia London Porter), and Blatz  "for the old customers." And, about 40 Michigan bottles, including the hard-to-get Kuhnhenn 4th Dementia and Jolly Pumpkin iO Saison. Here's the beer menu. It's inexpensive, and they have a special price for a "Michigan Beer Bucket" ( 5 Michigan brews, with the exclusion of a couple of brands, for $14. Basically almost what you would pay for the same beers in a retail store. A fantastic deal!) They have a nice selection of imports too. And live music on Fridays.

The kitchen sticks to the basic burgers, chicken strips and the like, though all the ingredients are sourced locally.

The Rockery will be hosting beer tasting events on a regular basis, the first being held on Wednesday April 6, from 7-11PM. It's an IPA tasting, $20 cost, and Mr Cicerone and I will be helping guide customers through the selections.

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!

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

The weird survived...

... Eccentric Day, 2010.

The Rex Halfpennys.

The original Mr Eccentric.

Mr Cicerone, AKA He Man.

Mrs Cicerone, AKA Attack of the killer minks.

Big Board O' Beer. One of them.

A grand time was had by all. We tried very hard to sample every beer (there were 20 more pouring in the back bar), but had to be satisfied with K'Zoo stout on cask, Christmas Ale, The Wild One (fantastic as always- this beer keeps evolving into better, better and better,) Golden Rye, Batch 10,000, Eccentric Ale '09 (a bit too licorice'y for me, but nicely done this time around), '08 Expedition, Rye Stout, Smoked Stout, Oarsman, Deb's Red, and of course, Two Hearted Ale.

The next day at Arcadia did not disappoint. Tim Surprise's "Address to the Haggis" was a spectacle, as always. We feasted well, and drank some fine beers- Sky High Rye, ESB, London Porter, Cereal Killer, and Imperial Stout. The music was great, and there were Feats of Strength, such as the "Down a Yard O' Ale" contest. As always, a fantastic time, and the hospitality of the Arcadia crew is just heartwarming.

A stop at Dark Horse Brewing on our way home the next day was a treat, with some nice sandwiches (on great bread) for lunch, and a delicious roasty, smooth pint of Too Cream Stout for me, and Reserve Special Blackbier and Crooked Tree IPA for Mr Cicerone.

Only the Weird Survive....

Eccentric Day:

The Leonard Nimoy Poetry Slam:

The addressing of the haggis:

And the Heimlich-ing of Mr. Cicerone:

(Fortunately, not recorded, and hopefully not to be repeated!)

Michigan Cask Ale festival

Firkins in/on the main bar. There's Rex!

Last Saturday, at Ashley's Westland. 20 casks, set up at 5 stations, and tapped at different times throughout the day. There was a decent size crowd, though memory recalls that the Spring fest was more crowded. Some of the highlights.....Stoudt's Scarlet Lady ESB, Bell's Double Cream Stout, New Holland Ichabod pumkin, Kuhnhenn ESB, Flying Dog Snake Dog IPA, Dark Horse Reserve Special Black. A wonderful surprise was Arcadia's Panama Red, a smoked red ale with a nice hoppy finish. Our Winner O' The Day though, was.....

Jolly Pumpkin's dry-hopped Bam. Yeh.

Two great beer events coming up......

MICHIGAN CASK ALE FEST at Ashley's Westland  on  November 13, noon - 6PM. Info, and get your tickets on-line here, and receive a $10 discount per ticket. This ends tomorrow. For Facebookers, more information here.

Casks that have been announced so far....
Bell's Amber & Double Cream Stout
The Livery Guide IPA & Hopping Dragon Harvest Ale
Founders Harvest Ale

J.W.Lees Harvest Ale aged in a port cask.
Harvest Ale (11.5% alcohol by volume), from the John Willie Lees brewery in Middleton, England, is brewed once a year, for release about December 1, from the first delivery of England's classic Maris Otter barley malt and East Kent Goldings hops. It's fermented in open vessels using three strains of yeast. There are also 4 versions that have been aged in different casks (Port, Sherry, Calvados & Lagavulin whisky), and these are served from a wooden firkin.

J.W. Lees Harvest Ale aged in port. You'll be able to have some if you come to this event!

SECOND ANNUAL ROUGE BREW at LIBERTY STREET BREWERY.
Sunday November 7, 4-6PM. A guided tasting by Michigan beer guru Rex Halfpenny of beers brewed within the Rouge River watershed. Help support "Friends of The Rouge", and have some great beers while you're there.

MBG Fall Festival!! Whooo!!!

This week, I'm the guy who goes, "Whooo!!" Whooo!! The fall festival was great. Sold out, but not oversold. A big, big party with all of your favorite people in attendance. Like these guys:

Joe Hudecek, Andy Hudecek, and Uncle Dave DRINK MICHIGAN BEER! WHOOO!!!

With 40+ breweries each pouring an average of, say, 4 beers, there was no way to check it all out in 5 hours. Some folks (Mrs. Cicerone,) formulate a plan of attack, using the festival program downloaded off the 'net days in advance, focusing on unique, otherwise unavailable beers. Mr. Cicerone, however, uses the 'go with the flow' serendipity-based model. One rule generally adhered to is Visit Doug First. Our friend Doug always has something special for the festival. Hell, he has something special each and every Thursday. Saturday, in addition to a selection of regular beers, we sampled Black Ops 'Black IPA' and "Citra-sation," an IPA made with fresh Citra hops, both excellent.

Doug and the Fort Street Brew Zoo

Another festival stalwart and favorite of Mr. Cicerone is Grizzly Peak's Sheerwater IPA. Brewer Duncan Williams almost always brings a cask of this complex and delicious beer to the MBG festivals. This year Mr. and Mrs. Cicerone were also enthralled by a delicious cask mild, and "Poisson Rouge," a wonderfully oaky, tart, perfectly balanced barrel-aged version of their Steelhead Red ale. That was Mr.'s favorite beer of the day.

Another reason for me to go "Whooo!!" was spending a little quality time with Mr. Todd Parker, the very large, very enthusiastic brewer at Copper Canyon, sampling many strong and delicious beers. I had Yellowcard APA, RyePA, Maibock, and Rocktoberfest. The Rocktoberfest was an 8% (!) "double marzen" that was so clean, balanced and drinkable, while hiding its strength, that no one could be blamed for accidentally getting drunk on it.

While Mr Cicerone was busy saying "Whooo!" I was at the Jolly Pumpkin booth sampling Vicious wheat IPA, closely followed by "Nightmare Before Vicious"- the same beer that had been in oak at the JP brewery for 6months. Mmm. Other favourites for me were also Fort St Brewery's Citra-sation, JP Fuego del Otono, Arcadia Nut Brown Ale, Wolverine's Brown lager, Dark Horse Bourbon-aged Plead the Fifth, the aformentioned Poisson Rouge, and, saving the best till last.....Big Rock's Red Rock Flanders Ale.

A Scary Kuhnhenn, The Big Banana, and Crazy Hat Lady.

Stay tuned for another strange-but-true Porta-Potti story.