Beer and Brewing in Michigan.

If you've followed any of my previous escapades before I made the decision to make this solely a beer blog, you will know about two of my best friends, Chad and Anthony Lerma. In fact, here we are on our recent trip to London and Munich, this being is Munich. Anthony is Chad's dad and they are both from Detroit, Michigan, Chad being an alum of Michigan State (a rival of my beloved Purdue Boilermakers). I grew up in northeast Indiana not far from the Michigan border but that was long before the beer bug hit me. Thankfully, now, Anthony is always kind enough to bring some "care packages" (beer) from Michigan when he can when he visits Chad here in Austin, Texas. In the latest 'package', I got to try two new beers as well as an old friend, one of the finest beers on the planet (more on that in a bit).

The first beer I tried was Atwater Block Brewery's "Michigan Lager". Atwater Block is in Detroit, was founded in 1997, and inhabits a warehouse dating from 1919 in Detroit's historic Rivertown district. This is the first Atwater Block beer I have tried. My honest impression was a bit mixed but probably only because of my preconceived notion of what a beer labeled "lager" should taste like. The beer was a golden-colored, quite fruity tasting beer with a huge head and medium body. It had some subtle sweet maltiness but that was overwhelmed by the fruity flavors. Now, I have no idea what the grist of this beer is but if I were to guess, I'd say it more belongs in the Kristal Hefe-Weizen category. It had a pronounced flavor of a high percentage of wheat and tasted much more like a 'hefe' than a Bavarian or northern Germany styled lager. I'm not saying it was a bad beer, just not what I expected given the moniker.

The next one was Michigan Brewing Company's "Pale Ale".I've had some of their beers before and, in fact, I'm drinking their "High Seas India Pale Ale" at the time of writing. First, a comment on the IPA. This is a beer I quite enjoy, but it is pretty far from a true IPA, in my opinion. It reminds me a lot more of Rogue's "Dead Guy Ale" and has that same amber color and a considerable percentage, I'm guessing, of Munich Malt. The brewery's description is that it is "assertively" hopped but I think even that is a bit far as I taste a whole lot more malty sweetness than any hop bitterness or flavor. Again, I really like this beer but I personally wouldn't call it an IPA, I think it is a great example of an American Amber and highly drinkable in quantity. Now, the "Pale Ale". I found this one a quite nice tasting beer but offering nothing really memorable. It has a decent hop bitterness and finishes quite fruity and dry.  My notes actually say "...good plain old Pale Ale", and I think that sums it up.

It wouldn't be proper to end a discussion of Michigan Brewing Company without mentioning one of Austin's sorely missed breweries, Celis Brewery. Renowned Belgian Master Brewer, Pierre Celis, came to Austin in the early 1990s and brought the flavors of Belgian style beer to America. The brewery seemed to thrive when it was privately owned and offered great tours. Their "Celis White" was very well known and sought after being not a far cry from "Hoegaarden", also the name of the town where Pierre spent the better part of his brewing life. Somewhere along the way, like so many other micro-breweries of the time, Celis sold the brewery to Miller Brewing. That was the death bell for the brewery. Within a year or so, Miller closed the brewery, Pierre having gone back to Belgium. Pierre loved Austin and I think his daughter still lives here although I can't confirm that. A few years ago, Pierre came back to Austin to work with Blanco's Real Ale Brewery (no connection to cask-conditioned ales). Real Ale's current Head Brewer, Tim Schwartz (more on Tim and Real Ale in a future post), is obsessed with Belgian style beers and collaborated with Pierre at the brewery. At the time it was announced that Real Ale would be producing Celis style beers co-developed with Pierre but that has never materialized. So, what's that got to do with Michigan Brewing Company? Well, not so long ago, they  purchased all the former Celis Brewery's equipment as well as the rights to brew and sell Celis beers. They now do so in conjunction with their own lineup. I think this was a great and bold move just showing what fore-thinking folks run MBC.

Finally, the kicker to this particular beer tasting, was old friend "Two Hearted Ale" from Bell's Brewery in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Bell's Brewery, formerly known as Kalamazoo Brewing Company, was founded by Larry Bell as a homebrew shop in 1983. It moved on to brewing its own beer for sale and sold its first beer in 1985. It is now a substantial regional micro-brewery and turns out some of America's finest (and most dangerous) beers. Larry gave a hilarious appearance in movie about American micro-breweries but I cannot recall the name of the movie. Anyway, back to "Two Hearted Ale". This is one of the finest beers I've had and in my top, whatever number, of great beers.It's also a big favorite of Chad's and Anthony's as well as my old friend Skip Keltner who lives in Fishers, Indiana (outside Indianapolis, just too bad he is a Hoosiers fan). It has a very upfront spiciness from the hops and finishes very dry. It has an orange and other citrus fruit aromas and a medium body. It has a great balance of sweet maltiness and hop bitterness with a tendency toward the hops but a very fruity flavor.

Now, an explanation for the comment about "most dangerous". Larry is one of these guys that has this knack of hiding the alcohol level of his beers. They are all so very drinkable, you never realize that they are quite potent. "Two Hearted Ale", for instance, I would put in the 'fridge for everyday drinking but it has an original gravity of 1.064 equating to an alcohol-by-volume of 7.0%. Very potent indeed but the worst thing is that you have no idea. All but Bell's most extreme beers drink like session beers but kick like a mule! From what I gathered from his movie appearance, I'd say that's a lot like the man himself.

Finally, Michigan has a bunch of micro-breweries for its population and a great brewing community. Anthony has brought me great beers from others such a Kuhnhenn Brewing Company, Dragonmead, and Founders Brewing Company. There is also the Michigan Brewers Guild that I think is just such a cool idea (I think Vermont has one as well). If you're ever in Michigan, be sure to hit the 'Guild's website before you go and seek out some great Michigan beer!

Yours Aye!
Neil