Of the 5 days I was in Michigan(including the days I flew in and out), I went to 7 brewpubs!
On the way back to my brother's house from the airport, we stopped at Draught Horse Brewery for a late dinner and a beer (or two)
They have a REALLY good Cheese dip. I could have eaten 3 bowls of it!
They had some interesting beers too.
My brother and I really like Cream Ales, so I had to get theirs. As it says, it's a Vanilla Cream ale...and it was a bit too much vanilla for me. I also tried the Campfire Maple Brown....but that had too much brown sugar taste for me.
They had a variety of other beers, including a Scotch Ale, a Belgian Tripel (on Nitro) and a Chocolate Peanut Butter Stout. A nice place for us to go, because it's literally on the way back to my brother's house.
The next day, we took a trip out of town to hit a couple of brewpubs (with disc golfing in between). Our first stop was at Castle Brewing
There I got a sampler..including Scurvy Dude (Oatmeal Stout, a Blonde, the Portcullis(a Porter) and a Perrin Black (from a Guest tap). This place was more of a restaurant that brewed some of it's own beer. They had about 6 of their own beers, and about 10 or so of guest Taps. the Beer was ok....the food....was ok. Nothing special...but you don't know about a place until you try it yourself.
One reason we went there (and other breweries) was that they had a specific souvenir. After visiting a number of breweries, I have a lot of pint glasses....so I really like these....
They're called "Tag-a-Brew". Little copper tags (some come with charms representing the brewery). I think it's a fun idea, and an easy souvenir to get. Unfortunately they don't have it in Texas...yet.
Anway...after we played disc golf (see yesterday's blog), we hit another brewpub....Flat River Brewing
I got another sampler there....and it turns out, I chose the colorful named beers...(note the paddle shaped sampler tray)
The Red Dragon Cream Ale....the Brown Bison...and the Blue Bayou (A blueberry wheat).
Later, I got the Crusty Antler....which was an Amber.
We liked all of their beers and the atmosphere. The owner saw us sitting at the bar, just as we came in and asked what we had been doing...cause we had just played 18 holes of disc golf....and we told him winter disc golf. We expected him to be surprised(which most people are), but no...he was happy. It turned out that the owner's daughter played disc golf in college...and was apart of a National Championship disc golf team. Who knew that was a thing?
He showed us her trophy, which is sitting in the bar. We had such a good time, we filled up a growler of their Red Dragon Cream ale...which is a cream ale with Dragon Fruit. Yes...it was just as good when we got home.
We told the owner that we were from out of town, and were heading back home...he than told us of another brewpub on the way....so we stopped at Steele Street Brewing.
And if you're wondering, yes it was on Steele Street.
Of course, I got another sampler of beer. They had a good cream ale, we also liked the Amber beer.
Another beer I got was the Norbert (I assume named after a dragon in Harry Potter)...they also had a beer called "Clever Girl" named after a line in the original Jurassic Park.
We like the beer here, if we hadn't gotten a growler earlier, we would have gotten one here.
3 breweries in 1 day...not a bad day.
The next 2 days we stayed around the Lansing Michigan area, so we only went to a brewery that we really liked!. In fact I met a grade school friend their for dinner.
If you're ever in the Lansing area, I'd recommend that place. They have really good food. (try the poutine appetizer). They also have a really good Amber Cream Ale.
The day I flew back to Texas, my flight wasn't until 3:30pm, so we stopped by Ann Arbor to hit a couple of brewpubs(including one for lunch).
That place was called "Blue Tractor BBQ & Brewery" Can you see the blue tractor in the picture?
I ordered their "Bearded Pig" another cream ale, and a bbq plate with Brisket and Turkey. The beer was good....the brisket....meh, I've had lots of better brisket here in Texas, but at least they tried. The Turkey was very tasty.
The other brewpub we hit before going to the airport was this one...
As you may or may not know, Arbor is according to Webster "a shelter of vines or branches or of latticework covered with climbing shrubs or vines". Thus the tree in the logo.
There I got a pint of the "Euchre Pils" Euchre is a card game that is very popular in Michigan. I was surprised that most people I tell about it in Texas hadn't heard of the game.
The beer was good, and the brewpub was within walking distance of the 1st brewpub (and another). But...after the 2 breweries, I had to head to the airport to catch the flight back to Texas.
And...just in case you ever fly to Detroit....be aware that you might have to walk underneath the runway to get to baggage claim (or other gates). And...you walk in the Psychedelic Tunnel
It changes color, and you hear calming music. I think it's better than just a long underground hallway. Makes it unique
All and all it was a fun trip to Michigan...with some good beers...and some ok beers. But fun to try new things
K.C.-ya!