Posted on
by

Good news, beer exists and is delicious.  Bad news, my computer suffered a catastrophic hard drive failure and have lost everything relevant to This Week in Beer.  So, I am going to be spending some time rebuilding  the visuals and recording new episodes for you all.  Oh, and I guess some more good news, we are adding a new host.  Now you will be hearing some style-specific reviews using big pretentious words that you’ve probably never heard before from our new pint-sized reviewer, The Hopster.  So look forward to that next week, and wish me luck trying to save _anything_ from this hard drive.

Posted on
by

It is almost unprecidented isn’t it? A post that is both on time(ish) AND timely? Weird right?  Well I figured that since spring is in full swing and the weather can is pushing hot, it is probably time to shelve the rest of the Winter Beerfest videos (I’ll put them in the members gallery).  So to ring in the turn of the seasons and as a special Cinco de Mayo review, I will bring you a favorite of the Most Interesting Man in the World* himself. Here is my review of Dos Equis Lager.

 

 

*They say that even watching him sleep has been described as breathtaking. Continue reading →

Posted on
by

More videos from the Winter Beerfest.  I really should get the rest of these out since we are now well into spring.  This week we are featuring a beer from another unique Michigan brewery, Jolly Pumpkin.  Here are the views of myself, and Tricia on their, schizophrenically named, Chocolate Pineapple Chipotle Rauch Biere. Continue reading →

Posted on
by

Welcome to another exciting edition of “why is this video up late.” Well, I’m not telling.  Instead I am just going to get on to business.  I’ve got a cryptic review for you of a beer from one of my favorite michigan breweries, The Livery’s 5th Dimension.  I have to say, I have never been disappointed by one of their beers, and this one is no exception.  So enjoy this, another cryptic review from the 2011 MBG Winter Beerfest. Continue reading →

Posted on
by

I know I said that I was going to try to upload more videos last week in order to get the winter beerfest content all online, but you may have noticed that I didn’t get around to that.  No, what I got instead last week was “Surprise Appendicitis!” followed immediately by “Bonus Emergency Surgery!” (it sounds much more exciting when I say it like that).  Soooo, many appologie and I will really try to get all of the beerfest videos up in the next week.  I’m looking forward to getting to a new feature soon too, Beer Gadgets! (we are suckers for gadgets here).  But before I get too far ahead of myself, the real reason you are here is for the beer.  which is a wonderful coincidence because that is why we are here too.  So speaking of beer, here is Paul’s review of the Collababiere from Jolly Pumpkin Continue reading →

Posted on
by

Clean Beer? You “clean” a fish and wash your vegetables, but how clean is the draft beer you drink?

In the words of Brian Wiggs, Dark Horse Brewing Co. Marshall, MI, “Brewing is 10% chemistry and 90% janitorial”. This statement will ring true for any brewer whether they are a homebrewer or Brewmaster. Keeping your equipment and brewing space clean is the first thing you learn. If you’ve ever taken a brewery tour you’ll notice how amazingly clean and tidy the brew house is. Gary S. Nicholas, Quality Assurance & Control with Bell’s Brewery, Inc Kalamazoo, MI spoke about what the kegs at Bell’s are in store for when they make it to the brewery: “They go through a multi-step cleaning & sanitizing process prior to each fill. We also conduct additional pre-cleaning for kegs that have been out in the market for unusually long periods. We go one step further, slowly cycling through our entire keg inventory and completely disassembling the keg spear valve assemblies, replacing worn parts, and visually inspecting the interior….any kegs that fail a cleaning/filling cycle are set aside for detailed inspection.” What needs to be cleaned out of these kegs? “Typically, you’ll see infiltration of a wide variety of aerobic microorganisms (acetic acid-producing bacteria, wild yeasts, etc.) and anaerobes(A type of bacterium that does not require air or oxygen to live). Over time, these will form a bio-film, a mass of slime that is very resistant to simple flushing techniques.”: said Nicholas.

Continue reading →

Posted on
by

First off, I want to say that I totally love the Round Barn Brewery logo.  There, now that that is out of the way, I can bring your attention to one of the first beers we tried at the Beerfest last month.  And also reintroduce you to our friend Tricia, who seems to only show up around here for the festivals right now, but we are working on that.  Anyway, Round Barn Brewery, out of Baroda, Michigan, brought us their Grape Expectations this year.  Click on through to see what Tricia and I thought of it.
Continue reading →

Posted on
by

The 2011 Michigan Brewer’s Guild Winter Beer Fest was everything a beer lover born within these great peninsulas could love.  28 degrees, snow, bonfires and of course ounces upon gallons of some of the best beer made on planet Earth.

It’s amazing to see how Michigan beer has caught fire.  Having been in this business for several years, I’ve seen the struggles that most of the breweries have went through.  The times of being run out of stores and bars with the owner laughing at the thought of craft beer is far behind us.  With nearly 7,000 people in attendance on Saturday, this event sold out a month before the gates opened.  There were many beer lovers that didn’t get in this year, but the tickets went on sale December 1st, 2010.  So those that missed out need to move a little faster next year, for tickets next year will go on sale at the same time.  Mark it on your beer fridge, with a steak knife.

Scott Graham Director of the Michigan Brewer’s Guild said: “165 barrels of beer were poured or Saturday” that’s over 20,000 pints of beer!  If that doesn’t say Michigan loves it’s beer no matter what the temperature, then I’ll buy stock in InBev.”

There were 56 different breweries showing off some amazing brews.  The popular breweries had lines that stretched beyond the tents, but with 56 breweries to choose from getting a beer was never a problem.  Some of the special released beers only made it into the hands of those in line when that beer got tapped, but you can’t expect to get every small batch at such a large event.  Plus getting a beer from one of the brewpubs is why I go.

The breweries that distribute had their guns a blazin’, but getting a beer from a brewpub that I’d have Continue reading →