The Beer Connoisseur Magazine Deal

For last minute shoppers looking for something special for the beer lover in their life, Living Social is offering a deal on The Beer Connoisseur Magazine. For $19, beer lovers will receive a two-year magazine subscription with access to the Beer Connoisseur website (regularly $21 for one year, $38 for two).

Only one day left - buy it before it's gone!

http://share.livingsocial.com/deals/166351?rpi=41647942&ref=personalized-link-box-41647942&rui=3741201

New Holland Brewing Co.

I haven't written in a couple weeks, I apologize. I've been prepping for the holidays, and am now ready to get back to business.

New Holland Brewing Co. in Holland, MI features a full menu as well as several beers on tap. Located at 66 East 8th Street and featuring a family fun atmosphere, this beer pub is a must-stop brewery for those in the area. The merchandise is great, too - we purchased up a 1 liter "beer boot" at the bar.

I ordered a Margherita pizza and a Mother's Milk - a sweet milk stout. It had rich malty flavor with hints of coffee, chocolate, and raisin. This beer had a slight sweetness to it due to lactose being added to the boil kettle in the brewing process. Yeast consume sugars in the fermentation process to create alcohol yet yeast does not consume lactose, leaving the sweet flavor behind (pictured with the Hopivore).

If you can't make it to Holland, the brewery has several events where they take their beer on the road:
http://newhollandbrew.com/beer/events

Bell's Brewery

 

Recently I was lucky to get an opportunity to visit Kalamazoo's Bell's Brewery and go on a tour of the facility.

What started as a modest brewing operation by Larry Bell, Bell's Brewery has grown into one of Michigan's famous craft beer empires. Bell's is famous for (among others) their Oberon and Two Hearted brews, but what was interesting about visiting in person was the number of beers that are ONLY served in their Kalamazoo pub. When ordering off their beer menu, the beers noted with the yellow Bell's logo are pub exclusives.

 

I was not feeling well the morning I visited, so I played it safe and ordered the Lager of the Lakes. I now know that I detest any type of lager; this one was good for a lager but overall light and not memorable (also pictured is the Winter White Ale). If I could do Bell's again I would order a flight of their stouts, as I'm kicking myself for not trying the Smoked Stout and the Milk Stout.

Bell's production, which was once done on the Kalamazoo grounds with the pub, has been moved to a larger facility in Comstock, MI. Lucky weekend visitors are able to tour the old production facility at the top of the hour beginning at noon. I believe the old facility is still used to brew small, experimental batches.  I was able to snag some pictures while on the tour of conicle fermenters and oak barrels, which are used to make sour beers.

Our tour guide was passionate about Bell's and the brewing process, and mentioned that Bell's uses their own special yeast in the brewing process. This Bell's exclusive yeast is used in the brewing process for every Bell's beer. For those not familiar with the brewing process, the yeast plays a role in fermentation. Yeast is a living organism that consumes the carbs/sugar in the beer, producing the alcohol. Yeast also plays a role in the flavor and aroma of beer.

If you happen to visit Kalamazoo, be sure to stop in at Bell's - it is a truly a divine place.

http://www.bellsbeer.com/

Rochester Mills Craft Beer/Dining Experience

I don't typically write on weekends, but the Rochester Mills Groupon is too good to not pass on to readers. For $48, you buy a craft beer and dining experience. The sessions will be held on Sunday or Tuesday nights from 7-8pm, and lucky buyers get:

     * 15-minute tour of the Rochester Mills Beer Co. brewhouse
     * 15-minute craft beer 101 session with a brewer
     * 30-minute food and beer pairing with a brewer and a chef
     * Full growler with a free refill when patrons return
     * Souvenir brewery pint glass

This is a $96 value! The deal runs through the next 5 days, but a limited number are available and when they are sold out you're SOL.

The Rochester Mills is located in downtown Rochester at 400 Water Street in the historic Western Knitting Mill building. One of the great things about the Mills is they kept the integrity of the building, featuring original hardwood floors, columns, beams and exposed brick walls.
 
The Mills serves 11 signature beers including Cornerstone IPA, Milkshake Stout, and Rochester Red Ale. I highly recommend the Milkshake Stout.

http://www.groupon.com/deals/gx-rochester-mills-beer-co?utm_medium=email&utm_source=channel_grouponicus-deals&sid=11035309&user=fd7d449f9f0e8fec321ed2b2ad78d44dfb9ae292d389890e4c7a2911660f9feb&utm_campaign=11035309&s=body&d=gx-rochester-mills-beer-co&p=2&c=deal_button

Beer and Bacon

One of today's Living Social deals for Detroit is a set of I Wish Lessons for 'Beer and Bacon' ($20, regularly $45). Per their website, "Green-light the beer and bacon experience and you'll learn about the history, background, and finer points of the beers you're tasting while pairing each sip with bacon."

I took their Complex Beers Course and had a great time, and am seriously considering signing up for this course.

http://www.livingsocial.com/cities/14/deals/172071-choice-of-beer-bacon-or-whiskey-cupcakes-class

There are some awesome beer happenings this upcoming weekend/week, just to name a few:
Saturday, Dec. 3 - Kuhnhenn's Chili Cookoff, noon (Warren)
Tuesday, Dec. 6 - Jolly Pumpkin 3rd Annual Rare Beer Auction, 6:30pm (Ann Arbor)
Friday, Dec. 9 - Sherwood Ugly Sweater contest, 9:00pm (Shelby Township)

If there is anything I missed (which I am sure I have) please post in the comments below. I hope everyone has a good weekend!

Kalamazoo Beer Exchange

One of the coolest bar concepts I have witnessed is the Kalamazoo Beer Exchange. Located downtown, this place was packed with people - and after being there for an evening I have no doubt why.

Similar to a stock exchange, beer pricing is based on supply/demand. If a lot of people are ordering a particular beer, the price adjusts up. For the less popular brews, the price drops. Every 15 minutes prices adjust based on the "market". Video monitors throughout the bar note the beer's current price, if it has gone up/down, the time left until it adjusts again, and there is a beer "stock ticker" at the bottom of the screen.

So how is it that prices do not go through the roof? A couple times throughout the evening, sirens go off indicating the market has crashed, and beer prices reset to their original trading price - some as low as $2.50 a brew. When this happens, the bar erupts into craziness with people scrambling to put their order in before the price adjusts again. It's wild, definitely a site to see.

The beer isn't lame, either - they serve mostly craft brews. Local brews included selections from Short's, B. Nektar Meadery, Dark Horse, Saugatuck, Mount Pleasant, Founder's, and Bell's. For those not into craft beer they also served Miller Lite. Not into beer at all? The Beer Exchange is also a restaurant - simply visit for dinner.

It was such a fun evening; the bar was packed, the restaurant had a wait, and the wait staff was insane. If you are in Kalamazoo, you must stop in and experience it.

What does everyone else think about this concept?

No Boys Allowed

Earlier this week the Michigan Brewer's Guild's Facebook page linked to an article about an all-ladies brew club downriver called the Downriver Women's Craft Beer Lovers Society.

According to the article, "The idea is to get these women in the same room to discuss beer, what we can to do educate those around us about the beverage we love and get more women involved with craft beer in general."

If you happen to live near downriver, this group meets at The Rockery on the second Thursday of each month beginning December 8, 2011. This meeting will feature the world's first female Certified Cicerone, Annette May, who is currently the beer manager at Merchant's Fine Wine in Dearborn.

I love the idea of a women's brew club, my husband belongs to one in the area and it's intimidating to attend the all-male events. Let me know if anyone would be interested in coordinating such a group with me.

http://www.eatdrinkexplore.com/index.php/drink/beverage-news/events/546-move-over-gentlemen-its-ladies-night-at-the-brewery

http://www.cicerone.org/