Dark Horse

If you find yourself near Marshall, MI I highly recommend making a trip to Dark Horse. Located in a nondescript building, my mouth was agape as soon as I entered - mugs from their mug club decorate every wall and the ceiling. It appeared as if there wasn't a single piece of real estate available for more members (apparently there is). Boasting nearly 3200 members in the mug club, it was awesome to see and should be experienced in person.

For those who frequent the Michigan Brewers Guild beer festivals, Dark Horse has an impressive showing. They had their regular beers on tap (Crooked Tree IPA, Amber Ale, Raspberry Ale, Reserve Special Black Bier Ale, and Boffo Brown Ale) as well as seasonals brews which included Scotty Karate Scotch Ale, One Oatmeal Stout, Thirsty Trout Porter, Smells Like Weed IPA, and Perkulator Coffee Doppelbock. I was disappointed that they were not yet serving their Tres Blueberry Stout, as this seasonal beer isn't available until December.

I ordered a One Oatmeat Stout (7.0% ABV), which was full bodied with hints of chocolate and coffee with a smooth, creamy head (pictured with Smells Like Weed IPA). Be prepared if you visit Dark Horse, many of their beers feature a higher ABV (alcohol by volume), as the weakest beer is 5.5%. 

Dark Horse beer is available in bottles (sold in cases or 6-packs) at many stores, and is on draught in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Denmark.

Readers - which is your favorite brew from Dark Horse?

http://www.darkhorsebrewery.com/

Detroit Fall Beer Festival

Last Saturday was the 3rd Annual Detroit Fall Beer Festival. Featuring more than 300 beers from over 50 breweries in Michigan, this festival is one of my favorites in Michigan. Taking place in Eastern Market, this festival is smaller than both the Summer and Winter fall beer festivals.

I started at Sherwood Brewing Company, my absolute favorite brewery, and had Erica (one of their beautiful servers) pour a Jamocha Cocoa Coffee Stout. It was delicious.

Next I hit North Peak; I was able to taste both their Hooligan Hoppy Pumpkin beer and the Hoodoo mentioned in a previous post. Both are IPA's, which tend to be bitter. Hooligan was good, but I loved Hoodoo. At 9% alcohol, it was sweeter than I thought it would be. And the hops are from Old Mission Peninsula - go Michigan!

My favorite pumpkin beer is Screamin' Pumpkin from Michigan Brewing Company in Webberville. While I like to try new beers at the festivals, I made an exception for this beer. The brewery owner told me about mixing Screamin' Pumpkin with their Nut Brown Ale, and then poured the mixture for me. It tasted just like a Windmill cookie.

It was a festival full of pumpkin brews - other favorites of the festival include La Parcela Sour Pumpkin Ale from Jolly Pumpkin, Punkin Pie Whole from Right Brain and Funkin' Punkin' from Shorts.

So what does everyone think? What were your favorites from the festival?

Bell's Brewery Brown Ale

 At lunch today I ordered the Bell’s seasonal that was on tap - the Brown Ale (think Newcastle). I am not a big fan of brown ales…but I liked this one. It had a good color, good aroma, you could pick up the caramel flavor, and the bitterness was at a minimum. The beer was much better than the service, which left me wondering if the server personally went to Bell’s to pick it up. (Note: Sam Adams Oktoberfest in the background).

You can see the beer had good lacing - the foam near the top of the glass (i.e. the lacy pattern). Lacing occurs when the bitter compounds from the hops link proteins in the beer together. Some feel the more lace the better quality ingredients in the beer. While I really enjoy Sam’s Oktoberfest, note its lack of lace. I’m not an expert, I’ve been told some types of beers have better lacing than others. But I wonder if it may be due to quantity produced? Does anyone reading know?