Cold Beer

What did I do this past weekend?

I went here:

Oh, how spectacular.  Just to rub it in, click here to see a list of the breweries and beers from the festival.  62 breweries.  Over 450 beers.  I made a solid shot at trying every one, but hit a wall of drunkenness somewhere around 30.  Thankfully, I organized a bus trip to the fest and had Mrs. Smitty come lift me up off the curb when the bus dropped us off in Lansing.

Some highlights for me:

• Atwater (Detroit) Decadent Dark Chocolate Ale
• Bells' Wild One Raspberry
• Big Rock (Birmingham) Blueberry Ice Tripel (WOW)
• B.O.B's (Grand Rapids) Tiramisu Stout (tasted like a tiramisu; good for 1, but damn good)
• Brewery Vivant (Grand Rapids) Barrel Aged Triomphe
• Copper Canyon (Southfield) Melange des Fleurs Saison (like 5 types of flowers and a hint of cayenne...amazing)
• Hopcat (Grand Rapids) Fornicator Doppelbock (for the name *and* the taste!)
• North Peak (Traverse City) Passion Brew Black Belgian (collab brew with Right Brain, also in T.C.)

Don't get me wrong; hundreds of beers, and hundreds I liked quite well.  These are just the ones that really stood out.  One in particular really blew me away, though.  In Spring Lake, MI, you'll find a little brewery called the Round Barn Brewery.  Their Cocoa Cognac Brandy Barrel Aged Chocolate Stout was unreal.  Not of this world.  Incredible.

Yet again, the Brewers Guild threw a helluva party, and once again, I was not Father of the Year the following day.  So worth it, though.