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.

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Oh Happy Day

I am like a kid on the last day of school. I can't concentrate. My mind is in a thousand places right now. I keep checking the clock.

Why?

Today is the Michigan Brewers Guild's Summer Beer Festival! More than 50 breweries. 450 beers to try. FOUR HUNDRED AND FIFTY. I might explode.

Here's the full list of breweries and the beers they're bringing. It is overwhelming. I am beside myself. Some highlights for me to hit this evening include:

Arbor Brewing Buzzsaw Massacre Double Dryhopped Cask Ale

Bastone Brewery Midnight Oil Imperial Stout

Bell's Spiced Stout

Black Lotus World Wide Wheat

Blue Tractor Smoked Silly Red

Brewery Vivant Zaison “Super” Saison

Corner Brewery Flamboyant Red Flemish Oak-aged Sour Red

Dark Horse has 6 tables; I can't list everything I want to try. So all of it. Parking there for a while

Founders Cashew Mountain Brown AND Devil Dancer (it's back!!)

Grizzly Peak La Poisson Rouge Wood-aged Red

Hideout Double Bubble DIPA with Bubblegum and the Cherry Mango Chile Pineapple Pilsner

Hopcat Sage Against The Machine Honey Sage Pale Ale and the Ville De Morte Peach Saison

Jolly Pumpkin Bam w/Jasmine

Liberty Street Clementine Lemon Thyme American Wheat

Mt Pleasant Sacred Gruit

Like everything from New Holland

Odd Side Firefly - Habanero and Papaya

Saugatuk Spring Thaw Spruce Ale

Schmohz Zingiberene Ginger Gruit

Everything from Shorts, twice

What else is there to say other than I better bring a lot of Gatorade and water. I'll need it.

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