Drink Michigan Beer
July 25th, 2010
On Friday, Dawn & I saw Inception. It was mind-bendy and sort of surreal, but really good. Worth seeing for sure. The plot is kind of twisty, so I think I’d actually like to see it again so I can really get the full effect. But I’ll wait for DVD for that. It was pretty mind-bottling, but in a good way.
Yesterday morning, we hit the road bright & early for the Michigan Summer Beer Festival in Ypsilanti. Of course, we had to make a stop at Zingerman’s in Ann Arbor for lunch, which was fabulous as always. I had a great sandwich, but the highlight for me was the Burnt Sugar Gelato. It was so good! Like the top of a creme brulee. Mike bought some fancy cheese and then we pressed on to Ypsi.
When we got to the park, it seemed like there weren’t many people there. I assumed the turnout was weak because it was supposed to thunderstorm all day. Good thing I brought umbrellas & towels. We got a decent parking spot, then headed to the gate. Oops, somehow we went to the back of the park and were at the employee entrance. We had to walk all the way around the park and down a couple of city blocks to reach the front gate. HOLY SMOKES there were about 568975568 waiting to get inside!! We waited in line for a while, marvelling at the assortment of pretzel necklaces people were wearing. At first we thought this was just a sustenance thing, as drinking on an empty stomach is not a good idea, but much later we figured out that the salty pretzels actually cleanse the palate between samples. Next time we will know better and have our own pretzel necklaces. We also saw a few people with Cheeze-Its and pretzels, and even a dude with various types of beef jerky and cheeses on a necklace!!
About the time we were halfway through the line the sun came out and started blazing. It did not stop all day long!! So much for my umbrellas and towels! Since it had rained so much before the fest, the whole park was a grody mud pit. But nobody, including us, really seemed to care that it was hot and muddy and humid and gross. There was beer beyond the gates, and we had work to do. Here’s a pic of us waiting in line. Mikey took the photo, so he’s not pictured. 
Once we got inside, Dawn, Peach Pit & I got our cups & tokens. Mike & Peach Fuzz don’t drink beer, so they decided to camp out in the shady food tent while the 3 of us decided to check out our first brewery. The festival was HUGE, with 54 breweries and over 400 beers available to sample. Where to start was a pretty big challenge. Dawn & I diligently checked off the samples we tried on the beer list included in the program. Peach Pit doesn’t even like beer, and was really only there because he heard there was drinking. We even heard him say things like “Give me the lightest beer you have.” Contrarily, Dawn & I studied our list of options carefully before we got into the lines so that we knew what we wanted before getting to the taps.
There were some standouts for me. I loved Olde Peninsula’s Stout Chocula. It’s a little sad that I had to go all the way to Ypsi to sample a beer that is brewed 5 minutes from my house, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles I suppose. I really really enjoyed the Oak Aged Hatter IPA from New Holland. I didn’t even choose that one, Peach Pit did. I got The Poet Oatmeal Stout from New Holland and it wasn’t my fave so we traded. It was so good, though. Smooth, yet still rich. I also really enjoyed Pickle Tink, a strawberry wheat brew from Schmoz in Grand Rapids. It tasted like fresh strawberries. it was very good. I hope I get the chance to try this again sometime when my palate isn’t hosed by drinking 100 different flavors in one sitting. The big winner for me was Old Hat’s Peanut Butter Stout. It was absolutely delightful, and I have fantasies of an Olde Peninsula Stout Chocula/Old Hat Peanut Butter Stout float with vanilla ice cream. I think I need to make that happen this summer.
There were also a few brews that made it into the “Interesting” catergory. We tried a Margarita Shandy from Big Buck that was not bad. It was different than anything else I’ve ever had, that’s for sure. One of these would be good on a hot day, but I don’t think I’d want more than 1 at a time under any circumstance. I also tried the Short’s Imperial Spruce
India Pilsner. This one was definitely different – it tasted very pine-y, sort of like a beer-gin hybrid. I didn’t hate it, but I don’t think I’d get that one again. One thing we were really excited about was the Beer Popsicles at the Big Buck booth. We waited in the line 20 minutes only to find out they were all out! They did have Stout ice cream, so I got one. It was really good and chocolate-y, but I realized dairy was maybe not the best choice so I tossed it after a few bites. They also had a beer Slip N’ Slide towards the end of the day!!
I like a lot of Short’s beers, so I bought a T-shirt, and I got a brewfest T as well. All in all, it was a super fun day. I would absolutely do this again, but I think I’d do the bus tour next time, because poor Mike & Peach Fuzz were pretty bored most of the day. I know they had fun at Zingerman’s, but the Beer Fest itself didn’t have much that was of interest to them, sadly.
Here’s my faorite picture from the day. Dawn took this pic of the 2 of us, but Peach Pit was feeling left out so he had to make his presence known, too. The end result is just adorable.
July 25th, 2010 at 9:14 PM
I feel like I just relived it again! Well done.
July 26th, 2010 at 8:54 PM
I feel like I’ve been there w/o ever having to leave Kzoo
I’ve always wanted to go to this (I say that about the AA Art Fair every year too) just seems something else is always going that weekend. Glad you had a good time and thanks for sharing!
July 28th, 2010 at 12:35 PM
We saw the art fair from Zingerman’s, but didn’t venture in. The beer fest was swell, though, and if you get the chance to go to one, you should. The winter one is in GR!