Category: Beer

Last Night

Josh3 Comments

Motor City Brew Works Amber Wheat

Style: Wheat

ABV: ???

In spite of what the brewer at Royal Oak Brewery would have you think, I do enjoy wheat beers.  So when my friend ordered the seasonal Amber Wheat when we met up at the Motor City Brew Works (MCBW), I made it a pitcher.  MCBW is best known for its Ghetto Blaster Ale, very popular in these parts.

The Wheat is a nice dark orange color and the pitcher came with an abundance of oranges.  It is medium-bodied and a bit light on flavor.  If you like wheats, then you may be a bit disappointed, but if you don’t, you might be pleasantly surprised.

MCBW is located in mid-town Detroit and has a wonderful brewpub that is perfect for warm-weather sipping.  The whole building seems to open up into the outside, with the feel of a beachside bar.  It has a fairly large, airy rooftop seating area, where my friend and I sat.  As the setting sun beat down on us the pitcher shrank and the conversation grew, and I was reminded that sometimes it’s not about the beer.

Now Drinking

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Axl Pale Ale

Maker: Milking It Brewery (Royal Oak, MI)

Style: American Pale Ale

ABV: 6%

Christy, barmaid at my favorite Detroit pub, and former King Brewery (Pontiac, MI) employee is a partner in this new microbrewery in my town, Royal Oak, Michigan.

It’s what I like in a Pale Ale.  It has plenty of hoppy bitterness, but a touch of sweetness and a relatively dark color and full body with a tiny citrus tang in the finish.  King’s will indeed be missed, but this beer is a fantastic start for Milking It.  If this is any indication of what’s to come, Michigan is going to have yet another GREAT microbrewery.

Now Drinking

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Big Dick’s Olde Ale

Brewer: Arcadia, Kalamazoo, MI

Style: Old Ale

ABV: 9%

Big Dick’s Olde Ale was named in tribute to Richard Cœur de Lion (1157-1199), king of England, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquataine, Count of Anjou, etc.  I doubt the man ever drank any, since it is an English style ale and the man spoke very little English and spent very short amounts of time in England, spending most of his life in France.

At any rate, the first rease(s?) of the ale were a part of the Big Beer series, which included Arcardia’s Shipwreck Porter and Cereal Killer Barleywine.  Now they are being released in normal sized 12 oz bottles in packs of four.

The color of the beer is a beautiful auburn color.  The nose is nice and malty, or should I say big and malty.  It tastes like one expects a big malty ale to taste but then it takes a turn.  It’s as if the road I was on ended suddenly and I found my car driving through a blackberry patch.  No thorns, but a surprising hit of sweetness and tartness.  I liked this the first time I drank it and a like it still.

The bottles have “2009 vintage” written on them, and given that they are at 9% ABV,  I’m assuming these are suitable for aging.  I think I’ll let these sit for a little while longer and come back to them in a few months.