Tag: Michigan Micros

Hatter Royale Hopquila

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Maker: New Holland, Holland, Michigan, USA

Age: NAS (unaged)

ABV: 40%

Appearance: pale, hazy yellow with decent legs.

Nose: Raw spirit, maybe a hint of flowers.

On the palate: light, creamy taste, then just burn.

The finish: This is where the resemblance to tequila really blossoms, no pun intended. Citrus, spice, sweetness. Not complex, but interesting.

Mixed: Does very well in a “hopquila sunrise” with oj, ice, grenadine and orange bitters. OK in a “hoprita”, no worse than a standard mixto tequila. With an ice cube and a squeeze of lime, the sweetness and citrus notes come to the fore, almost turning it into lemonade.

Parting words: Hatter Royale is an unaged barley spirit  infused with centennial hops, giving it a tequila-esque floral aroma. I’m not sure if it will ever be anything other than a novelty, but it works on that level. It does best as an interesting alternative to a white or mixto tequila in summertime mixed drinks. It will never work as a substitute for a fine sipping tequila, but I don’t think it was intended to. Recommended for mixing.

Loch Down Scotch Ale

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Maker: Arcadia, Battle Creek, Michigan, USA

Style: Scotch Ale

ABV: 8%

Appearance: Dark coffee brown, with a good head with an ivory foam.

Nose: Caramel-chocolate chip brownies

On the palate: Full-bodied. A nice hit of bitter chocolate or maybe full city roast coffee. This is tempered by just the right amount of sweetness, to bring a smile to the drinker’s face, instead of a grimace. Very nicely done.

Parting Words: This is the last of our little run of Michigan-made Scotch ales and it’s nice to be ending on a high note. This is a fine, hearty, porter-esque Scotch ale that works well with food or as a meal in itself. When Arcadia plays to its strengths, British ales, it’s the finest brewery in Michigan. Highly recommended.

Oberon

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Maker: Bell’s, Comstock/Kalamazoo, Michigan

Style: Wheat Ale

ABV: 5.8%

Appearance: Cloudy gold with moderate head.

Nose: Sweet, floral.

On the palate: Medium bodied. Rounded and light, a little sweet and a little fruity but dry for a wheat ale overall. A nice hit of bitter hops on the back end.

Finish: the hops persist in the finish for a long time but eventually fade.

Parting Words: Oberon is Michigan’s best known and most celebrated beer. What makes it successful as a summer ale is that it does not have some of the off-putting (to some) aspects of wheat beers. It avoids being a “banana bomb”, like many wheat beers, with deft use of hops. The sweet fruitiness wheat brings to beer is present but kept in check. Oberon is old news to many Michigan microbrew enthusiasts but it remains one of America’s finest ales. Recommended. Summer wouldn’t taste like summer without it!

Ole Ore Dock Scottish Ale

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Maker: Keweenaw, South Range, Michigan

Style: Scotch Ale

ABV: ???

Appearance: Medium hazy brown. Nice, but not obnoxious head.

Nose: Fruity and sweet but pretty mild.

On the palate: vVry tangy like tomato ketchup. Nearing the finish a bitter note runs out of the bushes, slaps you in the face and then
runs away laughing.

Finish: The finish is mercifully short and unremarkable.

Parting Words: First let me say that I have loved everything else I have ever had from Keweenaw. That said, this is an awful beer. It’s like drinking cheap, over-sweet, half-spoiled tomato ketchup, but worse. Buy loads of beer from Keweenaw, but don’t buy this until it gets fixed. Terrible.

Scotty Karate

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Maker: Dark Horse, Marshall, Michigan

Style: Scotch Ale

ABV: 9.75%

Appearance: Dark reddish brown with a moderate
head.

Nose: Sweet and a little tangy, with a hint of City Roast coffee but not quite Full City.

On the palate: Medium bodied, Surprisingly sweet and fruity. This is a more complex beer than Dirty Bastard, but lacks a bit in subtlety. The tang and bitterness both seem to be turned up to 11 instead of harmonizing.

Finish: The bitterness takes the lead in the finish. The sweetness perseveres in the form of a slight stickyness on the lips.

Parting words: Like I mentioned above Scotty Karate lacks in subtlety, but makes up for it in complexity and just overall interest. This is a very well-done beer, works well with or without food and is highly recommended.

Dirty Bastard Scotch Ale

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Maker: Founder’s, Grand Rapids, Michigan

Style: Scotch Ale

ABV: 8.5%

Appearance: Dark brown like over-steeped Ceylon tea.

Nose: I know it sounds bizarre, but my first thought was home-made French fries. A little bitter, a little burnt, but sweet and starchy.

On the palate: Full-bodied and rich. Well balanced with sweet toffee and caramel backed up by some of that bitter, burnt starch taste.

Finish: The bitterness teeters on the edge of unpleasantness but never quite falls into the abyss.

Parting words: This is a very dry Scotch Ale, but it still is able to maintain good balance between the bitter roasted flavors and the caramel and candy flavors. A good solid ale.

A Visit to Black Star Farms

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I’m feeling like crap  today but I’m going to get this written up, dammit.

On Saturday, Jun 19, 2011 Frind of the Blog Amy and I and our spouses and my baby visited Black Star Farms Old Mission tasting room in Traverse City, Michigan. Black Star Farms is one of the best (if not the best) wineries in Michigan. They are well known for their exceptional late-harvest Rieslings, sur lie Chards and many other excellent wines and even cider. Their website is http://www.blackstarfarms.com/ Look for a review of the 2008 Late Harvest Riesling in the near future!

Anyway we had been there before but, what we were most interested in this time was their spirits program. They produce a number of them.

Red Grape Grappa
White Grape Grappa (I had this and it was excellent)

Spirit of…(eaux de vie)
Cherry
Plum (also very good)
Pear (also a version with the pear inside the bottle)
Raspberry

Apple Brandies
Spirit of Apple (NAS but about 12 mos. old)
10 y/o Apple Brandy (spectacular)

For the sake of full discosure, I had been communicating with their Twitterer Coryn and she waived the tasting fees for my party and me, a $25 value.

She also showed Amy and I around behind the scenes. Here are some photos Amy took:

Their press

Their Still

According to Coryn:

The still is run 3-4 times a week

Quote:
–          The clear fruit eau de vie brandies come off the still at approx. 75-80% (150-160 proof). They rest in the glass carboys and are then blended in the stainless steel tanks where they sit for approx. a month. They cut the brandy to be 40% (80 proof) and then bottle it.
–          The apple brandy comes off the still at 75% (150 proof) and goes into the barrel at 65% (130 proof) where it ages for approx 12 months. When it is bottled it is cut down to 40% (80 proof).

The carboys

Their Barrels with aging Apple Brandy

Again, from Coryn:

Quote:
The barrels are a combination of French and American Oak. They were new when we purchased them and they are used for one rotation of aging for the apple brandy and then they get used to age the Sirius Maple Dessert wine. They are relatively low toasted oak barrels – this style was chosen b/c the idea is to accentuate the fruit of the apple.

Finally, their bottler:

The apple brandy is a very different beast from Laird’s which has so many fans among my fellow bourbon-fanciers. It is a much more delicate spirit than that or even Tom’s Foolery. Spirit of Apple was reviewed few months ago on this blog. When I first opened it I got a weird celery aroma in the nose, but that has calmed down now.

The 10 y/o is just great, great stuff. So complex and elegant, I’m having trouble wrapping my head around it. You all know what a cheap bastard I am, but I have not regreted paying $75 for it yet. A review of that will be forthcoming, hopefully a video review.

Anyway, it’s definately worth the trip if you ever make it “Up North” to Traverse City!

Brik Red Ale

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Maker: Milking It Productions, Royal Oak, Michigan

Style: Irish Red Ale

ABV: ???

Appearance: Big frothy head. The color lives up to its name, deep brick red, slightly cloudy.

Nose: toasty malt, with robust sweetness.

On the palate: Malty and bitter, exquisitely balanced by a rich sweetness.

Finish: delicate sweetness with a pleasant lingering bitterness.

Parting Words: I was skeptical of trying this beer when I saw it in the grocery store. Like many, when I see the words “Irish Red” on a bottle my mind jumps to Killian’s, the allegedly Irish Red beer produced by that great old Irish brewery Coor’s and which was often sold at import prices by the proprietors of Neighborhood restaurants. I now publically apologize to Milking It Productions or my lack of faith. This is a beefy, complex but balanced ale. It is big enough to have with a meal and subtle enough to drink on its own. Or is it the other way around? At any rate, Brik is highly recommended. The fact that it comes in pint cans is a nice bonus.

Review: Atwater Dunkel

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Maker: Atwater Block Brewery, Detroit, Michigan

Style: Dark Lager

ABV: 5.2%

Appearance: Big persistant foamy head. Dark coffee brown.

Nose: Malt, fresh roasted coffee.

On the palate: more coffee, quite dry and bitter.
Finish: coffee coffee coffee, French roast to be specific.

Parting words: My take on this beer seemed to change every time I drank it. I can’t quite pin it down. This last time, I didn’t care too much for it, frankly. It is too far on the roasty toasty side of things. Almost burnt. If I had written this review a few months ago, this may have been more positive. Right, now, I cannot recommend Atwater Dunkel. It is unbalanced.

Review: Sky High Rye

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Maker: Arcadia Ales, Battle Creek, MI

Style: Rye Beer

ABV: 6%

Appearance: Persisant creamy head. Slightly Cloudy Blonde color.

Nose: Malty, spicey, citrus, hops.

On the Palate: medium-bodied, nice bitterness balanced with a bit of citrus sweetness, lime, lemongrass, cardamom, black pepper.

Finish: Light and sweet with a little bit of bitterness.

Parting Words: Sky High Rye is a much more balanced beer than Red’s Rye PA. The bitter, sour and sweet are superbly balanced. Add a little fish sauce and this could pass for Pad Thai. It’s not nearly as aggressive and punchy as Red’s but this is a subtle and refreshing, “thinking person’s” beer. Highly recommended.