January 2011 Review

Arbor Brewing Company - Ann Arbor, MI
Black Star Co-op Brewery - Austin, TX
Coalition Brewing Company - Portland, OR
Jolly Pumpkin - Ann Arbor, MI
Portlandia Brewing Company - Portland, OR
Rochester Mills Beer Company - Rochester, MI
North Coast Brewing Co - Fort Bragg, CA

Rochester Mills Beer Co

400 Water St.

Rochester, MI 48307

(248) 650-5080

http://www.rochestermillsbeerco.com

 "I love when my two worlds come together."  My first reaction when I found out that Rochester Mills Beer Company used to be a knitting mill!!!  Very exciting for me.  Plus, the building is really cool.

Alright, I was told that Rochester Mills Beer Co was sister breweries with Royal Oak Brewery and Detroit Beer Co, but I can't find any evidence on the internet.  A link though is the red ales they all have: Rochester Red, Royal Oak Red, and Detroit Red.  I don't know, maybe someone can enlighten me?

Speaking of Reds, the Rochester Red was going to be my choice until Jonah ordered the sampler. "Hey, if I get a sampler too we can try almost every beer on the menu."  This is always the best choice.  It was specifically this time because the red was sour, very unfortunate.  RMB Co has an excellent Lazy Daze Lager (Grandma agreed!), but my prize goes to the Paint Creek Porter.  Delicious.  Thanks Aunt Karol for suggesting this one!

Arbor Brewing Company

 

 114 East Washington 

Ann Arbor, MI 48104

734-213-1393

http://www.arborbrewing.com/

 Arbor Brewing Company was our second stop in Ann Arbor.  Every beer that I tasted were good enough to get a pint, alas they have so many beers on tap that Jonah would have had to carry me to the car if I did that. 

The Crye Baby Rye was excellent.  I love when breweries have ryes, I will always order it.  It's such a rarity and such a treat, an opinion I share with my cousin Mike Szymula.  There are two pubs for Arbor Brewing Co., we visited the ABC Brewpub (clever name).  The building had a great look to it even though the back room smelled like barf, something you have to live with being in a college town.

All in all, Ann Arbor is a great beer destination if you're in the Detroit area.

Jolly Pumpkin

 311 S. Main St. 

Ann Arbor, Michigan

734-913-2730

http://www.jollypumpkin.com/annarbor/

After Austin Texas, Jonah and I hit the skies again, landing in Detroit MI.  This is my second time in America's high five in search of breweries.  This time Jonah, I, and a handful of the Michigan crew set off to the land of the Wolverines, Ann Arbor.
Here's a picture of all of us, clockwise from the bottom left: Kurt, Lynn. Jonah, me, Kraig, Kristen, Joe, Michael, John, and Karol. (All the K names are siblings of my mom.)

The beer that intrigued me was the Burley-esque, a blood orange Belguim IPA.  This is a good place to go if you want to try some experimental yet still drinkable beers.  Definitely try to stop by for lunch, the food is delicious!!

The use of a pumpkin for the logo threw me off at first, I was worried that it would pigeon-hole the brew-masters to fruity beer and make for some lame merchandise.  Well I was wrong, Jolly Pumpkin does use fruit and spices in many of their beers, but not to an over-whelming or obnoxious level.  Also, the t-shirts rocked!  I am also a fan of the tap handles.

Black Lotus Brewing Co.

1 East 14 Mile Road
Clawson, MI 48017
(248) 577-1878
http://blacklotusbrewery.com/

I love how much my family loves beer! What I love even more is that they like me enough to try to squeeze in as many breweries on my short trip. Black Lotus Brewing Company was the finale of my Michigan brewery tour and an excellent last impression.
I wanted to put stats on their beers but forgot to steal a menu and their website is getting revamped. Instead go check it out for yourself and make sure to bring your aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandma!

Kid Rock's American Badass Beer

American BadAss Beer

brewed by Michigan Brewing Co.
1093 Highview Drive
Webberville, MI 48892
(517) 521-3600

Sports and beer have always gone hand-in-hand, but watching the Detroit Red Wings while drinking Kid Rock's lager is a match made in heaven. It is the premier beer from the musician's new company, American BadAss Beer Company and it's pretty damn good. It is light enough to be a good game beer with more flavor than you'll get from any of the macrobrews. Bob Ritchie you've done well.
Here's some pics from the game...

Kuhnhenn Brewing Co.

5919 Chicago Rd.
Warren, MI 48092
(586) 979-8361
http://www.kbrewery.com/

First impression: well impressed impression, daily beer list is always a good sign. Second, they have a tremendous about of beer, not all are on tap but you will be in for variety if you make this pub your hangout. And to round out the trifecta... you can brew your own beer here!
This brewery started as a hardware store run out of business by Lowe's but you can't see that know. It's a beautiful place with a steel horse-shoe bar and they have the beers to compliment.
My favorite is a contest between to very different beers. DRIPA is a double rice IPA, but don't shy away because of the rice thing this beer tastes like biting into a big dense hope flower and racks up a 10.5% alcohol stat. It's competitor for my taste buds is the Imperial Creme Brulee Java Stout. It's think and aromatic, you have to love a beer you can smell before it hits your lips. Keir liked the Classic American, and it lives up to it's name - a good ole fashioned session beer. It's hard sometimes to visit all these breweries, taste all the beers, try to stay sober enough to pass judgment. Ok, I know you don't feel sorry for me but a beer that's light and crisp sometimes just hits the spot.
For the rest of them the list of beers is too extensive to list here but you can find it here:
www.kbrewery.com/beer/beer.html.

Mon. - Thurs. 11am - Midnight
Friday - Saturday 11am - 2am
Sunday - Call for hours

They release new beers on Thursday - go check it out!

Dragonmead Microbrewery

14600 E. 11 Mile Rd

Warren, MI 48089

586-776-9428

Ugh, sooo disappointed: 25 minutes sitting there waiting to get helped then 5 tasters of boring beer. Take it I did only try 12.5% of the beers (5 out of 40, now you don't have to pull out the calculator), but those 5 did not leave me wanting more. I really wanted to like this brewery, I like that they had different styles categorized: Russian Ale, American, Scottish Ales, Barley Wine, Belgian Ales, Czech Lager (the only decent one I tasted), English Ales, German Ales, German Lagers, Polish Porter, then there's Mead and Wine. Hopefully with all those choices most can find something they like.

Somthing nice to say... the tap handles are cool and the sampler tray is hardy giving you 6oz of 5 beers.

Ok,, let's get started

I have been meaning to start this blog for awhile but it's hard to know where to begin. I have been visiting breweries around the country for years, and while I've been taking good notes (most of the time) it's hard to review them all. So I will start with trying to list them all, then one by one I'll post the reviews sound good. Plus you have my solemn oath that I will try very hard (most of the time) to keep up with my new adventures.
** I'm going to use the double star as an indication of a brewery that has no pub and I couldn't get into the brewery for a sample, but found a bar close by with their beers.
): I'm going to use the frown face for pubs that I found out too late don't brew the beer on premise.

East Coast:
Trinity Brewing Co. ~ Providence RI
http://trinitybrew.com
Boston Beer Works ~ Fenway Park, Boston MA
http://www.beerworks.net/html/locations_fenway.html
Salem Beer Works ~ Salem MA
http://www.beerworks.net/html/locations_salem.html
Cottrell Brewing Co. ~ Pawcatuck CT **
http://www.cottrellbrewing.com
Harpoon Brewery ~ Boston MA
http://www.harpoonbrewery.com

Florida:
Orlando Brewing ~ Orlando FL
http://www.orlandobrewing.com/

Michigan:
Motor City Brew Works Inc ~ Detroit MI
http://www.motorcitybeer.com/

Colorado:
Odell Brewing Co. ~ Fort Collins CO
http://odellbrewing.com/
The Fort Collins Brewery ~ Fort Collins CO
http://www.fortcollinsbrewery.com/
New Belgium Brewing ~ Fort Collins CO
http://www.newbelgium.com/
CooperSmith's Pub & Brewing ~ Fort Collins CO
http://www.coopersmithspub.com/
Mountain Sun Pub & Brewery ~ Vine Street Pub, Denver CO
http://www.mountainsunpub.com/
Estes Park Brewery ~ Estes Park CO
http://www.epbrewery.com/
Golden City Brewery ~ Golden CO
http://www.gcbrewery.com/
Breckenridge Brewery ~ Coors Field, Denver CO :(
http://www.breckbrew.com/
Flying Dog Brewery ~ Denver CO :(
http://www.flyingdogales.com/
Great Divide Brewing ~ Denver CO
http://www.greatdivide.com/
Wynkoop Brewing Co. ~ Denver CO
http://www.wynkoop.com/
Bull & Bush Pub & Brewery ~ Denver CO
http://bullandbush.com/

Idaho:
Brownstone Restaurant & Brewpub ~ Idaho Falls ID
http://brownstonebrewpub.com
Trail Creek Brewing Co. ~ Twin Falls ID
http://www.trailcreekbrewing.com
Sun Valley Brewery ~ Hailey ID
http://www.sunvalleybrewery.com

Wyoming:
Suds Brothers Brewery ~ Evanston WY
http://sudsbrothersbrewery.com/
Bitter Creek Brewing ~ Rock Springs WY
http://www.bittercreekbrewing.com/
Altitude Chophouse & Brewery ~ Laramie WY
http://www.altitudechophouse.com/

Washington:
Fish Brewing ~ Fish Tale Brew Pub, Olympia WA
http://www.fishbrewing.com/
Roslyn Brewing Co. ~ Roslyn WA
http://www.roslynbrewery.com/
Big Time Brewery & Alehouse ~ Seattle WA
http://www.bigtimebrewery.com/
Elysian Brewing Co. ~ Tangletown, Seattle WA
http://www.elysianbrewing.com/tangletown.html
Hale's Ales ~ Seattle WA
http://halesbrewery.com/
Snoqualmie Brewery & Taproom ~ Snoqualmie WA
http://www.fallsbrew.com/
Walking Man Brewing ~ Stevenson WA
http://www.walkingmanbrewing.com/

Oregon:
Calapooia Brewing Co. ~ Albany OR
http://www.calapooiabrewing.com/
Standing Stone Brewing Co. ~ Ashland OR
http://www.standingstonebrewing.com/
Barley Brown's Brew Pub ~ Baker City OR
http://www.barleybrowns.com/
McMenamins ~ http://www.mcmenamins.com/
Back Stage Bar ~ SE Portland OR
Bagdad Theater & Pub ~ SE Portland OR
Blue Moon Tavern & Grill ~ NW Portland OR
East 19th Street Cafe ~ Eugene OR
Grand Lodge ~ Forest Grove OR
High Street Brewery & Cafe ~ Eugene OR
Hillsdale Brewery & Public House ~ SW Portland OR
Kennedy School ~ NE Portland OR
McMenamins Cedar Hills ~ Beaverton OR
McMenamins Corvallis ~ Corvallis OR
McMenamins Greenway Pub ~ Tigard OR
Murray & Allen ~ Beaverton OR
Northbank ~ Eugene OR
Oak Hills ~ NW Portland OR
Ringlers Annex ~ SW Portland OR
Ringlers Pub ~ SW Portland OR
Riverside Pub ~ Beaverton OR
The Old St. Francis Pub ~ Bend OR
Bend Brewing Co. ~ Bend OR
http://www.bendbrewingco.com/
Deschutes Brewery & Public House ~ Bend OR
http://www.deschutesbrewery.com/
Silver Moon Brewing ~ Bend OR
http://www.silvermoonbrewing.com
Eugene City Brewery ~ Eugene OR
http://www.rogue.com/locations/rogue-breweries.php
Ninkasi Brewing Co. ~ Eugene OR
http://www.ninkasibrewing.com/
Oakshire Brewing ~ Eugene OR
http://oakbrew.com/
Steelhead Brewing Co. ~ Eugene OR
http://www.steelheadbrewery.com/
Mt. Hood Brewing ~ Government Camp OR
http://www.iceaxegrill.com/mthoodbrewco.php
Big Horse Brew Pub ~ Hood River OR
http://www.realbeer.com/nmvbp/bighorse.htm
Double Mountain Brewery & Taproom ~ Hood River OR
http://www.doublemountainbrewery.com/
Full Sail Brewing Co. ~ Hood River OR
http://www.fullsailbrewing.com/
Alameda Brewhouse ~ NE Portland OR
http://www.alamedabrewhouse.com/
Amnesia Brewing ~ NE Portland OR
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/9685/?view=beerfly
BridgePort Brewpub & Bakery ~ NW Portland OR
http://www.bridgeportbrew.com/
Cascade Brewing Co. ~ Raccoon Lodge, SW Portland OR
http://www.raclodge.com/
Deschutes Brewery & Public House ~ NW Portland OR
http://www.deschutesbrewery.com
Hopworks Urban Brewery ~ SE Portland OR
http://www.hopworksbeer.com/
Laurelwood ~ NW Public House, NW Portland OR
http://www.laurelwoodbrewpub.com/
Lucky Lab Beer Hall ~ NW Portland OR
http://www.luckylab.com/
Lucky Labrador Brewing ~ SE Portland OR
http://www.luckylab.com/
The Mash Tun Brewpub ~ NE Portland OR
http://www.themashtunbrewpub.com/
MacTarnahan's Brewing Co. ~ NW Portland OR
http://www.macsbeer.com/
New Old Lompoc ~ NW Portland OR
http://www.newoldlompoc.com/lompoc_home.html
Lompoc Brewing ~ Hedge House, SE Portland OR
http://www.newoldlompoc.com/hedgehouse_home.html
Lompoc Brewing ~ 5th Quadrant, N Portland OR
http://www.newoldlompoc.com/5thquadrant_home.html
Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery ~ SW Portland OR
http://www.rockbottom.com/
Rogue Public House ~ NW Portland OR
http://www.rogue.com/
Roots Brewing Co. ~ SE Portland OR
http://www.rootsorganicbrewing.com/
Tugboat Brewing Co. ~ SW Portland OR
http://www.d2m.com/Tugwebsite/
Widmer Brothers Brewing Co. ~ N Portland OR
http://www.widmer.com/
Cascade Lakes Brewing Co. ~ 7th st. Brewhouse, Redmond OR
http://www.cascadelakes.com/locations/7th_St._Brewhouse/

California:
Napa Valley Brewing ~ Calistoga CA
http://www.calistogainn.com/
Pizza Port Brewing Co. ~ San Clemente CA
http://www.pizzaport.com/
Firehouse Grill & Brewery ~ East Palo Alto CA
http://www.firehousegrill.com/
Stone Brewing Co. ~ Escondido CA
http://www.stonebrew.com/
Half Moon Bay Brewing Co. ~ Half Moon Bay CA
http://www.hmbbrewingco.com/
Huntington Beach Beer Co. ~ Huntington Beach CA
http://www.hbbeerco.com/
Ocean Avenue Brewing ~ Laguna Beach CA
http://www.oceanbrewing.com/
Los Gatos Brewing Co. ~ Los Gatos CA
http://www.lgbrewingco.com/
English Ales Brewery ~ Marina CA
http://www.englishalesbrewery.com/
Redondo Beach Brewing Co. ~ Redondo Beach CA
http://www.redondobrewery.com/
San Diego Brewing Co. ~ San Diego CA
http://www.sandiegobrewing.com/
21st Amendment Brewery ~ San Fran CA
http://www.21st-amendment.com/
Magnolia Gastropub & Brewery ~ San Fran CA
http://shop.magnoliapub.com/
Thirsty Bear Brewing Co. ~ San Fran CA
http://www.thirstybear.com/
Creekside Brewing Co. ~ San Luis Obispo CA
http://www.creeksidebrewing.com/
Downtown Brewing Co. ~ San Luis Obispo CA
http://www.downtownbrew.com/
Santa Barbara Brewing Co. ~ Santa Barbara CA
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Santa-Barbara-CA/Santa-Barbara-Brewing-Company/83266603049
Santa Cruz Ale Works ~ Santa Cruz CA
http://www.santacruzaleworks.com/
Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing ~ Santa Cruz CA
http://www.santacruzmountainbrewing.com/
Seabright Brewery ~ Santa Cruz CA
http://www.seabrightbrewery.com/