wife and i will be driving up to MI at the end of the month for our kids graduation from MSU. i'm originally from MI, but haven't lived there in years. we'll be hitting the west side first, then EL for the graduation, and finally metro detroit to visit my family before driving back. anywhere i should hit that will be having any releases the first weekend of may? since i'm driving, i'm also thinking of offering up some muling services for local beers (i.e. CCB) for a few people who can meet me along the way. what do you think the best way of doing that is? post up in here, or in the FT:ISO IP section of BA? -dave
id be glad to meet up and buy you a beer or trade some beer if you will be near Clarkston at all. the Clarkston Union is my usual spot. congrats on the kids graduation. Go Green!
If you don't know about Hop Cat Lansing, that is a must stop. Don't know good bottle shops over that way, but someone surely can help out with that. It's a ways north, but Shorts Anniv. happening on April 26. If you can't get up there, maybe find someone coming back down with some of their anniv. releases. Of course Dark Lord day is the same day, about the same distance the other direction. Marshall is a great stop, only about 45 away - Dark Horse. Have a fun trip.
thanks man! i love the union. best mac n cheese in the world. if we get up that way, i'll let you know! we're def taking the kid and her boyfriend to hop cat. i've heard it's amazing. thanks for the heads up on the others. i knew about DLD but not about the others.
I can't think that there are any beer releases around the time that you'll be in Michigan, but when you arrive in state stop at a Michigan Welcome Center and pick up a copy of the Michigan Beer Guide (www.michiganbeerguide.com ) which may have its May-June issue out at the end of April. There is always a lot of good info in that magazine. When you are on the west side of the state you'll have the best choices of the Michigan breweries. Presuming that you'll come from Florida and enter Michigan on I-69 you'll have Dark Horse in Marshall where I-69 hits I-94. Then Arcadia (my home brewery and is a worthy visit) is in Battle Creek, 12 miles west on I-94. Then Bell's, which is a must-visit, is another 20 miles west in Kalamazoo. There are 4 other breweries in Kzoo besides Bell's (Olde Peninsula, Gonzo's BiggDogg, Rupert's, and BoatYard, and each is also in the downtown area), and one in Portage (Latitude 42) just 5 miles south of Bell's. I like Latitude 42 after Bell's. Fifty miles north of Kzoo is Grand Rapids and Founders, which is a must-visit. In the immediate GR area are 9 or 10 breweries, and I'm partial to Brewery Vivant and Perrin. HopCat is close to Founders, and it is mostly known as a good beer bar, but they do brew their own beer too. I don't have anything very good to say about the breweries in the Lansing area, so the recommendation above about HopCat in EL is a worthy place to go. Enjoy your visit.
