The Short Pour Is Chiefly into Gay Formality

• Still the one. Is there one particular beer that changed your life?  (Is the Pope Catholic?) Instead of waxing drunk about it to all your friends, consider writing a 900-word essay on that one special brew that rocked your world and sending it off to DRAFT Magazine's "BeerMe Essay Contest." You could win a $100 gift card and get published. Beer money and fame; what else could you want?
• Hello, Ohio. North Peak beers (Diabolical IPA, Siren Amber Ale, etc.) are now available to the benighted masses of that state down south, thanks to Columbus-based distributor Premium Beverage Supply. And speaking of, look for two more brews to join the family of retro stubby bottled North Peak Ales this spring, Burly Belgo IPA and Sinuous Celtic Ale. (The former ought to be on tap by now at Jolly Pumpkin in Ann Arbor.)
• Long overdue. The fine folks from Taylor's well established Adventures in Homebrewing are opening another homebrew supply store in Ann Arbor. The new place will be located by Zeeb and Jackson roads and is expected to be open within the next month, pending final bureaucratic approvals and whatnot. Brew on!
• The original Wolverine. Long before Wolverine State Brewing Co. opened on Ann Arbor's west side, there was Pontiac's Wolverine Brewing Co. and its Chief Pontiac Beer, known for its "gay informality." As of this writing, the eBays have a rare Chief Pontiac Beer ad for sale for those into collecting gay old brewery items. For Fred Phelps or anyone else who is not, there's Faustian Stout Baltic Porter pouring at the new Wolverine, and it's friggin' good.
• Brewer's Night erratum. There's a correction to the special beer being served at tomorrow's (Tuesday) Brewer's Night in the Grizzly Peak Den. Instead of dry-hopped Liberty Singel Ale on cask, there will be a regular draft of La Poisson Rouge, which is Steelhead Red Ale that's been barrel-aged for a funky caramel and tart flavor. Hmm, sounds fishy to me.
• Catch this rye. Also on Tuesday night (6pm), Original Gravity in Milan is releasing a small-batch Rye PA, brewed with, you guessed it, rye malt and a buttload of Simcoe hops. No word from brewer Brad Sancho on whether or not this beer is gay.

The Week in Beer: Lots of New Brews for You

Twice As Nice Dunkelweisse at Blue Tractor BBQ & Brewery, 207 E. Washington.

I’ve been touting the excellence of the Washtenaw-area craft beer scene in this space for more than a year now (and even longer than that outside of this space, as my weary friends and random passersby can attest), and the coming week is one of those weeks in which your correspondent feels truly vindicated in his judgment of our local awesomeness. So many fun events and great new beer releases I just need to shut up and get on with it, so without further ado: Here’s your Week in Beer.

Collababeire Dinner at Roast Detroit

As anticpated, last night's dinner at Michael Symon's Roast in Detroit, featuring beers from Jolly Pumpkin, Stone Brewing, and Nøgne Ø paired with four sumptuous courses, was excellent. If you followed me or any of the plenty of other attendees on the Twitters, you already have an idea of what we ate and drank. If you didn't, well, keep reading for some juicy bits, illustrated with poorly lit photos.

Dining with the Iron Chef

Happy Hour at Roast, where I disovered the joy of the fried egg burger.

The Iron Chef is on his way.  From a @chefsymon tweet this morning:

heading to the D for jolly pumpkin beer dinner tonight...cant wait..their beer is insanely good..my absolute favorite

He's referring to the Jolly Pumpkin/Stone Brewing/Nøgne Ø beer dinner being put on at his restaurant, Michael Symon's Roast, in downtown Detroit's restored Book-Cadillac Hotel. And your correspondent is fortunate enough to be attending.

The Short Pour Enjoys a Burlesque Show

• Happy in the haze of a drunken hour. Blue Tractor has made happy hour even happier by extending it; now you can enjoy those great beer specials from 10pm to 1am.
• Go South, young man. The Corner Brewery's wunderkind head brewer Logan Schaedig begins a three-month leave of absence today as he heads down to Ecuador to do for Ecuadoreans what he does best: make beer. In his stead, assistant brewer John Ritenour will keep Ypsilantians' mugs filled with the good stuff.
• Just in time for pre-Oscar screening. If you missed last year's showings of Locally Buzzed, the movie about a group of Michigan friends visiting 50 Michigan breweries and drinking lots of Michigan beer, well, you're probably in the majority. But lo, the special edition DVD is now available for cineastes to pre-order on the official site. Little gold statue not included.
• Only a few hours left. For the low price of at least $8 (as of this writing, plus $2 shipping), you can own a piece of Ann Arbor history: a gen-yoo-ine label from a bottle of Cream Top Old Style Ale by the Ann Arbor Brewing Co. Would make a great Valentine's Day gift for that special beer nerd/historian in your life.
• Lost in the hurly burly. Overshadowed by the buzz surrounding Thursday's release of Collababeire and Bambic at Jolly Pumpkin in Ann Arbor is Burly-esque, the pilot batch of what will be the newest addition to the North Peak family of stubby bottled beers, Burly Belgo Ale. Look for it on tap at around the same time.
• Miscellaneous. Ashley's makes DRAFT Magazine's list of America's 100 Best Beer Bars. There is now some info about the breweries and at least some of the beers that will be at the Michigan Brewers Guild Winter Beer Festival Feb. 26 in Grand Rapids. Want!

Rat Fest 2011 a Smashing Success

The final numbers aren't in, but I'd guesstimate somewhere north of 100 beer lovers turned out Saturday for Rat Fest 2011 at Corner Brewery, and I think I can speak for every last one of us when I say it was a great time.

The Week in Beer: Just Like Snowflakes

Serpentarius Belgian Pale Ale at Corner Brewery, 720 Norris, Ypsilanti.

The other day, as I watched the white stuff come down from the sky and collect on the ground, I got to thinking how beers are kind of like snowflakes. From a certain distance, they all pretty much look the same. But upon closer inspection, you can see the stunning differences in each individual flake. This, despite how they’re all made of the same basic stuff.

At the simplest level, every beer is made from the same stuff as well — malted grain, water, hops, yeast — but the many different combinations of this stuff, as well as the way the stuff is put together, yield a variety almost as vast as that of the humble snowflake. And also like snowflakes, you can catch beer on your tongue. Here are some of the unique brews to do that with in your Week in Beer.

The Short Pour Welcomes Extended Beer O'Clock

Introducing The Short Pour, an irregular series of quick newsy (or not) bits that, for one reason or another, didn't or don't quite fit into The Week in Beer.

• Night owls (and drunks), rejoice! The Corner Brewery is now open until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays. By my calculations, that's one more hour of beer o'clock.
  
• Belgium in your backyard. Ashley's has released even more details on their Feb. 16-20 Belgian Beer Festival. Did you know Audrey Hepburn was born in Belgium? Now you do.
  
• Are you ready for some free pizza? Wolverine State Brewing has extended hours this Sunday for the NFL playoffs (can I say that without getting sued?), and they're offering free pizza while supplies last. Don't think there's anything I can add to "free pizza." Did I say free pizza? Free pizza.
  
• Don't blink or you'll miss it. Apropos of nothing, here's a blurry picture of Ron Jeffries labeling bottles of Bambic, a blend of Jolly Pumpkin's Bam Bière and Lambicus Dexterius, coming soon. This will be exceedingly hard to get, but at least you have a fighting chance if you live in Ohio or Ann Arbor. (Live in Ohio? Ewww.)
  
• Jumping the shark. Are craft beers and those who drink them becoming too pretentious?  Wolverine's E.T. Crowe takes on this topical, um, topic on her blog. Pour yourself a glass of Double Secret Bourbon Oak Aged Chocolate Chipotle Rye Stout and join in the discussion, Jeeves.
  
• Peering into the crystal pint glass. What beers will be coming up at Wolverine, and how pretentious are they? Said Wench also discusses.

Wolverine Taps Two New Beers

Wolverine State Brewing is releasing two new beers today, the High 'n' Dry Rye Pilsner and the new Wolverine Dark Lager.

High 'n' Dry is pouring as I type this. It's a traditional pils brewed with German malt and Saaz hops, except it also sports 25% American rye malt to give it a nice, spicy kick. I'll know more once I conduct proper research...

Wolverine's E.T. Crowe compares Wolverine Dark to Shiner Bock or Warsteiner Dunkel and says fans of the brewery's tapped-out emOATable Lager and Big House Brown (this guy!) will appreciate the crispness, light hop presence, and yeasty character of this brew.  It's being tapped at 5pm tonight as the happy hour special.

Wolverine Dark will be available year-round and will join the flagship Wolverine Premium Lager on store shelves once bottling commences.

Dark Corner to Return This Spring

Good news for fans of Dark Corner Ale, the 2007 collaboration brew from Arbor Brewing and Dark Horse Brewing: It's coming back this spring.

The release party is scheduled for March 29, 6-8pm, at the Corner Brewery in Ypsilanti, a free event for Mug Club members or $10 for nonmembers. Six packs will be available in April, with half of the bottles from Dark Horse's facility in Marshall and half originating from Corner's system.

The Week in Beer: Winter Means Bigger Beers

Bell's Hopslam Ale at Bar Louie, 401 E. Liberty, Ann Arbor.

Winter is in full stride, and the cold temperatures mean staying indoors and keeping warm with the darker, heavier ales of the season. They’re one of the consolations of January, along with the fact that the days are now, in fact, getting longer. So while you’re waiting for that groundhog to come and do his thing, comfort yourself with what awaits in your latest wintry Week in Beer.

Hopslam in the House

If it's January, then it's time for the release of Bell's Hopslam Ale, a double secret X-TREME seasonal IPA with a solid following amongst hopheads and for good reason.

Unlike a lot of XPAs, Hopslam actually has some measure of balance, owing to a strong grain bill as well as the addition of honey as an adjunct. It's brewed with six different kinds of hops and then dry-hopped with the ubiquitous, quintessential XPA hop, Simcoe.

Ashley's Belgian Beer Fest Update

Ashley's has unveiled some new details regarding their upcoming Belgian Beer Festival taking place Feb. 16-20 at the Westland location.

First, there will be a sneak preview of sorts at Ashley's Ann Arbor from Jan. 18-22. Twenty Belgian beers will be on tap and mussels will be on the menu. Here's the list of beers:

The Week in Beer: New Year, New Brew

Coming soon: Wolverine Dark Lager from Wolverine State Brewing.

It’s a new year and a new you. And a new you needs new beer, right? Your favorite local establishments know this, and they’ve been busy putting together a variety of great brews and events to help you keep that resolution to try more beers in 2011. Happy New Year, indeed — your Week in Beer awaits you, straight ahead.

BrewBubbas 100th Episode, Bock Release Tonight at Liberty Street

The guys behind the BrewBubbas podcast, which focuses on homebrewing, are recording their 100th and 101st episodes live tonight upstairs at Liberty Street Brewing Co., 149 W. Liberty, in Plymouth.

For the 100th episode, recording from 8-9pm, the Bubbas have assembled a panel of professional brewers who will take questions from the audience of mostly homebrewers. Panelists include Liberty's Joe Walters, Matt Greff of Arbor Brewing, Brad Sancho of Original Gravity,  Todd Parker of Copper Canyon Brewery, and Dan Rogers of Big Rock Chophouse.  The 101st show, recording from 9-10pm, will feature a panel of award-winning homebrewers who will also take questions from the audience.

In addition, all attendees will get happy hour prices on Liberty Street beer, including the just-released Paint River Bock, the Best of Festival winner at the 2010 Michigan Renaissance Festival Homebrew Competition. Brewer Steve Bender re-created his recipe on Liberty's system, using a blend of German malts, Hallertau Hersbrucker hops, and German bock yeast, with the result being a 6.4% ABV concoction that Joe Walters his own self describes as "awesome."

If you're in the neighborhood and want to learn more about brewing, you should definitely drop in to hang with the Bubbas and their crowd of brewers for a few hours.

Update: Craig has already posted the 100th episode on Brew Bubbas Radio.