Barrel Aged Madness at the Wurst Bar

I cannot tell a lie. Sometimes things just get by the Beer Guy. Take, for instance, what sounds like a pretty amazing tap takeover event coming up Monday, March 3, at the Wurst Bar in Ypsilanti. I missed writing about it in my last few posts as I heard about it only today.

Anyhoo, if bourbon barrel aged beers are your thing, you might want to check out what Wurst is putting on all at the same time. (Hint: KBS, Black Note, and Dragon's Milk are just the beginning.) Two new releases are also part of the deal: Arcadia's Deliverance, about which I know nothing, and Liberty Street's Majesty, which is a bourbon barrel aged version of  Emperor Norton Imperial Stout. Plus plenty of other stuff from all your favorite breweries. And if you miss out, Wurst is doing it all over again Friday, March 7, with the leftovers.

The Short Pour Returns with a Beervengeance

So one of my resolutions for 2014 is to re-invigorate this blog, which could definitely use some re-invigoration. Or even just some plain old invigoration. As part of that effort, I'm resurrecting The Short Pour, an irregular department that rounds up brief beer news and other tidbits that didn't make it into my regular column (usually, but not always, due to deadline thingies).

• Beer festival! No, not that beer festival. Right now, most of Michigan beerdom is in Grand Rapids for the Michigan Brewers Guild Winter Beer Festival. If you sat it out or weren't able to get tickets, Ohio has a beer festival for you closer to home: the Glass City Beer Festival, taking place Feb. 28 in Maumee (aka Toledo). The organizers have lined up more than 200 beers from 45 breweries, a number of which we don't see in Michigan. General admission tickets are $30 in advance ($35 at the door) and VIP tickets (includes special beers and early entry) are $50 in advance ($55 at the door). See all the details, including the beer and brewery list, on the official website.
• Free (and cheap) beer. Really! Keeping up with the high cost of living can be easy if you know where  and when to look. Every Friday, you should look at the Produce Station, 1629 S. State St., and/or the Wine Seller, 2721 Plymouth Rd., who routinely host free beer tastings beginning at 5 p.m. to get your weekend started right. After 8 p.m., check out the Wurst Bar, 705 W. Cross St., Ypsilanti, where craft drafts are just $2 after 8 p.m. You're welcome.
• Laissez les bon temps roulez. It's Mardi Gras time, y'all. Both the Chelsea Alehouse, 420 N. Main St., Chelsea, and the Arbor Brewing Microbrewery (née Corner Brewery), 720 Norris St., Ypsilanti, are celebrating in style. On Saturday, March 1, Creole du Nord rocks the Alehouse from 8-11 p.m. with an infectious zydeco groove, and also offers up free dance lessons and a New Orleans-inspired menu. Oh, and beer. On the Day Itself, March 4, the Arbor Microbrewery is hosting a four-course New Orleans-inspired beer dinner beginning at 7 p.m. Tickets are $40 (plus tax and tip) and seating is limited to 25. Stop by the brewery or call 734-487-2739 for tickets. Menu is here.
• Taking over the taps. Lagunitas Brewing of Petaluma, Calif., takes over (some of) the taps at Sidetrack Bar & Grill, 56 E. Cross St., Ypsilanti, Feb. 26 beginning at 6 p.m. Beer list is still TBD, but look for something special pouring through the 'track's spiffy new Randall.

The Every Two Weeks in Beer: Beer, There and Everywhere

Look for bottles of Kaplan Imperial Bronze Ale, the second release from Chelsea nanobrewery Bitter Old Fecker, in stores beginning next week. Photo courtesy of Bitter Old Fecker Rustic Ales.

Dinners designed around beer. Movies about beer. New beers appearing on tap and in stores. More breweries opening. These days, it seems as if good beer is everywhere. How can the average person even keep up anymore? Lucky for you (although I know all my readers are above average), this column is here to help direct your precious free time toward the most gratifying events and beverages in our area. Keep reading for two more weeks’ worth of local beery bliss.

Beer History for Nerds

Hey you! What are you doing tomorrow night? That's lame. You should instead go to Ann Arbor's Live nightclub, 102 S. First St., at 7 p.m., when my brew pal Patti "Teacher Patti" Smith will drop the knowledge of beer history on you at the latest installment in the Nerd Nite series. For a mere $5, you can learn all about everyone's favorite sudsy beverage, from Mesopotamia to the modern mug club. And also some other stuff from other speakers, but you don't care about that because beer.

Most importantly, I'll be there slinging copies of my galactic bestseller, Ann Arbor Beer: A Hoppy History of Tree Town Brewing, and for an extra pat on the back, I'll even sign it for you.

See all you dorks tomorrow night!

Finally: A Beer Named After Me

On tap now at Grizzly Peak are two beers named after people, and one of the people is me. Drop what you're doing and head over there now to check out Uncle Dave's Old-Time Rye Peppercorn Pale Ale, a 5.8% ABV concoction brewed with flaked rye malt, Cascade hops, and a touch of freshly ground black peppercorns.

The origins of this particular beer begin in Canuckistan, where my homebrewer brother went one year for a beer party at his friend Larry's place. There were many homebrews on tap, but after sampling all of them, my bro kept going back to this Rye Peppercorn Ale Larry had made. Naturally enough, as homebrewers do when they really like a beer, he asked Larry for the recipe. He adjusted it to his liking and has been brewing it regularly for years. The beer acquired my name because every time it's on tap at his house, it's the only thing I'll drink. It would probably be my proverbial desert island beer, at least if it pairs well with seaweed (I haven't tested that).

This first commercial batch is not as peppery as the homebrew version, but it's still good and not just because it's named after me. So give it a try before I drink it all and see what you think.

My big brewing bro Mike adding the peppercorn.

The Every Two Weeks in Beer: Beer Is for Lovers

Arbor Brewing's Kuma Ofori-Mensa at the February 1 Winter Warriors event on Washington St.

“You are so warm, my wintertime love, to me,” crooned the renowned philosopher Jim Morrison. He probably wasn’t talking about beer, but I am, since that’s what I do. Valentine’s Day is coming up, and even if you’re fortunate enough to have another love in your life besides beer, there’s nothing to say you can’t have multiple loves. And you can enjoy both beer and your main squeeze with these upcoming events around town.You don't even have to be Mormon (hey-o!).

Signs Point to Continued Growth in the U.S. Beer Market -- and in Beer Writing

It was a very good year.

Note: The following is an entry in the Beer Bloggers Conference and National Beer Wholesalers Association’s “Best Beer Writing” contest. Apart from that, it is, in fact, the best beer writing. At least that you’ll read today.

The sign always gets me. You know it. The one that presently reads, “Your birthday must be on or before today’s date in 1993 to purchase alcoholic beverages.” The aging beer aficionado is sometimes tempted to measure his life by this sign. Not only was I born before 1993, but that was the very year I discovered what has come to be known, in the parlance of our times, as American craft beer.

My discovery was about as “American” as it gets. Twenty-two-year-old me stood in the convenience store aisle, looking to bring something unique to an Independence Day party. Two six-packs stood out. One was Samuel Adams Boston Lager, named after, the box informed me, a “brewer and patriot.” The other was Anchor Brewing’s Liberty Ale, which duh. I got one of each.