The Week in Beer: Celebrate Independence Day with Craft-Brewed Beer

America! Fuck yeah!

Sometimes it’s easy to forget just how fortunate we are, as lovers of fresh, local craft beer, to live where we do. And I don’t just mean in the Washtenaw County area, which is indeed chock-full of great beer options, but in America the Beautiful itself.

Little more than a generation ago, our country was (rightfully for the most part) derided as a land of bland swill, the laughingstock of the rest of the beer-drinking world, which told off-color jokes about America’s offerings.

Now, thanks to the rise of the craft brewing movement, America boasts the widest selection of high-quality beer styles available anywhere in the world, as talented brewers re-discover and even re-invent classic styles from our European (and other) forebears as well as constantly create new categories of their own — or even beers that defy categories.

So whether you’re heading up north to the cottage or chilling out in your backyard for Independence Day, be sure to celebrate with some delicious beer from one of America’s many small, independent breweries. And, of course, if you’re sticking around town, your Week in Beer has some ideas for you to rock your 4th of July with liberty and fraternity for all, amen.

Craft Beer Sale at Meijer

As I Twitterized yesterday, I discovered some happy news while grocery shopping at the Meijer on Ann Arbor-Saline Rd. Sixpacks of New Holland, Bell's, and Founders are all on sale through July 2 at $7.99 each, which is a great deal especially in our era of growing price inflation.

At the time of my visit, there was, from New Holland, The Poet Stout, Mad Hatter IPA, Golden Cap Saison, and Sundog Amber Ale. Bell's sixpacks included Pale Ale, Oberon, and Two-Hearted. And Founders had Porter, Red's Rye PA, and Dirty Bastard Scotch Ale. There may have been others, but those are the ones I definitely saw.

So, in other words, this is a great opportunity to stock up on some great Michigan beers and save a few bucks. Hopefully, y'all will also save a few of those sixpacks for me, when I go back again later this week...

The Week in Beer: Buckets of Brew for You

Chef Doug Hewitt of Terry B's Restaurant & Grill, 7954 Ann Arbor St., Dexter,
pairs American fusion cuisine with Michigan craft beers.

This Week in Beer has everything from tastings to German beer buckets to a class on beer appreciation to a beery celebration of that barfly’s barfly, Tom Waits. Now, aren’t you curious? Keep reading for all the delicious details.

Menu Released for the Arbor Brewing Beer Dinner at Terry B's in Dexter

Tomorrow (Wednesday) night Terry B's Restaurant & Bar, 7954 Ann Arbor St., Dexter, is hosting a five-course beer dinner featuring the libations of Arbor Brewing Co. beginning at 6pm. I've not yet been to Terry B's, but I have had some food prepared by Chef Doug Hewitt, and damn was it good.  Matt and Rene Greff of Arbor will also be on hand to talk about the beers.

Here's the menu:

Happy Birthday to Original Gravity!

Original Gravity Brewing Co. is 3 years old today, and it wants you to come on down to 440 County St. in Milan to help celebrate the occasion! Bourbon Barrel Aged High Five IPA will be on tap, along with three new small batches including a pale ale and a Scottish ale. Also on tap: Belgian Training Wheels Ale, County Street Amber Ale, Primordial Porter, Southpaw IPA, and Train Jumper Black IPA.

And be sure to arrive before all the house-smoked BBQ delicacies are gone. Live music from "Out of the Sun" commences at 8:30pm, rounding out what's sure to be another great time.  Cheers to Brad Sancho and OG!

The Week in Beer: Time for Hawaiian Shirts, Sandals, and Summer Brews

Real women drinking beer at last Sunday's "Real Women Drink Beer" event at
Wolverine State Brewing, 2019 W. Stadium, Ann Arbor.

The summer of beer is here! I don’t know about you, but I’ve permanently* switched my daily attire to Hawaiian shirts, shorts, and sandals and my beers to wheat ales, light lagers, and refreshing hybrids like kolsches and California commons. So don't just sit there inside your cubicle or man (or woman) cave; get on outside and enjoy the sun — and the beer. Read on for some ideas and how to do just that.

* (And by “permanently” I mean “for the next two and a half months.”)

Brewery Vivant Release Party Tonight at Ashley's Ann Arbor

Join Ashley's, 338 S. State, and Jason Spaulding at 6pm tonight for a regional launch party for the Belgian-style beers of his new brewery, Brewery Vivant in Grand Rapids. On tap will be Zaison Super Saison, Triomphe IPA, Solitude Abbey Ale, Big Red Coq Amber Ale, Vivant Tripel, and Farm Hand Farmhouse Ale.

If you haven't made it out to Grand Rapids to check out that city's newest brewery, now is a great chance to try their delicious beers, some of which are available in cans and should be on shelves here soon. Your correspondent is partial to the Zaison, owing to the seasonal aspect and the hint of peppercorn in the finish, but I've tried all of them and they're all damn good. See you at Ashley's!

The Week in Beer: Summer Beer Season Is Heating Up

Cooling off with a refreshing growler of Lazy Peach Hefeweizen
from Blue Tractor BBQ & Brewery.

The summer beer season continues with beer tastings, bus tours, and celebrations of women as well as such far-flung places as Belgium, Germany, and Polynesia and the islands of the Caribbean. What in the heck am I talking about? Read on through the latest Week in Beer and don’t miss a single second of the action — or drop of the beer!

Tuesday Night Is Beer Night!

Matt "Old Man" Greff pours some nectar from the Brasserie Greff cellar.

A few things going on in and around town tonight...

First, for lovers of fruity Belgian style ales, there's the release party for the much-anticipated Brasserie Greff Framboise tonight at Arbor Brewing. From 6-8pm, enjoy this tart, refreshing Belgian style ale made with whole, fresh raspberries on tap before it becomes available only in 750ml bottles. Free for Mug Club members; $10 for everyone else. Light snacks included.

Down the street at the Grizzly Peak Den, it's Brewer's Night from 6-9pm, with tours conducted by head brewer Duncan Williams or one of his assistants, discounts on beer samplers, and a special cask of wood-aged porter. While you're there, be sure to pop over to the main bar for a pint of La Fille du Fermier Aime le Bois, a saison aged in oak for a dry, vinous character with subtle notes of mint, tart fruit, and, of course, wood. One of my favorites from Duncan — get it while you can!

Over in Westland, Ashley's is hosting New Holland Mad Hatter Day beginning at 6pm and featuring a number of variations of New Holland's flagship IPA, including Imperial Hatter, Oak Aged Hatter, Black Hatter, Rye Hatter, Farmhouse Hatter, and the original Mad Hatter. A brewery rep will be on hand to talk beer and give out New Holland swag as well. If you miss out, though, don't worry: Ashley's Ann Arbor is hosting Hatter Day tomorrow night (Wednesday) at 6pm.

The Week in Beer: Takin' It to the Streets

It’s unofficially the official start of summer, which means — God willing — time to stop huddling inside dark bars and muttering into your beer about all that damn rain. Time instead to take that beer outside onto the porch, deck, patio, or government-approved, crime-scene-blockaded sidewalk or street event and enjoy some fresh air and that yellowish orange thing in the sky that, if memory serves, is called “sun.”

But what beers should you take outside with you? Glad you asked! That’s what this week’s edition of the Week in Beer is all about.

Not Your Father's Fraser's: Old-School Ann Arbor Pub Boosts Sales with Craft Beer

SO INTO IT: Longtime Fraser's food and beverage manager Timmy Donahue
has recently discovered the joy of craft beer — and massively increased sales.

There's a saying about how none are so zealous in the faith as the recently converted. Timothy "Timmy" Donahue has been the food and beverage manager at Ann Arbor mainstay (est. 1962) Fraser's Pub for, well, a long time. Only within the past year or so has he discovered the joy of craft beer, but as a result of his discovery, Fraser's has been transformed from just another neighborhood sports bar into a place where a bloke can find some seriously good brew. And Timmy means business: Sales are way up, he's doubled the number of taps to 16, and he has plans to add a few more as well as a cask system for serving hand-pulled beer. And on June 22, Fraser's will host Mad Hatter Day, an event featuring craft beers and spirits from New Holland.

Back in March, your correspondent had a chance to sit down with Timmy (over a beer, naturally) and talk about Fraser's new status as a bona fide East Side beer destination.

So let's talk about your and Fraser's odyssey with craft beer.

This is how it got started. I went downtown with some distributors and they took me around and I came back to work one day and I just said exactly this: "We're missing the boat." We are not programmed for what's going on in our town. Period. We're so far off the page and we need to collect these beers and give these beers a chance to grow in our bar. We need to have these, we need to try them, because they're working everyplace else, they're gonna work here.