From a trip to Ann Arbor over the summer..
Almost everything i tried was from dear old Michigan. In fact, nearly every beer i found there was from the northeast: MI, DE, PA, etc. Save for no-brainers such as Sierra Nevada and one place that served Stone, California wasn't particularly well represented. That said, some real gems were had.
The cast, in order of appearance:
1. Sacred Crow IPA, Arbor Brewing Company
This was pretty great. Poured/Made cask-style, though it seemed unusually cold for a cask pour. Anyway, great hops without too much in the way of malts to weigh it down...er...i mean "even it out." (Right..)
2. High Seas, Michigan Brewing Company
Pretty lame. The first of a 4-part tasting sampler from Ashley's. The waitress even warned me that it was pretty boring. After the others (i.e. the next three on this list) it tasted like a dirty sock. Especially when i revisited it, having tasted the others by then. Blah.
3. Mad Hatter IPA, New Holland Brewing Company
Definitely a step up from the High Seas, but nothing to write home about.
4. Crooked Tree IPA, Dark Horse Brewing Company
Okay, now were getting somewhere.. This one was really good. Again, big-time hops. Some malt, but not enough to make it chewy.
5. Hop Wallop (Double) IPA, Victory Brewing Company
This was just flat-out good. And let's not take for granted the old-school concept of naming a brewery "Victory". Beats the hell out of kooky names like "Rusty Banjo" or "Nail Biter" or whatever. Just "Victory". Short. Simple. Anyway, this was great. Recommended. I'll investigate the option of having bottles brought over later in the month..
6. Two Hearted Ale, Bell's Brewing Compnay
Bell's wins all kinds of awards at tastings and such. This was really good but somewhat difficult to write home about if you're as spoiled by places like Moylan's as i am. It's worth mentioning that i also had their awesome Oberon, a summer brew in the tradition of the American white/wheat. Good with a citrus garnish. They gave us orange but i think lemon would have made at least as much sense. Anyway, it was great. By all accounts, Oberon is the soundtrack to a summer in Ann Arbor; something i'm familiar with (albeit from the KC/Lawrence perspective), as the time of year is as easy to tell by the offerings at Free State (Lawrence) and Boulevard (KC) as it is by more traditional calendrical barometers such as foliage, weather, or impending holidays. A quck look at their web site last night revealed a varietal by the name of Hopslam. All signs point to it being very very good.
Honorable mention:
Dogfish Head Brewery's 60, 90, and 120 minutes IPAs.
This shit looks bananas. The 120 Minute IPA especially. The menu at Ashley's described the 120min as boasting 17% alcohol, among other things. Hop count through the roof (their site says 120 IBU). I didn't get around to trying one because i'd already committed to the IPA sampler and wasn't sure i was going to be ready for a beer that strong after having just consumed four 5.5 oz glasses and no lunch. Needless to say, this deserves further investigation. (Jim..?)
The Rye Centennial
