Touring the Rust Belt
I never quite knew the best way to answer “Why are you driving to Iowa?” “Family,” I would say, “visiting the in-laws.” To those that know me well the answer was plainly straightforward: “An excuse to road trip.” Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin. Prime beer country, and uncharted lands in my travels. The timing could not have been better, with the Kuhnhenn’s Winter Solstice party scheduled for December 21st at the brewery in Warren. Exciting rumors swirled about the annual bottle release, with the promised appearance of the coveted Raspberry Eisbock and a new offering called Tenacious Cassis, a special blend of the Fourth Dementia Old made with cassis.
Wasting no time, we drove straight through Ohio our first day out, and arrived at Kuhnhenn’s an hour before the posted time for bottle sales. Walking in the front door we were passed by person after person with stacked cases in their arms. Okay, no problem. You have to figure that’s going to happen. We got our bottles, threw them in the truck, and went back in for a session, greeted by a draft lineup that just begs for a designated driver: Prometheus, a 10% Belgian strong ale, was on the low end this night. Kuhnhenn’s Raspberry Eisbock (10.6%), Fourth Dementia (11%), Barley Wine (12%), Road Rash (12.5%) and Winter Wonder (15.5%) were among the super-gravity beers available, along with a few standard weight taps such as the Winter Lager (7.2%) and American IPA (6.5%).
Back on the road a few hours later, we drove into Ann Arbor and checked into our room before heading into downtown for more fun. My impressions of Ann Arbor are likely to be somewhat skewed, as we visited late on the Friday of finals week, and the town was devoid of any student life whatsoever. Drinking establishments had a Tuesday night crowd on a Friday, and the streets were quiet, desolate and cold. The campus business district in Ann Arbor is home to three breweries, a number of solid bottle shops, one very good beer bar, and some of the fattest, slowest squirrels you’ll ever see. While packing the truck the next morning, we were startled from above by a squirrel the size of a housecat. The squirrel’s immense weight caused the branches underneath it’s rotund body to sway uneasily, and its slow, measured attempt to navigate the trees downward was pure hilarity.
Day two in Michigan brought visits to Arcadia Brewing in Battle Creek and Bell’s Eccentric Café in Kalamazoo, where we enjoyed a new Sweet Potato Stout brewed just weeks prior, as well as an aged keg of Batch 7000 Imperial Stout. Across the street from Bell’s, we were disappointed to find Kraftbrau deserted and empty, as they had ceased brewing and closed shop over a rent dispute back in November. For the beer hunter, though, there’s still a good second option in Kalamazoo, the Olde Peninsula Restaurant and Brewery. Perhaps due to the proximity to Bell’s and the more courageous palates that come with the beer tourists, Olde Peninsula is turning out some seriously solid beer. Their porter, stout and IPA were to-style and without defects, and their seasonal Pumpkin ale had a distinct pepperiness to compliment the pumpkin pulp flavor.
Continuing our drive westward across lower Michigan brought us to the Livery in Benton Harbor. Located in the Benton Harbor Arts District, set amongst a patchwork of empty lots, abandoned brick houses and a few reclaimed and renovated buildings, the Livery sits as a small basement of a brewery, specializing in unique recipes and focused on attracting a unique crowd. The Livery has been a beer hunter destination since their cask aged Wheat Trippelbock achieved Top 50 status on Ratebeer, and we made a point to visit specifically because this beer was available on draft. A super gravity version of a doppelbock, but partially made with wheat, it’s aged in a bourbon cask for between 8 to 12 months, and weighs in between 11 – 16% ABV. Delectable, rich, and lightly sweet, with the barrel quality complimenting rather than dominating, the cask aged Trippelbock is a wondrous creation and unlike anything I’ve tasted.
Two solid days of drinking on the road caught up with us, and I began to realize what I’d suspected before we began this trip: I’m not in my early 20s anymore, and I guess I just can’t handle the seemingly non-stop brewpubbing that I used to do out west. With another week ahead of us, we decided to take it easy on our second night, turning in early and looking ahead to spending time in Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin.
