Brewer's Festival!

So last weekend we headed up to Bridgman Michigan for the Weko Beach Brewer's Festival. The breweries that showcased their beers were:

ARCADIA (Battle Creek, MI)
JOLLYPUMPKIN(Ann Arbor[whore!], MI)
The ROUND BARN (Baroda, MI)
BELLS (Kalamazoo, MI)
FOUNDERS (Grand Rapids, MI)
The LIVERY (Benton Harbor, MI)
NORTH PEAK (Traverse City, MI)
NEW HOLLAND (New Holland, MI)
OLD HAT (Lawton, MI)
SAUGATUCK(Saugatuck, MI)
SHORTS (Bellaire, MI)

Needless to say, it was a good day for beer!!

As evidenced in the picture on the left:
A great many local beer "connoisseurs" came out to try all the great beer. Unfortunately, few of the breweries had much faith in the success of the event because most of them ran out of beer before the headlining band ever got on stage. Well, either they had little faith, or they're just too small to have afforded enough beer to support a crowd like this. I do know for sure, though, that Founders did not bring their Breakfast Stout like they said they would.

My quick review of a few beers [my reviews aren't traditional beer reviews - most of my readers are casual beer drinkers - follow the hyperlinks if you want to read a real review]:
ARCADIA's SKY HIGH RYE - It was well presented and had an excellent aroma but tasted sour and thick - like it hadn't finished aging. If it was supposed to taste that way, they may want to call it an Imperial, but it didn't quite have the alcohol content.

FOUNDERS DRY-HOPPED PALE ALE - I was fairly impressed with this dry-hopped bevy. Of course when a brewery touts a dry-hopped beer I expect it to peel the enamel off my teeth; I was surprisingly disappointed that this beer didn't. It was hoppy enough, but not enough to make a big deal about it being dry-hopped.

Luckily for me, with so many breweries packing up early, I was left with several tickets to try many-a-mug of Saugatuck's Singapore IPA (on the right)

The Singapore IPA is named after the legendary Lake Michigan ghost town, not the island nation. This India Pale Ale is a hop-forward American IPA with a refreshing citrus aroma and finish. Ok, so I used the website description for the Singapore IPA, but it was right! and it was delicious!

Another nice thing about the Suagatuck Brewery, they offer an opportunity to BREW YOUR OWN BEER! Sure, the Homebrewers reading this will ask: "Why pay these guys when I can do it in my own kitchen?" - and that's a great point... but the non-homebrewers reading this can get a hands-on opportunity to make their own beer without a mess to clean up or a cabinet of equipment to get rid of if they decide brewing is not for them. Click on the link to learn more about brewing your own at Saugatuck.