DAY ONE IS AROUND THE CORNER!!!
February 27th 2010
Getting ready for the first day of the eight day journey through Michigan beer. We are all very excited and ready to go. We had the chance to spend this past Saturday at the Michigan beer fest. I can’t tell you in words how great this was. Over 5000 people enjoying local beer. The pride that i seen at this event was something I have never seen before. This made me so proud to be a part of this great great state. We also got to sit down with some great people to get some awesome interviews. So thanks to all the people that have shared the excitement of this trip. Tomorrow at noon we will be having some lunch at the Hopcat brewery in Grand Rapids. This will mark the start of this great trip. If anybody is around come out and have a beer with us. We will also be ending this trip at Founders also in GR on March 8th around 9pm. We really look forward to meeting everybody and celebrating Michigan for eight days. Check back each day for day by days updates.
DAY 1 “A Learning Experience…”
March 1st 2010
After a slow start both with the van and the camera, we started our journey a good 3 hours behind schedule . The day started with lunch and beers at Hopcat, followed by a talk and tour with Steve.
B Money arrived with the van, and the trip began shortly after.
Eric lookin good, after a rough morning.
Next up was Schmohz brewery. The owner Chaz was a very enthusiastic brewer. We had a lot of fun talking with him about Michigan, and Michigan beer. Don’t forget to taste the water!
After Schmohz, the crew moved on to the Hideout. We talked with the owner, and brewmaster Ken, and got along well with the locals.
Onward to Middleville, and the Middle Villa Inn, and Micro Brewery. The owner Steve was potentially the nicest person any of us have ever met. He gave us a great tour of his bowling alley, brewery, restaurant, and banquet facilities. He also made us a pizza with their specialty beer and fennel sauce. Going in we knew nothing about this place, but after leaving we can’t wait to go back again.
Our final stop for the night was Bilbos Pizza in Kalamazoo. Unfortunately we arrived to late to catch the owner, but the bartender Robert was super helpful, and the beer was great (and only $1.50 a pint).
They also had an awesome Penthouse Puzzle game. Jill was really good at it…
DAY 2 “Who wants their eyes poked out?”
March 2nd 2010
We got an early start, at Fourth Coast coffee shop in Kalamazoo.
We had great coffee, and planned the day to come.
Before leaving Kalamazoo, we made a stop at Old Peninsula. The brewmaster Dan gave us a tour of the facilities, and had a great talk with us. It was a really nice way to start our day.
The second stop of the day was Dark Horse Brewery in Marshall. Near as I can tell, there is no greater place in the beer world. The general manager Travis let us in early and gave us a great tour of the brewery. We sat down with Travis, Bryan, and Aaron and talked about Michigan beer, and why they do what they do. The guys at Dark Horse are extremely passionate, and knowledgeable. We had an incredible time, and can’t wait to go back as soon as possible.
After Dark Horse, we made the short trip to Arcadia. We sat down and talked with the brewmaster Josh, and got some good insight into what makes michigan beer so great. B Money really enjoyed his blueberry rye.
In the evening we stopped at The Livery in Benton Harbor. Unfortunately we missed Steve the owner, but we had a great interview with him at the Michigan Beer Festival, and we had a really nice time unwinding at the bar.
After the Livery we stopped at Saugatuck Brewery. We talked with the owners Barry and Cathy, about the brewery, and this beautiful area in Michigan. We had a lot of fun playing ping pong, and participating in trivia.
We ended our day with a late stop at New Holland. They set up a really nice tasting for us, and we drank beer from giant boots. We really enjoyed all of the different beers we tasted. Matt and James had some good male bonding time. It was really cute.
On the drive to Mount Pleasant we had a hilarious time.
DAY 3 “Let the Race Begin!”
March 3rd 2010
We started the day at Mountain Town Brewing in Mt. Pleasant. We got to try almost all their beers and we also got up close shots of the brewing process.
Next stop was North Peak in Traverse City. We stopped for dinner and a few beers and then headed down the road towards Right Brain.
Russ from the Right Brain was one of the best Brewers/person we got to meet of the trip. Russ helped us with a lot of our ideas of this trip and was a key factor in the success of this film.
The mug club at Right Brain.
The end of day 3 was wild staying at a friends in Traverse City.
DAY 4 ” The Great Upper Peninsula”
March 4th 2010
Ending the night knee deep in the U.P.
Red Jacket has one of the smallest brewing systems in Michigan. We got to hang out with the brewers and owners of Red Jacket after close which made for a very personable and great interview.
DAY 5 “The Day We Almost Died”
March 5th 2010
The crew waking up in Houghton.
We start are day at Keweenaw Brewing. We had a great tour and the following pictures are of us helping can beer with the brewers/owners. It was a great experience for all of us.
The crew giving a cheers of Keweenaw over a spring in the great U.P.
A picture of the spring that doesn’t do a justice.
DAY 6 “The Best/Craziest Day of our Entire Lives”
March 6th 2010
Day 6 we start at shorts Brewing in Bellaire. We were all very excited to get to shorts after an interesting night in Mackinac City.
Matt and Cole enjoying a beer.
Casey and Eric deep in conversation of events of the day.
BMoney lookin good.
CHEERS!
Next stop at Jolly Pumpkin, Matt and Bmoney are observing the amazing decor.
Cole thinking about how good his life is.
Sitting down with Mike the head brewer/funniest man we got to meet. We had one of our best interviews of the whole trip at Jolly Pumpkin.
We high tailed it back to Traverse to catch the Snow and Suds festival in the woods.
You will enjoy this picture now and you will enjoy it later when Ryan finally dies.
Why?
Matt and Eric takin a leak in the toilets made of ice and snow.
Matt only wishes…
Jill and BMoney gettin ready for a good ole snowshoe race.
Cole chatting with locals while Eric is winding up a snowball that Matt is running from.
Eric and Cole hangin out with our new friends from Mt. Pleasant Brewing. We all had a great time at the fest and got to re-visit with some of the Brewers that we meet days before. Everyone was so gracious towards us at the festival.
DAY 7 “The Epic Journey Continues…”
March 7th 2010
We started day 7 at Redwood Lodge in Flint, ranked best Brew Pub in 2008. Flint cant be all that bad with a place like this. We got to sample some of the best beers we had on the trip.
Casey the cameraman taking one of many naps.
LOOK OUT.
Jill’s dad got to meet up with us at Kuhnhenn Bros. in Warren.
Eric randomly ran into a co-worker/friend from the restaurant they work at together back in Grand Rapids….weird. We sat together and enjoyed the amazing creme brulee stout.
Stop 3 of the day at Dragonmead were we found some interesting items around the pub.
This picture was in the men’s bathroom and was also a group favorite.
Dragonmeads unique tap handles.
Matthew observing the deer head at Traffic Jam in Detroit.
Matt and Cole taking notes of all the beers that we have tried so far.
Outside traffic jam checking out the unique plumbers fountain.
The owner/brewer of traffic jam took us around the block to show us the apartment building he bought to help save the neighborhood. Its very nice to see positive things happening in Detroit. The stories Steve had to tell us were very uplifting and positive.
Last stop of the night was across the street at Motor City Brewing Co. Unfortunately the owner wasn’t available so we just enjoyed some beers and were on our way.
DAY 8 “The Last Hooorah!”
March 8th 2010
Our first stop on our last day at Corner Brewery in Yspilanti enjoying the day outside.
The crew in downtown Ann Arbor goofin around.
Enjoying some of the best food we had at Arbor Brewing.
Getting a very extensive tour of the brewing facilities at Grizzly Peak in Ann Arbor.
The Brewer let us try the different malts that they were using. He gave us close up views of the brewing process.
James having a rough day…..
The crew said goodbye to the East side of the state and headed back to Grand Rapids for a welcome home party at Founders! A few friends we made along the way came and met up with us for a few beers and high fives!
