2nd Annual Bells Eccen­tric Day at the Hungry Monk

OK, so anyone that has spent any time reading this blog knows, I have an affinity for things from Michigan. I have close family there (cousins, aunt, uncle, in laws etc...). Our very own Rover Beer Czar Reporter, Uncle Gary lives (and currently recovering in) Mich (get well soon Uncle Gary), I even married a woman from Michigan. Also, beer from Michigan is among the best in the country! Some of my favorites Founders, New Holland, Shorts, Jolly Pumpkin, and, of course Bells, from Kalamazoo.

Every year, in Dec, Bells holds a unique party. At their Eccentric Cafe, they hold an annual Eccentric Day. It's sort of the "Rocky Horror Picture Show" of the beer world. In order to get into the party, you need to create and wear an "eccentric" costume! I've never had the pleasure of attending, but I've seen pic's, and it looks like a blast!

 

Well, Eccentric Day is coming to Arizona! To help kick off Arizona Beer Week, the Hungry Monk in Chandler, is holding its own Eccentric Day Party! The fun starts at 3pm! There will be some special tapping's of some hard to find Bells as well!

Some tapping notes.....

Black Note (6:30 p.m.) - One of the most sought-after stouts in Bell’s history, Black Note Stout blends the complex aromatics of Expedition Stout with the velvety smooth texture of Double Cream Stout and ages the combination in freshly retired oak bourbon barrels for months. The resulting harmony of flavors captures the finest features of all three components: malty notes of dark chocolate, espresso & dried fruits, all buoyed by the warmth and fragrance of the bourbon barrel. Aimed squarely at the stout and bourbon aficionados, Black Note makes a grand statement about the art of the dark. 11.5% abv. 100% of the proceeds from Black Note will benefit the American Heart Association.

Bourbon Barrel Cherry Stout (7:30 p.m.) - Aged in freshly retired bourbon barrels for 6-8 months, this beer takes Bell’s Cherry Stout to a new level. Introducing the oaky, vanilla notes of bourbon to an already heady mix of tart cherries and dark, roasted malts, this stout seduces the palate. Bourbon Barrel Aged Cherry Stout has been made for draft on a handful of occasions over the years and bottled once. 11.0% abv

So, you have a few days, create your best costume, show up at 3, and your first Bells beer is only $1!!!!

Hungry Monks website
Check out the press release here...

Until Next time
Bottoms Up my friends
The Beer Czar

Short's Expansion!

Its no secret that on this blog, that we LOVE Michigan beer! After all, whats not to love? I mean, some of my all time favorite beers come from The Wolverine State, among them, New Hollands Dragons Milk, Founders KBS and Devil Dancer, Bells Oberon, Acadia's Ship Wreck Porter, I could go on, and on and on. While the number of breweries in Mich is still relatively small, the quality of the brewers currently residing in the mitten are nothing short of great, in my humble opinion.



Brewed in Michigan!

One of the smaller, and dare I say "quirkier" brewers is Shorts Brewing, in Bellaire, MI. Set on Main St of this small, quaint, Rockwell-esque town, this brewery is small, but daring. One look at their list of beers, and you see beers ranging from a simple brown ale, or IPA, to a slightly more strange PB & J Stout, S' More Stout, Key Lime Pie Ale, and a host of many others most brewers haven't even imagined let alone having the temerity to actually brew, and sell!





My Father in Law leaving Shorts

 Shorts has been around since the early 2000's, started by Joe Short, and group of friends. With a goal to create unique and exciting beers for local consumption. They currently operate a little pub, that is quaint, comfortable, although, to the first timer slightly confusing, but still very fun. My In Laws are lucky enough to have a summer lake cottage just a few short miles from Bellaire and Shorts, on Intermediate Lake. I had the pleasure of stopping by Shorts last summer for some wonderful pizza, and a 5 beer sampler. While with every daring, risk taking venture, not everything is going to work, as is the case with some of Shorts brews. Some fall short of being even good, while others are an absolute grand slam!

My sampler consisted of 5 Beers...

My Shorts Sampler





Beer Czar enjoying a Cornholio!



Bananarama- a sweet, (almost too sweet) fruit beer, that I think was good to try one, glad I did, wouldn't get again

Saison du Shorts - a great, flavorful, refreshing take on a great summer style!

Cornoholio - A 7% abv Baltic Porter, while not the greatest version of this style I've had, it was a very good version, I would buy this again, for a cool, winter evening around the fire pit.



Mrs Czar, and my mother in law at Shorts



Mama’s Strawberry Milk - I'm normally not a fan of fruit beers,and this beer is a great example of why that is. WAY too sweet,tasted like a light ale, with strawberry syrup in it, not a fan!

Chocolate Wheat - a great, very chocolaty American Porter! I liked this one a lot, despite the huge chocolate presence, I normally find unpleasant, this one worked well!

Before heading to shorts, I had spent the afternoon with a six pack of their Nicey Spicy, a very pleasant, drinkable herb spiced brown ale. As well as thier famous Huma-Lumpa-Licious IPA, a great IPA.
Also, a few Christmas's, my in laws sent me a bottle of their Peaches and Cream, from their very popular 2007 Imperial Series. Now, I know I said I don't normally like fruit beers, but this one was awesome! Not a ton of fruit, but enough to be obvious as to what you were drinking. A well crafted beer.

Inside Shorts Pub

Now, why am I writing about all this after almost a year or more from enjoying them? Well, like so many other Brewers in the Great Lake State, Shorts is expanding, big time! Sadly, Shorts is all about Michigan, and doesn't distribute outside the state, so we will still have to rely on loving friends and family to send us our Shorts fix, or why not just head to Bellaire and spend a few hours enjoying the many many eccentric ales this brewery offers! Expansion is always good news, even for those of us unlucky enough to live outside the small reach of this great little brewery! Congrats to Shorts, and good luck, I hope to see soon!


Read all about Shorts expansion here....
Shorts Brewing's $2 million expansion...

New Breweries, how much is too much...

Can you have too much of a good thing? Maybe.....??? We will see. According to "The Brewers Association", 2011 was a great year for brewery openings in America. This year, 50 brewery's in over 20 states have opened, most in the last few months.Is this good for the beer industry, or not? Depends who you talk to, and here is my take....

2011, a good year, or bad year for beer?

While options are always good to have, sometimes having too many can in fact be a bad thing. Growing up, we had 4 (and later 5) channels to choose to watch TV from. We always had something to watch. At home now, I have over 250 channels, and I can't tell you how often I can't find anything to watch. This may or may not be apples and oranges, I'll admit.

Too much beer?

Admittedly, having so many brewery's opening, some, many in fact, are doomed to fail. We won't see all 50 of these brewery's 10 years from now, most will be shuttered or bought up within the next 5 in fact.





The bad side of this, having so many to choose from, there is no way to try them all. Which isn't always a bad thing, it does mean you may miss a few great beers, and maybe even mean a few great beers, my go unnoticed. This is one argument I've heard about why all these are openings are a bad thing. I don't buy this since we can't miss what we never new we had, so this really won't effect us at all. Its sad that we may miss out on a great beer, but since we will never know it, its a none issue.

The good news, it does mean, in order for the new brewery's to succeed, and even the older already established breweries, they will have to maintain their quality, and even keep pushing the envelope and trying new things. Look at the brewery's that like to experiment. I always think of Shorts Brewing, in Bellaire, Mich. A great little brew pub in Northern Michigan. At any one time, there are upwards of 2 dozen beers to choose from that they make. With flavors ranging from banana, s'more (yes, thats what I said) peaches and creame, Key Lime, PB & J, among others, you are bound to find something you like, maybe love, and yes, even hate. Making a lot of beer doesn't mean they will all be good, but it certianly makes the odd's of finding one you will love a lot more likely.

So, look at this list (click here) of new new breweries, find one near you, and give it a shot. You might find something uniquie, and even great. Plus, its always good to support local businesses, don't you think?

Bottoms up my friends.