Every State Ranked By It's Beer

 The Great Lakes State may not be a prolific hops producer, or contain one brewery for every man, woman, and child (they do have about two for every 100,000 adults, according to the Brewers Association). But mittens were meant for holding cold brews, and Michigan happens to host some of the best damned breweries in the country.

 There’s a reason that the annual release of Bell’s Oberon is like a state holiday, and why its Two-Hearted is consistently ranked among the best IPAs in the world, even as many drinkers don’t realize it’s an IPA. Or why Larry Bell’s neighbors to the North, Grand Rapids’ Founders, has become one of the nation’s most respected brewers, so much so that Grand Rapids is now on the map as a destination beer city. Why, folks set up shop in the tiny lake town of Bellaire just to sip Short’s, or head South to Dexter for a look at how Jolly Pumpkin is made.
 Beer in Michigan is a way of life, an economic booster that’s helping Detroit pull out of the apocalypse and a soul cleanser up in the UP, where long winters are made better with a growler from Ore Dock. And if that’s not convincing enough, consider this: in Ann Arbor and East Lansing, when the chaos of a tailgate clears, you’ll see as many empty bottles of craft beer scattered about as you will tallboys with holes punched in the side. In Michigan, beer love starts early.  click here to see all...

Michigan's Craft Beer Boom

Craft beer is big business in Michigan — big enough that a number of new businesses have recently sprung up to support it, not unlike supplier firms that produce parts for the auto manufacturers.
The biggest area of expansion is in hop farming. Since 2007, the state has gone from zero acres of commercial hop farms to about 400, according to Michigan State University Extension educator and hops expert Rob Sirrine.
But the past three years have also seen the arrival of Michigan’s second malt house and its first liquid yeast lab.
 ...click for News article

Try The New 99 Pack!

 Because everything is bigger in Texas, an Austin brewery has made a 99 pack of beers for 99 bucks. Ninety-nine beers, in one case.
God bless America. ...click for link to video

Deschutes To Expand Into Michigan This Fall

 Deschutes Brewery announced Thursday its craft beers will be available in Michigan beginning October 6th. The Oregon-based brewery will partner with West Side Beer Distributing for distribution of its beers in the Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo and Lansing areas.

 Stacy Denbow, expansion manager for the brewery, said, “We’ve seen a great amount of excitement leading up to our Michigan launch, our last major expansion for the 2014 year. Our fans in Michigan are passionate about their craft beer and we’re looking forward to them being able to get Deschutes in their home state.”
 Beer is slated to be available October 6th in the three western Michigan cities, with launch events scheduled for October 8-11th. Initially, Deschutes Brewery will offer Mirror Pond Pale Ale, Black Butte Porter, the nation’s number one selling craft porter, Inversion IPA, and its winter seasonal, Jubelale. The beers will be available in 6-packs (12-oz bottles) and draft. ...more

Getting A Taste For Real Beer...

  Jeff Gordon Has Thirst for Fun at Delaware Brewery.

He may as well have been any average sports fan, sliding up to the bar and ordering a beer.
But for a guy who has mastered winemaking as well as he has winning races, Gordon needed a remedial course on the finer points of handling a cold one.
"Do you smell the beer like you do with wine," Gordon asked.
He raised the glass to his nose, inhaled the fruity complexity and pungent hoppiness of a Dogfish Head 61, and started to drink.
One sip turned into two sips. And with a few more swigs, Gordon was suddenly the Delaware version of TV barfly Norm Peterson.
"I could drink this all day," Gordon said, to the delight of the Dogfish Head staff.
Gordon has been soaked in champagne in Victory Lane three times this season. He's sipped wine from his private stock at Jeff Gordon Cellars.
After a personal tour of one of the top craft breweries in the business, Gordon was willing to make 24 stand for more than the number on his car — he could use a case of the good stuff to lug back to North Carolina.
"I think I have a new appreciation for a good beer," Gordon said, laughing. ....more

Clean brown bottles

 Ed Weller has "a shitton" of bottles and wants to move them, both 12oz and 22oz clean and de-labeled.
I have dozens of clean 22oz capable beer bottles.

You only have to wash half as many and use half the amount of caps with 22's
I also have some 16oz and 12oz bottles.
Most have the labels removed.
I keg now and don't need them.
$0.10 each  616-566-4172 Holland MI

Excellent hops guide

Click here for Hopslist site

Beer Chase...

Click here for Beer Chase