Crunchy's Does Great Taste of Michigan all July long!

Hey Guys,

I just got several email notifications on this and wanted to make everyone aware.

27 taps of Michigan Beers at Crunchy's all July

This is the 2nd Annual "Taste of Michigan" at Crunchy's. We are changing all 27 taps over to Michigan beer at Midnight on June30th/July1st with help from the Michigan Brewer's Guild Board of Directors as well as other brewers/owners and YOU!! Brett Mitchell and the Giant Ghost will be playing live starting at 9pm and we all will sing the Michigan Beer Fight Song at Midnight as the taps change over and I tap a firkin (maybe some Livery)!! We've gotten word today that we will release the "Inspirations Series" from Bell's this night as well as some other special treats. So don't miss out this years "Taste of Michigan", every year just gets better!!

Paul Stewart

Definitely a great way to support the Michigan Beer Scene. We were lucky enough to wander into Crunchy's one afternoon last July and they happened to have Bell's 6000 Batch on tap (4 years old)! This is definitely an event not to be missed by any beer enthusiasts. We'll be there at midnight this year when all the taps switch over.

Cheers!

Tasting Notes for FiddleStix Lemon Grass Wheat Beer

4/5 Appearance - This beer pours a hazy, light yellow color with 2 to 3 fingers of head. Overall, head retention is pretty poor for a wheat beer as it diminishes within 2 minutes without even taking a drink. Carbonation was a little low for the style initially, but after another day of heavy force carbonation it seems to be right on the money.

4/5 Smell - As one would expect from a wheat beer the smell is not overly complex. It does have a nice sweet smell to it, but the overall smell is a very heavy lemon smell. Reminds me very much of a shandy in the way that it smells.

3/5 Taste and Mouthfeel - This beer feels very thin in the mouth, but does leave that lingering "wheat beer" after taste that pretty much hangs with you the entire evening. Initial taste is of citrus and wheat with this beer, which is quickly overshadowed by a strong lemony zest flavor. Because lemon grass was used in the beer and not lemon peel, the beer has a lot more of an earthy type flavor and less of a citursy lemon flavor. Drinkability is high with this beer due to the low content of alcohol and the light mouth feel, however the after taste makes me not want to drink more that one or two.

Overall Impression - While not the best summer beer I've ever produced the idea of a lemon wheat beer definitely comes across with this beer. The only real downside I have with it is the lingering after taste. It reminds me of having a lemon in you mouth all day and then trying to eat dinner later on. All and all a very refreshing beer that may mellow a bit over the next couple of weeks. 6/10

Now On Tap 6/12/09

FiddleStix Lemon Grass Wheat Beer

4.5% ABV

FiddleStix is an top fermented American Hefeweizen ale brewed with generous amounts of lemon grass and grains of paradise and lightly hopped using american versions of classic German hops. The idea behind this beer was to make a light refreshing american wheat style ale with a lemony twist. Hopefully it will be a refreshing treat for a hot summer day. Stop in an try one today!

From a Wandering Mind

I've been having a lot of thoughts lately on different high gravity ales to make in the upcoming months. Most of these beer will take a good amount of time to ferment, age and condition, but the prospects of whats running through my head get me very excited and god and money willing all of these beers will come to be. I thought I'd share some of the ideas with you and see if any of them got you excited about drinking beer.

Sometime this month or next I am going to do an experimental batch (~3 gals) of an imperial chocolate pumpkin porter that should weigh in around 8.5% ABV. I would like to have this ale ready for the Oktoberfest party and pass it around in my 3L glass from Germany so that everyone can get a taste. If its not ready by September, it should hopefully be ready by Halloween. Next, I had an idea to brew a Belgian Dark Strong Ale (Quadruple). I believe I'm going to do 5 gals of this beer and keg 3 gals of the original brew. With one gallon I'm going to add 1.5 lbs of cherries to referment and then I'm going to bottle condition it. The other gallon I'm going to bourbon age using oak cubes and Makers Mark. I will be bottling this gallon as well. I'm hoping this ale will be ready by Christmas (fingers crossed) so that I can have it on Tap on New Years Eve this year. Also this summer I'm going to make my first attempt at brewing an English Old Ale, which is similar to a Barley Wine. I'm only gonna brew 3 gallons of it because its my first attempt and to brew 5 gallons would require more equipment than I have. This brew should be very malty and boozey. I will need to age in the keg for quit a while, so hopefully by next spring it will be ready to sample and by next fall ready to drink. Additionally, I'll be brewing two of my favorite ales this summer. I'm gonna brew Batch #2 of Kremlin Joe's Russian Imperial Stout this August and Batch #2 of The Palate Pulverizer this September. Look for both to have a gallon or 2 aged in bourbon soaked oak cubes and both should be ready to drink for the winter months......mmmmm drunk times!

My mind is always wandering in different directions for things that I can do with beer. I will of course post when each of these brews is ready to consume, so be sure to tune in and pass out!

Cheers,
Matt