In a world where over-the-top, hop-heavy beers are nothing out of the ordinary, it’s truly refreshing (forgive the pun) to come across a brewer who is adamant about staying true to style when it comes to traditional beers. Such is the case with Two Monks Brewing. I’ve had a growler-full of their German dunkel and was thoroughly satisfied—it was smooth, flavorful and malty—just what I was expecting. On my first visit, the two...

Read more »

The docks and dining deck at The Landing at Ironton. Great beer & Food. After a night in beautiful Bellaire, I packed up my gear and headed to Boyne City, Michigan—to claim a camping spot about four miles west of town, right on the shores of Lake Charlevoix. Boyne City is at the east end, and Charlevoix is at the western end of this big lake, near where it empties into Lake Michigan. Both towns are wonderful and great...

Read more »

My campsite in Bellaire, Michigan. Looking out of my tent door. Every couple of years or so I try to get up to NW Michigan to see some of my favorite vacations spots; being kind of a last-minute exercise this year, and that no reasonable accommodations were available, I was forced to go camping. This also meant that I would be traveling alone, since my wife does not camp out in tents. This also gave me an opportunity to volunteer...

Read more »

One of the first pleasures of the season, I am happy to relate, was the release of Hoppin’ Frog Brewery’s Grapefruit Turbo Shandy, which is the first product of theirs to be available in a 12 oz. can. As I have previously noted, I am a big fan of the regular (lemon) Turbo Shandy, and would drink it by the bucketload if I could afford it. I first tried the grapefruit version on the first day of its release, and although I have...

Read more »

I decided it was time to jot down some quick notes on the continuing popularity of the Summit Brewpath – a local brewery trail and passport program developed by the local Convention & Visitors Bureau. Similar to popular programs run in other cities, the program lets beer lovers get a passport at 14 participating breweries in Summit, Medina, Portage and Stark counties, then collect stamps when they visit and have a beer....

Read more »

In fact, most of the beer—or lager—as they would call it, is served perfectly cold. In this case, however, we’re talking about ale. And while English ale is not served warm, it would better be described as cool. Of course, none of this came as a surprise to me during our recent trip to London. True English ales, hand-pumped out of a cask, are at their best when they are just slightly cool, so that more of their flavor has...

Read more »