Arcadia Sampling at Slows.....sort of

So I get wind of this weekend via the micraftbrew group on yahoo that Arcadia is going to be at Slows Bar B Q this Monday doing a sampling, tasting or overall goodness assessment. Vividly excited, I rearrange some plans, invite some friends to come on down anticipating to try the Cereal Killer, Shipwreck Porter, Sky High Rye, special surprises and more. I sat somewhat impatiently on my couch as I waited for my sister and brother in law to arrive, abandoning my wife to catch a ride with other friends (no worries there, they had new born in tow, and my wife is all baby-i-fied). So we head out, sun still on the horizon and arrive close to 7:30. There we are notified by the cross between Bob Dylan and Jack White host that the event started at six, so we were well late, and that the event cost $30. Pissed and thirsty we bellied up to the bar. I did all the research I could on the details of this event and nowhere did it mention promptness and cost. So my ass-out-of-you-and-me assumption assumed it was a show up, try some special beers at specials prices, fraternize with the brewers and have a good ole time. Asking the bartender who maintains their website, mentioning our interest for the event and our disappointment in no Slows web presence at all, I made sure he knew he was the liaison between our discomfort and the management. He wasn't too up on the know of who maintained the website, and mentioned that it could be "in between managers" as if there is some internal conflictions there. I had ordered the Shipwreck Porter and man was it tasty. The alcohol presence was immediate in conjunction with the maltiness. It had a thick mouth feel and appearance, rings clinging to the glass. It hit me quick, probably because I had recently been sick and this was my first brew in about a week or more. The cost of the event actually wasn't bad. Considering food, drinks and other goodies, i would have been more than happy to pay my way. But unfortunately, either due to my further search for details or a combination of everyone involved, seven of us missed out. And so did Slows and Arcadia. Arcadia missed out on more "official" attendance, thus more excitement for their brand and brews. Slows missed out on what could have been more word of mouth exposure due to lack of web presence of the event, and perhaps more revenue, as our combined bill was about $150, when it could have been about $210 or more. Next up after the Shipwreck was the Sky High Rye, Arcadia's 12,000 (I believe) celebration Ale. This was a hoppy, possibly IPA worthy Ale that had a balance of bitter and sweet hops. Post dinner it was almost a bit too much for me, as my palate hates conflictions, I didn't have enough time to "rinse" from dinner. We had a great time with ourselves, sometimes ease dropping on the event and the conversations witht he brewers.

I love my Michigan produced goodness. I love my Detroit based Establishments supporting my Michigan based breweries. And I love my websites up to date, especially in 2009, where the web has been around long enough and is utilized more than ever for information based events and the like.

Fools for Oberon 09

Its unbelieveable that the Fools for Oberon party is quickly approaching its seventh year. And as Im sure any organizer struggles to make their event more memorable and sizeable, I am hoping this year will be another break through party. Details are to be determined beginning tomorrow at noon, when I meet with David from Bell's for lunch.

Fools for Oberon

Sam Adams Imperial Series: Double Bock

I needed to kill some time yesterday after walking to an interview (yes, i actually had an opportunity to walk to an interview!) and decided to so at the local wine and beer store just before my arrival of baptism. Scrolling the Isles I hadn't found anything out of the ordinary, but my eye was caught by Sam Adams latest seasonal, Double Bock. Mm Mm tasty, I thought as I raised the case higher to my nose as If to think I could smell its malty seductiveness immediately. My excitement suddenly turned peculiar, when I realized this seasonal delight had lost a third of its companionship. Last years Double Bock was a sixer, now suddenly it constitutes a four pack? At the same price? Cheated! what gives? I immediately blamed the housing market, and how millions of default mortgages have had their impact as far as our beloved beer industry. That is no joke, unfortunately, but another post will have to converge on that scenario. Now I was frustrated. The only four pack I saw outta Sam was its Imperial Pilsner. Upon further review I did notice a nice little tag on the box and bottle, "Imperial Series" it read. Hmmmmm. Upon research, it seems Jim Koch and his marketing companies have decided to launch this new extension of Sam Adams, which also includes an Imperial Stout and Imperial White (but no Pilsner?) which I am sure are going to tickle my taste buds endlessly once I find them. But still, some of me felt cheated, nothing has changed on the recipe side that constitutes my hard earned money is going to something more than previous years. Now I do understand my responsibility here, if I want more experimentation and craziness from my Craft Beer constituents, I have to be willing to accept that "less is more" and the social economics in spreading the wealth a four pack brings to the table and community, since many of these initiatives are done on a smaller scale but with just as much cost to the brewery. But with Sam, or SAM as it is known publicly, could possibly have made its Imperial Series with a bit more fluctuation. Perhaps anything over 10% could constitute a four pack. But the marketer in me, knows that wouldn't fly consistently with the brand. UGH. I guess I have to settle and drown my sorrows one by one with an Imperial Bock, Stout and White...

Kid Rock / MBC launching new beer

A recent press today pointed to the Michigan Craft Brew scene with its details on a new beer being created and marketing around one of Detroit's best known names, Kid Rock. The Freep's article points to Michigan Brewing Company as the brewery working with Mr. Rock in the formulation of the beer. Known for its fantastic Celis styles, it is no surprise that MBC would be the front runner in producing this beer, all of its names (with respects to the Celis) follow Michigan timeliness and accustoms. there is the Mackinaw Pale Ale, Peninsula Porter and Superior Stout to name a few. And they even a beer simply titled "Hamtramck", made with imported polish hops. Who's to guess what style and flavor profile the Kid finds attractive in his own beers, I only hope he likes his IBU's. Had this been just another brewery developing another flavor of beer gotten front page news without the involvement of Kid Rock? Most certainly not. But, If he can help land me a new job, or at least enjoy another style of beer while trying to do so, then sign me up.

Blue Tractor Brewery

This past Saturday Brittany and I had the opportunity for some time to ourself and head off to one of our favorite cities. Ann Arbor. A city that never sleeps, construction and development wise, there are many new and upcoming breweries in the area. One of which is The Blue Tractor BBQ and Brewery. Under the same ownership of the Peaks and Bastone, this newest addition is very unique. Donned with large tractor images, rusted tractor seats, wooden walls, and very dark corners, it sits on top of a very cool bourbon and cigar bar, and next to a Havana Cafe. But we were there for the beer. Unfortunately they only had four on tap, a Pilsner, a Cream Ale, an IPA and a Red. I started with the Cream Ale and Brittany had the Red. The cream was smooth and took a couple minutes to settle, the Red was cloudy (uncommon) and had a cherry tint to it. It reminded me much more of a hybrid, perhaps with some wheat in the recipe and maybe a sweeter yeast strain.I sampled the IPA but it didn't hit me right away. It sided more with the bitter aspects than the flavor and sweetness that I am attracted to. I finished off our stop with a Red as well, which I'm usually not a Red guy, but this one has something different.

Rumor on the street is that the same owners are in a agreement with Jolly Pumpkin to open yet another stunning restaurant and brewery. With that addition, we need to consider moving!

Harrison Ford, I owe you

I recently saw a job posting for a local design studio I have been trying to get in touch with for some time now. This company and I had been playing email tag for some time now, with ends falling short here and there, so when I saw the posting I was immediately rejuvenated to get back into contact. I located an earlier correspondence we had, and began expressing my uninterrupted desire to meet in person and discover my value and talents. I hit send and instantly was excited. This could be it. This could be the end to my days of job searching and applicating, which should be a word in this struggling climate. I hit the sheets and imagined how great an opportunity this was. I could ride my bike, walk even to work. And, this was a design company, not so much advertising or marketing, my nemesis that I must also call my closest friend. There is great potential to have a variety of design responsibilities. I could save on gas, mileage, have opportunities, bike, sunshine, and Harrison Ford. Why all the sudden was he there, Han Solo, The Fugitive, kissing Anne Heche on a deserted island. Rolling over with Dr. Jones, I thought it coincidence, the company being named Harrison Communications, Harrison Ford, they share a name. Or did they? My eyes popped open. Did I get the name wrong? I couldn't have. Naked, Harrison and I jumped out of bed, down the stairs and threw the Mac book open. Check sent mail. Open sent email. Check name. Harrison Communications is who I addressed, and, not correctly, Harrington Communications. I might have well written that email, printed it out and flushed it down the toilet in hopes for a response. That's about where I assumed I stood in their eyes. Conveniently, gmail does not have recall option for emails. I did what I could do best at 12:30 am and resent the same email, with the correct name, in bold, and red, with an apology. Harrison and I went back upstairs, got into bed and went to sleep. It was a crowded night, the three of us, and the cat.

That next morning I knew Harrison had come to save me, I just needed to determine how. Patience not on my side, I wanted to email Harrington every 5 minutes until they knew my sincerity. My wife, said wait, it hasn't even been a day. But I knew a day would turn into 10 or more if I didn't act. Use the force Harrison said. Perhaps I purchase one of those Han Solo live size cut outs, attach some form of communication and set it outside their office. the price on those things, aren't so bad, its the shipping that'll get you. $50 and more, I wasn't confident this was the best option. Plus, who wants to open the door to a life sized man pointing a death ray at you. I wanted to impress them, not shit their pants. Indiana could work...Still the expense didn't justify the means. Do I paste their windows with Harrison ford characters? Could I get Han on the roof without injury or trespassing charges? Or......do I mix creativity with.....creativity. It hit me. I could use Harrison and all his glory throughout the years, mix it with some Irish red style Ale I had made recently, name it Harrison's Red, deliver it to their office, and hope for the best. Perfection. A great idea, cost worthy, and everyone likes free beer. If nothing else, I get a name for myself, they get a good joke and a free six pack of homebrew. I spent the next couple days making the box, labels, cutting, gluing and the like. The smell of spraymount took me back 10 years to college. 

How was it going to get there? I could drop it off early in the morning, before anyone took to the streets. Then I thought of the location. Growing up blocks from there I knew hand fulls of kids walked those same sidewalks every morning to school. Hey! Free BEER! That wasn't going to work. I could sneak it in, they do share a door with another company. I could pretend to go in there and just leave it in their door. That just didn't seem right either. What if they saw me? what if the other company took it?  Finally I knew it had to be hand delivered, by a human, or Baba Fet. It couldn't be me. That would just be weird. My wife was busy, so I enlisted a good friend, instructed her on some specifics and let the cards fall where they may.

The delivery went well, as I was later told, and within hours I had an email from Harrington saying good job and to come in for an interview. Project Harrison was a success. My interview is this coming Tuesday.

Below Are some pics of the finished product.