Dark Horse Brewing (Marshall, MI)

7/21/11

Entrance to Dark Horse

Mug club as decor

Not sure what I was expecting when I showed up at Dark Horse Brewing. On a road trip, stopped in Marshall specifically to try Dark Horse on site after years of sampling them at Great Taste and once at the Michigan Guild festival. Lines at the Michigan festival were always crazy long, so samples were limited. But, I'm been a pretty consistent fan of the Double Crooked Tree when I can get it. Finding that the brewery is a rustic looking building in a small mall named Dark Horse (including tattooing and groceries, if need be) wasn't what I pictured. 



Walking in, one thing is obvious: the mug club is extremely popular. Entire ceiling, walls, windows, all had handmade ceramic mugs hanging with numbers and sometimes names on the bottom. Very homey feeling. Clearly a pub that does well on the support of the locals. Full on a Thursday night for dinner, but thinned out a bit around 8 pm. DH reminds me of local joints near my small farm town in Iowa--not fancy and where everyone meets. I did like the glass washer on the bar used for every pint--mug or glass. They really seem to care about the beer and everything was well served. I had dinner--a veggie pizza made in the back and cooked in a mini oven. Fresh made, good, but nothing overly special. 

Overall, a nice place to have a well served pint. Since I've had the flagships of DH, I stayed away from the regulars and had lesser known (to me) Dark Corner and Thirsty Trout. Both strong, but not up the reputation I had in my head. Didn't have time to check if Crooked Tree is as good locally as when I had it in bottles. If in Marshall, I'd make the attempt to get back here, but would probably have pizza at Arcadia instead.  If I lived in Marshall, I would definitely have a mug.  

Reviewed on: 07-28-2011 18:09:39

barVolo (Toronto, ON)

7/23/11

Stopped for a few pints at barVolo and had a very nice time. Service was very good and attentive while my niece and I sat and chatted through the late afternoon. Good selection of taps with a range of the better Canadian beers, including the two double IPAs that I had: Black Oak's 10 Bitter Years and Taps' Biggie Chokeslam. A few outside drafts thrown in, but basically a really good local craft bar. Small, but nice atmosphere with just the noise of patrons talking in the background. My only complaint is the tab added up very quickly. A bit pricey, but good if you're looking for the best local beers served well.

Arcadia Brewing (Battle Creek, MI)

7/21/11

I didn't recognize Arcadia  from the pic on the BA site because I had to walk in the back due to construction work on the street in front of Arcadia. Follow the detour, and no problem. 

Walk in and there's an immense wooden bar with an angled rectangle jutting out into the floor space of this historic building. Brewery looks pretty big and is behind glass opposite of the bar. Maybe should've waited on dinner and had a pizza from the wood stove in the corner. Oh well.  

Hot in the bar, but with the heat wave outside, it's hard to imagine that any place is very cool today. I had a couple drafts--Hopmouth and B-Craft Black IPA. Both well served and delicious. Tried the homemade ale cheese with crackers, and, except for a personal taste of being too strong on the mustard, it was good. 

Arcadia has a friendly atmosphere with families, young and old all hanging out in the restaurant portion next to the bar. Attentive service. A very good stop that I would repeat if I found myself in downtown Battle Creek again.

beerbistro (Toronto, ON)

7/22/11

In simple terms, beerbistro is the best beer dining experience I've had. At the end of the meal, I told my niece that this makes me understand what Europeans sit and eat meals for two to three hours at a time. 

As a vegetarian, the choices on the menu were limited, but that had little effect on the evening. Started with Potato Truffle Perogies. Amazing complexity for a perogie! Sweet tang from gueze and sheep's milk cheese, I would guess, creamy and full flavored. Just amazing. Drank a Black Oak Summer Saison with the meal, as recommended by the waitress and the pairing guided on the menu. While the beer was good, but pairing worked really well. For an entree, we shared a Blue Mushroom Pizza. Meaty texture from the mushrooms and a tang from the Quebec blue cheese. Again, complex and elegant taste. Got lost in ordering a beer for taste at this point already, but still great. For dessert, we tried three of the beer scream ice creams. In order, we preferred the Vanilla Bourbon swirl, the dragon stout & skor bar, and finally the rocky road with coffee porter. Excellent finish on the meal. 

For the beer dessert, we ordered a bottle of Cantillon Grand Cru 2008. Excellent aged bottle, a rare and fun treat that few bars accomplish for their patrons. While the night wasn't cheap, I was glad to have paid the price for such a rewarding evening of discussion, food and beer. In spite of it being upscale, it never felt snooty. Friendly and relaxing. If you haven't--you must--at least once.

Reviewed on: 07-28-2011 19:39:27

C'est What? (Toronto, ON)

7/23/11

After a hot morning of being a tourist at Casa Loma, we took the subway right down to C'est What? In the extreme heat of the weekend, the extremely cool downstairs location of C'est What? was very welcomed. Tried all of the samples, and all were pretty good. Big Butt Smoked Dark Ale was my favorite of the set. Very good food as well, especially the vegetarian choices for a pub. I had the falafel sandwich with fries and wasn't disappointed. Great stop that was very welcomed. In addition to their own beers, they have a wide range of guest taps, so a very good stop if you want to taste a range of local beers and are short on time.

Reviewed on: 07-28-2011 20:03:35
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Arbor Brewing (Ann Arbor, MI)

Sour Brown @ Arbor Brewing in Ann Arbor

7/24/11

First stop of a Ann Arbor drinking run, and it would be my first place to return to if I got the chance. Tried eight samples and then got a draft of the sour brown Brasserie Greff. All were strong brews and the place at the bar was pleasant. Brewery in the back of the bar surrounded by the restaurant. Didn't have a chance to look at the food menu, but plenty of others were there having a meal. Service was attentive and positive--bartenders seemed to be real fans of the place and were very knowledgeable.

Reviewed on: 07-28-2011 21:26:36

Blue Tractor BBQ & Brewery (Ann Arbor, MI)

7/24/11

I liked everything about this stop--except the beer. Nice wood interior, like a BBQ joint, with plenty of folks around on a Sunday evening. Bar was pretty cool with an ice strip across the front for sitting your beer on. No one was doing that, but it looked cool. 

But, the beer just didn't match up. All were ok but seemed to have flaws in each. I thought maybe the Hopicidal Maniac would be a stand out, but it didn't work out. Didn't get a chance to try the food, so maybe that's what keeps the place a float. Not a destination for beer, but as long as I was in the neighborhood, thought I'd find out for myself. And, I did.

Reviewed on: 07-28-2011 21:46:57

Grizzly Peak Brewing (Ann Arbor, MI)

7/24/11

Heading into Grizzly Peak, it looked promising since the place was packed on a Sunday night. Got to the bar, and it was a mess--stale beer and a left over meal and no bartender to be seen. Just had a pint of the pale ale, which was far below par. The whole place felt factory like--and there was a lot of complaining going on by the wait staff.  Fighting about something. Weird. Bad vibe for me, but there seemed to be a lot of people that were enjoying themselves, so I left and headed down the street rather than spend more time here.

Reviewed on: 07-28-2011 21:54:37