Cask Fest 2012--OR A Saturday Not for the Weak

Just sharing a few photos and thoughts about the Ashley's Westland Cask Ale Fest this weekend.

As usual Roy and Jeff outdid themselves, bringing together pretty much every brewery in the state to show off what their brewers can do with a small container and beer.

We started early, mingled with the press types and each other, signed the "We are the 5%" Declaration and, well, drank beer.  

I had to leave a little earlier than I liked because I am such a devoted soccer mom but I hear our "Pina Colada Helles" went over well.

Thanks again Moore Bros. You guys rock!

Karl The Brewer (overheard): "It's goaty. With a Hint of terroir."

Craft Beer Week!--OR A Look Ahead at a Packed Calendar

Greetings and Happy Mother's Day to you if you are entitled to be told that.  If not, go find someone who is and tell them...

It's CRAFT BEER WEEK across this great nation and we are celebrating but YOU get the benefit.  

First off, be sure and whip out your pens (tell me the that you did not have to go back and read that sentence) and sign our Declaration of Craft Beer Independence posted by the door of the Tap Room. Then, mark calendars for these way cool specials throughout the week:

We start tomorrow with MUSTACHE MONDAY! Yup, if you are among the more hirsute (on your face please, keep the rest of that to yourself) on Monday you only pay $4 for ALL 22 ounce pours! We promise not to tug on it to make sure it's real either.

TUESDAY is "Brewer's Day." Prove you are affiliated with one of the many kick butt breweries or distributors in the area and get $1 off all 22 ounce pours!

WEDNESDAY is the TRIVIA NIGHT SPECIAL. We will post a craft beer-centric trivia question on the "Brewer's Whim" board. Answer it correctly and only pay $2 for your 15 ounce pour.

THURSDAY is Wolverine Dark Day. All BOTTLES of our recently Draft-magazine rated beer are only $2.50.


Come on by! Celebrate craft beer (and in our case the Lager Revolution!)

Tanya Sez: Get yer butts in here for Craft Beer Week!

FRIDAY FUNNY---OR Warning Labels Necessary

Happy Friday all you fab and adorable Wench fans and not-so-much-fans (I include these because I welcome diversity at my blog).

Liquor manufacturers have accepted the government's  suggestion that the following warning labels be placed  immediately on all varieties of alcohol containers WARNING  Politically INCORRECT: WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may leave  you wondering what the hell  happened to your bra and panties. WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may make you  think you are whispering when you are not. WARNING: The consumption of alcohol is a major  factor in dancing like a retard.  WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may cause  you to tell your friends over and over again that you love them. WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may cause  you to think you can sing WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may lead  you to believe that ex-lovers are really dying for you to  telephone them at four in the morning. WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may make you  think you can logically converse with members of the  opposite sex without spitting. WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may create the  illusion that you are tougher, smarter, faster and better  looking than most people. WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may lead you to  think people are laughing WITH you. WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may cause pregnancy. WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may be a  major factor in getting your ass kicked. WARNING: the crumsumpten of alcohol may mack you  tink you kan tpye reelgode. In the interest of full disclosure let me say that I am  apparently experiencing what many women Of A Certain  Age have called variously, Power Surges, Hot Flashes and Get-The-Fuck-Out-Of-My-Way-I'm-Hot moments.   I am not a ton of fun to be around, or so I'm told as these are accompanied by at various times by: irrational lashing out at anyone within arm's length and bouts of crying over commercials plus random screaming fits over issues that would previously have  elicited an "eh, whatever" reaction from me, like kid's floors  covered with laundry and a dirty kitchen. Consider Yourselves Warned. Now for the updates: We tasted The Massacre, our bourbon barrel aged Imperial  Dark Lager (reason # 56,798 why it rocks to own a brewery  with a brewer as creative as mine) yesterday. Dayum. Mark those calendars: 10/11/2 is the bottle ONLY, Tap Room  ONLY release. Karl the Brewer and yours truly will be at Ashley's  Westland tomorrow (5/12) for the Cask Ale (!) festival. We are featuring our very popular Drag  me to Helles Maibock dry hopped with pineapple and coconut. yum. The Dark Lager got a review in Draft Magazine! It's a  solid grade with a lovely poetic description but for yours truly,  it's all about that KICK ASS label in Draft Magazine. But that's the marketing slut in me. WE Have Amber Handles! Up next? Packaging! And in the ongoing Rogue Dumpster situation please allow  me to be officially warning you now. DO NOT FOR ANY REASON Turn early (before the Comerica  Bank turn-in) or late (after the alley with our shiny new sign)  and pass thru the parking lot of Great Lakes Cycle and Fitness. Between our warnings and their tow trucks we pretty much  you trained not to EVER (for any reason)  Park there.   Now I must ask that you avoid even going near their parking lot, even accidentally.  Just Don't Do It Trust Me. This  is the first of many warnings. Finally, we continue our LagerPalooza program of live music  in May tonight with Doug Horn Jazz.  Get your Pilar's  Tamale, an ice cold brew and enjoy the evening with us  (parked, of course in OUR lot having not gone thru theirs). I'll be chatting with Martin Bandyke on Ann Arbor's 107One  Radio on Tuesday morning at 7:45 about our 'Palooza.  Check me out! Now excuse me while I step outside and cool off....sigh. Wench

World Beer Cup News for Michigan--OR Yay for the DRIPA!

major super fantabulous congrats are in order for one of Michigan's own:
Kuhnhenn's Brewing has won a gold medal for one of my personal favorite Michigan beers around! 
The Double Rice IPA (DRIPA) beat countless others from around the word in the American IPA category!
Misters Khunhenn and young Mister Sullivan see their favorite Beer Wench coming towards them at a beer fest and know to immediately pour her one of those and now it's a Major Award Winner. Well done!

Michigan was well represented for certain and as usual at this year's awards. 


Founders (Grand Rapids) won a bronze for their Blushing Monk in the fruit beer category.


Dragonmead won a Silver for the Ring of Fire in the Herb & Spice category, a bronze for Killer Beer in the speciality honey category.


Bastone won a silver for Thor's Hammer in the Belgian Style Pale Strong Ale Category and a silver for the Nectar des Dieux in the Belgian-Style tripel category and another silver for their Saison Noir in the Belgian and French style ale category.


Now, you know your Wench is not a huge fan of the popular Belgian style so I can't speak to these particular beers, but....I LOVE ME SOME DRIPA!!!!


Way to Go Michigan Brewers!


Notes from the Tap Room:
Lagerpalooza kicked off this week. And we have already added some dates:
Tuesday May 22 we welcome the Mike Shimmin Blues Trio and Tuesday May 29, Lindsay Lou comes back for a visit!

Brewer is Back in the House, no doubt refreshed and invigorated from his time on the West Coast!

It's Monday. And it's raining. That is all I have for you today.
love and dripa kisses,
Wench

Tagged!--OR The Revolution Continues

Greeting Wench pals....Seems we were hit with a little graffiti action in the Tap Room....

Yep....

Intrepid Art Guy and his minions started the first of our Interior Decorating Projects (to be followed closely by some EXTERIOR ones for the Beer Garden) by tagging the wall....

But Wenchie! I hear you whining from here...stop it...Why do I CARE about your "revolution?" Why can't I just come and enjoy your brewer's delicious lagers and not think about them associated with some sort of rebellion?


Well, I will tell you (hey, this is MY BLOG after all):  You should care because YOU my dear friend/follower/acolyte are the very reason we have decided to, you know, foment.  That is to say, we are doing this for YOU, the craft beer drinker who has discovered our message and our amazing creative lager brews and is willing to hit the proverbial street with it, bringing us new friends and fans every time we open up the Tap Room doors, or roll kegs and bottles out the back to our intrepid distributor partner dudes.


So go forth! Spread the Word! Revolutions don't come from big splashy ad campaigns. They come from within, start small and gain momentum from the people! Viva!

Oh, and we have a new email thingie (hang on, gotta calm down a minute).  ANY TIME you want a quick answer to "Hmmm...wonder what's on tap right now at my favorite lager brewery Tap Room? Oh, and is there music this weekend or what?"  you do this:
type: ontap@wolverinebeer.com
into the "to" line of an email, and hit "send." Within moments you will have your answer! Sweet eh? That Brain...he's always thinking....


FIRST WEEKEND OF LAGERPALOOZA IS COMING UP! 
Saturday May 5: 16 More Miles
Sunday May 6: Lindsay Lou and the Flatbellys 




And checking in with Brewer Roberts who is no doubt partying like the animal he is (they had the opening party at the ZOO, relax) out at the Craft Beer Conference in San Diego....a few pix....We don't let him out of the building much, but when we do, it's to send him to Cali!

Hey, I know those people...behave y'all.

Wench

Print Jobs and Rogue Garbage Dumpsters--OR It MUST be Monday...

Morning Wench Acolytes!  Great to see you on this slightly drippy last Monday of April...

I have a fair bit going on today. Sending Fair Travis forth into the good fight of beer sales for true by making him high tail it out to Grand Rapids for a couple of days this week.  He has his orders.  And Wench learned something new just because she wanted to share this draft of our kick  butt new sales brochure with you, dear follower....you CAN'T "save as" on a PDF to a Jpeg.  Unless you use this amazing invention Zamar.com.  That site rocks and once again I am amazed by the ingenious nature of the internet machine.

And we are prepping the Tap Room for Lagerpalooza...the official No Camping Required beer and music fest throughout the month of May!

Had a lovely time with/corruping the Soccer Wenchlings *drunk ass* parents this weekend in the Tap Room. A rare "soccer free" weekend allowed us to have that gathering we've been talking about since joining up with this particular, party-animal-centric group.  I have found my people.

Finally, three words of advice when approaching yon Tap Room/Brewery parking lot areas:

Beware Rogue Dumpsters.


OH! and here is a mock up of our new bottled product....I love it. So I'm sharing it.

That is all.
Go forth and make it a good Monday (yes that was thunder).
Wenchie

Wench's NASCAR Experience--OR Where in the Heck IS This Racecourse anyways?

Greetings Wench-olytes!
Welcome to the almost weekend.

Around the Deuce this week we have some seriously serious parties happening, what with it being U of M graduation week and all.  Fair warning: don't even TRY and get a table at any downtown or otherwise restaurant starting tonight through Sunday. Just don't. You'll have a 3 hour wait and have to cope with legions of deer-in-the-headlights parents of college graduates bossing all the waiters around.

Instead, head over to the Tap Room. We don't tolerate that sort of behavior. And we are just down the street!




I had a fun time this week. Got a bit of a race car education as it were, when I visited my new buddies out at the Michigan International Speedway. And I do mean "Out At." As in where in the holy HELL is this place?  I mean I drove past some kind of weird, ghost-town like set of entertainments, mini golf courses and something about "the magic of gravity" all sort of with tumbleweeds blowing past them until finally the giant rows of seats came into view.  I was getting a little nervous, but once arrived, had a blast!

We will be attending the 3rd annual Great Lakes Wine (AND BEER TOO) festival there on May 19.  We'll pour Premium and Dark and maybe a few other things if we can work out the details.


Bottom line is this: I think I want to drive a race car.  



Mapax: The Official Tampon of NASCAR
Of course, I kept channeling Ricky Bobby outtakes the whole day but whatever.


Get your tickets for this way cool event here:  
http://www.mispeedway.com/Events/Great-Lakes-Wine-Fest.aspx


and don't be alarmed...it's the first right after the ghost town!


Remember, AVOID DOWNTOWN. Drink lagers with us in the Tap Room!
Happy Job Hunting!
Wenchie