The Week We Ate (The EID Week in Review)

This is on the wall of the employee bathroom at Dark Horse Brewing Co. Really.

Easy Like Sundae, a new froyo shop set to open in Ferndale, would like to remind you to buy Michigan or the communists win. [Ferndale Patch]

*Yawn* OLD NEWS, but let's give the rest of the world some time to catch up. MillerCoors bought the Michigan Brewing Company brand and now a week later they're officially admitting it. [Beer Pulse]

Jolly Pumpkin releases Luciernaga at the Ann Arbor Cafe; Mae's in Pleasant Ridge is approved for a patio; Vinsetta Garage will start serving lunch next week (and oh yeah, they have poutine and it's rad). [EID FB]

Is this quite possibly the worst name for something ever? It may just very well be (or at least gives the Dan Gilbert Rebrand-O-Matic(TM) a run for its money). Which is unfortunate because the idea itself doesn't suck. [Curbed Detroit]

The Great Lakes Coffee Bar in Midtown opens softly but carries a big stick tap handle. [EID FB]

This was so funny the first time MLive decided to bring it back out for a second go-round: "Morse said he'd entertain the idea if the brewery was approached by a cool band, such as Slayer." Kid Rock now also wants a piece of Dark Horse Brewing Co., which just goes to show that, while "we all just want to be big rock stars," big rock stars just want to be a cool brewery. [MLive]

Last week was all about coffee shops; this week was all about urban farms. Curbed Detroit tries to figure out why Detroiters love urban ag but virulently hate the Hantz Farm project proposal. (The short answer is because Detroiters are never happy. The long answer is a bit more complicated but includes words like "corporatocracy" and "land grab.") [Curbed Detroit]

The iconic "Pizza! Pizza!" tagline returns for a new national marketing campaign for Little Caesars; the pizza is just as dreadful as ever. [Crain's Detroit]

Grand Rapids, which recently tied Asheville NC for Beer City USA, is releasing a collaborative Beer City Pale Ale on July 1. This collabobrew is the collective efforts of 10 western Michigan breweries. Road trip? [MLive]

As further proof that we only get better with age, Eastern Market continues to up the awesome ante almost every single week. This week it was by signing a lease for Corridor Sausage's new production facility. [Model D]

Detroit: City of Tomorrow. [Business Insider]

Opus One is going to take a long jump out of the "It's a Living" '80s and land heel-first into 2012. Tonight is the last night of dinner service as Opus One closes for a 4+ month renovation; plans are to open Opus Next in November. Shoulder pads and Aqua Net will no longer be part of the required dress code. [Det News]

Cliff Bell's is now open for lunch. [EID FB]

Deadline Detroit finds their inner Paula Cole and asks, where have all the cowboys Greeks gone? (The short answer is, "Because of those Injuns and that damn casino," and then it's like, ohhhhhh, Native Americans... followed by a wave of white guilt followed by the realization that while Greektown itself may no longer be the epicenter it once was Greek culture has been thoroughly assimilated throughout metro Detroit which is progress in itself.) [Deadline Detroit]

[EID Feature] Motor City Brew Tours Photo Essay

Big gay bus. All photos by Nicole Rupersburg.

Last week Two weeks ago my friend Dave Bardallis ("Uncle Dave" - I still don't know why) of AnnArborBeer.com invited me along on a bus tour of mid-south-western Michigan breweries with Motor City Brew Tours because we are meeeeeeeedia. I got to play the role of official picture-taker for this journey; here is the evidence.

We started at the Fleetwood Diner in Ann Arbor. It's about the size of a mobile home. Like, one of those 1950s tin tube mobile homes, that is. I got the Meaty Hippie Hash. Both "hippie" and "hash" are funny words to use when talking about Ann Arbor.

"Oh gee, the keg is taking up a whole seat and it's a full bus, whatever will we do?" Nicole to the rescue! Because I am a self-sacrificing individual.

Stop 1: Bell's Eccentric Cafe, Kalamazoo. Uncle Dave with Stephen Johnson, owner of Motor City Tour Co. AKA, the "before" picture.

Hopslam direct from the source and it tastes even better. (ABV: 10%. No sense pussy-footing around.)

Stop 2: Arcadia Ales, Battle Creek. Some nice person attempted to give us a tour of the brewery. We made funny faces then got really worried we weren't maximizing beer-drinking time. I had the Imperial Stout, which is 9.5% ABV. This day did not get any easier.

Stop 3: Dark Horse Brewing Co., Marshall. Bourbon Barrel Aged Plead the Fifth Imperial Stout. 14%ABV. (Two of those is pretty much equivalent to a whole pint of whiskey.) Things became...fuzzy...after this.

But I took a lot of pictures.

Because I thought the place looked cool.

Yeah, I don't know.

This is in their employee bathroom (specifically the men's employee bathroom) and is pretty much the best thing I have ever seen.

This is their upstairs loft area for private parties. Please note the couches for napping.

Stop 4. Bad Bear Brewery, Albion. I took one usable picture here. This is that one.

Thank you Stephen once again for your hospitality, and also to the Detroit Draft Divas and I'm a Beer Hound for hanging out and "Beer Todd" Parker of Copper Canyon Brewery for supplying the travelers!

Want to see more? View the Flickr set here.