[HOT LIST] Detroit Beer Week 2012

The fourth annual Detroit Beer Week launches today and since I'm really anal about having events listings in one easy-to-find place as a quick and easy resource for anyone who is interested, here are all of the coordinating Beer Week events that have so far been announced.

Also, 313ale, the official beer of Detroit Beer Week, is back this year at several participating DBW venues. The first kegs will be tapped tonight at 5:01 p.m. (1701 military time, the year Detroit was founded). 313ale is a 100% Michigan session IPA (a collaboration brew between several local brewers and the DBW team using hops grown in St. Clair Shores).

Big Tent Revival at One-Eyed Betty's
Thursday 10/18, 9:30 p.m.
There will be live music with Jennifer Westwood and the Waycross Georgia Farmboys and local brews like Detroit Bohemian, Rochester Mills Mills Pils, and Arcadia Starboard Stout on tap.

Atwater Block Tap Takeover
Friday 10/19, 4 p.m.
Atwater is taking over the block! This Friday Atwater (Block) Brewery will be taking over the taps of two of their neighbors on Joseph Campau, first with a happy hour tap takeover at The Rattlesnake Club from 4 to 7 p.m., then Andrews on the Corner from 7 p.m. to close.

Tashmoo on the Road: Blocktoberfest at Atwater Brewery
Saturday 10/20, 12:00 p.m.
Saturday's 15th Anniversary Bloktoberfest party with Tashmoo Biergarten will feature food from Corridor Sausage Co., Porktown Sausage, Treat Dreams, Avalon International Breads, and Peoples Pierogi Collective. Atwater will also be releasing their Dunkel as a celebration of 15 years of making German-style beers (or, as the cool kids now say, biers).

New Belgium Tap Takeover at One-Eyed Betty's
Monday 10/22
The brewery with the best marketing strategy in possibly the country will officially start making kegs available in the Michigan market on Monday, and to celebrate Betty's is hosting a New Belgium tap takeover featuring popular New Belgium brews Fat Tire, Ranger, Triple, Shift, and the highly allocated Lips of Faith Series (a line of craft beers that celebrate experimental recipes and unique collaborations) including Biere de Mars, Peach Porch Lounger, Cocoa Mole and La Folie.

DBW Complement/Contrast Beer Dinner at Kuhnhenn Brewing Co.
Tuesday 10/23, 6:30 p.m.

Theme: The Egg

Chicken, duck, quail, ostrich, fish, pterodactyl; the common theme of this dinner is egg. Each dish will feature egg in its preparation, and then be served with two beers, showing the complementary and contrasting flavors between beer and food. Owner John Lowman and Chef Brian Pierce from the Wrought Iron Grill in Owosso are bringing their culinary show on the road. Taste their delicious creations alongside the award-winning beers of Bret and Eric Kuhnhenn of Kuhnhenn Brewery in Warren. Enjoy a Fluffer Session IPA as a reception beer, before heading down a road of gastronomic exploration.

Course 1 - Ceviche
w/ Tangerine Wit and Penetration Porter

Course 2 - Scotch Quail Egg
w/ 9 (Nine) and White Devil

Course 3 - Curried Deviled Egg
w/ DRIPA and Anneliese Amber

Course 4 - Smothered NY Strip
w/ Export Stout and Aldebaron

Course 5 - Creme Brulee Bread Pudding
w/ Creme Brulee Java Stout and Play in the Hay

Reception Begins at 6:30 pm
Tickets are $55 - pay in advance or on the day of the event.
Dinner seating is strictly limited to 70 guests - RSVP today at 586-979-8361.

93.9 The River Live Music Session and Beer Ranger at One-Eyed Betty's
Wednesday 10/24, 4 p.m.
Live music and New Belgium's beer rangers from 6 to 8 p.m. with tastings and swag.

Hit the Bricks! BRIK Red Red Brick Bike Ride (starting at Nancy Whiskey)
Wednesday 10/24, 5 p.m.
This event starts with a bike tour of the city's brick streets brought to you by BRIK RED beer, a fine product of MillKing It Productions. Meet at Nancy Whiskey at 5ish -- the ride departs at 5:30 p.m. sharp and will attempt to get 12 or so miles of bricks (and maybe a couple BRIKs) in before the sun sets at 6:30 p.m. No skinny tires, no skinny jeans, no skinny lattes, no cost to ride but you must be responsible for your own bike and well-being. Don't have a bike? Rent one from Wheelhouse Detroit.

Afterwards hang out at Nancy Whiskey for some beer can chicken and the Orbitsuns.

Bell's Takeover at Green Dot Stables
Wednesday 10/24, 5 p.m.
David Munro is busy this week. Bell's is hosting an event at Green Dot Stables, owned by one of the nicest guys in Detroit and located in one of the most stylish neighborhoods IN THE WORLD. On draft: This One Goes to 11, Hopsoulution,  Cherry Stout,  Golden Rye Pale Ale.  In bottles: Two Hearted, Double Cream Stout.

Motor City Bike and Brew Tour with Motor City Brew Tours
Wednesday 10/24, 5:30 p.m.
Learn about Detroit's brewing past and present with Motor City Brew Tours. You will see former brewery sites in downtown Detroit and bike by the new generation of breweries. This is a 9-mile tour route for all biking abilities. Ticket includes guided bike tour with support staff, historical overview at each brewery site, two Atwater beers and pizza. Please note - "BYOB" - Bring Your Own Bike. Tickets $29.99 each; space is limited.

Bell's Tap Takeover at Foran's Grand Trunk Pub
Friday 10/26, 3 p.m.
Featuring:
Black Note Stout 11.5% ABV
This One Goes to 11 Ale 11% ABV
Sparkling Ale 9.0% ABV
Golden Rye Ale 6% ABV
Deb's Red Ale 5.8% ABV
Hell Hath No Fury Ale 7.7% ABV
Cherry Stout 7.0% ABV
Special Double Cream Stout 6.1% ABV
Hopsoulution Ale 8% ABV
Oatmeal Stout 7% ABV
Best Brown Ale 5.8% ABV
Oberon Ale 5.8% ABV
Pale Ale 5.2% ABV
Two Hearted Ale 7% ABV

4th Annual Michigan Brewers Guild Detroit Fall Beer Festival
Friday and Saturday 10/26-10/27
You don't actually need me to explain this, do you? Saturday is sold out but as of THIS SECOND there are still tickets left for Friday. And here is the beer list.

[Metromode] Beer + Bikes: A Match Made in Heaven

In recent years, cycling culture in metro Detroit has gone from nearly nonexistent to explosively popular, with significant cycling infrastructure being added in major metropolitan centers and small towns alike. At the same time, the same thing has been happening with craft beer culture, evolving from the niche realm of beer geekdom to mass consumption. Coincidence? Never. As bike culture and beer culture have grown exponentially in Michigan, they have also been growing together, in a symbiotic relationship of fun.

Stephen Johnson launched the Motor City Tour Company in 2009 as Motor City Brew Tours, offering guided brewery tours (with samples) by bus. Each tour would hit three different breweries, and was more than just a standard-issue pub crawl: designed for people with a real passion (or at least sincere interest) for craft beer, the tours also included a meet-and-greet with the brewers themselves and a behind-the-scenes walk-through of the brewing facilities. As Motor City Brew Tours grew, Johnson began offering different kinds of tour packages: first walking tours, then biking tours.

Read more.

[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.