The Saga of the Beeping Horn

Key on rice (with free Frosty card)

This horn episode is long and probably boring (you can skip it now) but I am documenting it here for myself. No photos can capture the torture I put the neighborhoods and my brother through until we (actually brother L) first took off the battery connection and finally removed the horn fuse, which he located in a fuse box under the hood. I have no owner's manual but he did some checking on-line at our hotel.

I had washed my key in my pants pocket--my only functioning fob. The neighbor boys two doors up my street honked their horn in protest, wondering why my car kept honking! I stored the key in a ziplock bag of rice overnight and took off on a road trip in the morning, hoping the honking (the activation of the security system) would stop once the key was dry.

It honked at the first stop I made but I just ignored it.

So I got to the St. Paul area where brother L lives. We parked the car unlocked in the garage--just in case--setting the key down carefully on the table in a far part of the house. At 11:00 PM the car started honking and locked itself.

By grace alone it did not honk all night! L and I took turns at the rest stop the next morning, leaving the car and air-conditioning running.

I bought 4 delicious oatmeal cookies at a country roads gas station. Exiting the station, a wave of pig poop air hit me in the face. I looked around and saw no living thing, human (except my brother in the car) or porcine. As I neared the car L hollered "c'mon lets get out of here--a trailer load of pigs parked next to me and just left, but the flies are still coming in the car!"

(I had the two oatmeal cookies and yogurt for breakfast in the hotel the next day. The cookies might have been the best I have ever had and I was able to disassociate them from the pig poop place).

So we got to the cousin reunion just after noon. Eleven of the fourteen living first cousins from my mother's side came from many states. We sat down to lunch ... and the car started honking! And it honked again, locking itself. I think the key was very unhappy in L's pocket! That's when L borrowed a pliers and disabled the cable to the battery! A policeman stopped by to see if there was trouble in town.

The security system continued to activate now and then, but there was no sound. We finally removed the horn fuse rather than disconnecting the battery. And when we got back to L's house, he bought, tested and replaced the battery in the fob.

The car continues to spontaneously lock itself and activate occasionally, but the fob is beginning to work again, opening and locking the car door. I am still keeping the key in the rice bag overnight, hoping it will eventually "heal" completely. Otherwise I may have to buy a new one.

So I don't really need my horn around town. L taped the horn fuse with blue tape to my dashboard and I know where the fuse box is located. I will buy a new battery for my other fob and hope for the best.

The whole episode was a challenge, especially for my gear-head brother. I hope he didn't lose too much sleep trying to figure out a way to solve the problem!!

He discovered a way to deactivate the alarm by twisting the key back and forth three times so the car can be started when it is security-activated (red light on dash dial).

He printed out the whole section on keys and locks from an on-line owner's manual and presented it to me in a folder!.....only an engineer with a car (but not a Ford) with a new problem to solve!!

A New Garden

The Japanese Garden finally opened last week at Frederic Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park and I visited for the first time on Wednesday afternoon with J & M.

A prominent feature that will not change are the rocks of all sizes, but many new trees need to grow. Some are staked to lean over the pond in order to achieve an old and windswept look.The new garden is pristine and beautiful but all the plantings (more than a million) still need to grow into their space. I was disappointed to find so many ordinary plants and so much repetition--for instance, lots of spirea, potentilla and amelanchier--(pink, yellow, and red berries). And of course, even the red Japanese maples are common to this part of the country. The pond is said to have fish, but will remain dark and murky, so no koi visible here. The waterfalls are well done and the bridges are a nice touch. Sculptures are also included, many of them quite contemporary. I took just a few photos. Some of it was hard to capture with a lens--like this zen garden:

The largest rock is enormous and it is hard to imagine how they moved it. My photo doesn't show its broader side. The haiku poems carved in it were fun:

3 wisteria need to grow!

I should have been weeding or mowing after all the weekend rain, but this was more fun  I even saw a few places that were in need of weeding in this garden. Maybe one day I will be a volunteer here. The Scottish Ian himself was shoveling out a space in front of the children's garden to ready it for some new plants. A new section of trees has just been planted near the entry along the Beltline. Things are always in flux in a garden. I hope to return regularly this year and enjoy the whole park, not just the Japanese gardens or not just sitting in the sun waiting for the Dutch royalty to finish lunch and plant a maple tree.

We are fortunate to have such a lovely space in West Michigan!

Too bad they didn't add a brewery, producing a special green tea brew.  Kidding!

Back from the Family Reunion ... Barely

This rest stop must have a full time gardener!

I got home in the early morning hours Monday night, after getting trapped in a traffic nightmare going around Chicago. I should have stopped for the night, but I made it home alive and well in spite of my foolishness. I didn't know about the rain or the flooding roads until I was already on the toll roads, barreling into Chicago's western suburbs alongside thousands of scary semi trucks, who do not slow down for anything.

It was so beautiful in Wisconsin, with blue skies and fluffy clouds.

Welcome to Wisconsin!

and even when I got to Illinois:

Welcome to Illinois!

Quick shot through my windshield

But then--I was approaching the junction of Chicago expressways and the beginning of the Tri-state Tollway and I had to make a pit stop. Everywhere I turned the roads were being closed, with yellow tape and police cars. I don't even want to say where I found a bathroom and a sandwich! I got on North Avenue east (83 was closed and I learned later that the Eisenhower expressway was closed for flooding) and got stuck in a time warp. I lost more time than when I had that episode of transient global amnesia!!

 I finally inched my way through every treed street in Elmhurst--oak, walnut, myrtle, evergreen, elm, maple and larch (I looked this up), to St. Charles Road and then to the Tri-state tollway which was another wet and wild ride. I hung on to the steering wheel for dear life and focused on staying in my lane. I missed two tolls--just couldn't get over into the cash lanes! I can pay them on-line.

I finally exited at the Valpo-Chesteron exit, got a hamburger at Mickey D's, put in a little more gas at the BP and began breathing normally again. I called the husband--the Blackhawks had now won the Stanley Cup and he could talk. The truckers had gone on to Iowa or St. Louis or were sleeping by now. The Michigan roads were dry and clear. I just wanted to get home--at 2:30 A.M.--which was only 1:30 A.M. South Dakota time!

Family Pictures

My Dad and his sister

I looked through several photo albums this weekend. That's what you do when you have a family reunion--a reunion with cousins that are old and haven't been seen in decades, in some cases.

I found one in my brother's book that I don't think I have, so after marking a few photos with sticky notes for future scanning, I took a photo of a photo with my smart phone.

This is an edited photo of my father with the youngest of his five sisters, who remained unmarried--there is no one left to embarrass here. Actually, she looks really nice, even with her modest boobs. But is that a hole in my Dad's top and was he trying to cover it up with the beach ball?

What a great photo!

WHAT did the Husband Eat?

I have been on a road trip to South Dakota for four days. The husband ran a load of dishes and took out the trash, but I wonder what he ate? He has been on a watermelon kick lately--and this is what I found in the sink when I returned home in the early AM hours last night. Eggs, sandwiches, hot dogs, a couple of my craft beers, and watermelon--that is all the evidence I have. I bought microwavable vegetables of all kinds but they seem to be untouched. At least he stayed hydrated--eating all that watermelon!

I was concerned that all my plants and lawn would stay hydrated in my absence, but it rained frequently I am told over the weekend, while I enjoyed sunny skies out west. I emptied over 2 1/2 inches out of the rain gauge this morning. Time to start mowing again!

Discovery Tour 2015 - Summer Beaches and Brews

Discovery Tour 2015 continues into summer!

I finished the Spring Fling post with two more breweries and somehow they did not stay in the Google cloud. I think my phone app did it. This has never happened before. The post additions were lost. They were up for a day and then disappeared into cyberspace!

So before I start the summer tour of breweries, I will recap the last two events. O is chillin' in Alaska for a few weeks and I am going to be gone a few weekends myself, so the summer B & B may not begin until after summer officially begins. We hope to head out of town to some of the beach town breweries to have some fun in the sun along with some tasty refreshments.

I missed a phone call (too busy working) and three of my friends (JOM) headed to Osgood Brewery without me last week! I heard that the Chocolate Chipotle Stout was interesting, with a little bite on the finish, but the tasting notes from my boozing buddies were quite limited! M even took a few sips, her first time to join the Discovery Tour. I might have to check it out for myself while O is in Alaska!

June 1, 2015

Osgood Brewing in Grandville

O's photo of the Osgood Flight with an added glass of cider? which looks way too much like pee.

June 16, 2015

I made it to Osgood with J for a flight tonight (I drank the whole flight myself, since she was driving) and it was okay, costing me $7.50. Couldn't really finish the spicy Hot Spring thing. The brown was bland, the porter subtle and the wheat really mild but still flavorful as it warmed. These beers are good, but nothing really interesting and unusual here--although we did not try the Double IPA or the Pale Ale. Here they are, basking in a sunny, late night, window glow:

Yippe-Ki-Yay (Blonde Ale 5.1%, King Arthur (North English Brown) 5.3%, Notley (Porter) 6.8%, Sol Seeker (American Wheat) 6.3%, Hot Spring (Chocolate Chipotle Stout) 8.4%

June 8, 2015

Hideout Brewery

Monday we were headed for Elk Brewing but they were closed for two days for an employee thing, so we decided to go to the brewery which has bad reviews! We didn't plan on food anyway, so it was just about sampling their brews.

A wooded road and a hidden entrance led to a dark, small and slightly smelly brewery that once was a fitness center with pool--and a hot tub place! The pool has been re-purposed with a horseshoe pit.

Hideout wall of taps 

We sat outdoors in the fresh air, trying to ignore expressway noise and the unkempt and weedy outdoor space.

We chose from a selection of 32! This is the brewery that bottles that Tiramisu Stout, available in their refrigerator.

We sampled and shared two flights of 5 - 4oz pours for $7. The premium Batch 900 added an extra dollar--and was flat, caramelly, malty, and barley-winey. Note how sophisticated my descriptions have become!

We tried some summery shandies and O again liked the grapefruit. The citrus shandy was very orange forward, if you like that. The Hired Gun Red was a pretty tasty ale, but the Midnight Run dark lager claimed to be a perfect summer beer for the stout lover, referencing roastiness with no mention of peat--but it definitely was of the barnyard variety, and I was the only one who could finish it.

So here they are. We cleansed with ice water from the fountain and nuts which O provided, but this double flight was plenty palate-challenging:

Coconut Almond Brown (Nitro) 7%, Chocolate Peanut Butter Stout 5.0%, Batch 900 -  Wheatwine 9.5, Hired Gun Red Ale 5.5%, Berry Pale Ale 6.5%, Citrus Wheat Shandy 5.9%, Grapefruit Shandy 5.9%, Midnight Run Imperial Dark Lager 7.4%, Hefeweizen (wheat ale) 5.1%

June 19, 2015

Tripelroot Brewery in Zeeland

Tripelroot Brewery's lovely outdoor space

Well, we didn't quite make it to the lake, but the discovery tour snuck in an afternoon session because I needed to pick up my new lawnmower at a Tractor Supply Store out that way!

Amberet (American Amber Ale) 5.0%, Mulletude (Black IPA) 5.8%, Training Session (Session IPA) 4.8% and eighteen99 (Hefeweizen) 5.0%

Tripelroot opened just six months ago, the first brewery for Zeeland, but it already had four of its own brews available. No fancy flight board here, but free sample pours were offered. J went on to have a half-pour (it was the middle of the day!) of the Amberet, which was very good and I chose a half-pour of a Triple Crown Brown from the Mitten. Eleven total brews were available, two from other states.

An old restored building with some very rustic touches was open to the breezes inside and out on this beautiful sunny day in Zeeland.

Some of the pours came out a little warmish since we were the only customers upon arrival. We had a small portion of their homemade soup, as well. J got chummy with some young fellas that helped her set up a beer app on her phone and agreed to be her first friends! One was in for a wedding--an immigration attorney living in Tucson--who gave us the scoop on Tucson breweries. I think it was Dragoon Brewing Co. that he recommended.


Hoping to hit some beach towns soon!


7-14-15

New Holland Brewery in Holland

Monkey King (Farmhouse Ale) 5.6, The Poet (Oatmeal Stout) 5.8, Full Circle (Kolsch) 4.4, Sundog (Amber Ale) 4.5, Ba Nuovo Record - Barrel Aged Trippel (Weizenbock) 13.5, Blueberry Cider

We sat outside behind the brew pub and enjoyed food with this flight. I wanted the 13.5 Trippel because of the novelty of the unusually high ABV and no one else wanted it after a small sip. anyway! It was thick and I sensed a lot of licorice in this liquor-like beer.

The Blueberry cider was not at all sweet, but O., always a sucker for a fruity brew, agreed to drink that one, along with the Kolsch, although she thought it smelled of cigarettes!--I think she smoked a few back in the day!

A text message from NYC warned of the smokiness of The Poet, but I wonder if she got her brews confused! Or did we, or our server??

J. always likes the ambers, so we let her have the Sundog, after a tiny taste. The Farmhouse was hoppy--if we had the order of these correct--but I didn't drink enough to detect any pepper or fruit.

The Oatmeal Stout was heavy on the roasted coffee, which suited me fine and dominated any chocolate notes.

It was around $10 for this flight and I'm sure the 13.5% Trippel raised it a bit.

Dragon's Milk is a popular bottled Bourbon Stout of 11% ABV, but we have all had that before so we passed on that one.

I suspect this brewery might have new choices available for every visit. But--we must push on to other new brews and brewmasters--in Saugatauk, Muskegon, Grand Haven and maybe even "up north."

This was our second stop of the day and we were more interested in getting some food at this point. The weather was perfect and we drank modest portions on this double flight brew-hopping afternoon (2 doors up the street), which followed climbing 250 steps up a dune and a garden tour of a gorgeous lake cottage!

We also shopped a little. I inquired about my second cousin connection, a cousin who became the owner of the former hardware (now full of wonderful home goods of all sorts) store in Holland and apparently he remembers visiting our family on the farm in the 50's!! I remember great photos of the family on our farmhouse porch, holding some fat puppies. He is now 78 and has relinquished operations to his son, who would be my second cousin once removed--which is pretty remote!

My brother D. remembers the excitement of our visitors to the farm because they had purchased a brand new Buick enroute--they had crashed their car and bought a new one!

7-14-15

Our Brewery Co. Holland

Yes, two flights in one day, but split three ways!!

Sour Mash Red (Flanders Red Ale), Coconut (Porter) , Blessed Kettle (Rye), Our Ginger Beard, Study Buddy (Stout), Wooden Cider (Cider)

J. liked the Sour Mash Red okay, the porter wasn't very coconutty--I've had better. The Ginger Beard noted orange on the blackboard, but J. thought it smelled like makeup--it had familiar floral? notes that we couldn't quite wrap our palates around...

The cider tasted a little bourbon barrel-ish--like a cheap wine (perhaps an oakey Chardonnay?), according to my tasting notes.

And the Study Buddy name was very apt--a stout that was smooth and very coffee forward.

We cleansed our palates with free popcorn (no real food at this brewery) and enjoyed the weather out on the street. These flight glasses did not fit the board. It wins the award for the worst glass/flight board so far--and I spilled a little carrying it out to the street. It was $8.

It wasn't exactly a beach day. It was misty cool in the morning, with the sun emerging by mid-afternoon. But we climbed that dune and walked along the channel by the lake and visited a garden by the lake, And I wore my pink "Lake Michigan Unsalted" t-shirt. So the Beaches and Brews segment of the Discovery Tour has now officially begun!


7-22-15
Big Lake Brewing - Holland

A spectacular garden tour. A pizza from Fricano's. Washed down with this flight.

We thought we had now conquered the Holland craft brew scene, but were just informed that another brewery popped up just six months ago.

 I watched the Big Ben nitro pour, which took a lot of foam dumps to fill the small glass. The flight was $6 and I plunked down $7 on the bar. We had a cute number pattern which corresponded to our picks from the other side. which I found a little confusing, especially after consuming most of this flight! Kidding!

Ryecoe (American IPA) 6.8%, Ramarillo (IPA) 6.4%, Chinook Strong Ale (Old Ale) 7.9%, Porter (Porter) 6.5%, Mandolin (American Pale Ale) 5%, Big Ben on nitro (English Pale Ale) 4%

I made a few tasting notes and asked the bartender about the Mandolin which is supposed to have Ethiopian coffee and dark berry flavors--he referenced elderberry and blackberry--not sure I tasted any specific berries and my palate will probably never be that discriminating--in this life! My notes referenced bitter and bland. (I do have a black lace elderberry in my backyard...)

The Ryecoe was grapefruity with simcoe hops

The Ramarillo was hoppy with Amarillo hops and flowering citrus notes which we found too bitter and hoppy for our tastes.

The Porter with two chocolate malts smelled like coffee and J thought it finished like coffee (from notes: J detected subtle coffee finish!) but it drank like a pretty good porter, which I have come to appreciate.

The Chinook was rich and full-bodied, I thought, and research indicated it was made with Chinook hops and massive loads of grain.

7-21-15
Snuck in another flight in town--not a brewery! This pretty flight was consumed in the evening sunshine at Village Inn Pizza & Sports Grille, with J., accompanied by a shared plate of chicken fajitas.

Right to left: Founder's Red's Rye IPA (Rye) 6.6%, Right Brain Northern Hawk Owl (Amber Ale) 5.8%, Short's Strawberry Short's Cake (Fruit/Golden Ale), Vander Mill Raspberry Apple (Cider) 6.6%

Don't know why I tried an IPA! From Founder's site: "Serious hop bitterness along with an unyielding grapefruit bouquet from the Amarillo dry hop, balances the malty richness of four varieties of imported Belgian caramel malts. Pours a spectacular crimson with a creamy tan head. A generous addition of rye malt accentuates a spicy, crisp finish."

The Northern Hawk Owl amber ale is supposed to have notes of caramel and toffee in a red-hued ale with a malty nose.

The "shortcake" did taste a bit like its name, a golden ale with fresh strawberries and milk sugar and has a very cute name--they just had to brew this one!

Finally, I thought I'd try a cider from Vander Mill's of Spring Lake, this one with fresh Michigan pressed raspberries, a perfect seasonal cider.

More to come ... whew!

7-30-15
Schmohz Brewing Co. - Grand Rapids
.
The three brewsketeers gave blood together last night. We all qualified and produced pints successfully. Blood pressure, iron level, and sex partners are all important components for giving good blood! O. qualified for her 4 gallon pin. Wow! Kudos to her.

I know that you need to DRINK, before and after you give blood, but I did not remember that they suggest you not have alcohol for 24 hours! Well, nuts to that notion.

After the lengthy blood-letting procedures, O and I split this cupcake, a salted peanut butter bit of deliciousness that was sweating after removal from the church fridge.

And then we (J, too) headed for the nearest brewery which we had not yet visited! A BLT pizza from J.T.'s was ordered in. We had lots of salty popcorn and had a pint of beer each after a sampler flight. And we all felt fiiiinnnne.

Amber Tease 5.3%, BoneCrusher Stout 6.1%, Kiss My Scottish Arse 8.9%, Pickle Tink Strawberry Wheat Ale 7.3%, Habanero Cream Ale

Valley City Cream Ale 5%

The amber was pretty good, the Scottish Ale was another smoky one and the Habanero went in smooth and then two seconds later it hit you with a load of dried habanero peppers. I could not manage it!

I finished the BLT slices with a Valley City Cream Ale pint which was mild and drinkable and quite sessionable at 5% ABV.

We were the only customers inside (really too hot at the outside tables) and not seated at the bar but it was growler night and there was a parade of growler men passing by!

We felt just a tiny bit rebellious for going out drinking after donating, but we needed the salt and sustenance and reward of this night out--more than ever after giving up a pint of blood--a pint for a pint, I say! And we didn't notice any ill effects, veteran brewsketeers that we now are!


August 2, 2015
Saugatauk Brewing Co.
Douglas

Sunday afternoon on a hot August day found us at a new-to-me beach in Douglas. The sea was angry that day and the sand was whipping about a bit  even as the waves crashed into the big rock (below). It was my first day to lay on the beach this year so far. It was hot and crowded on the narrow strip of dry sand, but I managed to avoid all but one body in this shot:

A ginormous rock on the beach

Beer is prohibited on the beach, so after we brushed off the sand we headed down the road to the Saugatauk Brewing Co. on Blue Star Highway in Douglas. We sat outside in perfectly breezy shade and sampled a few:

Oval Beach Blonde 5.2% (11), ESB Amber 5.4% (25) Bonfire Brown 5.5% (20), Black Milk Stout 6.9% (30), Starburst Wheat 5.1% (23), Blueberry Maple Stout ? - untappd claims 6%

I am including the IBU numbers, which were prominently displayed on this beer menu list.

A flight of six was $12 and we had 16 brews to choose from, including a cider and the beer of the day, a Blueberry Maple Stout, which was thick, rich, sweet, mild and fruity. We did not care much for the wheat, I finished the Black Day Milk Stout which was quite smooth and creamy with roasted chocolate overtones. J. finished the easy drinking blonde, the pretty good amber and the brown-- which was ruined for me by the bonfire notes. I wonder what they did throw in that brew tank.

8-11-15
Arcadia Brewing Co.
Arcadia Ales
Battle Creek, MI


The Discovery Tour ventured far away from our Great Lake today to check out two more breweries.

Downtown Battle Creek

Arcadia Brewing Co. Flight:

Berry Vice, Femme Fatale Saison 7.1, Rapunzel 6.0 (Wheat Ipa), Whitsun 6.2 (English Wheat Summer Ale), Cheap Date 4.5 (Hoppy Session Blonde Ale)

O and I shared this $10 flight and a plate of barbecued meat with cole slaw. Their Brown Cow was not available and I forgot to include a stout. This flight proved to be more experimental than satisfying...

The Berry Vice (a play on Weisse?--literally white, a wheat bear) finished raspberry. It is a brand new brew and I could find no reviews.

The Femme Fatale was completely confusing, albeit unique. It had no smell, but was described as light-bodied with a candy-like sweetness, fruity and slightly spicy with a tart finish.

The Rapunzel was an IPA risk claiming crisp sweet malt and flavors of pineapple, citrus and lemongrass. In our humble opinion, it did not work!!

 The Whitsun was okay, with now familiar notes of honey, orange peel and coriander.

The Cheap Date had good fruity hop aroma but was just too hopped up for our taste.

This double-brewery day did not fit in with my beer-and-beach summer theme, but it was a lovely summer day with fluffy clouds floating in azure skies. We meandered along less-traveled country roads, allowing my smart phone to navigate us when I became completely lost.  I don't think I have ever been to downtown Battle Creek. The time spent inside this dark-ish, rough-hewn establishment was certainly not the highlight of the day.

On to a Beer Garten...

8-11-15
Dark Horse Brewing Co.
Marshall, MI

There was no flight available here--a first time flight fail. We sampled three free tastes in tiny plastic cups, a raspberry ale, the scary rock star Jesus and a Sapient Tripple Ale 9.5, a Belgian style with Trappist monk yeasts that finished very clovey--which brought me back to the intoxicating smell of a shrub in bloom at the corner of the driveway on our farm!

I chose a half-pour of my favorite Boffo Brown Ale, which I was reminded of, tastes way better as it warms. Olga selected the Scary Rock Star Jesus! and bought a bottle to take home to the hubby at the General Store. The rock star brew featured chamomile and apricot--pretty interesting!! Olga joked that she tasted a little buffalo barnyard in my brown ale.

Our modest Dark Horse pours: Boffo Brown Ale and Scary Rock Star Jesus

There were two water features  (one made from insulating yellow foam) in Dark Horse's large "beer garten" and a variety of seating options. There was a lovely breeze. Their mug club display inside is phenomenal. The bathroom was sub-standard but featured a bidet-option toilet!

We shared a few pieces of this spicy app, saving a portion for 0's husband:

Jalapenos, bacon, marinara and oh my!

After all this, we traveled to Moo-Ville for some ice cream--a sweet finish to the day. I had an insanely rich sea salt caramel waffle cone. The Holstein dairy cows that provided the cream were not out, sadly. It would have cost us $3 each to go see the cows being milked in the barn. We wanted to just head home. I have seen plenty cows in my day! I picked up some butter and a couple of ears of fresh sweet corn.

For 0: I have been using way too many -ly words. Steven King would shoot me! Insanely, lovely, slightly, completely, certainly, sadly...


8-18-15

Odd Side Ales, 
Grand Haven

The belated birthday bash in Grand Haven this year just had to begin in a brewery! This time I was joined by J and M (M's second time with the beer tour!) and we sipped on this flight at Odd Side Ales:

Right to left: Hells Yes!, Chocolate Coffee Stout, How Now Brown Cow, Mayan Mocha Stout, Fig Brewton and Jackalope

J. drank the Hells Yes! beer and the Jackalope. I finished most of the dark ones. M took a few sips! The How Now Brown Cow is familiar to me in six-pack form. The Mayan brew was spicy and cinnamon forward with a little bite on the finish. I remember having tried a Mayan brew at Green Well a few years back after chopping down a Christmas tree. The fig beer was so complex as to be confusing. What the heck do figs taste like in beer (or fig newtons for that matter), anyway? The Jackalope was a good amber lager with no particular flavor profile. We left promptly, walking across the street to obtain some dinner elsewhere.


September 3, 2015
Dutch Girl Brewery -Spring Lake

Dirty Boots - 8%, 50 IBU's (Imperial Milk Stout) F.T. Banks ESB - 6%, 40 IBU's , Wood Panel Porter 4.9%, 36 IBU's, Just One More - 5.1%, 24 IBU's (Vienna Lager)

One more not pictured: Bear Dance Belgian 7.2%, 15 IBU's (Belgian Ale)

This fresh new brewery opened in July and has Dutch decor reflective of its name and the heritage of the boss' wife. Flower boxes, wooden shoes on the wall, photos of Dutch ancestors and a crisp, clean look.

We started with a single flight board of 4 -5oz. pours for $7.

We were disappointed not to sample a Leyden wedge, but opted for a smoked white fish spread and crackers from Fish Mongers Wife of Muskegon.

Out of the ten brews on tap, we all liked the Vienna Lager, I drank the porter and the rest is a bit of a blur. We were busy talking to the owner who was eager to share some beer making and marketing information. Nothing bad tasting and nothing exotic. Even the belgian ale with blueberries and oak chips was a pretty good, normal tasting ale.

We had our photos taken by our server in front of the wall of Klompen which I will not share here.


Old Boys Brewhouse - Spring Lake

Irascible 6% 28.5 IBU's,   ????  Coconut Stong Ale 7.2% 40 IBU's

We each chose a sample pour beer, since there was no flight available. The beer was the best part of this experience, although an outside table with a fence of hops around us was kind of cool. The bugs were beginning to find us as the evening was fading into darkness under overcast skies.

The coconut brew was the most coconutty of all I have tried to date. It was billed as an Almond Joy in a glass. O. had the Irascible, which was a barrel-aged American wild ale to which raspberry juice was added. It was $4.00 for the 5 oz. pour (mine was $1.50) but we didn't know that until we got the bill!

I think J (in the middle) had the Magnum Breakfast Stout, with Sumatran and Indonesian coffee. Beer and coffee are her two beverages of choice, so it couldn't have been all bad--not as bad as the food, referenced elsewhere! Three dark and stormy brews for the Dutch girls tonight. The hops on the fence are visible under O.'s arm if you look closely or enlarge!!

9-17-15

Gravel Bottom Brewing and Supply - Ada

Yay. The last post in this summer session of beer. The pumpkin ales are in the stores and are spicing up the taps locally. It will officially be fall next week.

Skullduggery IPA 6% IBU69, an English strong ale by Bird's Brewery, Cedarino (American Pale (Cedar-aged) Ale 6.3% IBU40, Big Oats Imperial Brown (Double Brown) 7.5%IBU30, Hooky Pale Ale 4.7% IBU35 and Brewsie Q (Cream Ale)4.2%IBU19

I have already discussed this brewery in another post. Our experience at the Gravel Bottom was definitely the pits. The beer was not really horrible, but it was a bad setting, bad flight board, choices were limited--and we were not really thirsty. We were out and in the vicinity and thought we would check out one more local brewery before the year and the weather brings our delightful excursion into the Michigan craft brewery scene to a bitter finish. I will try to label the flight of all the available brews ($10) as best I can remember, but the ales look alike and may be in the wrong order. They seem to brew small batches here and mix things up frequently.

None of these were on their website, which had not been updated for the week. I had to scrounge around on Untappd etc. to see what people had been drinking! In spite of my failure to note anything important about these brews or find all the stats (brown was pretty good, IPA was indeed hoppy, Pale Ale was kinda boring), I really am getting better at this beer stuff!

(The website was updated later with data on some of these brews...)

    THE END OF THE SUMMER BEER SAGA

(didn't get to the lake or the beach as much as I had hoped!)

True confession: we did discreetly drink a brew of our own from home at Douglas Beach--illegally!

A Few Things Bright and Beautiful

Blue and yellow baptisia in my uncle's garden!

Check back for a few more of the beautiful things I saw this past week!

Okay, this was a surprise. A white lupin popped up in the garden.

And I got new wheels on the Subaru! They were used and a bit less expensive than new--aluminum that won't rust, and the style made for the L.L. Bean model of Subaru.

Check back! I am waiting for an email with a closeup photo or two of the King and Queen, taken Tuesday.

The photos were shared with me by a Dutch Meijer Gardens historian that I ran into on the way out of the park. The Queen, all bedecked in orange, was another addition to my list of the bright and the beautiful from this week!

And here she is, along with her ordinary-looking Dutch husband:

The King is Coming!

My shot of the King and Queen - my friend Harriet's hands on bottom left. King Willem-Alexander is only 6 feet tall and a tad shorter than average for a Dutch man. He looks small next to his beautiful wife Maxima, in hat and heels.

Every thirty years or so Dutch royalty visits West Michigan. While I usually pay little attention to such things (certainly not Queen Juliana's visit in 1952) the fact that a King and Queen would be coming to a space near by, and the fact that we were offered two tickets ... well, why not?

But J. and I had to go downtown Grand Rapids to get the tickets exchanged and record our names and addresses. (Did they run a background check on the 2000 or so ticket holders, including the hundreds of school children who were given orange t-shirts to wear?)

This crowd of mostly older Dutch people from West Michigan was probably the safest crowd ever, although there was a bit of cutting in line and shoving to get back on the shuttle bus after the long day in the sun at Meijer Gardens! I had eaten a sack lunch and was pretty patient, but J. had a deadline to meet and was among the testy Dutch trying to be first on the bus!

It was a long wait for the King and Queen. The day was cloudless and temperate, but the sun got a bit hot under the orange golf hat I found in the husband's collection. Yes, almost everyone wore something orange!

We watched a ballet depicting the life of Diet Eman, who was in attendance. The King and Queen watched the final number which was set to the music "It is Well." The performance was excellent, but we did get a little impatient for the main event!

Dignitaries (mayors and the governor and such) were announced and students from three schools were acknowledged, as well as Diet Eman. Grand Rapids businessman Paulus C. Heule was appointed as honorary consul of the Netherlands for West Michigan a few years ago, and of course, he was also acknowledged.

Photo taken on front of Heule's office building downtown Grand Rapids

And the King and Queen took the stage for a 2-minute greeting from the King (in good English) and that was it.

A very short visit to Michigan crammed in five events, including the planting of a sugar maple tree at the gardens. Both the King and the Queen purportedly shoveled 5 scoops of dirt around the tree. The particular variety that was planted will turn a bright Dutch orange in the fall.

If my time was worth anything, this took almost 5 hours of it--but since my time is worth very little these days, all in all, I'm glad I decided to go!

Waiting for the King and Queen.