The Beer Traveller

Great Lakes Brewing Company has their brewpub & brewery within a stone’s throw of each other, but not on the same block. There’s a parking lot over by the brewery w/ ample (paid) parking.  The brewpub appears to have 3 separate & distinct areas to get your swerve on.  An inside which I never did make it to, the outside patio that sits out front, & the beer garden. The beer garden is of course where you would have found the Beer Traveller & in my opinion was the best spot.  It was located behind the patio & to the side of the building.  It was basically a little courtyard w/ retractable awning roofs & a stone fireplace.

Although Great Lakes was one of the nicer facilities I’ve visited on this trip, their beers were average.  My guess is they went the safe route; meaning nothing too extreme, which means less likelihood of an undrinkable, but also less likelihood of an Exceptional.  Not much else to say other than good beer selection, nice place, good service, & acceptable beers.

We arrived in Toledo about an hour early, Maumee didn’t open till 11:30AM.  Melissa wasn’t exactly happy about having to get up early & than spend additional time in Toledo.  For those of you who have been there, you understand.  Personally it was a sunny day & I enjoyed having nothing to do (but not nothing to drink).
Maumee is a bit confusing as it is actually about 4 different places wrapped in one.  They have a brewpub, premier steakhouse, sports bar, & ‘multi-dining complex all at the same location.  For the brewpub, which is what we were waiting for, you have to walk around back, down some stairs, in through a common door, & than up a flight of stairs.  Meanwhile everything looked closed.  I asked the bartender if it was always this dead (we were the only ones there) & she said they just opened.  It still seemed a lil’ quiet to us.
The inside was awesome.  Mile high ceilings with beer paraphernalia galore, visible copper kettles, & beer history saturation.
The good news is that the wait was well worth it.  Not only did the place have a great atmosphere (minus the lack of people), but they also knew their way with the barley & hops.  The flagship Buckeye beer wasn’t exactly flagship, but I can definitely see how the tailgaters could favor a beer of this drinkability.  Both their Oatmeal Stout & Steam were Exceptional. The other impressive & surprising brew was the Nasby Raspberry.  It’s a high powered double wheat that contains 100# of raspberries/barrel.  The bartender, who was a girl, mentioned that she was not a fan of the Nasby.  However, I thought it was an exceptional fruit beer.

I cannot comment on the food or other restaurants, but will say that this is a must stop when in Toledo.  And for the locals who have yet to find this jem, wake the hell up!

Traffic Jam helps give some street beer cred back to Michigan.  They hold the 1st brewpub license in Michigan & the quality has obviously kept them going. The downside is that they only had 4 beers to try.  Ok, maybe a couple of downsides.  The other, sitting outside & getting hustled by Detroit street walkers/crack addicts/& meth heads.  It really wasn’t too bad & it gave Melissa & I the opportunity to keep an eye on the Beer Travelln’ mobile.
Service, food, & Beer were great.  The Centurion was a Belgian Style Grand Chu that was in honor of the brewer’s 100th barrel of beer brewed.  The Doppelbock was Exceptional, extremely smooth with a hint of richness.  Inside looked to have less atmosphere, but more room than outside. It should also be noted that Traffic Jam has their own dairy & bakery.  They make most of their food on-site, including salad dressings, ice cream, breads, desserts, & of course Beer.  Overall I would say there probably isn’t much else worth anything in Detroit.  So if you have to be in Detroit, than you may want to make a pit stop @ the Traffic Jam & Snug.

Stopped @ Grand Rapids Brewing Co. on July 17, 2008.
Not much to look at from the outside, the $5.99 lunch special banner really classes the joint down.  Upon entry, there’s a lot of wood & character.  Although brewers, they definitely appear to focus more on the food.  There was a plethora of beer information, both local and general, laying out for those needing more education.  Found out that Michigan is 6th, in the country, in number of brewpubs.  Got to love a place that lists the health benefits of beer on their beer list.  Got to hate a place that still allows smoking!
Their food was decent, but their beer was sub-par.  All beers, with two exceptions, were given a Drinkable.  One exception…a barley wine that was Undrinkable & the other was the Lumberjack Red, Likable, that was close to a stout. 
Centennial Silver Foam was a pilsner that tasted as if it came from a fire extinguisher.  Clockwork Orange was a poor name (& taste) for a wit.  Wild Berry Ambrosia was the brewer’s 6th tap; looked like a glass of Boones Farms & tasted like a glass of Bartles & James.

Place has a lot of potential, but needs some quality beers.

Shoreline was only located about 15 minutes from out campsite so we decided to check it out.  We were both a little skeptical as we pulled up.  It looked like a funeral home or crematorium.  I was actually looking around for the ‘condemned’ sign.  I could tell Melissa was ready to go, but she wanted to support me & my cause & sheepishly followed me in.

We were surprised once we got in as the place was nicely done w/ vaulted ceilings & light colored wood throughout.  Downside was the number of smokers.  The brew equipment could be seen through a window behind the bar & they had a small stage off to the side for live entertainment. It was our server’s (Nichole) 1st day; this was not my 1st time getting a 1st timer on the trip.  She seemed a little flustered, but had a great attitude & did a good job.  We were even more surprised after trying their food & beer; it was fairly good.

Shoreline gets extra points for great names (i.e. Cluster Phuch IPA, Dim Wit Belgian, & Don’t Panic English Pale).  Surprises were the Sum Cens IPA, which was an Imperial IPA that had none of the usual Hop bite & the Stella Blue.  This is the 1st fruit beer that I would actually order & drink a pint of.  Just the right tinge of bb w/o overpowering the beer taste or being too sweet; ranked Exceptional.

Some notable events were Trevor (one of the local drunks) dropping his full mug club stein & breaking it.  The bartender immediately poured another one which Trevor immediately spilled.  Turns out that’s what happened when you start drinking @ 12…at least according to Trevor. The other entertaining moment was when Nichole brought out the dessert tray to show us, but didn’t know what the desserts were .  I should have asked her if it was like picking out a hooker where names don’t really matter…you just point at what looks good.  I choose to filter for the 1st time in a while.

I finally smartened up after my Wisconsin experiences & we decided to go set-up camp before hitting another brewery for the night.  We decided to set-up camp at a little place called Dunewood.  I was unaware that they did not allow alcohol on their campground.  Camping & drinking go together like barley & hops. It was still daylight out so I was unsure on the Mosquito count, but the Deerflys could be heard bouncing off my windows.  We quickly set-up the tent, but decided to hold on to the sleeping bags so that they didn’t stand a chance of getting stolen.  I wasn’t sure if I would make it; for anyone that knows Seattlites, we have a very tight comfort range.  Ninety degrees w/ 90% humidity does not fall within this range.

We decided we would head to the beach & check some shit out before heading off to dinner.  I took a nice dip in Lake Michigan & got my core temp down to the point where my hallucinations were now back to being from the beer & not the heat.  Than it was off to the National Seashore, Indiana Dunes. This was about as exciting as looking for 4 leaf clovers.  It was a decent beach, but they were kicking people out of the water @ 6PM & there was no beer allowed here either.  Completely anti-climatic & not what I would have expected our government to sink their $ into…wait, they’ve done worse.

We than hit the Shoreline for dinner & drinks (read next blog).

When we got back, we had found that it had rained.  Keep in mind it was sunny when we left & I left the rainfly off to air out the tent.  Another smart one.  Turns out there must have been a shift change cause the deerflys were now gone & my mosquito buddies were back.  Nowhere near as bad as last night.  I have no idea on how many times I’ve been bit, but the camp kids seem to think I’m a big connect-the-dots game.

We slept quite well considering it was still rather humid & Melissa hasn’t been camping since her Brownie days.  Next morning was another 1st for me; taking a shit while getting dive bombed by a deer fly.  The guy brushing his teeth must have wondered what the hell was going on as I continuously smacked my head & the wall while trying not to fall off the can.

First & only stop in Illinois was the well know Goose Island Brewery. I was told by Kara (patron @ Asylum Ale) that the location by Wrigley Field was the most happening location so that would be where we were going. We missed it the 1st drive-by & I see think was over stimulus of being in MT & SD for too long.

As soon as we exited the truck, we met 2 guys from Paramount Merchants. They informed me they are also in the beer industry & recommended some good local bars. Goose Island was not bad, but just not what I expected. Not sure what i was expecting, but it just was (looks-wise). Food wise, I got Bratwurst the size of a baby’s arm & Melissa got a cheeseburger & cheese fries. Both were excellent.

Beer wise, they were about average, a lot of Drinkables & Likables w/ only one Exceptional. Almost more important than my own thoughts were my sister’s (a avid Labatt’s Blue drinker). I thought the Liquid Inspiration Ale was a Likable Oatmeal Stout w/ a little funky after-taste. Melissa felt that it was a cross between Dayquil & NesQuick. No doubt she will be bringing a new perspective to beer tasting.

I was curious to try one of Goose Island’s reserve specialty’s, a Belgian called Matilda. I felt that it was 2 sweet for a Belgian, but Drinkable. Melissa’s 1st thought on her 1st Belgian…”Holy Crap…how can people drink that shit!”. Their 2nd reserve specialty was another Belgian, a 9% called Pere Jacques. I thought they aced this one; not only was it my favorite of theirs, but I gave it an Exceptional. Melissa thought this was their worst.

Goose Island was a decent brewery, but they don’t exactly have much competition in the area. We got out to the car only to find it had been left unlocked. Luckily everything was still in there. To all thieves reading my website, we will not be making this mistake again.

After leaving Great Dane I thought I was a little better prepared than the night before.  I actually had the name & location of the campground where I would be crashing.  After again exiting the normalcy of the freeway, I was again in never never land Wisconsin.  I was able to find the campground (~12 AM) only to find a lit-up police car out front w/ a ranger walking some young man off.

The sign said “Campground Full”, but my past experiences have shown signs suck.  The walking ranger turned around to tell me the campground was full.  I asked if there was anywhere else nearby & he replied with “I don’t have time to give you directions right now”.  I wanted to reply with “State Parks need another budget cut, cause you’re about as helpful as a tree”.  With the cop car right there, my current state, & the Beer Traveller logo plastered on my vehicle I decided to take the smart route; shut my mouth & leave.  Back to the night before.

After about 45 minutes driving the back roads w/o GPS, I drove by a campground sign, nailed the breaks, & threw it in reverse.  At this pt, I didn’t give a hoot & was crashing here no mater what.  Appeared to be an RV park, but all I needed was a piece of land.  I jumped out & started setting up my tent only to find that I was in Mosquito capitol of the world.  This place made Alaska & Africa look like the anti-insect capitols.  I looked like cho-cho the idiot circus boy setting up my tent in world record speed while swatting like King Kong during a seizure.

I awoke the next morning to find my 2 neighbors smoking & staring.  Time to pack-up & head off to Chicago O’Hare to pick-up my sister.  She would be joining me on my Chicago to NY leg.  Between the smell of a frat house & the oozing open sores I had received from the night before, I knew I needed to freshen up.  I was on the look-out for freshn’-up facilities when it occurred to try a truck stop.  1st time for everything.

Apparently if you don’t get a hundred & some gallons of gas (the Tacoma takes 17), they charge ya $9 for a shower.  Best $9 I ever spent.  I didn’t quit fit the trucker lifestyle as I pulled out my organic cucumber moisturizing shower gel & Trader Joe’s Citrus Orange shampoo, but I was finally clean & the facilities @ Love’s Truck stop were second to none.

Chicago airport was about 2.5 hrs away & I was on my.  Got there about an hr early & pulled out the Mac to rub in the faces of the business travelers fumbling w/ their PCs.  Melissa had arrived & I had suddenly forget where I parked.  Forgetting where you parked @ Chicago O’Hare is not the same as forgetting where you parked at the local grocery store.  From the time I met up w/ Melissa till we left the airport about an hr had elapsed.  The truck was found & it was now time to go drink.

Great Dane reminded me a little of the Elysian in Seattle, in that they have 3 locations & a shit load of beers. They serve sample trays from 1 to 10 beers, but this wasn’t going to do me any good considering they had 18 beers to try.  I was also pretty sure that by this time in the day I didn’t need 18 x 5oz of beer.  Megan (bartender) was amazing & knew just what I needed; she than met my needs. They had a large upstairs bar & dining facility, but I had to bee-line it to the lil’ boys room to rid myself of the remnants of Ale Asylum.  There was a sign pointing downstairs to The Beer Garden…I knew this was where I belonged.  This is also where they had Megan locked-up, down in the basement.
At this point my taste buds were a little worn out so this was going to be a challenge.  Eighteen more flavors to stimulate my senses before giving WI a 2nd chance on the camping front.  With 18 beers, you would think these guys were half-assing everything but they surly had some winners.  Now I hope I get this names right, but my writing starts getting a little sloppy this time of the night.  Unsure if it’s b/c I see double or just that my hand starts shaking at the sight of 18 more beers. 

Exceptionals included Stone of Scone Scotch Ale (try saying that 18x when you’re drunk), Texas Speedbump IPA, Black Watch Scotch (cask), & Old Glory APA (cask).  Amy (server) was cut & popped a squat next to me to shoot the shit w/ Megan.  She seemed to have her swerve on in regards to beer knowledge.

The highlight was after 2 other breweries & about 12 of Great Dane’s 18 beers I noticed that one of the beers she gave me was wrong.  After the wonderful service I was receiving, I felt it necessary to call her out on it.  Better yet, I was able to tell her which one it was rather than what she had it as.  I think she had some doubt until Amy stole the next swig & said…”he’s right!”.  I felt like I had just been drafted to the pros.

Great Dane definitely had a lot more going on upstairs than down in the dungeon, but I’m guessing the service wouldn’t compare.  Great place w/ great service & great beers.

Ale Asylum was one of the breweries that Jaime recommended.  It was located in an office park surrounded by ‘normal’ offices.  The inside was that of cosmopolitan billiards room w/ a dark twist.  A pool table, darts, & high bar tables.  They also had an outdoor patio, but I never made it out to that. 
I met Tony & Kara, both avid beer drinkers.  I think Kim was actually more up on her game than Tony, but both great peeps.  Congrats Kara for being the quickest guestbook entry after receiving the link.  Angela started my process, but I spent more time talking with the other bartender, Tovah (a fellow NY’r).  Also met patrons Scott, Shawn & wife Paula, Kim, & Sandy.  Sandy reminded me of the female version of Norm (but much better looking) when she mentioned she’s in there about 5x/week.

AA makes some quality & potent beers.  Overall, their beers ranked a little higher with only their Gold Digger Blonde falling into the Drinkable category.  Three out of the 9 received an Exceptional;they were Contorter Porter, Happy Ending Belgian, & Madtown Nut Brown.  Their Hatha-Weizen had a strong, but good banana flavor while their Hopalicious Pale was more like an IPA.

Odd location, but it was obvious they knew what they were doing & their regulars backed them 100%.