So Michigan was cold, beautiful and fun. 40 mph wind and lake effect rain kind of sucks but it makes for some cool visuals.
Avoided Chicago on the way down and back with the whole Wisconsin quarantine stuff.
Breweries hit
Mikerphone:picked up some smells like not a beer fest stuff.
Transient:Great, actually stopped twice.
Watermark:Super cool vibe and facility, Double IPA was good, Dunkel was decent, Berliner and mixed culture sour were both kind of a let down. If there was an example of a space for a community integrated brewery it would be this. Really cool space indoor and out, all kinds of room outside with fire pits, covered areas, heated areas. So many people just walking up and talking, people watching sports, kids doing homework, people playing cards this was all at about 4-5 on a Friday afternoon.
Arclight :Very industrial and would be cooler on a warm day, was just boring inside, lots of outdoor space but was raining well we were there. Milkshake IPA was good, Imperial Berliner was gross and the hazy IPA and pale ale were full of off flavors
The Livery:Cool place, was entirely outside other than ordering beer due to covid. Triple Barrel Weizenbock was as great as I remembered it over the years of having it at the Great taste, almost got a growler, Oktoberfest was decent, 15'th anniversary was a let down (Cognac barrel aged old ale), Maple coffee stout left a lot to be desired. Double Ipa was old school west coast and really good. A bunch of locals getting hammered on a Friday night on really big pours of high octane beers creating their own karaoke for our entertainment, was funny as hell to watch.
Planned on stopping a few other places but between weather and covid decided against it. Overall Michigan seemed to be taking covid a lot more seriously than the shit show that is Wisconsin which was great to see. Was also fascinating seeing a completely different set of political ads despite only being a lake apart.
Also damn it's nice to be drinking beer again.
