Old Boys' Blog

February has an interesting set of holidays. First on the calendar is Groundhog Day, celebrating good ole Punxsutawney Phil and his shadow. Groundhog Day occurs every February 2 and is said to be inspired by the following Scottish couplet: “If Candlemas Day is bright and clear/ There’ll be two winters in the year.”  I read that the groundhog responsible for predicting the length of winter is over one hundred years old, his life being prolonged by a magic potion administered by Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania officials. Now, if only beer could do that! Next up is Valentine’s Day, a day to celebrate and inspire romantic love between couples everywhere. Observed on February 14, the holiday was first established in 469 AD by Pope Gelasius I to honor the sacrifice of three different early Christian martyrs named Valentine. Valentine’s Day was not associated with romance until the 14^th century when Geoffrey Chaucer wrote in Parlement of Foules: “For this was Saint Valentine’s Day, when every bird cometh there to choose his mate.” Somewhere along the line, death and romantic love became juxtaposed. Interesting, don’t you think? Last but not least we have Predident’s Day, celebrated on the third Monday in February. Americans originally observed it as George Washington’s Birthday, which is February 22. Then in 1951 the US Congress tried to change the holiday to President’s Day—which would have been a holiday honoring the office of the President rather than a birthday celebration—but to no avail. Congress did, however, change the observance of Washington’s birthday to the third Monday in February back in 1971. By the mid-1980’s, American advertising firms decided to market Washington’s Birthday as President’s Day to commemorate not just Washington’s, but Lincoln’s birthday as well, which falls on February 12. Of course,  Congress had also tried to combine the birthdays and change the name of the holiday in 1968, but the bill stalled and they had to wait for the perceptive  folks of the US marketing world to implement the change for them twelve years later.

So there you have it. Three holidays in February, three reasons to celebrate, three reasons to drink some fine microbrewed beer. Speaking of beer, OBB’s Ginger Saison is on tap right now, and our Black India Rye Ale should be ready to go by mid-February. I am still on track to brew up a Scotch Ale here in the near future, so look for it possibly in March. The next Beer Days With Bayes is scheduled for Monday, February 13 from 6-9pm. Stop by and let’s chat. That’s all for now, so until next time…Cheers!

Deck the halls with hops and barley, fah lah lah lah lah, lah lah lah lah. It’s too cold for Erik (with a K) to ride his Harley, fah lah lah lah lah, lah lah lah lah. Is that enough lahs? I believe so, but writing it is so much more difficult than just singing it. By the time you read this, the holidays will have passed, so I hope that Santa brought you your every wish and that the New Year is treating you well thus far. As for me, the yuletide season was frantic yet overall a great success. I like to look at the rolling over of the New Year as if it were the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. With all the standing and marching and maintaining of their don’t-touch-me-because-I-mean-business faces, those poor fellas must be ready for a break after a hard day’s work. And so it is with the New Year. The routines, desires and worries of a long year’s worth of living sometimes leaves me at the end of December feeling like I could use a relief pitcher. And then in walks the New Year, offering me an opportunity for a fresh set of goals and a new perspective altogether. A much needed reprieve, if you ask me. And thank goodness.

Anyway, let’s get to the beer, shall we? Currently on tap at Old Boys’ we have–in addition to our standards—a Pistachio Cream Stout, Apple Harvest Ale, Imperial Red, Black Lager, and our barrel-aged Holiday Stout. By January we will also have a Spiced Winter Ale available. This beer was brewed with candied roasted walnuts in the mash and cinnamon and coriander in the boil. My inspiration for the beer was Christmas bread. Think nuts, cinnamon, raisin notes, and warm baking bread. On deck we have our Ginger Saison in the works. Also look for a Scotch Ale, our Black India Rye, and a barrel-aged Maple Brown Ale in the near future. Of course, the upcoming selections may be subject to change due to the whim of the brewmaster, fickle gent that he is.

Before I forget, the next Beer Days With Bayes gathering will be on Monday, January 9 at 6pm. I hope to see you there. Until next time…Happy New Year and Cheers!

   The days are marching inexorably toward the holiday season, and a question of nagging distinction vexes me as I write: what beer should I bring for Thanksgiving? Before I go any further, though, I feel the need to tell you that I recognize the irony in writing about Thanksgiving 2011 as a future event in the December 2011 blog. But I am writing to you on November 21 and have Thanksgiving on the brain, so if you will bear with me, I am going to play Quantum Leap for a bit.

   This year’s festivities are happening at Dad’s house, where my brother will be smoking the turkey– something I anticipate greatly. Dad has several things he will be making for the feast, the specifics of which elude me for the moment. My sister is in charge of a vegetable, an appetizer, and something sweet. Now as for me, I will be bringing sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, and a yet-to-be-determined dessert. My plan is to show up with three beer choices. But what should they be? I have already decided that they should be from the lineup at the brewery, thus stylistically limiting the options to what’s on tap. Turkey dinner is a pretty rich affair with many flavors to work with, so I think that my choices should be made keeping that in mind. First on the list will be our Apple Harvest Ale. I think that the malt and apple flavors would make a good pairing with cheese, fruit, and these wonderfully sweet bacon-wrapped water chestnuts that occasionally show up at our Thanksgiving table. The dry finish and higher alcohol might also cut the richness of stuffing and dessert. Second on the list is going to be the Imperial Red. The caramel and malt notes would complement the sweet potato casserole I will be bringing, while the fruity/peppery hop profile and spicy rye hints may provide a pleasant contrast to the turkey. And the final addition to the list will be the Pistachio Cream Stout. Stouts and their roasted/chocolate flavors are often the perfect complement to rich desserts. Our Pistachio Cream Stout would pair well with pie—especially pecan pie–and anything chocolate. I have a feeling that this beer would go well with the savory smoked flavor of the turkey as well. There. The list is complete, and now I am really thirsty.

   Now for the latest offerings from the brewhouse. As you have undoubtedly figured out, both the Imperial Red and the Pistachio Cream Stout are available at OBB. By the time you read this, our latest barrel-aged beer will also be on tap. I added some dark Belgian candi syrup and a little yeast to a bourbon barrel rinsed of most of its whiskey essence, filled it with Chocolate Stout, and let the concoction age for two months. The result is a tart, dry stout with hints of cherry, plum, oak and a dash of bourbon. We call it Holiday Stout and hope you enjoy it.  

  That’s about it, I think.  But before I go grab a beer, I would like to remind you of our monthly beer meetings, which happen on the second Monday of every month, from 6-9pm. We talk about all things beer-related and offer attendees complementary snacks, reduced beer prices, sneak peaks at upcoming beers, free tours, and more. December’s meeting is Monday, December 12. We hope to see you there. Until next time…Happy Holidays! And Cheers!

   I write this latest blog on a beautiful Saturday morning, and I can’t help but reminisce about the second annual Vanderfest, which took place two weeks ago today. The event was a great success, which was in no small part due to the warm weather. It was a perfect sunny day—just like today—and undoubtedly helped maintain the high spirits of all in attendance. The yard at Vandermill was bustling with hundreds of eager beer and cider enthusiasts and the excitement underneath the tent was palpable in the number of smiles I saw. I made it a personal mission to sample the cider beer brewed by each of the breweries present. Some were light and effervescent, some were infused with the essence of oak, while others tasted like apple pie. All were very tasty, though, and our own Apple Harvest Ale was a hit. The food offered at the festival was a bit disappointing, as two vendors ran out early in the day, but there was plenty of wood-fired pizza available and Vic’s restaurant stepped in to save the day with a taco bar. Attendees were also entertained throughout the day by several music acts, the last of which played to the dance of laser light in the yard and off the side of the main tent. Old Boys’ had a steady stream of enthusiasts waiting for a refill throughout the day and wound up with the last faucets pouring at the end of the night so we had plenty of activity at our table to keep us busy. The food issues notwithstanding, this year’s Vanderfest was a blast and I encourage all of you to attend next year if you can.

   Now for the upcoming beers. By the time you read this our Black Lager—which will replace the Oktoberfest—will be on tap. A few shades darker than a dunkel, this beer has more chocolate and caramel notes than its lighter cousin. Also on the docket is an Imperial Red Ale, which will be available sometime in early-to-mid November. Similar to an Imperial IPA, this will be more malt-focused than an IIPA but will still have a significant hop bill providing balance to the beer. I am making another stout to replace our beloved chocolate as well. It will not be an Imperial Oatmeal like I alluded to in last month’s writing. Instead, I am working on a Pistachio Cream Stout, which will also be available in November. And our next barrel-aged beer will be up and running by Thanksgiving, this one being our Chocolate Stout accented by the essence of dark Belgian candy syrup. Further down the road, look for another Belgian beer in the works (possibly our Ginger Saison again) and maybe another Scotch Ale.

   Before I forget, we are reintroducing an old activity to the monthly calendar of events at OBB. In the past I held a monthly meet-and-greet at the brewery for mug members. Unfortunately, conflicting schedules made it difficult for us to get together. So we are going to try it again on a different day and extend the invitation to all interested Old Boys’ patrons, not just mug members. We are calling it Beer Days With Bayes. Each gathering will be held on the second Monday of each month from 6-9pm. Basically we meet and drink beer, talk about beer or other things, I give tours of the brewhouse, and we generally have a good time. Our first gathering is Monday, November 14 at 6pm so I hope to see you there. I do believe that is all for now, so until next time…Cheers!

   Autumn is a great time of year to be a Michigander. I really dig the milder temperatures, the rich golden hues the sun bathes everything in, the gentle breezes rustling the multicolored leaves of the trees.   And I get to pull out the sweatshirts and jeans from the closet. Not that I don’t absolutely love the summer months, however, as my past posts will attest. But there is something to be said about fall. When I was a kid, I would run out to the nearby farmer’s freshly–harvested fields after school with my kite and about a thousand feet of string and wile away the afternoon watching the clouds, daydreaming about flying, anticipating Halloween. It never failed, though. At least once every fall, my attention to the high-flying kite would waver and I would end up chasing after a bouncing spool across the empty field until it sailed up into the sky, while my neighbors undoubtedly snickered as they watched me stumble past.

   So chasing after kites has over the years given way to questing after good beer.  And Autumn is a great time to carry on such a pursuit, I believe, as the lighter and fruity beers of summer give way to the heavier and maltier beers of fall. Oktoberfest Bier immediately comes to mind, and Old Boys’ has its Oktoberfest Lager on tap right now. Now, I usually make three or four lagers every year. For the past few, I made a Dunkel to follow the Oktoberfest, but this year I am going to make something different, namely a black lager. Traditionally called a Schwartzbier—or Black Beer—the beer style is of German origin and is similar in some ways to the Dunkel, but has more hop bitterness, is usually darker and offers more chocolate and roasted flavors than the Dunkel. Look for it sometime in November. Also look for our Apple Harvest Ale to be on tap by October 8, the day of the second annual Vanderfest. If you did not attend last year’s festival, then by all means try and make it this year. More brews and ciders, more great food, more great music. I mean, what could possibly be better than more of a great thing, right? Looking a bit farther ahead, you can expect another barrel-aged beer due to be launched by the time the holiday season rolls around. And even farther up the road, I think an Imperial Oatmeal Stout may be in order. That’s it for now, ladies and gents. So until next time…Cheers!

   So I am in the backyard right now, enjoying what August sun is left in the day, watching the kids hone their skills with the BB gun, and I just have to say that summer in Michigan is a wonderful experience. We may complain about the long and sometimes painfully cold winters, the gray and rainy springs as we anticipate warmer weather, and even those blustery late autumn days as we dread the onset of the long winter season, but at the end of the day, we really have it pretty good. I experienced a similar revelation this past Saturday up in Ludington at the third annual Suds On The Shore Beer Festival. At first we vendors were expecting with some trepidation a rainy, stormy day, which would have undoubtedly put a damper on some attendees’ motivation to show up. But the sky cleared early, the warmth of the sun lifted our spirits, and by 1:30pm the festival grounds were fairly packed with eager beer geeks. Rumor has it that over one thousand people showed up for the event, a twenty-five percent increase in attendance from last year. Great beer, food, live entertainment and great fun in general were had by all. I highly recommend you attend this festival next year if you are able. Its smaller size makes it more intimate and easier to navigate than some of its bigger brothers. But back to the revelation. At some point I was talking to some attendees about beer while drinking beer, of course. I had the hot sun beating down upon me from above, the beer was an IPA and I thought, this is it. This is what it is all about. This is the glory of Michigan and its wonderful beer industry.

   I typically bring six beers to any festival OBB pours beer at, mostly because our jockey box only has six faucets. But this time I pulled together another tap system and brought seven. The first six in the lineup were as follows: Bohemian Pilsner, Raspberry Wheat, Blueberry Wit, IPA, Imperial IPA, and Chocolate Stout. For the seventh I offered our new Cherry-Ginger Wheat. Now last month I promised a blended fruit beer four our final installment in the Super Fruit Series. But after trying the beer, I decided to let it ride and serve it as is. Call it brewer’s prerogative. Anyway, the Belgian-inspired Cherry-Ginger was made with white wheat malt in the mash and a good measure of fresh ginger and grains of paradise in the boil. Most important are the sixty gallons of dark sweet cherry juice that were added to the fermentor. It tops out at 7.5% abv with 17 IBUs. Currently on deck, we have our Oktoberfest lager in the fermentor and finishing up as we speak. It will be available by September 17, the day of the annual Shoreline Sport and Spine Oktoberfest Marathon. Also on the docket is our Apple Harvest Ale—also known as La Belle—due out in October. I believe that is all for now, my friends in beer, so until next time…Cheers!

   I know it is the middle of summer in Michigan when I can sit in an air-conditioned room and sweat so much that a cold shower is in order. Like right now, for instance. The thing is, as soon as I finish my much-needed shower, I will start to sweat all over again. The way I see it, the real problem lies in achieving personal satisfaction by choosing either to shower or just drink beer. Now my father has always recommended making a list of pros and cons when addressing a problem involving choice. So let’s briefly analyze the situation. We have on the one hand an overheated and heavily perspiring person (me), and on the other hand we have two options offering relief, both of which will assuage in the short term. But what about the long haul, you ask? Well, within five minutes of exiting the shower, I will begin to sweat all over again, rendering my attempt at cooling down pointless. Satisfaction denied. Should I choose to drink a cold beer, on the other hand, not only will my choice slake my thirst and help to lower my perceived body temperature, but it will also be tasty, which will cause me to have another. And possibly another. Satisfaction achieved. So drinking cold beer may not alleviate my perspiration problem, but I will at least continue to enjoy myself, which is the real goal, right? The score is one for beer, and zero for overrated shower.

   Speaking of beer, by the time you read this, Old Boys’ will have a Bohemian Pilsner on tap. Truly a wonderful thirst-quenching style for a hot summer day. Our Superfruit Series has offered some great refreshing brews as well. We have had a blueberry wit, a raspberry wheat, and a chocolate-covered cherry stout on tap for your quaffing pleasure. Old Boys’ has one more to offer you before the end of summer. This will be a blended berry wheat beer with cherry juice fermented with the rest of the beer.  Look for it sometime in August. Further down the road, look for our Oktoberfest lager in September and our apple harvest ale–also known as La Belle—in October, complete with an updated recipe. Also, for those of you who have not noticed or have not been to OBB for a while, we now offer beer-to-go in 750ml bottles. Not every style is available in bottles, though, so you will  have to come check out the selection for yourself. And maybe have a beer or two, of course.  Okay, I believe that is all, ladies and gents. As for me, I am ridin’ dirty all the way to the beer fridge. Until next time…Cheers!

  Ah, will the sun and warm weather never arrive? I clearly remember the vernal equinox back in March, heralding—among other things—the advent of spring. The snow did finally melt, didn’t it? And the deck at Old Boys’ is now officially open for business. So where is my sun? Ahh! However, despite the overcast conditions outside today and what my whiny lamentations seem to infer, I am quite excited to tell you of the latest goings-on at your favorite local brewery. So without further ado…

   For those patrons who either have not been to the pub in a while or may have missed the cooler in the hallway, we are now offering beer for sale to-go in 750ml bottles. Currently we have our Black India Rye Ale and our Apple Harvest Ale available. But do look for more styles in the future. Speaking of the Apple Harvest Ale, the beer was recently entered into an international cider and perry competition in the Fruit Beer category and took home a gold medal. The competition was the impetus for bottling some beer in the first place and consequently decided to just  keep bottling. Why not, you know? Anyway, we changed the Harvest’s name to La Belle before the competition so as not to confuse the judges as to whether the beer was a fresh hop “harvest” beer or not. So if you wish to pick up a bottle, please ask for it by its new moniker.

   By the time you read this Old Boys’ Superfruit Series will be in full swing. First offered was a Chocolate-Covered Cherry Stout made with our new Chocolate Stout and Balaton Cherry Juice. Our Blueberry Wit will be available in late May. And up in June will be our Berry Wheat beer, which will be made with black raspberry juice. We are going to have some serious berry inundation this summer, beer lovers! And look for our Bohemian-style pilsner in July. Finally, next up on the bourbon barrel docket will be our aged Imperial Stout. Okay, all this talk of beer has me thirsty again, so I believe I am calling it beer-thirty and will bid you adieu. Until next time…Cheers!

Brew Master – Dave Bayes

   Greetings, beer lovers! Are you thirsty? Yeah, me too. In fact, right now I am craving an IPA. Something with loads of  hop goodness. Speaking of hops, for those of you who enjoy Old Boys’ Kennel King Imperial IPA, well, you may be in for a surprise the next time you have one at the pub. Due to hop demand restrictions, I was unable to purchase the two main hops needed for the beer, so I had to revise the hop profile. I love this kind of tweaking because it allows me to try new and interesting products. Basically I used a blend of several heretofore untried (by me, at least) hops in order to emulate the different flavors found in Kennel King. I feel that the result is similar, yet uniquely different. So try one and let me know what you think.

   In May I will be launching two new beers for spring. First up will be a chocolate stout. I used some different roasted malts this time around, and tried some new processes as well. It should be available the first week of May. I will also be making the blueberry wit in May as our inaugural Superfruit Series beer. It will be brewed with one hundred pounds of Michigan blueberries steeped in the bright tank before serving. I should have it ready to go by the third week. And at some point this spring look for a Chocolate Cherry Stout on the menu. This will be our Chocolate Stout blended with Michigan Balaton Cherry juice. Michigan superfruits, oh yeah!

   I think its time to go have that IPA, so until next time…cheers!

Old Boys Brewhouse’s Brew Master Dave Bayes entered the LaBelle (Harvest Brew) into the 6th annual Great Lakes International Cider and Perry Competition. The harvest (beer made with fruit, apples in this case) came home with the Gold!!!!!