Something wonderful has happened with Michigan beer. A gradual loosening of brewing laws has caused the craft beer industry to take off throughout the state. In just a few decades, Michigan now has 330 craft breweries, ranked fourth in the nation, with more opening all the time. In fact, you could argue that, in the last five years, the profile of Michigan craft beer has risen such that, nationally, many regard this as one of the top 10 beer states. From long-timers like Bell’s to award-winning breweries such as Jolly Pumpkin and Founders, brewing has reached a critical mass and made North Americans sit up and take notice —including Peaks and Pints. Today, our daily craft beer flight lands in Michigan in what we call Craft Beer Crosscut 9.15.18: A Flight of Michigan.
Jolly Pumpkin/Bastone Brewery Co-Operation Ale
9.7% ABV
Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales and former Bastone Brewery brewpubs shared a space together in Royal Oak, Michigan, and what better way to solidify the partnership than with a collaboration? They fused the recipes for their two greatest hits, Jolly Pumpkin La Roja and Bastone Brewery Nectar des Dieux, resulting in aromas of brown sugar and flavors of molasses, chocolate, cherries and oak blending with light acidity and slight Jolly Pumpkin funk.
New Holland Dragon’s Milk Bourbon Barrel-Aged Stout
11% ABV, 31 IBU
Seventeen years ago, New Holland Brewing Company, an artisan craft brewer based in Holland, Michigan, unleashed its Dragon’s Milk Bourbon Barrel-Aged Stout. Although the beer’s bouquet — an intricate braid of roasted malt and oak scents — is subdued, the flavor could have its own kingdom in Game of Thrones (“Dragon’s Milk” is a 17th century term used to describe the strong beer usually reserved for royalty): Roasted malt flavor flows over the tongue alongside a sweet caramel counterpoint, while black licorice notes add an unexpected twist to the swallow. Throughout, the oak lends an elegant aged character to the robust dark malts, and the wood’s tannins cut through the sweetness.
Founders Porter
6.5% ABV, 45 IBU
You know the drill. Make some beer, quit your job, start a beer business. It’s what Mike Stevens and Dave Engbers did when starting the Founder Brewing Company out of Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1997. Founders Porter it’s a near-perfect example of American robust porter. The nose is sweet with strong chocolate and caramel malt presence. On the tongue, it’s smooth, roasty and balanced, but predominantly dry. Strong black coffee roast, bittersweet chocolate and hints of residual sweetness — it’s well balanced with hints of hoppiness. No absence of hops gives Founders’ robust porter full flavor; an example of how Founders brewers took the style of porter and made it their own.
Jolly Pumpkin Simcoe Single Hop
6% ABV, 60 IBU
Simcoe Single Hop is the first beer in Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales’ Hop Portal Series, which showcases the unique characteristics that a specific hop variety imparts on a beer. This sour pale ale was brewed exclusively with Simcoe hops, but is well balanced with Simcoe’s vibrant, dank and earthiness on one side and Jolly Pumpkin’s funk on the other, with stone fruit notes as an added bonus.
Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout
11.8% ABV, 70 IBU
In 2002, Founders Brewing Co. wanted to age their Breakfast Stout in bourbon barrels. A call to Jack Daniels with a request to use their barrels was accepted as long as they picked them up. The first run was a success. Something magical happened in the barrel. The recipe needed refinement since the bourbon notes were overwhelming in the beer. The solution was to create an imperial (higher alcohol content) version of Breakfast Stout. The result is Kentucky Breakfast Stout, or KBS. The aroma is full of gooey chocolate, some smoke and wood notes from the barrel. Thick, full-bodied, it leads with rich and chocolate, boozy warmth and a slight brandy sweetness. It finishes with toasty smokiness and all the depth of a four-tier chocolate cake.
