U.P. with Beer

Back in May, Jeff and went up to the Upper Peninsula.  I had to work a program (Camp College sponsored by MACAC) at Northern Michigan University, and of course Jeff jumped at the chance to go on a road trip to great north.  Apart from our driving across the state bringing Cooper home, this was Cooper's first official road trip!

Naturally, we had to cross some breweries off our list while we were there!  This marked almost two years of our beer adventure and return to where it all started!  Since we were on the west side of the UP, we still have a few left to check off from the UP, but to our surprise, tucked away in the once thriving (and almost capital of Michigan) Calumet/Houghton, there were several delightful breweries!  Not to mention, at least one good (and one less than good) brewery in Marquette.

The Vierling

Located on the main drag of Marquette, overlooking Lake Superior, the Vierling appears to be a local hotspot.  We had already eaten, so we didn't sample any menu items (though they looked tasty) - it was all about the beer for us.  I was STUFFED, but decided on ordering a dark, heavy beer as my "dessert" - the Vierling's Dark Coffee Porter (which was one of their seasonal special).  Wow was it tasty!  Strong coffee flavor without tasting burnt, slightly chocolately, crisp finish.  Exactly what you would want a dark coffee porter to be.  Jeff had their Pale Ale due to a conspicuous absence of his beloved IPA.  The hops were plentiful, and the ABV was suprisingly high, so he wasn't too disappointed.  We were two of the few people there NOT drinking the seasonal blueberry ale, which was complete with whole blueberries floating on the bubbles.  We're not much for fruity beers (rather, beer with added fruit as opposed to beer with fruity notes as a result of the yeast), but I have to admit it looked intriguing.

Jasper Ridge

While I was working, Jeff headed 10 miles west to Jasper Ridge.  He tried both a Pale Ale and Porter; neither were very special.  Sadly, even the food was sub par.  Our hope is that when a place's beer doesn't live up to our high expectations that at least the food is good.  In this case, both food AND beer were mediocre.  But, we can say we checked it off the list.

Red Jacket Brewing

Calumet, MI was once a booming industrial town thanks to the copper industry.  In fact, it was almost the capital of Michigan, narrowly losing out to the current capital, Lansing.  Who knew?  Now, it's this strange, kind of artsy community about 10 miles north of Houghton and 40 miles south of Copper Harbor (WAY high onthe tip of a peninsula jutting into Lake Superior).  Red Jacket Brewing is in the Michigan House Cafe, right on the corner of the main stretch of downtown, across from a nice art gallery.  You could tell this place was old - it just felt like there was a lot of history.  Clearly people come for the food, but yet again, we weren't there to eat.  They only have three taps at a given time and it just so happened that on tap was an Oatmeal Stout and a Pale (and a third featuring a beer from South Shore Brewing in Wisconsin) - perfect!  The Pale was another hoppy, strong Pale, so Jeff was happy.  The Oatmeal Stout was delightfully creamy, with mild coffee tones and a chocolate aftertaste.  So good!  And such a lovely surprise.

Keweenaw Brewing Company

Keweenaw is in downtown Houghton and the place was jumping!  Cheap beer, bring your own food and lots to chose from, I can see why this place was a favorite of locals and Michigan Tech students.  This place occupies a very special niche - a brewery that sells its beers in cans!  Yep - cans might be making a comeback.  But how was the beer?  I think Jeff and I differ in our opinion a little - perhaps by virtue of the beers we chose.  I had the Amber and found myself somewhat disappointed.  Yeah, I guess it was malty, but it just felt a little weak.  The malt wasn't very strong, and it had a really light mouthfeel.  But it was cheap!  Jeff had an IPA which he said was fine but he was happy that at least he finally got his IPA.  He followed that with a Brown (his second favorite brew), which was "solid," as he says.  He would have liked to spend more time at this place, but it was our second of three stops, it was getting late and we had Cooper in the car.

The Library Bar and Restaurant

Just down the street from Keweenaw with a view of the water (perhaps a bay, perhaps a river, but not quite Lake Superior) was the Library Bar and Restaurant.  This place definitely felt more like a restaurant than a brewery, and yet they had about six beers to choose from.  Growlers were cheap and we were regretting not bringing ours along for a fill up.  Jeff and I splurged a bit on food (local whitefish - yum!) since we were starving and it was vacation afterall.  I had a Weizen which was fantastic!  Nice cloudy color, solid mouthfeel and wonderful notes of banana and citrus.  Jeff had an IPA, which he says was the best he had on this tour; nice and hoppy, just like he likes it!

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend and Cooper was a gem in the car (like Jeff says, "he's a road-trippin' hound").  AND - we had some tasty beer!