Michelle Mattner: Secret Celebrity
Pictured here with Jack Nicholson at the Governor’s Ball in 1971.
• • • MS • • •
Notes on Beer, the Trip, and the Potential for a New Adventure
Around a year ago a group of high caliber men set forth on a journey to see the interworking of breweries and the types of beer they made. With rumblings of another possible brewery tour, I feel it necessary to take the same meticulous steps in planning the ensuing trip, just as we did with the first. It is important to reflect on the first trip so that we can correct mistakes and emphasize the positives in hopes of a better trip than the first.
First off I’d like to start by saying that last year’s trip for me was really sparked by an increased interest in the vast potential of beer. The world of craft brewed beer was just opening its doors to the many wonderful recopies and styles that was/is at our disposal. At that time many of us were interested and invested in making our own beer, a hobby that seemed full of potential. Last year’s trip would serve as a sort of research into where beer could take us. I’m not talking about a business goal or some lofty ideas about running any sort of beer establishment, although it is a very fun little drunk dream I often have. I like to think that beer is a catalyst for good times and great friends. Making beer was to be just another reason for gathering and celebration. I know we have all grown insanely busy since our last trip with jobs, responsibilities, and ideas of tiny babies with massive hands, but the purity of beer and its potential remains the same. I have still been reading about the processes of making beer and I have written a few shaky recipes of my own, in hopes that funds will clear enough room for me to buy brewing supplies. I would also at this time like to invite myself over to Albert’s (terrible manners and I apologize for this) to use his kit in continuing our individual beer efforts. Remember that beer like concrete starts out wet, but in the end has amazing bonding power (can you believe I made that shit up myself, like a fucking t-shirt!).
Next we really need to reflect on our last trip, albeit a long time ago, to aid in the process of creating a new trip. First success, I felt that last year’s trip was a massive success despite the terrible weather the first night. Albert did a wonderful job playing Captain Sobriety in steering the ship from port to porter. Each member of the team did their share in allowing everyone have a least a sip of every beer served at each place totaling ____ beers (truth be told I don’t know who had the final tally sheet but I do remember it was a lot) a feat none the less. I also remember a great deal of camaraderie and teamwork from issues as small as finishing an incredibly spicy sandwich (special thanks Luke) to saving Grand Rapids from a terror alert of orange. Sleeping arrangements provided no cost and although awkward (I touched ass cheeks with Luke maybe on accident and it was weird) it was very comfortable (special thanks GEO). I think the mission of the trip was very clear and it proved to be a driving factor for us all. I know that I am missing a large number of positives from the trip, because to be honest it was one of the best times I’d ever had and for this I apologize for any key aspect I may have forgotten.
Looking back there were some things that proved to be difficult and although didn’t deter anything major from the trip; I feel these things need to be addressed in moving forward. First off I’d like to see our number of participants go up. Last year we were missing a few people who could have been more than detrimental to the cause. People like Mike, who is quite the beer connoisseur and a sharp dresser. Scott was just outside of bean town last year and could provide that stirring gonzo flare to the trip, one of which Aaron admirably took it upon himself to make up for last year by “channeling his inner Scotty”. I’d also like to throw our there for consideration Dave; who has not only made his own beer before but is a fantastically good time as we all saw not to long ago. The increase in the number of people would reduce the amount of pints each person needs to buy and more time can be spent on the beers we enjoy. Also beer is surprisingly filling and this could help with that bloated, I’m going to piss on everything that moves feeling.
The downside to the increase of potential participants would cause a problem with transportation, which I feel wasn’t much of a problem with the Captain at the helm and the big poppa bear in the back cave. Adding two or three people would force us to look at other options for hauling all of us somewhere and back. With the reduced amount of room we would also have to be more organized as a group, meaning everyone would have to be allowed only one case of Gatorade. Staying on the idea of transportation, the next trip will have to be considerably farther in order to tap into taps unseen and this brings up a few difficulties. We would have to pay to stay some where which isn’t too much of a problem; in fact I love a hot tub festering with drunken sweats in the morning. The only real problem with this is the amount of distance between breweries. I think everyone can attest to the fact that the trips highlights happened in GR where more bars were hit in a smaller location and more time could be spent at one particular bar. I think the number of breweries we ventured to be ambitious and perhaps too many. One bar that was tops on my list was the Hideout, for the simple fact that we stayed there the longest. I think in reducing the amount of bars traveled to would allow for a reduced amount of travel time between bars, and it would allow us to stay longer at the certain breweries of choice, therefore resulting in a better time for all to be had.
This brings me to my last point of topic, how about another trip? I heard that Luke was looking at planning the next trip which is awesome. I have a few notes on a potential trip that I took along time ago and I hope that the latter will only help on this trip and any planned for the near future. There are currently fifty seven breweries registered through Michigan Brewers Guild (www.michiganbrewersguild.org). Of these breweries we have made stops at eleven, leaving us with essentially the rest of Michigan to explore. The places I looked into took me east toward Lansing/ Ann Arbor. There are six award winning breweries in the area with the bulk of the driving taking us from H-town to a place called Harper’s Brewpub (harpersbrewpub.com). The next four places are all around a half an hour of each other, culminating with the last two of the four being on the same block in Ann Arbor. The next day would take us to one before heading through Marshall (one of our favorite places) and Kzoo on the way back. The list of the other breweries on the list are: Michigan Brew Co. (michiganbrewing.com/mbc.asp) Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales (jollypumpkin.com) Ann Arbor Brewing Co. (arborbrewing.com) Grizzly Peak Brewing Co. (grizzlypeak.net) Original Gravity (doesn’t have a website which makes me very nervous). I hope this helps someone. Also keep in mind that the city with the highest volume of breweries is Detroit, which has eighteen breweries and one meadery (hopefully you just heard trumpets sounding off in the distance signaling a potential challenge in the future).
I hope that this babbling of ideas can help start a conversation about beer between us. So I encourage you to please use the comment section and express your thoughts, your reflections on the past trip, any concerns you may have with a future trip, anything beer related really. I would also like to apologize if this was written sloppily; I had to dig my way out of a blizzard half way through. Thank you for your time and god bless beer.
• • • MS • • •
Prev
Next