Day 5 Part 2

After talking with the head brewer at Old Peninsula, we were off to visit the highly recommended Livery. We hit the road and arrive there about an hour later. We walk into the Livery and notice an outdoor beer garden to the left with a few people enjoying the muggy summer weather. After walking through the entrance, we head down a flight of stairs to the bar area and order a sampler of the beers on tap. This bar has a lot of cycling jerseys, paintings, and other objects throughout the bar and even some beers with a cycling influence. When we get our samplers, I ask the bartender if Steve the head brewer is around. He lets me know that Steve will be down to talk to us in a few minutes, so we slowly begin to consume our samples. After we’ve finished a couple of beers in our samplers, Steve approaches our table and our trip to the Livery becomes one that we will always remember.

After explaining our trip to Steve, he asks us if we’d like to take a tour of his brewing operation. He agrees to let me film everything that I’m about to tell you, so I’ll work out a way to put this extended tour and interview online. We leave our samples on the table and head upstairs to get a private tour of the Livery. Steve unlocks the door to his world and we are in for quite a surprising treat.

Steve shows us his operation and explains how he acquired his equipment, the equipment’s use, and then leads us to some of the barrels that he’s currently aging. He tells us that he started the Livery because of people like us, who enjoy locally crafted beer and a great atmosphere to enjoy beer in. Some more words are exchanged and questions answered by Steve. Then he asks us if we’d like to sample some of his more rare beers. If you remember earlier, we all tried some of Harpoon’s 100 barrel series beer. The beer that we were about to try was a single barrel of beer that Steve had been aging and hadn’t tried himself.

Of course, we felt honored to sample his creation and give our thoughts about the beer. And let’s face it, who can turn down a free uniquely crafted beer or a free beer in general? Not me. So Steve crawls over some brewing supplies to get back to the barrel we were about to sample. He uses a tasting stick (not sure that’s the correct terminology but it sounds cool) to remove a few ounces of beer and puts it into a pint glass. We were able to get try to great beers including: a bourbon aged beer, a peach infused beer, and our collective favorite a maple beer. The maple beer was aging in a barrel that was originally used to make maple syrup, then sold to Founder’s to make a breakfast beer, and finally sold to Steve to make this amazing tasting maple beer. After tasting some truly unique and amazing beers and talking in depth to Livery owner Steve, we had to say goodbye.

We thanked Steve for his hospitality and the opportunity to gain some useful insight into his company and the brewing industry, we headed out with the intention of making it to Munster, Indiana. Unfortunately, we didn’t make it as far as Munster and instead ended up in Michigan City, Indiana. Thankfully, I had a great friend who lives in town, Annie Biggerstaff. So, we stopped in town to try a few beers and get some food. I let Annie know that she was welcome to meet us for dinner. A few minutes and beer samples later, Annie joined us for food and drinks. She let me know that if we were planning on staying in town that her parents wouldn’t mind letting us stay at their place. After making sure that the Biggerstaff’s wouldn’t mind four charming young gentleman at their house for the night, we headed off to Annie’s to meet the Biggerstaff family.

When we arrived at the Biggerstaff’s, we were greeted by Annie’s mom and dad, Peg and Steve. First off, let me say that they were both extremely hospitable and we really appreciated the opportunity to meet them and crash at their house for a night. I must also mention that Steve’s pulled pork was phenomenal. Seriously though, it was some of the best that I’ve ever had and was perfect late night compliment to a few beers. Ben, Andrew, Matt, and I also introduced ourselves and thanked the Biggerstaff’s for their hospitality. Then Ben, Andrew, and Matt went outside to join Steve enjoying the cool summer breeze coming off the lake. I stay inside to get chat with Annie and get acquainted with Peg. We talk a little about a lot of things.

I let Peg know about Beercation, my family trip to Florida the week after Beercation ends, and my future employment with Chase. Peg and I talk for a bit and get on the topic of my family vacation to Florida and wonders where we are staying. At the time, I’m not sure but I know we are staying near the Clearwater and Tampa area. And I right now I’ve talked to my parents for the past five days and still haven’t remembered to ask what town we are staying in. Sorry to get off track but Peg did recommend some great places to visit, grab a bite to eat, and some attractions in the area. I give her my email address and the link to this blog and tell her to email me what she’s just told me and check out our blog. So if you are reading this Peg, thanks so much for the hospitality and recommendations in Florida. And tell Steve that I’m might need to steal his recipe for the pulled pork. Lastly, Annie you should come visit the Chicago area sometime soon. Likewise I’ll try my best to make a trip to either Michigan City or Purdue sometime in the near future. Overall day five was a blast, the combination of the Livery and staying with at the Biggerstaff’s at night made for a great time. Day six was also a fun time but the beginning of the day started off with a bit of a road bump.

Day 5 Part one

We just stopped for a bathroom break and gas in Wyoming, and I must say there isn’t a whole lot of anything here. Aside from a few gas stations, the state is very open with a bit of hills and mountains, but our trek ahead looks a bit flatter. The last town we stopped in had a whopping 261 residents, the largest city in a hundred miles in any direction. How 261 people can live in that town baffles me. What jobs are around the area? Just a thought but let me fill you in on my favorite brewery trip and day, up until yesterday. Yesterday’s Colorado’s Brewers Festival was a blast but you’ll have to wait for me to catch up in my blogging to read stories about our drunken escapades. Without further ado, here’s what we did on day five.

We woke up and checked out of our hotel in Ann Arbor. After a bit of driving through Michigan, we made a stop for some five dollar footlongs at Subway. Our first stop of the brought us to Bell’s Brewery. I really liked the beer and atmosphere here. We all made our own personalized six beer sampler. Having tried a few different beers (both the Oberon and Two-hearted), I tried six beers that were all new to me. I must say that they were all great. Everyone else really enjoyed the Oberon and Two-hearted. After sampling a few beers, we made our way to the gift shop and home brewing store.

One of the employees, Trevor gave a great tour of the home brewing and gift shop at Bell’s. He does a lot of home brewing and also gave me some great advice. The best of which is, “Sanitation, sanitation, sanitation, sanitation, and sanitation.” I have the tour on video and will figure out how to get it online. He also told us that our Beercation would not be complete without a stop to The Livery. He said to ask for Steve, the owner and head brewer. But before making a memorable stop at the Livery, we took a brief detour to the Old Peninsula in town.
We left Bell’s and made a quick drive over to Old Peninsula and immediately ordered a sampler of all the beers on tap. I was able to talk in depth with the head brewer about this brewery, his roll, and where the company has come since he began working there. He started as a home brewer in the nineties and began a home brewing club in the area. He let me tour the facility while we chatted and also gave me some advice about home brewing. He said don’t get into it to make money, do it for yourself and to enjoy doing it. He also recommended joining a home brew club. For him, the home brew club helps him stay up to date on new sometimes revolutionary techniques that he can use to improve his brewing on a larger scale.