Michigan Brewing Company - Superior Stout

While they have every right to, the Michigan B.C. brewers weren't bragging when they named this beer, it's actually named after great Lake Superior. Expect deep roasted malt and coffee on the nose, with ample notes of chocolate and a slightly lactic (milk-like) note. This beer offers the fullest of stout flavors without a heavy alcohol content, making it a rather true to style, classic stout. Look for the delicious interplay between sweet and roasted malts, dark chocolate and coffee. Finishes with a dry, roasted bitterness and earns high points for presentation as it leaves behind beautiful lacing patterns on the glass. A great beer to pair with a well-aged maduro cigar, such as the 'CAO Brazilia Gol!' featured this month in our Cigar of the Month Club (visit www.cigarmonthclub.com for details).

The Michigan Brewing Company is located about 20 minutes east of Lansing, Michigan in the city of Webberville. It's easy to miss this brewery due to its location: behind a gas station. When owner Bobby Mason opened the brewery, he did so on a shoestring budget, opting to start up in a family owned garage/maintenance building located next to an expressway service station. Customers literally had to drive through the service station to visit the small pub at the brewery (Ding! Ding! "Fill 'er up Bobby!"). The Michigan Brewing Company was designed as a brewery, not a restaurant, however there is a tavern and tasting room on the premises (but no kitchen). You'll always find a barrel full of fresh peanuts and the vibe is casual enough that you can just toss the shells on the floor, but if it's a meal you're looking for, you'd best be packing it yourself or ordering a pizza! (Ding! Ding! "Pizza's here!"). Inside the tavern, there are no televisions, no video games and no juke boxes; the Michigan Brewing Company was designed to be a social hall, where guests could come in and enjoy some good beer with friends. They keep a wide selection of beer on tap and feature several seasonal beers throughout the year, and since 2002 they've the proud home of the Celis brands, originally brewed by the Belgian witbier-savior Pierre Celis (whose Austin, TX brewery was acquired by Miller Brewing Company before they ran it into the ground). In spring of this year they announced they were moving to expand and keep up with demand. Their new facility now tips the scales at a massive 80,000 square feet, or about 7 times the size of their last brewery, conveniently located a mere 300 ft. east of the old brewery. We're not sure if you still hear a "ding! ding!" on your approach to their tavern, but you'll still get their great brews at the appropriately named "Pub 122" (their on-site tavern (just take exit 122 off of I-96 to get there)). They should be fully set up in their new digs right around the time you read this. Please join us in wishing them much success in their new home! For more information about the brewery and scheduled tours, call (517) 521-3600 or check out their web site at www.michiganbrewing.com.