Detroit Lager Arroz con Pollo

  Arroz con pollo, or "rice with chicken," is a classic dish of Spain and Latin America.  There are many different ways to prepare it, unique to various countries.  What follows is a basic arroz con pollo recipe inspired by a dish from Smitten Kitchen that is typical to what you might find prepared in Cuba.  It can be adjusted depending on the level of spice you like and what you have on hand. It's an easy, stove-top, one pot dish, that is great for family meals. Serves 8 Chicken 6 large garlic cloves 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar 2 teaspoons dried oregano, crushed 4 chicken breast halves with bone, halved crosswise 4...

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Brewery Vivant Wood-Aged Beer Celebration - October 22, 2011

Brewery Vivant, a Belgian/French inspired restaurant and brewery located in the East Hills Neighborhood, will literally be rolling out the barrels for its customers in what’s sure to be one of the season’s most anticipated beer celebrations. Many of these brews have been aging for months, and will include a myriad of styles for every palette. In addition, Chef Drew Turnipseed will be pairing up his delicious wares, including sauerkraut and homemade sausages. Barrel-aged beers can take on many forms, and Vivant is not afraid to jump outside of the box on any beers that they make. Belgian Sours are a much anticipated favorite, a brew that is...

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Great Baraboo

I’ve already written ad nauseum about my theory that I can categorize most Michigan Beer pubs as either breweries that serve food, or restaurants that make beer (with the delicious center of that Venn Diagram being places like Bastone, Brewery Vivant, and Jolly Pumpkin Ann Arbor that offer the epitome of both).  Apparently, I’ve missed one category: “breweries that really want to be a chain restaurant.”  The Great Baraboo Brewing Company is housed in a gigantic, warehouse shaped building in Clinton Township, Michigan, right in that murky half moon shape of suburbs where the residents say they’re from Detroit, but really they’re not....

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2nd Annual Weko Beach Brewers Festival

This past Saturday, the Michigan Beer Blog made its maiden voyage to Bridgman, MI to drop in on the second annual Weko Beach Brewers Festival.  Despite some strong winds, it was a perfect fall day to spend on picturesque Lake Michigan  -- a welcome change after just enduring over a week straight of gloomy, damp, rainy days across southwest Michigan. With Alligator Blackbird, Top Secret Band, and Mr. Blotto offering their melodic sounds throughout the festival, and the smell of grilled brats and pulled pork sandwiches wafting through the air, thirteen brewers offered tastings of a few of their mainstays and fall seasonal beers.  Unlike...

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