The Round Barn Winery, Distillery, & Brewery

Picture the geography of Lower Michigan. Are you thinking of endless rows of corn interspersed with the occasional tree the farmer decided to let stand in order to lessen the effects of Lake Effect Snow on his farmhouse? Boring and monotonous and just something to drive through? Well, forget what you think you know about geography, and head to Baroda, Michigan; nestled amongst the breathtaking hills of the Southwest Michigan countryside, you'll find an ideal location for a vineyard -- a vineyard which just so happens to make some pretty darn tasty micro brews (and vodka and brandy, too!).

It is very apparent during the drive through Baroda that the Round Barn not only takes advantage of its rolling hills location, but has also established one of the most recognizable symbols of the region -- you guessed it: a giant round barn. These types of perfectly cylindrical buildings were not uncommon long ago, but they are rapidly disappearing from the typical American landscape, which only adds to the abundance of charm bursting from every square foot of this place. Being there feels like being at your cool, rich uncle's house in Napa Valley (assuming I had one of those, of course). Whether you feel like grabbing a drink and relaxing on the large deck overlooking the vineyard, sitting in the shade at one of the many picnic tables sprinkled throughout the perfectly manicured grounds, playing a leisurely game of corn hole, or just sitting inside enjoying some afternoon beer/wine/vodka tasting, there really is a little something there for everyone. It's even pet-friendly! It has an atmosphere unlike any other I've experienced.

One of two West Highland Terriers that "lives" at the Round Barn.

Playing a little corn hole..

But it hasn't always looked like this. In fact, it was only about 13 years ago that the owner, Rick Moersch, decided to dismantle, transport, and rebuild a century-old, round Amish barn from rural Indiana in Baroda, Michigan – and to convert the building into a distillery to compliment his existing winery. Today, that structure defines the Round Barn Winery, Distillery, & Brewery, where Moersch and his two sons make award winning brandy, vodka, micro-brews, and wine.

The beer tasting room.

The beers on tap during our visit last weekend included an amber ale, a Kölsch style, a summer wheat, an oaked IPA, a Schwarzbier, and a cocoa stout (served on nitrogen). By the time we had gotten there, they were already out of their newest special release beer, the Motha Pucker, but Seth and I were fortunate enough to have already tried it at the 13th Annual Summer Beer Festival a few weeks ago. It's a sour porter with an earthy, almost musty flavor. The story behind how this sour beer originated is almost as great as the beer itself. It was the result of one of those serendipitous experiences that we all love to have. During all of the chaos during the harvest wine making season in the fall, when the shared space for the wine and beer is mostly occupied with wine barrels, the wrong bag of malt was added to one of the barrels. The brewer decided to get creative and adjusted the recipe by adding even more malt and then barrel aging the beer for eight months. The result was a wonderfully sour porter, which I would highly recommend trying if you ever get the opportunity.

Beer available for purchase.

Since they were all out of Motha Pucker, I decided to sample the summer wheat before committing to a whole pint of it. It's another one of the more recent additions to the Round Barn's already solid repertoire and is based on a Belgian Wit style with a slight hint of orange and pineapple. Though it was extremely refreshing and drinkable, I felt it lacked the body/mouth feel of a typical wheat beer and so I opted to start with a more familiar beer, the Kölsch style. This Kölsch pours a very bright gold and smells of citrus and mild hops right off the bat. Kölsches aren't usually blockbusters from an olfactory standpoint, but this one is pretty decent. The flavor starts small and stays there, but that's just the style of beer it is -- simple and straightforward, with an aftertaste that reminds you that it is a light European style of beer. Truly a fantastic beer for a hot August day.

Next up for me was the amber ale. This copper ale tastes of caramel malt and spicy hops with no apparent sweetness. It has a medium bitterness for an amber, a nice, light body, and a slightly dry hoppy finish . Overall, quite "sessionable" and a very good amber.

We finished up our afternoon of beer sampling with a pint of the Schwarzbier. The aroma of this nearly opaque "black beer" has notes of roasted barley, chocolate, caramel, licorice, and mild hops. The taste is malty and a bit nutty and chocolaty. It goes down creamy and smooth but is not overly thick.

Seth with his "Schwartz"

Before we left, Seth had to try the DiVine vodka, which is made from grapes. It recently won another gold medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, beating out vodkas from places like Scandinavia and Russia. That's a pretty amazing accomplishment for a small operation in Michigan! If you're ever at the Round Barn, definitely taste the DiVine and buy a bottle to take home and treat your friends.

The ceiling of the wine and spirits tasting barn.

The Round Barn Winery, Distillery, & Brewery is a place that I cannot wait to visit again. It was well worth the 100 mile (2 hour) drive, and I would rate it as AT LEAST a 200 mile brewery, if only for the location and atmosphere. In Seth's words, "Round Barn is as close to heaven as I've experienced in Michigan, ever."

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Arbor Brewing Company: Corner Brewery

The Arbor Brewing Company’s Sacred Cow IPA and Phat Abbot Dubbel are the first two Michigan beers I remember drinking, years ago. Back then, of course, I had no idea why that made them important; I don’t think I could’ve told someone the difference between an ale and a lager, let alone the difference between a tiny local microbrewery, a famous and established import name, and the Rice Lager mega-corporations from which most of our beer comes. But it was perhaps because of this early experience that I have such a fondness for Arbor Brewing Company’s beer; I even think their label is pretty sweet.

Laura and I paid a visit to their distribution center and pub located in Yspilanti recently. Their Corner Brewery has the exact type of architecture I love in a brewpub: it’s open and noisy, with taps everywhere, bottled beer in the fridge, and large tables encouraging family style seating.

Unfortunately, due to a random coincidence, lightning had struck the bar’s power generator. This means that all the refrigeration units in the building had been disabled until about an hour before we arrived. . .so all the draft beer available and all the food had to be thrown out.

But there were still bottles!

The atmosphere was great, considering there was no food and no draft beer.. The seating encouraged people to talk with strangers, and in a local brewpub there’s always something to be had in common with your fellow patrons. There was no wait staff working when we visited, but there was a large amount of well trained bartenders, who knew exactly what types of beer to offer those with timid, eclectic, or experienced palates.

Additionally, the Corner Brewery is instrumental in the local Ratfest Tasting event, held annually in celebration of Michigan homebrewers. In fact while we were there, the Corner Brewery was letting some brewers use the facilities. I did not taste their Sweet Potato Pie beer, but I smelled it and never have I smelled a beverage so closely resembling the food it was intended to represent. Tickets to attend the Ratfest are 25.00, and that smell alone is almost worth the price of admission.

Liquid gold. Sweet Potato Beer Gold.

I can’t really rate this brewery fairly: I tried neither their draft beer nor their food. That said, I had a wonderful experience in their spacious and inviting brewpub, and I’m excited to return.

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Night Tripper Stuffed Tomatoes

Summer: the season of the tomato. The beautiful, juicy orbs are everywhere -- roadside stands, farmers' markets, grocery stores, and for the lucky group, in their home gardens (assuming you don't have fungus ruining your entire crop like I do). There is no shortage for the uses of this versatile "vegetable." You can serve them sliced, sprinkled with coarse salt, and drizzled with a hint of balsamic vinegar. Of course, they're always a great addition to any salad or sandwich, too. There really aren't many dishes that can't be improved by adding a little tomato. The recipe here, however, shows that they can also be the star attraction.

Today's recipe was inspired by an appetizer served at one of our favorite local restaurants, Graydon's Crossing. For this colorful and flavorful main dish version, roma tomatoes are scooped out, filled with a goat cheese and sausage mixture, and baked. After baking, the tomatoes are drizzled with a warm sauce made from Night Tripper imperial stout from the New Holland Brewing Company.

To get started, here is what you'll need:

3 roma tomatoes

1/4 pound fresh bulk sausage

4 ounces goat cheese*

1/4 cup whipped cream cheese

1/4 teaspoon curry powder

1/8 teaspoon coriander

1/4 cup New Holland Night Tripper imperial stout

*I used goat cheese that contained Peppadew. Peppadew is the brand name of sweet piquanté peppers grown in South Africa. They both taste and appear sort of like a cross between a pepper and cherry tomato.

1) Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Cut the tomatoes in half lengthwise, and scoop out and discard all of the seeds and insidey parts. Remove any excess juice inside the tomato with a clean towel or dry paper towel.

2) Brown the sausage in a small frying pan over medium heat until it is cooked through, crumbling into fine pieces as it is cooking. Remove the sausage from the pan and drain off any excess grease.

3) Transfer the sausage to a mixing bowl, and add the goat cheese, whipped cream cheese, curry powder, and coriander. Stir until combined.

This is about what your mixture should look like.

4) Divide the sausage-cheese mixture evenly amongst the six tomato halves. Move the tomatoes to a baking sheet (I didn't grease mine, but you may want to just to be safe), and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the cheese mixture starts to brown and the tomatoes just start to soften.

The tomatoes before baking

5) Now it's time to make the imperial stout reduction*. While the tomatoes are baking, add the 1/4 cup of stout to a small sauce pan, and cook it on medium heat until it is reduced by about half (or, more simply, looks like only half of what you added is left in the pan).

6) Remove tomatoes from oven and drizzle with the Night Tripper reduction.

*Reductions are just liquids (wine, stock/meat dripping, sugar syrup, vinegar, etc.) that are simmered to cook off the water and concentrate the flavors. Stout is quite similar to balsamic vinegar in that it has quite a bit of sugar, which makes the resulting sauce sweet and as thick and black as molasses.

Be well advised, though, that when you are using beer for a reduction, the hops bitterness will also be greatly concentrated. It can be difficult to balance the bitterness in food once the bitterness level gets too high, but it's not really a concern in this recipe, because the sweetness of the roma tomatoes and the tartness of the goat cheese really mellows the bitter beer, and boosts the flavor combination to heavenly.

I served mine over a bed of lentil pilaf, and violà! Toss that in your munchy cave and eat it.

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Legal Rant: Beware the Strength of Distributors!

As a huge fan of the flourishing microbrew market, the law that's skimming through Congress right now has me more than a little worried. Effectively, lobbyists for the huge alcohol distributors across the nation are attempting to put forth a law that will allow states to ban certain types of alcohol sales. Issues raised include:

• opening the path for banning direct-to-consumer shipments of beer/wine. Many small wineries in California rely heavily on direct shipments to survive.
• allows distributors to have more freedom in what they carry, giving them little incentive to move small batch markets like craft beer or artisan liquor. Translation: you might not be able to drink Dogfish Head ever again, unless you move to Delaware.
• higher prices in general: the article mentions that by having to compete with direct-to-customer prices, retail outlets have been forced to lower prices.
• States may be able to change legal requirements for alcohol. Most disturbingly, this law makes it legal for States to re-define bourbon as something other than 51% corn aged in charred new oak barrels. Or any other alcohol, for that matter.

The three tiered system has degraded such that distributors have an amazing amount of power vs producers and retailers. Even with the combined might of lobbyists from wine, beer, and liquor makers, they match maybe half the federal dollars spent in lobbying from the Distributors' lobby. The National Beer Wholesalers Association alone made direct contributions to over a third of the bill's co-sponsors within 30 days of of them agreeing to sponsor it.

The Distributors are using the argument that the right to ban alcohol sales and increase prices should be given to the states. They also argue that direct-shipped alcohol increases the risk for minors to come into possession of alcohol. I'm uncomfortable with both of these points. First, I don't think the state of Michigan has a right to dictate what state supplies my beer. They tried once in 2005 and failed. Second, I remember being 19 with a shiny new credit card and looking at web sites offering to ship small batches of expensive beer/wine to my parents' door. It was and always will be easier for minors to procure alcohol through other methods than through direct shipments. Furthermore, banning the sale of all alcohol via direct shipments in order to limit beer to 18-21 year olds is like using a shotgun to hunt a housefly.

I don't see this bill getting much traction -- it's just in the House right now and the House passes stupid, useless bills all the time. But it's noteworthy that it's gotten as far as it has.  Keep an eye on this one, folks.  If you love your craft beer and wines, this bill is completely against your interests.

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The Michigan Brewing Company

Not many people make Webberville, Michigan, a stop on their tour of the state that Tim Allen loves so much. It's a tiny, sleepy town surrounded by farms and factories. The landscape is flat and green and unremarkable – unless you find irrigation machines exciting.

sign says "PUB," perverts.

And tucked away, 30 seconds from the highway offramp, is the Michigan Brewing Company.   Note, for the discriminating of eye, that we visited the Michigan Brewing Company's actual brewing location: not their pub in Lansing. It's still furnished with a fine pub, however, complete with fresh beer selections and a great (although limited) kitchen. Which doesn't bother me in the least:  I'm certainly no fan of kitchens that offer 7 pages of mediocre and unoriginal dishes; when you can make a fantastic pulled pork sandwich, don't bother trying to expand beyond what you know.

I...I ate several fries before remembering to shoot a picture.

The service was friendly and knowledgeable and very attentive. Our waitress was relatively new, but didn't hide her lack of knowledge with bluffing; when we had questions about the beer, she promptly got someone who could answer our questions. The food was very good, although admittedly I wouldn't drive across the country for it. It was bar food, and it was better than I expected. The high point was by far the sweet potato fries (pictured above with my pulled pork, cole slaw, and pickle sandwich). 

I'm not really confused as to why sweet potato fries are not more popular: done wrong, they are soggy and have no taste beyond the seasoning thrown on them minutes before served to the victim.  These fries, on the other hand, don't have any of those problems. Thick and crispy like potato wedges should be, with the extra flavors only sweet potatoes can provide.  These sweet potato fries are not only some of the most tasty I've eaten, they're up there with some of the best sides to a bar sandwich I've ever had.

Never have I been happier with my choice of samples than when I ordered the Celis beers.

The nachos, similarly, were very good: covered in chili, home made salsa, and all of the toppings one expects on nachos. Crispy tortilla chips generously covered in cheese served as a base for this fine dish. I should probably mention that the picture above is a half order. Michigan Brewing Company doesn't screw around.

Optical illusion aside, that is not a glass of IBC root beer.

The beers were fantastic, although I have to admit their strongest contender is one I've reviewed here before. I've yet to find a Michigan IPA that's as simple and as drinkable as the high Seas IPA. Their Celis Raspberry, on the other hand, we avoided. Their standard Amber and Porter were good: well balanced but not quite as perfect as the Grand Rapids Brewing Company. We had a chance to add the Celis white to the beers we've tried. . . also not a great addition to their stable. A belgian white is, apparently, a more difficult beer to make properly than I had assumed. In my experience, few breweries can compete with Jolly Pumpkin's offering.

The Michigan Brewing Company's atmosphere, food, and beer selections are more than I would've expected from a tiny town halfway between Lansing and Livonia, and a trip well worth making if you're visiting either town. I rate this brewery as a 20 mile brewery; if you're taking I-96 to Detroit, or heading back west to visit Grand Rapids, it may be worth the stop.

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