The Hangover: Homecoming Edition

This past weekend was my little college's homecoming. That means there was a lot of school spirit, a few lacrosse games, and a hopping beer tent. The beer tent was especially noteworthy this year because we only had Michigan craft beer—which was a first. I took full advantage of drinking as much Michigan beer as I could on Saturday, and had the hangover on Sunday to prove it.

The theme of the afternoon.

The beer tent opened its flaps to the public at 1 pm, but offered a special sampling an hour early. AKA—I was drinking by noon. Don’t worry, I had alumni and other beer nerds drinking right alongside me so there was no judgement whatsoever. Even the president of my college was there at high noon tossing 'em back with me. He's the best. All in all, I sampled six very different Michigan craft beers hailing from the East Side to the West. Bear with me as I try to describe them, the details are a little hazy. I may have pre-gamed the beer tent Jamaican Style:

Nothing like a few Red Stripes before noon.

  

Here's what I can remember about the six Michigan beers that we sampled:

Perrin's Golden Ale: This was the first beer of the sampling. It was super light and little bit malty. Some of the drinkers at my table found the Perrin Golden Ale to be comparable to Bud Light...and I can't disagree. But if you like your macro-brews, definitely try this out and support the little guys too.

Rochester Mills' Milkshake Stout:I was initially excited to see this sweet treat on the selection list because I love stouts, a lot. The Milkshake Stout was sugary with an obvious chocolate presence and coffee flavor. It was fairly thin though, which was fine for binge drinking on a Saturday afternoon, but outside of the beer tent this wouldn't be my first choice for a stout.

Arcadia's Jaw-Jacker: It was more like a shot of Fireball mixed into apple cider than a pumpkin beer. Don't get me wrong—it was good—but the immediate taste of cloves, sweet cinnamon and allspice dominated the overall flavor. Although, most of the drinkers at my table thought this was the best beer of the afternoon. It definitely was memorable.

Right Brain's Will Power Pale Ale: I'm pretty sure I liked this one. From what I remember it had a light burst of hops, which was welcome after all of the spice from the Jaw-Jacker. The Will Power was a solid version of the English Pale Ale—a little bitter,  hoppy, citrusy and a teeny bit sweet. 

Frankenmuth's Oktoberfest: I'm not sure what was going on here, and I'm not trying to start anything...but this wasn't very good. At all. And I'm 50% German, so it's not personal. Maybe the beer truck just had a bad batch, or maybe my palate isn't sophisticated enough to appreciate this style of beer. All I know is that my table thought this tasted like bready, dirty water. That's all that I'm going to say.

Petoskey's Mind's Eye PA: My beer drinkers were divided on this one. A few thought it was too bitter or too dry. However, I've been diggin' IPAs lately. Personally, I thought the assertive hoppy flavor was a good addition to the Michigan beer line-up.

Long story short: my hangover was definitely worth it. Sure, all the beers weren't home runs but that's what sampling is about. You find out what you like and then you know what to look for in the future. Plus, this style of sampling exposed me to microbreweries from all over Michigan, some that I had never tried before, and it only cost me $10. But, the shining moment of the beer tent was simply getting to day drink with my college prez. If you knew him, you'd understand.