Hello everyone. I’ve been having too much fun enjoying all
of life’s perks in the past month that I haven’t had the chance to write about
them. So now I have a lot to catch up on! I think the most noteworthy adventure
in that timespan includes a trip to Michigan to visit three breweries, so I’ll
start there. We visited Dark Horse, Arcadia, and Bell’s. Arcadia was fine but
the real highlights were Dark Horse & Bell’s, so I’ll just focus on them.
Dark Horse Brewing (Marshall, MI) is just spectacular. The beer selection on tap wasn’t vast, but it
was certainly delicious. The staff encouraged us to mix various types of beer,
which is quite unusual for a craft brewery, but also desirable. Sometime
brewers think their beer is perfect as is, so it would be considered blasphemy
to mix various types. Indeed, all the beers I had sampled were probably perfect
alone, it was certainly fun to experiment. The food was also tasty, our server
was friendly, and the atmosphere was cozy and welcoming. The ceiling of the
place is lined with ceramic hand-crafted mugs – a physical mug club for the
locals. Trust me, if I lived within an hour radius of Marshall, MI, I would be
a proud member of that mug club.
Now on to Bell’s Brewery (Kalamazoo, MI) and another fine
experience in the land of beer. Bell’s does quantity for sure, but they also
have the quality to back it up. I didn't count, but I’d say there were probably
20 beers on tap at the Eccentric Café (brewpub portion of Bell’s). At least 8
of those estimated 20 taps were flowing with various kinds of stout. Being a
huge fan of stout, this was like a beer mecca for me. There were so many
variations of stout, ranging from sweet (Milk Stout and Double Cream Stout) to
Bitter (Java Stout) to sour (Cherry Stout), one tasting even better than the
next.
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| Each glass is a different type of Stout! |
The food at the pub wasn’t so great, but I’ll give Bell’s the pass,
considering the stellar job they do with their main business line. If you are a
beer fan and ever find yourself passing through Kalamazoo, Bell’s is a must
stop. I also recommend finding a hotel nearby, so you can sample the whole line
properly J
