My Education In Ale

Well, my education in ale at the Michigan Beer Festival on Friday was successful of a sort. I learned that once you turn 50, your body doesn't appreciate the kind of gastronomic experimentation that comes with sampling various microbrews.

Wife Wendy fared fine, since she drinks the locally brewed Frog Island beer and has developed a taste for hops. (She was disappointed that Frog Island was a no-show this year). And the atmosphere was festive with a band that sounded like Santana and free goodies being given out. So it was fun, but I have to say that partly because Wendy says I will lose my blogging privileges if I don't.

There was some serious beer tasting going on there. You could tell it from the t-shirts worn. As in, "Beer, it's not just for breakfast anymore." And, "Beer, it's what's for dinner."

But myself? I did feel a little sickly after sampling beer after beer that when poured look like yesterday's coffee (never mind how I felt the morning after). Now I wanted to steer clear of the dark beer since I've never appreciated the popular European variety of ale. So I knew to back off from bock and stay away from stouts. But it seemed that no matter what I picked off a brewer's menu, it was darker than vanilla.

Scottish Ale, IPA (which stands for India Pale Ale but my sample looked like India ink), WIT, Porter, etc. I even tried a specialty brew with the odd-sounding name Dragon's Milk since I figured anything with "milk" on the label had to be bland enough for baby. But now I know why dragons breathe fire. It's in the beer they drink.

There was one dark microbrew that wasn't too bad. Called Kentucky Breakfast, it included chocolate and coffee in the recipe. Then it was further flavored by being aged in casks that originally held Jim Beam bourbon whiskey. It did taste like something you could sip while you waited for your ham and eggs to be served.

Here's from a review of this microbrew I found on-line . . . "Deepest ebon hue, an impenetrable blackness, above which nestles a modest ring of earthy brown . . . Aroma is chocolate first, followed by coffee, then molasses, brown sugar, and licorice . . . Taste: Full and thick as it boards the mouth, slipping rich, deliciousness everywhere... Further in, I can taste the charcoal, even."

Hmmmmm, I thought I recognized the charcoal flavor in the Dragon's Milk. That would make more sense.