My wife and I recently celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary with a trip to my family's Northern Michigan retreat. The trip takes about six hours, as we wind our way up the western coast of Michigan, sometimes referred to as the the Third Coast. Along this coast are a few microbreweries and brewpubs. One of the standouts is New Holland Brewing Co., in Holland, Mich., which just happens to be about half way between Chicago and my family's cottage. While most people might celebrate their wedding anniversary with champagne or sparkling wine, my wife and I chose to celebrate the occasion with hoppy beer. While planning our trip to Michigan, I found out that the folks at New Holland Brewing Co. had their own celebration planned, called Mad Hatter Weekend (and Disco Party.) There wasn't much of a disco party going on when we stopped in on Saturday afternoon (I guess that would come later), but there was plenty of Mad Hatter in a few different incarnations. Seeing that we had three hours left in our roadtrip, we decided to pick only one of the four versions of Mad Hatter to sample. Among Mad Hatter, Imperial Hatter, Cask Hatter and Black Hatter, we picked the cask version and we weren't disappointed.
The cask version of this already tasty brew seemed even hoppier than normal. I wasn't sure if it had been "Hatterized" or filtered through a column of hops sitting on the counter. I didn't think so, and one has to wonder what an already hoppy beer filtered through hops would taste like. I wanted to stick arouind to find out, but I also wanted to get up to my family's cottage without falling alseep. We also had more beer to sample down the street.
Down the street (Eighth Street in Holland) was Butch's Dry Dock, a place I found out about searching the internet on where to get brews from Short's Brewing Co., located much further north in Bellaire, Mich. I was delighted to find out that Short's Nicie Spicie was on tap at Butch's. I really enjoyed this brew years ago at the 2003 Real Ale Fest in Chicago. For those who haven't tried Nicie Spicie, it's a light wheat ale with a pleasant, yet striking black pepper spiciness in the finish, balanced by sweet coriander and orange peel along with the malts. Maybe it's because I like to eat hot chiles, but a little bit of black pepper heat in the finish of this beer is something I could really get addicted to, not to mention the intriguing aroma of black pepper filling the nostrils. I enjoyed the pint of Nicie Spicie with a smoked turkey sandwich with dill havarti, lettuce, tomato and raspberry viniagrette on a croissant -- a very tasty combination. I really liked Butch's concept; a New York-style deli, with a bar in the back, and white-tablecloth dining room up in front, combined with a fantastic take-out selection of wines and cold microbrewed beers.
Bars and Pubs | Brewpubs
| Breweries | Belgian
Beer Send comments and suggestions to: marc@marcobrau.com
me want to linger for another pint.
bar and in the middle of the room, instead of hidden out of the way.
The tap list at New Holland Brewing Co., on the afternoon of
Saturday, June 11. Too much to handle!
What: New Holland Brewing Co.
Where: 66 E 8th St
Holland, Michigan, 49423-3504
ph. (616) 355-6422
When: Monday - Thursday
11AM to Midnight; Friday & Saturday, 11AM to 1AM
Why you should go: A brewpub with a relaxed atmosphere offering a wide selection of beers and distilled spirits.
What: Butch's Dry Dock
Where: 44 E 8th St
Holland, Michigan, 49423-3504
ph. (616) 355-6422
When: Deli open 10AM to 4PM Monday through Saturday. Dining Room open 5 to 10PM Monday through Thursday and 5 to 11PM Friday and Saturday.
Why you should go: A deli by day, white-tablecloth gourmet dining by night and more than 190 beers in a large cooler. Why not?!
Homebrew 101 | Suds
Stories | Tasting Room | What's New