Fort Street Brewery Beer Fantasy Camp XXIII

Fort Street Brewery

Last Sunday, January 11, I had the distinct pleasure of attending the 23rd Beer Fantasy Camp at the Fort Street Brewery in Lincoln Park. The brewery is located at 1660 Fort Street, two blocks north of Southfield Road.

Once we were comfortably seated among the brew tanks (where better to enjoy the brews then where they are created?) we began with Fort Street’s own Buckwheat Resolution ale. I can’t describe this excellent ale better than FSB does in their own words:

An ale made with toasted buckwheat and buckwheat honey. Light and uniquely refreshing with a hint of smokiness from the buckwheat.

Of the several beers we sampled that evening this was my favorite.

Speaking of the several beers available that evening. Throughout the dinner we sampled the following:

• Otter Creek Raspberry Brown Winter Ale (Otter Creek Brewing)
• Buckeye Brewing Ho Ho Ho (Buckeye Brewing Company)
• Left Hand Brewing Snowbound (Left Hand Brewing Company)
• Heavy Seas Winter Storm (Clipper City Brewing Company)
• Tommyknocker Cocoa Porter (Tommyknocker Brewery)

Each of these was a rich, winter ale which made for a heady evening’s drinking.

We also ate very well. Here is the bill of fare for the evening’s festivities:

• Gingered Parsnip and Orange Soup  –  Made with parsnips, carrots, potatoes, fresh ginger, orange zest, and cream
• Pot Roast with Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Cranberry Pecan Dressing  –  Beef rump roast marinated and cooked in apple juice, with a blend of herbs and spices
• Vanilla Spice Cheese Cake  –  Baked from scratch with real vanilla, allspice, and cinnamon

I would like to offer my thanks to Doug and Tracy for hosting the event and for the gift of the logo beer glass.  I’ve put it to good use.

Fort Street Brewery website

Beer Fantasy Camp Attendees

Hockey Week

It’s been hockey week in my household. Last Friday, we made the trip up to East Lansing to see my alma mater, Michigan State, play, and eventually best, the Nanooks of the University of Alaska-Fairbanks 2-1. Less than two years out from their national championship, the Spartans are rebuilding and are a long way from being a good, college hockey team. Still, they defeated a better team and we hope for improvement during the rest of the season.

Last night we were off to the Motor City to see the defending National Hockey League champion Red Wings play the Columbus Blue Jackets. One highlight of the evening was seeing Gordie Howe conducting a book signing on the concourse. The Red Wings bested Columbus 3-0 in Chris Chelios’ 880th victorious game in the NHL.

Probably my hockey viewing will all be on the TV from here on out but it was good getting out and supporting my teams. Also, we contributed some money to the Detroit economy, which can sorely use it.

Water Wars

Susan J. Demas sums it up perfectly in her recent blog post on MLive.com about the increasing demands for water and the likely regional disputes over it. Here is an excerpt from her post:

Many Southern and Western members of Congress just turned their backs on the Midwest in their gleeful rejection of the Big Three auto loan. Well, boys and girls, we have what you need. And when your water supply runs out in the next decade or two, don’t come crying to us. We might have been shortsighted and put all our eggs in the automotive industry. But at least we weren’t stupid enough to live in places we couldn’t survive.

In my lifetime there have been repeated proposals to divert Lake Michigan water southwest to serve the desert cities. There will be more as they become more populated and politically influential. That is why the recently signed Great Lakes Compact is so important to the future of the Great Lake states and Ontario and Quebec.