Tastemakers: Crystal Mountain Michigan Beer & Brats Festival/ Keweenaw Brewing Company Lift Bridge Brown Ale

May 17, 2009

Crystal Mountain Michigan Beer & Brat Festival
5/18/09
Now in its fourth year, the Crystal Mountain Michigan Beer & Brat Festival (this Saturday) has become the festival Northern Michigan has been longing for to celebrate the craftbrew industry in the state. Two major festivals take place downstate; in August near Ann Arbor, and in February in Grand Rapids. While the 50-plus craftbrews from microbreweries around Michigan might be the attraction, it is the collection of brats that sets Crystal Mountain’s festival apart from the others.
Beer is very versatile when it comes to pairing with food, and in some cases lends itself better than wine; but the ultimate beer pairing is with a good bratwurst. The team at Crystal Mountain went out into their backyard to find some of the region’s best brat makers. In all, there will be 16 different homemade brats from five meat markets.
Crystal has created a sample size program this year. Participants may still enjoy full size brats, but if you want to enjoy three or four different types they will slice them up and place them on your bun. With 16 types ranging from cherry pecan, smoked Cajun, to salsa, jalapeno and potato going the sampler route (they have this same program with the beer) it’s is the way to go.
Honor Family Market, with their famous Roadhouse Salsa Brat, will be joined by Maxbauer Market from Traverse City, Pleva’s Meats from Cedar, the Dublin General Store and Paradise Meats of Kingsley.
The Michigan Beer & Brat Festival takes place Saturday May 23 from 4 to 8 p.m. on the lawn at the base of the ski hills. The OuterVibe will perform classic rock hits and several brewery experts will be on hand to answer questions. For those wanting to make a weekend out of it, Crystal is offering several packages that include golf and spa packages. On Saturday their Golf Practice Center will offer free demos. For additional information: crystalmountain.com or call 800-968-7686. --Rick Coates

Keweenaw Brewing
Company Lift Bridge Brown Ale

This weekend at the Michigan Beer & Brat Festival, hosted by Crystal Mountain, the Keweenaw Brewing Company will venture down from the Upper Peninsula with their beer in cans. Hold it -- microbrewed beer in a can beer? Isn’t that a major faux pas in the craftbrew industry? After all we have been told beer tastes better from a bottle.
Actually, while Keewanaw is the only Michigan brewery “canning” beer, it is a trend sweeping across the industry. The reason? It is all about going green. Aluminum cans are 100 percent recyclable into new cans while bottles are not.
Another myth is that can beer has that “tin taste” to it, but actually cans have a polymer liner and the taste is not impacted at all. The other plus to cans are they cool quicker and stay colder longer than bottles. So expect this trend to continue with more breweries “going green” and converting to cans.
The Lift Bridge Brown Ale is a tribute to the widest and heaviest double-decked lift bridge in the world, the Portage Lake Lift Bridge that connects the cities of Houghton and Hancock in Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula. This brew has some chocolate and caramel notes and for those that are fans of less hoppy brews this one is for you. This weekend pair with the cherry pecan brat or the smoked brat at the Beer & Brat festival.
For additional details on the Keweenaw Brewing Company check out keweenawbrewing.com. -- Rick Coates