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Author Topic: Great way to spend a lazy Sunday in Michigan - hit up Redwood Lodge near Flint!  (Read 2686 times)

Offline juddz

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Michigan is a great place to live... but sometimes long winters cause cabin fever. So, the wife and I have a hobby of setting out to try a new brewery on days that feel especially restless, and we don't want to be cooped up inside! It's a fun hobby, that in addition to brewing beer, makes for memorable winter weekends in spite of the dreary weather. We've got a list of 28 breweries that we've visited to date, with more planned. Anyhow, we went to Redwood Lodge today. In case you haven't heard of them, they've got quite a few GABF medals under their belt. Their beers were new to me, so I ordered seven samples. Two that really stood out were their cask conditioned old ale, and their porter. The old ale was notable in that the wood tones did not overpower the malt, fruit, and honey tastes also present. And, the porter was clean and really tasted like the dark roasted malt that went into it. (Obvious sounding, but how many porters have you had that really tasted more like dark extract?) For those in Michigan, this place was definitely worth the drive. Great food and a warm "up north" hunting lodge feel, too. Next up, we head to Grand Rapids in a couple of weeks to try out Founders, Hopcat, the BOB, and other local breweries. I'll post with any impressions that I'm left with. Until then, I've got a growler of the Redwood porter in the fridge, right next to the last Dogfish Head Raison D'Etre and three varieties of my own home brew.

Offline gail

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Great way to spend these long, dreary winter days!  We're lucky that we've got something like 70+ breweries and brewpubs to which we can travel during this long winter.  Michigan has some real gems in the craft beer world; Redwood is right up there!  Enjoy your growler.
Gail

Offline brewmichigan

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Yeah, I second that. I live in Flint and visit Redwood every second monday of the month for their beer tastings. It's a well organized event with a great speaker in Rex Halfpenny (Michigan beer guide editor). Last tasting they busted out a Barleywine they made back in 2005. WOW! What a great beer.

Also, try their cream stout. It's won more medals than any other beer they make and it's a classic example of the style.
Mike --- Flint, Michigan

Offline juddz

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I'll definitely have to try that cream stout; great suggestion!

"Beer Tasting with Rex" is a great event. He does them down in the Detroit area, too, at John Cowley & Sons in Farmington Hills. Haven't been to one for a while, but it's a really enjoyable way to spend the evening learning about the history (and range) of a particular beer style that corresponds to the season. It's fun, interesting, and the way Rex Halfpenny talks about beer reminds me of many of the better professors I had in college. The only downside is that the room gets louder by sample four or so, and it's hard to hear what the man is saying!

In any case, it's definitely worth the twenty bucks for anyone out in Michigan who hasn't been before. You usually get to try a half dozen samples, and your admission usually includes appetizers and a pint of your choice.