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.