A boat cruise on beautiful Lake Superior, golf an excellent course, sample beers from 8 breweries and spend time with great friends. It was a wonderful trip!
John and Julie drove up from their home on Lake Arrowhead Golf Course. We drove to Green Bay on Hwy 29 before turning north on Hwy 41. Our first stop was at the Upper Hand Brewery in Escanaba, MI. A friendly couple with a nice dog were waiting with us when they opened their doors to let us sample their tasty brews. The Lemon beer was a hit with the girls. I love their fall Deer Camp Amber Lager, but it is not available yet. I found their summer Laughing Fish was excellent.
Siri took us on a surprisingly pleasant detour on Federal Forest Highway 13 to the AmericInn in Wetmore, MI. We checked into the hotel and drove just a few miles to board the Pictured Rocks Express in Munising, MI. The forecast called for overcast skies and rain, but the scattered rain showers never hit when we were outside. Pictured Rocks are beautiful! The way the wind and the waves have carved caves and tunnels into the rock is amazing. The colors from the iron, copper and other minerals are brilliant in the rock and in the water. Waterfalls and a cool old lighthouse. It was a great tour!
We were hungry after a long day in the car and the boat, we were thrilled with the sandwiches at the Driftwood Deli, conveniently located next to By George Brewing Listened to live music while we enjoyed some fresh beers with our dinner.
Next we walked a couple blocks to East Channel Brewing Company to sample their fine beers. We sat in the outdoor patio area and were amazed by the creative toppings on The Cooking Carberry’s Wood Fired Pizza! Peggy is a true pizza artist!
On Friday morning, we got up early to drive to Iron Mountain, MI to play golf at the beautiful Timberstone Golf course. The weather was perfect, warm, blue skies and a slight wind. Built on the Pine Mountain Ski Resort, the views from the top of the mountain are spectacular!
After golf, we checked into the AmericInn in Iron Mountain and relaxed in the pool and hot tub before enjoying a tremendous steak dinner and great service at Annie’s T & T Steakhouse, just across the Menominee River in Aurora WI.
After dinner, we went back across the Menominee River to 51st State Brewing in Kingsford, MI to enjoy some great beers and many laughs. I think forming the State of Superior is a great idea!
On Saturday morning, we slept in and had a big breakfast at Storheims before starting the Northern Wisconsin Brewery tour.
Our first stop was at Tribute Brewing Company in Eagle River, but we arrived before they opened at 1:00, so we went down the road to the Kickback Grille with a beautiful view of Duck Lake.
After a quick beer, we went back to Tribute and talked to Bill, the owner, about how their White Legs Jalapeno Wheat Ale received a GOLD MEDAL in the Chili Beer division at the 2018 Great American Beer Festival in Denver, Colorado! The gold medal came in the pepper division and the other competitors were from Texas, as expected. Nobody expected a little brewery in Northern Wisconsin to take home the top honors. Interesting to learn that the jalapeño was added at the end of the brewing process and tested daily until it reached the desired flavor. It uses the same base wheat ale as their popular Blueberry Train beer Linda is fond of. They use 100 pounds of jalapeño for the batch. Two people in gloves and respirators spend a full day cutting and de-seeding the jalapeños. The leave out most of the seeds. Occasionally they still get a hotter than normal batch. Some people love that and others not so much. It was a surprisingly drinkable beer with a very noticeable jalapeño smell and taste and only a small amount of heat and the consensus was that it would make an excellent chaser for a Bloody Mary.
Linda loves Tribute Blueberry Train Wheat Ale while I enjoy their 28 Lake Lager and Ghost Lights Amber Lager.
The next stop was just down Hwy 17 to the Rhinelander Brewing Company Linda and Julie enjoyed shopping downtown Rhinelander more than the beer!
As the rain started, we drove to Merrill to visit the very cool Sawmill Brewing Company built in a restored 1940’s DNR Headquarters. The Maple Pecan beer could be poured over ice cream! John’s shirt was a big hit!
Our last stop was at the Mosinee Brewing Company near our home. They did a great job remodeling a 100+ year old building downtown Mosinee. I really like their Flashover Red Irish Ale, dedicated to the firemen in the community. Linda likes their Lemonade Keg Stand Shandy/Radler.
Dinner across the street at Casa Mezcal and a short drive home ended a fun trip!
Steve Pelton 