Ypsilanti Summer Festival

After several years of meaning to attend on my part, and sudden interest on Brad's part due to his brewing hobby this year, we checked out the Ypsilanti Summer Festival yesterday afternoon in Riverside Park with Rick and Kristal.

Entrance to the FestivalGetting stamped with hopsCheck out all those people and tents!

It was unbelievable how many people came out for the event, and furthermore, unbelievable what a perfect day it was! People around Michigan have been complaining left and right that we haven't had much of a summer (it's been uncommonly rainy and cool this year). You won't hear a peep out of me though. I can't stand the sweltering Michigan humidity! So this summer has been great for me.

A lovely afternoon by the river

Anyway, we brought a blanket, two chairs, and our cheery faces to Beerfest, and we ended up having a really great time. We managed to try an amazing amount of local Michigan brews, and I think both Brad and Rick really ended up with some great recipe ideas for what to try and brew next. Our collective group favorite hands-down, was a tiramisu stout from the Grand Rapids Brewing Company. Each of it's flavors was so distinct, and it made for a pretty awesome drinking experience. I think it also helps to go to a beer tasting event with several types of beer drinkers. Rick really enjoys IPAs and ESB's, Brad loves the Belgians and the darker beers, and Kristal and I liked anything summery or fruity. This way, we all got to try eachother's picks, but enjoyed full glasses of things we knew were our forte's. The complete list of things we tried looked a little something like this:

• Belgian Apricot Ale - B.O.B.'s Brewery, Grand Rapids
• Boffo Brown Ale & Rod's Double IPA, Dark Horse Brewing Co., Marshall
• Belgian Amber & Hideout Honey Brown, Hideout Brewing Co., Grand Rapids
• Siamese Dream Double IPA, LS Foreign Extra Stout & Sweet Cherry Porter, Liberty Street Brewing Co., Plymouth
• 555 IPA, Maillot Jaue Farmhouse Ale & Red Canoe Irish Red, The Livery, Benton Harbor
• Peach Fuzz, Round Barn Brewery, Baroda
• Tiramisu Stout, Clockwork Orange Belgian Wheat, Brew Berry Ale & River City Red, Grand Rapids Brewing Co., Grand Rapids
• Northwestern Gold, Copper Canyon Brewery, Southfield
• Summer Brew, Motor City Brewing Works, Detroit
• Singapore IPA, Saugatuck Brewing Co., Douglas
• Treasure Chest ESB, Kiss My Scottish Arse Scotch Ale & Pickle Tink Strawberry Wheat, Schmohz Brewing Co., Grand Rapids
• Coal Stoker's Blackberry Fruit Beer, Mt. Pleasant Brewing Co., Mt. Pleasant
• The Poet Oatmeal Stout, New Holland Brewing Co., Holland
• Norm's Raggedy Ass IPA & Postal Belgian Strong Ale, Big Rock Chop & Brewhouse, Birmingham
• Cherry Festive Ale & Beehive Honey Blond, Right Brain Brewery, Traverse City
• Ruby Lager, Woodward Avenue Brewers, Ferndale
  

After all that drinking, we were a little hungry. The festival had a food tent, and despite the tempting looking ribs and corn on the cob that Blue Tractor was serving, we managed to resist paying festival prices. Instead, we headed back to Casa Zawacki and cooked up some ribs of our own! Thanks to grillmaster Rick, we were enjoying our dinner in about an hour, and it was so much better than anything we could have gotten at the park. We found a killer of a sale at the local Milan market too at $1.99/lb for ribs, so we couldn't have done it for any cheaper!!

Ribmaster RickRubbing on some BBQMen like to grill stuff

We all thought it made for a pretty great day, and decided to make an annual tradition of Beerfest followed by ribs. I can't wait until next year!
P.S. Next year, we decided we needed pretzel necklaces like these folks. What a great idea. If we're smart enough, we'll even bring em in bulk to sell. We'd make a boatload of money to pay for our rib dinner!