International Beverage Company

Many people in Michigan think of the summer as a time to enjoy the great lakes... water, sun and fun! What about enjoying the great smaller breweries that Michigan has to offer? When traveling through the miles of beaches that Michigan has to offer, just a few miles from shore are dozens of breweries and brew pubs! Josh Noel of Tribune Newspapers went on a 4 day drive around Lake Michigan, drinking and meeting people while stopping at different pubs and breweries. Saugatuck Brewing Co. which had tanks for people to brew their own. Brewery founder Barry Johnson said "It's a good time to be a craft-beer drinker," Johnson told us. "And it's a great time to be brewing in Michigan. Everyone's growing."
Further north you'll find North Peak Brew Pub outside of Traverse City and on the Old Mission Peninsula you'll find the North Peak Brewery in combination with Jolly Pumpkin. Here you can find a combination of great good as well as beer for all the family! When will your road trip begin and what breweries are you going to visit?

Want a chance for your recipe to show up in our food and beer pairing index? (which by the way is about to get a major makeover- stay tuned!). Well we'd like to see if you've got what it takes to make a 5 star beer based recipe.
That's right! Cooking with beer, and we're not just talking marinades anymore. The love for beer and food has now become the love of beer in food and we couldn't be happier about it! With the new cooking with beer trend on the rise, showing up on some of our favorite food blogger's websites like Smitten Kitchen and Food Network, we just couldn't wait to see what your ideas were for cooking with beer! 

So here's what those of you 21 and up should do: 

1. Perfect your favorite original beer based recipe using one of our brands (you can find them all here). Maybe a Kid Rock Badass burger? or Magic Hat Wacko Tea cakes? 
   
2. Post your recipe to our blog by July 22nd (next Friday) with your name, your food blog's web address (if you have one) and an email address. 
3. We'll taste test your recipes and pick a winner! (Winner will be announced August 1st). The winner's recipe will be posted on our blog and our pairing index with their name and a link to their blog attached! Not to mention it will be one of the first new recipes on our big new website (yes it is going to be awesome, thank you for asking).

If you need some baking hints check out this article in CraftBeer.com. Remember it has to be an original recipe!

St. Martin's Brune Belgian Beer won a World Beer Award in 2009 in Category 48: Belgian-Style Pale Strong Ale, in a pool of 24 other beers. 

Why did St. Martin's Brune win? 

Oh probably the fact that Brune is an ale that’s heavily caramelized and leaves a lingering sweetness. Or because this ale carries a pleasant taste of brown sugar and nuts and is perfect to drink with a great chocolate cake. The fact that its ABV is 8% doesn't hurt either. 

So when you want a world class Belgian ale, think of St. Martin's Brune and grab a glass.

Light and fragrant, Samuel Adams® East West Kölsch has a floral and herbal character that balances the refreshing German Kölsch style. A classic Kölsch is less bitter than a pilsner with a slightly fruity and sweet biscuit note.
Flavor: Slightly fruity, light biscuit notes, with lemon citrus from the Alsatian hops.
ABV: 5.01%
Pairs well with: Trout, cooked with lemon and herbs

Eric Asimov from The New York Times wrote a article as to why he thinks Kolsch is a great summer beer and we have to agree with him!

Homebrewers might soon be able to serve their beer in licensed Michigan brewpubs and restaurants for competitions and club meetings! House Bill 4061 was passed by the State house and now moves on to the state senate. "The brewing industry is thriving in Michigan and
 that's at least partially the result of a strong homebrewing community that both supports and inspires it." says Chris Elston who is the President of Kalamazoo Libation Organization of Brewers.

Beer Culture the movie trailer was just released and it looks like it's going to be a great movie! It will focus on all things Colorado, including Tommyknocker!

Many people like to pair food with beer, but with salad  is often unheard of. With there being so many flavors in salads, its' normally hard to pair them with beer. Karen Fernau was asked to do a column on salads and beer pairing she took the challenge and went with it. One of her suggestions is for a Mango and Cucumber Salad with Radish and Mint to be paired with Blue Moon. The complex flavors of the salad pair well with the orange and coriander of the Blue Moon. Try it out, and let us know what you think!

Recycle week begins today and Recycle Now has released this short animated video of what bottles go through when they are recycled! Take a look and learn something! As always, remember to recycle not only this week, but every week!

Roadtripsforbeer.com has come out with a list of the Top 10 Summer Beer Festivals in 2011! With summer now here, the seasons for beer festivals is in full swing. Among the list of the top 10 is the 14th Annual Summer Beer Festival in Ypsilanti, MI! The beer festival hosted by Michigan Brewers Guild is from Friday, July 22nd until Saturday July 23rd. This festival is said to showcase Michigan's love for beer with more than 300 different beers from over 50 different Michigan breweries! Get your tickets NOW because they went on sale in May! Cheers!

So many new breweries are popping up in Michigan, so what is your favorite one to visit right now? North Peak in Traverse City, Dragonmead and Kuhnhenn both in Warren or Michigan Brewing in Webberville and soon to be Trenton? All are great for a place to enjoy a nice cold craft beer!