Following the closing of our local tavern, ex-tavern owner John Karwoski, long-time friend of the show and now retired, is making up for all those long hours behind the bar, and visiting many of our local area breweries as he travels around Illinois and the Midwest area. Happily, we are the benefactors of those travel as he returns with beer samples for us to try.

In this episode, we are tasting offerings from 3 breweries that are part of SW Michigan’s Makers Trail, and 2 offerings from each, making out SW six-pack.  Check out the Makers Trail app available for both iPhone and Android.

First up is North Pier Brewing, located in Benton Harbor, and we have 2 brews with mythical connections, one of which we question as to the origin …
The Conjurer, Belgian Golden Strong, 8.7% ABV
Old Schuck, London Porter, 5.0% ABV

Next, we stay in Benton Harbor and head to The Livery, in the center of the downtown art area, and we have a couple of ‘prowlers’ containing a BBA brew, and we learn what a ‘maillot’ is, but question if it really is a biere de garde …
Bourbon Barrel-aged Wee Heavy, Scotch Ale, 12% ABV
Maillot Rouge, Sour/Wild Biere de Garde, 8.5% ABV

Our final stop is in St. Joseph, and the Silver Harbor Brewing Co. ,ad we contrast another sour ale, this time aged in red wine barrels, and we finish up with another big beer, barrel-aged …
Wot ‘n’ Tarnation, Sour Ale w/ raspberries & blueberries aged in a red wine barrel, 5% ABV
Barrel-aged Bride Order Male, Russian Imperial Stout, 11.8% ABV

Play the show from our player below, or from the Blubrry player…