The Livery

Leaving New Glarus was hard. It was a great day, but it went so fast. The whole trip seemed to fly by and part of me really missed the excitement and feeling of having a lot of fun ahead that characterized the first couple days of the trip. However, it was time to head home. We were all pretty worn by this time, and I was starting to forget what it was like to be home relaxing with my wife and not rushing here and there. The rest of the dudes were in the same camp, I sensed, and so it was with a little bit of melancholy that we left Wisconsin, but also a feeling that we’d all been a part of something truly epic, that we’d never forget, and probably never repeat.

Not that we were heading straight home or anything! After some discussion about travel options and arrival times over the next two days, we decided that that evening we’d check out another of Michigan’s note-worthy breweries, The Livery in Benton Harbor, MI.

The Livery had been touted to Commish by the owner of Brewery Vivant as one of the best kept secrets of Michigan craft brewing. And the promise of another potentially magical sour beer was all we needed to set our sites on Benton Harbor.

The Livery has a lot to choose from

When we arrived in Benton Harbor, I immediately felt I had made a GPS error. I was playing navigator to Hatchy in the leading car at the time, and what we were seeing out our windows did not look like a city that would boast a beer location of the kind we were expecting. Not to be judgmental really, as I’ve had amazing beers in some of the strangest locations, but let’s just say it wasn’t looking promising. I don’t know much about the economics or politics of Benton Harbor, (or I didn’t before I just Googled it) but it’s one of the most depressed US cities I’ve seen. If there are few things uglier than a suburban mega-mall complex, uglier still is a mostly abandoned one. Major street after major street had it’s traffic lights set to blink and there were skeletons of past prosperity everywhere. Lit buildings were few and far between and most looked to have long since been vacated. Most eerily, what you didn’t see anywhere was people.

I thought for sure I had made a mistake at this point, as I couldn’t see how a place with no people could sustain a brewpub (I guess there’s hope for us all), but it was right about then that I saw the inviting glow of what was unmistakably a brew-pub. Somewhere between baffled and slightly apprehensive, I was now definitely in the mood for a drink.

The Livery is in the basement of a larger building and has a definite VFW hall or church basement vibe. A small bar sits in the closest corner to the stairs, another across the way appears to be a food service counter, and the rest of the room was strewn with homey looking laminated tables. It’s not much on atmosphere, but I have to say the vibe from the door was a good one.

While we were somewhat disappointed that there was no magical sour to be found on the Livery’s beer list, it was a pretty large one for such a small place and interestingly, also boasted wine and cider. We all ordered different things so there was a bunch of stuff to try. I started out big with Umami, their wheat wine. Wheat wine is a style I happen to really like and this was a great example. The complexity in this beer was just amazing, full of bright citrusy fruit flavors, predominately blood orange, pleasant viscous wheatiness, and perfect restraint shown in hop selection and bitterness level. This beer was surprisingly smooth, with no booziness. Amazing for a 12-and-change percent beer. For the style, nearly perfect, if not the best example I’ve had. Next, I went for the other big beer of the list, the estimable, Taxman Imperial Stout. This was another completely amazing beer. A really nice coffee flavor was dominant, backed by toffee and almond flavors, and finishing with bourbon-y vanilla. Exceptional. Every sip I took of this seemed to reveal something more. This was also, not-boozy in the least, which is a feat at nearly 13%.

This stuff was black as sin. Tar covered sin.

I was pretty satisfied by this point. Nothing like capping a week of great beer with yet another incredible unsung local hero of the Michigan brewing scene. Well, that was my point of view anyway, but it’s not without controversy. While Al, Hatchy and I had opted for the big beers, Cake and Commish went for an English IPA and an ESB, respectively, and were not very happy. And I must say, as much as my memory of this place is still great, these two were not great examples of their intended styles. Would I call them out and out bad? No, but mind you, I’d been alternating between two huge, palette-wrecking beers, so it’s not easy to get your head wrapped around something less that half of the percentage of what you last had.

The disparity between the quality of the big beers and the average ones, caused a bit of a rift in the group, with Hatchy and I still firmly  in the “for” column, Commish and Cake in the “against” column, and Al somewhere in between. Honestly, I wish we could go there again: A) When we aren’t all tired from a long trip and B) When we haven’t just come from a big impressive beer experience at one of the nation’s most impressive, as I think they could be distinct factors in the fragmentation of the group’s assessment. Arriving hungry as hell to a bar at 10pm that has stopped serving food doesn’t help either. My point is, I don’t know if any of us would say we really could give a fair assessment at that point and I’d love to go back when we could spend more time, though I’d still recommend this place to anyone in the area.

Being a bit over the beer, Commish went for Black Lily, one of the Livery’s house-made ciders. Sampling some just made me more impressed by this place. This was made with melrose and fuji apples and local honey. It’s then aged another 8 months with black and red raspberries. The flavor was like nothing I’ve ever had, it was like drinking beer, wine, and cider all at once in perfect harmony. The blackberries really come through, but this is not too sweet and has a very complex Shiraz-like finish. Fantastic.

The Livery's Mug Club list. Something I wish there was more of in Philly.

For me, the Livery was a bit of an inspirational place. In an area, that hardly looks like it’s on an upturn, one wouldn’t think you’d find a comfortable spot for great local beer, let alone one hopping with such a friendly family of locals. I guess though, that if you do something well, and do it consistently, success doesn’t come too far after. For what it’s worth I’d like to see The Livery have much more of it.

The remainder of our trip home was pretty much just a long drive. Though having plenty of time to trade stories with good friends, listen to favorite old records, and watch some beautiful countryside fly by made it go a lot quicker than expected. I do, however, have to shout out two great, totally random roadside gems we encountered on our way home.

One of the only bad things about road tripping is that in general, it can be really hit or miss food-wise. You try to prepare in advance, you spend hours in the car, draining your phone battery, looking for decent places, and you still wind up with your occasional stinker. My expectations for food on the way home were as low as it gets. When the main goal is just getting through it, you know you have to take what you can get.

I was happy then when we rolled up to Timbuktoo’s in Fremont, Indiana after a lot of car-time, knowing that lunch was not only on it’s way, and that it was also not fast food. As far as I was concerned, everything else was icing. Fortunately for us, there was a lot of icing. Timbuktoo’s was great. It’s a comfortable place, tucked away from the main road, and it feels from the door that you are going to get a decent meal. The servers (one or both may have been owners) were very nice and accommodating and the food was excellent. The style is sort of a hodgepodge of ethnically tinged continental food and very well done. I went simple with just a chicken-salad sandwich and even that was done-up very nicely, and may be one of the better ones that I’ve had. Another highlight was a fish Reuben that Hatchy had which looked and smelled fantastic and came accompanied by some awesome round-cut sweet-potato fries with a spicy dipping sauce. If you are ever in the Fremont-Angola area and happen to be hungry, this is your ticket.

The other complete surprise for us was the Du Bois Diner, in Du Bois, PA. Diners on the whole tend to be miss more than hit. In fact, it’s rare these days I bother going to even the nicer looking of them. Again, as we rolled up, I was just happy it wasn’t a Burger King. While Du Bois has a rather bland exterior, the interior is an exact recreation of a classic 50′s diner. Every single detail, from the music to the seat cushions is spot on, and the place is pristinely clean and well maintained. (a point I mention only, because this simple thing is missed by so many)

I have a policy of never ordering “healthy” food at diners, it’s a waste of your time and theirs. They invariably suck at it and, speaking for myself, I tend to make up for my dissatisfaction by ordering a side of fries or something, thus negating whatever personal good deed I thought I was doing. In this spirit, I opted for one of my diner favorites, the open-faced turkey sandwich. For me, this is the litmus test: a classic that is either wrong or right. This was definitely right. The turkey was real carved turkey, fresh and perfectly done (not in the least dry, which is amazing), on thick Texas toast with a side of real deal mashed potatoes. Everything was really the picture of perfection. I don’t think I have thoroughly enjoyed a meal at a diner like this in years. There was full consensus on this as well. Even Hatchy, who ordered something from the relatively healthy side (note: it actually does happen sometimes) was delighted to find it in absolutely top form. Bravo! Just to top it all off, there was even some classic cars outside to complete the experience. Highly recommended!

The rest of the way home was like any other end to a long trip. It seemed to take forever and I feel like I scarcely even remember it. I was probably to busy running my mind through the highlight reel of the trip, savoring every last bit before we were finally at an end.

I still can’t really believe we actually went along with this crazy idea and that we actually pulled it off. I think it’s a testament to the quality (and love of beer!) of the people involved. Thanks to all the Beercation crew, their respective female companions, and all the friends that met with us on the road (including the ones we didn’t know before). You all made it an epic and amazing trip!

Can’t wait for the next one.