Day One Assessment: Wolverine State Brewing Company

To begin, it simply cannot be understated how wonderful it was to see how many people came together to celebrate day one of the Octave of Breweries, a tribute to the fellowship and friendship elicited by the faith and joy we share in our resurrected Lord.

As for a review of Wolverine State Brewing Company, let us begin with a disclaimer from Neil, my co-captain in this Octave Of journey:

Taking beer from where it belongs as a thirst quencher, social stimulant, or end of the work day reward and making it the subject of an eight day review opens this week to becoming the tour of dork-dom. Men should drink beer, they should not be interested in it. Everyone convinces themselves and everyone around them that they are busy- it helps us legitimize our existence to our spouses, family, and friends. But what do we fill that time with? Connoisseur-ship - Concerning ourselves with poo we don’t need to know or be involved in. Men especially should have a disinterested knowledge of clothing, food, health, fashion.. and beer - So our one rule to beer reviews is that you can not borrow any taste description you have ever heard before. Nothing from the beer-snob cannon. Let it speak for itself.

With that in mind, let us begin.

First, it seemed to be a particularly slow evening for business since there were so few patrons there when we arrived but it made it a welcome environment for conversation for the group of people who were able to join us. Upon arrival, there was a distinct odor of stagnant beer deeply embedded into every inch of the facility - and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It certainly let you know you were in a place singularly devoted to the art of brewing of beer.

I selected 6 options from the lager list to create a representative beer sampler. I was most impressed by the Gulo Gulo, a pleasant and refreshing India Pale Lager, and the Faustinian Stout (what they called a Baltic Porter), a typical porter that one might pair with a thick steak. On the bottom end of the scale were the Breadwinner (a heavily malted lager), which I can only describe as a mixture of silage (look it up) and livestock, and Hop Stadt (an “award winning” amber), which tasted as though they attempted to scrub the aforementioned beer smell off the floor and walls and then squeezed the contents of that scrub rag into my glass - I was not aware there was such an award but it certainly earned it.

Tastes do vary by individual so here are some notes from other Octavites:

     Joe on the Gulo Gulo (the crowd favorite) - “The taste of forgotten falls, and expected      summers.” 

     Neil on the Barista - “Tastes like Nathan Mikkelson.”

     Unknown on Hop Stadt - “Like my thumb after I’m done sucking it.”

     Thad on High ‘n Dry - “It reminds me of hearing a song that you knew ten years ago, 

     but didn’t particularly like; a little boring, but comforting.”

     Adam on Hop Stadt - “...Good.”

     Kula on Basement Fire - “Tastes like manliness roasting on an open smoldy fire with
     mucus.” (...)

Overall, Wolverine State was a comfortable and relaxing place to gather with friends, as long as those friends have eaten before they arrive since Wolverine has no food whatsoever. They also had free-to-play dart boards and a Foosball table so you could impress your friends with your extraordinary barroom gaming skills.

Finally, I thought I’d leave you with this reflection from a sermon by Msgr. Ronald Knox on “The Risen Christ” that reminds us of the constant state of renewal we experience as we meditate on our Lord’s Resurrection.

“When Easter comes, the Church delights to remind herself of that newness which is the risen Christ. On Holy Saturday morning, a new spark must be struck from the flint, to light a new set of candles and lamps; new holy water must be blessed, and a new font: fresh cloths are spread on the altars, and the tabernacle itself, on Easter morning, is full of freshly consecrated Hosts. We are beginning all over again, making all things new. And we have a right to do so, for in the order of grace there is perpetual novelty. In the order of nature, there is perpetual affectation of novelty, which never comes to anything; there is nothing new, the wise man reminds us, under the sun, however much, at the moment, things look different. Whereas in the order of grace there is no change apparent, but in truth it is a perpetual spring, inexhaustible in its fecundity.

…There are so many occasions in life, aren’t there, when we say to ourselves, “Now I shall be able to make a new start”? We leave school; of course, all our troubles will disappear now. We go into business; now the world shall see what we are made of. We get married; that, evidently, is going to be the turning-point of our lives. We rise to a position of responsibility; now, our chance has come. We grow rich, and have more opportunities of leisure; at last our true nature will have the opportunity to develop. We retire from active work; now, with old age to mellow us, we can live as we would wish to die. Yes, but tell me, is there really all that difference between one stage and the next? But in the life of grace, ah, if we could only see it, there is a perpetual burgeoning of new life, not merely from one Easter to another, from one retreat to another, but with every worthy reception of the sacraments. Perpetual spring, perpetual renovation of our natures, if we could only catch the hour of grace, utilize it, make it our own. Whatever you are, and at whatever time of life you are, that possibility of spiritual renewal is with you no less surely than if you were a boy at school again, or just leaving school to make your way in the world. Christ is risen; those tidings can neither lose their force with age, nor be staled by repetition; Christ is risen, and life, for the Christian, is always new.”