This weekend we did the Kalamazoo area, as we hadn’t been there yet.  We started in Lawton and then worked our way back to Kalamazoo.

The Old Hat was established in Oct. 19, 1998.  According to Susie (who is a partner/owner with Tom the brewmaster), it was formerly owned by Bell’s brewery – Tom brewed for Bell’s at that time.  The décor includes old hats above the bar area - very cool, and they also have an outdoor patio area.  Dollar bills were stuck all over the ceiling.

Susie also likes to travel to different breweries and it was great to talk to someone who can totally relate to what we are doing (she’s also a Porter fan).  The Old Hat also produces it’s own rootbeer and ginger ale, and even some wine - matter of fact they are waiting on a blueberry wine to be ready for Christmas.  That sounded great to Cheryl.

In the sampler we ordered:  Light Gold, Kolsch, Der Fehler Rye Pils (a mistake – as they were trying to make something else), Red Lager, Alt, and Stubbins Stout.  We did not try the Hefe Weizen or the Pumpkin Ale.  The favorite was The Stubbins Stout, which we got a growler of, and in a close second we really liked the Red Lager.  The Kolsch was the only one we rated a 3 as we are not into a hoppy brew.  Overall these brews we rated 4.5.

Ratings based on our personal preferences - yours may vary.

To eat we ordered Arti’s Ale Dip, an artichoke dip made with their brew.  This was awesome.  Other items of interest on the menu were:  Stout Burger – topped with portabella, sauted in their stout and red wine with provolone, smoked whitefish with crackers, and flatbread pizza.

We are looking forward to going back in April when they will have an annual Three Stooges party.  Cheryl, who is a true knucklehead, has a very large Stooges collection and would really like to be there for this.

Atmosphere:  5 stars

The second stop we made was in Kalamazoo at Bilbo’s Pizza in a pan.  This is located in a strip mall, so, we thought that it would be very small inside, but the bar area was located downstairs.  The décor was old woodwork and very cozy.  They have been in business for 20 years and the brewery has been there about 10 years.

Darcey served us and in our sampler we had:  Wizzard Wheat, Dragon Red, Duff, Sledgehammer Dark Ale and Amber Ale.  We liked the Amber Ale the best and got a growler of that.  Overall we rated these brews a 3.

Ratings based on our personal preferences - yours may vary.

Next stop in Kalamazoo was here, this place was very busy and people were waiting in line to be seated.  We were lucky to get two stools at the bar.  The décor inside was very nice and above the bar area is a lot of growlers from all around and we enjoyed looking at them and seeing how many we already had.

We then sampled some of the brew and they consisted of:  Haymarket Light, Opie IPA, Midnight Stout, Sunset Red and Jack O Lantern Pumpkin Stout (which is Pumpkin Ale and Midnight Stout mixed.  Overall these brews were not real good, but we did like the Jack O Lantern Pumpkin Stout and got a growler of that.

Ratings based on our personal preferences - yours may vary.

We didn’t eat here either, but there are a lot of items of interest on the menu:  Potato encrusted walleye, sunset red bean dip, duck salad, frog legs, alligator gumbo, and ostrich burger.

Since it was so busy here we didn’t really get to chat with anyone on the brews or how long they have been there.

This stop was actually funny.  We would have never known this place was even open for business.  Take a look at the pictures.  We saw a Bell’s sign but it looked abandoned to us with the dirt parking lot and all. We drove around the block, which goes to the back of the building and watched someone go in the rear door and assumed this was the entrance (like a secret club).  The inside was pretty nice.  It was very surprising when you haven’t been here before.

We walked out of Bell’s to our car and noticed across the street was Kraftbrau.  This was great to be so close we walked over in the rain. Michigan Ave. is a very busy one way and difficult to cross.   We thought this building looked very weathered which gave it some character.  The inside was smaller than we thought it would be and there weren’t any chairs. We were happy they had growlers.

Ratings are based on our personal preferences - yours may vary.

  Home  

  Sanford Lake & Mountain Town (June, 2001)  

  Big Buck & Alcatraz (Aug, 2001)  

  Jamesport, Lighthouse, Mackinaw, Northpeak, Brewzone, Boyne River (Sep, 2001)  

  Wiltse's (Nov, 2001) & Tawas Point (May, 2004)  

  King, Big Rock, & WAB (July, 2001)  

  Hereford and Hops (starting Dec, 2001, several trips)  

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  Jamesport, Salmon fishing (Aug 29, 2004)  

  Rochester, Big Rock, King, Bo's, WAB, Bastone, Copper (Sep 11, 2004)  

  Black Forest, Frankenmuth (Oct 1, 2004)  

  Old Hat, Bilbos, Olde Peninsula, Bells, Kraftbrau (Oct 8, 2004)  

  Arcadia, Dark Horse, Harpers (Oct 9, 2004)  

  Midland St. Ale Tour, Bay City, 2004  

  Old Boys, New Holland, Via Maria, Grand Rapids Brewing (Nov 12, 2004)  

  The B.O.B., Founders (Nov 13, 2004)  

  Thunder Bay, Kings, Bo's, CJ's (Feb 5, 2005)  

  Great Baraboo, Dragonmead, Belle River (Feb 26, 2005)  

  Boyne River, Shorts (Apr 30, 2005)  

  2nd U.P. Trip - Part 1, Tahquamenon, Lake Superior, Vierling, Jasper (Aug 24,25, 2005)  

  2nd U.P. Trip - Part 2, Red Jacket, Keweenaw, Library, Hereford & Hops (Aug 26,27, 2005)  

  Mountain Town, Sanford - 2nd Trip (Sept 10, 2005)  

  Michigan Brewing, Jolly Pumpkin, Redwood Lodge, (Sept 24, 2005)  

  Livery, Saugatuck, New Holland, Via Maria (Sept 30, 2005)  

  Middle Villa, Schmohz, Hideout (Oct 1, 2005)  

  Redwood Lodge (Sep, 2004), Redwood Lodge (Oct 8, 2005)  

  Kuhnhenn, Bastone, Lilys (Oct. 21, 2005)  

  Bonfire, Etouffee (Oct. 22, 2005)  

  Cork 'N' Ale 11th Annual Fall Beer Tasting (Nov. 3, 2005)  

  Traverse City, North Peak (Dec. 2, 2005)  

  Mackinaw, Shorts (Dec. 3, 2005)  

  Lumber Barons' Charcoal Grill & Brewpub (Dec. 9 & 10, 2005)