In talking with people about my trip at Olde Peninsula the night before in Kalamazoo, a guy mentioned that there were several breweries along the route I’d be going on my way to 3 Floyds and Chicago. While most of the ones that were recommended were closed at the time I went through those towns, a few were open. So, I stopped at a few – St. Julian (the winery in Paw Paw, actually), Arclight Brewing, and the Round Barn (the brewery).
3 Floyd’s, like Bell’s the day before, is one of the most highly regarded names in craft brewing. Their Dark Lord Imperial Stout is highly sought after, and unfortunately, was not available Saturday. I had lunch there, though and a few samplers of a few of their better known beers (War Mullet, Moloko, Alpha King, and Robert the Bruce).
Chicago brought traffic, traffic, and more traffic – and no parking. I ended up shortening up my plans for the evening, and only visited Revolution (also for dinner) and Half Acre. The latter ended up being one of the highlights of the trip. The store manager, Tom, noticed my Dark Horse shirt and we started talking about my trip, where I’d been, etc. He bought me a beer and mentioned he’d gotten a bottle of Dark Horse’s Bourbon Barrel Plead the 5th Imperial Stout from 2014 and, if I stuck around a little, he’d break that out. I did, he did, and it was amazing! Still a little boozy (could probably be cellared for a year or two to mellow that out), but still outstanding!
- Miles traveled: 196.0
- Time in car: 5:24
- States: Michigan, Indiana, Illinois
- Exercise: 6,606 steps