I spent a lot of memorable time in Ann Arbor (though much of it was in a drug-induced stupor so I don't remember it) so going back there always makes me feel nostalgic. It was Sunday after Thanksgiving. The chill in the air and the gray skies enhanced the nostalgia as my mom's Cadillac traversed the route that was so familiar yet strange.

As I exited the freeway, I wondered if I would be able to find the Arbor Brewing Co. I had found it almost by accident last year. I needn't have worried though. Its like the city planners knew there would be Brew-Rat meetings there and laid out the city accordingly. Construction made getting to the parking structure problematic, but you cant have everything.

As usual (if you can call only twice usual), I was the first to arrive and also as usual, ABC neglected to save a cask of their IPA for us. So I settled down to a hand-drawn porter that reminded me very much of my own porter. I wonder where they got the recipe.

I hadnt heard from anyone since leaving California, so I was wondering who would show and in what order. Tall Dave, Choir Boy, Joe Sellinger, Swiggie and Willie-n-Ether were all on the guest list. When 12:59 arrived and even Tall Dave wasn't there, I began to wonder if I'd be a lone brew-rat in the big city. I needn't have worried. Tall is one of those guys whose internal clock is very precise. He walked in to the pub at 13:00:01 accompanied by Indy, Augie and Augie's folks. I suspect that Tall even arranged his entourage so that he was in back, lest he arrive a second or two early but I can't confirm that.

Lunch was served after another round and then, "better late then never" Swiggie showed up. He walked in the door, looked around, noticed the RatWear® that some of us were wearing and introduced himself.

We then proceeded to sample several of Arbor's fine beers, good food and guest beers. Tall decided to put off the Belgian for last then wimped out and never ordered it. I think everyone tried a pint of the Pilsner Urquell. Personally, I don't see the great attraction to that beer. It was just OK. I wanted to try the ESB but they only managed to eke out half a glass before the keg (the LAST keg) ran dry. It took some begging and pleading but they eventually served us the glass (which was half full) and we passed it around so we could all try it. I thought it was the second best beer I tasted that day.

What was the best beer of the day? I may get some dissent here, but I have to go with the 2 Hearts pale ale. 2 Hearts is far and away the hoppiest beer I've tasted that wasnt brewed by a Brew Rat.

Last year, the Grizzly Peak Brewing Co. was an also-ran compared to Arbor Brewing Co. However, they are almost directly across the street from each other so after several rounds we decided to migrate. Except Swiggie. He claimed he had to work at 6pm on a Sunday evening (yeah riiiiight) so like that keg of your prize-winning ale, he was gone way too soon. On the bright side, Grizzly Peak was vastly improved from last year. They had an acceptable cask ESB and the scotch ale was as tasty as it was potent.

A short note about men's rooms. The Arbor Brewing Co's men's room is a quaint little affair with murals painted on the walls. The murals include "windows" overlooking a vineyard strategically located behind the urinal and a throne back behind the "throne". It's a pleasant place to relieve oneself and make room for more beer. The men's room at Grizzly Peak is a different story. You need to walk from the bar thru the entire restaurant then down a steep narrow staircase to a harshly lit, strictly utilitarian, damp, musty lavatory. Of course once you're done pissing or whatever, you must still walk back up that staircase which was definitely not constructed with beer drinkers in mind. And now back to our story.

The sun was probably setting in the west but it was hidden by the clouds, when we departed from Grizzly Peak en route to the parking garage for the annual home brew exchange. Indy and Augie forgot to bring theirs and Swiggie had fled the scene an hour or so earlier. For my part, I didn't have anything drinkable to bring but Tall Dave came thru with an assortment for me to bring back home.

While I was in Ann Arbor, I stopped by the local souvenir shop to replace the items that I bought at the Brew Rat gathering last year but were stolen with my car 3 weeks later. Then I stumbled into the Caddie and headed for the freeway. As I drove thru the cold darkness I reflected that once again my stay in Ann Arbor had been a memorable one. Unfortunately, I drank a lot of beer that day and by the next morning, I had forgotten most of it. I guess we'll just have to do it again next year.

Jeff Schwartz