New UM/msu themed IPA beers
Haze & Blue and the Sparti Parti...sadly the Sparti adult beverage has 1.5% higher alcohol content ... required to watched the men in puke green each Saturday I suppose.
These are both IPA style beers and should be ready to stock your coolers up next week. Rumor has it the Sparti brews come with a small couch & matches when you buy a case. The Haze & Blues do not come with game tickets.
August 23rd, 2019 at 1:22 PM ^
If the Sparti brand contains their tears, I will buy a 12-pack.
August 23rd, 2019 at 1:24 PM ^
I'm buy their entire brewery.
August 23rd, 2019 at 2:35 PM ^
Me too. That flavor profile I think would market better to UM fans for sure.
August 23rd, 2019 at 2:43 PM ^
I can confirm, the Sparti Parti does indeed contain the authentic tears of Mork Dantoni!
August 23rd, 2019 at 4:36 PM ^
Lol hell yea - we own those knuckle draggers!
August 23rd, 2019 at 1:25 PM ^
Why would they make the sparty one stronger? I get that you need more alcohol to actually watch their offense but that's still lame.
August 23rd, 2019 at 1:40 PM ^
Wanted to make sure they bought it. If it was weaker they'd boycott due to respekt (or lack of).
August 23rd, 2019 at 1:49 PM ^
That actually makes sense!
August 23rd, 2019 at 1:52 PM ^
You really need at least 7% ABV to get in a couch fire state of mind.
August 23rd, 2019 at 1:27 PM ^
Hope they have some in October, when i go to the Iowa game. But with my luck that won't happen
August 23rd, 2019 at 1:46 PM ^
They will don't worry. It's one of their best beers and that is saying something. It'll reappear for basketball season as well. Haze & blue is vastly superior to sparti parti as well so that's appropriate.
August 23rd, 2019 at 1:55 PM ^
Good to know, thanks. I love IPA's so this is right up my alley.
August 23rd, 2019 at 1:28 PM ^
You can buy these now. My wife is a big fan. I don't love IPAs, but she does and endorses the UM one. I use the Sparty version to clear drain clogs.
August 23rd, 2019 at 1:31 PM ^
For anyone in the Livonia/FH area, I found these at Meadows on Farmington Rd (in case these are somehow rare).
August 23rd, 2019 at 1:34 PM ^
‘Was just at BLB talking to the brewmaster. The UofM beer makes sense bc Holland/Grand Haven is full of blueberry farms, and thus suites the name. Sparti being Sparti with high ABV, but Cedar Village usually gets it done with quantity over quality, so maybe Sparti should be brewed in the spirit of “a low alcohol, dirt cheap light macro-domestic”?
August 23rd, 2019 at 1:37 PM ^
Also, per talking to brewmaster, the have a contract with all Michigan Meijer. You should be able to find it anywhere at Meijer, but especially at EL, AA/Saline, Jax Rd locations.
August 24th, 2019 at 12:52 AM ^
They had none at the AA Saline Meijer when I checked tonight.
August 23rd, 2019 at 1:37 PM ^
Also, per talking to brewmaster, the have a contract with all Michigan Meijer. You should be able to find it anywhere at Meijer, but especially at EL, AA/Saline, Jax Rd locations.
August 23rd, 2019 at 1:40 PM ^
i bought sparty party at horrocks around christmas, so not sure how new it is. either way, i think i remember liking it. i was in the mood for a juicy new england and decided to buy it even though it has a horrible name
i didnt see the michigan one though
August 23rd, 2019 at 2:12 PM ^
I had some last summer (#trendsetter #humblebrag) and have seen it multiple places ever since.
It was ok. Admittedly not a huge IPA fan but it was drinkable anyway.
August 23rd, 2019 at 1:41 PM ^
Big Lake Brewing makes some great stuff. Both of these are actually pretty good if you like hazy IPAs.
IME, their best offering is the Ryecoe IPA. One of my all time favorites.
August 23rd, 2019 at 1:45 PM ^
Not that anyone cares, but Big Lake's Lake King IPA has been my hands down favorite beer this summer.
I'm from Grand Rapids, buy my beer @ the best beer shop on the PLANET (Siciliano's) and have added that beer to more 4 and 6 packs than any other. It's not even close.
TLDR - Big Lake makes great beer and you should buy it if you haven't already.
August 23rd, 2019 at 1:52 PM ^
I second the Lake King recommendation
August 23rd, 2019 at 6:15 PM ^
I'm in GR, and in sales, and IMO Rishi's > Siciliano's, as is Riverside Liquor in Rockford, but Siciliano's holds its own.
August 23rd, 2019 at 1:48 PM ^
I bet that Sparti Parti tastes like a warm Bud Light.
August 23rd, 2019 at 1:53 PM ^
Hopefully they "kept it real" and used water from the Red Cedar
August 23rd, 2019 at 1:49 PM ^
Hot take: all IPAs taste basically the same because the bitterness of the hops drowns out all other flavors. Why not do an Amber for us and an IPA for them (since hops are green)? Make them different!
August 23rd, 2019 at 1:55 PM ^
I sort of see what you're saying, especially since it's a HAWT TAEK, but I respectfully disagree. All IPAs are not created equal. It remains a fairly nuanced beer that, rightly or wrongly, gets far too much attention.
I will agree that it would be nice to see more local breweries taking chances on promotional beers such as this and going down the road of other, shall we say, less traveled beer styles. I for one would love to see more Saisons, as an example.
HOWEVA!!
If you're going to spend the money on this kind of thing, and if you're a small brewery trying to make a living, IPAs are the way to go. They simply sell better than anything else in the market (for Craft -- light lagers are still King (see what I did there?))
August 23rd, 2019 at 1:56 PM ^
That is a very hot take. As an IPA lover, there are some fantastic IPA's and some horrible IPA's.
August 23rd, 2019 at 2:02 PM ^
Try the Haze and blue. It'll blow your theory out of the water with it's blueberry goodness.
August 23rd, 2019 at 2:10 PM ^
Hazy Ipa's, especially good ones, are not bitter. They are hazy and juicy. Try an M-43 or Boss Tweed if you're in Michigan and then make the pilgrimage to Trillium, Treehouse or quick trip to Mikerphone, etc.
August 23rd, 2019 at 2:49 PM ^
I thought it was understood that Two Hearted is the only good IPA, and therefore not really an IPA, but is technically an IPA. Or is that just my own hot take?
Definitely should have done a saison called Ale to the Victors for us and a piss beer lager called a Bro-ski for Sparty.
August 23rd, 2019 at 1:52 PM ^
Sparty already has a beer - bud light.
August 23rd, 2019 at 1:58 PM ^
Another Michigan themed brew is, Hail. An American Pale Ale by North Peak Brewing. It's a solid brew.
I do like the Haze & Blue. Nice blueberry finish and not super hoppy. And I do like quite a few brews by Big Lake Brewing. They've really been putting out some good ones.
August 23rd, 2019 at 2:03 PM ^
Little known fact: Sparti Parti is actually just Four Loko.
August 23rd, 2019 at 2:13 PM ^
The hops are smoked with couch
August 23rd, 2019 at 2:05 PM ^
These aren't new - they were out last season - but they're pretty delicious (at least the Haze & Blue is).
August 23rd, 2019 at 2:31 PM ^
Does the Sparti one smell like burning couch when you open it?
August 23rd, 2019 at 2:51 PM ^
I can't help but wonder, is Sparti Parti spelled with an "I" at the end of both words because that is how a STAEE grad would spell it?
August 23rd, 2019 at 3:04 PM ^
I believe it is 5% that and 95% fear of a lawsuit
August 23rd, 2019 at 3:08 PM ^
I don’t think these are new, I’ve had the Haze and Blue a couple times in the past
August 23rd, 2019 at 3:09 PM ^
I'm trying to transition completely from beer to wine as my libation of choice.
So far so good, but I'm not sure how it'll pair with football.
August 23rd, 2019 at 6:09 PM ^
I hear a good California Charbonet pairs very nicely with football.
August 23rd, 2019 at 3:37 PM ^
The Haze & Blue was my go to all last season and beyond, until it disappeared, even from the brewery. I'm pretty much all IPA's now - once you start to love the hops, everything else starts to taste bland. I'm not usually a fan of fruit in my beer, but the blueberry is quite subtle and just adds another layer of taste to a very good haze IPA.
August 23rd, 2019 at 3:42 PM ^
Interestingly, New Holland Brewing is fighting back with an ad for Tangerine Space Machine following me up and down on the right side of this page.
August 23rd, 2019 at 5:43 PM ^
August 23rd, 2019 at 6:54 PM ^
It’s high on my list, too. Actually going to hit Short’s this weekend when I’m up north.
August 23rd, 2019 at 4:13 PM ^
Nice cans, even though I'm not a big hops fan myself, I'd still consider buying those. Always thought it was an ironic naming, though. English Ale traditionally was made with just grains, and the Dutch style of adding hops was called Bier. Naming an extra hoppy alcohol an ale confused the shit out of me the first time I drank one because I was expecting it to be sweeter, which it definitely was not, lol.
August 23rd, 2019 at 4:19 PM ^
Sparti beers belong in an OSU cooler.... Same content.