This is the finale of my 4-part series on Michigan brews. You can take a look at the first part, in which I discussed Atwater's Purple Gang Pilsner, to get a better idea of what this series is. To briefly describe it, I built a four-pack and threw in some beers native to MI that I'd never before had so I could share my first impressions of them with you, my beloved readers.

I really like brown ales. Perhaps my favorite is another offering from Michigan: Bells' Best Brown Ale. Yes, I was originally drawn to that particular one because I thought the owl on the packaging looked cool (I know Bells is involved in a tiff with another brewery but I don't know enough about it to state my opinion. It's not something I'm going to talk about. Bells is just a convenient intro to this piece--a brown ale from Michigan? Come on, that's almost too perfect for this opener).

If I had to describe the reason why brown ales appeal to me it would have to be the simplicity of them. Yeah, one can throw in as many crazy ingredients as desired into a batch; Jackie O's does this insanely well with their Chomolungma, which includes wildflower honey. But, even the barest of a brown ale's bones are great. It's typically sweet, but not so much as to be overpowering. For me, brown ales are the comfort food of the beer world.

In this, the final post of my first series, I'm discussing one of this ales. It's Keweenaw Brewing Company's (KBC) Lift Bridge Brown Ale. It's brewed in, obviously, Keweenaw, which is basically as northern as the Upper Peninsula gets. What should you expect from this brew if you ever try it?

You should expect good things. But, before I get into what those things are and talk about them in any detail, please allow me to give you a little background on the brewery.