All the Brews Fit to Pint: Blogtoberfest! Part 2

The long-awaited, much-anticipated official opening of Jolly Pumpkin Café and Brewery on 311 S. Main St. arrives Wednesday, Sept. 16. Be the first on your block to try one, some, or all of these fine beers direct from the tap: Jolly Pumpkin Bam Biere, Autumn Bam, and Bam Noire; North Peak Siren Amber Ale and Diabolical IPA, Tortuga Ale Co. Chocolate Stout, and Golden Manatee Belipago, the latter of which is described as a gluten-free “Belgian-style IPA, brewed with chestnuts, tapioca, sorghum, agave nectar, and loads of the freshest hops money can buy.” The café is open 11am to 11pm Monday through Thursday, 11am to midnight Friday and Saturday, and noon to 11pm Sunday.

Thursday, Sept. 17, beginning at 6pm, the Huron River Watershed Council is hosting (at the home of Bill and Mary Kinley, 9789 Huron River Dr.) “Suds on the River,” an environmental awareness event featuring wares from such local microbreweries as the aforementioned Jolly Pumpkin, Arbor Brewing, Blue Tractor, Grizzly Peak, and Wolverine Beer. Food from local restaurants also will be served and the dulcet tones of Great Lakes Myth Society will help it all go down smoothly. Visit the HRWC Web site for ticket pricing and info, directions, and other details.

On Friday, Sept. 18, celebrate Oktoberfest with actual Germans at Metzger’s, 305 N. Zeeb. The venerable Ann Arbor restaurant’s annual event features a beer tent (of course), a buffet of their famous German victuals, a live German band, and a raffle. Come ready to eat, drink, and be merry.

Can’t quite make it all the way out to Zeeb Rd.? Also beginning this Friday is Arbor Brewing’s 10th Annual Oktoberfest Block Party. Enjoy a big beer (and wine) tent, the oom-pah stylings of German band Spass, and staples such as bratwurst, veggie brats, chips, and pretzels. No cover, and children are welcome (accompanied by their parents, natch). Festivities run Friday and Saturday, 5-11pm. Call 734-213-1393 for more info.

Simultaneously, on the other side of Main St., Grizzly Peak, 120 W. Washington, and Blue Tractor, 207 E. Washington, are joining forces for their own Oktoberfest street party. Live music and food specials (including Bratwurst with Porter Sauerkraut and Roasted Potato Salad) are the order of the evening, and, oh yes, there will be beer: Grizzly Peak’s Oktoberfest and Pale Ale and Blue Tractor’s Oktoberfest and Sudworth Bock. Friday and Saturday, 6pm to midnight; $5 cover, with a portion of all proceeds benefiting the University of Michigan’s Comprehensive Cancer Center.

If you are some kind of beer-drinking superhero, you can continue your Oktoberfest bender Sunday, Sept. 20, at Rocktoberfest at Guy Hollerin’s, aka the courtyard of the Holiday Inn, 3600 Plymouth Rd. Doors don’t open until 1pm, so you have plenty of time to sleep off the night before. The beer tent is sponsored by Arbor Brewing, and the Bluescasters, Chef Chris and the Rumpshakers, and Jimmy McCarty and Mystery Train are putting the rock in Rocktoberfest. $25 admission includes heapin’ helpin’ of German food; a portion of the proceeds benefits Food Gatherers. See the event flyer here.

And that, my friends, truly is all the brews fit to pint. Dust off that lederhosen (or dirndl) and get outside for the last gasp of summer. See you in the beer tent!

David Bardallis is a freelance writer and editor, blogger, bon vivant, and man about town. Visit his Web site, DavidBardallis.com, to engage his services or read his latest ramblings insights. Email your beer-related thoughts to annarborbeer@gmail.com.