New Beer Friday, River Stop Cafe Edition (July 19)

Meal in a glass.

Preamble by Steve Siciliano

If you’re passing through the small burg of Newaygo, Michigan, and you’re looking for an eclectic place to grab a bite and wet your whistle, you should try the River Stop Café. Barb and I stumbled on this little gem on the way up to the cottage one morning last week after finding that we were a bit too early to get into our usual downtown Newaygo lunch spot, The River Stop Saloon. We enjoyed our new find so much that a few days later we stopped by for a late lunch on the way back home.

First a few words about the River Stop Saloon, a nice little watering hole located a few doors down from the River Stop Café. My wife and I have stopped by the Saloon a number of times over the years and we have never been disappointed. Give it a try if you’re looking for an unassuming place that has friendly service, good mixed drinks, a small offering of craft beer and solid fare at reasonable prices.

The River Stop Café is more upscale and a tad pricier but well worth it if you’re looking for wine, craft cocktails and a more extensive beer list. On the morning we visited, I ordered a Tito’s Bloody Mary and it came garnished with celery, pickled green beans, cheese, a dill pickle, olives and chunks of pepperoni. I followed up my liquid appetizer with a very tasty breakfast burrito. Barb’s mimosa and scrambled egg dish were also very good. The Café also offers a selection of fresh brewed coffee, espresso drinks and house made baked goods.

New and Returning Beer

• Atwater Raspberry Vanilla Java Porter, $1.99/12oz - "English-style porter brewed with vanilla, raspberry and coffee beans" (source).

• Bell's Prairie Grass, $2.29/12oz - "The second of 7 beers celebrating a literary classic and one of our favorites, Leaves of Grass, by Walt Whitman. In homage to old-world agriculture, we’re pairing artisan heirloom grains with plum juice to create a tart flavor profile" (source).

• Big Lake Idaho Hash, $3.99/16oz - "A dank, pungent, resiny New England Style beer. Brewed with Idaho 7 Hash hops, London Fog yeast and rolled oats" (source).

• Destihl Deadhead Funkengruven, $2.89/12oz - "Our DeadHead IPA Series melds the alluring vibe of our favorite music with unbounded takes on the hoppy beers we love to drink, unleashing a whole new groove. Funkengruven is a fusion of beer styles. We brew half the batch normally and kettle-sour the other half. Summit & Simcoe hops, along with added grapefruit, produce a funky harmony of tart, citrus flavors & aromas that'll be sure to top the charts" (source).

• Destihl Hawaii Five, $2.19/12oz - "Our fruity and juicy blonde ale will quickly transport your palate with a taste of paradise. Tropical flavors of pineapple, coconut, mango, peach and guava are balanced by smooth maltiness. One sip and you'll be singing the song of the islands. Aloha" (source).

• Kentucky Barrel Aged Coffee Cream Ale, $2.79/12oz - "Coffee Cream Ale- Cream ale brewed with Haitian coffee and aged in oak bourbon barrels" (source).

• Kentucky Barrel Aged Tequila Lime, $3.89/12oz - "Reminiscent of your favorite frozen cocktail, Kentucky Rickhouse Series No. 7 is the refreshing result of wheat, limes, and tequila barrels. We took an American Wheat Ale, brewed it with a heavy hand of limes, and let it age in freshly dumped tequila barrels. The result is a burst of key lime flavor followed by notes of oak and agave with a clean finish" (source).

• Southern Tier Nitro Chocolate Milkshake, $4.09/12oz - No commercial description.

• Stone Aggro Agronomist, $2.39/12oz - "Getting all aggro can sometimes be a negative. Getting aggro with your hops however? Awesome. (Try singing that aloud in your best Stone Aggro heavy metal falsetto). Equally awesome: getting aggro with hop agronomy. It's often a tradition passed down through generations, as is the case with Perrault Farms in Toppenish, Washington. Since 1928, the Perrault family and friends have honed their craft to breed new hop varieties with ever more awesome (sing it again) flavors and aromas. This beer features the powerhouse hop Citra as well as two new varieties - Sabro and the as-of-yet unnamed HBC 692. These new beauties balance classic citrus notes with intriguing hints of coconut, herbs and stone fruit. We've gotten aggro many times with our beers since 1996. So a tip of the hat to aggro agronomists like the Perrault family who give us the tools to aggressively propel our craft forward" (source).

• Stone Notorious P.O.G., $3.19/12oz - "We’ve had plenty of fan-favorite beers over the years, but few have garnered the cult-like adoration of this one. Stone Notorious P.O.G. was originally brewed at our 10bbl Liberty Station brewhouse in San Diego, as a collaboration with comedian / actor Jonah Ray. It’s a tribute to the passion fruit, orange and guava juice (aka POG) he grew up drinking in Hawaii. This Berliner Weisse-style ale is loaded with the aforementioned trifecta of fresh, tropical fruits, making for a unique flavor that’s tart and refreshing yet deeply rich and complex. It’s as ridiculously tasty as it is deliciously unique" (source).

Deal of the Week | Short's Brewing

Cheers!