Oktoberfest Dinner & Brew Cruise on MI Princess

The once almost extinct style of Porter is alive and well in the State of Michigan. For the unfamiliar, Porter is a rich, malty, dark, and often roasted brew. This style evolved in England and became a favorite of the street and river porters of the city. Although the origin is somewhat cloudy and open to debate, it appears that porter evolved from the Brown Ales common in that day. Porter ushered in the industrial revolution and was the first beer to be made on a mass production basis. Porter gave birth to stout porter which eventually became known as stout and shortly after, porter fell out of favor. The style was later revived by American and English Micro-brewers and is quite common today.

As the days get shorter and the temperatures start to plummet, there is no mistake that Winter is here. Although the season does not start officially until the Winter Solstice, December 22 this year, ask any Michigander and they will tell you Winter starts much earlier. While all people know the bad that Winter brings... snow, school closings, bad roads, etc we need to focus on the good. The good that I am referring to is Winter Beer!