Patti Smith
Patti “TeacherPatti” Smith lives in Ann Arbor with Boyfriend Ken, her dog Buddy and her stepcats Ali and Cyrus. She is a special education teacher by day, local history buff and brew drinker by night (see the hybrid history/beer blog at www.teacherpatti.com). She also loves watching most Detroit sports on TV, boxing, brewing beer, storytelling, board games and recently wrote a middle grade/YA book that she hopes to convince a publisher to publish! Meantime, she is working on a book about the history of downtown Ann Arbor for Arcadia publishers. Her favorite beer styles include Russian Imperial Stout, pumpkin beers, Kolschs and most things with peppers in them.
Website URL: http://www.teacherpatti.com
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
Second Annual Frankfort Beer Week Happening October 5-10
Now in its second year, Frankfort Beer Week is a weeklong series of beer and food-themed events happening in the Lake Michigan coastal city of Frankfort and the neighboring village of Elberta. A celebration of northern Michigan’s growing craft beer industry and established food culture, Frankfort Beer Week is scheduled for October 5-10, 2015.
Published in
Beer Week Events
Tagged under
Monday, July 21, 2014
Blue Front: Old Name, New Focus on Craft Beer
When locals heard that the party store Blue Front was closing, more than a few of us started the “nothing gold can stay” laments that soon turned into much reminiscing about the past and the things that used to be here, but are no more. The building on the corner of Packard and State can be traced back to 1908, when it was listed as being a news depot. It later became a cigar store, and in the 1920s became known as the Blue Front. The reason for the name is lost to the ages, but we do know that a man named Ray E. Collins bought the Blue Front Cigar Store in 1927 and made the place legendary.
Published in
Beer Store News
Tagged under
Monday, June 30, 2014
Somethin’s Brewin’: New Women’s Craft Beverage Trade Group, Fermenta
As I’ve mentioned before, women were always the brewers. The Industrial Revolution, Prohibition, changes in beer production, and many other factors changed that. But now women are joining the ranks of beer professionals in leaps and, er, hops!
Published in
Brewery News
Monday, March 10, 2014
International Women’s Collaboration Brew Day: Unite Pale Ales Unites Women Brewers of the World
Women were always the brewers. Beer was a foodstuff and, like all foodstuffs, it was made by women. This changed as beer moved from the home into the commercial realm in the Middle Ages; it changed rapidly during the Industrial Revolution when breweries became big and employed men as their brewers.
Published in
Brewery News
Friday, September 06, 2013
Cool, Classy Old German Bar & Bierkeller in Ann Arbor
When the Revolution comes—and it will come my brothers and sisters—we will need to rely on bars and brewpubs for meetings, information exchanges and espionage. The Old German is the perfect place for headquarters—kind of dark, downstairs, extremely comfortable, friendly and has excellent beers. (Why yes! I have seen Inglorious Bastards and I do count to three using my thumb and so I probably will get shot first).
Published in
Brewery Reviews
Tagged under
Monday, September 02, 2013
Batch Brewing Company Wins Comerica Hatch Detroit Contest!
Cinderella said that a dream is a wish our heart makes. That certainly may be true, but for those of us who aren’t cartoon characters and who don’t live in a castle…well, dreams take money. There are a few ways to get this initial capital—trust fund (sign me up please), rich dead relative (ditto), bank loan (difficult for any start-up) or the Comerica Hatch Detroit Contest. And this year, the winner of Hatch Detroit was none other than Batch Brewing Company!
Published in
Brewery News
Tagged under
Thursday, August 29, 2013
The Wonder that's Bill’s Beer Garden in Ann Arbor
It isn’t often that I look at something and think, “Man! I wish I had thought of that!” The Lite Brite game was one time (although it came out before I was born) and so was the Twilight series (the books are abysmal but somehow that broad got an agent, a publisher and made a zillion dollars). More recently, and in my own little town, I looked at the wonder that is Bill’s Beer Garden and thought, “Wow! I really really wish I’d thought of this!” Because seriously, doesn’t everyone like to sit outside and drink Michigan beer?
Published in
Restaurant / Bar Reviews
Tagged under
Friday, July 19, 2013
Review of 51 North Brewing Company in Lake Orion
Despite growing up on the border of Oakland and Macomb counties, I never traveled much beyond a handful of cities. So when I figured out that I would be visiting a brewery in Lake Orion, I was quite excited to leave Ann Arbor and visit a city I had never been to.
Published in
Brewery Reviews
Tagged under
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Review of Detroit Beer Company
Ah, Detroit! Some say it is on the brink of a huge renaissance. Others say to put a fork in it. Wherever you stand on the issue, one thing is for certain: the city has excellent choices for beer.
Published in
Brewery Reviews
Tuesday, February 05, 2013
Rat Fest 2013: Rise of the Rat
Friends know that I am a huge fan of the HBO series “The Wire”. Like many hot blooded women, I found McNulty adorable but such a rascal! The way he drank the Jameson and the beer…it got me thinking that it would have saved the character some time (and money) if those two great tastes came together. I honestly never thought it possible until I attended the annual Rat Fest at the Corner Brewery.
Published in
Brewery Events
Tagged under