Box Bar and Grille
Tucked away in the cozy little town of Plymouth, MI, just a
little ways past Ann Arbor, is a nice little beer venue called Box Bar and
Grille. More beer hall than bar, Box Bar is exactly what I picture a
stereotypical German beer hall to look like.
The main bar area came with tables rooted in by wooden posts
complete with trim, an employee counter that segregated the dining area from
the bar, and the biggest collection of beer steins I’ve laid eyes on in one place.
If the lack of TV’s didn’t make a strong enough suggestion,
the fact that Box had that night’s Tigers game projected on a plain white wall
in a dingy green glow proved that this
was a bar intended for drinking beer.
The beer garden out front had a completely different feel to
it. Box, which is located just across the street from the city square, is a
perfect location for any type of live Music. As it happened the night I was
there, there was a live concert just across the street which would have been a
perfect way to enjoy a wonderful Michigan evening had the garden not been at
capacity.
Fortunately for my taste buds, the standing room only
availability outside forced me to nestle up to the bar where my attention was
instantly caught by Box’s selection of bottled beers. Spanning the length of
two walls, the bottled beer cooler easily had around 500 different brews to choose
from. Equally as impressive were there two separate draught areas, boasting
roughly 20 taps each.
The beer selection itself, made available to patrons in a 15
page binder, had several local, regional, and global choices.
The food seemed to be standard bar fare. My group, a larger
one for sake of the conversation, allowed me to try a wide variety of tastes
including Box’s hot wings, beef brisket, nachos, as well as Swedish and buffalo
meat balls. My only regret, after seeing someone at the table next to me order
it, was not giving their homemade pretzel a try. There wasn’t anything fancy
about there food, but in no way was it a detriment to the venue at all.
Mount Pleasant
Brewing Second Wind Wheat
Being a Craft Beer enthusiast, I couldn’t possibly visit a
bar like Box without taking advantage of all the local beer selections made available
to me. My first choice, being in a German-esque beer hall, had to be something
Bavarian.
Second Wind Wheat, from Mount Pleasant Michigan, is as
traditional as a Bavarian Wheat comes.
Extremely yeasty, this beer surpasses the sweet bready flavor I
associate with Bavarians and comes off tasting like banana. Unfortunately, this
was off putting for me as I am not a fan of bananas.
I pushed through however and was happy I did as the yeast
gives way to a nice dose of clove. Perhaps my favorite thing about this beer is
how the yeast dulls the palate just before the spice kicks in, enhancing the
second half of the flavor.
As with most Bavarian wheat’s I’ve had, my taste buds
adjusted to the sweetened initial flavor leaving my drinking experience a
pleasant one. Although Second Wind Wheat might not be my first choice if I come
across a sampling of Mt. Pleasant Brewing again, it did pique my interest as to
what else this Michigan brewery might have to offer.
Mount Pleasant Brewing Second Wind Wheat comes in at 6 mugs
out of 10.
