With our camping buddies still recovering from a recent trip to Tennessee (not camping), @mrsbozz and I were left to our own devices this past weekend. We actually had a really great time just the two of us (we usually always do), and after a morning round of disc golf, we headed back to the trailer to shower before hitting the town in Grayling, MI.
@mrsbozz has a work friend who has a piece of property up near Grayling, so we reached out to her for an idea of places to check out while we were there. One of the ones she happened to mention was Paddle Hard Brewing, so we figured why not check it out.
Grayling isn't that big of a town sporting a population of only about 2000 people, but it is sort of a gateway to the northern part of Michigan's lower peninsula. Just North of the intersection where expressways 127 and I-75 merge into each other, it's a short hop up to Gaylord and it is also where a lot of people get on highway 72 that leads into Traverse City, MI.
Despite the small size of the town, the tourist traffic means there are some pretty cool places to eat in the town. More than that, Grayling is also the starting point of the AuSable Canoe Marathon, which had just taken place the weekend before we visited.
The AuSable River Canoe Marathon is a two day long race that takes canoers down the Au Sable River starting in Grayling and ending in Oscoda, MI on the shores of Lake Huron. It's a non stop 120 mile two man dash down the river to see who can be the winner. Teams come from all over the world to participate in the race.
In the photo above you can see their countdown timer until the next running of the canoe race. As I said, we just missed the last running by about a week.
As you might expect, Paddle Hard Brewing leans heavy into that theme for their atmosphere. We visited the main location for Paddle Hard, but just down the street in another area of downtown they also have an outdoor beer garden called "The Yard" where they hold outdoor concerts in the summer.
As I said, the motif of the place leans heavy into the canoeing lifestyle as you would expect from the name of the place. Either that or they are really into spanking in Grayling, MI...
We showed up around 12:30 on a Friday afternoon (even though I am including this as a #beersaturday post, sorry @detlev), and the place was pretty packed. The hostess was able to find a table for us tucked in the back corner so we sat down and got ready to order. Besides their own beers that they have on tap, they also have a hand picked selection of beers from other breweries. We decided to stick with their home brewed stuff.
@mrsbozz asked me to pick for her, so I selected the "Post Marathon Recovery" which was a Blood Orange American Pale Wheat Ale. The waitress mentioned that beer was very popular lately. Myself, I selected the Canoe Camp that you see in the photos above which is a Session Cream Ale. It was a bit hoppier than I expected even though it had a IBU measurement of 10.
The beer that my wife got didn't really has as much orange flavor as I thought it would, but she seemed to enjoy it.
For a starter we got the chips and dip which basically consisted of tortilla chips covered in oil, lime, and some spices along with a fire roasted salsa, guacamole, and hatch chili queso. They were pretty amazing though we felt the chips were a little greasy in spots. The flavors were pretty great and I don't think we left a single drop of any of the dips by the time we were finished with our meal.
Along with the chips and dips, we decided to share a pizza. All of the entrees on their menu can be enjoyed as either a pizza or a panini, but after noticing how messy the panini was at the table next to us, we decided to go with a pizza.
It didn't take us long to both agree on the Thai'd Up Paddler pizza that you can see the description of in the photo above. We weren't really sure what to expect, but I have to say we were pleasantly surprised. It was fantastic. The flavors worked so well together and we both agreed we were happy we got it in pizza form versus panini form.
One of the things I liked the most about it was how thin the crust was. We both had two slices of the pizza and then took the other half home to have as a snack later.
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As we were finishing up, I decided I wanted to try another beer, so I went with the AuSable River Red. It only took one sip and I was wishing I had gotten this beer for my first round. If I could have I would have taken a deep dive into the delicious amber froth that was filling my glass. It was pretty amazing and at 30 IBU should have been hoppier than the first beer I had, but it didn't taste that way at all.
This was probably one of the best beers I have had in a while and it made me remember just how much I love amber ales. If you are ever passing through Grayling, MI, do yourself a favor and stop to get yourself a pint of this stuff. In fact, if they do growlers, get one filled and take it home.
Be sure to grab yourself a pie too, if the other pizzas are half as good as the Thai one we got, you won't want to miss out!
It's safe to say this won't be the last time we visit Paddle Hard Brewing.
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