We’ve filled out the forms, crossed the T’s, dotted the I’s, got the licenses, went through the rigamarole, and finally, yes finally, there’s a beer on tap here at the St. Ambrose Cellars tasting room.
The first beer? No Frills IPA. We went with a classic IPA to debut. Featuring Galaxy and Simcoe hops for a citrusy, tropical, and slightly piney flavor/aroma, this IPA is an easy drinking beer that will appeal to the hop heads and casual beer drinkers alike.
No Frills IPA is brewed to feature a more malty, some would say sweeter, taste than many of the more dry IPAs on the market. At 7% alcohol by volume, it packs enough of a punch to satisfy but doesn’t overwhelm the drinker like a higher ABV IPA.
The Hops
This beer features Galaxy and Simcoe hops.
Galaxy is often described as having a passion fruity character along with aromas and flavors of clean citrus and peach. It may also carry threads of pineapple and tropical fruit. In short, its characteristics are all fruit with no floral, pine, or spice.
Simcoe is described as being both fruity and earthy. It can carry notes of berry, apricot, passion fruit, and citrus, but also has pronounced aromas of pine and woodsy earth. Flavor and aroma is quite complex and unique.
Beer Stats
Style: India Pale Ale IBU: 70 ABV: 7% Hops: Galaxy, Simcoe
May is Michigan Wine Month! The return of sunshine and warmth to the Mitten is also the perfect time to celebrate the incredible amount of great wine that is produced here every year.
At St. Ambrose Cellars, we’re celebrating Michigan Wine Month with special deals on four of wines and meads. These four featured products are 30% OFF in the tasting room through the end of the month.
Dancing Bare Ambrosia
Dancing Bare is a blend of white wine grapes and star thistle honey. At 66% honey and 34% honey, this pyment is a perfect gateway for wine drinkers into the world of mead – and vice versa. This crisp, semi-sweet beverage will make a great addition to your collection.
Rose Ambrosia
A pyment produced from local grapes, hand pressed, and fermented with gallberry honey collected by our bees. Semi-sweet with a refreshing combination of cherry and sweet spice flavors, and a bold, complex, bouquet. Rose Ambrosia is an ideal candidate for a wine slushie – for those of you looking to cool off and still get your fix this summer.
Marsanne Viognier 2011
Come out of your comfort zone and try our Rhone Varietal blend white wine that will take you straight to France. Full bodied with a nutty aroma and a honeyed texture. A unique wine sourced from Michigan grapes.
Another great way to take the edge of the heat this summer is a sangria – and our Marsanne is an awesome base for your summer sangria needs.
Riesling Reserve 2011
A true classic from our lineup, and it’s almost running out! This Riesling is made from fruit grown by the Vans Brothers Farm. The 2011 was a warmer season and allowed us to pick fully ripened fruit that exudes great Riesling flavors with just enough acidity to provide structure to this perfectly balanced wine.
After the excitement of our fundraiser and music last weekend, we’re back again for another weekend of fun here at St. Ambrose. It’s been a chilly start to the week but it seems like the temperature is rising a bit, and this weekend looks like an absolutely gorgeous time to be out on the lawn with a glass of mead and some good friends.
On Tap
Not many changes to the tap list this week. We’re still pouring our spring seasonal “Cool Breeze” lavender and mint mead, as well as the new trio of springtime wines – Secret Beach, Pinot Noir Riesling, and 2016 Pinot Grigio.
The one change to the list is the return of our Orange Vanilla mead for a limited engagement, replacing the dearly departed (for now) Spirit of ‘67 cranberry hibiscus mead.
In the Tasting Room
Escaping Pavement
Escaping Pavement joins us on Friday at 6PM. Here’s a clip from their bio:
From Detroit to Pasadena, to the high seas and then back to Detroit; it’s only when singer/songwriter duo Emily Burns and Aaron Markovitz escaped the neon blitz and car-strewn concrete of the city that they discovered how well their music could bloom when they brought it back to the roots. There is so much life and vitality in the Americana-folk journeys of Escaping Pavement, sprung entirely from an acoustic guitar, a mandolin, and two voices. Fiery passion, wistful reflection, awestruck adventurousness, and heartstring-plucking poignancy, the duo discovers, through song, the range of human emotion and celebrates the purities of what we’ve left behind for the artifices of tech trends, drug stores and cacophonous city centers.
Jen Sygit is a regular here at the tasting room, and we’re super pumped to have her back on Saturday night at 6PM.
A gifted vocalist and masterful songwriter, Jen Sygit has a golden ear and a deft touch on guitar. Her smooth, sultry voice brings just the right timbre to traditional ballads, acoustic blues, torch songs, country music or lighthearted folk tunes. To supplement her solid acoustic guitar playing, Jen often turns to her open back banjo or soprano ukulele performing mountain melodies and timeless jazz tunes further emphasizing her vocal dexterity. A countrified girl with a generous heart, Jen’s songwriting is personal and heartfelt, but always expressed with a universal appeal. Whether writing about the country roads of her childhood or about watching families send their sons and daughters off to war, Jen Sygit represents “the music of front porch America.”
Jen in action:
Bayou in the Barn
Ok, it isn’t this weekend, but the posters and ads started going up this week for Bayou in the Barn – the spiritual successor to the popular Bayou on the Bay festival in Frankfort! This year, we’ll be hosting three amazing zydeco acts in our barn here at St. Ambrose Cellars. In addition, all the amazing food that goes along with the festival and our meads and wines and beers (yes! Beer!) will be available.
This evening fundraiser celebrates the cultural connections that Louisiana and Michigan share through music, food, and community leisure. National and local musicians perform blues and zydeco music, while Louisiana cuisine is made from scratch with Michigan ingredients. Ticket prices include admission to the event and auctions- food, alcohol, beverages and merchandise will be available for purchase (EARLY BIRD PRICES END JULY 5th). Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs, blankets, and dancing shoes. Yard games including bocce ball, cornhole, and disc golf will be available. All funds raised will benefit Grow Benzie’s community center, youth and educational programs (www.GrowBenzie.org).
We’ll have a ton more on this event as the date gets closer! You can buy advance tickets for this great night here:
As always, you can check out the 400+ (and growing!) number of stores that carry our products at our store locator.
This week we wanted to feature a great store in the Metro Detroit area – Steve’s Party Store has been carrying our mead for some time now and they do a great job introducing new customers to the wonderful world of mead! If you are in the Detroit region, a stop to Steve’s is a must to check out the huge selection of craft beverages available.
This month marks the return of a Pinot Grigio varietal wine to our shelves. Our 2016 Pinot Grigio comes in a fresh new label with a green St. Ambrose Cellars goddess and some eye-catching foil. Inside, you’ll find the great tasting white wine that you expect from the talented team of winemakers in the back.
What is Pinot Grigio?
First, one of the most common questions – yes, Pinot Gris and Pinot Grigio are the same thing. Why two names for one thing? Who knows. Mysteries of the universe. Related to the Pinot Noir grape, these are beautiful grapes:
Pinot Grigio grapes produce fruity flavors, typically. These wines tend to run towards the dry end of the scale but some are sweeter – whether by sweetening with other ingredients or (more rare) if they come from the Alsace wine region on the border of France and Germany.
Suffice to say, our 2016 Pinot Grigio doesn’t include old world European grapes. This wine is our most-dry white wine on the menu currently.
Our Pinot Grigio
Our version features flavors of peach, lemon, lime, and a ruby red grapefruit finish. This light and citrus wine is also very food-friendly because of the subtle flavors. It won’t overwhelm the food on the menu.
We recommend trying it with creamy Italian dishes like risotto and mushroom or prosciutto. On the cheese end, you can go with parmesan and mozzarella for a tasty combination.
The Stats
Harvested: October 2016 Brix @ Harvest: 21 pH: 3.0 TA: 6.5 g/L ABV: 12% Residual Sugar: 0.0% Vineyard: Daddy Long Legs, Benzie County, MI Bottling Date: February 2017 Level of Acidity: Low Tannin Level: Low Oak Level: None Ageability: 2 Years Body: Light
This Saturday we’re hosting (you may have heard) a fundraiser for the Crystal Lake Elementary Odyssey of the Mind team. The team is headed to the World Finals for Odyssey of the Mind, and this is your chance to support these great kids in this worthwhile program.
What is Odyssey of the Mind?
OM is a problem-solving competition. You can learn more about Odyssey of the Mind at their official website.
What’s Going On Saturday?
We’re hosting a fundraiser to help the team with their trip to the World Finals. We will be accepting donations at the door, along with a pop-can drive. Donating to the cause will get you a wristband, which is good for 5% off your bill at the tasting room for the rest of the day and evening.
In addition, we’ll be hosting a Silent Auction. Some of the items available are:
Accidentals signed ukulele!
Apache Trout Gift Card!
Brys Estate wine!
Cherry Republic basket!
Dried Cherries from Northern Organics!
Dinner and a Pie from GT Pie and the State Theater!
Soap from Mother Gypsy Soap!
VIP Tasting at Chateu Chantal!
Musical Performances
Brett Mitchell and Cheryl Wolfram will be playing in the afternoon – Cheryl will start around 2:30 PM, and Brett Mitchell will take the stage around 4PM. Afterwards, Barefoot will be playing in the St. Ambrose Cellars tasting room. Wear your wristband and get 5% off through all these peformances!
In addition, you’ll get to see two performances by the talented Odyssey of the Mind team.
Food
Along with the build-your-own charcuterie boards in the tasting room, you can try the world famous Taco ‘Bout It Food Truck! They’ll be on site during the afternoon for all your taco-related needs.
We hope you’re able to join us for this special day and help send the team off with a bang!
