The Dark Horse Brewing Company
In my position of Ashley’s ‘unofficial’ photographer, I, along with my friends Keath & Gabe, visited the Dark Horse Brewing Company and their attached brewpub this past weekend. Dark Horse is the first of Ashleys of Ann Arbor’s featured brewers in their 30th Anniversary celebration.
The brewery tour was led by a knowledgeable and affable young man named Miles and he took us first through their production facility. While showing us around their production and storage facilities, we were also given a brief history of the company. We also had the good fortune of meeting Bill Morse, the father of Aaron Morse, Dark Horse’s owner and head brewer, and we had the opportunity to ask him some questions as well.
After our tour of the facility, Miles took us up to the V.I.P. Lounge for our tasting. We were able to sample five beers; Dark Horse mainstays Raspberry Ale and Scotty Karate, as well as some special beers, Lambeak Wants Blood Orange, Thirty Trout Porter, and Bourbon Barrel Aged Plead the 5th Stout. My & Keath’s favorite was the Lambeak Wants Blood Orange, while Gabe liked the Scotty Karate.
After the tour, Gabe and I wandered over to the souvenir shop across the parking lot.
Finally, it was back to the brewpub for dinner and a few beers. The brewpub is incredibly small, but makes up for the lack of space in atmosphere and great food. Another highlight of the brewpub was the hundreds of mugs hanging from the ceiling, each belonging to a member of the mug club.
Our trip to Dark Horse was a great excursion. The tour was excellent and the brewpub has to be one of the coolest places in the state of Michigan to sit and have a meal and a few beers. The Dark Horse Brewery is located just off of I-94 in the small town of Marshall, about half way between Detroit and Chicago.
Local Mug Club Members
Dark Horse Brewery Tour Reviews from eriksmithdotcom on Vimeo.
My set of photos from the brewery on Flickr
Dark Horse’s Website (www.darkhorsebrewery.com)
Love Ashley’s? Check out these posts from the 2012 Belgian Beer Week at Ashley’s in Westland.
6 Responses to “The Dark Horse Brewing Company”
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Mmmmmmmm, Most jealous re the tasting! What a wonderful name…the dark horse. Fab post!xxxxx
Thanks! It was a great experience, for sure (especially the tasting
)
Looks like a great tour. I’ve been to dozens of brewery tours, and even worked in the beer business for a while in the late 90s. I never get tired of these and learn something new each time. Generous tastings are also a good perk.
The tour was good, but the tastings and the brewpub were certainly highlights. I’m fortunate because I have a few more of these planned in 2013!!!
Ashley’s is THE best! I was the just there for the first time in almost 3 years, and it made me so happy. I had no idea you were “working” for them
I love the photos. I’m going to see if I can track down some Dark Horse IPA during my last few days in the US and hopefully plan a visit to the brewery when I’m in Michigan this summer.
Ashley’s is the best, for sure. A visit to the Dark Horse Brewery is a great idea, any time of year!