Guardian Brewing, Saugatuck MI

I enjoyed this place so much two years ago that I came back this year, and it didn’t disappoint (although the beef brisket sandwich was no longer on the menu).

There’s a large outdoor area that isn’t pictured, but it was full, and anyway, I wanted to be indoors out of the sun. One of the things I love about this place is the LED light on each table. You can select the color by touching the top of the light, but if you set to red, a server comes over within a minute. No red, no bother. All tips are pooled so you might see several different servers over the course of your meal. It’s a great system!

I started, as usual, with a flight, and also ordered a pastrami reuben (since the brisket was no longer available).

In the “1-to-5″ order shown on the paper, these were:

“Rabbittown” Golden Ale, 4.6% – an English-style golden ale that was good enough to drink all day.

“Chimera” Double Dry-Hopped Pale Ale, 5.4% – not bad – I rather liked it …

“Nessie” Double Dry-Hopped Imperial IPA, 8.1% – this was a test of what the bartender at Badger Hill told me a few days ago about the higher alcohol content adding sweetness to offset the hop bitterness, and by golly, she was right! This was really good, but with over an hour back to the hotel, not a candidate for a pint …

“Pegacorn” English-Style Porter, 5.7% – a solid porter with subtle notes of chocolate and coffee, quite tasty.

“Key West Keeper” Cream Ale, 7.0% – there were several interesting, sort-of-oddball brews on the menu, and this was the one I chose. It tastes quite a bit like a Key Lime Pie – complete with the graham cracker crust – but while it was really good to start, I just didn’t feel it was working by the end of the four ounce pour.

Reasonable food portions mean there’s room for dessert, and today was both solid and liquid dessert. The special was S’Mores, a horribly calorie-laden skillet of melted chocolate and marshmallows with graham crackers to dip. I’m almost embarrassed to admit that I finished most of it …

But it was balanced most effectively with a pint of “Nahual” (pronounced “nah-WAHL”) Coffee Chocolate Pale, 6.4% – an English Pale Ale agent on Saw Dog Coffee and Cacao Nibs. OK, this was my hands-down favorite among favorites for this brewery!! It was a splendid beer, and if it hadn’t been for that pesky hour-plus drive back to the hotel, I’d have ordered a second.

One of the most interesting things about this venue is the music memorabilia hung all over the walls. On my previous visit, I was told that the brewmaster’s father liked to go to charity auctions where he’d pick up signed guitars and posters. Many of these are what grace the walls here. These are photos of just a few of what’s there:

And finally, this was posted in the men’s room, making me wish I lived nearby so that I could join some of these events throughout the year: