My god, will no one rid me of this infernal racket?!
The canning machine is almost exclusively run prior to normal business hours for a very good reason: it makes the most horrible buzzing and rattling noise you can imagine. And it can go on for hours! The hellish persistent pang at least has one amazing silver lining though.
If you hadn’t guessed, it means we’ll soon have more beer.
Today’s ding marks the return of two great, albeit different, favorites: Stranger Ranger and Pokegama Porter! Our menu has been shy of some of the usual summer fare we like to serve, but that hardly seems to have mattered that much since a big seller for us recent has been our Roundabout Vanilla Stout. Perhaps it’s just a dark beer summer! For as much as we embrace tradition, we will gladly coddle new trends and fads as well. So if the people are yearning for it, may as well give them that delicious dark malty porter!
But there are few styles that beg no substitute when their time comes, and American style light lagers are just such a style. They’re light, they’re simple, they’re crushable, and they ask nothing of you but to carry on with whatever you were doing. They’re like an old dog, minus the crushable part. And now that actual summer weather seems to be upon us, the Stranger Ranger Lager has come not a moment too soon.
Speaking of actual summer weather, have any of you been putting miles on your bikes now that it’s warm and sunny? Biking for Beer is this Saturday, and it promises to be one of those days where we’ll be dying for a refreshing glass of suds between the stretches of road. So in addition to everything else, don’t forget the sunscreen!
We’ll be starting at 1 p.m. at Rapids Brewing Company for our initial gathering and pints before our short jaunt across the river and through the woods here to Klockow Brewing. We’ll be doing about 45 minutes to an hour at each place, so be sure to hydrate as well as beer-up at each stop! From Klockow, we’ll be doing the long leg of the journey, heading south through town, making our way to Airport Road down to Harristown Road and finally Hwy 169 to The Pickled Loon Saloon. Have a drink, replenish your energy with a bite to eat, and then we’ll climb back up the hill to the flat-ish land of the rest of the route back to Klockow for some prize drawings compliments of Ardent Bicycles!
If you haven’t been able to bring your bike in to Ardent for a proper tune-up, but still want to ride with us, there’s just a couple basic things you need to check. A big one is tire inflation. Check the sidewall of your tire for recommended psi for your particular tire (the skinnier the tire, the higher the pressure is the general rule). Next is your drivetrain. If you don’t already have any, pick up some bicycle chain oil and apply it lightly to each link of the chain. After rotating the pedals a bit to make sure the oil has snuck into each crevice, use a clean rag to wipe off any excess oil. Extra oil will only attract dirt, which gums up and slowly wrecks your chain and gears. This also is why a bicycle specific oil is recommended, and not something like WD-40 (unless you want to lube and wipe your chain twice a day). But after that, just make sure all the screws and bolts throughout your bike are tight. The last thing you want is for your handlebar to come loose mid-ride! This might not be as common as a flat tire, but if you’ve ever bought a bike from a big box store, you’ve probably noticed one or two loose parts.
Ta-da! You’re practically a bike mechanic now! Though you may have noticed that I didn’t say anything about shifting or braking. If you’re having problems with either of those, I recommend seeing a professional. They’re a little more complicated than can be explained here.
But what do you do after Biking for Beer is over, you may ask? What does life have in store for us after this beautiful day? Well, don’t despair. For starters, you could come back to the brewery on Sunday for our monthly Board Games & Records Day! You’ve earned a break, after all, so why not relax with some good music and a little gaming with your mates. Though if relaxation isn’t your bag, and you want a challenge, consider learning how to play A Feast for Odin.
Some friends of the establishment donated this game to us since they were moving and it didn’t make the cut. Why, you may ask? Because it’s ridiculously dense and complicated! They didn’t even finish punching out all the little pieces. So the challenge is this: come in on Sunday and learn how to play this game. If your team (max. 4 people) can be the first to learn and adequately explain to the bartender the intricacies of how this game is played, including some demonstration, you win a round of beers!
Best of luck to you, and may you raise a drink to Odin!
We Barley Know You, But We Hop to Change That. It’s the Yeast We Can Do: Adrianne Reiners
Question: How long have you worked here?
Adrianne Reiners: Oh, gosh, a month. Just over a month. I’m a newbie.
Q: And in all that time, what is your favorite Klockow beer?
AR: Well, I’ve been a customer here since 2017, so it’s been a little bit more than a month of drinking the beers. [laughs] I have to go with Billy Bumbler (Belgian Tripel). My default, if I’m not driving and I get to enjoy a drink, I will go with Billy Bumbler.
Q: When you’re not drinking Klockow beer, what do you like to drink?
AR: Non-alcoholic is going to be coffee and water. It’s really just the other requirements for life. I think if I were gonna have another alcoholic drink: ciders, seltzers. Yeah, mix it up. Sometimes I’m having a Shrubbery from Klockow here, too.
Q: Sticking with the theme, what are some of your favorite foods?
AR: Anything with cheese. Um, chocolate. So if I could have a platter of cheese, a charcuterie board, followed by a chocolate cake, that’d be a perfect day! [laughs]
Q: So what do you do at the brewery?
AR: I am a beertender! I pour beers and I chat with regulars and I help foster community here at Klockow.
Q: And you’re learning some of the regulars. How’s that going?
AR: It’s great! It’s really exciting to get to know more people in the community since we moved here five years ago. We really haven’t had the chance to meet everyone, as transplants. And having worked for a couple other businesses, it’s just interesting meeting a different group of people that live in this community.
Q: What do you like to do for fun?
AR: I thoroughly enjoy working on my farm. So we have a farm as a business, and we participate in the Grand Rapids Farmer’s Market. So in the summers I spend a lot of time outdoors, because we hand plant and hand water everything that we grow. Otherwise, my latest obsession has been playing Stardew Valley, which is a video game… also about farming.
I get out and about; spend some time with friends, family, and yeah. Low key stuff.
Q: What’s a fun/interesting fact about yourself?
AR: Oh, I did not prepare for this. I prepared for the beer question! [laughs] I think that it’s really surprising to people when they find out I changed oil for two years. I worked for a quick service oil change company and in my interview with them, I told them I could tell you what color the car is and put air in the tire and gas in the tank. But I’m really good with customers! So they decided to hire me and I learned the rest!
Q: For two years?
AR: For two years.
Q: That is a fun fact.
AR: Yeah, most people are very surprised.
Q: For the last question, if you could bring back to life an extinct animal, or conversely bring to life for the first time some fantasy animal, what animal would you pick and why?
AR: What a question! There’s no way to prepare for this. I mean, when I think extinct, my immediate thought just goes to the Dodo bird. But I don’t know if we need anymore of those in our life. Um, I’m just obsessed with goats, but we already have them! Let’s bring back the sabertooth tiger.
Q: The sabertooth tiger! Why are we doing this?
AR: You know, because they’re mighty. They got big teeth. I dunno, I just think they’re a cool animal.
~
Thanks for checking out our humble little brewery! As long as you keep coming by, we’ll do our part by making the best damn beer possible and serving it in our always inviting atmosphere.
The Klockow Staff
Beer and Shrubbery Drops this Week:
Local, etc -
Pickled Loon - Grand Rapids
Pokegama Lake Store - Grand Rapids
Timberlake Lodge - Grand Rapids
Eagle’s Club - Grand Rapids
Boulder Taphouse - Grand Rapids
Pokegama Grill - Grand Rapids
Pokegama Plaza Liquor - Grand Rapids
SuperOne Liquor - Grand Rapids
SuperOne Foods North - Grand Rapids
SuperOne Foods South - Grand Rapids
Bottles & Brews - La Prairie
Smoke on the Water - Coleraine
Eagle Ridge Golf Course - Coleraine
Hollywood Bait - Coleraine
Ravenstone Abbey - Coleraine
Rocket’s - Cohasset
Sugar Lake Lodge - Cohasset
Blackberry Junction - Blackberry
North Start Lake Resort - Marcell
International Falls & Kabetogama -
Bootlegger’s
SuperOne Liquor
The Rocky Ledge
Ash Trail Lodge
Bemidji -
Kegy & Cork
Beehive Liquors
First City Liquor
Lakeview Liquor