Something Good is Brewing at Cap 'N' Cork

Beer kits from Cap 'N' Cork

Michiganders know good beer and have many award-winning Michigan breweries to choose from when they want a satisfying brew. Instead of searching for the perfect beer, some craft brew enthusiasts choose to make their own at home, and Cap 'N' Cork Homebrew Supply in Macomb Township provides everything the novice and the advanced homebrewer needs.

I had the opportunity to visit Cap 'N' Cork for its Basic Brewing Class, presented by Cap 'N' Cork's owner, Andy Moore, on a Saturday afternoon in January (Cap 'N' Cork also holds wine and mead making classes). Moore began working at Cap 'N' Cork thirteen years ago and purchased the business three years ago, and he has experience brewing with Black Lotus Brewing in Clawson and Sherwood Brewing Company in Shelby Township.

Cap 'N' Cork carries a wide variety of grains

Moore says now is the best time to begin homebrewing because high-quality ingredients and equipment are readily available. Cap 'N' Cork carries Michigan-made malt and hops (unfortunately, there are no Michigan-made yeasts for brewing), as well as pre-packaged beer kits with recipes that Moore and his staff created (the store also sells kits for making wine and cheese). The kits contain all of the ingredients and instructions needed for a novice brewer to make his or her first batch of beer. Moore's recipes include "clones" of several famous brands that allow customers to re-create their favorite craft beers at home.  For customers who do not live near the store, Cap 'N' Cork has an online store.

A Few of My Favorite Foods From 2015

A pizza from Mani Osteria in Ann Arbor

I did not write as much as I wanted to in 2015, probably because I was too busy eating my way around the state, especially Metro Detroit. Here are a few of my favorite restaurants and foods that I experienced for the first time in 2015.

Frita Batidos

Ann Arbor's Frita Batidos serves Cuban street food, and is a new favorite of mine in Ann Arbor. Their fritas are creative variations of the traditional burger while the batidos are tropical-flavored milkshakes. For more, read my review from January 2015. I've been back a few times since, and it is still excellent.

Kitchen Hanzo and Sharaku

Tempura from Kitchen Hanzo

One of my favorite finds this year is a couple of Japanese restaurants in an unassuming strip mall in West Bloomfield. Kitchen Hanzo and Sharaku have the same owners but deliver different food and experiences. During my first visit to Kitchen Hanzo, our waiter described the food as traditional Japanese pub food, but do not expect burgers and fries. Instead, the long menu lists a lot of smaller dishes that can be shared, as well giant hot pots filled with seafood. Everything is delicious, and the hot pots are especially appealing on a cold winter day.

Seafood hot pot

Sharaku is Hanzo's more upscale sibling. They have a menu with traditional Japanese main courses, but I only tried several rounds of sushi the one time I visited. The sushi is outstanding, and I definitely want to visit again.

Sushi from Sharaku

Saffron Indian Cuisine

Saffron Indian Cuisine in Farmington Hills is right around the corner from my work, and I often pick it up on the way home on Friday evening. I have not had a dish I did not like. Some of my favorites are the Vindaloo, Rogan Josh, Jalfrazie, and Palak Panner.

A Winter Escape: 24 Hours in Detroit

This is Detroit

When asked where to escape for an overnight stay or a weekend, many Metro Detroiters probably would mention ski trips to Northern Michigan, a cottage on a lake, or even a weekend in Chicago or Toronto. When faced with the need to get away for a night, my wife, Allison, and I chose to stay closer to home and spend a weekend in Detroit. Detroit is ever-changing, and though we try to visit the city as often as possible, we still cannot find the time to do everything we want to in this burgeoning town.

We only could get away for one night in December, but we wanted to make the most of our time in the city. First, we wanted to give a little bit back to the city, so we arrived early on a Saturday morning to volunteer with the Cass Community Social Services, through a volunteer event organized by the University of Michigan Club of Greater Detroit.

Cass Community Social Services provides food, housing, and health services as well as job programs to Detroiters. Our job involved building door mats out of recycled tires. The mat program employs formerly homeless Detroit residents, and also uses the services of volunteers. Along with the mats, they sell other products including Detroit Treads sandals made from discarded tires and coasters. After a morning making mats for the program, we visited the organization's store and walked out with two door mats, and two pairs of sandals.

Lucy: The Dog Who Gave Us a Better Life

Two weeks ago, my wife Allison and I sat on a blanket in the backyard of our veterinarian's office. It was a beautiful November evening. The yellow and orange leaves on the trees shined brighter than the setting sun. Our dog, Lucy, lay on a bed of leaves that had already fallen, unable to hold onto life much longer. 

Lucy was a mutt. Twelve years ago, she was left for dead as a puppy at a kill shelter in North Carolina until a wonderful organization called Homeward Trails in Northern Virginia rescued her. They fostered her and fed her and posted her picture on Petfinder.com. When Allison and I first saw her online, we saw something in her photo that told us there would be something different about this ten-month-old dog. I know people tend to project their own emotions and expectations onto their pets, but in this photo, Lucy had a look of untamed enthusiasm in her eyes.

We contacted Homeward Trails and learned she would be at an upcoming dog adoption event. We drove to the event a few days later excited to meet her, only to learn that another family had adopted her. We met another dog, Trevor, who seemed sweet, and decided to adopt him. When we contacted Homeward Trails again, they informed us that Lucy did not like the horses that the other family had, so they had traded her in for Trevor. We made quick plans to meet Lucy, and when we did, we were hooked.

Sprinting across a lake during her last year winter.

Untamed enthusiasm was an understatement. Lucy ran around the house of her foster family chucking toys across the room and then leaping to catch them in her mouth. I was a little afraid of taking this wild boar into a one-bedroom condo, but her exuberance was contagious. Allison and I took her home.

Superior: A Cinematic Journey Through the U.P.

Director Edd Benda's first feature film, Superior, opens in Calumet, Michigan, in 1969. With two weeks left in the summer, Charlie and Derek face certain futures. Charlie (Thatcher Robinson) will attend Michigan Tech University and study engineering, while Derek (Paul Stanko) will end up in Vietnam.

Although adulthood should be near, it is as far away and foreign as a distant shore. Charlie and Derek face a choice: They can stand still in their hometown awaiting their fates, or they can have one last adventure and determine their own destinies.

SUPERIOR - Official Teaser from Beyond the Porch on Vimeo.

Charlie and Derek choose the latter and embark on a 1,300-mile bike ride around Lake Superior with little more than a few dollars, sleeping bags, one copy of Jules Verne's The Adventures of Captain Hatteras, the shirts on their backs, and shorts that were not made for biking 5 miles.

Although the film is set in 1969, it, like any good period piece, depicts characters whose emotions and desires are timeless. Except for Vietnam casting its shadow over Derek's future, the relationship between Charlie and Derek could happen at any point in history. Like any longtime friends, they measure themselves against each other and challenge each other. They ultimately need to accept that, although close friends, they face different futures.

While traveling through Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Minnesota, and Canada, Charlie and Derek encounter a few interesting characters (including a few overly stereotypical Minnesotans). Although a funeral director and crazy recluse add comedy to the duo's adventure, the best moments in the film are when Charlie and Derek are alone on screen. Their dialogue uncovers their hopes and fears, and the friendship feels real through the film's unspoken moments, such as the creative way they share Verne's novel or goof off on a beach.

Although Superior is a coming-of-age story and a buddy film, it is also Benda's homage to the U.P. and the largest of the Great Lakes. Benda grew up in several places but spent a good amount of his childhood, including his high school years, in Michigan. He filmed the movie in the U.P.'s Keweenaw Peninsula, the northernmost part of the U.P. that juts into Lake Superior. The story is inspired by his Uncle Karl's own trip around Lake Superior with a friend in 1971. The bikes used in the film are the same ones that his uncle and his uncle's friend rode.

Superior's cinematography (courtesy of director of photography Alex Bell) captures the beauty of Lake Superior and the U.P. A scene of Charlie and Derek skipping rocks over the lake's crystal-clear waters will feel familiar to anyone who has stood on a Lake Superior beach and marveled at the vast expanse of water. When Charlie and Derek are riding quietly on tree-lined roads and paths, the magnificent silence of the U.P. comes to life. The land is populated by majestic trees. Civilization is absent, but wilderness abounds. It is the perfect place to escape from the world and to find oneself in the process.

Superior is a solid first film for Benda. It feels like the start of a great adventure, and here's to hoping Benda takes us along for the ride.

For more information about Superior and Benda and Bell's production company, Beyond the Porch Productions, visit superiorthemovie.com.