By David Anderson, Mahoning Valley Flight Crew

My wife and I recently took a weekend to visit some friends who live about five hours away in the lower peninsula of Michigan. When we arrived, I was happy to hear that the reputation of the Mahoning Valley Flight Crew had already spread so far (or my wife had just told our friends), and as a result there were plans in place to visit a local brewery.

Located right outside of Battle Creek, Mich. (home of Kellogg’s and former WWE Superstar Rob Van Dam), Territorial Brewing offers German-inspired beer and cuisine. We sampled three beers: Tight Pants Saison, Ole Bretta Danish Pils, and the Battle Creek Lager.

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The Ole Bretta Danish Pills (4.8% ABV), pronounced Oh-Lee, was very refreshing. This was my favorite of the beers we sampled. It was musty and the apricot came through. I also got some of the pear in the aftertaste. The Tight Pants Saison (7.3% ABV) was crisp and refreshing as described, and it went down very smooth even with the strength. The Battle Creek Lager (7.1% ABV) has a nickname of “The Devil” for being easy to drink and I absolutely agree with that name. In addition, the bold flavor of the New Zealand Pacific Jade hops definitely came through.

One of the main seasonal offerings is the Penetrator, a Doppelbock (11.4% ABV). Named for the freeways that converge in Battle Creek, it is described by the brewery as a “Strong, dark, malty lager”. Since the term “liquid bread” was also used in the description, and since we were sampling a few other brews, we skipped the Penetrator.

Since food awaited us elsewhere, we only tried the pretzel with beer cheese, which we enjoyed. The beer cheese was outstanding. I would love to stop by next time with an empty stomach and sample the traditional dishes like the schnitzel, The Loaded German Fries and Best of the Wurst – a sampling of three of the German sausages they serve.

I would highly recommend stopping by if anyone is passing through the Battle Creek area.

Territorial Brewing 256 Helmer Rd. N Springfield, Mich.

For more information check out: http://territorialbrewing.com/