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I sat in the only open seat, way down 'round the "L" at the end of the bar to the left. My man Wes helped me at the bar and poured me a flight. I had the Juice Therapy, a fruited sour. Like I've said before, I keep trying sours to see if they grow on me at all. I have to say that this was the best one yet, for me. 4% abv. The flight also had the Princess Peach, which was a hard seltzer, and the Berry Swirl Lucky Charms. This was maybe the most sour sour I've had. It was bubbly and was hissing at me a bit and it was from the end of what Wes said was a successful batch. I think I overdid it on the sours with that one. Made me pucker up. The last glass I had was the Subliminal Haze. This was more my normal speed, being a New England hazy IPA at 7.5% abv.

Wes told me that the brewery was about seven and a half years old. I counted eleven happy customers, all guys. He asked if I would like to meet the owner and invited Chad to visit with us. I explained to Chad how Clyde and I enjoy the arduous task of documenting breweries in our own way. My business card and the shirt helped and Chad gave me the royal treatment. The brewery started with a half barrel brewing capacity, hence the name. They are currently at a three barrel capacity as they have been growing. They have retained the original brewing setup (see pic), in addition to all their new equipment. Their beer is made from about 70% locally sourced products and their next batches will include a Brown Ale, and a Mango and Apricot sour. They love their sours! Chad said that Pils and Lagers are big hits for them.

Chad then proceeded to buy me a beer. It was called "Three", by Home State, one of their brewing partners. A triple IPA, it packed 11.8% and was the perfect end to my beer drinking at now 4:00 in the afternoon or so. It made me start to fool so feelish. Then Chad gave me a tour and he showed me where the original equipment and wall were before they expanded. They were proud of that footprint still there in the floor, and I think it's going to stay there. But the new area really expanded things for them. First of all, it gave them lots of room to hang all of their Michigan team banners. Chad and his brother Scott hail from Detroit and are working together on this "project". It sounds like Chad does all the work and Scott pays all the bills. Bills including buying and paying for this new expansion, which they did about a year ago.

As it turns out, Scott was one of the patrons at the other end of the bar and Chad introduced me and he joined us on the tour. We stopped by the kitchen and caught the cook doing his thing. Half Barrel is also known for their great food and sadly, I had to take their word for it as I was saving room for dinner. Here's a copy of their menu. Their new area gave them a chance to create a lounge, hang up more Michigan team banners, set up their lab, and it gave them room for more brewing! *Side note guys, as a fan of The Badger State teams, I bit my tongue and endured lol. Loved the banners though!

One last thing Chad pointed out was their new logo. Their previous "logo" was a bunch of words and colors and the new one is a big improvement! A half barrel on its side. Way to go guys and keep on brewing!

Until the next stop - hope to see you out there!