The annual backyard party and family gathering on steroids, known as the Backyard Beer Garden 2022, was the perfect way to say hello to October.
Backyard Beer Garden 2022
Chelsea Area Chamber of Commerce) hosted the annual Backyard Beer Garden 2022 on the first of October. This last hoorah before the weather turns cold never disappoints. Once again, Devil’s Haircut and The Crazy Diamond sponsored the event.
The weather this year was on par with last year’s shindig. Beautiful sunny skies and delightful temperatures made it easy to kick back and relax. IQ Audio was on hand spinning the party tunes. While the overall formula for Backyard Beer Garden 2022 is the same as prior years, the chamber crew upped the ante with more food, beverage, and game options.
Beer, Wine, and Cocktails
It may be called the Backyard Beer Garden, but there is really something for everyone. The beer selection featured the righteous Oktoberfest from Founders and two amazing offerings from Grand Armory Brewing; Wheezin The Juice IPA and Nutter Your Business Peanut Butter stout. While I dig a nice juicy IPA, the peanut butter stout from Grand Armory is next level! If you love peanut butter, this beer is for you.
If beer is not your thing, then Ugly Dog Distillery and The Crazy Diamond have you covered. Ugly Dog completely embraced fall by bringing their Salted Caramel whiskey, which they turned into a delightful harvest cocktail with cinnamon called The Ultimate Cinn. Brenda tried the Dirty Shirley from The Crazy Diamond, which is a vodka cocktail with lime and cherry juice and a bit of Sprite. She found it refreshing and a perfect compliment to a sunny afternoon.
New this year was wine from Withington’s, a wine shop at 112 N. Main Street in Chelsea. They had a wide variety of wines available at the backyard beer garden. We talked briefly to Jay Friend, the owner who was running the wine table. He’d been in the wine business for over 20 years. When the opportunity came up in Chelsea to start his own shop, he and his wife jumped on it. In addition to wine, Withington’s also has beer, cider, and sake. Brenda and I grabbed Jay’s card as we plan to go back and visit Withington’s again soon.
Who’s hungry?
In order to be in top physical condition for all the games at the Backyard Beer Garden 2022, you need top-quality fuel. Thompson’s had their delicious pizzas on deck, with a special sweet and spicy pork pizza made just for the backyard beer garden. I’m not much of a sweet and spicy guy, but our friend Angie thought it was great. Smokehouse 52 BBQ was back with their outstanding BBQ, including the piggy parfait, which is another special treat you can only get at this event. The Lakehouse Bakery went above and beyond with awesome baked goods and charcuterie boxes.
If a big old chili dog with a mega basket of fries had your name on it, then Awesome Dogs has you covered. They were grilling up a bunch of dogs and brats. We saw more than a few baskets of fries circling the picnic tables.
For dessert, Cake by Kaity had these super cool cakes on a popsicle stick. These are perfect for allowing you to eat your cake and play a round of giant Jenga at the same time.
Games
The big draw at the Backyard Beer Garden 2022 is the games. The standby favorites of Giant Jenga, Giant beer pong, Giant darts, Giant Kerplunk, ring toss, washer toss, Fowling (bowling with a football), and cornhole were on hand. Like last year, there wasn’t a cornhole tournament, but the chamber did double the number of cornhole games which allowed a lot more folks to play.
If I’m not mistaken, a few new games arrived at the Backyard beer garden 2022. There was a game where you would slam a ball on a small trampoline toward your opponent, and they would have to slam the ball back at you. This was appropriately named Slammo. The other new one was a giant take on the college drinking game called Flip Cup.
Pictures
The Backyard Beer Garden 2022 made for a fun afternoon and evening on a beautiful fall day in Chelsea. We want to thank the team of Chelsea Area Chamber of Commerce staff and volunteers who worked so hard to put this event together. Head over to the gallery for a few more pictures. Be sure to leave a comment if you attended, as we’d love to hear from you.
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