Thursday is Beer Night

Is Thursday the new Friday? We should all be so lucky, but for beer seekers the weekend starts early with two feature nights. The Drafting Room in Exton is having a Clipper City Heavy Seas Night. A firkin of Loose Cannon Hop 3 Ale, along with Hang Ten Wiezen Doppelbock, Peg Leg Stout and Uber Pils will all flow at 6pm. Capone's Restaurant in Norristown is having an indoor Summer Fest with all the accoutrements. Matt has put together a menu of BBQ ribs, BBQ chicken, Black Angus hot dogs, Black Angus burgers, steaks, summer salad, corn on the cob, homemade coleslaw, macaroni salad, baked beans and watermelon. Oh yeah almost forgot the beer. The owner/brewers from Roy Pitz Brewing out of Chambersburg PA are stopping in after 5:30. Two of their beers, Watermelon Lager and White Horse Hefeweizen are on tap. Also look for Cricket Hill Brewing's Colonel Blide's Extra Special Bitter, Breakfast Summer Ale, East Coast Lager, American Ale and Hopnotic India Pale Ale. The festivities include give aways, so wear your flip flops and summer gear (please no tank tops). It's all pay as you go.

Lew, Mark and a Rare Fish

On Sunday I took a drive up to The Grey Lodge Pub for the launch of Lew Bryson's and Mark Haynie's new book, New Jersey Breweries. Since it was Sunday I got my typical late start and arrived about 30 minutes before they were scheduled to leave. The good thing is I missed the crowd, had an open spot at the bar and got the chance to talk with Lew and Mark for a minute. Of course I picked up a copy of the book and had it signed. Although, I almost forgot to pay for it. After ordering a pint of Flying Fish's Bourbon Barrel Dubbel, I sat at the bar and then Kelleigh reminded me I didn't pay for the book. Oops, not too embarrassing. In the end Lew got the cash, I got to meet him and Mark and take home a great read. Thanks again guys.

The beer that made my mind slip was a rare find and on tap from the previous night when Flying Fish brewer Casey Hughes was on hand. My favorite alcoholic beverage after beer is either bourbon or scotch depending on the mood, so the abbey dubbel aged in bourbon barrels was the perfect rainy Sunday beverage. Served in a pint glass it was dark brown with almost no head. When I raised the glass I caught a whiff of sweet bourbon, fruit and malt. The bourbon dominates the taste but not in a bad way. There were hints of pear, apple, vanilla, nut with a mild oak end. The surprise was the medium-light mouth feel. My preference is for a slightly heavier dubbel but it still worked well. Maybe because I am a bourbon drinker I didn't mind the booziness or notice any real alcohol burn. Flying Fish needs to make this one less of a rare find and put it on the brewing schedule more often.

Lions and Tigers and Crowds... Oh My!

The weekend has passed and with so many beer activities there seemed to be something for everyone. Sadly I missed Big Beer Friday at Stewart's Brewing in Bear DE. It was the celebration before their 13th Anniversary bash on Saturday. Being a huge fan of bourbon aged beers I was really looking forward to the bourbon stout and barleywine. Hey sometimes life hands ya lemons instead of bourbon stout and ya deal with it. If you went please let me know about the festivities.

On Saturday night I did go to the Brew at the Zoo beer tasting fundraiser for the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation held at the Philadelphia Zoo. In past years the event was held at the Elmwood Park Zoo in Norristown. My guess is the move to Philadelphia allowed more people to enjoy the event and hopefully more money raised for the UMDF. However it was soon obvious that the organizers were not prepared for the amount of beer drinkers flowing through the gates. The one thing that can destroy a good time at any tasting event is the inability to taste. This was a problem from the start. After getting wrist bands we were told that they were out of the complimentary tasting mugs. Instead we were given clear plastic Solo cups. OK, not a huge issue, just no cute souvenir mug to commemorate the day. Once inside just getting a beer became a problem. People waited 10 to 20 minutes plus to receive a 2oz pour. Soon tables were overwhelmed with grumbling festival goers. Long lines never put people in a good mood. Also slowing down the process of getting a beer was the fact that most of the servers had to take the time to open and pour from bottles. Sure it's only a few seconds but, combined with a lack of servers, time adds up. The large crowds then caused the next issue. By 8pm several tables were dry. NO BEER!!! No beer at a beer tasting? Say it ain't so, but it happened. I stood in two lines for more than 15 minutes each to then hear the words, "Sorry we're out of beer". Rrrrrrrr...there is no bigger way to upset people at a beer event than to announce that the beverage they came to enjoy is kicked. Of course this only served to make the lines longer at the tables that were still serving beer. Now before I sound like the king of negativity I will say that the venue was great. Walking around the zoo and checking out the wildlife was fun. Having food and non alcoholic drinks included is something I wish more festivals did. Not having to worry about too few bathrooms was a blessing. The fact that so many people came out on a beautiful night and raised money for a charity was fantastic. However the event execution was lacking. Maybe it was all due to the new venue? Even so if this event is going to successfully continue at the Philadelphia Zoo the structure has to change. Limiting ticket sales doesn't seem like a good idea since the money raised goes to charity. However, coordinators may need to follow the lead of other beer festivals and conduct more than one session. More servers, more beer and more tables are needed. Ideally more breweries or distributors should take part. I am sure that the organizers will look into it and make the needed adjustments. I look forward to seeing if things turn around next year. I love the idea of spending an evening with friends, drinking a few beers and watching the animals. I just don't want to slash and claw my way through a mob to do it.

San Francisco

Finally! We made it to San Francisco. Don't get me wrong I loved the trip and all of our stops but San Fran was what I had been waiting for. It's one of the cities on my list of places to go before I die. We crossed the Golden Gate as the sun was going down and the sky was amazing. Even in my slightly inebriated state of mind I was impressed with the hazy pink and blue canvas above. After winding our way around the hilly streets we found our hotel, got settled, grabbed food then like anyone who had one too many beer samplers I crashed for the evening. The true adventure would have to wait.

Now that we were in the city there were places we had to go. I will skip the tourist blah, blah, blah, and just say that we did all the typical first time in S.F. activities. The focus here as it always is is the beer. From what I had heard this was a great beer town. Bryan over at The Brew Lounge had sent me some great places to hit and I had already set reservations for the Anchor Brewing tour so that was our first stop.

My suggestion to anyone heading to Anchor Brewing is, MAKE RESERVATIONS EARLY! If you don't you may be very disappointed. I called a couple months ahead and had to take the early tour because the later one was already sold out. It's extremely popular. We arrived 10 minutes before the tour and were lucky enough to get street parking next to the brewery. After climbing a few flights we reached the tap room where the tour was set to begin. The guide gave a history of Anchor Brewing, brewing techniques and beer in San Francisco. Before the actual walking part of the tour began we were all instructed that no photography was aloud beyond the brewing room. This explains why everyone who has been to Anchor only has pictures of the same two rooms. Overall the tour was very interesting. After the history lesson in the tap room we moved into the brewing room, open fermentation chambers, hop storage room, the yeast lab, cold conditioning room, the bottling and kegging lines then back to the brewing room for quick information on their distilling line (whiskey and gin). The tour ended in the tap room with a tasting. The beers poured were, Anchor Steam, Old Foghorn, Anchor Porter and Liberty Ale. Our guide was very generous when it came to the beers. Although we were drinking out of standard tasting glasses we had multiple fills. No complaints.

If you go remember.

Schedule a tour time in advance (at least a month).

Know that you will climb steps.

Bring cash for cool beer swag.

Be prepared to relax and enjoy your surroundings with a few beers.

Onward to the Haight-Ashbury and the Toronado.

Grab a Book, a Pint and Some Brunch

Here is a good way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Lew Bryson and Mark Haynie will be at The Grey Lodge Pub to launch their new book, New Jersey Breweries. You can pick up a copy there, have it signed by Lew and Mark and then grab a pint of one of many NJ beers on tap. The Grey Lodge's full brunch menu will also be available. Just tell the wife or girlfriend you want to take them to a great brunch and remember to act surprised when you see Lew and Mark.

Pliny and Blind Pig in Bottles

YES!!! It is official Pliny the Elder and Blind Pig are both in bottles and being shipped to Southern California distributors. This info was posted on the Russian River Brewing Company website. Portland Oregon will reserve a small shipment of Blind Pig by the end of July and in August Seattle and Denver should see cases headed their way. No real news on any getting to the east coast and I wouldn't hold your breath. It's great knowing that two more fantastic beers from Russian River are being bottled and we can hope that the powers that be will some how find a way to get them into the Philadelphia market.

A Reason for Cloning

I have already banged my head against the wall more than a few times over this one. This Friday the 25th presents an interesting dilemma for beer fans around Philadelphia. There are no less than three beer oriented activities happening and they are nowhere near each other. Now I know that I should just be happy that I have something to choose from but that's hard when you want to go to them all. I don't feel like bouncing around the area depleting my gas tank more than I need to so a choice has to be made. The nominees in no particular order are.

1. The Grey Lodge, NE Phila.
Flying Fish Head Brewer Casey Hughes steps in from 6-9pm to challenge the crowd at R U Smarter Than Casey? The rare Bourbon aged Flying Fish Abbey Dubbel is also being tapped. MMMMM... bourbon!!!!

2. Stewart's Brewing Co, Bear DE.
Big Beer Friday is set in preparation for their 13th Anniversary Party on Saturday. Stewart's will be serving some of their best from the current and past beer list. Bourbon Stout, Cherry Dubbel, Barleywine 2008, Vintage Barleywines, Bourbon Barleywines, Stumblin' Monk, Abbey Dubbel and Conundrum. Can you say designated driver?

3. Ron's Original Bar and Grill, Exton PA.
It's Victory Brewing Night. Sales Rep Tracey Mulligan will have the only area release outside of the brewery of Wild Devil. MMMMM...Brettanomyces. Also enjoy 10 Year Alt, Baltic Thunder, Kolsch,Prima Pils, Mad King Weiss, Hop Devil and Whirlwind Wit.

Oh well a choice must be made. The great thing is there are no losers in the bunch. Things are a little easier on Saturday with Stewart's 13th Anniversary Party starting at 11am and The Brew at the Zoo beer festival at the Philadelphia Zoo starting at 6pm. Oh wait I forgot the Battle of the Brewery Bands at Stoudts Brewing Company that also kicks off at 6pm. This is going to be one serious beer weekend. Now just to figure out which way to point the car.

Happy International Brewers Day

After checking out the Pacific Brew News site I came across the link for International Brewers Day. I wanted to throw in my support and wish all those brewers out there a HAPPY INTERNATIONAL BREWERS DAY!!!! I wish I would of looked at Rick's site earlier because I would of posted this sooner. Beer writer Jay Brooks is trying to establish July 18th as the official International Brewers Day. This day is set aside to honor all the great men and women who create our favorite beverage. We all enjoy a good beer but sometimes forget the effort it takes to get it into our glasses. So today raise a pint and thank those who took the time to create the beer you are enjoying. This is the first year for the celebration but hopefully it catches on and will become official. If you click on the link you will find all the details.

When I thought about all the many beers I enjoy it was hard to focus on just one brewer to raise a toast to. If I were to name everyone it would take more than a few weeks to get through the list. So I figured I would bring up the names of those people who are doing great things right in my backyard. In the Philadelphia area I want to raise a pint to Brian OReilly at Sly Fox, Josh Ervine at Yards, Brian Selders at Dogfish Head, John Matson at Stoudt's, Russ Czajika at General Lafayette, Gordon Grubb at Nodding Head and Ron Barchet at Victory. Plus a shout out to my hometown of Pittsburgh and Scott Smith at East End Brewing. You and your teams have all created incredible beers and I hope that you will continue to develop beers that excite and satisfy us all. SALUTE!!!

I also want to raise a glass to Breckenridge brewer John Jordan. I had the chance to meet John during Philly Beer Week 08 at Capone's Restaurant during the Breckenridge beer night. John was there to educate all of us on the best from Breckenridge but took the time to sit down, have a beer and discuss the finer qualities of skiing in Colorado compared to PA. He was planing a spring trip the next day to the Poconos to dodge the mud patches on the slopes. The following night after attending a Bell's Brewery event and a Spaten promotion I caught up with John in the city, had a few beers, then hiked it over to The Belgian Cafe where we ended up meeting bar owners Tom Peters and Fergus Carey along with others in the beer industry. If you are unaware Tom and Fergus (Fergie) are both hugely responsible for starting the Belgian beer boom in Philly. Overall it was a great experience for a guy who does a simple beer blog out of Philadelphia. Thanks again John.

Road to San Francisco

After a few great days in Napa and Sonoma we headed south to San Fran. Before crossing the Golden Gate we made a few beer stops north of the city. First was Moylans in Novato CA. I have been enjoying their beers since they have been distributed in PA and admit that I am a bit biased. I love what this brewery puts out. The brewery restaurant is conveniently located right off of Route 101/ Redwood Highway. Since this was a quick stop I took a seat at the bar and had an IPA. The beer poured an orange/copper color with a thick white head. Grapefruit tones dominated the smell of pine and other citrus. The hops hit the back of the tongue and bitterness came through and lingered. This is a very good West Coast IPA. Overall Moylans is a total hop paradise. Besides the IPA there's Moylander Double IPA, Wet Hopsicle Triple IPA, Hopsicle Imperial IPA and Tipperary Pale Ale. I had a second IPA and then Kelleigh and I were back on the road to San Fran.

Our next stop was 15 miles south in Larkspur, the Marin Brewing Company. Brandon Moylan, the owner of Moylans Brewery (go figure) is also the owner and Head Brewer at Marin. The brewery is tucked into a shopping and office park area. Again we grabbed seats at the bar. I think my butt was made for a bar stools. This time I went all out and did the sampler along with an order of oysters. This was probably the largest beer sampler I have ever consumed just beating out the nine glass sampler at North Country Brewing Company in Slippery Rock PA. The stand outs were the IPA and the Point Reyes Porter. The porter was dark almost black in color with a taste of dark chocolate, roasted malt and coffee. A slight sweetness also worked it's way into the taste. By the end of the beer and oysters I was sufficiently stuffed and Kelleigh was officially responsible for getting us to our hotel in downtown San Francisco. Next stop the big city.

Legendary Brewery on the Way

There is nothing that I like hearing more about than the opening of a new brewery in the area. The news is especially sweet when that brewery is close to home. With Don "Joe Sixpack" Russell's claim of Best Beer Drinking City in America and the size of Philadelphia compared to other beer cities such as Denver, Portland and Seattle we need more breweries and brew pubs. So the word that a new brewery will open in Valley Forge is a step in the right direction. Legendary Craft Brewery co-founders Matt Dreyfuss and Fred Hovermann hope to open the brewery by the end of 2008. Currently they have a website up that provides some background, pictures and a current timeline on their progress. They are also providing information on My Space and Facebook. Hopefully everything goes as planned and soon Legendary Craft Brewery will join the line up of great Philadelphia area Breweries. Good luck guys!

http://www.drinklegendary.com/

An Afternoon with the Devil

Living in the burbs and hearing about a new beer place opening in the city creates mixed emotions. I love that a new beer bar is up and running however it reminds me that I am no longer a city dweller and it will take a little extra effort to enjoy a pint. This is the case with Devil's Den located at 11th and Ellsworth. Even when I did live in the city that particular part of South Philly wasn't part of my stomping grounds for good drink. I have been hearing about the place for the past few months but just made it there Saturday. Devil's Den has the feel of a real neighborhood pub. Not in the old, dark corner bar your dad frequented way, but rather the new comfortable 30 something spot to socialize. The split floor plan, dining area and bar, fireplace, dark wood and red walls all create a very warm atmosphere. The only draw back is it almost feels too new and put together. I am sure with time and use the place should gain character. What makes this place a good stop for beer hunters is the draft list and bottle selection. Devil's Den is heavy on American micros along with Belgians and Germans. You have popular IPA's and wheat beers but Flemish sour reds, Gueuze, Rauch and Schwarz beers are also represented. I counted 16 beers on tap and over 80 on the bottle list. I didn't get the chance to sample any food from the menu so that review will have to wait. I hope the Devil's Den keeps a firm foothold in this South Philly neighborhood and continues to offer fantastic beer choices. Along with The South Philadelphia Tap Room it gives real beer adventurers a reason to cross over Washington Avenue.

Feels Like the Burgh in Philly

This Pittsburgher has found an event to really get behind. The Memphis Taproom is having a Pittsburgh transplant happy hour from 5pm-7pm Tuesday July 1st. Look to enjoy all things Pittsburgh with beers from Penn Brewing and Iron City along side a version of the Primanti Brothers sandwich. I am not sure how that will turn out but hopefully they stay true to the slaw and fries on the sandwich. I will do everything possible to make it to this one. Something tells me that not too many other bars will attempt this type of gathering any time soon. See yinz guys there.

Photo of sandwich from Roadfoods.com