Trekin' to Dogfish and Dr. Joel

My beer weekend officially started and ended on Thursday night. Because of a full weekend of running around dealing with the purchase of a new house, Thursday was the only day to catch any beer activity. This meant, unfortunately, I had to miss the Brewers' Reserve Black and Tan Cask event on Saturday at Iron Hill. I am sure I'll have to miss more events since the next few months are only going to get crazier with the big move fast approaching.

Thursday night's suburban beer trek started early at Capone's with Dogfish Head. The beer lineup brought out one of the largest crowds I've seen at the bar. Anytime it's just after 5:00, you do two laps of the parking lot and end up grabbing a spot next door you know there is something serious happening inside. Once I managed to swoop into a seat at the bar I heard someone refer to the evening as, "beer Christmas". In a way it was; you just don't see that many Dogfish high abv creations all on draft at the same time. Theobroma, 60, 90, 120, World Wide Stout, Raison D' Etre, Palo Santo Marron, Indian Brown and to top it off the 90 Minute flowing through Randall. The only beer under 6% abv was the Festina Peche. All those beers under the tree on Christmas morning would spark any beer fanatics Yule Log. As much as I wanted to kick back and try them all I refrained knowing I had a long drive ahead of me.

My long, dark, wet, winding drive took me to Ortino's Northside for a meeting with Dr. Joel and Cask Kev for a few of New Holland's finest. I have been reading The Grain Bill forever but this was the first time I had a chance to talk with Joel. It was great getting the chance to enjoy a Cabin Fever with the Northeast Ambassador of all things New Holland. From the sound of it he has a busy schedule of spreading the word about the brewery. Michigan brewers have been making a big push into PA, especially in Philadelphia, and New Holland offers up some excellent choices. If you want to enjoy a few and learn a little more about New Holland, Joel has two appearances this week you shouldn't miss. The first is Dragon's Milk Night at The Institute from 7-9:00pm and then on Thursday Sidecar Bar is hosting Soul Power. An evening of soul music, food and New Holland beer. The good times roll at 5:00pm. It looks like New Holland will make Thursday night another great early start to the weekend.