Mad Hatter Rages on the South Side

There are many reasons I have for getting back to Pittsburgh: family, friends, Primanti Bros, real pierogies, the view from Mount Washington, to hear the word yinz, growler hours at East End Brewing and to be surrounded by those who love the black & gold as much as I do.  All great.  However, after checking in over at The Grain Bill, Dr. Joel gave me another reason. 

One Saturday June 12 the dear Dr. is conducting a New Holland Mad Hatter Bar Crawl on the South Side. It's six different bars and six different versions of Mad Hatter (Imperial, Black, Oak Aged, Cask Conditioned, Rye and of course the original). Unfortunately a trip back home to The Burgh on that weekend isn't possible for me.  I'll have to cross my fingers and hope that the Dr. throws some of that multiple Mad Hatter love in Philly's direction.

Give Me A Theme for My Beer Night

When I was in a frat back in my college days the most interesting parties were the ones wrapped around a theme. Heaven and Hell Night was one of the best (sorry the details will remain withheld). Now a days bars have embarrassed the theme idea to pull in valuable patrons. With so many great places to grab a good beer around Philly a creative twist to draw attention isn't a bad idea. Now I have never needed a reason to head into a bar and have a beer. "Hey, the work day is done, time for a beer". "Hmmmm, that place looks interesting, lets stop and have a beer". "I am still breathing and my legs function lets go in and have a beer". All have been reason enough to indulge in a pint or two. However I do like it when an establishment puts a little extra thought into it to create an interesting event. This can be as simple as a creative Happy Hour special or a detailed weekend extravaganza. Many times brewery reps or distributors work with bars to create cool beer promos. Something more stimulating than the mundane $2.00 Bud Light Pint Night. Many bars around Philadelphia have fun with specials maybe none better than the creative wizards over at Memphis Taproom. Brendan's Mystery Beer Weekend in August was one of the most unique. Over three days a total of 30 beers covering 11 styles were tapped. A few small clues were given and the goal was to list the beers on a ballot. The winner, Jim Keaveney, named an incredible 28 and second went to The Beer Lass, Sly Fox's Suzanne Woods. Other beer adventures at Memphis Taproom are the Me and Mom Happy Hour, the Pittsburgh Transplant Happy Hour (love the idea of that one) and the upcoming Boxing Day Beer Festival. The creativity is great, it creates atmosphere, it's a cool twist to grabbing a beer and it draws attention to the bar. There is nothing wrong with bringing in the business. I am sure more places will stir the creative fluids and develop unique ideas for great beer gatherings. It just so happens that there are two beer events tonight. One on the soulful side the other more seasonal.

Thursday is Beer Night

In the City
I've already mentioned this one but it deserves another shout out. Join Dr. Joel from New Holland Brewing at the Sidecar Bar and Grille for Soul Power, an evening of beer, soul music and soul food. Joel will pour The Poet, Mad Hatter, Dragons Milk and Cabin Fever and the DJ will spin the soulful sounds. The groove starts at 5pm and goes until whenever.

In the Burbs
For an evening filled with holiday cheer join Brian O' Reilly, Tim Ohst and Suzanne Woods at Teresa's Next Door for the Sly Fox Christmas Party. Enjoy Sly Fox's Christmas Ale and other specialty beers during the evening. The party starts at 6:00. Bonus from 6-8pm Don "Joe Sixpack" Russell will have copies of his Christmas Beer book for sale. Buy it, get it signed and chat about this season's best Xmas beers with the author.