Another Big Beer Saturday in Philly

Stating that it's a big beer weekend in Philly is akin to reporting that the Schuylkill River is wet and flowing.  It's a given.  Just how big a beer weekend is the better question.  Today is full of enough choices to have any beer centric individual frothing at the mouth.

Hopheads among us rejoice with Hopfest @ The Drafting Room noon tap time and Bitter Rivalry @ Iron Hill North Wales,1-5pm.  Looking for variety get on the bus for Craft Beer Express 11-9pm or trek to Phoenixville for some strolling and sipping at the Phoenixville Pub Crawl 12-6pm. Want beer with your breakfast go here, Teresa's Next Door 4th Annual Stone Brunch or Johnny Brenda's Third Annual Stout Brunch. Now the choice is yours. Cheers!

As the Beer World Turns

I'm slacking, it's been a week since I've posted.  Sure, I've tossed in a few changes to my daily routine, more on that soon, but nothing that should have prevented me from hitting a couple events.  The wonderful fact is the beer world stops for no man, especially little old me. Lets see what I've missed

April 8th
Berwick Brewing at Earth, Bread + Brewing.   Damn wanted to go and didn't.
April 10th
Beer Gone A-Rye @ The Institute.  Missed it. Strike 2.
April 11th
2010 World Beer Cup. Largest commercial beer competition ever. Congratulations Iron Hill (winner of Large Brew Pub of the Year).  Oops a touch late on that one.
April 13th
Meet & Greet with Hans Peter Drexler (G. Schneider and Sohn Brewery Brewmaster) @ Brauhaus Schmitz. Strike 3 I'm officially slacking.

Also reports here and here on new breweries, which is always fantastic news. Thank you Mr. Curtin and Mr. Bryson.  Topping it off Scoats is a man with a Hop Angel on his shoulder.

Maybe now my slacker self can get back in the game and find a way to go to the following.

Drafting Room Hopfest
Spring House
Saturday, April 17th
Tap time: 12:00pm

Drafts Pouring
Bell’s Two Hearted Ale
Founders Double Trouble
Rock Art Belvedire
Port Brewing Wipeout
Bear Republic
Spring House Beyond the Gates
Southern Tier
Ithaca Ground Break
Lilja’s Hop Nest Monster
Flying Fish Exit 16 WE
Duvel Green
Brooklyn Blast
Green Flash Imperial IPA
Flying Dog Raging Bitch
Tröegs Nugget Nectar
Elysian Avatar – Jasmine
Brew Works Hop’Solutely
Victory Yakima Twilight “Cask”
Manayunk “The Hive”
Manayunk California Dreamin “Firkin”
Green Flash West Coast IPA

Drafting Room Beer Brunch
Spring House
Sunday, April 18th
Tap time: 11:00am

Drafts Pouring
Hair of the Dog Blue Dot
Ithaca Flower Power
Terrapin Big Hoppy Monster
Russian River Supplication
Tröegs Nugget Nectar “Cask Condition”

Mondo Brewlicious Saturday

Nothing to do today? Then you are not thinking with your beer soaked brain. There are enough great beer events happening in and around Philly that you will wish you could clone yourself and get to them all.

Philadelphia

Drafting Room Spring House

Hopfest

noon start, all day, PAYG

Offerings scheduled to include:
Green Flash West Coast IPA, Brooklyn Blast, Drafting Room 15th Anniversary Ale, Green Flash Imperial IPA, Moylan’s Hopsickle, Southern Tier Hoppe, Rogue Latona, Southern Tier Gemini, Yards Cape of Good Hope, Houblon Chouffe Dobbelen IPA Tripel, Otter Creek Imperial IPA, Iron Hill (North Wales) Something Hoppy, Duvel Green, Bear Republic Racer X, Arcadia Hop Rocket, Rogue xs I2PA, Thirty Dog Hoppus Maximus, Great Lakes Burning River, Bavarian Barbarian Weldsplatter, Stoudts Double IPA, Tröegs Nugget Nectar “Firkin”
Sorry, No Growlers

Johnny Brenda's

Pils Picnic
Noon, all day, PAYG
Why celebrate Oktoberfest when SUMMER IS STILL HERE?! Saturday, September 12 from noon on we'll be serving 10 local pils on tap from Victory, Stoudts, Dock Street, Troegs, Sly Fox, Iron Hill, and McKenzie. We will be serving delicious picnic food like deviled eggs, potato salad, cold fried chicken, and more! Come enjoy the crisp, refreshing pilsners!

TJ's Restaurant & Drinkery

Suburban Philly Beer Meetup

3-5pm

Bring your best brews to share and meet other Suburban Pilly BAs. TJ's will be supplying the space and various appetizers to go around. This is a no cost event - so please tip your server generously as they will have to serve the apps and clean up after us. If the event is successful we will host one every quarter throughout the year.

Northern Liberties

A Full Plate's 3rd Annual Rib Cook-Off

1pm

With your $20 admission price you also get a beer from Stoudt's and a cocktail mixed with ROOT liqueur. A bottomless cup can be purchased for an additional $10. Doors open to the event at 1pm. The first 35 people through the door also get a FREE Rib Cook-Off t-shirt from Philly Fresh Prints!A Full Plate's 3rd Annual Rib Cook-Off2nd and N. Hancock Streets (directly behind The Piazza @ Schmidt's)FREE PARKING

Pittsburgh

Steel City Big Pour 2009

Session One: 12pm - 3pm (SOLD OUT), Session Two: 5pm - 8pm (SOLD OUT)
A Craft Brewing Experience Featuring: Beer Samples From 32 Craft Breweries, Food From Over 20 Local Restaurants, Live Art & Music, Deluxe Kegerator Art & Raffle, The Return of the Belgian Cafe, Big Pour's Own Brew, More Pours... Think Glass & Concrete, Many Organic Offerings, And Much Much More! Three hours of beer, live art & music. In two short years, the Big Pour has established itself as the preeminent craft beer festival in the region. Come and experience Craft Brewing like nowhere else in Pittsburgh. No one attending will ever be the same!

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.

Pliny Heads East

I was just on the Drafting Room website to find the list of beers for Hop Fest 3. The line up looks great. If big hoppy beers are your thing this is the ticket to Shangri-La. It all kicks off Saturday March 12th in Spring House at noon and it's pay as you go. So hop heads rejoice and make your way out to the Drafting Room.

Hop Fest 3

Green Flash West Coast IPA
Sierra Nevada Celebration
Drafting Room 13th Anniversary
Tröegs Nugget Nectar
Flying Bison Bird of Prey
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
Bear Republic
Landmark Colonel Hop Red Ale
Russian River Pliny the Elder
Victory Harvest Pils
Avery the Maharaja Imperial IPA
Chouffe Houblon Dobbelen IPA Tripel
Boulder Mojo Risin’ Imperial IPA
Dock Street Rye IPA
Founders Devil Dancer I³PA
Dogfish Head Aprihop
Tröegs Nugget Nectar (Cask Conditioned)

No Beer for for Me

It has been weeks since I have posted and I will blame that on the fact that I have not had a beer in 3 weeks. I know that is a horrific statement but it is true. The reason for my lack of consumption is the low carb lifestyle. I have been swept up in a challenge to drop 15lbs (or more) before our wedding in May. At this point just looking at a beer makes my mouth water. People have already told me about diets where they enjoyed a beer occasionally but I have had great success in the past with the low carb structure and combined with working out 4 days a week the fat is melting away. With that in mind I still question sticking to it. Failing at anything or giving in isn't what I enjoy and I am having success, down 6lbs, but I miss sitting down and enjoying a pint. To make it even more difficult the hockey playoffs have started and watching the games with a glass of diet Coke lacks something. I hate to admit it but I have, in a moment of weakness, gone over to the dark side ( actually the light side). I had a low carb beer. Say it ain't so. My head hangs in shame. It wasn't worth it. The Miller Lite and IC Light only confirmed how far from real beer they really are. Those pale watery beers with only an essence of beer flavor only increased my craving for the good stuff. There is no satisfaction in low budget beer. The truly odd occurrence in my habits since turning off carbs is how much beer I buy. Since turning off the suds I have increased my beer purchases. Self analysis leads me to believe that since I can't drink it I derive comfort from purchasing beer and knowing I will have it for later.

The fridge is more packed than ever. The problem is since I am not drinking it, beer isn't leaving the fridge and space is now at a premium. I have managed to max out The Beer Fridge. I can already hear everyone saying, "Poor baby a fridge full of great beer waiting to be consumed. How can you stand to go on?". I have already had several offers to help reduce the beer stock , but I already know that this isn't a permanent situation. Looking into the very near future it's easy to see the end is near. My bachelor party is in 2 weeks and of course the wedding is the second week of May. The thought of an evening of food, friends, strippers and no beer just seems silly. The other reason to toss back a pint is at the wedding reception we are having Dogfish 90 Minute and Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse. The masses will toss back Miller Lite and Yuengling, but a select few will sip a cellared Hair of the Dog Fred (big bottle). I guess it wont be long until The Beer Fridge has a little more space.

My Easter Treat

After Easter dinner with Kelleigh's mom, grandparents, niece and nephew I sat down to enjoy a bottle of Schneider & Brooklyner Hopfen-Weisse (Schneider version). I poured this into one of my favorite Weizen glasses and watched the murky orange brew form a huge pillowy white head. The aroma was of citrus, cloves and bananas. The hops make an appearance and add a nice spice to the nose. The taste was a blend of spicy grassy hops, wheat and maltiness. The banana that is in the nose is very subtle on the tongue. I was surprised that the carbonation wasn't more considering the size of the head when first poured. The finish was pleasantly hoppy. Overall this is a nice easy drinking beer and a good collaboration for Brooklyn and Schneider. Not a bad way to celebrate a holiday.

A quick heads up

The Drafting Room's Hop Fest is approaching. Although it isn't on their website I was at the Spring House location this weekend and noticed the info on the menu. Of course I forgot to take down the date (I think it is April 12th) and the beers. Sorry bad reporting on my part. If my memory is correct they are trying to bring in Pliny the Elder. More detail as it gets closer.