Beer for charity and for fun at The Beer Yard and Sly Fox

I'm so behind in so many things that it's beginning to get a bit sad. And here in these parts is where this guy Uncle Jack comes into play. For the first time in who can tell how long, our paths crossed twice in two days. He's on the ball and has got the stories and pictures up at his site to prove it. So before I go on any longer here, please check out the following first and then come back for the rest of my story which will be told in pictures. It's easier, I can move on, many of you prefer the pictures to my incessant wont to write wordy words, and it may or may not help to retrieve my Wikio ranking which took a tumble in the dog days of August to #21.

SPCA charity fundraiser at The Beer Yard in Wayne [courtesy JackCurtin.com]
Kan Jam at Sly Fox in Phoenixville [courtesy JackCurtin.com]
Kan Jam at Sly Fox [courtesy Sly Fox facebook page]

(Nick Johnson of Tröegs with Matt Guyer, Beer Yard's Beer Guy in charge)

(The charitable crowd of beer and dog lovers at The Beer Yard in Wayne, Pa. on 9/3/11)

(Jack & Buddy Curtin) 

(Buddy Curtin on the hunt for some hot dogs)

(Tigger and Callie Kolesar, co-conspirators)

(Andy Dickerson, sole conspirator, proprietor of Teresa's Next Door)

(Apparently Fido likes a different kind of Scratch)

(Instead of the National Anthem, a "cheers" to kick off the Inaugural Kan Jam at Sly Fox in Phoenixville, Pa. on 9/4/11)

(Nick Johnson tries to remind Corey Reid of his past success at Kan Jam....Corey seems to be having none of it)

(Team Kolesar & Johnson may have fared better on court 3 or 4)

(4 divisions, 16 teams)

(Corey Reid of Sly Fox demonstrates Kan Jam scoring)

(Corey Reid of Sly Fox demonstrates Kan Jam scoring)

(Raina seems to be saying that I don't look like the official Sly Fox photographer)

(Kan Jam competition continued for hours through the muggy afternoon)

(Kan Jam competition continued for hours through the muggy afternoon)

This beer event approved by Man's Best Friends

(click to enlarge)

We didn't know it at the time but the SPCA fundraiser event last year at The Beer Yard marked our good ol' girl Logan's last official beer event.

Last year's weekend-long event tallied 96 cases and a $1,091 donation.

That's pretty good; but, I think we can all help The Beer Yard, Teresa's, and Tröegs do even better than that this year. I think that between the food, the dog collars, the beer, and other miscellaneous donations, we could see at least 120 cases and nearly $1,500 in donations. What do you think?

(for background, check out my bits that I put up at The Brew Lounge and a bit more over at The Washington Times)

For Logan and all of man's (and woman's) best friends out there, please consider stopping by The Beer Yard sometime before the end of the weekend and contributing to a worthy cause.

If you stop by on Saturday from 1pm-4pm, you'll get much more than just a simple taste and fundraiser. There'll be food, snacks, and more. The weather looks pretty decent, plus you need to eat and drink at some point on Saturday anyway, right?

I'll have proprietor Matt Guyer share all of the details with you instead....

---

---

It's time for our annual SPCA fundraiser this weekend. Here are the details:

Thursday - Monday
For every case of Tröegs sold at the Beer Yard this weekend $5.00 will be donated to the Delco SPCA

Friday - Sunday
Go to Teresa's and write SPCA and write on your bill and they will donate 10% of your check. As a bonus they are having some great draft beers on this weekend as part of their "End and Odd" weekend.

Saturday Afternoon at the Beer Yard from 1pm - 4pm
The Famous Nick Johnson will be here doing a sampling of his beers, with hopefully a few surprises. We will be cooking Hot Dogs from Butcher Bill. If you have not had, these are some of the best Dogs you will ever taste.

There will be $2.00 donation per dog. By request we will have some of his burgers too, figure a $5.00 donation for them.

Nick will also have Tröegs Bottle Opener Dog Collars ( <<--click for a picture ) for sale as well, with a portion of that sale going to the SPCA. Please forward this to any and all of your dog loving friends.
(Logan, 1997-2011)

The Good Kind of Dog Days at Beer Yard

(Saturday of Labor Day weekend 2010 brought great weather and a great excuse to be at Wayne's Beer Yard) (from L-R: Nick Johnson, Tröegs; Andy Dickerson, Teresa's Next Door; Matt Guyer, Beer Yard; Frances Franchi, Delaware County SPCA; Owner, Famous Kirby's Chile Pretzels) I'm failing at time management and must move on from this point. So today, I'll be letting the pictures do most of the talking. Later this week, I'll have a more complete column up at The Washington Times about this past weekend's event/fundraiser at The Beer Yard. For now, it should suffice that when I say there were a bunch of 'locals' hanging out at The Beer Yard on Saturday being fed 'locally'-produced chile pretzels and grilled meat products, tossing back samples of 'local' craft beer from Tröegs, and making contributions to a 'local' organization (DelCo SPCA), it was a truly beautiful afternoon behind the Starbucks in Wayne, PA. UPDATE 9/10: BeerYard.com reported that the final tally came to 96 cases and a $1,091 donation to the SPCA. Great job to all involved! (Beer and Man's Best Friend....or Beer IS Man's Best Friend..how is it?) (Nick Johnson, Tröegs, loves his job and it shows) (A cutie like this shouldn't be too difficult to adopt) (Plenty of faithful companions were in attendance with their beer-loving parents) (finally! A good use is found for a 30-pack of Natural Light)

If My Writing Drops on the East Coast, Will it Make a Sound and Will Anyone Notice?

Just when it seems that everyone is off to Denver this week, I and a few other mice are left to hold down the fort back here in southeastern Pennsylvania. Fortunately, the calendar shows at least a few good things to do this week for those of us thirsting for something in the barley and hops area of the beverage world. Last night, it was a gathering of the Usual Suspects that Uncle Jack so kindly slanders in his latest writing. Quite an appealing bunch. The Drafting Room in Exton was hosting The Weyerbachers and they were sliding down easily with Chris Lampe there from the brewery as our tour guide through the 12th, 13th, and 14th anniversary beers...as well as the recently released batch of Riserva which, in my opinion, was not quite packing the same complexity yet as the bottle from the first batch was that I just opened around a week ago. But, still a nice, if not pricey, drink. Tonight included a stop in for a couple of hours at one of Suburban Philly's best beer bars, Teresa's Next Door. Jean Broillet of Iron Hill was there with a firkin to send off his good friend Ryan Witter-Merithew of Duck-Rabbit (North Carolina) who brought his own firkin to share before leaving for Denmark to begin brewing at Fanø Bryghus. (Check back here through this link to see more details about their friendship and their beers.) So, now it's a matter of settling in, reading all those writings about how great Denver is this time of year, and waiting to hear their names read off tomorrow. Can't believe it's been a year since I was last there. Got me reflecting on some of what I wrote last year at this time...you may wish to as well. p.s. If you'd like to read up on what's currently happening in Denver, Jack Curtin (I can't diss him all weekend, hard as I may try) and Jay Brooks will be providing us with the best written word. Over at The Brewing Network, they will have the audio and video covered as well as it's ever been with up-to-the minute live streaming audio and video.

Support the Beer Yard and Hoppy Brewing TONIGHT

Copied from an afternoon Beer Yard e-mail, here's a good reason to take cover tonight inside of Beer Yard in Wayne, PA. With a severe thunderstorm warning, there's not much you can do outdoors anyway. Plus, Matt makes a great point about the brewer/rep showing up during tasting events. I'm sure there are some of you that will go to any and all free samplings no matter what's being poured or who is there. (I know that sounds like a swipe, but it's really not...I think.) To me, a large bit of the appeal of a sampling event is the opportunity to meet up with a representative (owner, brewer, sales rep) from the brewery that can share stories and information while sampling the beer. While I realize that with the increasing attention, popularity, and business around craft beer, everyone's time has become more valuable and brewery staff is becoming stretched more thinly. So it's with that said that it's nice to see at tonight's tasting of Sacramento, California's Hoppy Brewing at Beer Yard, the owner/brewer (Troy Paski) will be there to help promote his product. If I wasn't already previously committed, I'd be there. Please stand in for me.

---

Beer Yard Quickie 5/29/09 A lot of great events coming up in the next few weeks, so get out a enjoy a few beers. But first and foremost I will be asking a favor. Our sampling for today was cancelled earlier this week, but as luck would have it I got a call from one of my suppliers and it was filled. Well this is were you come in, I need you to stop by from 5-7 today. Oh I guess I should tell you whose coming, Troy the owner/brewer from Hoppy Brewing out of California. Don't know Hoppy brewing? Well neither do I really, so here is your chance to taste some beer and meet the man behind the beer. This is a rarity anymore folks, as we do samplings weekly, it is rare for a brewer to show up anymore. and a brewer from CA, is even something a little rarer. So stop in a give him a good ole PA welcome.

Staid Main Line? not in Wayne, PA

I'd heard well-placed whispers for a few months now that there were longer-term changes in store ever since John Mims took the toque at The Freehouse. It looks like the changes are finally underway, big time. When living in Ardmore, we often enjoyed Carmine's in Havertown. I'll look forward to seeing his new operation and how it takes shape over the next few months. Opened yesterday, if I recollect correctly, at 3pm. Similarly, long-simmering changes have been on the table at White Dog in University City (Philly). As original and long-time owner (and leading community voice) Judy Wicks continues to take more of a supporting role at the restaurant, it looks as if part of the new plans include a Wayne location as well. If this plays out as planned, this could be another nice little beer-y addition to Wayne. A stop-in at White Dog in University City always brings at least a couple of good beers (especially of the local variety, in keeping with their mission statement) and bites at this Philly classic. Teresa's Next Door has a new website and their continuing stellar lineup of beer. A new outpost of Flanigan's Boathouse has opened...joining its sibling Conshohocken's and Malvern's locations. They have a decent looking beer list (with the competition in Wayne, they'd better), I just don't know how much they're actively promoting it. First hand investigation is required, I believe. Okay, so Beer Yard remains the same, yawn ;-) With all of this change to small, little-old Wayne, the question that will be answered throughout this new year and next: Will the town be able to support these new and changing businesses?