**UPDATE: Now Open** Fork & Ale opening "very soon" in Douglassville, PA

(Fork & Ale no longer coming soon, now *very* soon in Douglassville, Pa.)
A second soft opening for me in one week? Lots of year-end activity going on around here. (Not sure of what I speak? Check my Flying Fish Crafthouse opening update from earlier this week).

You'll be glad to know the Coming Soon sign is about to be changed to Now Open. The long-anticipated second location for Gary and Melissa Fry — Fork & Ale — has fired up the kitchen, turned on the draft lines, and had a couple of soft openings, one of which I attended last evening.

No specific date has yet been made public for the public grand opening, but you'll want to use your resources — driving by, checking social media, picking up telegrams, etc. — to find out how soon you'll be able to hunker down at the bar on the edge of Douglassville and Birdsboro for a plate of savory food and glass (or three) of exceptional beer from around the area and the world alike.

(A lot of personal sweat equity and touches went into the new Fork & Ale in Douglassville, Pa.)
That last sentence really hits home for me as my youth was split between Douglassville and Birdsboro and Fork & Ale is barely a mile as the crow flies from my Birdsboro house. Other than two breweries — Hidden River (3.6 miles away, I was informed) and Sly Fox (twice as far), and two bars — Liberty Taproom (near Reading), and Union Jack's (farther out near Boyertown) — I'm hard-pressed to think of many other good beer-and-food destinations in the nearby area. (Hopefully, I'm not setting myself up to be burned on that comment.) That should bode well for the Frys.

Another thing that should bode well for Fork & Ale is the proximity to the Schuylkill River Trail. In my upcoming article in County Lines Magazine, I mentioned the recreational trail with a burgeoning beer presence along it. From Manayunk Brewing in Philly out to Conshohocken Brewing to Iron Hill in Phoenixville to Tuned Up Brewing in Spring City, we can now add Fork & Ale to the list. The trail cuts directly along the property line and its trailhead parking lot provides riders, runners, etc. easy access to a year-round restroom facility, a bike repair stand, and now Fork & Ale's bar, restaurant, and outdoor bar convenient for the sweaty set.

But what of the kitchen and bar, you ask? For starters, the sweat equity put in by Gary, Melissa, and their friends and family is immediately evident when arriving through the front doors. There are coolers of beer just like at the sister restaurant — Craft Ale House — adjacent to the bar. The lighting, the handcarved table, the woodwork, and the birch tree branches (perhaps my favorite of the tasteful touches) all combine for a comfortable atmosphere.

(Tuna with roasted carrots.)
Last night, I had the opportunity to dive into a couple of beers and a bunch of plates of food, courtesy of my wife Patty/BPIL (barstool partner in life as I referred to her in my book) and that guy, Matt Guyer, who always seemed to be pushing a plate of food my way. If there was a disappoint on the menu that Gary says will change frequently (more frequently than just seasonally), I didn't have it. Shrimp & Grits, Mushroom Soup, Oxtail Pappardelle, Deviled Eggs, Steak Frites, Cioppino, Tuna...I tried 'em all. If I had time here today, I'd go into detail. But I don't, so I can't. The recommendation to you, though, is to make a mental note to try any of them when you find yourself there.

At the bar, you'll find 15 draft beers (plus, one on nitro) from nearby, around the country, and from overseas. You can expect to see two wines on draft as well. At the soft opening last night, there were also three "craft cocktails" available — one with bourbon, one with rum, and one gin-based.

(A draft board plenty full of goodness at Fork & Ale in Douglassville, Pa.)
Veteran barstool hoppers that know Craft Ale House will see similarities in both the bar and kitchen menus; but yet they're almost entirely different. The decor and layout is definitely different, but otherwise locals will choose their favorite spot. One other difference will be the schedule — Craft Ale House will continue to be closed on Sundays while Fork & Ale will be closed on Mondays in order to take advantage of open hours during Sundays and the expected trail user crowds.

It was a labor of love that played out over the last two years to finally open Fork & Ale. From first impressions, it seems that the blood, sweat, and (were there?) tears, should pay off in short order.

(A lot of personal sweat equity and touches went into the new Fork & Ale in Douglassville, Pa.)

(A lot of personal sweat equity and touches went into the new Fork & Ale in Douglassville, Pa.)

(The birch twigs - one of my favorite touches in the comfortable new Fork & Ale in Douglassville, Pa.)

(Interior of Fork & Ale in Douglassville, Pa.)

(Pappardelle with oxtail and mushrooms)

(Cioppino)

(Deviled eggs)

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© Bryan J. Kolesar and The Brew Lounge, 2016. All content is owned and uniquely created by Bryan J. Kolesar. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from Kolesar is strictly prohibited. Excerpts, images, and links may be used with advance permission granted and only provided that full and clear credit is given to Bryan J. Kolesar and The Brew Lounge with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. Contact Kolesar at TheBrewLounge@gmail.com

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Beer Week in the Philly Suburbs, April 23 - April 29

The 19468 is getting its own Beer Week. Other suburban areas around Philly may want to consider the same.

I've become a bit more certain over the past year or so about tightening down Philly Beer Week to be enclosed strictly within the city border. On one hand, through the years I've been fond of defining the Philly beer landscape extending from Harrisburg to Cape May and the Lehigh Valley to Delaware.

But, for the magnitude of Philly Beer Week, that definition is just not practical. It seems to make more sense to draw some lines in terms of who can participate and how far visiting brewers/owners/reps must be flung to undertake special events during Philly Beer Week.

This keeps everyone from Montgomeryville to Wilmington to Limerick out of the mix, but you know what? They're gonna do just fine without whatever modest bump they might see from the special PBW event(s) they would conduct.

So here we have four bars within a few miles or so of each other in the shadows of the Limerick cooling towers in the western Philly exurbs. They have loyal followings (some may say rabid — in a good way, of course) and typically carry an above-average selection of beer.

The schedule has beefed up to a solid looking list of events where the participating foursome — Craft Ale House, French Quarter Bistro, Lucky Lab Tavern, and Railroad Street Bar & Grille — are cooperating to bring their customers the best that seven days of beer events in the 'burbs can offer.

Check out the list below. And, by all means, please be safe out there. Philly Beer Week works very well because, for one (really significant) thing, there are plenty of public transportation options, taxis, and sidewalks to keep revelers from getting behind the wheel. Again, use your best adult judgement.

Monday, April 23, 5 p.m. — at Craft Ale House — Dogfish Head Tap Takeover

Beers on Tap from Dogfish Head: 60 Minute IPA ('12); 75 Minute IPA firkin ('12); 90 Minute IPA ('12); Aprihop ('12); Black & Blue ('11); Fort ('11); Immort Ale ('11); Indian Brown Ale ('12); Midas Touch ('12); My Antonia ('12); Namaste ('11); Old School Barleywine ('12); Palo Santo Marron ('11); Red & White ('11); Sah'tea ('11); Saison Du BUFF ('12); and World Wide Stout ('08, '09, '10, '11).

Tuesday, April 24, 6 p.m. — at French Quarter Bistro — Clown Shoes Brewing Tasting

Wednesday April 25, 5 p.m. — at All Four Locations — IPA & Cajun Throwdown, Host Choice IPA Event paired with "Cajun Style Tapas"

Go for a short drive to each bar (they are all very close) and get involved as they all host a Throwdown Challenge. You be the judge as each place offers their best Cajun-inspired dish with a 5 ounce pour of an IPA of their choosing (something good, don’t worry). You will receive a card that will get stamped when you order the pairing, take it with you to the next place and get stamped again. Only those cards with all four bar stamps will qualify to pick the winner of the throwdown.

Thursday, April 26, 6 p.m. — at French Quarter Bistro — Fruit Beer/Chocolate Beer Tasting

Friday, April 27, 4 p.m. — at Lucky Lab Tavern — Tröegs Tasting and Firkin Event

Saturday, April 28, 2 p.m. — at Railroad Street Bar & Grille — Spotlight on Colorado Breweries: Boulder, Avery, Left Hand, Breckenridge, Great Divide, and more

Sunday, April 29, 5 p.m. — at Craft Ale House — Last Call: "Barrel-aged" Beer & Food Pairing Dinner

Reservations required for this five-course meal paired with unique barrel-aged beers. Beers scheduled to include: Goose Island Sofie; Allagash Curieux; North Coast Grand Cru; Lost Abbey The Angel's Share ('09); and Russian River Consecration ('09). Doors open at 5 p.m. Dinner served at 6 p.m. $75 per person. A portion of proceeds will benefit the Humane Society of Berks County

See each establishment's webpage or social media account for up-to-date details.

Beer, University City (Tap House), Cheese, Craft Ale House, New Holland Brewing.....or.....I can't come up with a better title for this

Closing the book here on a couple of odds 'n' ends from last week. Though, nothing so odd about them at all. Unless you consider odd seeing Dr. Joel Armato of New Holland Brewing two consecutive nights...which I understand is just as many times as you can count on seeing him during Philly Beer Week. Or odd having a 70 tap setup of mostly good craft and imported beer in University City....okay maybe that's one is a little on the south side of odd. Or if you think that beer and cheese together is odd...which in that case, you'd best get paying attention and studying up. City Tap House Tuesday night saw Patty and I hop the train for Center City to take in a private showing of the new City Tap House. From best I could gather, the city's latest entry into what has seemed to be a steady stream of new bars over the last year or two already opened to the public---and had a soft opening---and now this past week played host to a friends/family/media type of private event. Not sure how traditionally linear of an approach this was but, no matter, in a nutshell City Tap House is open and they are pouring many fine domestic craft and imported beers, one after another on numerous (6?) draft towers, interrupted only occasionally by one of "those beers" that many of us here around The Brew Lounge don't particularly care for. (on the terrace at City Tap House) A rough count of a hundred or so media folk, brewers, publicans, sales reps, distributors, and the like turned out just as the rainy weather was clearing for the evening. It was slightly cool outside, so the open firepits on the "green" rooftop patio were a welcome part of the ambiance for many. I can see this becoming prime real estate in the cooler weather. Approaching CTH (yes, yet another acronym has been introduced!) from Walnut Street, there's not much indication of the restaurant other than from a glance upward to the patio where you can see the tips of the dancing flames. A walk through a simply marked door and then a short ride up an elevator gets you in to the bar. (night falls over the firepits at City Tap House, a nice addition to the al fresco city landscape) Inside, a tasteful mix of wood and industrial metal (hey, I never claimed to be an interior designer!) provide for a real comfortable session at the bar or in the restaurant. The press release says that they're shooting for a mountain lodge feel; I suppose I can get with that, though it's not the first striking reaction that I have when I look around...no matter. (clipboard menus of very good beers spanning the flavor spectrum) A long rectangular bar allows bartenders to circle the bar to reach all of the six (I believe it is six...or seven?) draft towers. A clipboard menu of the pretty decent looking draft menu allows patrons to thumb through and make sense of the Saison Duponts, the Harpoon Single Hop ESBs, the New Holland Black Tulips, the Sly Foxes, Victorys, Yardses, and on and on. I think you get the picture. (one stall in the cold box per draft tower...keeps things nicely organized) Along with several others, we were treated to a behind-the-scenes tour of the cold box storage for the draft beer delivery system. It's not often that you see such meticulous care taken in the organization of the kegs and their draft lines. Basically speaking, the cooler has one "stall" for each set of taps on a draft tower. Lines are zip-tied and labeled, dials are clearly postitioned to monitor beer flow pressure (didn't see any spelling errors, in case the PLCB is still worried). With around 70 taps, organization becomes an even more important thing. Not too shabby! And, if the concept of this level of choice is too much for and you'd like to remember what you've enjoyed in the past, CTH has a system for logging your purchases into a database for your future reference---should we trust that the privacy policy here is stronger than at Facebook?! ;-o

I didn't inquire much into how this works, but I suppose that any given point you should be able to get some sort of report at the bar of what you've had in the past. To be able to check it out online at home with an account would be useful too. I can't recall that I've ever seen or heard of another bar doing something like this.

(private tasting room can be reserved for you and your bestest beer drinking friends) One other unique feature at CTH (did I mention the firepits?!) is the private tasting room. Say you want to get together the team from the office, maybe 15 or 20 of you. You have the idea to make it beer-centric and help introduce your co-workers to your favorite beverage. Behind the reception desk at CTH, there's a private room with a set of unique taps that can be setup to your specification for your private event. There's room to mingle and have light bites to eat while you're sampling from your specially-selected beers. Before we headed back to the train out of the City, we cabbed it over to Brauhaus Schmitz for a taste of the qualifying round for the Philly Beer Geek competition. Turned out it was much less pomp than I was expecting. In fact, the winner had already cleaned up and claimed his spot in the semi-finals...which I see were held just last night and in which he moved on to the finals....which did I mention I'll be donning a robe for as a 2010 PBW Finals Judge? Yes, you read that correctly. Nonetheless, we had an hour to kill so that allowed me to dabble in both a Gose and a Beliner Weisse....i.e. Prost! Did I mention that we had one time for one last once at America's Best Train Station Beer Bar? (plug) New Holland, Cheese, and Craft Ale House Calkins Creamery from above Scranton, PA. New Holland Brewing from Michigan. Last Wednesday, Craft Ale House in Limerick served as the meeting place for the two and their respective cheeses and beers. Jay Montgomery from Calkins Creamery made the trip down the turnpike to share some of his cheeses with one of its most pairworthy relatives: beer. (Joel Armato, New Holland Brewing, and Jay Montgomery of Calkins Creamery show off their favorite tasty treats at Craft Ale House to a roomful of barley and dairy lovers) This actually formed the basis of my dinner for the evening. Seriously, beer+cheese+bread = dinner, am I right? And while I didn't settle on any "awards" for best beer and cheese pairings of the evening (though the Golden Cap Saison and the Skinner Falls Basket-style Tomme was pretty damned near close to perfect), I believe I found a new "it" beer of the year...at least from New Holland, that is. El Mole Ocho!

I thought previously that Charkoota Rye was one my favorite 'most interesting' beers from this brewery. The Ocho blew it away. Complex layers of a little roast, a little smoke, a little pepper, a little chocolate, all created a lot of interesting flavor and aroma. A very pleasing beer to say the least and one that I better find more of before it's too late!

(at Craft Ale House in Limerick, PA...cheese from Calkins Creamery and beer from New Holland Brewery) This made for a very pleasant way to grocery shop at Wegmans in Collegeville on the way home. I've never mentioned the beer selection at Wegmans; I'm beginning to feel like, at least around southeastern Pennsylvania, it's more noteworthy to talk of places NOT serving the kind of beer that we all enjoy. In other words, as many of you already know, this particular Wegmans has a very impressive selection of bottled beer for sale to go. Makes me curious as to the Wegmans that will very soon open less than 1/2 mile from our house in Malvern.

Reflections as 40"-plus melts slowly away

Snow Business like the Bar Business
Venturing out to Iron Hill's BCtWC event last month after the first of two 20"+ dumpings of snow fell upon eastern Pennsylvania and watching my inbox fill up with notices that 'this bar' and 'that restaurant' were staying open no matter what got me to wondering.

Wondering why it is so important to stay open and ask employees to come out to work on days such as this. Surely they have more important things to be concerned with, right?

Wondering why patrons want to go out so badly to a bar in this weather. In all liklihood, if the bar closes it won't be much more than 24 hours before it reopens, right?

Wondering why we can't break from the norm once in a while and just stay put. I suppose that almost sounds like an outdated, an antiquated, way of thinking given this age of always being connected, always on the go, never willing to put the status quo on hold even for a little while.

I'd been pondering this and asking around informally these questions during the last few weeks. I noticed that Kirsten Henri of Grub Street Philadelphia had done the same in the City.

Out here in the Burbs, I've got a few tidbits to share with you from local proprietors. You'll hear their opinions on the situation directly; let us know if you agree or disagree or have different thoughts on the topic. And, hopefully, this will comprise the last significant mention of snow-related opening, closures, and the like for the year 2010.

I'd asked for observations that might span from the light-hearted and humorous to the more serious. I'd expected to get answers from the goofy ("we had a snowball fight between the employees and the management....") to the more sobering ("we had an issue with a collapsed roof") or something to that effect.

Generally, what I got was a determination to get back to business as usual as quickly as possible. Of course, that makes sense if you understand that these folks are not in the business of being closed. Every meal of the day that a restaurant is closed is a meal's worth of revenue lost to the business...plus potentially lost food that can no longer be used the following day. So, it makes sense that proprietors with the resources to open (employees who live down the street within walking distance, the business is located in a walkable/urban area, etc.) would make every reasonable effort to open. Gary Fry's comments about the ancillary costs of snow (plowing, salt, lost parking spots, etc.) were revealing as well.

Unlike in the City, there really were not any "snow specials" to speak of that would entice customers to come out during either of the big snowfalls. Unless you count Iron Hill's annual Belgian event that went off anyway (you may recall from my posting back here that we showed up as well). But, from those that stayed open, it was evident that people like to get out....to keep from being cooped up, plus just the adventure of snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, or 4-wheel driving for a bite and a beverage is worth a memory or two as well from what has turned out to be a record-breaking winter here in the Philly area.


Here's what I found, in their words.

Gary Fry, Craft Ale House, Limerick, PA---
"My approach was, "I'll believe it when I see it", and boy did we see it.

We closed early on Friday night (Feb 5), for the safety of our staff, our customers and ourselves. We told our staff that we would make "the call" in the morning.

I was in denial that it would actually add up to something. Then on Saturday morning my wife and I made the call to close for the entire day. It was an extremely stressful and agonizing decision for us, being in business for just over a year, and to lose a full Saturdays worth of business. We then called everybody on our staff and told them that we were closed, we posted an update on our website, BlogSpot, and on our outgoing voicemail. None of our staff could make it in, so we couldn't serve people anyway. We were finally able to relax and accept what was happening. Now the only thing was that we had no food in our house, so we called around and found out a local bar/restaurant near our house was open, so I shoveled out and off we went.

This past Wednesday (Feb 10): It was much easier on us this past time to make the call. We were not going to lose out on a busy Saturday, and I was welcoming the time off just so my wife and I could chill out ourselves.

After each snow fall, we were busy with people that had cabin fever and just had to get out. I had people pull up on their snowmobile, some hiked and some snow shoed here.

Not only did we not have any money coming in on any of these days, but the plowing fees were ridiculous. Now the snow mounds are so big they are taking up spaces on my parking lot, and every day they melt, I have to go out and salt the streams of water so nobody slips and falls on them in my lot. This will go on for a while until the snow is gone."


Jeff Miller, TJs, Paoli, PA---
"We were open during both of the snowfalls. Was it worth it? Probably not. Sales on Saturday & Wednesday were 30% of the regular number. However, I come from the mind set that if you can, you should open the doors. We have several staffers that have 4WD, including Terri & I. We also have three employees that live literally right across the street. Everyone else we told to stay home. So we were able to open without putting anyone in jeopardy. And when it snows again...yes, TJ's will be open!"


Mark Edelson, Iron Hill, 8 locations---
"We look at a couple of things -
1. Can we safely get enough employees into work to operate the restaurant? In many instances, we have employees who live within walking distances or short drives to the restaurant. If they are close, we may even consider coming and picking them up. Not always popular, as everyone likes a good snow day.
2. Are we in a location where customers will show up? Restaurants like West Chester, Phoenixville, and Media, we have a lot of customers who live close by. In Newark, WC and Lancaster, we have a significant student population within walking distance as well. North Wales and Wilmington customers can't walk to us.

In some locations, customers living close by are grateful that you are open. They just like to get out for a while. In some cases, like WC, there was a power outage in some of the neighborhoods and people just came up to hang out and stay warm.

In the latest snowfall, West Chester and Lancaster were full. Media had some business. Not much for the other restaurants, if we opened at all. Delaware loves to declare a State of Emergency and keep everyone off the roads until they get around to clearing the roads. Keeping people off of the roads for 48 hours isn't good for business.

We didn't run specials. People are just glad we are opened where we can."


Brian O'Reilly, Sly Fox---Phoenixville & Royersford, PA
"Both restaurants were open for 4 or 5 hours in the middle of the day with limited food and staff. The customers that came were very grateful to be able to get some food and beer.

We had a similar plan for the first storm and it seemed to have more success. I'm guessing 4 times the sales. The last storm was a little too aggressive I guess?"


Howard Weintraub, The Drafting Room, Exton, PA---
"Whenever large snow is predicted we always inform staff to call before they consider heading into work. I usually do not like to make decisions until I actually see the snow come down. In theory, it would be great to be open, but what I wrestle with is the following:

Am I going to ask some staff to get here in rough conditions, and most likely they do not have 4 wheel drive vehicles? So we get a skelton staff here and offer a limited menu, and the traffic is quite limited. In other words, does a foot to a foot and a half in snow really drive people out to have a meal? Sure, we could get some bar activity, but is that activity worth all the stuff to be open? For example, the West Coast Beer promotion was better than I thought with the predicted snowfall. But, as the snow continued to fall the crowd slowly dwindled. I think if we are open for those storms, we probably would have closed early anyway."

Are you bored this week?

Just in case you're going stir crazy, need a little liquid warming, and/or happen to be on either end of the state (of PA, that is) looking for a way to get yourself through to New Year's Eve/Day (whichever it is that you tend to prefer), I offer you these 2 late entries to the Weekly Calendar. ~~~Penn Brewery wants you to be a part of the reintroduction of its "new self" in Pittsburgh... for a free taste, check 'em out on Wednesday, 12/30 ~~~Over in the eastern side of the state, Craft Ale House is celebrating its 1 Year Anniversary in the shadows of Limerick's cooling towers. Seems appropriate if that so-called Nuclear Penguin beer would make an appearance, eh? and it's tomorrow, 12/29.

First official business of The Brew Lounge at Craft Ale House last night with Tröegs

Though I'd been there once before for a short visit after some outlet shopping in Limerick (call it a not-so-dry-run), this seemed to qualify as my first official business at the relatively new, but oh-so-successful Craft Ale House in Limerick/Royersford, PA. (Why have I used so many hyphenated adjectives in these 7 short paragraphs?)

With Nick Johnson running the show for Tröegs, or maybe the promised appearance of Meg and Tara, the word got out and thirsty patrons beat a proper path to the door and filled the joint. Well, all except for a few notable locals, X, Y, and Z.



Mr. Big Dan covered the beginning of the evening at Craft Ale House and has captured a few nice pictures that you can check out over at the CAH blog. I showed up a few minutes later and fortunately not any later. The bar-top firkin of GABF-prepared Nugget Nectar was kicked in 51 minutes. That beer, I'll tell ya, is one tasty treat that typically peaks in the bottle earlier in the summer. But, being freshly made for GABF next month and being firkin fresh on top of that, it was rockin' everyone's worlds best I could tell from chit-chattering with the Vox Hopuli. Some guy named Foley, though, is still not impressed.

The quick kicking of the firkin shouldn't have been surprising given the not-a-space-to-be-found parking lot and the packed house inside. (It was a crowd for CAH, not Ace Hardware, in case there was any confusion.) Along with the Nugget Nectar and the Naked Elf, the usual complement of Tröegs brands were flowing as were a bunch of other stellar goodies that Craft Ale House is known for stocking in the cooler.

I used the evening to give myself a preview of Dark Horse things to come this Saturday at TJs back closer to home in Paoli. The Crooked Tree was a nice drinking IPA that I probably would have dipped into for another one, maybe two, if it wasn't for the 25 minute ride back home.

Now I know why I don't see my old friends quite as often in the 'burbs closer to Philly. With stellar joints like Ortino's, Union Jack's, and now Craft Ale House dotting the farther hinterlands, there's less reason for them to venture as far from home as they used to.

By the way, some suspicious behavior by someone cavorting in an Exton Beverage t-shirt did not go unnoticed. Question is, who is this guy? The 'someone' is not Greg Ramirez, by the way. Any guesses?

Looking 2009 squarely in the face and saying Bring It On

A new joint (sponsored by the fine folks at Memphis Taproom means that this should be a very good thing) opening on New Year's Day at 5pm could have us jumping off the train home from NYC and heading into West Philly. Local 44 is the name and the intersection of 44th and Spruce is the location. Another new place focused on all things craft, but much farther west looks to be opening on December 29th. Limerick, PA is the place, Craft Ale House is the name and portends great things as well. And, finally, Teresa's Next Door may finally start pulling in some business now that they have a website. All the anguish from those who think an establishment can't thrive today without a website take note. And, I'll stop publishing tap lists for them, since they now appear to be doing it regularly. Who said Decembers are slow?