TJs keeping it local, keeping it real

As I go off and act all non-local...well, hold up. I'm being local in California by representing the East Coast while drinking of their local goods! Actually, this topic of 'local' reminded me of how I got the conversation going (so prescient, I am) between Mr. TJ and Mr. Foobooz. And, it took Mr. Curtin (what's with all of the formality today, uh?!) to recognize it. You'd think with the time I spend at TJs in Paoli, I would have brought notice to you sooner than now. After all, I recall the first time I noticed the Locals Only section of the blackboard as well as on their website. Yet, I looked at and said something like "huh, cool!" and proceeded to order a Yards beer (cask, I believe). Then, it struck me that this was all part of Jeff's (Mr. TJ, again) plan to take Art (Mr. Foobooz, if you're not connecting the dots) up on a more grassroots local campaign in the area pubs. It seems that just by pulling these neighborly beers together into one section of the menu and ensuring that customers know that they are indeed local (less than 150 mile radius I believe is Jeff's plan?) has done well for the bottom line. As reported at BeerYard.com, Jeff has been going though his local-brewed kegs a bit faster, has 35 waiting in queue, and notices an appreciation of the locals by, well, the locals. I think in this era of reducing footprints, eating local, drinking local, acting local, buying local, etc etc---that this move makes perfect sense. And, to think, all it took was an eraser and a piece of chalk. Ah, these things right in front of my own eyes. Glad you can all carry on without me! Well played gents.

This was Unexpected

Oh, crap! As if my list of things to write about wasn't already long and delinquent enough. I'd tell you what I think of Eulogy, but perhaps if I do, I'll put it where it belongs...in Foobooz comments. Unfortunately, this is one of the very few times that Eulogy has been mentioned around these parts. (and, no, it's not a bias that's to blame)

2009, In Their Words--Part 4

Yesterday, you heard thoughts and opinions from Howard Weintraub and Suzanne Woods. Closing out the week here today (chosen in random order) are Jim Crane, Joe Sixpack/Don Russell, and Arthur Etchells. Please be sure to click the links and visit their sites. It shows that you came from The Brew Lounge and that you care about their work :)

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Jim Crane (Proprietor, Goshen Beverage in West Chester, PA) "I fear the recession has hit the beer biz. Sales for what is usually a good month were very disappointing. Perhaps it is people watching the dollars more closely, perhaps they are finding better prices by going across state lines, perhaps beer in supermarkets have put the nail into the coffin for PA beer distributors. The availability of beers from around the country and the world, as well as proliferation of brands is something the consumer says they want...I can't tell you how many times someone browses through the 500+ different beers that I have in stock, then asks for Fat Tire or Shiner Bock or Moose Drool, then walks out with Yuengling or Lionshead or Bud Light Lime...talk about a disconnect.......Meanwhile the pioneers of the craft business suffer because the craft customer wants "the new beer". Flagships like Stoudts APA and Pilsner are great beers, but the sales of those items would not lead you to believe it. In my opinion the craft consumer needs to be thankful for the wealth and breadth of great local beers available in our back yard, and do their best to insure that when the smoke clears they can still find these great beers on the shelves. Meaning support your local businesses, both brewers and retailers, and be careful what you wish for. Craft beer from China could be around the corner. As a retailer I will continue to stock what my consumer wants to buy, plus what I know to be some of the best beers in the world, all the while juggling space and code issues."

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Joe Sixpack (Philadelphia's long-time, award-winning beer writer and promoter posing as Don Russell...too many links to include, start with JoeSixpack.net) "2009 was the unfortunate victim of 2008. Last year, I published two books, helped launch Philly Beer Week, spent serious time in Denver, Portland, New York, San Francisco & D.C., got stupid drunk at Oktoberfest in Munich and cheered my ass off on Broad Street. It really couldn't get much better than that, so this year wasn't so bad, but... Thank god the beer was excellent. Burton Baton on draft at Tria, the new Yards IPA, fresh Southampton Double White after picking hops on Long Island, Sierra Nevada Kellerweis, the porter at Manayunk, the R5 beer crawl during PBW with a small, tight group of beer lovers - those were my highlights. Next year? Philly Beer Week will step up to an altogether bigger, greater level. As much as I love the flattery of no fewer than 20 other cities copying our beer week, they ain't seen nuttin' yet."

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Arthur Etchells (mastermind behind Philadelphia's food and beverage wealth of information, Foobooz) "2009 was.... The year Philadelphia demanded to be known as the America's Best Beer Drinking City. The second Philly Beer Week was the embodiment of that claim but the echoes of those ten days can be seen on draft lists across the area. Breweries from Colorado, California and Michigan have become common place at Philadelphia bars as these brewers have realized Philadelphia is a great market of beer lovers looking to devour the latest one off or hard to find beers from the likes of Avery, Russian River or Founders. 2010 will be.... 2010 will continue to see more brewers bringing their beer to the Philadelphia area. It will be interesting to watch which brewers can get a foothold in the competitive market and which will make a single push with little long-term traction. Philly Beer Week is already shaping up to to be the ultimate such event in the US and maybe the world. Local brewers will need to step up their marketing and beer-making efforts in order to stay on taps as Philadelphia will be only become a more crowded and competitive market. The local beer scene does a great job of supporting each other at a grass-roots level and they'll need that support to hold off interlopers. It's time for a "Drink Local" campaign aimed at local beer drinkers and bar owners."

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Top 50 Bars according to Foobooz and The Brew Lounge

I'm not always a big fan of piling on to the "hot" topic while it's still warm. Sometimes it's more fun to let a topic heat up, cool off a bit, then stoke it back up again. A couple of weeks ago, Foobooz finally published the Top 50 Bars in Philadelphia with input from people like me and a couple of dozen others. We were requested to give a "...list of your top 10 bars in order" and that "...it doesn't have to be inside the city limits. The suburbs and New Jersey count as well." This was a daunting request, indeed. Not only did casting the net over the entire region make it more difficult to commit to a list of ten, I wasn't sure that I wanted to commit at all to ranking an order of ten of my favorite bars. Do I even have ten favorites? How do I compare city bars to suburban bars? Plus, was it beer bars or bars in general? That could be another important distinction. I chose to focus on Top Bars from almost exclusively a beer bar angle. I figured, too, that even bars that didn't make my Top 10 cut would get caught by others and thus included in a Top 50. I couldn't feel too badly, then, for what would comprise my Top 10. I hadn't planned to share my personal top 10 with anyone but Arthur at Foobooz, but then I thought---"of course, I will"---it only makes for good conversation and a bit of lively debate, right? Plus, I threw the blanket disclaimer out there and will do so again here that "all subject to change tomorrow...that's my disclaimer ;-) I'm not even sure I agree with my own rankings now as I read back over them one last time, ha" What follows is an abbreviated version of the ranking that I sent to Foobooz. I have absolutely nothing to hide or be ashamed of in naming a Top 10 and sharing with you. But, you may differ. Any that you would kick out of your own personal top 10? Any that you think I'm absolutely crazy for missing?

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One of my biggest comfort factors in a bar has nothing to do with the beverage or food menus or the service. It's the layout. Take for example, For Pete's Sake...much as I like the place and location, you walk in and can see every table in the joint. The place can be small, I'm okay with that, but it's gotta have some curves, some creases, some nooks. So a place like Grace Tavern could jump up on to my list above For Pete's Sake because of the curve to the floor plan. And, a place like Monk's goes higher even quicker for its hidden back room. And, Grey Lodge for its upstairs...etc. Here goes... 1) SPTR---love the newer side room, the neighborhood, out of the way, feel..great food, drink...and reasonable prices. A good place for sports, too. Was the place that I was watching the Phillies get washed out of winning the World Series on the Monday night debacle 2) Standard Tap---brunch, pulled pork...local beers, food..an original in a turnaround neighborhood with staying power 3) Druid's Keep---the jukebox, the backyard, and the beer in the shadows of i-95...come as you are, zero pretension, bring your own food adds to the experience, imo 4) Bridgid's---an "old reliable" still doing it right...partly sentimental ranking...partly because they've still got it going in the face of newer, trendier places....horseshoe bar creates intimacy....upstairs for dinner can be nice and private away from the front door 5) Monk's---The special beer dinners, the industry luminaries and the beers they bring that pass through earns this place its world-class ranking. Pretension, arrogance? well, that debate could fill a few more pages, I'm sure. 6) Grey Lodge---nobody tries to compete with Scoats in his neighborhood b/c he's nailed it. He keeps it real with honest food, beer, and prices in a no-nonsense, but yet comfortable, atmosphere. The, uh, unusual events make for some of every year's best beer experiences. 7) TJs---best in the burbs, and accessible by train which makes it very appealing. One of the first in the 'burbs to fully integrate beer into its mission. Some of the friendliest staff around 8) Johnny Brenda's---food, beer, live music, and multi-level make this a more unique beer experience than most 9) Iron Hill---could go for food alone and it would be worth a trip. Add some good standard house beers, and some usually excellent non-standard and one-off beers...festivals that include outside beers...great, knowledgeable staff make any of the 8 locations a sure-fire winner...if brewpubs aren't allowed on the list....then put.... 9a) Memphis Taproom---friendly staff, reasonable priced food and beers, owners not afraid to try new neighborhoods and will go to any lengths to make happy customer....get rare beer, have kid-friendly days/atmosphere....a yard sale with homemade goods....very unique and very welcoming 10) Teresa's Next Door---From fastidious approach to spotless glassware, to stellar lists, and events...it's a must-stop for any beer geek traveling through the area. Some nights, Main Line & Beer Snobbery meet up for a classic showdown. Honorable Mentions a) McGillin's---has always "been there" for me, and I'm probably taking it too much for granted nowadays b) Tenstone---haven't been for a while, but the chalkboard menu, the side room, and the neighborhood feel, plus close to Grace and soon Resurrection make this end of South Street much more appealing that it used to be c) Grace Tavern---only been there once during PBW, but from the friendly service to back room that doglegs right, it seems to be the kind of place I'd like to get to more often and don't d) Doobies---only been there once during PBW, but could see myself whiling the night away quietly in the corner where no one else in the world could find me...not even google or gps. e) For Pete's Sake---true neighborhood gem with good street/sidewalk traffic watching aplenty. one of the top places in the city to catch a Philly game on TV and drink good beer. f) Irish Pub...just kidding. (there was a place and time for that...and that time for me has passed.) If I was making a list of non-beer bars, the Rose Tatoo would jump immediately to mind. Used to live around the corner and was there a lot in the mid-90s. Got to learn about and love Chilean and Argentinean wines way before their time came to the spotlight. The floral arrangements, friendly service, inviting atmosphere, interesting dining all make for a memorable experience...even only when stopping in for after work drinks along the walk home.