The Brew Lounge: Free Will Brewing

Showing posts with label Free Will Brewing. Show all posts

Friday, February 22, 2019

Flagship February daily feature - Free Will The Kragle IPA

It's been fun watching Free Will grow from a little brewery in a basement in the back of an old industrial building in a small town tucked somewhere in upper Bucks County....into a prominent brewery widely recognized and highly regarded across the northeast for its barrel-aging program (that's still in the basement) and its taproom events that spill into the upstairs brewery. In other words, they've become a destination.

The sours deserve every bit of acclaim (Pomisher, Olly, Peachy, and Grape rank as my favorite of their past and present sour treats, if you care to know) that they receive, both nationally and internationally, but they have other high-quality tricks in the trade as well including a to-style Vienna Lager, a likewise to-style Crisper Kölsch, a decadent Ralphius R.I.S., a palate-busting Safeword Imperial IPA, a solid Coffee Oatmeal Brown, and a funky barrel-aged Saison In The Key Of Life.

Now click the picture below for a full feature on Free Will The Kragle IPA.

If you're just jumping in during the middle of this and want to know what this is all about, link back here to see the Flagship February overview as well as an ongoing list of all beers I'm featuring during the month of February.

Disclosure: For this project, I solely created the list of 28 beers featured here on The Brew Lounge. I was in contact with each brewery and neither required nor requested complimentary samples. I purchased today's Free Will beer at retail.

© Bryan J. Kolesar and The Brew Lounge, 2019. 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

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Thankful for special beer releases this week: Philadelphia area

You say you like getting beer as fresh as it gets, sometimes standing in line for special bottle/can/crowler/draft releases? Well, then, this is for you.

I began noticing a flurry of special releases around the Philly area this week, so let's get to a simple summary of where you want to be, and when, to catch some hot releases as early as this afternoon. As you'll see, many breweries are double-dipping and releasing two special beers to further entice you to visit them.

Tue. Nov. 21
  ~ at 4 p.m., Saint Benjamin Brewing in Philadelphia is releasing Electric DIPA in cans.

Wed. Nov. 22
  ~ at 10 a.m., Victory Brewing in Downingtown is releasing Wisdom's Hour Barrel-aged American Sour and a "surprise" bottle during its annual Dark Wednesday event.

  ~ at 11 a.m., Saucony Creek in Kutztown is releasing (pre-sale only) its first crowler offering — Thorondor On A Stick NEIPA.

  ~ at 12 p.m., Weyerbacher in Easton is releasing its Quad.

  ~ at 12 p.m., Capone's in Norristown is featuring a lineup of Goose Island Bourbon County Brand vintages.

  ~ at 2 p.m., Evil Genius in Philadelphia is releasing both Trust The Process Oat IPA and Run By Fruiting IPA.

  ~ at 3 p.m., Locust Lane Brewing in Malvern is releasing their first canned offerings — Locust Lane Kolsch and Three Tun Citra IPA.

  ~ at 5 p.m., Bistro On Bridge in Phoenixville is hosting Hidden River and Levante breweries for a dinner where they'll feature their newly, and collaboratively, released Genetically Modified Visual Stimuli NEIPA.

Fri. Nov. 24
  ~ at 9 a.m., Exton Beverage in Exton will be selling bottles....; at 12 p.m., Alla Spina in Philly will have draft....; and at 11 a.m., Boathouse in Conshohocken will be selling bottles. The Boathouse, fyi, will have draft beginning at 11 a.m on Wednesday.....of.....2017 (and vintages in some cases, check individual event details for specifics, plus special raffles) Goose Island Bourbon County Brand beers.

  ~ at 12 p.m., Free Will Brewing in Perkasie and Lahaska (Peddler's Village) is releasing its big (both the beer, and the bottle) Ralphius Russian Imperial Stout and Ella.

  ~ at 12 p.m., 2SP Brewing in Aston is releasing Bourbon Barrel-aged Russian Imperial Stout and Best Wishes Imperial Saison.

  ~ at 12 p.m., Spellbound Brewing in Mt. Holly is releasing a canned version of its Porter aged in Palo Santo wood.

  ~ at 12 p.m., Forgotten Boardwalk Brewing in Cherry Hill is releasing Lifeguard Off Duty Saison and Sword Juggler Belgian Lambic-inspired.

  ~ at 4 p.m., La Cabra Brewing in Berwyn is releasing Hipster Catnip American IPA and Feelin Thankful Double IPA.

Is this enough to be thankful for? Any I've missed?

© Bryan J. Kolesar and The Brew Lounge, 2017. 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

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

2 favorite beers from September 4 - September 17

What can I say? It's not for lack of drinking beers these last two weeks. Just lack of finding ones that *really* jumped out at me. Here are a couple just from the last few days.

(Wonderful to have this beauty in 15-pack cans.)
~ Mosaic Promise (5.5%), by Founders Brewing Company (Grand Rapids, Mich.)
Focused on Mosaic hops and Golden Promise malt. Such a simple approach, such an easy beer to enjoy. Depending upon your dogmatism (or lack of it), this could certainly be thrown around in the session ballpark. Being available in the 15-pack "suitcase" is another appealing aspect.

(Fun bottle label, delicious beer.)
~ Impromptu Dance Party, Vol.1 (6.7%), by Free Will Brewing Company (Perkasie, Pa.)
Not sure what "Volume 1" implies, but I can guess. This is an exquisitely refreshing and delicious blend of cranberries, cherries, peaches, and grapefruit. Which, in my book, makes this a very nice breakfast beer. Not that I advocate or have tested this concept myself. Or have I?

Click back here for an index of all beers that I've covered in the past.

Tuesday, May 23, 2017

5 favorite beers of last week (May 15-21)

Alrighty, I enjoyed doing this last week so much, I'm gonna keep it going. As many of you know, "favorite" beers are often found in the context of people and place. This past week, for me, was no exception.

Again, in alphabetical order by brewery:

(SeaQuench takes center stage at Jose Pistola's.)
~ SeaQuench Ale, by Dogfish Head Craft Brewery (Milton, Del.)
A few weeks back, brewery sales rep Wendy Domurat tossed a couple of these at me. Lime and sea salt dominate this refreshing "session sour" (4.9%). Since then, a couple more six-packs have found their way into my cooler. In the past week, Men's Health, for what it's worth, gave it their nod of approval. This was a weekend pleaser too (see Free Will, next) during/after plenty of vigorous outdoor work. Plus, I took this one to my book signing too (see Spoonwood, further below) and the attendees were likewise pleased. Seems like this one will be around for a while.

(Don't overlook gems such as the Kölsch.)
~ Community Kölsch, by Free Will Brewing Company (Perkasie, PA)
So much outdoor work got done this last weekend and early Sunday evening made it all worth it with this really nice and clean Kölsch (4.8%) with mild fruit notes from a brewery that gets plenty of attention for its sours.

(The best meal of the day...and pleased to have finally made my first visit to the SPTR Wheat Beer Fest.)
~ Wit Or Wit Out, by St. Benjamin Brewing Company (Philadelphia)
Before heading off to the festival at Citizens Bank Park, my pal Greg and I stopped for a couple beers at South Philly Tap Room's annual Wheat Beer Fest. Only had time for two beers and some live music so I made one of them the St. Benjamin Wit or Witout. Gave me a chance to meet a new crew member at St. Ben, Shawn, and toss back a beer that I haven't had in a while. It's a solid and refreshing Belgian Golden (4.6%) with extra, but subtle, spicing.

(This is how good it was.)
~ Meta Shepherd, by Second District Brewing Company (Philadelphia)
And after the festival at the ballpark, it was time for some South Philly neighborhood action. Only my second time at Second District, but both visits have been home runs. Any idea what goes extremely well with the Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese on the menu? This "smoked porter conditioned on juicy pineapple puree" (6%). Say what? "Weird and wonderful", perfectly described by the brewery. Really wonderful.

(A picture of Cold Drip Doppio before leaving Pittsburgh.)
~ Cold Drip Doppio (Wigle Whiskey barrel-aged), by Spoonwood Brewing Company (Bethel Park, PA)
Did you see the beers I was serving during my book signing last week? There was this one that really stood to both the attendees and me. It was this wonderfully layered strong coffee beer (8%) with whiskey barrel notes, all so well balanced and nothing overpowering. So smooth, so nice.

Friday, February 19, 2016

Where there's a Will there's Iron Hill and Free Will

(Thirty, plus three, on tap for Iron Hill's annual Belgium Comes to West Chester)
The last Saturday of January gave the rabid lovers of Belgian beer and sour beer a double-dip opportunity to indulge in the heart of Chester County and Bucks County. If you've not well-familiarized yourself yet with the beer scenes of the Philly suburbs-borderline-exurbs, allow me to point you in the right direction.

The Saturday one week before the Super Bowl each year is when Iron Hill in West Chester, Chester County, shows off at least 30 regional breweries and their respective takes on the broad "category" of Belgian-style beers. The styles typically run the gamut from low-alcohol, wild-fermented/sour beers to over-the-top flavor-popping Trappist Tripels and decadent Quadrupels plus all sorts of tasty twists and turns in between.

(The Iron Hill family, with both past and present brewers in attendance, at Belgium Comes to West Chester)
They call the event Belgium Comes to West Chester and brewers from participating breweries not only send beer but often show up themselves to take part in the wildly popular casual tasting event. Though, don't take the event too casually because once the crowds pack the dining room and bar room areas, it's not long before the kegs starting running dry. Always interesting to see which ones kick first and this year it was somewhat predictable with the Forest & Main Melange De Jour going first and followed not too far behind by the slightly more surprising Levante Twin Spires. Nice to see this as Levante is growing quite well into their spot on the local West Chester brewing scene since opening last February.

The last couple of years have seen quite a few brewers move on from the Iron Hill family as countless opportunities have continued to present themselves in the constantly-expanding industry. But, true to the family feel and well-run human resources at Iron Hill, a number of alumni either showed up in person or had their beers sent to be poured at the event. I may have missed one or two, but the five that I can quickly point to are: Bob Barrar (2SP Brewing Company); John Panasiewicz (3rd Wave); Jeff Ramirez (Denizens); Vince Desrosiers (Dock Street); and Jean Broillet (Tired Hands). By 5 p.m., all 30 kegs were drained and the after party gatherings were being planned.

(Feeling sour? Tasting sour at Free Will's Sour Sunday)
Clear across the region to central Bucks County is where you'll find Free Will Brewing Company doing their not-quite-regular Sour Sunday in Perkasie. Prior to January 31, I might have said, "sure, they can afford to do a Sour Sunday once a month". After what I witnessed, I may reconsider that opinion. Did the capacity crowd that descended upon the no-longer-relatively-unknown brewery in Perkasie show up because the crippling blizzard that kept everyone either shut in or sore from shoveling the week before and were stir crazy for a beer event? Or was it the draft list dominated by sour beers (the "regulars" rounded out by some new ones) that drew the crowd? Both, I'm sure.

If you wonder where Perkasie is, you're likely in good company. Think north of Lansdale and west of Doylestown and, if you draw a clock's circle around Philadelphia, at roughly 11 o'clock-ish (a.m. or p.m., doesn't matter). Free Will grew out of its original basement dwellings in 2014-2015 into the upstairs, street-facing space when it became available the prior year. The basement's former brewing space and tasting room is now dedicated to the wild and crazy critter beers that have certainly put the four-year-old brewery on the map. Upstairs, a modest-sized tasting room overlooks the new and spacious (though, getting less so by the month, it seems) brewing space which can also accommodate guests at picnic tables set up amongst the tanks.

On this particular day, both the tasting room and brewing floor were filled with fans of the brewery anxious to taste the usual sour suspects - Grape Sour, Pomegranate Sour, Key Lime Sour, and Kriek Sour - in addition to some new kids on the block like Sour Cherry Powered Rocket (quite perhaps my new favorite?) and DC Provisional Funk (a dry and funky saison fueled by local maltster Deer Creek Malthouse).

If you missed Sour Sunday, the last Sunday of February looks like another great excuse for you to find what Free Will is up to in Bucks County. The brewery is throwing a Clam Bake event - an event with all the fixins from food to beer to tours and even some "bum-style bonfires".

(Capacity crowd in the tasting room for Free Will's Sour Sunday)

(Capacity crowd in the brewery at Free Will's Sour Sunday)

Friday, May 08, 2015

Philly Beer Week 2015 - A first peek at the numbers and an early Best Of List

Whoa, we're more than half way there. Whoa-oh, Leuven On A Prayer!

Before I get into the event schedule of May 29 to June 7, in case you haven't heard, the official Belgian collaboration beer of Philly Beer Week 2015 is called Leuven On A Prayer. I was honored (lucky?) to be a part of the traveling PBW contingent that paired up Free Will Brewing Company's John Stemler with Jef Janssens at Hof ten Dormaal (HtD) just outside Leuven, Belgium. The brew day went down on February 5 at the honest-to-goodness Belgian Farmhouse Brewery roughly twenty miles east of Brussels.

The backstory of the brewery, the beer, and our trip was more multi-faceted than any previous PBW collaboration, largely thanks to the catastrophic fire at HtD in January. If you're not familiar with HtD or the fire, there'll be plenty of opportunities at Opening Tap, events during the week, and fundraisers during Philly Beer Week 2015.

Plus, check out Free Will TONIGHT in Perkasie for a great way to support Hof ten Dormaal and drink and win some great beer along the way.

If you'd like to get caught up on more of the backstory, please check my excellent (humbly submitted) wrap-up from a few months ago. Plenty of pictures to go with the words as well.

Now on to the business the ten-day Philly Beer Week. Or, as I like to call it, an Imperial Philly Beer Week — because in Philly there could be no other kind.

Last Friday, the official calendar of events at PhillyBeerWeek.org counted 185 events. Today, it lists 331. If you know my tendencies around here, then you won't be surprised to know that I took some time an effort to break it down....in a spreadsheet, but of course.

There's really no point in sharing the spreadsheet yet as we still have three weeks for the event schedule to build and shake itself out. Let's just do a bit of slicing and dicing to help get you through your Friday. Grab a beer, it always makes things better.

Number of listed events as of May 8
35 - Friday, 5/29
41 - Saturday, 5/30
38 - Sunday, 5/31
35 - Monday, 6/1
33 - Tuesday, 6/2
40 - Wednesday, 6/3
34 - Thursday, 6/4
30 - Friday, 6/5
29 - Saturday, 6/6
16 - Sunday, 6/7

Number of listed events at the Uno Family - 37
Number of listed events at Whole Foods - 35

Number of city-based events - 224
Number of non city-based events - 107

Number of unique establishments/locations - 55
Number of events at a brewery - 15
Number of events at a bar - 283
Number of events with "takeover" in the event name - 30

Most expensive event - $125 for "The Too Many Cooks In The Kitchen With Beer Dinner" at Sancho Pistola's
Number of events listed as pay-as-you-go - 276
Number of events listed as "free" - 2

Number of events listing Free Will and Hof ten Dormaal - 4
Number of Leuven On A Prayer kegs arriving from Belgium - Roughly 35 (to be confirmed)

My personal Best Of List from event listings as of May 8

Best Nod to Philly Beer History - Take a beer and history tour of Christ Church Burial Ground for $10 any day of the week at 5:30 p.m. - $10

Best Buzz for your Buck - Opening Tap at 23rd Street Armory on 5/29 - $46

Best Train Ride - After $2 Dogfish Heads (on 5/30) or Russian Rivers (on 6/4) at Teresa's Next Door - $PAYG

Best Bus Ride - From Bethlehem Brew Works to Philly on 5/30 - $55

Best Way to Firk Off - Johnny Brenda's stacks 'em high on 5/30 - $PAYG

Best Rugby Tailgating - Pretty sure there'll only be one this year, so if you want to tailgate a rugby match at PPL Park with Saucony Creek Brewing, this is it on 5/30 - $30

Best Pub Crawl - Numerous Passyunk Avenue establishments bursting at the seams with beer, food, music, and probably much more all day long on 5/31 - $PAYG

Best Dinner - Iron Hill descends on Good Dog every year for a killer dinner, this year on 5/31 - $50

Best Belgian - Focal brewery for 2015 collaboration beer, Hof ten Dormaal, is sending brewer Jef Janssens who will show up at least at Opening Tap, Standard Tap, Jose Pistola's, Memphis Taproom, and Monk's Cafe. He's also due to brew at Free Will in Perkasie. A real fun dude you want to meet. Lunch at Monk's is on 6/2 - $TBD

Best Geeky Commercial Brew - Meet Terry Hawbaker of Pizza Boy and Intangible Ales at Bottle Bar East on 6/2 - $PAYG

Best Local Benefit - Doobies does cat-related fundraisers each year, usally with Flying Fish. This year there are two on 6/2 - $PAYG

Best Returning Brewers - Buds, Casey Hughes (Coppertail, Florida) and Mike Fava (Oxbow, Maine), return to both host events at Jose Pistola's on 6/2 - $PAYG

Best Beer & Cider - I'm big on Other Farm and if you haven't had their beers and cider, check 'em out with live jazz at Time on 6/3 - $PAYG

Best Ice Cream & Beer - I'm also big on Bent Spoon Ice Cream from Princeton ever since they attended the Brewer's Plate several years ago. They team up with Weyerbacher on 6/3 at Uno's in Hamilton, NJ - $PAYG

Best Geeky Homebrew - Meet Randy Mosher at 2nd Story Brewing Company on 6/3 - $10

Best Nod to Philly Prison History - London Grill, Stoudts Brewing Company, and Eastern State Penitentiary have a long intertwined history. It all is on display on 6/3 - $40

Best SoCal-based event - Lucky's Last Chance in Manayunk is hosting both Ballast Point and Green Flash on 6/3 - $PAYG

Best NYC-based event - Brooklyn is nuts for Other Half. They're at Jerry's Bar on 6/4 and Local 44 on 6/5 - $PAYG

Best Reason to Head Downstairs - Conshohocken Brewing Company and Wyndridge Farm Brewery at U-bahn on 6/5 - $PAYG

Best Street Fest - Back to Fishtown for the blocks-long outdoor festival tying together Johnny Brenda's, Fette Sau, and Frankford Hall on 6/6 - $PAYG

Best Barrels - Check out Firestone Walker's Barrelmeister at Strangelove's on 6/6 - $20

Best Sours - You know they'll be at almost every turn of the tap handle. Check out Standard Tap's Sour Brunch on 6/6 - $PAYG

Best Way to find out what a Raingutter Regatta is - With Casey Hughes (Coppertail, Florida) and Dan Conway (Capt. Lawrence, NY), you can bet it will be a spectacle to behold on 6/6 - $PAYG

Best Music - Wrap up PBW '15 at Dock Street with a fun scavenger run and free local music fest on 6/7 - $PAYG

Best NorCal-based event - Each year ends with a Russian River event at Local 44, this year on 6/7 - $PAYG

Best Way to Get Your Wood On - Memphis Taproom again hosts All-Weekend Wood from 6/5-6/7 - $PAYG

Best Way to Multi-Task - Head to Whole Foods beer section at either Devon, Glen Mills, or Plymouth Meeting as, between the three of them, they have unique events scheduled each day of PBW - $PAYG

Check back next week as this best-of list will attempt to keep up with the master calendar of events as it grows by the day.

Friday, February 13, 2015

Farm to Philly - Philly Beer Week 2015 goes to Belgium

(click to visit full gallery of photos at Picasa)

Tracking the "success" of writing something here versus there versus everywhere versus nowhere is typically a fruitless effort. I take my best shot and the chips lay scattered and crushed where they land.

Figuring many of you catch my stuff in social-land, I'm gonna go out on a limb and presume that you're aware I just returned from Belgium.

Brussels, to be specific. With Philly Beer Week, Free Will Brewing, and a cast of characters exploring the Belgian beer landscape and brewing a collaboration beer at Hof ten Dormaal in Tildonk to be even more specific.

And if you didn't catch all the social love that I gave to this trip, you may have caught the Philly.com food/beverage blog — in conjunction with Philly Beer Week — that John Stemler (Free Will co-owner/brewer) and I contributed to while across the pond.

Rather than repeat here, below I've gathered a handy index that you can go exploring on your own. The one additional thing you get here, however, is many more pictures. Click above on our group picture at Cantillon to head over to Picasa for a much larger photo gallery than was included at Philly.com.

(link to) Pre-travel thoughts and planning
— The PBW/Philly.com crew thought it would be a good start to talk about some pre-trip thoughts, planning, expectations, etc. So we did. May not be all that riveting, but it set the groundwork.

(link to) En route
— Slightly more riveting than the first entry, this got into more of the trip across the pond and arrival.

(link to) Monday, Feb. 2
— Now things are really humming
— Moeder Lambic, Delirium Cafe, Grand Place

(link to) Tuesday, Feb. 3
— Bruges must be experienced up close and personal to be appreciated. Hopefully, we've helped with that.
— Le Pain Quotidien. Halve Maan brewery. Cambrinus. De Garre.
— Walking. Churches. Bridges. Canals. Food. Beer. Not exactly in that order or quantity.

(link to) Wednesday, Feb. 4
— I referred to this day as epic. In hindsight, I stand by that.
— Cantillon, Nuëtnigenough. Never enough. Indeed.

(link to) Thursday, Feb. 5
— The day that this trip was all about. Brew day at Hof ten Dormaal in Tildonk, just east of Brussels.
— And, back to Brussels for Le Coq, Cafe Bizon, and probably a place or two lost to the beer-soaked streets of Brussels.

(link to) Friday, Feb. 6
— More epictasticality. Boon, 3 Fonteinen, Lambics, trains. Classic Belgian/French dining.

(link to) John's review of Feb. 5-7
— Stemler takes a crack at knocking out three days of catch-up writing in one entry.

(link to) My post-trip wrap
— A huge shout-out to all involved, including the importer 12% Imports.

Friday, January 30, 2015

There's this little trip to Belgium next week

Post by The Brew Lounge.

Remember that raffle that I won in December from Philly Beer Week and 12% Imports? Well, it's finally here. Not that it snuck up on me all that much, but any ideas I had about preparing adequately to maximize my travels have all but evaporated at this point.

I know I have a flight, a hotel room, and a valid passport. The weather looks clear (and cold) leaving Philly and overcast/rainy (and not quite as cold) when arriving in Brussels.

Beyond that, oy.

That's not really true, though. The level of communication has been much higher than expected amongst all the principals involved in the trip. Brian Ewing of 12% Imports (the importer of the host brewery, Hof ten Dormaal) is picking up the travel tab for myself and the brewer I tapped, John Stemler of Free Will Brewing, and has been playing his liaison role between the brewing entities on both sides of the pond. This role has become even more critical in light of the devastating fire that HtD suffered earlier in January. They continue to work like crazy at their brewery just east of Brussels to prepare for our brew day on February 5.

The dialogue between the brewers, myself, Tom Peters (of Monk's Cafe), William Reed (Standard Tap), Casey Parker (Jose Pistolas), and others around the recipe specifications has also taken on a life of its own in long-running e-mail conversations. While it's still too soon to say with 100% certainty, you can bet we'll be talking about the recipe next week as we tweet, burp, share, post, blog, bleep, blurp, write, and take pictures along the way. The free-wheeling conversation leading up to the trip has been fun and educational for me as an outsider to the professional brewing world — or at least to the part that involves recipe formulation, ingredient planning and sourcing, etc.

Side threads have also sprouted in e-mail around other group excursions apart from brew day. Staying in Brussels, Cantillon is an obvious choice. Drie Fonteinen and Boon are also likely visits. As he has taken the lead in planning these additional visits, the respect that Tom Peters garners in his home away from home in Belgium is immediately obvious.

Finally, as Stemler and I will both be coming into Belgium prior to the larger group (we expect a total of 11 from Philly, I think is our last count, in the complete traveling group), he has been taking the lead in establishing other brewery meetups and possible brew days in order to further his professional relationships abroad during this trip.

So my rough count is that there have been over 130 e-mails over the past few weeks leading up to what should be a most-excellent trip. Now, it's time for me to count some Euros I have at my home desk and figure out if/how to get more. Set up my international data and calling plan. Figure out the best route into the city from the airport (likely the train). Determine which, if any, "gift beers" I'd like to pack for the new friends we make over there. Clothes, toiletries? Eh, minor stuff!

Oh, and the minor footnote of being 89% of the way through editing my 416-page book manuscript, due by the end of this week--is that today?! Separate story for a different day. Maybe I'll write something about it on the plane ride to Belgium.

While I'm in Belgium, expect to see updates here at The Brew Lounge. I'll also be forwarding some material to Philly.com for Michael Klein to include in his column. Philly Beer Week will also have some fun content that we'll be chipping in with along the way. And the usual social media outlets — The Brew Lounge on Facebook and The Brew Lounge on Twitter — should be alive and well during this trip and full of fun things found, heard, and tasted along the way.

Here we go....

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

A beer festival at Mercer Museum & Fonthill Castle in Doylestown

Mercer Museum & Fonthill Castle Beerfest
(link to the full gallery of pictures)

It was called Eat & Drink Local and the beer festival at the Mercer Museum/Fonthill Castle on 8/17 certainly lived up to the name. It was a celebration of local food and beer (a wine and a rye whiskey thrown in for good measure as well) for 200 ticketed attendees under a large event tent on the grounds of Henry Mercer's former home and current museum that houses items from daily life in pre-Industrial Revolution America.

In fact, it was a great venue at which not only to drink locally-produced beers, but beers that most had never heard of before that night. Even I was stumped on a couple of the new guys that were set up to pour their beers.

There were the big guys (relatively speaking, of course). Weyerbacher, McKenzie Brew House, and Victory were pouring recognizable names like Imperial Pumpkin, La Fling, and Summer Love, respectively. Keystone Homebrew was also in attendance pouring a handful of beers and a wine from members of their club.

Then there were the recently new or about to be new Bucks County breweries. Round Guys (Lansdale), Free Will (Perkasie), and Vault (Yardley) are all names that are beginning to become a bit more recognized around the area at festivals and watering holes alike.

Then there the really new guys, some of whom are still looking for that special location to call home. Outta Hand Brewing and Great Swamp Brewing were two that frankly had me stumped. Prior to heading out for the festival I'd done a bit of sleuthing around to find that Outta Hand doesn't have much info at all about them floating around online. They're a couple of home brewers (Matt Kennedy and Joe Moran) with big dreams and over at Carolyn Smagalski's site there's a reference to them and a Steve Bischoff. I cleared up that he has absolutely no relationship with the brewery. They were quite frank in saying that they actually have no clue who he is. So if anyone knows Bischoff, you might like to tell him that if anything that ever goes bump in the night at Outta Hand, it will be blamed on him. It's just easier that way!

Great Swamp, though, is a little farther along with their plans. David Johnson is in the process of securing capital and a location somewhere along Broad Street in Quakertown to open his place to serve his beers to the public.

This was a unique festival in a few ways. The representation of mostly all very local breweries was one. The demographic was another that made the festival quite unique. With rough estimates at over half of the attendees coming from the museum's membership base, the average age skewed slightly older and certainly did not resemble the typical beer geek festival. Yet, in what really should not be all too shocking, this diminished in no way the thirst for new and interestingly tasty beers.

Here is one area that many folks in the business of selling beer should learn well from in formulating marketing plans. As craft beer continues to take a greater foothold in the consciousness of beer drinkers, we may be surprised by just who the future demographic might be comprised of. For example, while chatting with the McKenzie Brew House guys (Ryan and Nate), a couple likely pushing into their late 70s approached and asked about the beers and got their samples. They were conversant enough to ask questions about the beer and brewery that they previously knew nothing about and appeared happy with what they tasted. Not exactly the young hipster demographic that often comes to mind at beer festivals, right?

Goes to prove that you never know where you'll find your next beer enthusiast — and to never judge a book by its cover. But, that lesson goes back decades doesn't it? And, applies to much more than just beer.

Monday, January 02, 2012

Weekly Brew Bits Update: 1/2/12

As you begin to come out of your holiday craze and daze, here are some things that you may have missed along the way.

~ Tired Hands continues to make progress...progress that is rapidly picking up pace. Before we know it, there'll be a new opening. This one, in a location desperately needing one. Note to self: get back to Ardmore. Link here back to previous pictures on The Brew Lounge or Link here to new ones from the brewery's Facebook page.

~ But, while Tired Hands and others continue to trudge through their pre-opening construction "fun", Iron Hill has plowed quickly through the last few weeks and opened their ninth location in Chestnut Hill for soft opening dinners this past week. I'll have a few more pictures posted separately here in the next day or so. Until then, go and check out their Facebook photo page and prepare for a grand opening to the public this coming Wednesday, January 4.

~ Have you caught my column over at The Washington Times Communities recently? I took a stab at a Top 10 Brewers list and a Top 10 Craft Beer Themes of 2011. A Top 10 Beers list is coming soon; stay tuned.

~ Jay Brooks uncovered a Philadelphia History of Beer poster. I love these kind of illustrative capsules. Go check it out.

~ In last week's wrap-up post, "KL" commented about progress at Bucks County's Free Will Brewing and Neshaminy Creek Brewing. If you missed it, check back via this link.

~ 2011 left and not a minute too soon. I didn't find anything noteworthy about New Year's Eve to link you to, so let's get on with 2012.