The Brew Lounge: Hammer of Glory

Showing posts with label Hammer of Glory. Show all posts

Thursday, May 30, 2019

Rest up tonight Hammer of Glory, your big day is tomorrow

(HOG shenanigans in 2017 with Allagash's Rob Tod, Suzy Woods, and Katie Tella)
Remember that detailed itinerary for the Hammer of Glory I referred to the other day? Found it. Thanks to Mr. Scoats and Ms. Dowd for forwarding along to me.

25 stops in 9 hours. Looks like we'll finally get a break in monsoon season and a great weather day to kick off PBW 2019. Can you keep up?

Stop #1 10:00-10:13 AM Hop Angel Brauhaus 7980 Oxford Avenue [event listing link]
Stop #2 10:43-10:56 AM Grey Lodge Pub 6235 Frankford Ave [event listing link]
Stop #3 10:58-11:11 AM Chickies & Petes 4010 Robbins Ave [event listing link]
Stop #4 11:31-11:44 AM Bonks Bar 3467 Richmond Street [event listing link]
Stop #5 12:02-12:15 PM Philly Brewing 2440 Frankford Ave
Stop #6 12:33-12:46 PM Evil Genius Lab 1727 N Front St [event listing link]
Stop #7 12:56-1:09 PM Garage Fishtown 100 E Girard Ave [event listing link]
Stop #8 1:10-1:23 PM Johnny Brendas 1201 Frankford Ave [event listing link]
Stop #9 1:33-1:46 PM El Camino Real 1030 N 2nd St [event listing link]
Stop #10 1:50-2:03 PM Standard Tap 901 North 2nd Street [event listing link]
Stop #11 2:17-2:30 PM Yards 500 Spring Garden St. [event listing link]
Stop #12 2:56-3:07 PM BRU 1316 Chestnut St. [event listing link]
Stop #13 3:08-3:19 PM Tradesmans 1322 Chestnut St. [event listing link]
Stop #14 3:21-3:34 PM Time & Bar 1315 Sansom St.
Stop #15 3:35-3:48 PM Fergie's 1214 Sansom Street
Stop #16 3:58-4:09 PM Varga 941 Spruce Street [event listing link]
Stop #17 4:21-4:34 PM 12 Steps Down 767 S. 9th Street [event listing link]
Stop #18 4:41-4:52 PM Chick's 1804 Washington Ave [event listing link]
Stop #19 4:59-5:10 PM Devil's Den 1148 S 11th St [event listing link]
Stop #20 5:16-5:27 PM Garage Passyunk 1231 E Passyunk Ave [event listing link]
Stop #21 5:34-5:45 PM POPE 1501 E Passyunk Ave
Stop #22 5:55-6:06 PM Pistolas Del Sur 1934 E Passyunk Ave [event listing link]
Stop #23 6:13-6:24 PM 2nd District 1939 S Bancroft St
Stop #24 6:34-6:45 PM Brewery ARS 1927-29 W Passyunk Ave [event listing link]
Stop #25 7:00 PM Opening Tap - 2300 Arena 2300 S Swanson St [event listing link]

© 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, May 29, 2018

Philly Beer Week 2018. Three days 'til kickoff and one last look at the calendar

Here we go one more time. After today, not doing any more detailed sleuthing through the PBW '18 calendar. If an event's not listed by this point of T-minus three days until the kickoff, I can certainly go with what's been taken seriously enough to get planned and on the calendar before now. Although, spelling of an establishment's own name, and an occasional brewery, and a growing number of duplicate events (48 as of last night) still seems to be an issue. And, the website and calendar navigation? Well, I've heard again from enough of you that I won't dwell on it here, but suffice to say, I wouldn't be undertaking these efforts to share with you if I didn't know it was appreciated.

Here's what's new since my update last week with data drawn late last night. As always, my standard disclaimer that while I fully trust my own data cleansing and analytical processes, the PBW website should always be seen as the official calendar of record.

However, again, if you'd like a copy of my spreadsheet containing the "cleaned calendar", feel free to ask and I'll shoot it right over to you. Those that have requested in the past will get a proactive forward of the calendar sent this afternoon.

    - 338 unique events (up from 222) listed by 56 establishments in the city and 12 outside, including beer gardens, non-traditional venues, and grocery stores (eight locations are Whole Foods stores)

    - up from just three, there are now at least ten dog-related events; that sounds more typical

    - all the Uptown Beer Garden events now appear to be listed; always a nice respite, weather permitting

    - By day, here are the current number of events, with the previous count in parentheses
         Fri. Jun. 1 - 35 (20)
         Sat. Jun. 2 - 40 (26)
         Sun. Jun. 3 - 34 (20)
         Mon. Jun. 4 - 29 (19)
         Tue. Jun. 5 - 38 (22)
         Wed. Jun. 6 - 36 (24)
         Thu. Jun. 7 - 45 (31)
         Fri. Jun. 8 - 36 (22)
         Sat. Jun. 9 - 30 (24)
         Sun. Jun. 10 - 16 (14)

    - a few new events catching my eye and have me considering adjusting my personal schedule include: the Urban Village anniversary weekend from 6/1-6/3; Sterling Pig cookout at Prohibition Taproom on 6/3; Shelton Night at Pistola's Del Sur on 6/7; Late Night with Joe Gunn at Jose Pistola's on either 6/5 or 6/7; and the Samuel Smith feature at Grey Lodge moved from Saturday to Friday, 6/8, which is definitely more convenient for me and something I'd really like to pop in for, if for nothing else than a walk down early 90's memory lane.

    - The Hammer of Glory Tour is shaping up, but really would like to see more details at the official itinerary before committing to any part of my Friday.

- Opening Tap looks to be ready to go with a full lineup of attending breweries. Lots of locals, a few noticeable absentees, and more than a handful of out-of-towners. Expect this to be more crowded this year, being held on a Friday instead of a Thursday night, as was last year's.

    - 197 events (nearly 60%) are listed at the following
         Bru, U-bahn, Cinder - 38
         Grey Lodge, Hop Angel, Bonk's - 24
         both Lucky's Last Chance - 22
         all Whole Foods - 19
         both Garages - 15
         Interstate Draft House - 11
         Standard Tap - 10
         Memphis Taproom - 10
         Uptown Beer Garden - 10
         Johnny Brenda's - 9
         Devil's Den - 9
         Strangelove's - 9
         City Tap Houses and Field House - 9

© Bryan J. Kolesar and The Brew Lounge, 2018. 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, May 22, 2018

Philly Beer Week 2018. More details.

Philly Beer Week 2018 is firing up for an 11th consecutive year. What's new? What's returning? What's changed? What's a must-do? When's it happening? All reasonable questions and a good bit of what is addressed in the organization's press release (portions deleted, but nothing edited, for brevity) pasted below. Some new faces, some old faces, and some missing faces are on the list thus far. The calendar of events continues to evolve as per usual, so try to keep up. And, I'll do my usual bit to keep you informed of what I sleuth out along the way. Then, we'll meet up for some beers and debrief. Cheers to the never boring Philly beer scene.

PHILLY BEER WEEK HITS JUNE 1-10, 2018.

Often Imitated, NEVER Duplicated: The nation’s first, biggest and best Beer Week – with nearly 100 copycats worldwide – will celebrate their 11th anniversary in 2018, kicking off with Opening Tap on June 1.

Philadelphia PA — (May 2018) Philly Beer Week (PBW) will celebrate their 11th year on Friday, June 1 with Opening Tap, their signature kick-off party featuring more than 60 breweries and cideries, at The Fillmore Philadelphia. Opening Tap will be followed by 10 days of lively beer-soaked events in America’s Best Beer-Drinking City^TM. Hosted by 501(c)(6) non-profit Philly Loves Beer (PLB), PBW2018 is the culmination of 11 years and nearly 11,000 events, and remains the 10 most important days on Philadelphia’s beer calendar.

PBW stands alone as the largest beer celebration of its kind in the United States. The 10-day festival (seven days weren’t enough for America’s Best Beer-Drinking City^TM, a name trademarked in 2012) features hundreds of dinners, tours, pub crawls, tastings and meet-the-brewer nights, and highlights the region’s top-notch breweries, neighborhood taverns, trendsetting restaurants and masterful home brewers. PBW is the “Founding Father” of Beer Weeks, and continues to evolve and grow amid a crowded field of friendly imitators, with 77 Beer Weeks held annually in the United States, and almost 100 worldwide.

“Looking back at 10 years, I have to admit Philly Beer Week has exploded beyond my wildest expectations,” says Tom Peters, PBW Co-Founder and Proprietor of Monk’s Cafe. “The first year I remember saying I’d be really happy if we had 20 participants and 30 events. Now, there are Beer Weeks all over the world and we are proud Philadelphia once again was leading the charge. It’s been a remarkable ride and stunning achievement!”

Opening Tap
Opening Tap is PBW’s signature event, bringing the entire craft beer community together for a ritualistic “first tapping” of the festival – followed by a raucous party with endless samples. A highly-anticipated night, Opening Tap features rare and limited pours from 50+ breweries and cideries and live entertainment.

In addition, guests will have the opportunity to sample the country’s best ciders and chat with cider makers. Hard ciders have been gaining popularity in recent years, thanks to new fermenting methods, including the use of big, bold hops and dry hopping.

Opening Tap will take place on Friday night, June 1, from 7:30 p.m. until 10:30 p.m.

General Admission: $46 includes a souvenir glass and complimentary beers from 50+ local and national breweries in 4-oz. tastings, including the debut of Saison de Pale, a collaboration saison brewed with Pilsner, blended with 15% Petrus Aged Pale, and balanced with Saaz Hops created by Dogfish Head Brewery in Milton DE, and Brouwerij De Brabandere in Belgium.

VIP Admission: $66 includes a specialty souvenir glass, and an additional hour of access, beginning at 6:30 p.m featuring rare pours from brewery members. There will be live DJ sets, and a live performance from Philadelphia favorite Chill Moody!

Leading Up to Opening Tap: The Hammer of Glory and HOG Relay
The official mascot of PBW, the Hammer of Glory (HOG) is a custom, hand-forged keg hammer that travels throughout the region and across the United States as an ambassador for Philadelphia beer throughout the year. Starting in the wee hours of the morning on June 1, the HOG will be passed Olympic torch-style from venue to venue along the HOG Relay, a day-long, beer-fueled carnival that visits 40 bars, breweries and restaurants across the city.

The HOG Relay will conclude with the HOG’s arrival at Opening Tap for the ceremonial first tap of PBW2018: the newly nickel-plated keg mallet will strike a firkin of Brotherly Suds, a collaboration beer from local breweries Troegs, Victory, Yards, Sly Fox, Stoudts, Iron Hill and Flying Fish. This year’s collaboration will feature a Hoppy Saison.

PBW2018: MUST DO
Art on Beer
Are these labels making you thirsty? Be honest, have you bought a beer just because the label caught your eye? Explore with us on Wednesday, June 6 at U-Bahn why the artists and the breweries make the decisions they do - be it an entire redesign, flavor series, or one-off, for the second installment of our Art on Beer moderated panel discussion. Not only does this ticket get you in on a super cool art & beer panel discussion, it includes $5 beers from all breweries represented on the panel, as well as, a specifically designed menu for the event!

Don’t F*#k Up The Beer - A Industry Panel Discussion about Quality Control
Philly Loves Beer is proud to present the Industry Education Panel on Quality Control taking place at Urban Village on Thursday, June 7th from 2-4PM. Explore the best quality control practices, common lab errors, overlooked QC practices and the best route to achieve happy, healthy fermentation. A panel of experts will share their unique perspectives to create an interactive experience for anyone who wants to brew better beer. After the panel discussion, mix and mingle with other top brewing industry folks before hitting your evening events!

Philly Loves Beer Garden: Sip on your favorite local brews every night (except Wednesday; including weekends) of PBW2018! Uptown Beer Garden (1735 Market Street) will host the official Philly Loves Beer Garden, with special attention devoted to breweries located within 100 miles of downtown Philadelphia.

PBW2018: Greatest Hits
In addition, PBW will also celebrate the return of long-established and much-anticipated favorites:

It’s A Firkin’ Riot (Johnny Brenda’s)

Fishtown FestivALE (various bars in Northern Liberties)

11th Annual Extreme HomeBrew Challenge (Jose Pistola’s)

Secret Lair Burlesque (Evil Genius)

The Wild Brunch (Cinder)

Wayne Music Festival (Teresa’s Next Door)

Canwood Derby (Good Dog Bar)

Pils & Pierogies (Grey Lodge Pub)

Tailgate Olympics (Devil’s Den)

Beer and Boats on the Schuylkill River (Bartram’s Garden)

About Philly Loves Beer (PLB)
Formerly Philly Beer Week, PLB was established in 2017 and is a non-profit 501 (c)(6) organization overseen by a community of like-minded beer professionals whose aim is to “grow the pie” and promote the entire Philadelphia region’s top-notch beer-drinking culture. Through a membership network, PLB works to promote and educate consumers about beer 365 days a year, celebrating Philly’s proud brewing culture by highlighting local brewers and progressive national trends.

Monday, May 21, 2018

Philly Beer Week 2018. Hammer of Glory update

(The legendary Fergie during the Hammer of Glory stop in 2016 outside his Belgian Cafe.)
Good timing on the part of Scoats. Within hours of my inaugural PBW '18 post last week, Mike "Scoats" Scotese (of Grey Lodge, Hop Angel, SawTown, Bonk's, and Philly Beer Week ambassadorship fame) reached out to let me know that my comment about the Hammer of Glory tour on June 1 for Philly Beer Week could be updated with a schedule that had just been completed. At least the participating establishments. The times were close enough to publish, but he ask that they be taken with an understanding that they may be tweaked in these two weeks leading up the Friday, June 1 kickoff of PBW '18.

Even though still are a lot of gaps in terms of what each establishment will be doing to showcase their creativity and their dedication to the local bar and brewing scene, if 2018 is anything like past years, then you can bet it will be worth taking some part, or all, of your day to check out the roaming festivities on the way to Opening Tap at The Fillmore.

Here's a link to the Google Doc that is currently hosting the only version of this schedule that I've seen thus far and I've static-pasted it below as it stands as of today. 4 city breweries and 20 bars.

10:00 AM Hop Angel Brauhaus (7980 Oxford Avenue)
10:40 AM SawTown Tavern (4717 Princeton Avenue)
11:08 AM Grey Lodge Pub (6235 Frankford Avenue)
11:39 AM Bonks Bar (3467 Richmond Street)
12:10 PM Philadelphia Brewing (2439 Amber Street)
12:33 PM Evil Genius Lab (1727 North Front Street)
12:53 PM Saint Benjamin Brewing (1710 North 5th Street)
1:29 PM Belgian Cafe (601 North 21st Street)
2:04 PM Grace Tavern (2229 Grays Ferry Avenue)
2:35 PM 12 Steps Down (767 South 9th Street)
2:58 PM Garage Passyunk (1231 East Passyunk Avenue)
3:33 PM Jose Pistola's (263 South 15th Street)
4:00 PM Opa & Drury Beer Garden (1311 Sansom Street)
4:14 PM Time (1315 Sansom Street)
4:28 PM Fergie's (1214 Sansom Street)
4:49 PM Varga (941 Spruce Street)
5:11 PM Craftsman Row Saloon (112 South 8th Street)
5:38 PM Yards (500 Spring Garden Street)
6:04 PM Standard Tap (901 North 2nd Street)
6:23 PM El Camino Real (1030 North 2nd Street)
6:48 PM Frankford Hall (1210 Frankford Avenue)
7:02 PM Garage Fishtown (100 East Girard Avenue)
7:16 PM Johnny Brenda's (1201 Frankford Avenue)
7:34 PM The Fillmore for Opening Tap (29 East Allen Street)

Tuesday, May 15, 2018

Philly Beer Week 2018. What's Up?

(A top 5 PBW 2017 event. What will be at the top of this year's list? Click the picture for more from 2017.)
Well, a little bit of this and little bit of that, but not a whole lot of anything as of yet, judging by the official events calendar over at PhillyLovesBeer.org

With just a bit more than two weeks until showtime, the Hammer of Glory, and Opening Tap, the calendar shows just around 100 "events" as of this afternoon. If I were to apply my expert eye, I'd say the unique, significant, PBW-worthy style events number significantly less.

So far, BAR, Bartram's Garden, Bonk's Bar, Christopher's, Devil's Den, Good Dog Bar, Grey Lodge Pub, Hop Angel Brauhaus, Interstate Draft House, Johnny Brenda's, Jose Pistola's, La Cabra Brewing, Lucky's Last Chance - Manayunk, Lucky's Last Chance - Queen Village, Manayunk Brewery, Memphis Taproom, Monk's Cafe, The Fillmore, The Pub on Passyunk East (P.O.P.E.), Twisted Tail, U-Bahn, Urban Village, and Victoria Freehouse are on the board — with 21 events belonging to the Lucky's family, 19 to the Scoats family of Bonk's, Grey Lodge, and Hop Angel, 10 to Memphis Taproom, 7 to Devil's Den, and 6 to Interstate Drafthouse together comprising more than 60% of the total events scheduled thus far. Some solid bars on this list to-date, but yet a far cry in number from years past. However, if the past is any useful guide, these next two weeks could show a flurry of event additions. If not, it could be an interesting conversation.

Putting all that aside, here's what looks interesting to me at this point. Not enough information about the Hammer of Glory tour yet, so can't really speak to that. Opening Tap is back on Friday night where it belongs and that's a good thing. Another good thing is that it's still being held at The Fillmore, an excellent venue for it. Though, why any other events are allowed to advertise concurrent events with Opening Tap continues to be beyond me. That's Friday.

Saturday is Firkin Riot at Johnny Brenda's, which is always a solid bet. At Monk's Cafe, John Kimmich of The Alchemist and a handful of his beers will be in the house. And I can imagine what Fluff Ed and Russian River means at Memphis Taproom even though it still says Details Coming Soon. It starts at 4:20 so that's helpful! Bar Olympics on Sunday is a perfect fit for Grey Lodge and a good way to put a bow on the first weekend.

On Monday, there's a homebrew challenge event at Jose Pistola's and the annual Omme-gash, It's Alla-gang just down the street at Good Dog. Tuesday? I feel like a suburban visit to Christopher's could be a good call for a beer dinner with 2SP.

Dad Joke Face Off on Wednesday at Devil's Den has all the makings of a debaucherous night. And Thursday at Urban Village, I'd prefer to hear first who's on the panel, but the Don’t F*#k Up The Beer industry panel discussion about quality control sounds like a great afternoon diversion to Northern Liberties. There's a tap takeover at London Grill, but no description. Do we go with blind faith, or ask more of event planners listing these things? But I trust London Grill for a good meal and beers.

To close out PBW 2018 on the second weekend, Friday looks like a good time to check out Mikkeller at Memphis Taproom and then Love City, Singlecut, and Hermit Thrush at The P.O.P.E. On Saturday, it's a party in the street for Fishtown FestivAle on Frankford Ave. outside Johnny Brenda's and Sour Beer Saturday around the corner at Interstate Drafthouse. And on Sunday, sticking near home and La Cabra seems like a good idea, particularly given their Suburban Love Pop-Up Beer Garden featuring breweries of DelCo and ChesCo.

If and when the schedule starts to beef up some more, I'll be back to share the what's-what and maybe even share one of those good ol' fashioned Excel spreadsheets to help navigate the tricky schedule waters.

Wednesday, June 07, 2017

Philly Beer Week 2017: Where we (I) stand

(Click above for a full gallery of pictures from the first half of PBW '17)
Some of you (at least those of you that hold me to my word, which is almost always completely dependable) have noticed that I haven't stuck to my original plan. Preview postings, wrap-up postings, full coverage.

Even though, in addition to Opening Tap and the Hammer of Glory Relay, I've stopped in to 14 "events" around PBW during the first six days (while taking Monday "off"). But, for a variety of reasons that I won't waste your time critiquing or psychoanalyzing, I haven't done my typically thorough pre- and post-game analysis.

There are five days remaining in this year's Philly Beer Week. You can expect to see me somewhere, sometime each of these days except for Saturday. My itinerary changes almost on a daily basis, for reasons I may touch on in my post-week wrap-up. What I can suggest is that you could likely see me tonight at the Carton event (Tir Na Nog), Firestone Walker event (Good Dog), Ommegang Game of Thrones event (Misconduct), Captain Lawrence event (Sancho Pistola's), Allagash event (at either Tria Taproom or Jose Pistolas'), and/or post-lunch Two Roads/De La Senne beers (Jose Pistola's).

What I will do is wrap it all up when it's over. Until then, keep calm and try to maintain a healthy schedule of beer events and I'll see you along the way. Cheers!

© 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

Thursday, June 01, 2017

Philly Beer Week 2017: Day 1 & 2 preview

If I'm being honest, I should share with you that I don't have a ton of structure going into this year's PBW and how I plan to consume and cover it. In the past, I've attended 25-35 events during the ten days that is Philly's imperial week long celebration of all that is good beer. That seems to have worked plenty well to support my ability to report fairly upon it.

As in the past, I'll attempt to share with you a day in advance what looks interesting to me on the calendar and what I will be shooting to attend. I'll do my best, then, to wrap up what I've encountered along the way. You can feel free to correct me if I'm mistaken, but I've been the only single independent source of PBW coverage in all ten years. (You could begin with 2008, if you'd care to check.) If I may allow my pride to proceed me just a bit here, yeah, I'm a bit proud of that.

THURSDAY
Moving along, what looks good today? You can bet on seeing me at Monk's Cafe, where Niño Bacelle from Brouwerij De Ranke will be talking beer and sharing some new beers with the prix fixe four-course, six-beer lunch.

Then, I'll be looking to intercept the Hammer of Glory at a few stops along its way, while I meander the city in the general direction of Opening Tap. I'm thinking maybe Varga, Fergie's, Time, Craftsman Row Saloon, and Standard Tap, or some combination thereof.

Opening Tap will close out the day for me. It's typically a great concentration of local beers and local folks, plus the culmination of the day long Hammer of Glory tour. Plus, Casey Parker and his band - Welcome To My Face - will be on stage, along with others, for our audio entertainment.

If I have any gas left in the tank, sauntering over to Sancho Pistola's (Coppertail and special flatbreads), Bottle Bar East (Free Will and other special tappings), Garage (special tappings), or Barcade (special tappings) would seem to be the best way to close out the first day.

FRIDAY
Tomorrow (Friday), day 2 of Philly Beer Week, may be a rest day early in the schedule, sort of like an early bye week, for me. Partly because I'm not a fan of a Thursday start (though, I preferred March as well, but look where that got me) and partly because the weekend of Saturday and Sunday events await.

If I was to venture out, I'd love to stop by Victoria Freehouse (Scotch Egg event), Jose Pistola's (Weyerbacher brunch), or Brü Craft & Wurst (Captain Lawrence and some special food menu items).

More likely what may happen with me is that I'll stick close to home and check out the collaborating brewers from 2SP and De Ranke at Teresa's Next Door in Wayne.

And you?

Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Philly Beer Week 2017 set to kickoff tomorrow

(Fergie put on quite a show in 2016 during the HOG tour stop at The Belgian Cafe.)
The first day of Philly Beer Week is upon us. For the first two years, it was on a Friday in March. The following seven, it was a Friday in June. This year, the tenth anniversary of PBW, it's a Thursday. Tomorrow to be precise, if you haven't been following along closely enough.

Leading up to the Opening Tap kickoff again is the Hammer of Glory tour around the city. From the organization behind Philly Beer Week - Philly Loves Beer - here's a bit of background and the precise schedule of HOG movement around town. The weather looks nearly as perfect as could be asked for to kick off the annual celebration of great beer in Philadelphia. I'll be out there checking in around town and at Opening Tap. Will you?

The official mascot of PBW, the Hammer of Glory (HOG) is a custom, hand-forged keg hammer that travels throughout the region and across the United States as an ambassador for Philadelphia beer throughout the year. Starting in the wee hours of the morning on Thursday, June 1 the HOG will be passed Olympic torch-style from venue to venue along the HOG Relay, a day-long, beer-fueled carnival that visits various bars, breweries and restaurants. Conveyances have included a festive mix of the weirdly absurd (ziplining from atop Standard Tap, for example, or escorting the HOG to Yards Brewing in a DeLorean) and insanely practical (ascending 51 floors to take in the majestic views from SkyGarten, then leading a cavalcade of motorcycles at TIME). This year’s HOG Relay will be sponsored by SugarHouse Casino and revelers can jump on and off their double-decker bus by purchasing a $10 ticket (click here). The HOG Relay will stop at the following venues:

*This schedule is subject to change

9:00 a.m., Hop Angel Brauhaus, 7980 Oxford Avenue
9:33 a.m., SawTown Tavern, 4717 Princeton Avenue
9:56 a.m., Grey Lodge Pub, 6235 Frankford Avenue
10:24 a.m., Bonk’s Bar, 3467 Richmond Street
11:02 a.m., Philly Brewing Company, 2439 Amber Street
11:31 a.m., Evil Genius, 1727 North Front Street
12:00 p.m., Saint Benjamin, 1710 North 5th Street
12:33 p.m., London Grill, 2301 Fairmount Avenue
12:52 p.m., The Belgian Café, 601 North 21st Street
1:30 p.m., Billy Penn, 1429 Walnut Street
1:46 p.m., Jose Pistola’s, 263 South 15th Street
2:07 p.m., Garage Passyunk, 1231 East Passyunk Avenue
2:35 p.m., Varga Bar, 941 Spruce Street
3:03 p.m., Fergie’s Pub, 1214 Sansom Street
3:25 p.m., Opa & Drury Beer Garden, 1311 Sansom Street
3:39 p.m., Tiki, 102 South 13th Street
3:53 p.m., TIME, 1315 Sansom Street
4:16 p.m., Craftsman Row Saloon, 112 South 8th Street
4:59 p.m., El Camino Real, 1030 North 2nd Street
5:13 p.m., Heritage, 914 North 2nd Street
5:27 p.m., Standard Tap, 901 North 2nd Street
5:50 p.m., Yards Brewing, 901 North Delaware Avenue
6:13 p.m., Frankford Hall, 1210 Frankford Avenue
6:27 p.m., Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 Frankford Avenue
6:41 p.m., Garage Fishtown, 100 East Girard Avenue
6:59 p.m., The Fillmore, 29 East Allen Street

Saturday, June 04, 2016

Philly Beer Week 2016 Begins...

Full index of Philly Beer Week 2016

Click for a full gallery of pictures and videos from 2016 Philly Beer Week Day 1

I'm not sure I'm going to have ton of time left to put a lot of words to what I experience along the way of this year's Philly Beer Week. Trying to balance each day's calendar plus day job plus potential half-day getaway to the National Homebrewers Conference in Baltimore.

Yesterday, however, my snapshot of Day 1 in PBW 2016 included:

- Train beer was a Brotherly Suds, the 2016 collaboration Ryebock Lager beer between Iron Hill, Tröegs, Victory, Sly Fox, Yards, Flying Fish, and Stoudts. A good theme beer that you should find for yourself during Philly Beer Week.

- Kite & Key for the Hammer of Glory Relay handoff from Brauhaus Schmitz to the K&K and Tröegs tagteam crew. Channel 6/ABC and John Rawlins showed up to document it too.

- The Belgian Cafe to see Terry McNally and her London Grill team handoff the Hammer at which point Fergie rocked the streets (great videos, you must check them out) en route to Jose Pistola's. Excellent bowl of mussels too (Van Damme style) plus an Ommegang Rosetta, very nice.

- Speaking of Ommegang, walked across town to Brü Craft & Wurst when I learned that Megan from Duvel Moortgat was just showing up for an Ommegang event which featured some of their new stuff which continues to be very good.

- Then down Chestnut Street to Eulogy Belgian Tavern where they were featuring local Belgian-style beers, including three from Royersford's Stickman Brews.

- Finally, up to Opening Tap at The Fillmore. The new event venue for Philly Beer Week's opening celebration elevated this event once again back to where it belongs after a couple of unfortunate last couple years at The 23rd Street Armory. Great stage, great space for crowd flow, and of course plenty of great beer showed up for the four-hour event. A very nice tie-in to the neighborhood's brewing history to have Joe Ortlieb tap the first keg of Brotherly Suds. Really, please do check out the 6 minute video that I included in the Picasa gallery which contains the arrival of the Hammer of Glory, a brief history by William Reed, and the tapping of the keg.

- Closed out the night with a much-needed sandwich at Standard Tap and caught the train home.

Picked up a fair amount of positive energy in my travels (some griping too, but I'll save that sharing for another day). What about you? What did you see, do, drink, hear?

Even if I come up short in words each day throughout Philly Beer Week, what I will stay on top of is uploading pictures for those of you that like the visual storytelling.

Full index of Philly Beer Week 2016

Thursday, June 02, 2016

A prelude to Philly Beer Week 2016 - t minus 1 day

Sleep comes later. Tomorrow, the ninth annual installment of Philly Beer Week launches. Once again, the Hammer of Glory and its storied past leads the charge into what I've always affectionately referred to as our Imperial Beer Week, where only ten days will do in defining a week of great beer in Philadelphia.

Weather forecast be damned. Here's where you can catch the Hammer of Glory on its tour around the city with all the frivolity that surrounds it en route to the Opening Tap in the evening. See you there.

6 a.m. --- Preston & Steve Show at 93.3 FM WMMR (1 Bala Plaza, Bala Cynwyd)
6:45 a.m. --- PHL17 (5001 Wynnefield Avenue)
7:45 a.m. --- Dock Street & FOX29 (5000 Baltimore Avenue)
8:45 a.m. --- Red Owl (433 Chestnut Street)
9:58 a.m. --- SawTown Tavern (4717 Princeton Avenue)
10:24 a.m. --- Grey Lodge Pub (6235 Frankford Avenue)
11:02 a.m. --- Hop Angel Brauhaus (7980 Oxford Avenue)
11:21 a.m. --- SEPTA Fox Chase Line (11th and Market Streets)
12:06 p.m. --- Sky Garten (1717 Arch Street)
12:27 p.m. --- Kite and Key (1836 Callowhill Street)
12:53 p.m. --- London Grill (2301 Fairmount Avenue)
1:14 p.m. --- Belgian Cafe (601 North 21st Street)
1:45 p.m. --- Jose Pistola’s (263 South 15th Street)
2:06 p.m. --- Opa & Drury Beer Garden (1311 Sansom Street)
2:18 p.m. --- Time (1315 Sansom Street)
2:44 p.m. --- Garage (1231 East Passyunk Avenue)
3:01 p.m. --- 12 Steps Down (767 South 9th Street)
3:28 p.m. --- Varga (941 Spruce Street)
4 p.m. --- German Society (611 Spring Garden Street)
4:25 p.m. --- Bar Ferdinand and El Camino Real (1030 North 2nd Street)
4:42 p.m. --- Heritage (914 North 2nd Street)
4:59 p.m. --- Yards (901 North Delaware Avenue)
5:21 p.m. --- Standard Tap (901 North 2nd Street)
5:43 p.m. --- Saint Benjamin Brewing (1710 North 5th Street)
6:15 p.m. --- Philly Brewing (2440 Frankford Avenue)
6:40 p.m. --- Frankford Hall (1210 Frankford Avenue)
6:51 p.m. --- Fette Sau (1208 Frankford Avenue)
7:02 p.m. --- Johnny Brenda’s (1201 Frankford Avenue)
7:20 p.m. --- Opening Tap at The Fillmore (26 East Allen Street)

Saturday, June 01, 2013

Philly Beer Week 2013, Day 1 Sights and Sounds: Friday, May 31

You know how I've been falling back on my "I'm too busy" excuse for, oh, the last year or so now? Well I think it will apply all throughout this week as well.

So instead of getting wrapped up in a lot of words about the preceding days, I'll save it all for one wrap-up at the end of Philly Beer Week 2013 and deliver each day to you in the videos and pictures that I collect along the way.

Hope you're all enjoying another year of incredible sights, sounds, food, and beer during Philly Beer Week. Stay safe and stay hydrated!

Cheers!

Video of The Hammer of Glory being transported from Kite & Key to The Institute, Top Gun-style.

Video of Nick Johnson (Tröegs) and Jim Kirk (Kite & Key) playing Top Gun's Goose and Maverick.

Video of the uniquely-Philly reception for the Hammer of Glory at Nodding Head.

Link to a picture gallery over at Picasa.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Philly Beer Week 2013 is ready to throw down the hammer

If 2013 has taught me anything, it's that I likely won't get caught up with much of anything until well into the next year. Still, I promised before I hit the sack tonight, I'd get the first look (well, my first look, at least...finally) of the PBW '13 schedule out to you. I'm sure that many of you have had several looks at it already.

Plus, I took a piece of the survey response into account (ha, like I already didn't know what the answer would be!) and threw together another one of those ever-so-handy-dandy spreadsheets that many of you have loved in the past. Here's the link to the spreadsheet.

Of course, my standard disclaimer holds again this year: "this spreadsheet was assembled using information as of early Sunday morning, May 26. For the most up-to-date and "official" information concerning PBW '13 events, consult PhillyBeerWeek.org or, better yet, directly contact the host establishment/organizer."

Here are a few more links that you may find handy. I know. I'm apologize; there's a lot going on here in this one post.

~ A Philly Beer Week Keepsake from Philadelphia Weekly. You're sure to come across the printed copy during the next couple of weeks. Here's a link to the PDF version.

~ The all-important Hammer of Glory Route Guide. Looks like they might plan to use the Twitter Hashtag #HOG to follow sightings of it on Friday, May 31. Though, it seems to be fairly commonly used elsewhere but I'm betting on May 31 it could be trending in Philly.

~ Opening Tap is usually a see-and-be-seen kind of event. Plus, the annual Brewvitational Awards will be presented. I was honored to be a judge and will be anxious to discuss your thoughts of the winning beers/breweries.

Oh, right. And how about a few observations from this May 26 list of events?

I count...
* 164 unique locations

* 1,089 listed events
* though, 896 what you might consider "unique" events when reducing by the total number of multi-day duplicates

* 748 in Philly (83.5%)
* 148 events outside Philly (16.5%)

* Counting only the "unique" events, you can spot nearly a perfect bell curve that peaks on Thursday.

Fri. May 31- 90 events
Sat. June 1- 79 events
Sun. June 2- 80 events
Mon. June 3- 82 events
Tue. June 4- 95 events
Wed. June 5- 105 events
Thu. June 6- 110 events
Fri. June 7- 94 events
Sat. June 8- 80 events
Sun. June 9- 46 events

* 24 listed as Free
* 653 listed as PAYG
* 105 with a dollar figure up from $5-$150 (47 of them $25 or under)
* The rest are either over $25 or not listed with a cost approach

* Some other anecdotal observations, that appear obvious to me but may or may not be substantiated by a more careful comparison. In 2013, I seem to see:

greater use of CAPITAL LETTERS to get the customer's attention
more scheduling on the :30, perhaps in effort to stand out when filtering based on time of day
more jockeying for first events by gaming the calendar with either what seem to be very early start times or long spans of time like basically "all day"
more late night events. Can't explain the drive behind this, but I like it since there have always been, and will be understandably, so much competition in scheduling "prime time" events.
a lot repeating events. In other words, the same thing every day which leads me to cast suspicion on some (not all, mind you, some) of the events.
more specials/sales for the sake of an event. For example, I find it difficult to argue that serving a particular food item, discounted beer, or special pairing for ten days counts as ten events.

But, make of it what you will. It's beer week for the people. There's so much choice, it'll be hard for you to go wrong. For sure, you won't be able to argue that there aren't enough options.

No matter how you slice and dice it, Philly Beer Week 2013 will undoubtedly once again put on an unequaled display of great beer and people.

(Did you miss the spreadsheet link up above? Here it is again.)

Friday, June 10, 2011

Philly Beer Week 2011: A few missed videos

Grab your coffee, here are some quick early morning clips for your viewing pleasure that I've missed putting up for you earlier this week.

Hammer of Glory tour, stop #14-the only video that I took during H.O.G. on Friday June 3

Sean Paxton at Nodding Head's Punk Rock and Finger Sandwiches

Sam Calagione and Sean Paxton at Nodding Head's Punk Rock and Finger Sandwiches

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Philly Beer Week 2011: The Whole HOG

Holy HOG!

We're going HOG wild this year!

All in with the whole HOG!

Are you HOG-gin it?

That's enough. You do know what the HOG is, right?

Hammer Of Glory.

It's became of a bit of a legend around these Philly parts. It has a Facebook page. It's been kidnapped and ransomed. It's been photographed with and fondled by dignitaries and commoners alike. It's been passed around like a cheap.....

Don't mind those that try to game the schedule and put on events at midnight, or 12:01.

The Hammer of Glory "parade" and associated antics - now in its second year - have now become the official kickoff to Philly Beer Week and this year it's bigger and zanier than ever.

Check out below the just-published route for the 2011 Hammer of Glory tour which will conclude at 7 p.m. during Opening Tap at the hands of consummate Philly publican, Mike "Scoats" Scotese (The Grey Lodge Pub and Hop Angel Brauhaus), and Mayor Michael Nutter.

~ 8:00 a.m. Old City Bike Courier to Hop Angel Brauhaus (7980 Oxford Avenue)
~ 9:00 a.m. arrive at Hop Angel Brauhaus
~ 10:30 a.m. depart via Convertible, with Miss Hammer from Hop Angel Brauhaus to Grey Lodge Pub (6235 Frankford Avenue)
~ 10:50 a.m. arrive at Grey Lodge
~ 10:58 a.m. depart via Bicycle Convoy from Grey Lodge to Philly Brewing Company (2439 Amber Street)
~ 11:38 a.m. arrive at Philly Brewing Company
~ 11:46 a.m. depart via Kinetic Sculpture (a giant space shuttle known as The Kenzinger Fermanterprise) from Philly Brewing Company to Johnny Brenda’s (1201 Frankford Avenue)
~ 12:01 p.m. arrive at Johnny Brenda’s
~ 12:09 p.m. depart via Trophy Bike’s Bar Bike from Johnny Brenda’s to Yards Brewing Company (901 North Delaware Avenue)
~ 12:24 p.m. arrive at Yards
~ 12:32 p.m. depart via Marching Band and Mummers from Yards to Standard Tap (901 North 2nd Street)
~ 12:47 p.m. arrive at Standard Tap
~ 12:55 p.m. depart via William Reed and his Pogo Stick from Standard Tap to Foodery (837 North 2nd Street)
~ 12:57 p.m. arrive at Foodery
~ 1:05 p.m. depart via Beer Bicycle Brigade from Foodery to North 3rd (801 North 3rd Street)
~ 1:20 p.m. arrive at North 3rd
~ 1:28 p.m. depart via Hand Powered Two-Wheel Plumbing Contraption from North 3rd to Delilah's Den (100 Spring Garden Street)
~ 1:33 p.m. arrive at Delilah's
~ 1:41 p.m. depart via Delilah's Girls Convoy from Delilah's to Silk City (435 Spring Garden Street)
~ 1:56 p.m. arrive at Silk City
~ 2:04 p.m. depart via Hand Powered Two-Wheel Plumbing Contraption Take Two from Silk City to Institute Bar (549 North 12th Street)
~ 2:19 p.m. arrive at Institute
~ 2:27 p.m. depart via Wheelbarrow from Institute to The Belgian Café (601 North 21st Street)
~ 2:57 p.m. arrive at The Belgian Café
~ 3:05 p.m. depart via a Hammerhead Industry Motorcycle from The Belgian Café to Kite & Key (1836 Callowhill Street)
~ 3:20 p.m. arrive at Kite & Key
~ 3:28 p.m. depart via Row Boat (reenacting Washington's crossing of the Delaware) from Kite & Key to The Four Seasons Philadelphia (1 Logan Square)
~ 3:40 p.m. arrive at Four Seasons
~ 3:48 p.m. depart via Bellhop's Luggage Rack (napping in style with a custom bed, sleep mask, and chocolates on the pillow!) from Four Seasons to Nodding Head (1516 Sansom Street)
~ 4:08 p.m. arrive at Nodding Head
~ 4:16 p.m. depart via Tandem Bicycle from Nodding Head to Fergie's Pub (1214 Sansom Street)
~ 4:31 p.m. arrive at Fergie’s
~ 4:39 p.m. depart via Tricycle from Fergie's to TIME (1315 Sansom Street)
~ 4:49 p.m. arrive TIME
~ 4:57 p.m. depart via Vintage Cycle"cade" to Bella Vista Beer Distributor (755 South 11th Street)
~ 5:09 p.m. arrive at Bella Vista
~ 5:17 p.m. depart via Fork Lift (accompanied by visiting brewers from across the country!) from Bella Vista to 12 Steps Down (767 South 9th Street)
~ 5:22 p.m. arrive at 12 Steps Down
~ 5:30 p.m. depart via The Philly Roller Girls from 12 Steps Down to Brauhaus Schmitz (718 South Street)
~ 5:40 p.m. arrive at Brauhaus Schmitz
~ 5:48 p.m. depart via Horse-Drawn Carriage from Brauhaus Schmitz to Varga Bar (941 Spruce Street)
~ 6:03 p.m. arrive at Varga Bar
~ 6:11 p.m. depart via Taxi Bikes from Varga Bar to Opening Tap (Independence Visitor's Center, 6th and Market Streets)
~ 6:41 p.m. arrive at Opening Tap
~ 7:00 p.m. Scoats, owner of Hop Angel Brauhaus and Grey Lodge Pub, will hand off the HOG to Mayor Nutter on a stage outside of the Independence Visitor Center. Doors to Opening Tap will open following the official first tap of Philly Beer Week 2011.

For those who want to find out where the HOG is on June 3 and throughout PBW, follow its twitter hashtag #HOG and on Facebook at Facebook.com/hammerofglory. For a glimpse of what the relay is all about, click here for videos from the 2010 route.