Philly Beer Week 2013, Day 3 Sights and Sounds: Sunday, June 2

(Links to video precede the pictures farther below.)

The opening weekend of Philly Beer Week 2013 came to a slightly cooler, interrupted by brief passing showers, end with festivities of every stripe going down around the city.

Early reports came in of some solid brunches being served up and I got mine in just before 3 p.m. at Kite & Key (great "stuffed" PB&J French Toast) as the Throwdown in Franklintown was warming up. I got roped into a couple of events so you may see some moving or still pictures (moving as in motion, not be confused with emotional) of me participating on the runner-up to the runner-up to the runner-up team.

Each year K&K does this event, a) it gets larger, b) it attracts more folks from the industry who want to participate in a couple hours of fun 'n' games, and c) it remains an event where you know, where you can trust, that K&K will do its job to secure great beer, but that isn't the focal point of the event. That last point, to me, is what differentiates truly special/unique events during beer week from the more run o' the mill types. Getting people involved, entertaining, and providing a fun atmosphere where it's not just beer geekerie sitting around, pontificating a beer's merits, and checking it into an app.

Not that there's anything wrong with that. Usually.

So how about those beers, eh mister beer geek?

Yes, the beers were special (as would be expected) during the Throwdown at K&K. The two that stoodout and wound up multiple times in my hand were Allagash's FV-13 and Golden Brett, two beers aged in oak and treating folks to a wild ride of fruit and tart and sweet and rich. The Golden Brett comes across as cleaner and more refreshing, if you will, where the FV-13 has a wider range, and is a bit boozier, of flavors.

Also of note was my second Bell Ringer IPA from Victory. It was on CO2 and was just as enjoyable as the night prior at Johnny Brenda's where it was being served from a gravity cask. And, as their website warns "not to be fooled", I was. No way I'd guess this clocks in at 9% ABV.

The party rolled on with many moving into Center City and Nodding Head where owner Curt Decker and the team were hosting Tomme Arthur and his Red Poppy, Framboise, and several other tasty sours from southern California.

It was a bit of a sign of things to come when next Tuesday, if you haven't heard, Nodding Head will be doing a very special brew day with De La Senne and guest appearances by Vinnie Cilurzo (Russian River) and again Tomme Arthur. Breakfast bites will be available as well.

With time for just a quick stop at Standard Tap, we buzzed in and saw owner Willam Reed holding court with three huge GABF 2012 winners. Tröegs (Hershey) won mid-size brewery of the year, Devil's Backbone (Virginia) won small brewpub of the year, and Church Brew Works (Pittsburgh) won large brewpub of the year. They each had multiple beers of theirs pouring, most of which are not typically available in Philly.

They also had a beer that all three collaborated on brewed at Tröegs. It's a black rye IPA and it was being served on the handpump. Interesting beer with an earthy hop profile and definitely worth checking out should you see it around (apparently it's tagged as Scratch #97).

Great exposure at Standard Tap, one of the city's most comfortable pubs, for these two out-of-town excellent breweries and, as always, for our home-region Tröegs.

That might be about it for me for a few days. It may even turn out to be the first year where I essentially take off the full week from PBW events. Must keep the balance in life. Time will tell. In the meantime, check out the fun videos and pictures and let me know where you have been and what you've seen that's worth reporting.

p.s. Special thanks to Megan Moore of Evolution Brewing for passing along the picture of me keg racing at the Kite & Key event.

Link to video of the keg race (they were full, btw).
Link to video of tug o' war (Victory versus Dogfish Head, first match)
Link to video of tug o' war (Victory versus Dogfish Head, second match)
Link to video of jousting (Jim Kirk-Kite & Key versus Tom Kehoe-Yards Brewing, first match)
Link to video of jousting (Jim Kirk-Kite & Key versus Tom Kehoe-Yards Brewing, first match)
Link to video of jousting finals (Greg Lehman-Victory Brewing versus Tom Kehoe-Yards Brewing)



(A slightly cooler day, it's relative of course, brought larger crowd than ever for the annual Throwdown in Franklintown at Kite & Key.)

(The Yards Brewing team from Philly.)

(The Victory Brewing team from Downingtown.)

(Good thing I had sustenance to carry me through the keg race and tug o' war that I was recruited for.)

(Yours truly got recruited for the keg race.)

(Fergie Carey, temporary custodian, and loving/nurturing custodian at that, of the Hammer of Glory.)

(Curt Decker of Nodding Head welcomes Tomme Arthur from Lost Abbey to his Sour Happy Hour event on Sunday, June 2.)

(Standard Tap featuring the reigning Small and Large brewpub and Mid-size brewery GABF 2012 winners. The Black Rye IPA on the handpump was the collaboration between the three.)

(William Reed of Standard Tap and Johnny Brenda's, with the Hammer of Glory natch, played host at Standard Tap to Jason Oliver from Devil's Backbone in Virginia.)

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Monk's Café Beer Dinner with The Lost Abbey: 2/23/10

Flashback almost exactly two years. Bad weather, smooth train ride in, early morning flight next day. Wow! How similar the Monk's Beer Dinner this week featuring The Lost Abbey and Tomme Arthur was to the last one almost exactly a year ago. The beers were fairly different, but the gastronomical end result was much the same. In terms of wow experiences at Monk's and its beer dinners, this one ranks right up there. That may surprise you given that I'm not going to give out many awards here in terms of food and beer pairings. But, sometimes it might just not be the most important element of the night. During Tuesday night's dinner, the crowd (filled with many of the Usual Suspects) was humming, the food was delicious, Tomme hit his stride about midway through and was taking questions from the crowd, and the beers were excellent. Funny thing was, I wasn't due to go to this dinner. Part of the reason was an early morning flight the next day that would get me out of bed at 4:30am for a connecting flight to Omaha, Nebraska. But, then, some seats opened up and Jodi called to ask if I was interested. Mrs. Brew Lounge had just asked the day before why we were not going...considering she's a fan of the beers herself, the fact that we were not scheduled to go was at least a bit disappointing. So, my answer to Jodi became, I suppose, a no-brainer. At least it seemed like a no-brainer until we got home at 11:30pm and I still needed to pack a bag for the next morning's flight. Anyway, you didn't come here looking for travel advice...at least not in this posting. Seated at the bar, we had to keep a careful watch on our backs, given that a certain mischievous retail beer distributor was seated behind us. The two of us were seated at the bar in between two fun groups of people. To the right, a couple of pilots on 24 hour furlough in Philly. Chuck and Judd if I recall their names correctly. One of whom was very interested in the beer, particularly the Angel's Share and the other who just could barely care less about the beer or the food. But, he was still a kick in the pants to hang out with and hear of his wild stories. To our left a couple of locals, Aaron and Veronica if memory serves correctly, who were as in to the tastes, the sights, and the sounds as we were. Had a conversation with Aaron that left me at least one step closer to buying a newer and better camera. Many of you would probably agree that this decision is way overdue! With some new friends made, let's get around to the spectacular food and beer that Eddie was serving up to us from behind the bar. I began with a Cantillon Gueuze to awaken my palate. Funny, because the Amuse Bouche course and Red Poppy, that really wasn't necessary; they would have done the job on their own. Though, I kept the Gueuze around until three hours later after dinner and it was just as good to finish the evening's festivities with...I was even thinking it was better than when it was first poured! So here's the thing. I mentioned earlier that I didn't come up with a bunch of clear-cut pairing winners in this dinner. That's fine. Because in this case, when the food is right and the beers are right, they don't always need to be perfect together to make for a memorable evening. But, what were the winners? The winners were big-time winners, like... Ten Commandments with Osso Bucco. Osso Bucco, when done right with a good cut of meat, is one of my favorite carnivore plates. The tender meat, braised and simmered for hours in broth and vegetables was a perfect match for the big Ten Commandments beer, filled likewise with many big flavors like of raisins and chocolate. As is my practice at these such dinners, I hold on to at least a couple of swallows of each beer for each subsequent course to see if I can find a better pairing on my own during the remainder of the dinner. I held on to the Ten Commandments purposefully thinking it would go great with the chocolate dessert. It did, in fact, go pretty well. But, one interesting note came out. During Tomme's description of the Ten Commandments, he mentioned the addition of rosemary to the brewing process. I didn't recall that this had been done in previous batches and really couldn't detect it while drinking it alongside the Osso Bucco. But, with the chocolate cake? Boom, goes the rosemary! okay, maybe not Boom!, but definitely noticeable. Then, the pairing to end all pairings (echoed across the room elsewhere...and when I say echo, I mean that people were in agreement...not referring to Guyer's voice echoing...but, that is yet another note for another day) was the Stilton cheese and Angel's Share beer. For crying out loud, if you don't yet understand how beer and cheese can be such an otherworldly combination compared to wine and cheese, then get thyself in front of some strong beer and strong cheese. Though, come to think of it, you likely wouldn't be here reading this if you didn't already have some inkling on this topic. The creaminess, the pungency of the Stilton....the strength, the brandy sweetness, the smoothness of this expensive beer was a match made in heaven...or wherever Lost Abbey beer is inspired by and made. An honorable mention goes to the GABF award-winning Carnevale, the dry-hoppped saison that undergoes a secondary fermentation in the bottle and the salmon tartare served with caviar and crème fraîche. The bottles poured for us came from the same bottled batch that was sent to Denver last year and is seasonally made to be released right around the Lenten Season of the Christian calendar each year. The most well-decorated beer of the Tomme Arthur family is the Cuvee de Tomme. While I didn't think that the dessert pairing worked out all that well, it's worth noting the presence of this beer because, well, just because this beer is just so good and deserved of its 5 GABFs, 2 WBCs, and 3 USBTCs. The floodgates were opened to the general public and it wasn't long before we were whisked out the door into the night for our train ride home. Of course, it meant meeting up with some other dinnergoers at 30th Street Station and having that One Last Once More at Bridgewater's Pub (the country's best train station beer bar). Did you think that my run-in with Belgian beers for the week might end once I got to Omaha, Nebraska? Then, you might not know about the Midwest brewing wonder that is Upstream Brewing Company in the Old Market neighborhood of downtown Omaha. I met them a couple of years back at GABF and was excited to check them out on their home turf. More to come next week... Amuse Bouche Lost Abbey Red Poppy ~with Smoked Duck Pate First Course Lost Abbey Carnevale ~with Salmon Tartare, crème fraîche, and caviar Second Course Lost Abbey Framboise ~with Stuffed Quail, merguez from D'Angelo's, wild rice, and barley Third Course Lost Abbey Lost & Found and Lost Abbey Ten Commandments ~with Osso Bucco and potato ravioli and glazed baby carrots Fourth Course Lost Abbey Veritas 007 and Lost Abbey Angel's Share Grand Cru ~with Forsterkase (Swiss) and Colston Bassett Stilton (English) Fifth Course Lost Abbey Cuvee de Tomme ~with Molten Chocolate Cake and cherry sauce

Updates from Russian River, Magnolia, and Lost Abbey

Covering the best of California from top to bottom all in one posting. Here are some interesting tidbits pulled over the past couple of days from Russian River Brewing's, Magnolia Brew Pub's, and Lost Abbey's e-mail and blog updates. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Lost Abbey - (5/9/08 blog update) Keep up with them at lostabbey.com/blog ... In February we acquired more oak barrels. Specifically, we added 100 new Brandy barrels and 50 more Bourbon barrels. Since then, we have filled 50 Brandy Barrels of Angel’s Share which we hope to release in time for Christmas. We’ll be filling the other 50 in the next month. This will mean a plethora of Angel’s doing their work all summer long at The Lost Abbey. Sounds divine if you ask me. ... A couple of weeks ago, the Craft Brewing World descended on San Diego. It was a chance for every local brewer to do their part and shine. We at Port Brewing hosted so many brewers. It was a special week for us. The highly anticipated Isabelle Proximus was launched. It turned into an amazing beer and we can’t wait to get the barrels reloaded and make more. The beer has been labeled and should see the light of day in late June- just in time for the summer swelter. ... Last weekend, we hosted our 2nd Anniversary Party. In true Port Brewing fashion, we rolled out 3 beers for the weekend. The buzz around the brewery seems to be that the Cuvee tastes as good as last year AND don’t even get us started on the 2nd Anniversary Ale. If there’s one place there isn’t a hop shortage, it’s those bottles we filled- 11 pallets worth! ... I have put a moratorium on new beers for the next few months. Don’t ask me the timeline. I don’t have one. What I do know is that since January of this year, we have launched or brewed Moon Lit Sessions, Shark Attack, Port 2nd Anniversary, Serpent’s Stout, Carvnevale, Inferno, Hildegard’s Saison and Holy Water. It’s time for me to stop imaging and conceptualizing new beers every 20 minutes. I’m having a hard enough time keeping track of where these beers are. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Finally Brewing at the New Brewery! - (5/10/08 blog update) Keep up with them at russianriverbrewing.com/wordpress/ ... On Thursday, May 8th, we finally brewed our first batch of beer at the new production brewery in Santa Rosa! Of course, it was far from the perfect brew day. Vinnie arrived at 6am and left at 4:30am… ouch. ... The first beer brewed on the new/used 50 barrel Dogfish Head brewhouse was Consecration- a sour beer which will age for a year in Cabernet barrels with black currents and the usual bugs and critters. ... Today, Saturday, I decided to forego Boonville to help Vinnie brew the first batch of Pliny the Elder! We don’t brew together anymore, now that we are business partners. So today was a very special day for me! Jay has a bunch of great pictures over at his site...check 'em out +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Magnolia Closed For Remodeling - (5/11/08 email update) Keep up with them at magnoliapub.blogspot.com ... At long last, after a seemingly endless spring of preparation and planning, we’re closing tonight after dinner for nine days of remodeling. ... Some parts of this process have been underway for weeks and are just awaiting final installation, like the new bar and table tops built from wood salvaged from the original Levi Strauss building. Others, like extensive painting and restroom tiling, require a closed and quiet pub to commence. And a few projects will continue on over the next two months. ... Brandon has reached out to the producers whose philosophy aligns most closely with our own, bringing Marin Sun, Cattail Creek, Devils Gulch, Wolf Ranch, Liberty and other farms into Magnolia for the first time. ... The most exciting addition, however, is the unveiling of our new sausage program(!), with a selection of five different house-made sausages (including a veggie one). ... Come see how it all turns out on Wednesday, May 21st, when we will re-open for dinner. ... And if you’ve got a thirst for Proving Ground or one of our other beers, Alembic (1725 Haight @ Cole) will be serving Magnolia beer from all ten of its taps during the downtime (along with the usual array of cocktails, spirits, bottled beer, wine, sake, and small plates). ... PS – The next SF Brewers Guild Meet the Brewers event is just down the street at Toronado on May 22 from 6-9pm. There will be a beer on tap from all seven Guild breweries, including Magnolia. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++