Index + Wrap-Up of Flagship February Beers [Philadelphia edition]

Weeelllll, that was the longest 28-day month ever! I made 28 PDFs to accompany 28 posts that featured 28 flagship beers after getting in touch with 28 breweries and putting my lips on 28 beers. 14 beers were consumed at the brewery and 14 were consumed at home. Every brewery had personal input, but I had 12 in-person conversations and 2 phone conversations to aid in building the profiles. It was more than 28 beers, as you might imagine, because some got left by the wayside, but the work was put in and I wouldn't trade a day or a beer for any of it. I can't tell you how long it's been since I've been so proud to be part of a group undertaking such as this in the beer industry.

See below for the full inventory and all the links to the individual beers and features. The style breakdown is as follows: IPA/DIPA (6); German-/Czech-style Pilsner (4); German-style Lager (3); Amber/Pale Ale (3); ESB (2); Porter (2); Stout (2); Barleywine (1); Belgian-style Dubbel (1); Belgian-style Tripel (1); Kolsch (1); Saison (1); California Common/Steam (1)

And hopefully you didn't miss the real reason this all got started -- FlagshipFebruary.com. While I featured Stoudts Gold here on Feb. 21, that was also the date where my full story about the Stoudt family and the Stoudts Gold Lager was featured amongst 27 other beer writers from around the world. Our project was to bring attention to the "beers that got us here". There was representation from Europe, South America, and North America. It was an incredible honor to be listed amongst them.

Go read up on the tag-team finale posting from Stephen Beaumont and Jay Brooks, the two primary guys behind the organizational undertaking that it was to corral 28 writers for 28 consecutive days.

Then let's meet up for a beer and we can talk more about the past, the present, and the future of great beer.

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Fri. Feb. 01, 2019  -   Flying Fish Abbey Dubbel  -   [Link to my Flying Fish feature]
Sat. Feb. 02, 2019  -   Conshohocken Puddlers Row ESB  -   [Link to my Conshohocken feature]
Sun. Feb. 03, 2019  -   Second District Bancroft Beer  -   [Link to my Second District feature]
Mon. Feb. 04, 2019  -   Love City Lager - [Link to my Love City feature]
Tue. Feb. 05, 2019  -   Tired Hands SaisonHands  -   [Link to my Tired Hands feature]
Wed. Feb. 06, 2019  -   Victory HopDevil  -   [Link to my Victory feature]
Thu. Feb. 07, 2019  -   Yards Extra Special Ale (ESA)  -   [Link to my Yards feature]
Fri. Feb. 08, 2019  -   Iron Hill Pig Iron Porter  -   [Link to my Iron Hill feature]
Sat. Feb. 09, 2019   - Neshaminy Creek Trauger Pilsner  -   [Link to my Neshaminy Creek feature]
Sun. Feb. 10, 2019   - Crime & Punishment Space Race IPA  -   [Link to my Crime & Punishment feature]
Mon. Feb. 11, 2019   - Yuengling Black & Tan  -   [Link to my Yuengling feature]
Tue. Feb. 12, 2019   - Root Down Bine IPA  -   [Link to my Root Down feature]
Wed. Feb. 13, 2019   - Manayunk Monk From The 'Yunk  -   [Link to my Manayunk feature]
Thu. Feb. 14, 2019   - Lancaster Milk Stout  -   [Link to my Lancaster feature]
Fri. Feb. 15, 2019   -  Tröegs HopBack Amber  -   [Link to my Tröegs feature]
Sat. Feb. 16, 2019   - Dock Street Bohemian Pilsner  -   [Link to my Dock Street feature]
Sun. Feb. 17, 2019   - La Cabra Hipster Catnip IPA  -   [Link to my La Cabra feature]
Mon. Feb. 18, 2019   - Weyerbacher Blithering Idiot  -   [Link to my Weyerbacher feature]
Tue. Feb. 19, 2019   - Workhorse Vienna Lager  -   [Link to my Workhorse feature]
Wed. Feb. 20, 2019   - 2SP Baby Bob Stout  -   [Link to my 2SP feature]
Thu. Feb. 21, 2019   - Stoudts Gold Lager - [Link to my Stoudts feature]
Fri. Feb. 22, 2019   - Free Will The Kragle IPA  -   [Link to my Free Will feature]
Sat. Feb. 23, 2019   - Sly Fox Pikeland Pils  -   [Link to my Sly Fox feature]
Sun. Feb. 24, 2019   - East Branch Der Bach  -   [Link to my East Branch feature]
Mon. Feb. 25, 2019   - Philadelphia Brewing Kenzinger Beer  -   [Link to my Philadelphia Brewing feature]
Tue. Feb. 26, 2019   - Sterling Pig Big Gunz Double IPA  -   [Link to my Sterling Pig feature]
Wed. Feb. 27, 2019   - Anchor Steam Beer  -   [Link to my Anchor feature]
Thu. Feb. 28, 2019   - Sierra Nevada Pale Ale  -   [Link to my Sierra Nevada feature]

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© 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

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Flagship February daily feature - Flying Fish Abbey Dubbel

Getting the month off to a start with a whole lotta alliteration there in that title.

Today's featured Flagship Beer of February is Flying Fish Abbey Dubbel.  It comes from the brewing team behind New Jersey's brewery that started out on the WWW in 1995 and began brewing in 1996.

The brewery has always been eco-conscious and a recent note from Lou Romano (president) and Kirk LaVecchia (sales) pointed out the current efforts: "We are the 18th largest brewery producer of solar energy 463 solar panels, we have rain gardens on-site to prevent erosion, we recapture steam in the brewing process and have an upcycle spent grain program with local farmers."

Now click the picture below for a full feature on Flying Fish Abbey Dubbel.

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 Flying Fish beer at retail.

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© 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

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Index of Flagship February Beers [Philadelphia edition]

Welcome to the home page of my Flagship February endeavors. Each day during February 2019, I'll share a featured Flagship beer from the greater Philadelphia area, along with a few from outside the market. Ambitious? I tend to do that sort of thing.

If you missed the intro to this, check back via this link to my preceding post for all the details.

This post will serve as the index page for each beer I feature. In some cases, I expect you'll say something like "duh, yeah, that's still a great beer" and in other cases, you might say "wow, I haven't thought about that in a while and I didn't even know they're still making it."

Either way, I hope you enjoy this daily feature. (As you can imagine, there was just a bit of work that went into this, but all for the love of it, my friends, all for the love!) I'll be focusing not only on the older breweries across eastern Pennsylvania, southern NJ, and Delaware that helped get us to where we are today, but those younger ones as well (those with Flagships, of course) for whom they laid the groundwork. And, I hope that it inspires you to order one of these next time you see it on a list at its home brewery on at a bar.

I'll reveal the brewery and beer names as each day passes, showing you the style spectrum for the time being. Oh, and hey, let's not make this one-sided, whether you agree or think I'm off my rocker, let me know in the comments or on social media.

Fri. Feb. 01, 2019  -   Flying Fish Abbey Dubbel  -   [Link to my Flying Fish feature]
Sat. Feb. 02, 2019  -   Conshohocken Puddlers Row ESB  -   [Link to my Conshohocken feature]
Sun. Feb. 03, 2019  -   Second District Bancroft Beer  -   [Link to my Second District feature]
Mon. Feb. 04, 2019  -   Love City Lager - [Link to my Love City feature]
Tue. Feb. 05, 2019  -   Tired Hands SaisonHands  -   [Link to my Tired Hands feature]
Wed. Feb. 06, 2019  -   Victory HopDevil  -   [Link to my Victory feature]
Thu. Feb. 07, 2019  -   Yards Extra Special Ale (ESA)  -   [Link to my Yards feature]
Fri. Feb. 08, 2019  -   Iron Hill Pig Iron Porter  -   [Link to my Iron Hill feature]
Sat. Feb. 09, 2019   - Neshaminy Creek Trauger Pilsner  -   [Link to my Neshaminy Creek feature]
Sun. Feb. 10, 2019   - Crime & Punishment Space Race IPA  -   [Link to my Crime & Punishment feature]
Mon. Feb. 11, 2019   - Yuengling Black & Tan  -   [Link to my Yuengling feature]
Tue. Feb. 12, 2019   - Root Down Bine IPA  -   [Link to my Root Down feature]
Wed. Feb. 13, 2019   - Manayunk Monk From The 'Yunk  -   [Link to my Manayunk feature]
Thu. Feb. 14, 2019   - Lancaster Milk Stout  -   [Link to my Lancaster feature]
Fri. Feb. 15, 2019   -  Tröegs HopBack Amber  -   [Link to my Tröegs feature]
Sat. Feb. 16, 2019   - Dock Street Bohemian Pilsner  -   [Link to my Dock Street feature]
Sun. Feb. 17, 2019   - La Cabra Hipster Catnip IPA  -   [Link to my La Cabra feature]
Mon. Feb. 18, 2019   - Weyerbacher Blithering Idiot  -   [Link to my Weyerbacher feature]
Tue. Feb. 19, 2019   - Workhorse Vienna Lager  -   [Link to my Workhorse feature]
Wed. Feb. 20, 2019   - 2SP Baby Bob Stout  -   [Link to my 2SP feature]
Thu. Feb. 21, 2019   - Stoudts Gold Lager - [Link to my Stoudts feature]
Fri. Feb. 22, 2019   - Free Will The Kragle IPA  -   [Link to my Free Will feature]
Sat. Feb. 23, 2019   - Sly Fox Pikeland Pils  -   [Link to my Sly Fox feature]
Sun. Feb. 24, 2019   - East Branch Der Bach  -   [Link to my East Branch feature]
Mon. Feb. 25, 2019   - Philadelphia Brewing Kenzinger Beer  -   [Link to my Philadelphia Brewing feature]
Tue. Feb. 26, 2019   - Sterling Pig Big Gunz Double IPA  -   [Link to my Sterling Pig feature]
Wed. Feb. 27, 2019   - Anchor Steam Beer  -   [Link to my Anchor feature]
Thu. Feb. 28, 2019   - Sierra Nevada Pale Ale  -   [Link to my Sierra Nevada feature]

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© 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

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Landmark Americana making a new mark in New Jersey

Good crew behind Landmark Americana and its lively bar/restaurant atmosphere. Been to the West Chester and the University City locations. Done pretty well mixing in the craft beer as well, though if my recollection holds up, the city location excels beyond the West Chester spot. The same management team was behind the opening of Urban Village Brewing Company last year in the Northern Liberties neighborhood of Philadelphia. They already are in NJ (southern) and have now announced that later this year, they'll be pushing up into northern NJ, specifically just outside Trenton. Announcement follows:

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On May 8th Landmark Americana Tap & Grill hosted a sneak peek celebration to unveil plans for its newest location at Campus Town at The College of New Jersey. Founder Dave Goldman and local elected officials, as well as members of TCNJ administration, were on hand. The fifth Landmark Americana will feature a combination of entertainment with a sports bar atmosphere, boasting an impressive lineup of 40 taps featuring local craft brews, HDTV screens, and delicious pub fare. Landmark Americana will be bringing approximately 70 full and part-time jobs to the location. The 9,200 square feet location will open in Campus Town, which was developed by the PRC Group, and plans to open early Fall 2018.

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© 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

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March 2017: News update, part 1

The last few news updates have been rather lengthy. Here's a more easily digestible set of news links to catch you up on the last couple weeks.

~ Excellent piece on beer and its purported "health benefits". For the record, I've never and would never endorse such a thing. It's a pleasurable beverage and relatively better than some other alcoholic drinks, but not one you drink for any health benefits. [link to Outside]

~ Obviously just a tad late to the news here with this nicely-made video out of the Harrisburg region. [link to Vimeo]

~ Love me some good analysis. This one with Westvleteren. [link to Draft Magazine]

~ I believe I covered this before but, just in case I didn't, here's more detail about what's happening in Haddonfield, NJ. [link to Philly.com]

~ Looks like another for the list next time in Pittsburgh. [link to Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

~ Beer and politics, again, unfortunately colliding. Question I still have is how so few breweries signed on to this? Afraid of blowback? [link to Yours For Good Fermentables]

~ And now for your fun piece of beer-meets-politics news. This one is fun, I promise you. [link to Philadelphia Magazine/Foobooz]

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© 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

Writing This Ship: Part 11 - Going to battle for great beer in NJ

Continuing to Write The Ship (rather literally in today's case) here with an entry that slipped past me a couple of months back. After the Battleship Beer Fest on June 25, I took off for the West Coast and unfortunately allowed this entry to fall into the deepening to-do pile.

I'm not sure how many beer fests there are each year on the Battleship New Jersey (a beer guy with more time might put some research into that), but I know I've never been to one of them. There's been a continual uphill battle, generally speaking, in Camden but they've done a nice job filling in bits and pieces of the waterfront. And on the deck of the battleship, it's set up to accommodate all sorts of special events.

On June 25, it was the Battleship Beer Fest put on by the Garden State Craft Brewers Guild and my admission was provided for by the organization. At the helm was Don Russell, who has since stepped down to pursue new journalistic endeavors. The organizers did a nice job keeping things as cool as possible given the sweltering conditions. With the portable fans, the river breeze, the cool Cabin Dogs live performance, and an unparalleled view of Philadelphia, the stage was set for a review of old and new breweries in New Jersey.

Old standbys like Cricket Hill, Flying Fish, Iron Hill, River Horse, and Triumph. They brought some mighty fine beers like the time-tested Cricket Hill English-style Hopnotic IPA and Triumph Vienna Lager. River Horse had their reliably standard Summer Blonde refresher and, on the other hand, a Triple Horse that came in a firkin with vanilla and oak additions. There was enough of Iron Hill's Bedotter left over from the VIP session and that was a very good thing for the general admission crowd.

Heck, even Cape May, Carton, Kane, Tuckahoe, and Village Idiot are all between three and five years old and are beginning to sound like ol' usual suspects! Pouring from their jockey boxes were goodies such as the refreshingly fruity The Bog Cranberry Shandy from Cape May and Monkey Chased The Weasel Berliner Weiss from Carton. Kane had an incredible (and surprisingly drinkable) Sunday Brunch Imperial Porter and Tuckahoe was sporting a similarly-themed Kid's Table Milk Stout. And the tiny Village Idiot from Mount Holly brought their big Hoptimzier West Coast IPA.

Then there were some that if you don't get up into the northern part of The Garden State, you might know very little, if anything, about...unless, of course, you've read Beer Lover's Mid-Atlantic. Y'know what I'm sayin'? I think you do :)

Thinking: Angry Erik; Brix City; Flounder; and Rinn Duin. From "up there", they brought along their Erik The Orange from Angry Erik, the Just Another IPA from Brix City, Proteinaceous Funk from Flounder, and the Hibernian Stout from Rinn Duin. All four of these may not get wide distribution, but they should certainly be on any savvy beer traveler's radar when traversing the central and northern parts of New Jersey.

And then there were the nearly brand-new breweries. Ones like Berlin Brewing, Forgotten Boardwalk, Glasstown, Lunacy, Spellbound, and Third State that I covered in the appendix of the book as well as ones that I must say I've never heard of, such as Dark City and Tonewood. Get 'em on the list! Berlin's Grey Earle English Mild (4.8% ABV) was an excellent beer that I learned is a rather usual suspect in the young brewery's lineup of beers that (calculating an "eyeball average") are mostly below 6% ABV and that's mighty admirable these days!

If there was one main takeaway from the festival to share with you, it's of the tremendous growth that is finally occurring in New Jersey. Long hamstrung by regulation and high cost of entry, from NW NJ to the home of Rutgers to the state's capital on down nearly the length of the Jersey Shore and over to the border with Philly, there's no shortage of places to find great beer in the Garden State.

With the admission came a pass to use day-of or in the future for a tour of the significantly noteworthy battleship - something I'd like to take them up on before the end of year.

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Beer News You Should Know - continued

In addition to the newsroll I sent up for you yesterday, here are two that I omitted from the January/February timeframe and one that just hit the wire this week.

Tired Hands - From the sounds of things, the lines are exactly what you'd expect them to be at Tired Hands. But, good news for those that want a non-growler package of THBC beer to go that holds up nicely in a can — and pounders at that. Must find my way into a few of these gems myself in the very near future. [Link to Philadelphia Magazine/Foobooz]

Tröegs - Hershey is so darn lucky to have Tröegs that I would consider moving there if only for the brewery, not to mention the couple dozen other great reasons. After 4+ years growing into this new brewery (after moving from Harrisburg in 2011), Tröegs is ready to expand again. This new addition will be called Splinter Cellar — love the name — and hopefully it will come with some additional parking space! [Link to Tröegs' blog]

Ship Bottom - The Delaware County Ship Bottom brewery has been making some respectable size waves the last few years from the modest brewery in Wallingford. Plans to move the brewery to its naming inspiration — Long Beach Island, NJ — are nearing completion and the Beach Haven shore point will be an even better destination for it come this June. [Link to Philadelphia Business Journal]

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List of 2014 Great American Beer Festival (GABF) winners in DE / MD / NJ / PA

Depending upon when you read this, the title might be a bit of a gotchya. If you're reading this before dinnertime on Saturday, Oct. 4, the list may not be complete. (Though, it may also depend upon when you consider dinnertime.)

Nonetheless, as the annual awards are doled out at the prestigious Great American Beer Festival (GABF) in Denver today, I will keep as real-time as possible updated list of winners from what my upcoming book (pre-order plug) will cover: Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and Delaware.

The festival and concurrent judging is bigger than ever. And, with an industry sporting more brewers with more beers than ever, the competition has never been greater. During the three-day festival, the organizers at Brewers Association estimate roughly 49,000 attendees will cross the convention center floor to visit nearly 800 breweries and their 3,500+ beers. 5,507 beers from every state are being judged by around 222 judges who are tasked to award medals in 90 categories. Good luck to all and enjoy the post parties.

Delaware
   Silver
       Indigenous/Regional Beer — Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats, Choc Lobster, Rehoboth Beach
       Pumpkin Beer — Dominion Brewing Company, Spiced Harvest, Dover


Maryland
   Gold
       Smoke Beer — Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant, Rauchbier, Annapolis

   Silver
       American-Belgo-Style Ale — Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant, Belgian IPA, Rockville
       German-style Sour Ale — Union Craft Brewing Company, Old Pro Gose, Baltimore

   Bronze
       Chocolate Beer — DuClaw Brewing Company, Sweet Baby Jesus!, Rosedale
       Golden or Blonde Ale — Heavy Seas Beer, Gold, Halethorpe


New Jersey
   Gold
       Classic English-Style Pale Ale — Flying Fish Brewing Company, HopFish, Somerdale
       Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Stout — Kane Brewing Company, A Night To End All Dawns, Ocean

   Silver
       Extra Special Bitter — Flying Fish Brewing Company, RedFish, Somerdale
       Belgian-style Tripel — Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant, Bedotter, Maple Shade


Pennsylvania
   Gold
       Baltic-style Porter — Earth Bread + Brewery, Perkuno's Hammer, Philadelphia
       Old Ale or Strong Ale — Fegley's Brew Works, Artic Alchemy, Allentown
       Belgian- and French-style Ale — Sly Fox Brewing Company, Grisette, Pottstown
       Bock — Tröegs Brewing Company, Troegenator, Hershey
       Belgian-style Tripel — Victory Brewing Company, Golden Monkey, Downingtown

   Silver
       Oatmeal Stout — Four Seasons Brewing Company, Dark Side Of The Pint, Latrobe
       Rye Beer — Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant, Rye Of The Tiger, Media

   Bronze
       Belgian- and French-style Ale — Barren Hill Tavern & Brewery, Barren Hill Biere de Extra, Lafayette Hill
       German-style Sour Ale — Fegley's Brew Works, Berliner Weiss, Allentown
       English-Style India Pale Ale — Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant, Burton IPA, Media
       Bock — Triumph Brewing Company, Winterbock, New Hope
       Historical Beer — Yards Brewing Company, Poor Richard's Tavern Spruce, Philadelphia

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Ryan Michaels joins Rinn Duin

Very pleased to hear that one of my "breakout surprises" from the book research (yes, that book research) earlier this year - Rinn Duin Brewing in NJ - has picked up multiple award-winning former McKenzie Brew House brewer, Ryan Michaels, who began on Aug. 25 as the head brewer.

The River Toms English IPA was one of the strong entries at this relatively young brewery when I visited back in the spring. Michaels will be building out some of his own recipes, including a smoked porter and wee heavy in the near-term, as he grows up a portfolio all of his own. Best wishes and congratulations to both on their continued growth.

p.s. if you'd like a short pronunciation tutorial, go with "Rinn Doon" and you'll be just fine.

(the tastier stuff is to the left at Rinn Duin)

(a look across the spacious Rinn Duin brewery)

(Chip Town, co-owner Rinn Duin)

(The River Toms, an English IPA from Rinn Duin)

(in 2011, left to right: Tim Smith-Chef, Station Taproom; Jean Broillet-owner/brewer, Tired Hands (in 2011, was readying a transition from Iron Hill to his own Tired Hands); Sean McGettigan-owner, Station Taproom; Jon Defibaugh-brewer, Tired Hands (in 2011, was at Earth Bread + Brewery); and Ryan Michaels)

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More news about Casey Hughes' move to Florida

Who needs some positive news late here in the week on Friday afternoon?

You may have heard earlier this week of Head Brewer's, Casey Hughes, plan to leave Flying Fish after his upcoming wedding and move to Florida to begin the next chapter in his brewing career.

Here are some more details that he shared with me earlier today. You beer geeks that are also baseball fans will love this one.

Casey will be leaving Flying Fish at the end of May. He'll be moving to Tampa where he will be working as brewmaster with co-founders Kent Bailey and Robb Larson to open the new Coppertail Brewing Company (website coming soon) in the city's downtown Ybor City neighborhood. Until the website is up, you can find them on Facebook. Update: Website now available.

They are shooting for a most opportune opening timeframe: spring training 2014. In case you need a quick reference, when doing your spring training pilgrimage next year, you may have the chance to stop in at Coppertail, visit with Casey, and be within less than an hour's drive in any direction to the spring training homes of the Yankees (Tampa), Pirates (Bradenton), Orioles (Sarasota), Tigers (Lakeland), Blue Jays (Dunedin), and Phillies (Clearwater).

Casey (and his fiancee Jules) have been friends of The Brew Lounge for quite some time and it goes without saying that I speak for many friends and fans of his beers when I wish them all the best in Florida.

I'll leave you with two images of Casey. One with me. For some reason, some of you have suggested there should be more pictures of me around. Not sure if I agree, but I'll allow it here in this case. And, the second one, sort of fitting. While not the best picture quality (it was sort of a "spy" photo out the window of Standard Tap), I like the grainy/hazy silhouette of Casey with Jennie Hatton and the Hammer of Glory during Philly Beer Week.

New Jersey IS a Situation...and Yards at The Institute....and New Holland at Teresa's....and it's been a long weekend...good night

I'd add creative captions to go along with all of these pictures, but seriously?! I think they pretty much stand on their own. Having not yet seen a single episode of Jersey Shore, I still can't use the word 'situation' in a sentence (did I get that right? nothing dangling there, right Jack?). But, getting to New Jersey for me always seems to present some sort of its own situation. Last time, it was torrential rains and flooded roadways. This time, it was an overturned vehicle on the Schuylkill Expressway (shocking, you say, eh?) So, I swung all the way around the PA Turnpike and came in from the north on I-95 and across over into Jersey. Probably an extra 10-15 miles, but at least I was cruising. But, then I gotta say. Do New Jersey residents know where they are going? I find the road system confusing enough over there on that side of the river. Coupled with those pale yellow plates on cars that don't seem to know where even they themselves are going, I definitely gather a bit more angst when navigating around the endless commercial districts along their roads and circles (thankfully, those roundabouts are disappearing). Anyways, on to the matter at hand. Or The Situation...at Iron Hill in Maple Shade. I swear I still don't know what all the fuss is about and still refuse to check out what even the most diehard fans of the show call a train-wreck of televised "acting." Yeah, sure, maybe I am one of those anti-TV snobs. Nonetheless, it provided for more hilarity than I've seen recently at a beer event. Sporting fake tans, big hair, and outrageous getups, the beer hoperati were playing the part. Truly worthy of a Philly Beer Week event...in February, go figure. The cold and lingering snow must be getting to everyone. Let's see if I can get to a point here sometime soon. So far, I've spent too much time ranting about driving in New Jersey and trying to figure out what exactly The Situation is...and not doing a great job at either. So let's move along if we can... The pictures I have for you here above look much like the others that you may have already seen on Facebook and other places around the world wide web. So, I probably have nothing new in that regard. New, though, to Iron Hill spigots were The Situation ("not a barleywine"), a Dark Situation (a firkin, on the bartop, of blended R.I.S. and "not a barleywine" Situation), and The Digression (a Belgian IPA). Those creative types at Iron Hill continue to get more creativer. Then, back to safer grounds in Philly. Seriously. My heart rate and blood pressure went down a few ticks when back on Philadelphia Terra Firma of its city streets. Continuing my weekend theme of checking in on old friends (EB+B on Thursday, Capone's on Friday), I stopped in at The Institute to see what Heather, Charlie (proprietors) and the Yards crew were cooking up with the Pork, Pints, and Yards event that they were running from lunch to dinner. They packed in a solid crowd both downstairs and up of people who anxiously drained a bartop firkin of George Washington Porter and the regular stable of beers from Yards. With the way these two stops went, I lost time for stopping at Devil's Den to sip on the Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter and needed to get home for the dogs. Alas, these things tend to come back around I'm sure. Sunday's brunch event at Teresa's Next Door in Wayne was going to get its own space here, but things kind of backed up here at the end of the weekend so I'm just going to sandwich it in here at the end. Dr. Joel (Armato) of New Holland Brewing was on hand to showcase the Black Tulip, Charkoota Rye, and Dragon's Milk with a variety of brunchey foods. Throw in The Poet as a "welcome" beer, and at $25 this became of the best deals in recent memory. A bunch of beer geeks turned out for this Sunday brunch event, including Joel's mother...who herself admitted that the foodie gene skipped her generation and was fortunately, for New Holland, picked up by her son. In the last picture below, you'll see that Teresa's is geared up for what should be a memorable "I'm-not-Philly-Beer-Week."

Boaks with some good blokes at Capone's

(Brian Boak, left, and Matt Capone) As with Earth Bread + Brewery when I mentioned that I don't get there nearly enough, the same could be said of me and Capone's outside of Norristown. Heralded by some as one of Philadelphia region's best beer bars, there are at least a couple of events there every month to complement the stellar selection in the rear bottle shop. Feeling a need to revisit Capone's and to finally (after over a year of being available in PA) taste some of this beer by Brian Boak, I stopped in for dinner and a couple of brews last night. In addition to the Two Blind Monks (Dubbel, very nice with the wild mushroom spring rolls) and the Monster Mash (a Russian Imperial Stout dessert-type beer that should have been enjoyed after my ham and brie sandwich, but nonetheless a very good beer), Brian brought along something a little extra special. Earlier in the week, he'd taken his Two Blind Monks and added some oak chips and vanilla beans (one, actually, I believe if I heard correctly) soaked in Jack Daniels whiskey and threw them into the sixtel for a little extra dimension to the beer. It didn't add a whole lot, but as the beer warmed in the glass, a touch of vanilla and hint of whiskey did come through. Whether you detected it or not, it was nice to see Brian take this step of doing something a little extra for this tasting night at Capone's. Brian also shared with me (admittedly, I haven't known much about his northern New Jersey-based beer...brought to PA by Stockertown Beverage) that his bottle labels include everything from the basic stats (ABV, IBU) to color, style, and availability specifications to, get this, food pairings. I complimented him on how brilliant this is, particularly for helping newbies to the wide world of craft beer find beers that can work with their dinner plans, BYOB dinners, etc....in a very approachable and non-intimidating way. Just another night during Philly Beer Year.

Winter Beer Festival at High Street Grill in Mount Holly, NJ: 1/31/09

This goes back a few weeks, but hey at least it's still the same season! The weather was about as cold, maybe colder, as January's can get around here. I'm betting even that it was colder than in Anchorage, where Mr. Sixpack found himself for the annual barleywine festival in Alaska. The first (annual?) High Street Grill Winterfest took place on the last Saturday of January, during the annual Fire & Ice festival in downtown Mount Holly, NJ. Apparently, there were several events happening up and down the shut-down main street (that'd be High Street) during the day. An ice sculpture carving contest and a chili cook-off seemed appropriately perfect for the weather. But, spending most of our time in Mt. Holly at High Street Grill, we uh kind of missed the other events. I admittedly don't do much bar drinking in New Jersey. Unless it's at the Shore, I just don't have many friends or family who live in South Jersey. Plus, the number of quality beer bar destinations is not all that high. But, speaking of high, High Street Grill is certainly is one of the exceptions to the rule. (Iron Hill in Maple Shade, coming mid-2009, will be another quality beer bar/brew pub New Jersey.) I would be interested to know if any craft beer price (or beer in general) found at any given beer bar in New Jersey will tend to be higher than across the river in Pennsylvania. Until then, I won't discuss the prices that I encountered. But, I digress (is this a habit?) We were there to meet friends who live just a few miles away for an afternoon of outdoor beer festivities in January in New Jersey. For $20, participants got one hour to sample from approximately a dozen breweries who all brought two appropriately heavier seasonal beers. A printed menu of beers was available for guests to make notes. And Mark Haynie and Lew Bryson were on hand to sell and sign their recent "New Jersey Breweries" book. There were three of these one hour sessions. Anyone who complained about $20 for one hour couldn't complain about the atmosphere. Though cold, there was enough room under the tent to mingle and easily get a new beer sample when they wanted. Captain Lawrence was distributor-represented while Sly Fox, Tröegs, and Lagunitas sent their own familiar faces. Also represented was Stone, Boulder, River Horse, Smuttynose, and Founders. As expected, it was a good time with good beer. But, the hour quickly came to an end. Our plan was to grab lunch inside of High Street Grill to warm up before heading home. It seemed, though, to also be most everyone else's plan. We opted instead for a walk down the street and grabbed lunch at the Robin's Nest Restaurant (coincidentally, a chili cook-off winner this year). Not a bad option...only a bad option if I wanted a beer, which given the hour long ride home, I really did not. High Street Grill has been around for quite a few years now and has definitely embraced the craft brewing scene. They do occasional beer-related events and I'll be anxious to see what they have coming up next, maybe in warmer weather. Here's a quick video link to a last second add to this capsule. [Still Crazy After All These Beers]