Beer Calendar: What To Do in June 2014

It should go without saying that under the heading of "what to do in June 2014", Philly Beer Week is right up there. Actually, you can get started on what to do in June and Philly Beer Week on Friday, May 30. The full list of scheduled events that fall under the "umbrella" of Philly Beer Week can be found over at the official site of PhillyBeerWeek.com.

PhillyTapFinder.com has done yeoman's work (yeo-woman's as well, thank you Kristy and Jared) for informing us not just when events are happening but what is being served at the events. Amazing utility that soothes my beating fermenter (I'll must work on a better cliche).

As for my annual "PBW spreadsheet", ah yes, the famed, the infamous, the once-outlawed, and the coveted PBW spreadsheet. Time and workload (namely the epic book that I'm working on) have got the better of me this year and there's no way possible that working up a spreadsheet was in the cards. Thanks to the surprising many of you that have reached out to me inquiring about the status of said spreadsheet this year. I trust you'll still be able to find your way around town, though I do agree, the spreadsheet in the past always made the planning part just a bit easier, or a lot as some of you have professed.

Now to June 2014. Here's what I've done. In fairness, and in an attempt to preserve some relative brevity and sanity, I've not listed any PBW events below. Instead, as I mentioned, just hit up the official site for all the scheduley goodness. I've picked up and attempted my best at capturing non-PBW events as well as the rest of the month, as if anyone will have energy remaining to do events from Monday, June 9 and on. But, apparently, there's no rest for the thirsty and you can see that evidence below. I've forgone my traditional format here, since the list is rather short. I'm confident you'll navigate it just fine.

With that, go forth and find great people and beer in and all around our fair (phair?, nah, don't do it) City of Philadelphia. Cheers to Happy Beer Weeking!

As always, if I'm missing any that you feel should be on here, let me know.

Fri. 5/30 through Sat. 6/7 - Spinny Beer Days @Spninerstown Hotel, Spinnerstown, Pa. (See website for all events and details of our Lehigh Valley version of Philly Beer Week.)
Fri. 5/30 through Sun. 6/8 - Philly Beer Week @hundreds of locations around Philadelphia, Pa. (See website for full list of events and details.)

Wednesdays in June - Barrel-aged Wednesdays @Flying Fish, Somerdale, NJ (4 p.m.-8 p.m.; $PAYG as we tap a new barrel-aged beer each Wednesday.)

Wed. 6/4 - Charity Cask Night (Lehigh Valley Whalers for “Hockey Fights MS") @Allentown Brew Works, Allentown, Pa. (5 p.m.; $PAYG as 100% of cask proceeds will be given to Lehigh Valley Whalers for “Hockey Fights MS".)
Wed. 6/4 - Dominion Beer Dinner @White Dog, Philadelphia, Pa. (6:30 p.m.; $45 for a four-course spring menu served with Dominion's Beach House Golden Pilsner, Abbey Ale, Double D Double IPA, and Oak Barrel Stout.)

Thu. 6/5 - Charity Cask Night @Bethlehem Brew Works, Bethlehem, Pa. (5 p.m.; $PAYG as 100% of cask proceeds will be given to charity.)
Thu. 6/5 - Shelton Brothers Night @Pinocchio's, Media, Pa. (6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.; $PAYG for a whole bunch of interesting beers from Shelton Brothers on tap.)

Fri. 6/6 - Philly Beer Week Favorites @Washington House, Sellersville, Pa. (5 p.m.; $PAYG for a lineup of beers from across the region.)

Sat. 6/7 - Grapes & Grains @Trump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City, NJ (4 p.m.-8 p.m.; $40 for the best of both worlds with a craft beer and wine sampling all under one roof.)

Wed. 6/11 - Saucony Creek Tap Take Over @Ulysses Gastropub, Wilmington, Del. (5 p.m.; $PAYG to taste beers from a best new brewery pick of Ratebeer.com.)

Thu. 6/12 - The Golden Child Beer Release @Iron Hill, Philadelphia, Pa. (4 p.m.-8 p.m.; $PAYG for the release of The Golden Child—Gold Medal winner at the 2014 World Beer Cup. Also on tap will be a barrel-aged version of The Golden Child.)
Thu. 6/12 - Der Kaiser Kölsch Beer Release @Iron Hill, Newark, Del. (5 p.m.-8 p.m.; $PAYG for our annual release of Der Kaiser Kölsch, named after the legendary German footballer Franz Beckenbauer.)
Thu. 6/12 - Widmer Growler Night @Pinocchio's, Media, Pa. (6 p.m.-8 p.m.; $PAYG as the first 12 people to buy half growlers get a free Widmer 32 oz growler.)
Thu. 6/12 - Beer Tasting (Flying Fish) @The Bottle Shop, Philadelphia, Pa. (6 p.m.-8 p.m.; $Free tasting samples of beers from Flying Fish.)
Thu. 6/12 - Happy Hour with Firestone Walker @TJ's, Paoli, Pa. (4 p.m.-6 p.m.; $PAYG for Opal Saison, Sucaba, Agrestic, Pivo Pils, Easy Jack, Union Jack, Double Jack, Wookey Jack, DBA, and Pale 31.)

Fri. 6/13 - Full Moon Firkin @Tröegs, Hershey, Pa. (11 a.m.; $PAYG for a bartop firkin of fun.)
Fri. 6/13 - Friday The Firkinteenth @Grey Lodge, Philadelphia, Pa. (12 p.m.-12 a.m.; $PAYG to choose from around 26 firkins of mostly local cask-conditioned beers.)
Fri. 6/13 - Beer Sampling (Smuttynose) @Bottles Packs and Growlers, Philadelphia, Pa. (5 p.m.-7 p.m.; $Free tasting samples of beer from Smuttynose.)
Fri. 6/13 - Friday the 13th Beer Wars @High Street Grill, Mount Holly, NJ (7 p.m.; $PAYG and dress up as your favorite horror character with beer reps from both Great Lakes and Clown Shoes, pick a side, and try new beers on tap.)

Fri. 6/13 through Sun. 6/15 - Big Bad Bourbon Barrel Beer Blowout @The Foodery (Roxborough), Philadelphia, Pa. (11:30 a.m.; $PAYG as only bourbon beer is on the list for the weekend. The beer will be accompanied with several paired food options including a specially made Foodery Sandwich.)

Sat. 6/14 - Father’s Appreciation Beer Brunch @Iron Hill, Maple Shade, NJ (12 p.m.-2 p.m.; $55 for a four-course meal paired with Mahalo, Apollo!, Maibock, Orange Truffle, and Belgian White.)
Sat. 6/14 - New Hope Beer Festival @Eagle Fire Company, New Hope, Pa. (1 p.m.-5 p.m.; $20-$65 for beers poured by local breweries and entertainment and live music.)
Sat. 6/14 - Around the World Multi-Tap @Iron Hill, Newark, Del. (2 p.m.-5 p.m.; $PAYG for the opening of the World Cup with this multi-tap event, featuring a lineup of 8 beers and several food specials.)
Sat. 6/14 - Brews & Bites @Pennsbury Manor, Morrisville, Pa. (4 p.m.-8 p.m.; $10-$75 to wander the grounds and watch 17th century beer brewing demonstrations, take a walk through the gardens, tour the Manor House, or simply relax along the banks of the Delaware River. Food will be available to purchase.)

Sun. 6/15 - Pints for Pops @Victory Brewing Company, Downingtown, Pa. ($PAYG for special breakfast menu additions all morning and all dads will receive a free pint glass with the purchase of a .5L beer.)

Wed. 6/18 - Bella Vista Beer Night @The Trestle Inn, Philadelphia, Pa. (7 p.m.-10 p.m.; $PAYG for Dark Horse Brewing drafts coming from Bella Vista and j the audiophile spinning cool mixes.)

Thu. 6/19 - Beer Tasting (Southern Tier) @The Bottle Shop, Philadelphia, Pa. (6 p.m.-8 p.m.; $Free tasting samples of beers from Southern Tier.)

Fri. 6/20 - Third Friday Firkin Fest @Sly Fox, Phoenixville, Pa. (11:30 a.m.; $PAYG to see which delicious brews will be on the hand pumps along side our year round Chester County Bitter.)
Fri. 6/20 - Friday Night Tasting (Lagunitas) @Exton Beverage, Exton, Pa. (4 p.m.; $Free tasting samples of beers from Lagunitas.)
Fri. 6/20 - Beer Sampling (Ommegang) @Bottles Packs and Growlers, Philadelphia, Pa. (5 p.m.-7 p.m.; $Free tasting samples of beer from Ommegang.)
Fri. 6/20 - Party for One Simple Wish @River Horse Brewing Company, Ewing Township, NJ (7 p.m.-10 p.m.; $20 to benefit One Simple Wish, a Trenton based charity that focuses on assisting children in the foster care system.)

Sat. 6/21 - Harrisburg Brewers Fest @2nd & Locust Streets, Harrisburg, Pa. (12 p.m.-3:30 p.m. and 5 p.m.-8:30 p.m.; $10-$50 for beer samples from up to fifty participating breweries, a collector’s sampling mug, and entertainment from several bands. There will also be reasonably priced food concessions available.)
Sat. 6/21 - Saturday Sampling (Victory) @Exton Beverage, Exton, Pa. (1 p.m.; $Free tasting samples of beers from Victory.)
Sat. 6/21 - Beer and Brewing 101 @Philly Beer School, Philadelphia, Pa. (5 p.m.-7 p.m.; $39.98 for an introduction to how beer is made, major beer styles, and brewing history. Eight different brews will be sampled.)
Sat. 6/21 - Microfest @Stoudts Brewery, Adamstown, Pa. (6 p.m.-10 p.m.; $35-$40 for this long-running celebration of great beer.)

Tue. 6/24 - Summer Beer Dinner @Iron Hill, Lancaster, Pa. (6 p.m.; $65 for a five-course meal paired with Raspberry Wheat, Belgian Wit, Saison, Hopstinger, and Abbey Dubbel.)

Wed. 6/25 - Shiner Keep The Pint Night @Keg & Kitchen, Westmont, NJ (5 p.m.-8 p.m.; $PAYG featuring White Wing on draft and $3.5 cans of Ruby Red Bird.)
Wed. 6/25 - Summer Beer Dinner @Iron Hill, Wilmington, Del. (7 p.m.; $75 for five-course meal paired with Belgian Witbier, Saison, Mahalo, Apollo!, The Dark Side, and Bumblebee Hefeweizen.)

Thu. 6/26 - NJ Craft Beer Party @Blend Bar & Bistro, Hamilton, NJ ($PAYG for an all-New Jersey tap takeover in honor of NJ's 350th anniversary.)

Fri. 6/27 - Beer Sampling (Sly Fox) @Bottles Packs and Growlers, Philadelphia, Pa. (5 p.m.-7 p.m.; $Free tasting samples of beer from Sly Fox.)
Fri. 6/27 - Rauch Bock Beer Release @Iron Hill, Maple Shade, NJ (6 p.m.-9 p.m.; $PAYG for the release of this unique, dark Bavarian lager and a weekend menu featuring barbeque specials to pair with the smoky flavors of the beer.)

Sat. 6/28 - Lansdale Beer Tasting Festival @downtown Landsdale, Pa. (12 p.m.-4:30 p.m.; $10-$125 to sample some of the best regional and national craft beers accompanied by great food, great music, and great people.)
Sat. 6/28 - Garden State Brewers Festival @Battleship New Jersey, Camden, NJ (1 p.m.-5 p.m.; $19.95-$55 to sample beer brewed in the State of New Jersey from 21 breweries. Food and live music by the Cabin Dogs.)

Mon. 6/30 - Beer Dinner @Two Stones Pub, Newark, Del. (6:30 p.m.; $TBA with more details to come.)

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I'm still writing a book

I'll begin by wishing you, in advance, a Happy Philly Beer Week.

And then excuse myself as the festivities roll on - without me this year.

As I mentioned back in April, I'm off on a wild trip of writing "Beer Lover's Mid-Atlantic". Really, it's been going on since February.

It's even got cover artwork and my name on it, so it must be real, right? (see Amazon for a picture, description, and for pre-sale too)

I've been somewhat surprised, I must admit, at how many still had no clue. I think that for as much as I've done to "socialize" it through the channels that are supposed to be more effective than "old school blogs", etc. (Facebook and Twitter postings along the way, photos, lots of photos, etc.), the message still isn't completely out there.

(Here are those links you should hit for Beer Lover's Mid-Atlantic on Facebook - and on Twitter)

I'll assure you that it's for real. Contract real. 5,194 driving miles to-date real. 240 visits for real across PA/NJ/DE/MD. From Erie to Eastern Shore, from Hoboken to Hagerstown, from Scranton to Solomons Island, and from Danville to Downingtown to Delmar.

For those on both sides of the bar that have been cooperative and helpful in terms of sharing information, tips, etc. it has been immensely helpful as I continue to crunch on this extremely aggressive timeline.

So I'll be in Hoboken, Jersey City, and other parts of northern New Jersey this weekend, continuing along the path of writing this book. Join me along the way…because, if you didn't know, now you know.

Cheers and enjoy Philly Beer Week!

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Philly Beer Week 2014 is underway

(Looking like they just won the World Series, consumer and Dock Street fan, Daniel Neuner, catches overjoyed head brewer Justin Low after their winning names were announced.)
Not to suggest that Philly Beer Week is not a year-round endeavor for many around the Philadelphia region, but if there was any question of when it begins, it was surely answered yesterday at The Field House.

For the fourth consecutive year, Philly Beer Week has raised awareness and money for itself by conducting a raffle whereby one winning individual gets an all-expense paid trip to Belgium to brew a "Philly Beer Week beer". As part of the prize, he or she gets to take along their favorite local brewer.

Past brewers that have benefited from their fan bases include Brian O'Reilly (Sly Fox) with Belgian brewery DeProef, Chris LaPierre (Iron Hill) and Brasserie Dupont, and Chris Wilson (Weyerbacher) who brewed with the highly-regarded Brasserie de la Senne in Brussels.

This year, beer enthusiast Daniel Neuner won the raffle and chose Justin Low from Dock Street for the brewing excursion that will result in a beer collaboratively brewed at Brouwerij Dilewyns with head brewer Anne Catherine Dilewyns. I think this has worked out extremely well as Dock Street continues today to carry on its twenty-five year tradition (albeit with a short "break" in the late 90s) of representing the Philadelphia brewing scene.

The beer will make its debut at the annual kickoff to Philly Beer Week, "Opening Tap", and be available at events all around town during Philly Beer Week 2014 scheduled to run from May 30 to June 8.

The Field House served as a spacious venue to host the attending brewers from 25 local and regional breweries and the fans that came out hoping to win the grand prize. The drawing went off without a hitch for both Neuner and Low yesterday compared to November 2010 when the 2011 PBW collaboration trip was raffled off at McGillin's and neither the brewer nor the winning consumer was in attendance.

Gift box prizes were also raffled off, one of which was awarded to Mrs. Brew Lounge herself. See below for a picture of all the "swag", including some of the liquid kind from the relatively new Saucony Creek in Kutztown, Pa., that came with the prize box.

So there you have it. We now know who will be brewing what with whom over in Belgium. The dates have been locked in and Philly Beer Week 2014 will be here and gone before we know what happened to the next six months.

(Brewers being introduced with Fegley's (Bethlehem) Brew Works' Josh Bushey on the mic.)

(Brett Kinzer from Stoudt's taking his turn during brewer introductions)

(Tom Peters of Monk's Café and ("free beer for") Sparks, technical mastermind behind PBW.)

(Tom Kehoe, the main man behind Yards, always good with getting a rise out of the crowd. Here, during brewer introductions.)

(Jim Kirk, PBW board member and co-owner of Kite & Key, kept a close auditor's eye on the raffle entries as Andy Farrell, managing partner of City Tap House, drew the winning ticket.)

(Tom Peters, with assistance from Sparks, reveals the grand prize winner.)

(Daniel Neuner, left, and Justin Low (Dock Street) react to their winning names being announced during the Philly Beer Week grand prize raffle at The Field House.)

(Justin Low of Dock Street and brewery fan Daniel Neuner recreate their winning moment.)

(Justin Low, left, of Dock Street, and Daniel Neuner are going to brew Philly Beer Week's 2014 beer in Belgium.)

(from left: Sasha Certo-Ware of Dock Street; Tom Peters of Monk's Café and PBW board member; Justin Low of Dock Street; Daniel Neuner, 2014 Philly Beer Week grand prize winner.)

(The third box prize raffle was won by Mrs. Brew Lounge and contained a generous bevy of beer goodies from Artisanal Imports, Bell's Brewery, Devil's Den, Dogfish Head, Nodding Head Brewery, Philadelphia Brewing Company, Philly Beer Week, Philly Beer Scene, Saucony Creek Brewing Company, Smuttynose, and Stoudt's Brewery.)

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