The Brew Lounge: Philly Beer Week 2018

Showing posts with label Philly Beer Week 2018. Show all posts

Friday, July 06, 2018

Philly Beer Week 2018. Complete.

Feel free to read on for my half-baked attempt at wrapping up Philly Beer Week 2018 more than a month after it began. Or just click the picture above for a pictorial walk down memory lane as seen through my personalized schedule of attended events.

Still here? Ok, let's see how I do with this. What can I tell you? Did I give it the ol' college try? Depends what you call trying. I was absolutely prepared for PBW '18.

I was at inbox-zero. All computer and apps and phones were updated and backed up. All summertime power equipment fired up and working perfectly. Hot tub water chemistry spot on. Lawn and garden producing nicely. Office tidied up; printer toner replaced; papers filed; old documents shredded; (most) everything in its place. Contractor work on front of house/sidewalk finished. Gutters cleared; house and walkway powerwashing complete. Beer inventory squared away. Beer writing duties up-to-date and next deadline in mid-June after PBW.

I shared a bunch of stuff with you here in these pages leading up to June 1. I social media'ed the crap out of the events I attended. (You do know where to find me out there, right? On Facebook and on Twitter.)

24 events to be exact if you're counting or if you care. Pretty much like what I do every year to get a feel for the energy and the pulse of PBW. One year, I hit something like 35-ish events. Granted, it can be just for a beer, to get a headcount, and get a sense for overall effort that an establishment put into conducting a PBW "event".

So, yeah, I put in the effort as I always do out there on the street. But, here on the ol' Brew Lounge blog? Worse than last year, I not only did not post up a timely recap, but did no daily wrap-ups either.

That's what this post will endeavor to do. I don't really have many words to share at this point. Don't know that it really matters. Lots of "events" (see how I keep putting "events" in quotes?). Lots of beers. People? Yeah, there were people, mostly at the uber-dorky (I mean geeky, I mean geeky, in its most endearing sense, of course) beer releases/tap takeovers. To me, there were not enough creative events promoting at the median between mad-sick-yo-bro beers to the run-of-the-mill brewery feature. We do this year-round in the Philly region. We can do even better for ten days in June.

But where did I feel the "best energy"? Opening Tap for starters. It had something this year that I can't exactly articulate. But, it was there. Like I haven't felt for at least a few years. If I have a say, I'd like to see much better emphasis on local/regional breweries. For Opening Tap, this is our one chance to showcase the best of the region. Allow no other events to be posted during the time of Opening Tap. Make it the grandest showcase that serves as the appropriate kickoff for Philly Beer Week. The rest of the week can feel free to mix it up as much as consumers want with out-of-market features, but at least for one night under one roof, the locals should dominate.

And Monk's Cafe on Tuesday. Dogfish Head sent not just owner Sam Calagione but also his reunited former head brewer, Bryan Selders, area sales manager Wendy Domurat and brand development manager Jennie Hatton-Baver. It was a lunch befitting Philly Beer Week. There was talk of the past and talk of the present. It was a nice mix of industry folk and the consumer off the street willing to take an afternoon off work, plunk down upwards of $100, after tip. For the record, it was out of my own pocket as well, before anyone gets any ideas of bias. Then, the lunchtime soiree made its way down Sansom to Fergie's where Calagione and Selders recreated the days of their brewery rap group - The Pain Relievaz. Lunch, learning, eating, drinking, and capped off with some good ol' fashioned laughs. A very well-rounded day that lived up to the lunch's name - Olde School.

On Thursday, there was an educational type of event. I can not be quite certain that any non-industry folk showed up for it, even though it was absolutely open to the public. It was nicely attended for a Thursday afternoon by around 25 industry people listening to a panel discussion about quality beer, quality processes, and quality presentation for great beer. It was hosted at Urban Village which coincidentally was celebrating its first anniversary of getting its root down on Philly's brewing scene in the Northern Liberties neighborhood. Feels like there have been more panels, stuff that gets closer to educational, special guests, and events that have just that little something extra than just shoveling in a tap takeover's worth of beer. Eh, maybe the jury is in and beer drinkers aren't looking for that? Or did I miss a part of this year's schedule?

Everything else, to me, felt like just drinking (mostly) great beer. Something that we've done around these parts for many more years than many places in this country and something that has become even easier to do in just about every corner of this country in recent years from Alabama to Nebraska, not to mention Florida and Texas, also once considered vast beer wastelands, but no more. Philly Beer Week is still a great excuse to showcase what we make and what we have the pleasure of being sent to our blessed region and should have absolutely no reason to continue strong into the future. But, oh, that one other thing that I kept hearing (yet again)...

March. Think about it. What I heard from more than ever in at least the last five years was — March.

Link to Google Photos for a gallery of PBW '18 pictures.

© 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

Friday, June 01, 2018

Philly Beer Week 2018. But, first, a look back on the Top 10 Greatest Hits of the last 10 years

(If you know me well enough, you know how uncomfortable I am putting this picture of me up top, front and center. But, I very rarely do this and, well, I kind of like the picture)
From year to year, Philly Beer Week (really, it should be called an imperial beer week because, you know, it's ten days, not seven) looks much the same, tied together with a dizzying lineup of beer events from simple tastings to educational experiences to creatively raucous events to extravagant food pairings. This year, though on smaller scale with less participating establishments and less overall events, will likely be no different.

At this point, you're probably counting the minutes until the end of your work day so you can get out 'n' about chasing the Hammer, or meeting up at events scattered through the city, including Opening Tap later tonight. Or maybe you're already out there in the soup. Don't forget to hydrate; it's gonna be a tough one out there today.

Follow along here long enough and you should know you can count on me to check in both here and on the socials as I make my way through my own custom-built PBW schedule. Since it's never possible to take in everything, or even everything you begin the day expecting to see in person, each person's view of PBW is a rather personal one.

With ten years of PBW under our belts now, and with me there every step of the way both writing about it and attending (and, of course, if you know your Philly beer scene, you know I don't confine myself just to PBW, but the year-round "event" that is Philly beer), here is my own version of a Top 10 list that I've witnessed from 2008-2017. Will there be anything to add to the list after June 10. Time, and beer, will tell.

#10 - You know what? I came up dry on a #10. So you tell me from your experience, what has been one of the most memorable, the most important, the most identifiable aspects of Philly Beer Week?

#9 - Philly Beer Run
I'm often told I don't toot my own horn enough. Prior to the first PBW, I conducted fun runs in conjunction with area breweries in both the city and suburbs. In 2008, I conducted a PBW running event that began at the Art Museum and ended at Dock Street. No one else did such a thing at that time and some in the beer world derided me for mixing the two. Around 25 people showed up. It was free and Dock Street donated their space, pizza, and beer. The following year I did another event and attracted 52 runners. So did Bishop's Collar, which attracted Adam Avery, Steve Beaumont, Sam Calagione, Brian O'Reilly, and Tom Kehoe (on moped!). Fishtown Beer Runners was founded around the same time. I got a little sappy after my 2010 event. I continued to conduct these running & beer events during PBW in the form of races, scavenger hunts, simple fun runs, and peaked in 2012 with a real, bona fide 5-k race starting and ending at Dock Street. 400 people showed up and paid $40 each on a brutal 90+ degree day. It was pretty damn epic if I do say so. I took the show to San Francisco Beer Week too, conducting beer runs with local breweries. These days, beer is found in countless fitness forms from running to yoga to can jam, etc. I don't claim to have started the phenomenon, but I am beyond proud of being a part of the "movement" that took place during PBW over the years.

#8 - T.T.U.D.
Fergie's plays a big part in the year-round celebration of great beer and great times in Philly with its wonderful atmosphere, events, and consummate host, Fergie Carey. The T.U.D. (totally unnecessary drink) event became a real thing in 2008 (or was it 2009) where countless fans of great beer joined up with brewery personnel and descended after their last day's events concluded to unwind with unnecessary beers and unnecessary, but incredible, karaoke.

#7 - Philly Beer Geek
Every industry has its know-it-alls, but let's admit that beer geeks are right up there with the fiercely-knowingest of them all. The PBG competition lasted for quite a few years and attracted some of the brightest individuals who may know more than some certified cicerones. And the judging panels were usually an enlightened bunch of beer personalities (except in 2010, the year that I was on the panel), which made the event all the more fun.

#6 - Fritz Maytag at Four Seasons
The Four Seasons was part of the city's beer scene for a little while, hosting events with Dock Street during the year and, in 2009, hosting one of the most celebrated and important figures in American Craft Brewing history — Fritz Maytag of Anchor Brewing in San Francisco. My unscientific feeling is that this was a time when beer began finding its way to places and on to menus previously inconceivable.

#5 - Throwdown in Franklintown
For many years, Kite & Key was a integral part of PBW, typically requiring more than one stop during the ten days because of the events and the beers and the guests. One of the signature events was the Throwdown In Franklintown. Street closure and the occasional police participation added to the over-the-top spectacle of brewery personnel battling each other in raucous events. K&K still does its thing very well throughout the year and is probably worth a stop when you're in the neighborhood for PBW.

#4 - The Brewer's Plate
When PBW was held in March in 2008 & 2009 (pause, sigh, sip, roll eyes, sip, repeat), it also included The Brewer's Plate, which still goes strong in March and is now at The Kimmel Center. What a fantastic cornerstone event this was to be part of PBW.

#3 - Visitors from near and far
PBW, particularly in its early years, attracted not only consumers from around the country and world, but also brewers too many to count. "Rock star" brewers were everywhere in the city (and the suburbs occasionally) and the crowds followed, no doubt elevating Philly's already strong and credible beer scene as a legitimate beer destination. As you can see below, Curt Decker (then of Nodding Head, now Second District) was often at the center of it all.

#2 - Hammer of Glory
The Hammer of Glory became synonymous with PBW in 2009 and has been carted around the world, been hijacked, been recovered, been polished, used for mayoral tappings, and been in the hands of thousands more. It has its own tour around the city on the first day of PBW each year and has worked well year-in and year-out to generate enthusiasm and recognition for the country's first 10-day Beer Week.

#1 - Monk's dinners
I mentioned "rock star" brewers before. It's not a term used so much anymore but there was a time 10-15 years ago when you couldn't not hear it. Monk's beer dinners through the years have always been, or at least bordered on, epic. No need to spell out the well-documented role that Monk's (and its famed back room, particularly late at night) and its proprietor, Tom Peters, has continued to play in this city's, and country's, beer scene. But, maybe no better way to illustrate it and see the intersection with PBW than captured in this picture below of he and business partner Fergie Carey with three of Belgium's most celebrated brewing figures and where I had captioned it at the time — "three Belgian brewers who had never previously dined together". Thereby solidifying the draw of Monk's and power of Philly Beer Week.

Want to see more of what I've documented through the years of Philly Beer Week? Warning, there's quite a bit behind each of these links below (but they do link to a "master index" for each year to make it easier to navigate) but it sure is a fun trip down memory lane. Fyi, I more/less took off 2014 and 2015 from my obsessive documentation of PBW to write and sell my book Beer Lover's Mid-Atlantic.....hence the missing years. And, last year, for reasons both known and unknown, I never did fully wrap up the days and week as I had in previous years. Maybe I'll atone for that shortcoming this year. Stay tuned, and stay thirsty.

*2008* --- *2009* --- *2010* --- *2011* --- *2012* --- *2013* --- *2016* --- *2017*

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Upcoming anniversary weekend at Urban Village

Been one year already since Urban Village Brewing Company opened in Philly's Northern Liberties neighborhood, the day before Philly Beer Week 2017 kicked off. Then, they had a car crash through the front door, unintentionally getting their name all over the news. But, the beers were already making a name for themselves. A few personal favorites included the very distinctive Beets by J Berliner Weisse (3% and full of bright red beets), Rye Bread Rye IPA (7.5% and spicy to match the name), and Oatis Oatmeal Stout (7% nice and solid stout). The Beets by J made a reappearance at Brewer's Plate in March and I couldn't have been more pleased, one of the standouts of the evening.

And here we are a year later. When I first saw notice of the anniversary party, and especially that it runs for the entirety of the weekend, I figured it'd be easy to slide it in between hopscotching between other events. When, will be the question. There's a can and bottle release on Friday, though, with my schedule and little interest in carrying bags with me, I think I'll leave these to the rest of you, maybe stopping in for a quick Birthday Beer draft prior to Opening Tap just a few blocks away. But, the Pig Roast on Saturday (with or without rain, no matter!) sounds like a good bet.

Urban Village Brewing To Celebrate One Year With Weekend-long Party And Three New Beers

3 Full Days and 3 Special Beers … Plus a Pig Roast!

Philadelphia, PA (May 24, 2018) – Urban Village Brewing Company in Northern Liberties is celebrating their first year of business and brewing with a bang. The brewery and restaurant known for their playful beers and naturally leavened pizza opened its doors on June 1, 2017. Since then, co-owner and head brewer Dave Goldman has brewed over 1,000 barrels of beer while his partner, Tom Revelli, has overseen the service of thousands of meals, family-friendly brunches, monthly beer runs, a freak U-Haul accident that inspired the popular Wrong Way IPA and even a once-in-a-lifetime Super Bowl viewing party.

To celebrate a year of highs, Urban Village is throwing a three-day party from June 1st to June 3rd, which will include all day celebrations complete with a pig roast and special offerings of limited edition beers.

In addition to the festivities, three brand new and ultra-rare beers will be available for the big birthday. Birthday Beer will be available on tap from Friday, June 1 to Sunday, June 3. The Belgian Golden Ale was brewed with orange and juniper and fermented with Belgian Abbey yeast and aged in Spanish sherry barrels that were last used by neighboring New Liberty Distillery to finish their rye whiskey. Birthday Beer packs a punch at 10% ABV and there will be 48 bottles available for purchase at Urban for $20 each. A remainder of beer will be bottled and aged for future landmark celebrations. Similarly, Dime Piece, a 10% ABV barrel-aged Belgian Quad will be available in limited quantities of bottles over the weekend for $20 each. This Belgian Quad was brewed exclusively with PA malts from Deer Creek in Glen Mills and aged in New Liberty’s Dutch Malt bourbon barrels.

Super Villain is a hazy IPA made with lots of oats and milk sugar. It’s double dry-hopped with Motueka, Vic Secret and Mosaic hops and the result is a sweet, juicy beer with citrusy, fruit and floral aromas. Super Villain will be canned and available on June 1 at the brewery for $15/four-pack and distributed to beer stores in the region the following week. Only 250 cases will be canned and distributed.

General manager and co-owner Tom Revelli says, “We were lucky enough to be immediately accepted by the community and our neighbors and want to show our thanks the only way we know how: with killer food, great beers and big block party. We’re thrilled to celebrate year one and toast to many, many more.”

Follow Urban Village on social media to stay informed: @urbanvillagebrewing on Instagram and facebook.com/urbanvillagebrewing.

About Urban Village Brewing Company
Urban Village Brewing Company is a Philadelphia-based brewpub located in the neighborhood of Northern Liberties and founded by Landmark Americana’s Dave Goldman and Tom Revelli. This one-off concept offers tank-to-table craft beers brewed on site and brick-oven fired pizzas and artisan bread specialties prepared with natural, yeast leavened dough.

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

Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Philly Beer Week 2018. Untangling the schedule of events.

I'll get right to the meat of it. After pulling down the calendar of events last night before dinner and deleting duplicates, fixing erroneous times, and trying to guess where an event is being held when no establishment name was filled in (yes, really), here's how the Philly Beer Week schedule of events looks to me as of this morning.

Of course, from experience we all know that this thing is a constantly moving target and events will get added, deleted, modified right up until go-time during the week. Also, my standard disclosure, while I stand by my own data integrity, for the official calendar of events, please visit the official PBW '18 website.

   >> 52 establishments now list events, up from 23 last week. 44 of them are in the city. While it's not a stretch to see people taking a train to Berwyn (La Cabra) or scootin' out Germantown Pike to Plymouth Meeting (Whole Foods) for an event, this is Philly Beer Week and I'm pretty sure an "event" (actually just a standard tour listing) at Allentown Brew Works should be listed on Lehigh Valley's Beer Week instead. But, that's just me?

   >> These 52 establishments have 222 events listed (after I deleted 28 duplicates), which is just slightly more than double from my analysis last week.

   >> Five of the events are focused on cider. That's your call.

   >> The daily count breakout, as of last night is as follows. Following this PBW event calendar very closely since the inception in 2008, the pattern is nearly identical to past daily counts, i.e. a spike on the first Saturday and then again on Thursday, with a petering out on the last day, Sunday.

Fri, Jun 01 - 20
Sat, Jun 02 - 26
Sun, Jun 03 - 20
Mon, Jun 04 - 19
Tue, Jun 05 - 22
Wed, Jun 06 - 24
Thu, Jun 07 - 31
Fri, Jun 08 - 22
Sat, Jun 09 - 24
Sun, Jun 10 - 14

>> Cinder has taken full advantage of its membership, listing 21 events (so far). The Lucky's two bars combined have 22 events. Interstate Draft House has 12, Grey Lodge has 11, and the P.O.P.E. has 10. Devil's Den, Khyber, and Strangelove's with 8 each. If you want a full spreadsheet-based listing of all events, drop an e-mail to me requesting one.

   >> Memphis Taproom also has 10 events listed (one event per day) and to the semi-educated eye is looking like on a per event/per day basis, no one might have more beer dork drool-inducing lineups than the good folks on Memphis Street. Love you dorks, no offense intended 😎

   >> 6 Whole Foods locations are showing 14 events. Off significantly from past years. Also missing from the "chain" listing of events is Uno. Only showing one brunch at one location right now.

   >> Only three dog-related events thus far. Seems a bit light and I'm betting that number will grow over the next week.

   >> Yuengling's hitting the week with a Golden Pilsner Pre-Release event, once each at Morgan's Pier, 12 Steps Down, and Field House.

   >> Here's a quick rundown of solid-looking new events popping on to the calendar since last week that have caught my attention. Maybe yours too?

Fri, Jun 01 - I'm sticking with some undetermined dosage of HOG and, no doubt, Opening Tap (as it should be, and I described why earlier). But if I need any other pre-gamers for this opening day kickoff, Burial at Memphis looks like a swell idea. As does Hops and the Half Shell at Cinder.

Sat, Jun 02 - Uh-oh. Beer and Dogs. Yup, right in my ol' wheelhouse. Plus, Morris is where Patty and I found our first dog together. And, the P.O.P.E.? Still one of my favorite bars in the city and they're doing the fundraiser with Fat Head’s And Tröegs. Cool.

Sun, Jun 03 - Could begin the day with an Oxbow Brunch at Khyber, which sounds great both from a glass and plate perspective. Then, I heard that this was coming and now it's officially been announced - "Who The Hell Let Tom In The Brewery?!" at Monk's. Might be epic.

Mon, Jun 04 - If I didn't get some drops of Burial's beers during the weekend, Clarkville is serving 'em up on Monday.

Tue, Jun 05 - Uh-oh, the first day of "do-I-take-off-work-for-this"? Dogfish used to do its lunchtime thing for PBW at Nodding Head. Now it looks like they've got something fun on tap at Monk's. Hhhmmmm.

Wed, Jun 06 - Wednesday will be a tough night for me as I'll be at the Mann Music Center for Nathaniel Rateliff concert. But, could possibly pull off dinner at nearby-ish Local 44 for its "Locals Only" event before the concert.

Thu, Jun 07 - I'd mentioned the panel discussion Urban Village earlier and I think I'll stick to that plan. But after? Free Will sours at Varga. Could be. Une Annee And Hubbards Cave? Another one to keep in mind.

Fri, Jun 08 - You know what? I've never seen the Sly Fox Canwood Derby in action. Sounds like fun at Good Dog Bar. Or the "West Philly Tricycle Championship" at City Tap House in University City?! Wow, picturing this is amusing, perhaps making this a must-see.

Sat, Jun 09 - Sours and brunch at Cinder. Sam Smith beers at Grey Lodge. Wood beers at Strangelove's. All new event listings and contending for my attention on Saturday.

Sun, Jun 10 - Believe I'll still be sticking with the La Cabra event in Berwyn, but there is also Sour Sunday at Devil's Den and Russian River at Local 44. Options are always welcome.

>> Good Dog loves exclamation points!!!

>> Oh, and re my comment earlier about establishments not listing their names, if anyone can help with the location of these events, that'd be, well, helpful.

Fri, Jun 01 Evil Twin/Against The Grain/Gigantic
Sun, Jun 03 Weyerbacher Tap Takeover
Mon, Jun 04 Sour Monday Tap Takeover
Tue, Jun 05 Sarene Takeover
Wed, Jun 06 Avery & Dogfish Head
Thu, Jun 07 Saison Jawn
Thu, Jun 07 Belgium Comes To Hamilton
Fri, Jun 08 Saison Jawn
Fri, Jun 08 Big Wood
Sun, Jun 10 Jersey Only
Sun, Jun 10 It'S A Ruff Life Rescue Fundraiser w/ Terrapin

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.