November 2017: Beer News update, part 2

Just a couple bits and sips to get you caught up.

~ News of one of suburban Philadelphia's first "better beer bars". [Link to The Daily Local]

~ If you missed last month announcement of GABF awards, here's a quick list of area breweries that took home some new jewelry. [Link to The Beer Yard]

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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

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Big money went to the rescue at All 4 Paws and big hoppy beers to the people at The Drafting Room

Preliminary returns show just over $3,000 being raised at The Drafting Room for the local All 4 Paws animal rescue.

Big congrats to Howard at TDR and Kristen Schlichtig at All 4 Paws (and her team of volunteers) who capped off a successful week of fundraising with a list of fresh hop/harvest/or otherwise hop-forward beers and an incredible list of raffle prizes from around the region.

Head over to my Twitter page for a few pictures from the event. Yup, probably still one more week without a non-mobile computer.

Trust me, this is where you want to be on November 26...tomorrow at The Drafting Room

Our 1-year-old puppy, Callie, came from South Carolina courtesy of All 4 Paws animal rescue. It's based out of northern Chester County and The Drafting Room has their back this weekend.

I can't quite figure how The Drafting Room pulled this one off, but damn impressive it is.

Tomorrow, Saturday November 26, The Drafting Room is throwing a big party.

All this week, raffle tickets have been on sale this week for $5 per ticket.

All day long, it's Hop-forward beers where 15% of draft sales go to this worthy and well-run animal rescue organization.

(Here's a tip: If you haven't already tried the Yards Cerebus, this is your heads-up alert.)

At 7 p.m. it's the drawing for the following prizes. Do yourself and the animals a favor and join in the fun and fundraiser. Here's a rundown of what you could go home with.

Chester County Restaurant Gift Card Package ($150 value)
$50 gift card to Tango, $50 gift card to 333 Belrose, and $50 gift card to Brickside Grille

Retail Bundle ($125 value)
$50 gift card to Giant Food store, $25 gift card to Old Navy, and $50 gift card to Bed, Bath, and Beyond

Beer Bar Tour ($150 value)
$50 gift card to Station Taproom, $50 gift card to Teresa’s Next Door, and $50 gift card to The Drafting Room Taproom & Grille

Beer Package ($125 value)
Five Liter Bell’s Oberon Mini Keg and $75 gift card to Sierra Nevada Brewery

Gourmet Beer Basket ($50 value)
Victory Dark Intrigue, Brooklyn Black Ops, Sierra Nevada Estate Homegrown Ale, and Unibroue 2005 Edition

Microbrewery Experience ($150 value)
$50 gift card to Victory, $50 gift card to >Earth, Bread, & Brewery, and $50 gift card to Iron Hill

Fitness Package ($160 value)
Three Month Gym Membership at Tennis Addiction Fitness Club plus 1 Hour Massage

Flyers Tickets ($150 value)
2 tickets to see the Flyers play at the Wells Fargo Center

Sierra Nevada at The Drafting Room, 11/10/11 -- A beer dinner that should not have been missed.

Don't say I didn't tell you so. Last night's dinner at The Drafting Room in Exton was shaping up to be, and turned out to quite possible be, one of the best dinners they've ever hosted...or so I'm told.

I showed up as the dinner checks were being distributed. That's what happens when I'm in Providence for most of the week and then return in the middle of a storm front that delayed me nearly two hours.

But the Drafting Room staff was kind enough to box up everything except the beer for me to take home for later enjoyment. As I talked with one guest after another, I'm not sure that there was a particular clear-cut favorite amongst the four dinner courses -- chiefly because there were no clunkers in the meal, not by a long shot. It's likely, though, that I may have heard the most raves for the Short Ribs paired with Life & Limb 2, which was also accompanied by a porter-glazed gingerbread. The Suckling Pig paired with the Ovila Saison also drew plenty of drools as well.

Exton Dish was spotted in the house amongst the 80 or so seats of beer (and food, natch) loving folks. If they post some pictures, I'll come back to supply a link to them.

In another week, Patrick Mullin will officially be moving on from Sierra Nevada. If this was his last hurrah with the team, it was at least three cheers worth or more.

Thursday, Nov. 10, Sierra Nevada Beer Dinner at The Drafting Room

Some might call this Patrick Mullin's farewell dinner at The Drafting Room. It would not be entirely inaccurate. Though, to be fair, better beer fans will still continue to see Patrick around town after the transition to his new role at Sly Fox.

The Drafting Room in Exton hosts many events during the course of the year, but only a few set price, timed, sit-down dinners. One of the dinners is reserved for Sierra Nevada and Patrick Mullin — being of the TDR alumni family does have its benefits.

The TDR menu throughout the year showcases a little bit of everything for the family to enjoy and Sunday/holiday brunches are widely acclaimed and often sold out.

But, for the beer dinners, Chef Theo Charitos takes it another notch or two and rolls out the best.

Don't take it from me; well, actually, yes do take it from me and my review of the first installment back in '08 and the follow-up one in '09. Searching my archives, I either missed last year's or they did not present one, my memory fails at this point.

For yet further proof, check out the beer list below for this coming Thursday's dinner and hop over to TDR's website for the full menu.

Sierra Nevada's Estate Homegrown with a bunch of appetizers, Ovila Saison with suckling pig, Life and Limb 2 with short ribs, Ovila Quad with a berry crostada, and Northern Hemisphere Harvest and Ovila Abbey Dubbel with a cheese plate.

Football and beer at TJ's and The Drafting Room

Two of my most frequented locals, TJ's in Paoli and The Drafting Room in Exton, have beer and food deals occurring throughout the NFL football season.

Some like to stay home and watch games; others like the social environment of a bar in which to take in the action.

At TJ's during all Eagles games, they will be featuring $3 Dortmunders from Great Lakes. While a fine choice, it makes me wonder if we should be throwing on our orange and brown and cheering for the Browns. A local thrown in for the spirit of the home team might be nice too. Their popular wings are also available at a discount: 10 for $7, 20 for $13, and 50 for $30.

Down at The Drafting Room, on Philadelphia Eagles game days and during all Monday Night Football games, they will be offering selected pints for $4, wings for $5, and pork sliders also for $5. As well, they're spanning the country with $3 can specials from 21st Amendment (Back in Black IPA and Brew Free or Die IPA), Oskar Blues (Dale's Pale Ale and Old Chubb Scottish Ale), and Sly Fox (Phoenix Pale Ale, Pikeland Pils, and Route 113 IPA)

Two establishments doing their part to provide great environments for enjoying football this fall.

The Drafting Room turned 17 and Tröegs brought the beer

(Chalkboard delights at The Drafting Room's 17th Anniversary Party on 7/21/11)

I can't begin to guess when The Drafting Room in Exton, Pa. became a regular stop for me. I've been working in Exton for nearly 12 years, so it was surely sometime in the early years when I learned of the good things happening on Route 100, somewhere between the Pennsylvania Turnpike to the north and the Exton Square Mall to the south (for those of you that need some landmarks for your first visit).

In any case, as goes much with regard to the passage of time, it's difficult to grasp another passing year and another anniversary party at The Drafting Room. This anniversary party marked 17 years. The beer landscape has changed quite a bit in those 17 years. Northern Chester County (and bleeding a bit into Montgomery County) is generally accepted as the richest of the beer-rich suburbs around Philadelphia and The Drafting Room sits smack in the middle of it all.

In the middle of a couple of Iron Hills (Phoenixville and West Chester), a couple of McKenzies (Malvern and Glen Mills), a couple of Sly Foxes (Royersford and Phoenixville), Victory (Downingtown), Rock Bottom (King of Prussia), and in the middle of a bevy of high quality beer-centric bars (Teresa's Next Door, TJ's, Flying Pig, Ron's Original, and Station Taproom to name just a few).

(Old buddies, Tracy Mulligan and Nick Johnson)

As has been the practice since the 10th anniversary, Tröegs brews a special anniversary beer for The Drafting Room. Even with all of the busyness of the impending move from Harrisburg to Hershey, for this year's commemorative brew the brewery took its Sunshine Pils as a base and basically upped the malt bill and finished with a significant bit of dry-hopping using Hersbrucker and Tradition hops. Think in the ballpark of Imperial Pilsner.

The beer drinks fairly nice and cleanly, though with a noticeable Noble Hop punch thanks to the multiple hop additions from the five varieties in the boil kettle, to the hopback, to the finishing dry hops. At 6.5% ABV, it may not be an all-night session-style beer, but it'll certainly get you through happy hour both happily and in one piece.

How about we close out this anniversary party note with a beer and food pairing suggestion? This 17th Anniversary Imperial Pilsner? When at The Drafting Room, be sure to order the Portuguese Sliders. Roast pork, fontina cheese, roasted peppers, cucumber relish, and the aioli sauce all go along quite nicely with this Imperial Pilsner.

(Dan "His Bigness" Bengel enjoying a TDR 17th Anniversary)

Another anniversary, another new beer at The Drafting Room

As I proclaimed TJs the best all-around beer bar/restaurant nearest to my home and one of the best in the region, for sure, The Drafting Room should be mentioned in the same league, albeit in the closer-to-my-workplace sub-category.

I was reminded of this when reviewing the customers-wanted ad for this Thursday's (7/21/11) annual anniversary bash thrown in conjunction with Tröegs Brewing. The Harrisburg brewery has once again produced the anniversary beer for The Drafting Room: 17th Anniversary Lager.

Also featured on tap beginning at 6 p.m. on Thursday will be TDR/Tröegs 16th Anniversary, Dreamweaver Wheat, Flying Mouflan, Scratch #42 (Razzmadizzle), Scratch #43 (IPA), Scratch #44 (Belgian Quad), Scratch #45 "Super Secret" IPA, Troegenator, and HopBack (cask). The evening is pay as you go.

BUT WAIT, if you act now....And when I say now, I mean Sunday the 24th and Sunday the 31st. One of the county's best Sunday brunch deals just got better. For these two Sundays only, Buy One Sunday Brunch, Get One Free. I think you need the email coupon, so if you're not already signed up for their e-mail newsletter, do so now! (use this link)

Philly Beer Week is all about beer, homebrewed beer as well

So here we are at the halfway point of Philly Beer Week '11. After taking today off from the City-based festivities, I'll be ready to dip my toes back in the PBW waters tomorrow. But, I've got a suspicion that I'll be keeping it in the 'burbs this time. The 'burbs, in my opinion, appear to be at a crossroads with regard to PBW (more on that some other day...perhaps).

Tomorrow, on Day 6 of PBW, I'll get to explore two exciting aspects of Philly Beer Week. Celebrating the richness of the 'burbs and celebrating the creativity of homebrewing at The Drafting Room in Exton.

There appear to be no less than 5, if I can count correctly, homebrewing contests and 4 or 5 other events with a homebrew tie-in during PBW '11. If you're an aspiring homebrewer, these events provide excellent opportunities to tap into a wealth of experience in the brew house/kitchen. Many of these guys (mostly, but to be fair, some women too) are award-winning brewers who love to talk shop.

I've often said (and, to be fair, others have as well) that what makes the Philadelphia region so rich in addition to the beer commercially brewed here are the beer bars and retailers, the distributors and importers, and the savvy consumers.

What underlies much of these components are the homebrewers whom have been toiling away at their hobbies with a passion for much longer than many in the mainstream likely realize. And it's not unusual to find professional brewers who have their roots in homebrewing as well.

For tomorrow's event at The Drafting Room, "The Joe's Take Over For The Pro's", Artisan Homebrew of Downingtown has sponsored 4 local homebrewers to part. Mike Hamara, owner, has sent the menu of beers, complete with descriptions, for me to share with all of you. I think you'll agree that the diverse lineup of beers should provide for an enjoyably tasty night at TDR.

The beers, by law, are complimentary. In lieu, though, donations are strongly encouraged for the local SPCA.

If you're in the western suburbs and not interested in venturing into the sweltering City, stop by The Drafting Room and have a true locally-crafted beer by one of the "Joe's" and support the SPCA at the same time. Party starts at 6 p.m.

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Brewer: Fred Kline
Name of Beer: Hooff's Hefeweizen
Beer description:
This beer is a traditional German wheat beer, Hefeweizen. Hefe means yeast and weizen means wheat in German. The recipe for this particular beer uses German Wheat malt and pale 2-tow malt for its malt base. It uses a touch of Noble Hops, Hallertau, for its bittering. The Yeast used is a traditional German yeast that produces the trademark banana and clove flavors associated with German wheat beers. This recipe has gone on to win many awards including 2nd in the National Homebrew Competition for the German Wheat Beer category in 2008. This refreshing yet flavorful beer makes for an excellent choice for summer imbibing!

Brewer: Christopher Clair
Name of beer: Currant Affair (Saison with black currant)
Beer description:
Floods? Recession? Scandal? Finally some news you can use. Tart and tannic, black currants bring a refreshing edge to the dry and spicy Belgian farmhouse ale. Made with pils malt, 25% wheat, and organic black currant juice this recipe took 1st place in the 2010 BUZZ Off and 2nd place in the 2010 Malt Madness homebrew competitions. Not your typical fruit beer, give it a shot and enjoy the balance, something you won't find in news about the budget. Approx. 8.5% ABV

Brewer: Peter Smith
Name of beer: Gettin' Figgy with it. (Abbey ale)
Beer description:
East Downingtown born and raised, this Belgian style ale is inspired by the holy libations brewed by monks for centuries. This beer, ruby-red in hue lying under a rich ivory head, invites you to experience a healthy dose of chocolate, fruit and spice. The addition of figs helps accentuate the dark fruit flavors while leaving the true character of the style. This aromatic, dark and smooth brew finishes clean, and leaves you surprisingly refreshed.

Brewers Alric Von Gerbig and Mike Hamara
Name of beer: RootDown IPA (American IPA)
Beer description:
This big, American IPA is inspired by the best of the west coast, while keeping true to the roots of the east. Balance was the focus when brewing this succulent beverage. A large amount of American hops are added, not to create tongue ripping bitterness, but rather, to spotlight the splendor of hop flavor and aroma. Simcoe and Citra hops come together to create aromatics of stone-fruit and citrus, while complimenting the sweet malt presence. RootDown IPA will delicately dance across your palate, but at 8.2% ABV, it will leave its footprints to not be forgotten.

Great upcoming events at 4 of my favorite Chester County spots over the next 3 weekends that are 2 good to miss.

I'm slowly coming out of my writing funk after our rough last week and a half. I've got a pretty good story about our dog Logan and dogs and beer in general that is almost finished.

But, before I get to any serious writing, here's a quick plug for four of my favorite places in Chester County and worthwhile looking stuff that they're doing over the next three weeks.

The Drafting Room, Sat. 4/9 - This is tomorrow, folks. It's an "all-local" event. But, not just any "all-local" event. The Drafting Room is celebrating their Top 25 ranking (#24 to be exact) on Rate Beer's annual polling for the country's best beer bars. They're celebrating by rolling out some more of the unique local beers that cannot always be readily found. The most usual suspect is Stoudt's Pils and I would suspect that we'd all agree that ain't too shabby. Otherwise, think Brew Works, Earth Bread + Brewery, Nodding Head, Rock Bottom, and most of the other locals that you could guess.

Iron Hill, West Chester, Fri. 4/15 - Check out the Iron Hill fundraiser for disaster relief. All Iron Hill locations are sending 100% of proceeds from a one-day Rising Sun IPA promotion to the American Red Cross. Get dinner while you're there. Show your AHA card and get 20% off everything. Or your Mug Club membership for all of its benefits. Soon, city folks not inclined to venture out of the city will be able to experience the magic of Iron Hill in Chestnut Hill. Until then, if you're in the City, at least take the trolley out to Media and support a great cause. Drink a few beers; it's the least you can do.

TJ's, Sat. 4/16 - A total tap "takeover" by importing distributor B. United. Belgian Beer. German Beer. Italian Beer. Japanese Beer. UK Beer. It's all covered on this day and it might just be the wisest place for a true beer lover (that's you, right?!) to be on this Palm Sunday Eve. Seriously, check out the stellar list.

Exton Beverage, Fri. 4/22 - I don't know if this is a first, but there's a 3-hour event scheduled at Exton Beverage. This ain't your father's beer distributor anymore! There'll be live music on "the stage" (did you know Exton Beverage has a stage?!), food donated by local restaurants, and beer supplied by Exton Beverage. It will truly be a good Friday ;-)

Slicing and Dicing beer by ABV, by Local, by Session, and by Style

Here's a little something to stimulate your brain cells at the beginning of the work week.

There's been quite a bit of chatter these last few years around the word "session" — the length of drinking time that constitutes a session — the appropriate maximum amount of alcohol in a session beer — and simply whether we like the term session.

Some of this conversation has certainly been instigated by the worthwhile work that Lew Bryson has undertaken to help bring attention to what he perceived/perceives to be an under-served, under-respected, and under-appreciated segment of the craft beer market. He calls it the The Session Beer Project

Jack Curtin stoked the conversation again recently when he brought light to some comments made by Weyerbacher owner Dan Weirback.

I'll be focusing a longer article on this topic in the near term.

Until then, I decided to run some numbers — no, not those kind of numbers. Some beer numbers. As you likely know, I'm a numbers guy. So when faced with this question of whether session beers are adequately available, I took to the better beer bars and brewpubs in my local area for some evidence.

While gathering the data, other topics du jour came to mind. Like...
~ Does my local area supply a breadth of styles?
~ What is the spread of ABV percentages?
~ Are session beers monolithic?
~ Are locals being served fairly?
~ Are ABV percentages readily listed for customers at the bar?

The effort of data gathering was limited solely to electronic beer menus. (Hey, what a novel idea! I recall proposing that concept 6 years ago when there were virtually none and being told by several folks that there really wasn't a market for up-to-date, or even live, tap lists. Just ahead of my time, I suppose, right?)

Bars included in this "study" are Capone's, P.J. Whelihan's, Station Taproom, TJ's, Teresa's Next Door, The Drafting Room, and Ron's Original. Brewpubs included are Sly Fox and Victory. Okay, oops, I slipped. P.J.'s was provided to me on a printed menu. The others were either provided via email updates (e.g. Capone's), Facebook (e.g. Station Taproom), or website (the remainder).

Would love to have included The Flying Pig, Iron Hill, and McKenzie's, but I'm not aware that they have an online resource for current draft lists, ahem!

The lists are not all from the same day, but that was not important. The lists were all from within less than two weeks of each other in March 2011.

Let's see what we found.

9 establishments were polled. 183 beers were on tap. I did not distinguish between traditional CO2, cask/handpump, and nitro.

Some more interesting pre-game analysis. Only 6 taps were what might be considered macro-ish: one draft line each of Amstel Light; Coors Light; Guinness Stout; Miller Lite; Peroni, Yuengling Lager. There's a dry cider in the mix here too; I probably should have removed it. But, I didn't, so moving along...

I)  53 "styles" were counted across these 183 beers. The most popular with 24 taps, not too surprising, was American IPA, where three American IPA taps belonged to Bear Republic's Racer 5 and two taps each for Victory HopDevil and Ithaca's Flower Power. In a distant second was the American Pale Ale style with 10 taps. See style table for the wide range of styles. (click to enlarge)

II)  I broke the ABVs down into 6 buckets. This could be the most debatable, but here follows my logic. Almost no one will argue that Under 4.5% is considered a session beer. Folks seem to be generally split on the next range, so I isolated 4.5% to 5.5% as its own category. Personally, I have no problem with a session beer in the 5-ish range. I could even push my session beer threshold to 6% given my body composition, my drinking pace, and my drinking "experience". Therefore, 5.5%-6.5% gets its own designation, particularly also because it's the subject of Dan Weirback's criticized comments. From 6.5%-8.5%, we begin to get into almost everyone's definition of a stronger beer, but not at knock-out levels. No one should deny 8.5%-10% definitely is comprised of some strong beers. And, lastly, everything Over 10%, just because 10% as a double digit number somehow holds some magical significance.

53 beers out of 178 under 5.5% ABV, eh? Nearly 30% of available draft beer. Not too shabby for anyone looking for a relatively lower alcohol beer at one of these 9 spots. Although, there's an interesting drop in the 5.5%-6.5% range which could explain the spot that Weirback is looking to land a session beer in.

See the accompanying bar chart for a frequency illustration of the 178 beers in this study — 5 did not have a readily-published ABV% that I could track down. (click to enlarge)

III)  Opponents of session beer might perceive it as limited in diverse flavors and aromas. So next, I checked on what types/styles of session beers are being served at these 9 places. Does diversity exist within session beers under 5.5%? Or are they not very "exciting"? The answer seems quite apparent from the following table.

IV)  Are the locals being served? I don't know what the optimal percentage should be, but here in the western 'burbs of Philadelphia, a full 36% of the 183 draft lines in mid-March at these 9 establishments were dedicated to locals. That doesn't sound so bad.

I know, I know, I hear you. The next question is obviously: "Are not the brewpubs (100% local) tainting these ratios?" A bit, I'm sure. So, let's remove them and see what we get.

Without brewpubs included, the percentage of the 183 draft lines that locals occupied drops to 21% of the total. If you want to make a case for local beers, this might be a number that you focus on. Especially considering that Flying Fish, Sly Fox, and Stoudt's each only had 1 tap out of 183; and Philadelphia Brewing had none. Though, truthfully, the 1 in 5 stat is no where near as bad as things could be.

The local brewery with the most tap lines tied up with their product (outside, of course, of the 2 brewpubs in this analysis)? Victory with 7, Dogfish Head and Manayunk with 3 each.

From outside of the region (discounting that TJ's had some Allagash remnants and Teresa's Next Door had a recent Stone event), Founders was well-represented with 5 draft lines; Great Lakes and Sierra Nevada each had 4.

Click the pie chart below on the left to see where brewpubs are included. And, click the pie chart on the right where brewpubs are not included.











V)  On the topic of published ABV% levels, 8 of the 9 establishments prominently display the ABV% of each available beer either on the chalkboard or on the printed menus available at the bar or tables.

If you wonder what the big deal is here, take this as an example. The night prior to a long run a few weeks back, I found myself eating at TJ's. I only wanted one beer. A low-alcohol beer at that. A quick scan of the digital chalkboard (A+ for information) and I quickly found the 4.0% beer that I wanted to get through dinner.

With the ever-expanding diversity of beers available in the market and growing base of new customers, listing alcohol levels for customers to make the right choice is more important than ever.

So where does all of this lead us? I'd love to hear from as many of you as possible. Let's not contain all of the conversation to Jack's site, right? (just kidding, of course, my friend)

After seeing these numbers around the topic of ABV distribution and whatever it is that we wish to call a session beer (sneak peek at my article: "I (and you and you and you) can define my own 'session', thank you very much"), I'm fairly satisfied that I can find varying strengths of beer in almost any category I like here in the western suburbs of Philadelphia.

Now, I realize that I may be a bit privileged in that regard. So chime in and let me know how you feel in your town/region/state about having access to a breadth of beer styles and beer strengths.

You say you want to try Pliny the Younger but keep missing it? Here's a chance to try it for free, but you'll need to act quickly

The excitement for this beer still shows little sign of waning. According to owner Howard Weintraub, last night his Drafting Room in Exton pre-sold all tickets in 20 minutes for the Pliny the Younger tapping this Saturday during his annual HopFest event.

All except for two.

He has made two tickets available for me to give away to lucky readers of The Brew Lounge. But, I won't make it that easy for you.

I'm a numbers guy and I sense that many of you (particularly the homebrewers in the crowd) are as well.

So here's the deal. You're gonna have to act fast on this one if you want a chance to taste this highly-sought after and praise-lavished beer.

Be one of the first two to respond with the correct answer to this little Russian River-inspired numbers game and you'll score yourself a free glass of Pliny the Younger this Saturday, March 12 at The Drafting Room in Exton, Pa.

One ticket per winner. Two winners.

All of the answers to these questions are not too difficult to find with some low-to-medium web sleuthing skills. Good luck!

s1- Take Russian River owner Vinnie Cilurzo's age. Multiply it by...

s2- The date in February this year when Russian River's brewpub kicked its last keg of Pliny the Younger

s3- Take this result and first add the year in which Cilurzo took ownership of Russian River Brewing Company, then subtract...

s4- The percentage ABV of Pliny the Younger; use whole number, don't convert it to decimal format (according to the brewery's website)

s5- Take this last result and divide it by the IBUs of Pliny the Elder (according to the brewery's website)

In other words, just to help those a little less math-inclined:
( ( s1 * s2) + s3 - s4) / s5

Provide the final result to at least two decimal places of accuracy to Bryan@BrewLounge.com

Still catching up, with some nuggets to share

While getting through a bunch of dirty laundry (literally) from our Great European Trip last month, I've not surprisingly continued to accumulate beer material that I feel compelled to share with you. And, while still working at getting around to writing and sharing all about the Beers on the Rhine (seriously, I am), I'm compelled to get this recent week's worth of activity out for you rather than queuing it up behind everything else. For starters, no sooner had we been back on terra firma for a couple of time zone readjustment days, we were headed off to sit down as guests of The Drafting Room for their Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Dinner Party. At the risk of doing this dinner a disservice, I'm not sure there's much different to say from the last TDR/Sierra dinner that we attended in November '09. (Or, maybe you think I'm in a rush to get through this...now, now.) Let's see, how did I describe it back in November '09?

"50-55 guests...Slightly raucous..." This time around? 60-ish guests, definitely raucous. We debated the concept of courtesy and rudeness at beer dinners such as these.

I discussed a "liberal, free-pouring" approach at beer dinners hosted by restaurants. At this dinner, it was not necessary as all beers were above 8% ABV, except for the first course which came in just merely a tick or two under 7% ABV.

Last year, I mentioned a surprise, that of "the baby brother of Limb & Life". The only real surprise this time around was the unfortunate absence of the originally-planned Anniversary #4 beer, the Sierra blended and oak-aged beer which was not ready from the brewery in time for this dinner.

Of course, I also described the "grand-daddy of the dinner---the dessert course". This year was no exception as the Belgian Chocolate Flourless Torte paired with the Fritz & Ken Imperial Stout (anniversary beer #1) shone brightly. Fortunately, the lights were not so bright as to draw attention to this beer guy dunking forkfuls of his chocolate dessert in the stout. Sheesh, you can't take some people anywhere, eh?

Finally, last year I wondered if TDR could "continue to pull off strings of $70 beer dinners and pack the house each time". The house was still packed for this year's dinner, though at a lower price, $59, than for last year's. Somehow, I don't think price really matters when it comes to a beer dinner of this caliber.

(Click here for a full gallery of pictures from The Drafting Room's Sierra Nevada Beer Dinner on 10/28) The very next night (obviously, making up for 17 MIA days around here), we made our way to Swift Half Pub in Philly's Northern Liberties neighborhood for the first of a two-night 32nd birthday celebration for Flying Fish's brewer Casey Hughes. The event was called SuperFriends Beer Extravaganza and concluded the following night crosstown at Varga Bar. Casey was able to wrangle four sixtels of SuperFriends IPA away from his New York state brewing brethern. Earlier this year, you may recall me proclaiming this brett-laced IPA as one of my favorite of Ommegang's annual Belgium Comes To Cooperstown event. This was a beer that was brewed for New York City Beer Week by Hughes, Scott Vaccaro (Captain Lawrence), Jeff O'Neil & Eric Kugeman (Ithaca), Phil Leinhart (Ommegang), Phil Markowski (Southampton), and Steve Altimari (free agent, formerly of Valley Brewing in northern California). They took a portion of this batch and further aged it in French Oak (Chardonnay) barrels. Apparently, most has been dispersed and digested, save for a few bottles and sixtels here and there. In a remarkable feat of strength, Casey coerced these four sixtels (2 of each variety for each bar) into Pennsylvania for what will likely be the only ones of this initial batch of beer to make it to Pennsylvania for sale by legal means. (I say "initial"--not because I know anything, but--because we all know how these successful batches of beer tend to come around again somewhere down the road. In a side-by-side comparison, while I thought the additional barrel-aging added more flavors than was necessary, the original Superfriends was just as fabulously tasty as I'd remembered. (Click here for a full gallery of pictures from The SuperFriends event at Swift Half Pub on 10/29) The night at Swift Half was pleasantly attended and pleasantly enjoyed. From all unpublished accounts, the following night at Varga Bar was anything but tame. In keeping with my standards here, I will not name names simply for the sake of incrimination or embarrassment. If anyone else would like to, have at it :) Rounding out our first week back in the States, we had reservations at the famed Talula's Table in Kennett Square, Pa. While not necessarily a beer event, per se, it was a highly-anticipated dinner at this BYOB that is often called the toughest reservation in America. However, when dining with beer friends like Patrick & Tracy and Scott and Vickie, the night quickly becomes an event and the dinner, a beer dinner. The stash of beer we all supplied was impressive, of course not expecting to drink it all. So, while I won't turn this into a foodie review of Talula's with a course-by-course breakdown (zoom in on the picture at the gallery link below if you care to see each of the eight courses described in print), I will comment on the restaurant's reputation. Ever since this dining experience, I've been fond of saying to anyone that will listen something to the extent of "If you think customer service is dead or dying, then Talula's Table didn't get the notice." (Actually, I've also been saying that of the service aboard our riverboat cruise in Germany.) From the warm and easy welcome that we received, to the casual drinks and hors d'hoervres before dinner, to the friendly dinner banter between the restaurant staff and our table while we were dining in their kitchen, to the constant but unobtrusive plate and glassware service, to the unrushed farewell at the end of the evening, I can not imagine a more comfortable dining experience that I've had in recent memory. The dinner costs roughly $130 per person after all taxes and gratuities are added and it's not a stretch to say that dollar-for-course-for-service-for-dollar, this is a most reasonably-priced dining experience. The reservations must be made a year in advance. If you can...you should. (Click here for a full gallery of pictures from Talula's Table in Kennett Square) This last note almost did not make the cut. However, as my keen eye looks for little nuggets of beery goodness to share from almost every facet of life, I'm hard-pressed not to pass along this seemingly trivial piece of information. Almost everywhere I go these days, even if the restaurant/bar is not an acclaimed better beer bar, it seems that most everyone is catching on to the endless and wondrous sensory experience that beer can provide. Mercato was one of these places last Friday evening. It's a BYOB, but the staff took quite a liking interest in the beer that we brought. Though, when you realize that this Italian BYOB is a sister restaurant to Varga Bar just a couple of blocks down the street, it may lessen the surprise. That's it for now. Caught up? Not really, but more so than when I began this column.

Saturday the Thirstless-teenth

No one should go thirsty this Saturday the 13th. This coming Saturday will be a busy day across the Philadelphia region for beer events. As you'll see with tomorrow's weekly beer calendar that I publish, there are no less than eight beer events in and around the City on Saturday, 11/13. Really, it's eighteen when you add all of the individual events that comprise the Craft Beer Express. (And, there's probably another one or two that I'm missing that I'm sure you good readers will help to fill me in on, right?) >>> The big one is the Craft Beer Express in Philly. With 11 participating establishments and a steady flow of buses (was it 7 or 8 buses that I was told?) linking them all together, it should be a fine day. Plus, the weather should cooperate much more nicely than it did back in March during the first incarnation of this idea. Here's a quick rundown of who's doing what during the 10 hours of buses, beers, and bars. Ten dollars gets you on the bus; after that, it's PAYG at every bar along the way.

Kraftwork: 20 Beers from B.United and the sweet sounds Damon Bennett's Jazzsoul Experience

Johnny Brenda's: The Wet Hop Rodeo, A round up of local & national wet hoped beers

Standard Tap: Imperial Pageant, An orgy of excess and power in a glass.

The Institute: The Power Of The Darks Side, Stout & Porter event featuring Brewers & Owners

Bishop's Collar: Southern Tier Invades The North East

Kite & Key: A.A.A. (Almighty, Afternoon of Allagash)

Jose Pistolas: Big Bold Barleywine & Live Blues

Sidecar: Discoteque & Brothel, featuring Bell's Jazz series brews & The Sidecar Jazz Quartet

P.O.P.E.: Dogfish Head Dominates The P.O.P.E., featuring the Randell 3.0

Devil's Den: Stockertown Beverage Supplies Sudds, special tapping of Founders Nemesis

Brauhaus Schmitz: still T.B.A.

>>> Along the Delaware River at Penn's Landing's Independence Seaport Museum, Rolling Barrel Events is hosting its first annual Stout & Chowder Festival from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. For a $40 admission, in their words you can expect "over ten 'Burly Beer Stations' featuring all local breweries, a special breakout session showcasing pumpkin beers, and numerous hearty soups, stews and chowders. Proceeds will also benefit the Independence Seaport Museum." >>> Back in the heart of Center City, Nodding Head is throwing 4 of their wet-hopped beers on the bar and one on the beer engine at 3 p.m. Harvest Ale on the hand pump and Wet Chinook Double IPA, X, Hoppo Marx, and BPA all on the bar top served via the lovely forces of gravity. The tasting event is PAYG. >>> Moving out from the City, first up is TJs in Paoli where they will be helping Sierra Nevada with its ongoing 30th Anniversary Celebration. All four anniversary beers are due to be on tap. Plus the Northern Hemisphere Harvest. Plus the Estate Homegrown Ale. Plus the Celebration Ale. Plus the Tumbler Autumn Brown. And, plus the Pale Ale. How's that for an all-growed-up 30 year old brewing company? This is an all-day event (and, PAYG) with nothing necessarily special planned at any given time. Just a lot of great beer (and some rather rare ones, too) served until it kicks which will be sooner for some than others, I'm sure. >>> Just a keg's throw away in Exton, The Drafting Room is conducting a seasonally-appropriate Harvest Beer event. Expect such fresh and hoppy beers from Bear Republic, Flying Dog, Founders, Great Divide, Harpoon, Philadelphia Brewing, Port Brewing, Sierra Nevada, Southern Tier, Terrapin, Tröegs, Two Brothers, Victory, and Weyerbacher. This also is a PAYG all-day affair, so come and go as you please. >>> Stretching farther to the west, downtown Reading's Canal Street Pub is hosting the 8th Brewphoria festival. Admission is $35, the event runs from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., and you can expect a beer tasting and exhibition featuring local and regional brewers with live music being provided by The Youngers. >>> Down "south", Iron Hill's Justin Sproul and his Newark location are throwing a delightful-looking cask ale festival. It begins at noon, is PAYG, and is expected to showcase "real ale" from Iron Hill, Yards, Flying Fish, Tröegs, Sly Fox, Stewart's, and Victory. >>> And, finally, stretching the Pennsylvania's Fertile Crescent of Beer to its outer limits in Harrisburg, Pa., the Expo Hall at The State Farm Show Arena is playing host to an event called PA Flavor: A Food & Beer Expo of which I know very little but have picked up some tidbits from the Web. It lasts from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and promises up to 40 Pennsylvania breweries, 60 Pennsylvania food producers, and 20 Pennsylvania restaurants. Attendees can expect two-ounce samples of close to 100 different beers. All proceeds from PA Flavor are reported to benefit the Pennsylvania Brewers Guild. You can't do them all. I promise you. Though, if you get a hired driver, there's the ever-so-slim chance that you could pull it off. If I dared you, I'm afraid someone might try it. So get out there....forget about the yardwork, ditch the wedding (unless it's yours), call off from your weekend job. Drink a few great beers, support your local economy, be safe, and enjoy!

The Rogue and The Drafting Room

(A Draft List full of Rogues) A quick stop-in at The Drafting Room this past Saturday night was fortunate enough for us to find just about everything from the day's Rogue/Pacific NW event still available. Though, for the hour that we were there, a handful more of both beers and foods went off the menu....so, it must have been a pretty good day of bustling business for this event. Without getting the full experience and not checking the calendar details of the past year, I still can't imagine that The Drafting Room has had a better conceived event in recent months. Not only did they gather up more than a dozen beers covering some of Rogue's more interesting and newer releases, but they lined up some special and appropriate food items as well like oysters, salmon, and cheese from the Pacific Northwest. (Cheese from the Northwest to accompany beers from the Northwest) Still not content to let the beer side of the menu get all of the accolades for the day, the kitchen whipped up a few different "shooters" as accompaniments for the oysters ranging from a 'Mignonette' to a 'Oregon Coast' to a 'Tabasco'. On the cheese plate not only were there three cheeses from the Rogue Creamery (chocolate stout cheddar, smoky blue, and rosemary cheddar), but they were served with some crunchy bread, a beer mustard, and a IPA- and peach-based jam. (And, appropriately, oysters also from the Northwest to accompany beers from the Northwest) We had a few samples including Mogul (Hoppy), XS YSB (hoppy but yet, to me, more balanced), Somer Orange Honey (refreshingly sweet in a good way), Double Mocha Porter (dryly rich and hoppy, surprisingly good with the oysters...one heck of a beer), and the John John Juniper (as the name implies, but also not too much so....gin barrel-aged...nice with the rosemary cheddar). Lucky for you, if you missed this fine event, as of yesterday's online tap list, many of these beers are still being served. And, they're being served conveniently in 5 oz. and 10 oz. glasses to make sampling many of them more possible.

How much does the Philly Beer Landscape resemble Philly Beer Week on any given day? (The Drafting Room, McKenzie Brew House, and TJs...to name a few)

(from left: Howard Weintravb-The Drafting Room- and representing Tröegs, Nick Johnson, Jeff "Moose" Musselman, and Ed Yashinsky) (Howard Weintraub, right, with three of The Drafting Room's loyal customers, "Amish" Rob and a striking resemblance on his shirt, Richard Ruch, and Joe Meloney) Take, for example, The Drafting Room's annual anniversary party (this week they celebrated their 16th). This past Thursday saw a few of the Tröegs guys stop in to help unveil the 16th Anniversary Ale at The Drafting Room. There was a "normal" keg of it, a bartop firkin, and a half dozen other Tröegs goodies on tap. Goodies like the vaunted Scratch 31 (citra IPA...now kicked from what I discovered the following night) and a Scratch installment (28) that I hadn't bumped into before. That's not too difficult considering how often they zip these out into the market. Scratch 28 is described as a German-style Rye. One, to me, that is obviously about the rye malt, and not the rye bread/caraway seed characteristic that some similar beers possess, and also had a slightly noticeable hint of smoke through it all. I was up for a repeat run-in with this beer the following evening, to share with a friend and to reconfirm my suspicion this is a very, very nice beer. (Russian River's Consecration gets second billing after all of the locally-brewed beer from Tröegs) It was funny to me how--like at the Bear Republic event, where the Lost Abbey Angel's Share went almost undetected in the bottom corner of the chalkboard menu--Russian River's Consecration was sneakily hanging around the bottom of the menu. I did as any good beer drinker worth his ABVs would do. I polished off a few shorties from Tröegs and then moved on to my one last...the Consecration...for a good palate blasting. (Steve Hayden from The Drafting Room pours the first glass of 16th Anniversary Ale) (A glass of The Drafting Room's 16th Anniversary Ale, brewed by Tröegs) Then, I moved up to find Patty finishing off a work-related gathering at McKenzie Brew House in Frazer. Nothing to see...as long as you consider 'nothing' to be their Saison Vautour (now a menu regular, thank you very much Ryan and Gerard), a Dark Knight (a sweet and tasty 9%-er, brewed from inspiration of their homebrewing competition's winner, Matt Tarlecki), the 3 Threads (simcoe dry-hopped, wood-aged, blended beer that I've yet to get enough of after two tastings), and a Summer Session Ale (at 4%, I'll be just as happy drinking a few of these as I will be to offer them up to a "newbie"). They've got their guest taps as well that they appear to rotate through rather quickly. This particular night, it was the Great Divide Titan IPA. Not too shabby, eh? (McKenzie Brew House, Ryan & Gerard are doing some of their most interesting brewing in three years) And, through it all, I happened to punch up TJs website to find that they've announced a PBW cleanup event for next Saturday, 6/26. I could bemoan how this glut of inventory from PBW has forced TJs and other establishments to do clearout events and special pricing like this simply to get rid of a glut of inventory leftover from PBW. But, maybe instead I'll just use this as yet another example of how any given day can look like Philly Beer Week around the region. Go check out the list and tell me if you don't agree. Still truckin' and representin' out here in the western suburbs.

Philly Beer Week 2010: Day 8 Wrap-Up

Day 8 Pictures are all included below

Link back to Day 7 ----- Link forward to Day 9

(Howard Weintraub, Drafting Room host, left, and Mike Ferry, Brooklyn Brewery) I promised after my Day 6 pictures at The Drafting Room that my 'people pictures' would improve next time at The Drafting Room, right? Well, I've got one for you at least..that sounds like an improvement to me!

The Drafting Room in Exton became my first repeat venue of PBW 2010. Mainly because on my way out after the Bear Republic event the other night, I noticed those words Sorachi Ace on the door...and Black Chocolate....and Dark---Matter...and Blast....and oh yeah, it was a Brooklyn Brewery event on Friday night. Done deal.

(A solid draft board greets customers at The Drafting Room) Friday night didn't initially have anything planned for me. I'm basically tapering off in the second half of PBW '10. Too many other things to do and weather that just doesn't make it as fun to hang around drinking lots of beer, particularly high alcohol beer. No matter, it's still fun to try ;-)

So after work, I did a quick (couple-of-hours-quick) stop at The Drafting Room and shared a few nice beers with some friends that I just figured would be there. They did not disappoint.

(A solid happy hour/PBW crowd filled the bar for a couple of hours on Friday night) And the affable Mike Ferry from Brooklyn stopped in as well to chat with the customers and wait out the rush hour traffic before heading back down into the City for a night of "networking."

All in all, a good stop in my third suburban night of PBW '10. Today, once again nothing planned..but, as usual, we shall see. Hello iPhone, what sayeth? Keep it close to home, you say? TJs (hm, yes, let's see....BrewDog and Stone....hows-a-bout that, eh?)

Philly Beer Week 2010: Day 6 Wrap-Up

Day 6 Pictures are all displayed below--yes, there are only 4 of them and yes, one of them is a picture of food and the other of glassware...promise many more people pictures tomorrow.

Link back to Day 5 ----- Link forward to Day 7

Brew Lounge activity during Philly Beer Week 2010 has been brisk, but I can see that many of you are between 1 and 3 days behind in your reading and browsing. Fortunately, last night was a light and suburban night for me, so I've got very little to share today.

With my main goal of getting home for what turned out to be the last of the Stanley Cup Finals games last night and preparing (yes, preparing) for Philly Beer Geek tonight in Manayunk, I opted away from some of the big names and big lights of the city (Lambic Summit, Brewers Pub Crawl, and Vintage Happy Hour at Nodding Head, et cetera).

Instead, I made a quick stop in to see the guys at Exton Beverage and have a taste of a few porters and stouts that they were pouring. They've had a nice stream of people tasting and hanging out at each of the tastings that they've been conducting. They even got a completed job application from one of the tasters last night. Tonight is a sampling of a half dozen or so Belgians and Friday is canned beer (think: Sly Fox, Brooklyn, 21st Amendment...and I think I may have heard Red Racer, Caldera, and one or two others). Stop by, they're fun to hang out with after work---or whatever time of the day that is for you.

Then, I made my way to The Drafting Room where Bernie from Stockertown was going to be repping Bear Republic from Healdsburg, CA. Fortunately, the beers rep themselves well enough, because Bernie got stuck in Philly and wasn't able to make it. I figure that brewers and reps would have a difficult time cover the city, let alone the city and suburbs together with the jam-packed schedule that has them so spread thin during these ten days.

No matter, Racer 5 IPA on hand-pump? If this isn't a go-to cask-conditioned American IPA for you, you should really check it out and see if you agree. The Apex (one of my best-in-show at the Double IPA Festival in Hayward, CA two years ago) and the Crazy Ivan (Belgian Strong) were real crowd pleasers.

But what else did we spy on the bottom of the chalkboard menu? Why, under the Erie Pilsner, it was Lost Abbey Angel's Share on tap, something that many people were also dabbling and delighting in.

It was a solid crowd of people enjoy a lot of Bear Republic beer and take-home pint glassware. The Drafting Room has a nice-looking Great Lakes event tonight and Brooklyn on Friday...two more great reasons to pull in off of the madness of route 100 in Exton, PA.

Remember, that no matter where you are during Philly Beer Week, it's important to support your local guys (Bucks County? Hulmeville Inn; Delaware County? Iron Hill-Media; Montgomery County? Iron Abbey or Teresa's Next Door....just to name a few suburban spots participating in Philly Beer Week). Celebrate every week of the year with them like it was Philly Beer Week.

(Exton Beverage poured out the Stouts and Porters during Happy Hour in Exton, PA--Weyerbacher Old Heathen and Yards Thomas Jefferson were crowd favorites) (Exton Beverage poured out the Stouts and Porters during Happy Hour in Exton, PA--Weyerbacher Old Heathen and Yards Thomas Jefferson were crowd favorites) (tasty Pastrami eggrolls have replaced the cheesesteak eggrolls at The Drafting Room) (yes, this is really just a picture of Bear Republic glassware at The Drafting Room...that was their representation)

Just a mere handful of suggestions for this Weekend

In a weekend of so much to do here in the Philadelphia region, if under the threat of something really, really super-terrible-bad(!), here's what I'd recommend that you check out...if you asked. No favoritism at play here, just a recognition of some of the most interesting that the region has to offer.

Thursday===Rob Tod and his Allagash beer is loosed on the city and the suburbs --- great reason to start your weekend early as Rob makes no less than 4 stops from city to the 'burbs.

Friday===City=Firkins at Varga (Flying Fish) Rural=Cask Ale Festival in Lititz, near Lancaster --- This brings together Alex Hall (NYC) and Paul Pendyck (General Sutter Inn, et al) for the first of its kind in charming Lititz

Saturday===Craft Beer Express around Philly --- choose the bus and do it all day. or meet up with the revelers along the way at a place of your choosing. How can you go wrong? Just stay out of the way of that "other green bus." In the suburbs, try the Imperial IPA Fest at The Drafting Room

Sunday===Brewers Plate --- one of the regions premier beer and food events. I've written about it several times in the past (in 2006, in 2007, in 2008, in 2009) and it really doesn't get much better than this. As of yesterday, less than 100 total tickets remain. This will almost certainly sell out prior to the event.

Monday===Wanna make a long weekend for yourself? Check this out Brooklyn Beer Dinner at Barclay Prime

Reflections as 40"-plus melts slowly away

Snow Business like the Bar Business
Venturing out to Iron Hill's BCtWC event last month after the first of two 20"+ dumpings of snow fell upon eastern Pennsylvania and watching my inbox fill up with notices that 'this bar' and 'that restaurant' were staying open no matter what got me to wondering.

Wondering why it is so important to stay open and ask employees to come out to work on days such as this. Surely they have more important things to be concerned with, right?

Wondering why patrons want to go out so badly to a bar in this weather. In all liklihood, if the bar closes it won't be much more than 24 hours before it reopens, right?

Wondering why we can't break from the norm once in a while and just stay put. I suppose that almost sounds like an outdated, an antiquated, way of thinking given this age of always being connected, always on the go, never willing to put the status quo on hold even for a little while.

I'd been pondering this and asking around informally these questions during the last few weeks. I noticed that Kirsten Henri of Grub Street Philadelphia had done the same in the City.

Out here in the Burbs, I've got a few tidbits to share with you from local proprietors. You'll hear their opinions on the situation directly; let us know if you agree or disagree or have different thoughts on the topic. And, hopefully, this will comprise the last significant mention of snow-related opening, closures, and the like for the year 2010.

I'd asked for observations that might span from the light-hearted and humorous to the more serious. I'd expected to get answers from the goofy ("we had a snowball fight between the employees and the management....") to the more sobering ("we had an issue with a collapsed roof") or something to that effect.

Generally, what I got was a determination to get back to business as usual as quickly as possible. Of course, that makes sense if you understand that these folks are not in the business of being closed. Every meal of the day that a restaurant is closed is a meal's worth of revenue lost to the business...plus potentially lost food that can no longer be used the following day. So, it makes sense that proprietors with the resources to open (employees who live down the street within walking distance, the business is located in a walkable/urban area, etc.) would make every reasonable effort to open. Gary Fry's comments about the ancillary costs of snow (plowing, salt, lost parking spots, etc.) were revealing as well.

Unlike in the City, there really were not any "snow specials" to speak of that would entice customers to come out during either of the big snowfalls. Unless you count Iron Hill's annual Belgian event that went off anyway (you may recall from my posting back here that we showed up as well). But, from those that stayed open, it was evident that people like to get out....to keep from being cooped up, plus just the adventure of snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, or 4-wheel driving for a bite and a beverage is worth a memory or two as well from what has turned out to be a record-breaking winter here in the Philly area.


Here's what I found, in their words.

Gary Fry, Craft Ale House, Limerick, PA---
"My approach was, "I'll believe it when I see it", and boy did we see it.

We closed early on Friday night (Feb 5), for the safety of our staff, our customers and ourselves. We told our staff that we would make "the call" in the morning.

I was in denial that it would actually add up to something. Then on Saturday morning my wife and I made the call to close for the entire day. It was an extremely stressful and agonizing decision for us, being in business for just over a year, and to lose a full Saturdays worth of business. We then called everybody on our staff and told them that we were closed, we posted an update on our website, BlogSpot, and on our outgoing voicemail. None of our staff could make it in, so we couldn't serve people anyway. We were finally able to relax and accept what was happening. Now the only thing was that we had no food in our house, so we called around and found out a local bar/restaurant near our house was open, so I shoveled out and off we went.

This past Wednesday (Feb 10): It was much easier on us this past time to make the call. We were not going to lose out on a busy Saturday, and I was welcoming the time off just so my wife and I could chill out ourselves.

After each snow fall, we were busy with people that had cabin fever and just had to get out. I had people pull up on their snowmobile, some hiked and some snow shoed here.

Not only did we not have any money coming in on any of these days, but the plowing fees were ridiculous. Now the snow mounds are so big they are taking up spaces on my parking lot, and every day they melt, I have to go out and salt the streams of water so nobody slips and falls on them in my lot. This will go on for a while until the snow is gone."


Jeff Miller, TJs, Paoli, PA---
"We were open during both of the snowfalls. Was it worth it? Probably not. Sales on Saturday & Wednesday were 30% of the regular number. However, I come from the mind set that if you can, you should open the doors. We have several staffers that have 4WD, including Terri & I. We also have three employees that live literally right across the street. Everyone else we told to stay home. So we were able to open without putting anyone in jeopardy. And when it snows again...yes, TJ's will be open!"


Mark Edelson, Iron Hill, 8 locations---
"We look at a couple of things -
1. Can we safely get enough employees into work to operate the restaurant? In many instances, we have employees who live within walking distances or short drives to the restaurant. If they are close, we may even consider coming and picking them up. Not always popular, as everyone likes a good snow day.
2. Are we in a location where customers will show up? Restaurants like West Chester, Phoenixville, and Media, we have a lot of customers who live close by. In Newark, WC and Lancaster, we have a significant student population within walking distance as well. North Wales and Wilmington customers can't walk to us.

In some locations, customers living close by are grateful that you are open. They just like to get out for a while. In some cases, like WC, there was a power outage in some of the neighborhoods and people just came up to hang out and stay warm.

In the latest snowfall, West Chester and Lancaster were full. Media had some business. Not much for the other restaurants, if we opened at all. Delaware loves to declare a State of Emergency and keep everyone off the roads until they get around to clearing the roads. Keeping people off of the roads for 48 hours isn't good for business.

We didn't run specials. People are just glad we are opened where we can."


Brian O'Reilly, Sly Fox---Phoenixville & Royersford, PA
"Both restaurants were open for 4 or 5 hours in the middle of the day with limited food and staff. The customers that came were very grateful to be able to get some food and beer.

We had a similar plan for the first storm and it seemed to have more success. I'm guessing 4 times the sales. The last storm was a little too aggressive I guess?"


Howard Weintraub, The Drafting Room, Exton, PA---
"Whenever large snow is predicted we always inform staff to call before they consider heading into work. I usually do not like to make decisions until I actually see the snow come down. In theory, it would be great to be open, but what I wrestle with is the following:

Am I going to ask some staff to get here in rough conditions, and most likely they do not have 4 wheel drive vehicles? So we get a skelton staff here and offer a limited menu, and the traffic is quite limited. In other words, does a foot to a foot and a half in snow really drive people out to have a meal? Sure, we could get some bar activity, but is that activity worth all the stuff to be open? For example, the West Coast Beer promotion was better than I thought with the predicted snowfall. But, as the snow continued to fall the crowd slowly dwindled. I think if we are open for those storms, we probably would have closed early anyway."