A couple of goodies for you Homebrewers out there

This first one takes a bit of planning for the next couple of months leading up to Philly Beer Week.

The second should get your beer geek juices flowing but requires you to act a bit faster.

This first one will give you a chance to showcase your award-winning Homebrew in a competition hosted by Triumph Brewery in Philadelphia during Philly Beer Week. If you don't care for Facebook, here's a link directly to the entry form.

Keystone Homebrew has long been a fixture in the homebrewing scene of the northern city suburbs and up into the Lehigh Valley. They've conducted all sorts of events around wine making and beer brewing.

Now they've pulled off what seems to be a major coup of an event. All the beer geeks surely know of Urbain Coutteau from Belgium's De Struise brewery. Now homebrewers will have the chance to learn directly from Coutteau and brew a beer with his guidance.

Enough from me, go read the details over at Keystone Homebrew.

And....get brewing!

Funk Fest at Triumph, has it already been a year?

This event rocked last year, so I'm glad to plug here again this year. Details courtesy of Patrick Jones of Triumph in Old City Philadelphia. He may provide some more details before next weekend, but even if not...take my word based on last year (seriously, read that...it's a fine piece of writing if I do say so!) that it will be worth your mouth-puckering time.

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Funkfest on April 25th. Here are the breweries that are confirmed: Dock Street Dogfish Head Earth Bread + Brewery Fegley's/Bethlehem BrewWorks General Lafayette Iron Hill Maple Shade Iron Hill North Wales Iron Hill Phoenixville Iron Hill West Chester Manayunk Nodding Head Triumph Philly Triumph Princeton Victory Yards At least 4 more are still maybes at this point. Also, some of the confirmed breweries have more than one beer to offer. I will say that the current line-up is better than ever. It includes beers that I was unable to procure a year ago.

Brandywine Valley Craft Brewers' Festival in Media, PA: 5/16/09

Skies threatened, but the crowd wouldn't have noticed even if it had rained. The temperature was a bit on the warm side, but the crowd knew how to deal with hydration as well. Iron Hill-Media hosted the 9th annual Brandywine Valley Craft Brewers Festival this past Saturday. It's the one of the very few annual festivals in the Philadelphia region that I know of that routinely attracts most of the region's breweries. And, it appears that participating breweries sense that not only are beer drinkers in the Philadelphia region among the savviest around, but that this festival draws some of the best. They respond by bringing not just, or not even at all, their usual suspects. If you count Iron Hill as seven breweries, which I'd argue you should do, there were 27 local breweries from the Philadelphia region pouring their delights. Ranging from Flying Fish in New Jersey to Tröegs in Harrisburg and Dogfish Head in Delaware to Bethlehem Brew Works in the Lehigh Valley the regions best lagers, ales, and indescribables were pouring. Indescribable? How about a Quintuple from Triumph? Never got around to trying it but it was there. Apparently, it had a lot of alcohol ;-) So was a porter from Iron Hill that was put in a framboise barrel with little buggies. What happened to the porter? Dunno, but it didn't stop me from trying to find it in three different glassfuls of it. Buried beneath the funk and the tart fruit was a porter...somewhere...claimed Mark Edelson. Call it what you like, it was a delicious delight that I won't forget for quite some time. (Speaking of Iron Hill, make that almost eight. If you're in the Maple Shade, NJ area today---that's 5/19/09---between 10am-2pm give or take, you'll get to see brewing history, or at least the beginning of it as the brewhouse arrives and is installed at IH's first NJ outpost. The address is 124 E. Kings Highway. A photo op if I've ever heard of one. Come to think of it, I won't be able to attend, so the first reader to send me a post-able photo of the big day will be rewarded in kind...something kind-a good, I'm sure!) How about the Bill Payer from Nodding Head? Not all too unusual, but one I don't see nearly enough of and one that I really enjoy when I do. Apparently it's currently on tap at the pub, but will likely disappear quickly as it always seems to do. What else? Well, to the tell the truth, I paced myself with a dozen or samples. Enough to enjoy myself without getting crazy (okay, the jockey box diving---see below, way below---was a bit crazy you might say), but not too much so to sap myself before the Sierra Nevada event at TJs rolled around later in the evening. So, I'll apologize for lack of words (y'think?) and get on with the pictures...... (With 1200 tickets pre-sold, the gate was closed to day-of ticket sales) (Triumph's Patrick Jones pouring his Le Cinq, a "13.5% Belgian Quint") (Was it the beers or Mike Fava's Mojo that tapped out Nodding Head's supply before anyone else?) (Mary Lu and Mark Haynie from Somers Point, NJ) (Drew Carey endorses Tröegs) (The crowds were particularly thick, as they always are, around the host brewery...Iron Hill....their hourly R.I.S. pourings didn't hurt) (Bob Barrar holds court for the 4pm R.I.S. jerobaum pouring) (The heat of the afternoon sun was no deterrent for this gaggle of R.I.S. lovers) (The band, name?, played on and rocked the alley) (Jackie and Jeremy demonstrate the perfect Iron Hill Mug Club member behavior) (Mark Edelson, Iron Hill partner, pitches in to help Chris Lampe push out the remainder of Weyerbacher in the closing minutes of the festival) (The newliest weds in brewing---Larry Horwitz, Iron Hill/West Chester and Whitney Thompson, Victory) (More brewfest love, this from Nick Johnson of Tröegs and his wife, Meg) (Casey Hughes, Flying Fish, and Nick Johnson, Tröegs, getting competitive...Sumo wrestling costumes were not available) (How many captions are there for this?) ("Not to be outdone by the brewers, the writers get their chance at glory?") ("Look how much cooler we are than Casey and Nick?")("Stupid Is as Stupid Does?")("Collin and Bryan were at it for so long, onlookers began walking away?") ("These guys are so smart, they used their writing hands for the contest?")("The winner gets what?")

FunkFest at Triumph Brewing: 5/9/09

It'll be interesting to see how long my stomach decides that it doesn't mind the sour beers. Until then, I'll thank my biological stars and enjoy them for all they're worth. It makes sense that the FunkFest was held at Triumph on Mother's Day weekend, because some of the beers featured were quite the mothers of brewing invention. Isn't this what we love about brewing? Other than fitting to a style of "sour", pigeonholing these beers into a style is virtually pointless. (Saturday was a perfect day for some sidewalk sittin') After my morning 5-k run, not the easiest after a late concert night in Camden/Philly but still a very good run, I cleaned up and caught the train into Philly. The weather on Saturday was nearly perfect, though just warm enough to make me happy to step in off the street (Chestnut, that is, in Old City Philadelphia) for some freaky beers and funky music. (Up first in the day were ten goodies from around the Philadelphia region) (Waiting in the wings for beers in round 1 to kick) Patrick Jones, head brewer at the Philadelphia location of Triumph (and aka The Cheese Monger at Ale Street News), was holding court with nearly 20 beers of varying degrees of funk. Only a few of them could go on the regular tap lines. Others, as you could imagine, were tapped directly at the bar to avoid line contamination. (Sherrie and Steve look strong as they make their way through the draft lineup) We sat together for a few minutes to chit chat about a little of everything. But, I was particularly impressed with his Tarte d'Or, so he spent considerable time talking about how it began as a Honey Wheat, made its way into a neutral barrel where it was introduced to a couple of Brett strains, and then has sat for almost now two years. The result? Brettanomyces deliciousness...one of my favorites of the day. (BFFs, April and Casey) One of my other favorites of the day was the Eddy from Iron Hill. To have this beer twice in three days is to be very fortunate. A nice clean beer from a wine barrel, with a very noticeable Brett character, made for a very nice, dare I say, sessionable funked-up Brett beer (maybe not at 7.3%, but everyone has different thresholds). (Steve never saw a picture he couldn't ruin..I mean, here's a picture of friends showing off food, funk, and friendship at Triumph) Also making my highlights of the day reel was the Bière des Fraises from General Lafayette (don't recall where I've had this before, but the mild strawberry flavor makes for a real nice summer fruit sipper), the FunkFish from Flying Fish (where the brandy barrel character is noticeable but doesn't ride roughshod), and the Sour Raspberry Wit from Triumph in Princeton. Of course the standard sour bearer (the kind that would make a great Mother's Day gift) Berliner Weisse from Nodding Head was there and pouring perfectly as well. In the let's-see-how-this-changes category was the Permanent Midnight from Iron Hill's Lancaster location. I enjoyed the beer and its multi-layered fruit, funk, and barley. Paul insisted that it should have been more carbonated and promised it to show up in Cooperstown for Ommegang's Belgium Comes to Cooperstown event later this summer. (The Band played on, even to a crowd-requested encore) On the topic of offbeat and unusual, someone has to mention the experiment with Good Seasons salad dressing...er, I mean the Scottish Red Vinaigrette (yes, you read that correctly) from the New Hope location of Triumph. Now I don't personally know the Triumph guys up the river (Brendan Anderson, right?), but I have always thought that there must be a little something in the water farther north up the Delaware that makes New Hope just a little bit different, ha! This beer was tapped after we'd already left, but I needed to return to pick up a growler that brought with me but never had filled (cuz the Historical District doesn't approve of such crimes against proper society) and Patrick said something like, "here, try this." So, what's a good beer writer to do? Let's just say it certainly was interesting and delivered on the vinaigrette aspect of its name. I believe 'mouth-clenching' was a descriptor used. But, more than an ounce or two would have been too much for my liking. (How's this for a mantle masterpiece? from left: Patrick Jones, Triumph; Paul Rutherford, Iron Hill-Lancaster; Casey Hughes, Flying Fish; Mike Fava, Nodding Head) You all should be happy (and impressed I'm sure) that my camera was working again come Saturday morning. We had our little talk and it agreed to be more agreeable in the future. With all the party people in the house, brewers and hoi polloi alike, it was an event that screamed out for people pictures, something I've always vowed to do a better job at. Oh, and the music...I didn't get the name of the band, but they provided the appropriate music for FunkFest. After a couple good hours of getting funked up at Triumph, we made our way across town to catch up with Mike Fava at Nodding Head. You'll be able to catch him behind the bar on Sunday nights to, not only talk about, but pour beers as well. It was nice to see that he's joined the ranks on the wall with his own likeness, very appropriately on a bike, with a keg, during Philly Beer Week. (The Fava Express hangs in Nodding Head's dining room) And, to the brewer whose beer made it into my growler for a firepit session last night after mowing the lawn and doing garden work, it was tres excellent! Otherwise, I don't believe I should say whose or which...except, Thank You. All in all, one of the best ways I can figure to spend a warm spring afternoon in the city.

Funk 'n' Fun at Triumph

After a 5-k run in Berwyn Saturday morning, it's becoming more clear how I should spend the afternoon rehydrating. A note from Patrick Jones at Triumph has the following beers either already in-the-house or somewhere en route. Generally speaking, below is what you can expect to find on Saturday afternoon at Triumph's FunkFest, scheduled from 1pm-4pm, in Philadelphia's Old City neighborhood. It's a PAYG event, so why not make a trip to the Headhouse Square Farmers Market (10am-2pm) then head over to Triumph for some funk 'n' food? As of now, the weather looks as though it should be in the cooperative mood. Triumph Gothic Ale Triumph Jewish Rye Ale Triumph Jolie Blonde Ale Triumph Sour Raspberry Witbier Triumph Scottish Sour Red Ale Triumph Sour Blonde Ale Iron Hill Lancaster Permanent Midnight Iron Hill Media Cherry Tart Iron Hill North Wales Lambic Iron Hill West Chester Eddy Iron Hill Phoenixville Wineberry Blend Dock Street Dunkel Berliner Weisse Nodding Head Ich Bin Ein Berliner Weisse General Lafayette Inn Bière De Fraises Flying Fish Vanilla Ice Yards Brewing Pynk Earth Bread and Brewery Belgian Gruit PBC Fleur De Lehigh

Philly Beer Week 2009: Triumph Brewing Profile

Last year I did a profile for each of most of the local breweries in the Philadelphia region. I've updated them, but instead of once again spilling them out across the page here, I'll simply point you over to where you can find and download the profile.

Triumph Brewery is located in Princeton, NJ, New Hope, PA, and Philadelphia, PA. They make a wide-ranging number of styles, but concentrate a lot of focus on perfecting the perfect pilsner and other beers of the lager variety. Click here for a 2009 updated Profile of Triumph Brewery.

An addition to the profiles this year will be an interview with a key "player" at each establishment. At Triumph, Patrick Jones is the head brewer at Philadelphia's Old City location. He indulged me for a few questions.

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The Brew Lounge: Some major events in the last year include celebrating the 1st anniversary in the Old City location and the death of Jay Misson. I know this is a long first question, but here goes: What surprises have there been/what have you learned about brewing in Old City. And, how has the loss of Jay continued to be felt, but on the other hand in what ways do you feel that you/the company have moved on? (okay, sorry, that's more like 2 1/2 questions)
Patrick Jones: Well, it's interesting to look back and reflect on both fronts. First, I already knew that Philly, in general, was more beer-sophisticated than the burbs, but I was surprised by the product mix I saw week after week at Triumph (that's not a slam on the burbs, remember Triumph is in New Hope as well and wouldn't be there if we couldn't sell good beer). Honey Wheat is our lightest and driest beer and constitutes about 25% of sales of beer. Its the best-selling beer as a single brand. But, that also means that 75% is of the "other" brands. IPA, Stout, Pilsner, Tripel, Smoked, etc. So the majority of our guests that drink beer are drinking "the good stuff". The ratio was the most shocking. For the record, IPA is #2 for the bulk of the calendar year. Sometime seasonals take its place, like Hefeweizen, Oktoberfest, and Pumpkin Ale. Second, beyond the personal loss I felt with his passing (I met Jay in the spring of 2000 and we became friends by early 2002), he was student of the craft and ideally wanted everyone around him to become one as well. His day in and day out passion to oversee the production of the best beer possible will be sorely missed. Jay being a cheerleader of sorts has forced us as brewers to find inner strength and motivation to continue the good fight, and now rely not on him, but on each other for advise, support, and experience.

TBL: Do you find that your customer base appreciates and even demands the lager styles that you have become well known for?
PJ: I do to some degree. On the good side, I have noticed that the sales of our lagers have grown from about 20% to 35% of beer sales. Also, when other brewers from the area come in they almost always get a lager and more often than not, a Pils (since I carry at least one all the time). I hope its because they are really good and not because they think the other beers I make are sub-par. I guess you'll have to ask them. On the down side, I know that lagers in general do not have the same cache as Imperial "whatevers", Belgian styles, and barrel-aged beers. So in a way I'm going against the grain. I'm going to make an "Imperialized" Pilsner in a few weeks. Not sure what the name of the beer is yet, but hopefully it will satisfy the hop heads out there.

TBL: Do you have a personal favorite either the regular lineup or specialty brews that you do?
PJ: German Pilsner or Kellerbier and Hefeweizen. All German, I know, but admittedly I don't sip, I drink. I really enjoy the simplicity of a good, crisp, very dry Pils. It makes me want more and more and more. Hefeweizen can pack plenty of flavor and is very refreshing in the summer. Its also is great with fresh goat cheese.

TBL: When you're not putting back one of your own beers, do you have favorite(s) from others in the industry? Or how about liquid vices other than beer?
PJ: The two beers that I usually have in my fridge are Sierra Neveda Pale and Victory Prima Pils. My wife has the same taste as me, to some degree, and both beers are readily available.

TBL: You skipped GABF this year didn't you? Can we expect to see you back on the podium next year?
PJ: I was there. I go every year. Its usually a guys long weekend with friends from Nashville and Miami. So for the podium, I guess I'm always there in spirit, but hopefully in person next year. Keep your fingers crossed.

TBL: Okay, now I'm embarrassed. Of course I recall seeing you and talking about your beers that you entered. Let's see if I can move along here.
TBL: You've been writing about Cheese & Beer pairings in Ale Street News for a little while. Is this the most fascinating beer/food combination to you? Or is there a more "deserted island" pairing that you can think of?
PJ: It may not be the "most" fascinating, but it ranks right up there my book. Think about it. Simplistically speaking, beer comes from grain which is a grass. Cheese comes from milk but originated as grass. There just a cow (or goat, or sheep, etc.) in the middle, as Garrett Oliver would say. As for "desert island" scenario, my #2 would be the one listed above, but my #1 would be a North German Pils married with Montgomery's Cheddar. The Pils hopefully be my own (biased I know) and Montgomery's is rich and buttery but with just enough acidic tang to stand up to the dry finish of the Pils. Awesome!

TBL: Where do you see beer and food pairings in the general public's eye over the coming years?
PJ: The more restaurant owners see the monetary potential of carrying/selling craft beers and subsequently the more chefs learn that beer can be used in cooking and pairing with food the better informed the general public will be because of the immense exposure. Owners/chefs can be another driving force in the "battle" of food and beverage pairings. I watch Top Chef on Bravo with my wife and in the episodes that the chefs create menus and pairing them with wine, beer is never an option (unless I missed that episode). Until enough people get on board (owners and chefs), the public will not follow because of the lack of access to the beers and education about them, and also how well beer can pair with food. In some cases, it can pair even better. Try spicy Mexican with red wine. Yuck! Ok, I'm off my soap box now.

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And, on that note, let's move along and get to scheduling some visits to Triumph during Philly Beer Week. Next up in this year's Profiles will be Bill Covaleski of Victory Brewing in Downingtown, PA.

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New Brew Pub Watch

Tröegs Brewing Company in Hershey, Pa.
10/13/11 - Nearing completion
July 2011 - Summer 2011 update


Tired Hands Brewing Company in Ardmore, Pa.
10/1/11 - Update #2
7/2/11 - First full day of property ownership
7/1/11 - Announcement


McKenzie Brew House in Devon, Pa.
10/1/11 - Update #2


Forest & Main Brewing Company in Ambler, Pa. - NOW OPEN!
4/9/12 - Grand Opening Notice
10/1/11 - Update #2
8/11/11 - Pix at Facebook
8/11/11 - Update #1


Victory Brewing in Downingtown, Pa. - NOW OPEN!
5/7/08 - Opening Day
3/31/08 - Last Day for the Old Bar
3/22/08 - Nearing shutdown
2/24/08 - Continued Progress
2/8/08 - More Pictures
1/21/08 - Early Progress Update
1/3/08 - Ramp-Down Notice
11/27/07 - Initial Announcement


Ron's Original in Exton, Pa. - NOW OPEN!
4/28/08 - Soft Opening Underway
4/3/08 - Projected Tap List at Re-Opening
3/22/08 - Construction Update & Reminder that they're still open for business
1/21/08 - Construction Update


Yards Brewing in Philadelphia, Pa. - NOW OPEN!
4/24/08 - Construction Update & Pictures
3/29/08 - Construction Updates and a Brewer's Blog
12/21/07 - Ybor Brewing System
8/5/07 - Initial Words from Tom Kehoe


Earth Bread + Brewery in Philadelphia, Pa. - NOW OPEN!
4/2/08 - Construction Moving Along
3/28/08 - Pictures from Tom Baker
12/17/07 - Connection to Collins Bar/Blind Tiger?
12/7/07 - Words from Tom Baker
12/6/07 - Initial Announcement


(General Lafayette) Tied House in Philadelphia, Pa. - Late Summer/Early Fall 2008 Grand Opening [Since Closed]


Union Barrel Works in Reamstown, Pa. - NOW OPEN!
4/6/07 - Now Open!
12/29/06 - Construction Update
11/29/06 - Opening Update
8/30/06 - Construction Update


Triumph Brewery in Philadelphia, Pa. - NOW OPEN!
4/1/07 - Opening Update is 4/6/07


Blind Tiger Ale House in New York City, NY - NOW OPEN!
3/29/07 - Tap List for Grand Re-Opening Party on 4/2/07
3/11/07 - Opening Date Announced (3/15/07)
3/7/07 - License Approved!
11/19/06 - Closure Notice (until liquor license is obtained)
9/30/06 - A 'pre-Ale House' review
8/14/06 - Neighborhood Issues
4/27/06 - Construction Update


Iron Hill Brewery in Phoenixville, Pa. - NOW OPEN!
10/2/06 - Grand Opening Date, 10/3/06
9/29/06 - Soft Opening Dinner review
9/27/06 - Grand Opening & Soft Opening Update
9/1/06 - Construction Update
8/11/06 - Construction Update
7/17/06 - Construction Update
4/9/06 - Construction Update
1/22/06 - Construction Update


McKenzie Brew House in Malvern, Pa. - NOW OPEN!
4/6/06 - 1st Night Review
4/5/06 - They're open for business
4/3/06 - Meet us there
4/3/06 - Opening announcement
3/19/06 - Construction Update
2/11/06 - Construction Update
1/9/06 - Construction Update
12/10/05 - Construction Update
11/25/05 - Construction Update
11/10/05 - Construction Update
11/7/05 - Construction Update