Flagship February daily feature - Weyerbacher Blithering Idiot

I'd never been to the original downtown brewpub, but came to know Weyerbacher first from afar and then in the early 00s when I visited their small but growing operation on the south side of Easton, not far from the Lehigh River and the recreational D&L Trail/Towpath. The space definitely gave them plenty of room to grow their operations, including the addition of a spacious taproom befitting their mostly big beer portfolio. Barrel-aging became a significant part of Weyebacher's reputation as well.

Lots to like in their portfolio; the fruit-forward Riserva has almost always topped that list for me. Last Chance IPA is a year-round fundraiser type of beer for local animal rescues. Tiny Imperial Stout is anything but and Finally Legal is a wow of a beer featuring cocoa nibs, vanilla, and bourbon barrels. Sunday Molé Stout is a perfect breakfast beer (did I say that?!) of chocolate, coffee, and a variety of chile peppers. Finally, Dallas Sucks is the perfect game-watching beer in more ways than one.

Btw, you want one of those barrels? Whether you make a table, a planter, or break it down for the staves, there's always a stack of them available for sale outside the tasting room.

Now click the picture below for a full feature on Weyerbacher Blithering Idiot. Oh, and hey, Lew Bryson wrote about Blithering Idiot over on the official Flagship February site. Check it out.

If you're just jumping in during the middle of this and want to know what this is all about, link back here to see the Flagship February overview as well as an ongoing list of all beers I'm featuring during the month of February.

Disclosure: For this project, I solely created the list of 28 beers featured here on The Brew Lounge. I was in contact with each brewery and neither required nor requested complimentary samples. I purchased today's Weyerbacher beer at retail.

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© Bryan J. Kolesar and The Brew Lounge, 2019. All content is owned and uniquely created by Bryan J. Kolesar. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from Kolesar is strictly prohibited. Excerpts, images, and links may be used with advance permission granted and only provided that full and clear credit is given to Bryan J. Kolesar and The Brew Lounge with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. Contact Kolesar at TheBrewLounge@gmail.com

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6 favorite beers from September 18 - September 24

Vacation always brings out the best in my beer drinking ways. A chance to get caught up on bottles/cans brought from home and a chance to discover new ones. Last week was our annual trip to the remote island of Ocracoke, NC in the state's Outer Banks. The destination truly epitomizes remote and relaxing. Now, for the beers.

(1718 Ocracoke on display at many bars on Ocracoke Island and select other bars across the Outer Banks of NC.)
~ Brunch Coffee Kolsch (5%), by 1718 Ocracoke Brewing (Ocracoke, NC)
    The brewery's physical location may not yet be open to the public, but beginning this past June, owner/brewer Garrick Kalna's beers began showing up around the island on tap at a handful of accounts. The approach is rather genius in putting different styles on tap at different locations. My records show that I had the Brunch Coffee Kölsch and Pepperberry Saison at Zillie's, an absolute island must-visit. At SmacNally's dockside bar, it was the Summer Session IPA that hit the spot. When hanging out with a great crowd over brick oven pizza and Ring Toss, a couple pints of East Most West Coast IPA found their way to me. And over at Gaffer's, with its excellent sports pub and live music atmosphere, 1718's take on a NE IPA, Good Bones IPA, showed itself quite nicely. For me, the best of the bunch was the Brunch Coffee Kölsch. Big coffee aroma that was rather mellow and nicely balanced in the delicate beer. Can't wait to visit when the long-waited brewery and tasting room opens it doors. If quality and likability is measured in whether you'd order a second, let's just say I lost count after three of 'em!

(Mike, Tasty, McDole and his Tasty IPA from 21st Amendment — an American Beauty for sure!)
~ Tasty IPA (6.8%), by 21st Amendment (San Leandro & San Francisco, Calif.)
    Very happy to see good guy, friend, and former winner of Samuel Adams' Longshot homebrew competition, Mike "Tasty" McDole, now partnered with 21st Amendment where his beer and his image have wound up on the cans and in the marketing material. He's even out on "tour" promoting the the beer at events. They made a 700-barrel batch, so it shouldn't be too difficult to find across the 21A entire distribution footprint in the coming weeks. Oh, and this IPA will remind you what a very good IPA should look and taste like.

(Fruit. Sour. Brooklyn Brewery. Three elements that make a great beer.)
~ Kiwi's Playhouse (8.1%), by Brooklyn Brewery (New York, NY)
    If you follow this series of my "best beers" closely enough, you might call me out for featuring this beer from the brewery's "Brooklyn Quarterly Experiment" a couple of months ago when its Beer Mansion traveling event tour was in Philly. True enough. But that was draft and now some bottles made their way to my fridge and I can confirm it's just as darn good as the draft. Sweet kiwi, slightly sour profile. Infinitely drinkable if you like those sorts of things.

(Black Label like a black belt.)
~ Oude Geuze Boon Black Label (7%), by Brouwerij Boon (Lambeek, Belgium)
    Very nice and dry, crisp, grapefruit citrus, refreshing, and almost poundable. Very wow. So much so, I need to find my way into another few bottles or cases of this. Very glad this came along on vacation and...did I say "very"?

(I enjoyed the beer so much and too quickly that I forgot to take a picture for myself. photo: duckrabbitbrewery.com)
~ Märzen (4.6%), by Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery (Farmville, NC)
    Duck-Rabbit is nearing its 15th anniversary, but it feels like its excellent beers have been around and winning awards for much longer. This one, in fact, accounts for several including GABF Bronze in 2015 and GABF Silver in 2014. Happy to report this excellent malt-forward fest beer worked very well as an interlude between a couple coffee Kölschs (see above).

(America's Team. Maybe in Dallas. Everywhere else, I'm sure, can get on board with this beer.)
~ Dallas Sucks Pale Ale (4.5%), by Weyerbacher Brewing Company (Easton, Pa.)
    If you know anything about the Pistola's family of bars, their staffs, and particularly their POS terminals, you know they have a special disdain for Dallas. Maybe not necessarily for Dallas, the city, (or maybe so) but more specifically for the Cowboys of how-'bout-them-Cowboys NFL fame. Now they've got a partner in Weyerbacher which is helping them express this disdain with a very good pale ale. At 4.5% and nicely balanced and not overdone with hops, you should easily be able to session away a six-pack of this during a three-hour football game.

Click back here for an index of all beers that I've covered in the past.

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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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Band of Brewers played on at World Café Live: March 2, 2014

This event has the makings of becoming a permanent fixture on the annual Philly Beer Events calendar. I was not able to attend the inaugural version in 2013, but watched YouTube from afar (like... 3,000 miles afar) and was envious of all who got to see talented brewery staff take the stage to rock out and show another creative side of themselves.

Philly Beer Scene's Mat Falco again organized the raucous afternoon at the accommodating World Café Live where many beer events have been held over the years.

A few hundred came out to see seven breweries took to the stage (Victory, Sly Fox, Weyerbacher, Neshaminy Creek, Tröegs, Yards, and Philadelphia Brewing) and no one disappointed. Beers from each of the breweries were available as was a limited food menu from the kitchen.

The judging panel consisted of local beer luminaries Suzanne Woods (Allagash), Casey Parker (Jose/Sancho Pistola's), and Dennis Hewlett (the "POPE") along with JUMP magazine founder, George Miller.

They awarded third place to Neshaminy Creek, second place to Yards, and first place to Philadelphia Brewing Company. Check out videos from each of the brewery performers below.

Band of Brewers first place presentation by The Brew Lounge.

Weyerbacher's Band of Brewers by The Brew Lounge.

Neshaminy Creek's Band of Brewers by The Brew Lounge.

Yards' Band of Brewers by The Brew Lounge.

More from Yards' Band of Brewers by The Brew Lounge.

Tröegs' Band of Brewers by The Brew Lounge.

Sly Fox's Band of Brewers by The Brew Lounge.

Victory's Band of Brewers by The Brew Lounge.

Philadelphia Brewing's first place winning Band of Brewers by The Brew Lounge.

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A beer festival at Mercer Museum & Fonthill Castle in Doylestown

Mercer Museum & Fonthill Castle Beerfest (link to the full gallery of pictures)

It was called Eat & Drink Local and the beer festival at the Mercer Museum/Fonthill Castle on 8/17 certainly lived up to the name. It was a celebration of local food and beer (a wine and a rye whiskey thrown in for good measure as well) for 200 ticketed attendees under a large event tent on the grounds of Henry Mercer's former home and current museum that houses items from daily life in pre-Industrial Revolution America.

In fact, it was a great venue at which not only to drink locally-produced beers, but beers that most had never heard of before that night. Even I was stumped on a couple of the new guys that were set up to pour their beers.

There were the big guys (relatively speaking, of course). Weyerbacher, McKenzie Brew House, and Victory were pouring recognizable names like Imperial Pumpkin, La Fling, and Summer Love, respectively. Keystone Homebrew was also in attendance pouring a handful of beers and a wine from members of their club.

Then there were the recently new or about to be new Bucks County breweries. Round Guys (Lansdale), Free Will (Perkasie), and Vault (Yardley) are all names that are beginning to become a bit more recognized around the area at festivals and watering holes alike.

Then there the really new guys, some of whom are still looking for that special location to call home. Outta Hand Brewing and Great Swamp Brewing were two that frankly had me stumped. Prior to heading out for the festival I'd done a bit of sleuthing around to find that Outta Hand doesn't have much info at all about them floating around online. They're a couple of home brewers (Matt Kennedy and Joe Moran) with big dreams and over at Carolyn Smagalski's site there's a reference to them and a Steve Bischoff. I cleared up that he has absolutely no relationship with the brewery. They were quite frank in saying that they actually have no clue who he is. So if anyone knows Bischoff, you might like to tell him that if anything that ever goes bump in the night at Outta Hand, it will be blamed on him. It's just easier that way!

Great Swamp, though, is a little farther along with their plans. David Johnson is in the process of securing capital and a location somewhere along Broad Street in Quakertown to open his place to serve his beers to the public.

This was a unique festival in a few ways. The representation of mostly all very local breweries was one. The demographic was another that made the festival quite unique. With rough estimates at over half of the attendees coming from the museum's membership base, the average age skewed slightly older and certainly did not resemble the typical beer geek festival. Yet, in what really should not be all too shocking, this diminished in no way the thirst for new and interestingly tasty beers.

Here is one area that many folks in the business of selling beer should learn well from in formulating marketing plans. As craft beer continues to take a greater foothold in the consciousness of beer drinkers, we may be surprised by just who the future demographic might be comprised of. For example, while chatting with the McKenzie Brew House guys (Ryan and Nate), a couple likely pushing into their late 70s approached and asked about the beers and got their samples. They were conversant enough to ask questions about the beer and brewery that they previously knew nothing about and appeared happy with what they tasted. Not exactly the young hipster demographic that often comes to mind at beer festivals, right?

Goes to prove that you never know where you'll find your next beer enthusiast — and to never judge a book by its cover. But, that lesson goes back decades doesn't it? And, applies to much more than just beer.

Hop Shoots - prepared properly at Teresa's Next Door

Unlike my feeble attempt three years ago, Andy and his crew at Teresa's Next Door knew exactly what to do when they brought a bundle of both above- and below-ground hop shoots back from Dan Weirback's hop farm in upstate Pennsylvania.

I stopped in at TND a few days ago and found almost the last of their hop shoot inventory prepared two special ways.

One was served like a salad of hop shoots and watercress, with feta cheese and cherry tomatoes as the primary accompaniments.

The other, my personal favorite, was prepared with a perfect piece of halibut topping a bed of ramps and hop shoots.

Unlike my attempt to serve with a mostly butter mixture, I learned here from Andy that it's all about the accompaniments and the presentation. Mine? Looked nearly as digusting as you could imagine. Theirs? A pleasure to look at and a mouthful of other flavors and textures to accompany the otherwise fairly bland hop shoots.

What about you? Have any of you found other restaurants working with hop shoots on their menu in the early- to mid-Spring season each year?

(on watercress)

(halibut on ramps and hop shoots)

Philly Beer Week Collaboration Raffle at McGillin's Olde Ale House

Pictures from the Philly Beer Week Collaboration at McGillin's

De Proef has brewed four Brewmaster's Collaboration Series beers in the past, one each with Tomme Arthur (Port), Jason Perkins (Allagash), John Mallett (Bell's), and Brian "Spike" Buckowski (Terrapin). For the 2011 version, Philly Beer Week Executive Director Don Russell took an idea to Alan Shapiro of SBS-Imports (the annual liaison between the brewery and the American brewers) and the planning of a PBW collaboration beer took off.

According to Russell, it only took a few beers worth of discussion with Alan and then pulling Tom Peters into the conversation to get the ball rolling on this very exciting idea for publicity and fundraising.

It's hard to tell if Mr. Curtin likes this idea or not, but I for one think it one of PBW's more ingenious ideas.

The idea seems to be a win for everyone. ~ De Proef is associated with the original and, arguably, most successful Beer Week ~ a local brewer gets his name attached to the beer and nationwide attention ~ a local beer drinker gets a free vacation and the chance to rub mash paddles with brewing celebrities (or do a lot of grunt work) ~ PBW raises money for its coffers ~ a good reason for a pre-PBW party in November at McGillin's.

Okay, so everything above was written prior to the PBW bash last night at McGillin's. We now know that the winning brewer was Brian O'Reilly from Sly Fox and he'll be accompanied to Belgium in February by Jason Kramer to brew their concept of a porter with Dirk Naudts of the famed De Proef Brouwerij near the town of Gent.

The crowd was almost wall-to-wall in the upstairs room of McGillin's last night and they came from near and far to party and for a chance to win the trip to Belgium.

Brewers were there. Owners, too. Reps, distributors, homebrewers, fans, and other hoperati were as well. "Regulars" from Hulmeville to Grey Lodge to Teresa's Next Door descended upon the historic McGillin's. An early estimate shows close to 1,000 ballots in the ballot box. Final counts and total dollars raised will be available by the end of the week.

Everyone was there, well, except for not only the winning brewer but the winning entrant too, which made for a bit of an anticlimatic ending to the event. Apparently Kramer submitted his absentee ballot via the mail and the system certainly worked out for him.
If you'd like to see a 4 minute clip of the drawing and announcement, check out the video and just picture the joy on Kramer's and O'Reilly's faces.

The competition was formidable amongst the eligible brewers listed below: - Ben Potts (Dock Street) - Bob Barrar (Iron Hill-Media) - Bill Covaleski (Victory) - Bill Moore (Lancaster) - Brett Kintzer (Stoudt’s) - Brian O’Reilly (Sly Fox) - Casey Hughes (Flying Fish) - Chris Wilson (Weyerbacher) - Doug Marchakitus (Manayunk) - Gordon Grubb (Nodding Head) - Jon Carpenter (Dogfish Head) - Rob Pfeiffer (Twin Lakes) - Tom Kehoe (Yards)

If My Writing Drops on the East Coast, Will it Make a Sound and Will Anyone Notice?

Just when it seems that everyone is off to Denver this week, I and a few other mice are left to hold down the fort back here in southeastern Pennsylvania. Fortunately, the calendar shows at least a few good things to do this week for those of us thirsting for something in the barley and hops area of the beverage world. Last night, it was a gathering of the Usual Suspects that Uncle Jack so kindly slanders in his latest writing. Quite an appealing bunch. The Drafting Room in Exton was hosting The Weyerbachers and they were sliding down easily with Chris Lampe there from the brewery as our tour guide through the 12th, 13th, and 14th anniversary beers...as well as the recently released batch of Riserva which, in my opinion, was not quite packing the same complexity yet as the bottle from the first batch was that I just opened around a week ago. But, still a nice, if not pricey, drink. Tonight included a stop in for a couple of hours at one of Suburban Philly's best beer bars, Teresa's Next Door. Jean Broillet of Iron Hill was there with a firkin to send off his good friend Ryan Witter-Merithew of Duck-Rabbit (North Carolina) who brought his own firkin to share before leaving for Denmark to begin brewing at Fanø Bryghus. (Check back here through this link to see more details about their friendship and their beers.) So, now it's a matter of settling in, reading all those writings about how great Denver is this time of year, and waiting to hear their names read off tomorrow. Can't believe it's been a year since I was last there. Got me reflecting on some of what I wrote last year at this time...you may wish to as well. p.s. If you'd like to read up on what's currently happening in Denver, Jack Curtin (I can't diss him all weekend, hard as I may try) and Jay Brooks will be providing us with the best written word. Over at The Brewing Network, they will have the audio and video covered as well as it's ever been with up-to-the minute live streaming audio and video.

New Beers from Weyerbacher

(Dan Hitchcock, Weyerbacher cellarman, shows off the finished product that his recipe inspired) We made a happy hour trip to Easton, PA on Friday night to visit Weyerbacher, taste some new release goodies, and stop in for dinner at Pearly Baker's. Weyerbacher was doing a special Friday tasting night, prior to their usual Saturday morning Tasting and Sales. Double Simcoe was being released in the 750ml bottle format, this one being done as a bottle conditioned, unfiltered version...of which a half case made its way home with me and is being consumed in between keystrokes. At $5/bottle (AND, more importantly, being fresh from the brewery), it seemed quite the deal. Also, a new special release named Foxtrot was being unveiled. They stuck a name/category on it...dark Biere de Garde. This beer was so roasty, nutty, and dry, that it was difficult to forget that they stuck a style name to it. Not to say it was a bad beer, but expecting a Biere de Garde would be a mistake. But, judge for yourself. Approximately, 100 cases and 60 kegs are hitting the market as we speak. Pearly Baker's? They've been around for about 15 years. It was finally my first time. Unfortunately, Which Brew has closed (TBL review) and made the Pearly Baker's decision much easier. Great burger and Oaked Arrogant Bastard on tap made for a great dinner before we hit the turnpike back home. Full review coming after a longer, follow-up visit.