The Brew Lounge

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Weekly Beer Calendar Update: July 22nd-July 28th

As July slowly comes to a close in the hazy, hot, and humid Northeast, we also get no break on the Beer Calendar...it's just that we don't mind the latter as much. Plenty of good things to keep you interested and hydrated. Many of you are heading to Ommegang's annual BCTC in another week, hope your planning is all coming together nicely. Check out the entire July 2010 calendar over here. If I'm missing any that you feel should be on here, let me know. A little sampling, some free, will get you through the dog days @Beer Yard, Wayne, PA--- Fri. 7/23 - Friday Night Tasting (5:00pm-7:00pm; Free tasting samples of Southampton Publick House's Double White, Alt, IPA, and Keller Pils) @Bell Beverage, Philadelphia, PA--- Fri. 7/23 - Beer Sampling (4:00pm-6:00pm; Free tasting samples of Dogfish Head beers) @High Street Grill, Mount Holly, NJ--- Fri. 7/23 - IPA Challenge (8:00pm-10:00pm; PAYG to win prizes by blind tasting and naming IPAs from Ithaca, Yards, Heavy Seas, Hoptical Illusion, Stone, Lagunitas...and many more) @Isaac Newton's, Newtown, PA--- Thu. 7/22 - Brewery Promo Night (7:00pm-9:00pm; Free tasting samples of Southampton Publick House beers) @Isaac Newton's, Newtown, PA--- Wed. 7/28 - Keg Tapping Wednesday (all day; PAYG for Founders Devil Dancer) And while we all complain about the heat, these guys pedal on... @Devil's Den, Philadelphia, PA--- Sat. 7/3-Sun. 7/25 - Tour de France (PAYG for Duvel and Ommegang specials and other cycling-related fun) @Old Eagle Tavern, Philadelphia, PA--- Sat. 7/3-Sun. 7/25 - Tour de France (PAYG for Duvel and Ommegang specials and other cycling-related fun) Where there's food, beer should naturally follow....and vice versa @Bethlehem Brew Works, Bethlehem, PA--- Sun. 7/25 - Arctic Alchemy Brunch (10:00am; $25 for a buffet styled brunch, limited edition Arctic Alchemy T-shirts available for a fundraising purchase, a filming for the Arctic Alchemy Archives with an interview and review of the historic beer, a complimentary sample of Arctic Alchemy Ale to toast the departure, and the send off for the crew's 2,000 Mile journey) @Chifa, Philadelphia, PA--- Thu. 7/22 - Craft Beer Dinner with Sly Fox (7:00pm; $65 for Four courses of food paired with Royal Weisse, Saison Vos, Rt. 113 IPA, and Incubus) @Restaurant Alba, Malvern, PA--- Sun. 7/25 - Victory Beer Dinner (6:00pm; $65 gets you a Victory Lager upon your arrival and then five courses of food paired with Sunrise Weissbier, Helios Ale, Summer Love Ale, Baltic Thunder Porter, and Storm King Stout) Some events are just a little bit "bigger" than others @Philadelphia Zoo, Philadelphia, PA--- Sat. 7/24 - Summer Ale Festival (6:30pm-10:00pm; $25/$55/$80 for 19 breweries, 15 food establishments, and music provided by WXPN) @South Philadelphia Tap Room, Philadelphia, PA--- Sat. 7/24 - Wheat Beer Fest (12:00pm; PAYG for $3 glasses of around 30 wheat beers from the likes of Allagash, Avery, Ballast Point, Brooklyn Brewery, Cricket Hill Dogfish Head, Dock Street, Great Lakes, Flying Fish, Ithaca, Lancaster Brewing, Manayunk Brewery, Lefthand, Ommegang, Philadelphia Brewing Co., Sierra Nevada, Six Point, Sly Fox, Southern Tier, Stoudt's, Terrapin, Troegs, Twin Lakes, Unibroue, Victory, Weyerbacher, and Yards) @The Drafting Room, Exton, PA--- Sat. 7/24 - Featuring Rogue Brewery (12:00pm; PAYG for a full lineup of Rogue beers including American Amber, Brutal IPA, Captain Sig’s Northwestern (cask-conditioned), Chatoe Rogue Dirtoir Black Lager, Chatoe Single Malt, Double Dead Guy, Double Mocha Porter, Dry Hopped St. Rogue Red, Hazelnut Brown Nectar, John John Juniper, Mocha Porter, Mogul Ale, Rogue Irish Lager, Somer Orange Honey Ale, XS I²PA, XS Imperial Red, XS Vintage Russian Imperial Stout, XS Younger's Special Bitter...plus oysters from the West Coast and assorted cheeses from the Rogue Creamery.) Some have music and charity bartenders @Craft Ale House, Limerick, PA--- Mon. 7/26 - Matt Guyer Bartends for Charity (6:00pm-9:00pm; PAYG all day for this Habitat for Humanity fundraiser, or show up between 6pm-9pm when Matt will be bartending. Don't take it easy on him!) @Stoudt's, Adamstown, PA--- Sat. 7/24 - Battle of the Bands (6:00pm; $25 for an open bar, food buffet, and music from 6 brewery bands, including Stoudt's, Tröegs, Homebrew club of Lancaster, Yards, Victory, and Berwick Brewing) And others celebrate anniversaries and newcomers @Capone's, Norristown, PA--- Thu. 7/22 - Hops, Malts, & Hill Farmstead Brewery Debut in PA (beginning at 12:00pm with Meet the Brewer from 7:00pm-9:00pm; PAYG for a solid lineup of rare and interesting beers like Avery 17th Anniversary, Bear Republic Apex Double IPA, Cigar City Guava Grove Saison, Dark Horse Crooked Tree IPA, Dock Street Rye Pale Ale, Great Divide 16th Anniversary, Hill Farmstead Edward Pale Ale, Hill Farmstead Harlan IPA, Ithaca Flower Power, Jolly Pumpkin Luciernaga, Lost Coast Hop Juice Double IPA, Petrus Aged Pale, Port Brewing Summer Pale Ale, Rogue Captain Sig's Deadliest Catch, Voodoo Gran Met, Weyerbacher 15th Anniversary, Young's Double Chocolate Stout, Plus More!) @Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant, Maple Shade, NJ--- Sat. 7/24 - 1st Anniversary Party (1:00pm-5:00pm; PAYG to help them celebrate with the likes of Dark Situation (Cask), Christmas in July (Bourbon Aged Winter Warmer), Flemish Red, Vintage English Strong Ale, AND a very special, limited pouring of Bourbon Quadfather) Finally, a homebrew-related event to put up here @Pinocchio's, Media, PA--- Sun. 7/25 - All-grain Homebrewing Demonstration (12:00pm; Free/PAYG to help them brew an IPA outside and sample some more inside) Oh, and is this really the only Christmas in July event I could fine? @Pearly Baker's, Easton, PA--- Sat. 7/24 - Christmas in July (PAYG for a special holiday menu complimented by an array of holiday brews including, but not limited to, Corsendonk, Tröegs Mad Elf, & Weyerbacher Merry Monks)

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

A Weekend in the Life of Philly Beer, Part 2

23 pictures in a single post may be a record around here. Perhaps I should have put them up over in Picasa where I normally throw up large batches of pictures. But, I figured with the heat, I didn't want to over-exert you guys more than you needed to be. No need to be breaking a sweat around here, right?!

(another hot one in Philly) In Part 1 of this mini-series, I mentioned how my own personal weekend began with a killer Friday night of beer, cheese, and good neighbors that took us well into the late night/early morning. No way I'd be up at 7am making coffee and watching Le Tour, now is there? After way too many years of being "programmed" to wake with the roosters (particularly during my teen years of working summers on my uncle's dairy farm and getting up before the roosters...but, that is an entirely different story for yet another day), it just comes naturally. But, awoke I did...watched another thrilling Stage did I....drank down a couple of good cups of coffee before getting ready to head out the door for brunch at Memphis Taproom and shopping at their Handmade Market. Actually, the shopping was more for Patty, but I enjoy browsing...at least for a little bit. And, then I get hungry, thirsty, and cranky. Perfect entry point for Memphis Taproom, don't you think? Memphis Taproom - With summertime Shore traffic, getting in and out of the City on a Saturday can sometime be more difficult and frustrating than during a weekday rush hour. This was the case as we attempted to head in to the Port Fishington home (Port Richmond, Fishtown, and Kensington as they like to say) of Memphis Taproom. I've lost track, but it may have been the first time this calendar yeat that we've stopped in there. With the Handmade Market being held in the neighboring lot and along the sidewalks, it was a great excuse to make the trip for some Saturday morning Brunch.

(Memphis Taproom and their annual Handmade Market overtakes the side property and spills on to the nearby sidewalks) If I took a wild guess and said there were 30 vendors of artwork, jewelry, clothing, and whatnot I probably wouldn't be too far off. This seems to be a nicely coordinated event that's gone over well in the neighborhood and it could probably make sense to do this as often as quarterly.

(dog days, and puppy days too for that matter, of summer at Memphis Taproom in Philly's "port fishington") Something else 'nice' about this visit was the opportunity to see both husband and wife of the Brendan and Leigh ownership team at the same place and at the same time. Er, strike that. They were at the same address, but never sat down actually together to prove that they were, in fact, at the same place at the same time!...ah, the life of a mini-empire ownership team with a third wheel in the baby carrier--no rest!

(Memphis Taproom supports The Session Beer Project) This turned out to be the perfect first stop of our day. Kibitzing with Leigh, scarfing down breakfast (oops, "Breffis" I should say, right?) kielbasa, eggs, scrapple, potatoes, and "bruncheros", and chased by a very nice cask-conditioned Wells Bombadier Bitter (a perfectly acceptable first beer of the day after a long night of beer the night prior), a Sly Fox Collaboration Brotherly Suds, and a Rodenbach Grand Cru. Yeah, this was going to be a good day. Oh yeah, and a surprise appearance by Mike Fava (brewer, Nodding Head) extended our stay a bit too. Always nice to see these guys away from their place of employment. Devil's Den - Since the drive took almost twice as long as it should have to get to Memphis Taproom and we sauntered around the Handmade Market and chatted a little too leisurely, something was going to have to give in our original plans for bopping around the City on this particular Saturday. It was going to be Devil's Den. Since there was nothing particularly "special" going on at Devil's Den, I felt comfortable giving them the bump. They do, however, have an ongoing contest during the Tour de France, but from the way I understood, it is simply a signup for a giveaway and a few select specials available at all times. Hopefully, can get back there before next Sunday....maybe Brunch with the last day of Le Tour. The Institute - So, at the risk of trying to squeeze too much in, we dropped Devil's Den and headed to The Institute where Charlie and Heather were throwing a provocatively titled event, "Bite Me." I thought it might be a good opportunity to finally dip my palate into The Bruery's Coton. Taking the weather, the driving, and the rest of my day into account, I thought better of this 14.5% ABV beer...And, remembered that the Hulmeville Inn would be serving same the following day. Instead, it was one Founders Red's Rye for the lady, and one Jolly Pumpkin Calabaza Blanca for me.

(Waiting for The Institute to open, we noticed something across the street that we hadn't before) This was a short visit, but a worthy one since it'd been a while since I've last stopped in to The Institute. Was nice to see another ownership duo both onsite that we could casually chat with during our visit. We made the ride back out the Schuylkill Expressway, where the Shore traffic headed home from its week at the Shore was now picking up. Still not as bad as all of the new Shore traffic heading down in the morning.

(just another solid 'A' taplist at The Institute's "Bite Me" event) Teresa's Next Door - Here was the cornerstone event of Saturday...one that had missed a lot of people's radars. But, logic says that this was not necessarily a bad thing. Of course, TND advertises their events...but, some of them more so than others. This one, called "PBW Recap" was listed, of course, on The Beer Yard's and The Brew Lounge's calendar of events. But, it had missed BeerAdvocate's and Rate Beer's. What that meant was a comfortable crowd in TND's long, narrow space and a lot of beer that was still on their draft list as of yesterday....including all 4 from the Russian River Consecration Vertical.

(how many Consecration Verticals do you think have been spotted outside of Santa Rosa) Yes, the Consecration Vertical. If you didn't know, now you do. I haven't done any scientific research, but I wondered out loud how many times this type of event has happened outside of Northern California, even outside of Santa Rosa. What's a Consecration Vertical, you may ask? Take 4 draft versions from 4 batches of Consecration and serve them on tap at the same time for folks to sample and attempt to discern differences between them to see how well, or not, they age. This rare event had one each from April '09, September '09, February '10, and June '10 batches. How do you ignore Russian River's Supplication?....Sierra Nevada's Beer Camp Exporter?....Pennichuck's Pozharnik?....Cantillon's Cuvee St. Gilloise (the renamed Cuvee des Champions)?....Charlie & Ken's Imperial Bock?....Allagash's Black out of the firkin?....Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout?....well, it's easy when you're staring at all of the beers on the board at once. Unless you have a driver and an endless thirst for palate-busting beers. Like I said, good thing that many of these are still available as of today. Go check 'em out for yourself. The day finished itself out with neighborhood picnicking and then Late night swimming with Lord Chesterfield. Well, I should say drinking cans of Lord Chesterfield ale and swimming. There, that sounded better! Hulmeville Inn - Sunday brought around what grew by the minutes/hours into one heck of a beer event that on the surface to many may not have sounded like much. "Philly Beer Geek Day" is what they called it and it celebrated their own Steve Hawk and his victory as 2010's Philly Beer Geek.

(The Hulmeville Inn's tribute tap list for Philly Beer Geek 2010, Steve Hawk) If you made the effort to head out to Hulmeville Inn on Sunday as Patty and I did, you know that this turned into something pretty special. Something that I was saying looked more worthy of a Philly Beer Week event than did many "events" that were on the PBW schedule this year. More people, more special beers, more cameras documenting the event, more beer dignitaries, more of the beer geekerie. And, free food! Burgers and hot dogs off the grill, salads and beans, and a tribute cake emblazoned with Steve's image. Everything you'd want in a mid-July beer geek picnic. This was only my second visit to the Hulmeville Inn, but I can see that something pretty special has happened here over the past couple of years as they have taken on a much more decidedly craft beer destination status. Beer events occur here with regularity, brewers show up for them, they have access to very special beer, and they treat their customers well. So well, in fact, that it's very obvious how tight-knit of a customer base they really do have. As with other bars that are so integrally wrapped into the fabric of its community, there's a sense of loyalty amongst customers and between them and the staff. After all, Steve Hawk is but one resident beer geek at the Hulmeville Inn. They sponsored him, he won, and they threw him a celebratory party like none other. Oh and one more thing: when they learned of Lew Bryson's father's passing, they took the proceeds from that day's sales of the Sierra Nevada Exporter beer that he helped design during Beer Camp plus additional contributions from a "passing of the hat" and donated it ($800-ish is what I recall hearing) to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network foundation. Not convinced that they're part of "the scene" yet? According to their online "keg counter", in 2009 they kicked 300 kegs. YTD 2010? They are at 315. Something's happening here, and the something seems pretty damned good. Even with the tobacco smoke that's still allowed to float free in the bar's air, if I lived anywhere in lower Bucks County, this very well could be "my local." See more Hulmeville-related pictures farther below. Wegmans - The opening of Wegmans in the western suburbs of Philadelphia is no longer cause for great curiosity or wonder as it was, say, five years ago or so when the Downingtown location opened. I stop in at that one on average of 2-3 times a week for lunch, groceries, beer, etc. But, as many of you have heard me say before, the selfish allure for me is that I can walk 0.5815 miles from my front door to the new Wegmans of Malvern's front door. This, as you can imagine, will be quite convenient. With the attached pub and one of the largest grocery store beer selections around, you can imagine my average Wegmans visits per week will likely go up.

(and now introducing...a Wegmans within walking distance of my house!) In this case, we only stopped for 15 minutes or so on the way home from the Hulmeville Inn to see how things were going. It was crowded, but not annoyingly so. I picked out a 6-pack of Philadelphia Brewing's Fleur de Lehigh ($8.99), Rogue's Chatoe First Growth Dirtoir ($5.49), and Brooklyn's Local 1 ($8.99). Oh yeah, and a gallon of milk and some half-and-half. We said our goodbyes and promised to return soon :) And, thus ended a perfect example of a weekend full of beer events that is not only typical around these Philly parts, but when summed up over the 52 weeks of the year continue to make Philadelphia one of the best beer drinking city regions of the world. It was quite a sneaky one...one that I would have never anticipated to have included so many great people, great bars, and so many great beers of the Philadelphia region, but sometimes those that are least planned turn out to be some of the best. More pictures from the Philly Beer Geek Celebration at the Hulmeville Inn

(Chaz, no last name required)

(Steve Lyford and Christine Gummper, kindred peripatetic beer geeks)

(Bryan Kolesar, The Brew Lounge (where you're at now!) and Carolyn Smagalski, Bella Online with a new bottle of Dogfish Heads Squall IPA...bottle conditioned, and dry-hopped 90 Minute IPA)

(Steve Hawk's Philly Beer Geek title came partially thanks to Carolyn Smagalski, organizer and emcee, and yours truly Bryan Kolesar, a judge...but, really, he earned it and needed no one's help)

(Steve Hawk, Philly Beer Geek, and another judge, Lew Bryson)

(Steve Lyford has the camera turned on him for a change)

(Lew Bryson, Mike Sodano, and Christine Gumpper...Mayor Mike apparently is saying "no pictures of the bathing beauty artwork hanging on the wall behind me!")

(Cathy and Lew Bryson, enjoying a break from a very busy and emotional last couple of months)

(Steve gets a little thirsty from time to time)

(Steve Hawk thanks everyone for their support)

(And, with pleasantries out of the way, Steve Hawk is off to work the crowd with the fundraising Sierra Nevada Beer Camp Exporter strapped to his back)

(Mike Sodano welcomes the crowd and reminds them of the fundraiser)

(Mike Sodano passing around the hat for Pancreatic Cancer Fundraising)

(Carolyn Smagalski, Bella Online, and Steve Hawk, Philly Beer Geek 2010)

Philly Beer Week 2011: Save the Dates

Just a copy of the press release for now. No time for commentary, which I'm sure will follow soon enough. Your comments, as always, are welcome below.

PHILLY BEER WEEK 2010 BUILDS ON PREVIOUS SUCCESSES, FEATURES 195 PARTICIPANTS AND MORE THAN 1,000 EVENTS PHILADELPHIA, PA – With 195 participants and more than 1,000 successful events, the third-annual Philly Beer Week (PBW), which took place this past June, has cemented its reputation as the nation’s foremost celebration of beer and brewing culture. From the ceremonial tapping of the first beer (a collaborative brew aptly named "Brotherly Suds," made especially for PBW2010) at the Opening Tap festival by Mayor Michael Nutter to the arrival of more than 80 brewers from 18 states and as far away as Belgium, Germany, England, Norway and Canada, the 10-day event proved once more that Philadelphia is "America’s best beer-drinking city," as it was christened by PBW Executive Director Don Russell. "Since PBW was founded, more than 25 other U.S. cities have put on beer festivals of their own, but ours remains the biggest and the best," says Russell, a.k.a. popular beer columnist Joe Sixpack. "And we’re thrilled to announce the dates for PBW 2011: Friday, June 3 through Sunday, June 12, 2011." Next year’s festival will surely see the return of such popular events as the Hammer of Glory (HOG), the official keg hammer of Philly Beer Week, and its over-the-top journey across the city to arrive at the Opening Tap, conveyed by everything from kinetic sculpture to zip line to Philly Roller Girls; The Forum of the Gods, a first-time event from 2010 that brought together some of the biggest names in local and national brewing for an informal round-table discussion; and scores of every type of beer event from Festivals to Food and Beer Pairings to the most popular "Meet the Brewer" events. An enhanced iPhone app, inspired by the success of the 2010 version, is also in the works, as additional smart phone apps for other wireless customers and of course, continued updates to http://www.phillybeerweek.org/, which received 10 million hits during PBW 2010 alone. "Based on extensive surveys of this year’s participants, we’re excited to begin working to make PBW 2011 every bit as successful as this year’s event," says Russell. "We encourage previous participants to join us once again, and we can’t wait to welcome first-timers to PBW, as well." About Philly Beer Week Philly Beer Week is a 10-day celebration of the Best Beer-Drinking City in America. Established in 2008, it’s the largest beer celebration of its kind in America, featuring hundreds of festivals, dinners, tours, pub crawls, tastings and meet-the-brewer nights to area bars, restaurants and other locations throughout Greater Philadelphia. Philly Beer Week highlights the region’s diverse beer scene – its world-class breweries, neighborhood taverns, trend-setting restaurants and rich beer culture and history. Philly Beer Week draws thirsty beer fans from throughout the region and beyond, making it one of Philadelphia’s key annual tourist events. Philly Beer Week is organized and operated by Philly Beer Week Inc., a non-profit 501(c)(6) organization overseen by a board comprised of brewery owners, distributors, restaurant owners and others, to promote Philadelphia’s beer and hospitality industries. For more information, visit www.phillybeerweek.org/about_pbw.cfm

Monday, July 19, 2010

A Weekend in the Life of Philly Beer, Part 1

Wow! What an unexpectedly wonderful beer weekend in and around Philadelphia. This was a sleeper kind of weekend that just sort of snuck up on me. Of course, the calendar was always out there with great events on them, I just never expected to be a part of them. But, when the thermometer was flirting once again with the triple digits, it only make sense to stay indoors and hydrated, right?! Actually, the only event not officially on the calendar was one that broke out pretty much unexpectedly on Friday afternoon when I declared Friday night to be a night of beer and cheese cleanout at the Kolesar's. It'll take way many more thirsty folk to completely wipe out our beer supply, but taking a run at emptying the cheese drawer was a much more manageable task. Patty and I got started around 8pm with dinner and a couple of beers. We were joined by six neighbors and the table got quite crowded with beer, cheese, meats, and other snacks. Part of the motivation behind the beer side of this clean out was to dip into beers that have been gifted to me either by breweries, bars, or individuals. Some that could stay in the cooler in perfectly good condition for almost ever, and others that have unfortunately seen better days. I don't have as many beers sent to me as some writers do, but I have certainly built up enough over time and I should be doing a much better job at getting to them and writing about them as it seems appropriate. I'll have more to say about this in coming days. On to the lineup. There were nuts (not just the people kind ;-), pretzels, meats, and cheeses scattered around the table. I'd swear sometimes that I buy almost as much cheese as I do beer. Trying to clean out the cheese drawer on this night meant putting out Humboldt Fog (one of my no-brainer favorite cow's milk blue cheeses), an English Cheddar, Gourmandise Kirsch/Cherry, Apricot Stilton, a goat cheese Brie, and a French Sheep's cheese whose name escapes me...as does the wrapper that's since been tossed. No matter, it was a wide spectrum of cheese flavors to match the wide flavors and aromas of beers that we were pouring. And, boy were they pouring! Why don't we go through a little run down here of what we tasted? A few of us were in it to sample every beer; some only tried select ones. At the end of the night (aka early morning!), though, it seemed every one had a blast and this may become the basis/template for something I'd like to do on a more regular basis. (in order) Dogfish 60 Minute IPA - off the kegerator tap. A half of a glass while we pondered dinner and the night to come while watching the evening news (who does that any more?). Good and predictable standard.

(Lancaster Brewing's Kölsch: reminds me that I'm so anxious to visit Cologne in October) Lancaster Brewing Kölsch - courtesy of Greg Ramirez at Exton Beverage, this is a new canned offering from Bill Moore and the good folks at Lancaster Brewing. We drank this with our salads for dinner and it fit in more nicely that I expected with the vinaigrette salad dressing. I'm thinking some of this may be coming along for a tailgate or two in the coming months, or perhaps for Ommegang BCTC campsite sipping. Petrópolis Petra Premium Schwarzbier and Cuauhtémoc Bohemia Obscura - both from Brazil and both courteously gifted by a friend, Matt, who was there almost, gulp, two years ago. I say 'gulp' because it's my own fault that one of these was a dumper. I knew full well that neither of these beers should have stayed in the fridge that long and they suffered from being pushed further back one too many times. The schwarzbier held up fine enough to be a lightly roasted, easy drinking bock (as you might expect for the Brazilian climate and palates) but the other--the lager--not so much so. So, even though neither of these turned out to be highlights in the night, this is my humble and public mea culpa.

(Scratch my back; still tasty two years later) Scratch's 10 & 11 from Tröegs - courtesy of Nick Johnson (sales) from Tröegs brewery, again, from almost two years ago. (Sensing a theme here?!) Are you familiar with the Scratch Series? Basically, each Scratch beer is a recipe from the brothers, either homebrew or pre-production experimental, that never quite made it into Tröegs production world of beers. They've been releasing these special one-offs (almost always as one-offs, with a few exceptions) on an almost regular basis now for the better part of 2-3 years. (They're currently up to Scratch Beer #32.) I had no idea which "styles" these two might have been close to, so we simply popped them open and played a little guessing game. Though, we didn't go online to try and research what these beers were intended to be, I did so later on and discovered that we were pretty close. We dubbed the Scratch #10 as "something Belgian", "kind of like a Tripel" and the Scratch #11 as a "nice, easy drinking ale", "kind of like a pale ale." Tröegs website says that #10 is a Grand Cru and that #11 is a Bitter. Not bad, boys, not bad at all. Sly Fox Phoenix Pale Ale - courtesy of The NonconFERMist, Adam brought this over in his little goodie bag that he filled with various cans of beer. This Sly Fox beer tasted somewhat like a slightly hoppier version of the Scratch #11 and generally liked by more around the table.

(Yards Brawler, always fighting the good fight) Yards Brawler - courtesy of TBL's Lancaster County correspondent, Dennis, who had just stuck this in my cooler bag when leaving work a few hours before this tasting. This is a beer from Philly's Yards Brewery which I know many swear by, but for my palate, I still haven't come to grips with. Its low ABV with solid malt backbone makes this a good beer for a wide cross-section of beer drinkers. I try it every couple of months or so, but have only really enjoyed it when served cask-conditioned. The journey continues...

(Newcastle Brown Ale, that's 5 liters in that thar keg...plus another 12 ounces that unfortunately, but maybe predictably tasted nothing like it does out of the keg) Newcastle Brown - courtesy of Scottish & Newcastle in the UK and their US PR firm, Formula PR, this showed up on my doorstep during Philly Beer Week and has been held hostage by the beer cooler ever since. They sent along this 5 liter DraughtKeg, a 12-ounce bottle, and a piece of Geordie Schooner glassware. I'm pretty certain that it's the heaviest beer delivery I've ever received! What better venue than with a bunch of friends to share this and discuss? I remember drinking this around the turn of the 80s-to-90s at both Jekyll and Hyde in NYC and The Dicken's Inn in Philly (some legally, some not-so) and drinking this solid and dependable brown ale from the keg brought back those pleasant memories. Retailing for less than $15 for 5 liters (or, roughly, 10 pints) and advertised to stay fresh for 30 days after tapping, this semms like a smart investment--or gift--to make, particularly for a gathering of like-minded beer folks. Unfortunately, drinking from the clear glass bottle did not. Though, thanks to Adam's suggestion, we turned that experience at the table into an instructional lesson for everyone around the table as to what packaging a beer into a clear glass bottle can potentially do to the beer. I haven't had a beer that was that skunked in a long time.

(Tom figured out the pouring mechanism; actually quite simple)

(Voila! A nice Newcastle with a foamy head) Sly Fox Royal Weisse - Another canned offering courtesy of Adam. This one exemplified the virtues of beer with cheese. Not only did this German Wheat's flavors meld nicely with the apricot stilton, but the carbonation did a fine job scrubbing the creamy cheese from the tongue to marry the flavors and clean away the palate before another sip/bite.

(Unibroue siblings from Quebec) Unibroue Trois Pistoles & Terrible - courtesy of Rick Suarez at Ommegang's BCTC a few years back..I'm thinking it was '07 when late in the festival, I spotted a miscreant take off with some bottles from Rick's table. Ever the good snitch :) I pointed him out to Rick. In the end, he chose to do nothing about it, but rewarded me with a case of mixed bottles from Unibroue that he didn't get around to pouring during the festival. Since then, we've made our way through the La Fin du Monde, the Maudite, the Chambly Noire, the Quelque Chose, the Éphemère (apple), and the 15th and 16th Anniversary beers. These were the last two from the case and weighing in at roughly 9% and 10.5% ABV, respectively, they were bound to hold up well over the years. Both were ripe with dark fruits, the Terrible coming through with a little extra pepper kick (or alcohol?).

(Meat, Cheese, Beer, and Santa...Christmas in July?!) Port Brewing Wipeout IPA & Elysian Immortal IPA - courtesy of ......me! Finally, a couple of beers in this lineup that I paid for. Actually, had made a little Wegmans IPA run the other night and tracked down one each of these along with a couple of others. These two are quite reasonably priced. Being IPAs from the other coast, I figured these should be drunk asap. It was time to get a serious hop fix on in this tasting and these two could not have been more different. Wipeout seeming a bit more of a refreshing hop beer (loads of cascade helps) whereas the Immortal was more earthy (and, hence, a good pairing with both the French sheep's cheese the brie).

(Brooklyn Sorachi Ace, well worth seeking out) Brooklyn Sorachi Ace - courtesy of Howard Weintraub at The Drafting Room, this beer has been on my radar and one of my favorite of the past 12 months, since last year's Ommegang BCTC. This Sorachi Ace hop with Japanese origins brings extra life (lemon rind/zest, a little bit of pepper) to an already stellar saison from these New York City brewers. Ommegang Three Philosopher's - courtesy of BCTC in '07. I think that this was bought from the brewery, but it could've been handed to me, I don't know. In any case, this Quadrupel is further Belgian-ized by the blending of Kriek (cherry) lambic and as a result made for a nice pairing with the Gourmandise Kirsch cheese. This beer, at around 10% ABV and with its ever evolving nature, has held up well for being stored at underneath-staircase temperature for 3+ years.

(Gratitude from East End at the end of a five hour tasting session; job well done!) East End Gratitude - courtesy of, hmmmm....I'd originally thought that this was our take-away thank you gift from Scott Smith at East End Brewery in Pittsburgh for the time that we'd helped to wrap the annual release of the stellar barleywine that he puts out each year. But, then I looked at the label (and the bottle cap wax color, too, is a giveaway) and it said it was the 2nd anniversary celebration barleywine...and we were there at the brewery in '08...so, this one must have been bought from somewhere--if I do the math correctly--it could have been during a visit in '07 to either D's or 3 Sons for western PA treats to bring home. If there was any doubt from the few of us still around the table, at 11.5% ABV and closing in on 2am, this was absolutely going to be the last beer. And a mighty fine last beer it was and one that has aged so very nicely. What an absolutely great night of beer, cheese, and some of the best neighbors you could ask for. Tomorrow, I'll continue on with a great weekend of beer that continued outside of our four walls.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

The Khyber, then and now and to be...

A little bit of post-PBW housecleaning around here turns up an article from the City Paper in Philly. They rounded up a handful of bartenders involved with The Khyber over the years and sat down to talk about its history and cast of characters. Longer than most standard beer articles, but an engaging one none the less....plus, its sweltering outside this weekend....what else should you do than catch up with some reading about beer...while enjoying a beer, of course? You'll get a whole bunch of interesting stories, as well as learning a love story called: "how Brendan and Leigh met". After you finish with all of that, you can read up on a much shorter, more recent, article about the anticipated and debated future of The Khyber.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Gassy Jack settles in on tap at Victory

The waiter claimed the beer was named because of the, uh, intestinal effects that the unique combination of malts and hops in this particular beer deliver after being consumed...or some close paraphrasing of that description. Hm, I was a bit skeptical. I immediately first thought of another Jack (who wouldn't, eh?) that we all know and to whom we could all make humourous inferences, but figured otherwise and instead cracked open the beer menu where Victory's new Gassy Jack Bitter was described. Instead of getting into all of the details, perhaps you can instead read from the picture above. Sure enough, Gassy Jack the Beer is named after an early English settler and publican of British Columbia, John 'Gassy Jack' Deighton. Sounds like a better story than telling a customer that the beer was named because of its fart-inducing qualities...or maybe that's just me (?) To the beer...the important part of the story right? At 4.9% ABV, it starts to get into the session-y ballpark. Yet it still has a firm enough malt backbone to hold up to a Stockyard Pizza full of meats and cheeses. A good and easy drinker perfect for anytime, but especially the dog days of summer. I'm thinking a fillup of this beer is my growler's very near future.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Weekly Beer Calendar Update: July 15th-July 21st

The Tour de France races on and so does the Philly Beer Calendar. Take a scan down this healthy list of events for the next week and tell me where else you'd rather be. Check out the entire July 2010 calendar over here. If I'm missing any that you feel should be on here, let me know. And the Race is On... @Devil's Den, Philadelphia, PA--- Sat. 7/3-Sun. 7/25 - Tour de France (PAYG for Duvel and Ommegang specials and other cycling-related fun) @Old Eagle Tavern, Philadelphia, PA--- Sat. 7/3-Sun. 7/25 - Tour de France (PAYG for Duvel and Ommegang specials and other cycling-related fun) Get yer samples here @Exton Beverage, Exton, PA--- Fri. 7/16 - Friday Night Tasting (5:00pm-7:00pm; Free tasting samples of Yards) @Isaac Newton's, Newtown, PA--- Wed. 7/21 - Specialty Keg Wednesdays (11:30am; PAYG to help kick the Brooklyn Buzz Bomb) @Pickering Creek Inn, Phoenixville, PA--- Thu. 7/15 - Craft Brew Night (6:00pm-8:00pm; PAYG for a selection of Tröegs' Mad Elf, Nugget Nectar, and Java Head Stout) Gotta eat at some point; might as well be with a beer @Jose Pistola's, Philadelphia, PA--- Fri. 7/16 - Lunch with Ithaca Brewing (PAYG for great lunch and great beer from upstate New York) @New Market, Philadelphia, PA--- Sat. 7/17 - Good Food, Good Beer, and the Rest is History (6:00pm-9:00pm; $38/$32/$24 for tasting tickets to a celebration of local food and drink) @Ron's Original, Exton, PA--- Thu. 7/15 - Blues Brews 'n' BBQ (PAYG for food by Jimmy's, beer and music at Ron's) @The Farmhouse, Emmaus, PA--- Thu. 7/15 - Third Thursday Beer Dinner (6:30pm; $35 for a night with Stoudt's beer and seasonally-inspired dishes) Serving up an obscene amount of great beer and good times @downtown Selinsgrove, PA--- Sat. 7/17 - Hops, Vines, and Wines Festival (2:00pm-6:00pm; $40/$10, currently sold out) @The Institute, Philadelphia, PA--- Sat. 7/17 - Bite Me (2:00pm; PAYG for a collection of sour, hoppy, and bitter tongue grabbing beer like Tommyknockers Hopstrike Black Rye IPA, Russian River Consecration, Dogfish Head 75 minute IPA (firkin), Founders Red's Rye, Cigar City Jai Alai IPA) @PJ's Pour House, Westmont, NJ--- Sat. 7/17 - Pour-a-Palooza (12:00pm-4:00pm; $30/$35 for open tastings from almost 30 great breweries) @Teresa's Next Door, Wayne, PA--- Sat. 7/17 - PBW Recap (PAYG for a beer geek's dream like Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout, Russian River Registration Ale, a Russian River Consecration Vertical, Allagash Interlude, Cantillon Cuvee Saint-Gilloise, Pennichuck Pozharnik, Jolly Pumpkin Bam Biere, Jolly Pumpkin Calabaza Blanca, New Holland El Mole Ocho, the beer officially known as "Sierra Nevada ExPorter", Charlie & Ken's Imperial Bock, Russian River Supplication, Founders Devil Dancer and more) And a few others to throw into Miscellany bucket @Chester County Historical Society (across from Iron Hill), West Chester, PA--- Tue. 7/20 - Iron Hill presents...Wild About Beer Class series (6:30pm-9:00pm; $49.95 for a class and tasting about World Class Wheat Beers) @Memphis Taproom, Philadelphia, PA--- Sat. 7/17 - Handmade Market (11:00am-3:00pm; PAYG for unique art pieces, gifts, all sorts of awesome things made by talented people who live in your neighborhood..go inside for great food and beer) @Varga Bar, Philadelphia, PA--- Tue. 7/20 - One Year Anniversary (Open Bar and Prizes during a surprise one hour period between 9pm-2am) @Wegmans, Malvern, PA--- Sun. 7/18 - Grand Opening (7:00am; PAYG for groceries, beer, and The Pub)

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Session Beer gets Bitter

No crankiness around here, just great beer big on hop flavor and low on ABVs!

This one should qualify for Lew's List, I would think. After a fun group sushi dinner at Pod in University City last night, we slowly wandered the few blocks out to City Tap House for a nightcap. Imagine my surprise and delight to find Bitter American from San Francisco's 21st Amendment Brewery on tap.

After a filling dinner of all forms of sushi, a tasty light beer like the Bitter American was just what I needed. You may recall that during the first San Francisco Beer Week last year ('09), at a cask-conditioned beer event at Thirsty Bear, I called this beer--let me see, where is it...ah, here are the words I used--

In short, our overall favorite of the evening was 21st Amendment's Bitter American (hey, I know a few of them!) paired with the Garrotxa (a Spanish goat cheese). Even at 3.6% ABV, this beer and its hop flavors shone extremely well as a cask conditioned beer.

Last night, the revisiting of this beer matched up with my original impressions of it almost a year and a half ago at the source. Bitter American joins other beers from 21st Amendment like Hell or High Watermelon Wheat, Brew Free or Die IPA, Monk's Blood, and Back in Black IPA as brands distributed to Pennsylvania.

While I heartily endorse all of these treats from San Francisco, the Bitter American's introductory timing could not have been better as we continue to suffer from oppressive heat and humidity here on the East Coast. My only complaint is that its currently only coming here in kegs.

It's a sun-sessiony day

I just so happened to catch notice of an event that PJ's Pour House over in Jersey is doing this weekend and decided to plug around their site a bit. They appear to have an up-to-date tap list as of today that focuses on good beer, local beer, and relatively low-alcohol beer befitting the season. Of course, with the two "upcomings" they're shooting the average ABV down a notch or two. I haven't been there in forever...really before they began focusing more on better beer. But, it does seem like they know what they're doing. Anyone agree? WHAT’S ON TAP Wednesday July 14, 2010 Mikkeller Drinkin’ the Sun- American Pale Wheat Ale 2.90% ABV Guinness- Irish Dry Stout 4.20% ABV Dogfish Festina Peche-Berliner Weissbier 4.50% ABV Newcastle Brown Ale-English Brown Ale 4.70% ABV Bear Republic Nor’Cal -American Pale Ale 4.80% ABV Dieu du Ciel Nocturne- American Stout 5.00% ABV Victory Lager-Munich Helles Lager 5.20% ABV Allagash White-Witbier 5.20% ABV Victory Prima Pils-German Pilsener 5.30% ABV Tröegs Sunshine Pils- German Pilsener 5.30% ABV Flying Fish ESB Amber- Extra Special/Strong Bitter 5.50% ABV Unibroue Ephemere- Fruit/Vegetable Beer 5.50% ABV Sly Fox Pughtown Porter-American Porter 5.60% ABV Sly Fox Abbey Extra- Belgian Pale Ale 5.70% ABV Weyerbacher Kilo- Saison5.90% ABV Tröegs Hopback Amber- American Amber / Red Ale 6.00% ABV Weyerbacher India- American IPA 7.20% ABV Flying Dog Schwartz-Rauchbier 7.80% ABV Unibroue Maudite-Belgian Strong Dark Ale 8.00% ABV Founders Old Curmudgeon-Old Ale 9.80% ABV Upcoming Drafts: Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout and Tröegs Nugget Nectar

Monday, July 12, 2010

Bringing home more brewing accolades for Pennsylvania

During a drive to the Lehigh Valley this past weekend, somewhere around the Quakertown exit of the turnpike I hear through my car speakers the name of Wardell Massey. Oh, perhaps I should have begun with, "I was listening to a podcasted version of the National Homebrewers Conference awards ceremony (courtesy of The Brewing Network--thank you)......" Though a general dearth of awards for Pennsylvania's homebrewed beer this year at the NHC gathering in Minneapolis, MN, two men from PA stood tall. The first I'm not familiar with--David Barber of Orwigsburg--won a bronze for his Belgian Tripel in the Belgian Strong category. The second I, like many of you, are quite familiar with around these (Philly) parts. Wardell (Dell) Massey has been brewing up a storm for many years now and winning awards...in this case, none on a stage bigger than this of the NHC. He won a silver this year for his American Wild Ale in the Specialty Beer category amongst 275 total entries. Only six other categories--of 28 total--had more entries. Congratulations Dell!

Planning for BCTC 2010 at Ommegang

I see some Brew Lounge website traffic picking up over the past week from those apparently seeking out information before this year's Belgium Comes to Cooperstown annual event on the grounds of the Ommegang Brewery in Cooperstown, NY. Often referred to as a Top 10 U.S. Beer Event by others and me as well, the event this year takes place on the weekend of 7/31 with VIP activities taking place on the Friday night prior. If you need some background information, want to look at pictures, and/or have some time to kill, the links below should help you to relive the wonder that is each of the past four years worth of fun and funk in upstate New York (btw, this will be year number seven of the event). Hit the comments section below or a drop an e-mail to me if you'd like more information or still have questions. p.s. Other than occasional tickets that I see pop up in online forums, I've not yet been informed of any extra tickets to tell you about. 2006 wrap-up 2007 wrap-up, pics 2007 wrap-up, words1 2007 wrap-up, words2 2008 Primer 2008 wrap-up 2008 Cycling wrap-up (Philly to Cooperstown) 2009 Pre-Game Show 2009 wrap-up

Saturday, July 10, 2010

A Victory (or 30) for NYC at Blind Tiger Ale House

I haven't plugged a Blind Tiger event in NYC lately. With this local angle, I'll make up for it here with the advertised tap list for next Wednesday's date with Victory. My question is: "How in the world are they going to be serving Victory Village?" Other than that, stellar out-of-state Victory list for all you lucky NYC-ites. ~ Altbier (out of Union's inventory) ~ Baltic Thunder ~ Braumiester (Sladeck) ~ Brown Ale ~ CBC Hallertauer Bavarian Pale ale ~ CBC Holledauer Bavarian Pale ale ~ CBC Smaragd Pale ale ~ Donnybrook *on Nitro ~ Festbier ~ Golden Monkey ~ Helios ~ Hersbrucker Bavarian Pale ale ~ Hop Devil ~ Hop Wallop ~ Kölsch ~ Lager ~ Mad King Weiss ~ Old Horizontal ~ PNB (Pacific NW bitter) ~ Prima Pilsner ~ Pursuit Pale Ale Amarillo ~ Scarlet Fire ~ Smoke’n Oats Porter ~ Storm King ~ Summer Love Ale ~ Sunrise (out of Union's inventory) ~ V-12 ~ Village *coffee beer* ~ Whirlwind Wit

Friday, July 09, 2010

Where to watch the Tour de France and drink great beer? (other than my house)

I love the Tour de France. I believe it is one of the world's best annual sporting events. I won't get in to all the reasons why. Jeff Appletans, bicycling extraordinaire and craft beer lover, agrees. He noticed the weekly calendar that I put out a couple of days ago and the Tour de France-related entries on the calendar and wondered if there really weren't any more to add. Well, he has done a bit of suds and cycling sleuthing for us and gotten back to me with a short list of some pretty good beer bars in Philly and where they stand on the topic of showing the Tour. While it doesn't seem like anyone is opening early and showing it live in the morning hours, the way that they might for World Cup games, here are a few places in Philly where you can catch a pale ale with the pedal pulsing action replayed later in the day during normal bar hours. Absolutely... The Belgian Café St. Stephen's Green If the Phillies or World Cup Soccer isn't on, then you can likely catch the race at... Memphis Taproom Local 44 Resurrection Ale House Devil's Den Thanks, Jeff. How about any of you? Where are you watching the race? Do you know of any bars dedicated to tuning their TVs to the Tour de France? p.s. this reminds me of another question....anyone heading to West Chester and the Iron Hill Twilight Criterium tomorrow night?

Thursday, July 08, 2010

Weekly Beer Calendar Update: July 8th-July 14th

Sports and craft beer intersect in at least a few bars around the region in July. Between World Cup action and Tour de France racing, there's great reason to be enjoying some fine craft brew at any number of our fine establishments across the region this month. Check out the entire July 2010 calendar over here. If I'm missing any that you feel should be on here, let me know. Who said nothing in life can be free? @Bell Beverage, Philadelphia, PA--- Fri. 7/9 - Beer Sampling (4:00pm-6:00pm; Free tasting samples of Victory) @Blue Dog Pub, Lansdale, PA--- Fri. 7/9 - The Cure for the Summertime Blues tasting (6:30pm-8:30pm; PAYG) @Exton Beverage, Exton, PA--- Fri. 7/9 - Friday Night Tasting (5:00pm-7:00pm; Free tasting samples of Stoudt's) @Wegmans, Warrington, PA--- Fri. 7/9 - Warrington Boys Bring Their Brews Home (4:00pm-7:00pm; Free tasting samples of Space Monkey, Raspberry Saison, and Hop’Solutely) A sporting chance at a great beer @Brauhaus Schmitz, Philadelphia, PA--- Fri. 6/11-Sun. 7/11 - World Cup at Brauhaus (7:00am-5:00pm; PAYG for specials and giveaways early morning 'til the games are over) @Devil's Den, Philadelphia, PA--- Sat. 7/3-Sun. 7/25 - Tour de France (PAYG for Duvel and Ommegang specials and other cycling-related fun) @Old Eagle Tavern, Philadelphia, PA--- Sat. 7/3-Sun. 7/25 - Tour de France (PAYG for Duvel and Ommegang specials and other cycling-related fun) @Victory Brewing Company, Downingtown, PA--- Fri. 6/11-Sun. 7/11 - World Cup at Victory (2:30pm; PAYG and they're giving away our best Victory branded pint glasses to anyone who shows their World Cup passion by wearing any Futbol (aka Soccer) jerseys) Some things can't be described, they must be experienced @Grey Lodge Pub, Philadelphia, PA--- Fri. 7/9 - Xmas in July (6:00pm-9:00pm; PAYG for such goodies as Manayunk Festivus, Lost Abbey Gift of Maji, Sly Fox Christmas, Tröegs Mad Elf, Port Santa's Little Helper, Heavy Sea Yule Tide, and maybe Eel River Climax Noel) @Nodding Head, Philadelphia, PA--- Sat. 7/10 - Royal Stumble (1:00pm-6:00pm; $45 for rumblin' stumblin' bumblin' fun) Excelling at food and beer pairings @Monk's Café, Philadelphia, PA--- Tue. 7/13 - Local Beer/Local Food Dinner (7:00pm; $45 for food and beer from within a 50-mile radius) @Tria Café, Philadelphia, PA--- Wed. 7/14 - Beer for Winos (6:30pm-8:00pm; $60 for wine styles you know and love alongside Melissa Monosoff’s favorite brews, then compare each with classic cheeses)

Tuesday, July 06, 2010

(Hot) Summer Love in Philly courtesy of Victory Brewing

This here will coincide nicely with the second batch release today of Victory's Summer Love Ale. The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Group refers to it as its "With Love, Philadelphia XOXO Brew". It's another piece of the regional marketing group's new initiative called "With Love, Philadelphia XOXO^®" When word got out that I missed this beer during Philly Beer Week '10 (yeah, I know, it reportedly showed up on the taps of nearly 30 establishments...and at the Victory mothership, as well...don't ask, I missed it all around), the good marketing folks were quick to make sure that I had a bottle to sample. And, now, the second batch is ready to hit the market. So your next question will be: "What does it taste like?"--right? The beer was such a success that many of the kegs were dry before the end of PBW and they were already working on scheduling batch #2 to get them through the rest of the summer. And a decent summer beer it is. (Here's a link to some of the background of this beer, in Victory's words.) After a 100-degree day here outside Philly, I cracked open this beer to see just how refreshing of a summer beer it would be. It measured up pretty well. While it's tasty and refreshing, at an advertised "over 5.5% ABV" it's just on the outer boundaries of what some might consider a summer session beer....that is, one that can be drank one on top of another for a prolonged period of time without severe ill-effects. But, it certainly wouldn't stop me from having two or three. The beer starts off with a light fruit aroma from the 'massively popular' Citra hops. The beer is very clear and just a nick above straw-colored. The body of the beer is appropriately lighter than a typical pale ale, but yet not quite as light on the palate as I might have expected. Then, there's a bit, well actually just a bit more than a bit, of an enjoyable lingering bitterness in the finish. So, yes, for the most part, this beer screams summer. Citrusy, kind of but not too light, and hoppy. In a few sips, it reminds me of a cross between Victory's Prima Pils (the crisp, hoppy bite) and HopDevil (for the malt and also some of the hop punch). Drink a few and you might indeed find that "Philly is More Fun When You Sleep Over!" (another Philly tourism slogan)

Monday, July 05, 2010

Philly Beer Week 2010: Contemplations, Conversations, Ruminations, and an occasional Diatribe: Part 10

(This is the last in a series of ten installments documenting both my time during Philly Beer Week 2010 and insights provided to me by customers, importers/distributors/representatives, brewers, brewery owners, publicans, et cetera. All of whom wanted their comments to be aired, but very few who wanted their name associated with them. Some of you may not appreciate the anonymity, but that's the way it needs to be if we're going to talk about these things around here. You'll need to trust in me that I've gathered up all of these notes and opinions during PBW '10 and am sharing them with you in order to continue the conversation about what will make a better Philly Beer Week 2011.)

Click back to see the nine point fifth in the series.

Philly Beer Week 2010 was a qualified success. In some forums, the death of PBW was greatly exaggerated...but still it does have a little cold that needs to be treated.

There have been reports of canceled events, scaled-back events, reduced-price events, and under-attended events. Does this speak to market saturation, poor calendar scheduling, too many events, consumer indifference, some or all of the above?

No matter, in preparation for next year's Philly Beer Week, some advised rethinking will need to take place. I and others have wondered out loud whether we "really need Philly Beer Week." My ideas on this subject became a bit clearer this year. Since the Philadelphia region has long been established as one of the country's top beer destinations, it could be easy to argue that we don't really need ten days to focus attention on it.

Or maybe it is just that which is the point. But, it's really not that easy.

I, as well as many others that I spoke with during this year's PBW, were fond of saying that we were anxious for PBW '10 to conclude so that we can get to back to the other 50.5 weeks of annual beer appreciation that we normally engage in. A focus on drinking more heavily for ten days than usual is probably not what is healthiest--either literally or figuratively--for the beer geek extreme of which I and many of you are part.

But, as long as craft beer occupies such a small (albeit, growing) minority of the malted barley beverage market, it probably still is a worthwhile endeavor to throw together a quality set of events to help draw attention to the merits of our local beer scene to the less- and un-initiated. With a fine tuning of events and target market demographics, Philly Beer Week can continue to serve a meaningful purpose in a region whose year-round calendar boasts some of the best that the craft beer industry has to offer.

Then, too, of course, it's just plain ol' fashioned good fun to have a period of the year when we celebrate everything that is good about the Philly Beer Landscape without subjecting it to analysis paralysis as some of you no doubt think I may have done over the past couple of weeks in this Series.

So, have at it. There's been a lot of material from different angles that I've shared over the past ten days. I hope that everyone can understand the need for confidentiality in anonymous sources. Typically, I don't look so favorably upon those who anonymously post comments and whatnot.

In this case, however, it became more important in order to facilitate this conversation as part of the wrap-up to Philly Beer Week 2010. For what it's worth, the number of private emails and comments that I've received both on-line and in-person thanking me and congratulating me for helping to air some of the most sensitive feedback from PBW '10 have convinced me that I've taken the proper approach in the last 10.5 installment of this Series.

Remember, I have very little to no "skin" in all of this; this has been some of the feedback from conversations during PBW '10 from "players" in the industry many of whom, up until this point, have felt too uncomfortable to either address their concerns directly or on-the-record. Have they taken the proper approach in addressing their concerns with me in this forum? Have I, in turn, acted judiciously? Hard to say; but, so far my answers would be 'maybe' and 'yes' and that overall I've no regrets. I can only hope, given my five year track record around here, that you can agree as well.

If you haven't commented as of yet, feel free to unleash at this point. Philly Beer Week needs to hear from all of you, consumers included. I can't do this without you :)

Your thoughts, if you will?

Next up...back to business as usual at The Brew Lounge with some good news about Victory's Summer Love Ale.

Sunday, July 04, 2010

All Signs point to Welcoming America to Philly's Great Bars for Great Beer

Patty and I took a rare day off together on Friday without any solid plans or commitments. After taking my first run in eight, count 'em, eight weeks and getting some odds 'n' ends done around the house, lawn, and garden, we decided to jump on the train into Philly to spend a few hours of aimless, unplanned wandering. A little walk-around broken up by a few stops at some of Philly's better bars, or shall we say more 'craft-friendly' bars. It was to be the last pleasant weather day for walking around for the next week, so we took advantage. Hopped off the train at 30th Street Station and made our way along the Schuylkill River Trail up through Fitler Square and over to Resurrection Ale House (it's an approximate 20-25 minute easy and pleasant walk if you haven't tried it) where we caught the second half of World Cup action between Ghana and Uruguay. As has been taking place at pubs around the world, Resurrection had a line of (mostly) guys at the bar watching their favorite futbol/fußball/football/soccer team engaged in lively chatter about the sport and any other assorted pub-typical banter. We got into some roasted cauliflower and pork carnitas while tipping back quality beer from near and far--e.g. Philadelphia Brewing's Walt Wit, Sierra Nevada Beer Camp's Exporter, and Bavik's Petrus Oak-aged Pale Ale.

A real pleasant day, for sure, to be sitting at Resurrection on Grays Ferry avenue with the windows cranked open. Then, after meandering a bit through the neighborhood, we moved on back up Grays Ferry to Grace Tavern. Here it was just a quick stop for some blackened green beans and a 30th Anniversary (Fritz and Ken's) from Sierra Nevada. I know, odd choice for a warm afternoon, but not as odd as if I ordered it up in today's upper-90f weather. Another visit to a pub with a solid group of a growing happy hour crowd...at least those of whom hadn't headed off to the Shore for a long weekend. Finally, we made one more stop at an old haunt that we haven't been to in a few years: Ten Stone at 21st and South streets.

This used to be a favorite stop for quality beer and food and a few games of pool in the side room when we lived in the city. Good thing is, it seems to have maintained a lot of its appeal. I don't know if it's much of a trend, coincidence, or a reclamation of bar space--but it seems to me that pool tables in bars are not as prevalent as they used to be...darts, too. Though, we only partook in the pool and the beer, the ambiance was the same and would certainly still be high on our list of locals if we lived in the neighborhood. We took in two games of pool between us and one game with a group that stopped in after work. I came this close (see me measuring less than an inch with my two fingers?!....see below for evidence) to having a clear shot at the eight ball to finish off our opponents. But, my nicely played cue off the rail came up just a bit short in riding the 3-ball down the rail into the corner pocket.

Oh, and the drink of choice? The ever-dependable Russian River Damnation. This gave us just enough time to walk back to 30th Street Station (but not with enough time, no, for Bridgewater's...since I knew you'd be asking) with about 15 seconds to spare before the doors closed on our westbound train. We made the trip complete with a stop at our "suburban local", TJs in Paoli where my TUD for the day was named Emelisse Imperial Russian Stout and we shared spirited conversation with Jeff and Scott. There was a common thread across all 4 of these stops and I'll bet you'd never guess what it was. Well, it wouldn't be fair to even ask you. It's funny how I was hearing Ray Deter's (d.b.a.) voice in my head saying something like "it's extremely rare to ever find this on tap in the U.S." Well, he's right. But, in the past couple of weeks, there has been no shortage of Petrus Oak-aged Pale Ale on draft. I've been known to say that for as nice and almost perfect of a beer is Consecration from Russian River, I think my palate prefers this Petrus from Bavik Brewery in Belgium, based on their Oud Bruin. And, it was on tap at Resurrection Ale House, Grace Tavern, Ten Stone, and TJs. Get some before it disappears; if you like Flemish Sours, you shouldn't be disappointed. Whatever you do, have a fun, relaxing, and safe holiday weekend.

Friday, July 02, 2010

Philly Beer Week 2010: Contemplations, Conversations, Ruminations, and an occasional Diatribe: Part 9.5

(This is the ninth in a series of ten installments documenting both my time during Philly Beer Week 2010 and insights provided to me by customers, importers/distributors/representatives, brewers, brewery owners, publicans, et cetera. All of whom wanted their comments to be aired, but very few who wanted their name associated with them. Some of you may not appreciate the anonymity, but that's the way it needs to be if we're going to talk about these things around here. You'll need to trust in me that I've gathered up all of these notes and opinions during PBW '10 and am sharing them with you in order to continue the conversation about what will make a better Philly Beer Week 2011.)

Click back to see the ninth in the series. Click forward to see the tenth in the series.

I needed to create an interval here, let's call it installment 9.5 in my series of 10. All other installments in this Series had been written prior to putting up even the first one. But, one that I (intentionally) neglected to include was one focused on beneficiaries (compensation, "interests", and otherwise) of Philly Beer Week. Most likely the touchiest of all subjects I've raised in this expanded 10.5 segment series.

Since this is at least a half-step above my so-called pay grade, I typically make a rule against doing super-sleuthing, expose-writing, scandal-reporting type of work. I have and will continue to focus at least 97% of what I do around here on the positives of the craft beer and homebrewing world.

But, since this topic was raised to me, oh, at least 10-15 times during this year's Philly Beer Week, I figured it's something that should be included here in my 10.5 part series (after all, just check the title of these postings, and this topic seems to obviously belong here in the reams). I'll leave it up to those that get paid the big bucks to dig further to unearth any salient details.

How many times do we hear of scrutiny that is pointed toward beer festival organizers and the charities that they reportedly contribute proceeds to? Goodwill is quickly eroded when good intentions do not measure up to reality when the till is accounted for.

Philly Beer Week, remember, is a concept..a festival organizer..a marketing organization for a grand 10-day event. It's also set up as a non-profit organization. And now, more voices are asking for some accountability...from the inside and the out. Lots of money comes in and some amounts go out. What happens in between apparently has quite a number of people more concerned than ever.

More concerned about who is taking how much in terms of a stipend/salary. More concerned about how the public relations firm is being paid. More concerned about the rising rate of "membership" in PBW. More concerned about what the rising membership rates actually, tangibly give the participating organizations.

From one long-term participant in PBW: "What do I get other than a listing on the PBW website and in the newspaper? Why should I bother to pay $750 when I have my own website, my own email distribution list, my own Facebook Fans and Twitter Followers, my own advertising budget that already puts advertisements in newspapers, magazines, etc?"

And, from another reputable participating establishment: "Why shouldn't I simply throw events where I take advantage of my own resources, online word-of-mouth through guys like you (i.e. The Brew Lounge), and forums like BeerAdvocate, Rate Beer, Burgundian Babble Belt, etc. Wouldn't I get just as many customers to show up for my events?"

From an interested consumer: "There's a whole lot of money floating around PBW. I'm not convinced that they are really a nonprofit organization to the letter of the law."

From a high-ranking participant/board member: "I've been involved with the PBW Organizations and not even I know where all the money goes. I'd love to see a full accounting for the cash flows."

Listen up; I'm not putting all this out there to cast anyone in a bad light...even though I suppose that is how some of this can be construed. So, I go back to one of my original statements above...We're quick to jump on any festival organizer who doesn't live up to their stated charitable intentions or nonprofit status.

I'm not crying foul on anyone yet here around Philly Beer Week. But, enough folks who have vested interests in the success of PBW are raising cautionary flags and I figure it's better to start talking about these things now before it's too late and we're talking instead about how to salvage something that has broken.

That's as far as I'm willing to dig for now; others feel free to pick up the shovel if you can contribute to the conversation. Remember it's all about creating a viable long-term success in Philly Beer Week and beyond.

Your thoughts, if you will?

Enjoy the long holiday weekend. Coming next Tuesday...We will finally take a crack at wrapping up this Philly Beer Week.