Homebrewing has their own Monthly Blogging Event

Looks like Adam should be proud of the turnout for the inaugural group blogging event (sounds sort of racy doesn't it?!). I lost count at somewhere around 20 participants who each pitched in their own run-in with homebrewing. Seems like there wasn't any difficulty coming up with first homebrewing stories. Very interesting and entertaining to say the least. Now let's see how they follow up with an encore topic. My first homebrewing extravaganza was documented here at The Brew Lounge. Not exactly riveting or entertaining, rather more of a documented first-person resource for stumblers-by on the Web. Reminds me that I have some stories (helpful, I hope) to share with you all about my latest batch, a Saison...which just so happens to be my favorite all-around style. Oh, regarding name suggestions for future months (since Adam admits that Homebrew Blogging Day is a bit cumbersome and my own personal pet peeve is that it contains that nasty word 'blog'...but it's not about me), I'll throw a couple in the ring. How about Tales from the Brew Kettle or Mash 'n' Meanderings or Kettle Talk or....

Beer Dates in History: June Anniversaries

135 years Brauerei Beck & Co. 20 years Santa Fe Brewing Highland Pub & Brewery Gordon Biersch Deschutes Brewery 5 years Baron Brewing 1 year Allentown Brew Works Auburn Ale House

Ron's Original is Celebrating Their Grand Re-Opening This Weekend

From the crew at Ron's Original in Exton, PA. Beer, wine, music, WMGK, and Sierra Nevada make it look like a fun weekend to stop in and check out the new place. Here are a few words and pictures from when I stopped in a few weeks back.

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It's time for Ron's GRAND RE-OPENING! The weekend of May 29th-31st will be a weekend long party for Ron's Original Bar & Grille. Come check out this newly renovated and expanded Bar & Grille. The place is gorgeous and we can't wait to share it with all of our friends - YOU! There will be a weekend of events and promotions, check out our complete schedule of events here. The Ron's staff is excited to share our new space with all of you, so don't miss this exciting time. We hope to see you at some point during the weekend! Thank you and be safe! Ron's Original Bar & Grille

What About Those Philly Beer Runs, you asked

The number of people asking me about running lately has increased. With the exception of a certain someone saying something to the tune of "what is it with you and running anyway? I have a saying, 'don't ever trust a skinny beer writer'", they've all been very positive and supportive comments. Let's see... Only after my second marathon did I finally begin calling myself a runner. And, a beer writer? Well, I certainly write about beer, but I know quite a few people that would stop short of sticking the beer writer label on me with all of the predisposed conclusions that people make about beer writers. But, skinny? No way. Relative to others that write about beer? Well, I'm certainly skinniER...but, I'm far from what pops to people's minds when they think of skinny! Let's cut to the factual stuff. I've been dealing with lower back disc ailments over the past few months. In fact, my last run of any significance was the Philly Beer Run that I took a group of around 20 runners on during the second to last day of Philly Beer Week 2008. What a great time that was. But this disc thing has been a blow to my young-at-heart ego that I can't wait to get past. Anyway, it was so great of a time, that it's finally time to try another one. I'm only going to ask that you send a note to me if you'd like to be included on an e-mail distribution list for Philly Beer Runners. I don't wish to clutter up this space with too much talk of running. I realize that many of you couldn't care less about my running exploits. Now that I'm almost healed (said with fingers crossed and knocking on wood and all of that other superstitious stuff), I'm finally ready to begin my 2008 marathon training. (I'm planning to do Philly in the fall.) Each week, I'll do a progressively longer run....called surprisingly, the Weekly Long Run. Since I'm starting from virtually nothing, the first week will be just a few miles. My plan is to let the distribution list know each week via e-mail where I'll be doing the long run and what the route will be. There'll be no commitment on either end. In other words, I'll leave at a certain time with whomever shows up. And, I won't be providing any type of support other than morale....which often is the best kind of support in this kind of training. Then, occasionally, I'll be conducting a Philly Beer Run much like what we did during Philly Beer Week. If you don't know what that was...basically it was a run from point to point, with beer involved in the cool down stage at the end. I'm picturing General Lafayette (Fairmount Park/Forbidden Drive), South Philadelphia Tap Room (city scape), and Ortino's (Schuylkill River Trail) just to name a few. These will be more of a fun run atmosphere, as opposed to training, with a sweet reward at the end. So, there you go; that's where I'm at with running lately. Not so much over the past few months, but a lot more over the upcoming months. Do you want to be part of it? Drop me a line if you do. As for the skinny comment? I'll chalk that up to humor, I suppose, and pretend that he really does appreciate and trust my writing efforts!

Save The Date: Philly Beer Week 2009

Philly Beer Week will return. And it's official. A note from Joe Sixpack this morning confirmed that the dates for the follow-up 10 day extravaganza will be March 6-15. Bigger, smaller? Wider, tighter? More, less? The one thing for certain is the number of days will be the same. I'm already anticipating what next year's installment will look like.

Beer Calendar: What To Do in June 2008

Philadelphia Tue. 6/3 - Allagash Night @Monk's Café, Philadelphia, PA (5pm-8pm; PAYG) Thu. 6/5 - Brewer's Reserve Barrel Tapping (Hefeweizen) @Triumph Brewery, Philadelphia, PA (6pm; PAYG) Sun. 6/8 - Slow Food Pig Roast @Philadelphia Brewing, Philadelphia, PA (2pm-6pm; $40) Tue. 6/10 - Rich Wagner Presents: "Early Lager Brewing in Philadelphia" @Triumph Brewery, Philadelphia, PA (7pm; free admiss. PAYG) Fri. 6/13 - Friday the Firkinteenth @Brey Lodge, Philadelphia, PA (12pm-whenever they all kick; free admiss. PAYG) Fri. 6/20 - Victory Beer Dinner @Brasserie Perrier, Philadelphia, PA (1pm; $75) Fri. 6/20 - Voodoo Brewery & Cheese @Di Bruno Bros., Philadelphia, PA (6pm-8pm; $45) Tue. 6/24 - Sly Fox Beer Dinner @Chick's Café, Philadelphia, PA (7pm; $65) Tue. 6/24 - Odds 'n' Ends Night @Monk's Café, Philadelphia, PA (5pm-8pm; PAYG) Fri. 6/27 - English Beers & Cheese @Di Bruno Bros., Philadelphia, PA (6pm-8pm; $50) Philadelphia's close suburbs Wed. 5/28 - Chef's Table @Iron Hill Brewery, West Chester, PA (7pm; $40) Fri. 5/30 - Friday Night Tastings (Clipper City/Heavy Seas) @Beer Yard, Wayne, PA (5pm-7pm; free) Thu. 6/5 - (Dr.) Joel Armato Presents: "Bridge Street Series" (Part I-Peak Organics/Wolavers) @Earthmart, Phoenixville, PA (6pm-9pm; $3) Thu. 6/5 - Thursday Night Tastings (Blue Point) @Isaac Newton's, Newtown, PA (7pm-9pm; free) Fri. 6/6 - Friday Night Tastings (Tröegs & Joe Sixpack) @Beer Yard, Wayne, PA (5pm-7pm; free) Sat. 6/7 - "Smoke-Free Saturday" Event @TJs, Paoli, PA (7pm; PAYG) Sat. 6/7 - Book Signing with Joe Sixpack/Don Russell @Barnes & Noble, Devon, PA (7pm; free) Thu. 6/19 - Anniversary Release (brewed by Tröegs) @The Drafting Room, Spring House, PA (5:30pm; PAYG) Fri. 6/20 - Friday Night Tastings (Dogfish Head) @Beer Yard, Wayne, PA (5pm-7pm; free) Sat. 6/21 - Garden State Craft Brewers Guild Beer Festival @Battleship New Jersey, Camden, NJ (12pm-4pm; $40) Greater Philadelphia Metro / Eastern Pennsylvania Fri. 5/30 - Cask Ale Night (Chamberlain PA; Ringwood Old Thumper ESA) @General Sutter Inn, Lititz, PA (4:30pm-6:30pm; pay as you go) Sat. 5/31 - 11th Anniversary Party @Appalachian Brewing, Harrisburg, PA (2pm-???; $3 beers, free pig roast) Thu. 6/5 - Design, Drink, & Be Merry (Opening Reception) @GoggleWorks in the Schmidt Gallery, Reading, PA (5pm-8pm; $15/$20) Sun. 6/8 - Design, Drink, & Be Merry (Public Opening) @GoggleWorks in the Schmidt Gallery, Reading, PA (12pm-1pm) Fri. 6/13 - New Beer Debut @Weyerbacher, Easton, PA (5pm-8pm; free samples, bottles available to purchase) Thu. 6/19 - Third Thursday Tastings @The Farmhouse, Emmaus, PA (tbd) Sat. 6/21 - Harrisburg Brewers Fest downtown Harrisburg, PA (12:00pm-3:30pm, 5:00pm-8:30pm; $35/$40; VIP $95) Fri. 6/27 - Cask Ale Night (All Stoudt's: Scarlet Lady ESB; Scarlet Lady "with a difference"; and Black Eye Pale Ale) @General Sutter Inn, Lititz, PA (4:30pm-6:30pm; pay as you go) Elsewhere Wed. 5/28-Sun. 6/1 - Mondial de la Biere @Windsor Station & Courtyard, Montreal, QC (11am-10pm Wed-Sat, 11am-8pm Sun; free admission, beer samples PAYG) Wed. 5/28-Sun. 6/1 - R.A.Re.-3rd Annual Real Ale Regalia @American Flatbread, Burlington, VT (call for details) Sat. 5/31 - 4th Anniversary Party @Russian River Brewing, Santa Rosa, CA (11am-???; PAYG) Sat. 5/31 - Brooklyn Pigfest @Tobacco Warehouse, Brooklyn, NY (1pm-6pm; $85) Sat. 5/31 - Maryland Brewer's Springfest @Harry Grove Stadium, Frederick, MD (12pm-8pm; $TBA) Sun. 6/1 - Champagne Bottle Kick-off @Bullfrog Brewery, Williamsport, PA (all day; PAYG) Tue. 6/3 - Beer Dinner @Brasserie Beck, Washington, DC (7pm; $110) Wed. 6/4 - A Full Lineup of Ramstein @Blind Tiger Ale House, New York, NY (4pm; PAYG) Sat. 6/7 - Brett Fest @Spuyten Duyvil, New York, NY (all day; PAYG) Sat. 6/7 - The Annual Beerfest: A Benefit for Face to Face @Wells Fargo Center for the Arts, Santa Rosa, CA (1pm-5pm; $35/$40) Sat. 6/7 - 13th Annual Pennsylvania Microbrewer's Fest @Penn Brewing, Pittsburgh, PA (12pm-3pm, 3:30pm-6:30pm, 8pm-11pm; $37) Wed. 6/11 - A Full Lineup of Smuttynose @Blind Tiger Ale House, New York, NY (4pm; PAYG) Fri. 6/13-Sat. 6/14 - 11th Annual Real Ale Festival @Pizza Port, Carlsbad, CA (4pm-11pm Fri 11am-11pm Sat; $25 for 8 tasters; $1 each thereafter) Sat. 6/14 - The Brewing Network's 3rd Anniversary Party @Downtown Joe's, Napa, CA (5pm-11pm; PAYG) Sat. 6/14-Sun. 6/22 - IPA Festival @Lucky Baldwin's Delirium Café, Sierre Madre, CA (all day; PAYG) Fri. 6/20-Sat. 6/21 - American Craft Beer Fest @Seaport World Trade Center, Boston, MA (6:00pm-9:30pm Fri & Sat, 1:00pm-4:30pm Sat; $40/session) Tue. 6/24 - Kate the Great Release Party @Portsmouth Brewery, Portsmouth, MA (2:27pm; PAYG) Wed. 6/25 - A Full Lineup of Elysian (first in NYC) @Blind Tiger Ale House, New York, NY (4pm; PAYG) Wed. 7/2 - A Full Lineup of Italian Beer @Blind Tiger Ale House, New York, NY (4pm; PAYG)

Today is a Wonderful Day

So it's good to see from the activity logs here at The Brew Lounge that most of you are not at your computer and likely out enjoying the day as I am. Here in the northeastern part of the United States, and from the looks of weather map, and most of the country, it is one of those days that you can't help but feel good to be alive. I sincerely hope you all have a chance to feel this way during the long weekend as well. You haven't been hearing from me much in this space since I published the 21 tap lists last week (betchya can still find a lot of it) and won't hear from me for a few days. Too many other good things going on right now, plus I get a feeling that you're not in the mood much for reading now during this weekend anyway. Wherever this may find you this weekend, be of good cheer with family or friends (and, of course, a good beer!) and take the time to remember WHAT THIS HOLIDAY IS ALL ABOUT. Cheers!

What's On Tap 5/22/08 - An Analysis

Just because my analytic side can't let go, here's a breakdown at what you can find on tap today at the locations I included. If you missed it, here's a link to download the tap lists. Enjoy.

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Tap This!
  - 21 locations averaging 14 taps 172 unique beers

Drink Local
  - 19% non-U.S.; 81% U.S.; 64% of the U.S. beer is from Pennsylvania

More=Better?
  - Yuengling Lager on 10 taps; Guinness Stout & Victory HopDevil on 9 (Have you guys heard of a stout named O'Reilly? If you haven't, Call Suzy; I only see it on 4 taps); Miller Lite on 8 (it's not the worst of all dem macro lights, imo)

Rounding out the top 10 most found
  - Coors Light 6; Stella Artois Belgian Pale Ale 6; Hoegaarden Belgian Wit 5; Samuel Adams Summer Ale 5; Sierra Nevada Pale Ale 5; 5 tied at 4

What Hop Shortage?
  - 10 IPAs on tap; 9 APAs; 8 Belgian-Style Witbiers; 7 American Imperial/Double IPAs

Surprising?
  - Yards ESA and PPA only on a single tap each (I get a feeling that's about to change)

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21 Tap Lists for today 5/22/08

21 Tap List Salute

Just a reminder that these are out there for your gustatory pleasure. Some times my excessive wording gets in the way of the point...and I didn't want you to miss these sweet looking tap lists that I published yesterday.

If you're around Exton, PA tonight between 6:30pm-9:00pm, stop by The Drafting Room for a meetup. You can find their tap list on the spreadsheet link as well. 21 Tap List Salute

Meetup at The Drafting Room tonight (5/22/08)

Just got the 10th RSVP, so I believe that we should be seeing a keg of the Victory Saphir tonight. If you're in the Exton, PA area tonight between 6:30pm-9:00pm, feel free to stop by and join us for this 2nd Meetup of The Brew Lounge. Now, if we could just get 15 to show up, there might be a keg of Edmund Fitzgerald in the evening for us, too!

What's On Tap tomorrow May 22nd? Funny You Should Ask

What's On Tap - May 22nd - northern Chester County, PA and nearby

Did you think I forgot about this little project called What's On Tap? Remember the last time I did it?

Recall that the idea is that I'm showing you what will be on tap. (Actually the proprietors are doing the telling, but let's not go and get all pedantic.) In this case, what will be on tap tomorrow, Thursday May 22nd.

Keep in mind that draft beer is not always a predictable thing. So, this is the proprietors' best estimation of what will be on tap tomorrow. In any case, it's a nice piece of P.R. for the great beer (local and otherwise) that we have flowing here in these suburban Philly parts.

This time around, I expanded a bit, now have 21 bars and brewpubs participating (last time it was 15, I believe). This time around we've got a new Ron's, an expanded Victory, and a few new entrants like Capone's and Half Moon. But, the biggest surprise to me is Rino's. Always known for excellent pizza and pasta, family-run Rino's is trying to make a splash in the better beer scene too.

While the tap list may not blow a lot of you away, there are a few good ones on there and plenty more of spectacular bottled ones in the cooler. According to daughter Samantha, father Lance is trying to bring in new and interesting (though, I think she might have used the word "crazy" :) stuff. Case in point, there's a poster board by the front door that encourages drinking Saison Dupont with dinner. While there are no plans to have a bar environment, keep Rino's in mind when taking the family out for a decent sit-down dinner or passing through the Exton Square Mall. Thanks to whomever it was that advised me to check them out.

So, click here and check it out. When you click "Open With Excel," or something like that, you'll get two tabs in the Excel workbook...one for all of the establishments and their offerings and one for a style listing for all of the beers. Drop me a line if you've appreciated this "What's On Tap" concept. One of these days, I just might make it a more frequently occurring feature.

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Brandywine Valley Craft Brewers Festival at Iron Hill in Media, PA: 5/17/08

(top: Mike "Rut" Rutkowski; bottom: Paul Rutherford, Chris "Lappy" LaPierre, Jean Broillet, Justin Sproul, Bob "the medal machine" Barrar)

I finally made it to Iron Hill's Brandywine Valley Craft Brewers Festival this past weekend...after years of being thwarted by a wedding, travel, or other conflicts. I picked up my ticket Friday morning online at their website. When I checked back less than an hour later, there was a big "SOLD OUT" message across the webform. Almost missed it again, phew!


The weather was as perfect as a beer festival could possibly ask for. Overcast turning to mostly sunny with a light breeze. The music of XXXXX (a little help, please?) rocked the parking lot and the closed end of State Street in Media. Joe Sixpack was signing books and talking with fans of his work. The Iron Hill clan was everywhere, as were other brewers, sales reps, and owners from over 20 local breweries and brewpubs. Scores of volunteers roamed the scene as well pitching in wherever necessary.

There were a lot of usual suspects (beer, that is) floating around, so if you don't mind having a Tröegs HopBack, a Dogfish 90 Minute, a Sly Fox Royal Weisse, or a General Lafayette Chocolate Thunder then you were just sittin' pretty on this wonderful Saturday afternoon. And, c'mon, does anyone ever really "mind" having any of these beers or other "standards" from our outstanding local breweries?

(Dock Street's Michael Fava)
But, then, every few booths or so was something that just stood out a little farther (at least to me). Like the Rock Bottom Czech Mate Pilsner. Then, the Stewart's Abbey Hoffman. Or, the Dock Street Sexual Chocolate. Yes, you heard me correctly...just try asking Mike Fava for some Sexual Chocolate with a straight face! And, how could I not mention the River Horse Double White? New from their Brewers Reserve line, I was first wowed by it back at The Brewers Plate in March. It still fails to disappoint. If you haven't come across it yet, keep an eye open for it and don't pass it up.

Then you get to the Iron Hill booth. These guys bring their A-game from one of their locations to the next; any naysayers, I challenge. If you came bearing a Mug Club membership card you received your choice from Bourbon Wee Heavy, Bourbon Russian, and Heywood. Sneaky of these guys to find a way to drive Mug Club membership sales on Saturday! I noticed a few people duck inside the restaurant to sign up in order to get to these special beers.


All in all, the reputation of this festival isn't far from reality. It's planned well with cooperation from the borough, police, and brewers. Ticket prices are reasonable given the represented breweries and beers. Charity is involved in the form of the Media Youth Center. Rinse water was almost always available at each table. The event was not too crowded, so it was evident that the ticket sales limit was being observed.

Tidbit from Iron Hill Gang: bottling day for Ring of Fire is in two days.

Tidbit from The Beer Lass: she's got way more pictures (and more fun pics, at that) than I took. Go check out her take on the day.

Picture Prizes for you if you made it here to the end: If these pictures don't scream "family-friendly beer festival," then what does? I'm smelling another caption contest on the horizon. Anyone?

(you should know who the bearded one is; the other you could guess from her shirt. Or a picture from a few weeks ago.)

The Pens are Mightier than the Flyers

It's all over, 'cept the crying. I don't think anyone will tell you, myself included, that the Flyers were the better team coming into this series. Heck, there's a good case that can be made that the Penguins were actually the number 1 seed in the Eastern Conference this year. I saw them play twice in person and several times on TV during the regular season and playoffs. They certainly deserve to be where they are; they really are that talented. But, I'm let down in the way in which the Flyers fell out of this year's playoffs. The regular season was topsy-turvy. The first two rounds of the playoffs were impressive for the Flyers; they knocked off the numbers 1 & 3 seeds. But so many of the players who had previously been standing as tall as ever were just simply silenced and shut down. The Penguins just simply were faster, better puck handlers & communicators, and ably showing off their incredible young talent. So, I'm surprised how little respect the Penguins are already getting against their next (presumptive) challenger, the Detroit Red Wings. Over the next couple of weeks, I'm going about collecting all of the goods that were put up for the beer wager between Philly & Pittsburgh, The Brew Lounge & Craft Beer Radio. The Philly faithful came through strong with 11 establishments pledging all sorts of beer related stuff. Jeff Bearer at Craft Beer Radio is back from SAVOR (keep your ears open for the series of SAVOR podcasts that he's already begun to publish) and putting together a process for distributing the goods to his listeners. If all works out, I may even put together a roadtrip to Pittsburgh to humbly turn over the winnings to Jeff and his listeners...and drink a few beers...and catch a Pirates game. Stay tuned...

TBL Meetup this Thursday at The Drafting Room

Let's get to the special kegs that I promised more information. Based on the number of responses, The Drafting Room will put on a special keg for us. Here's the details: if only I show up: I get whatever they're already serving if 3 show: Great Lakes Amber Lager & a Rogue JLS (either Black Brutal, Charlie, or Brewer) if 5 show: Weyerbacher 12 if 10 show: Victory Saphir (from this year's CBC) and if 15 RSVP: Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter So far, I think, we're at 4. Get your RSVPs in and let's see if we can get a little taste of Eddie Fitz this Thursday at The Drafting Room. You can either comment below or drop me an e-mail at Bryan@BrewLounge.com with an RSVP. Did I mention? Somewhere around 6:30pm.

TJs is still staffed at the bar

Last Friday afternoon's rainy day special showed you a glimpse into the underage drinking scene at one particular ballpark ;-) This week, the weather's even worse, but I've got something better for you. Have a look at what one of the area's favorite bartenders has been up to. Next time you're at TJs bar, you'll be thankful he came out of this experience in one piece. Might as well cover two other points on TJs while I'm at it. Jeff continues to keep the tap list as current as ever. Check it out. While you're there, be sure to support their Smoke-Free Saturday Nights; they may be coming to an end...If everyone who's got something to say about smoke in bars would support TJs, perhaps things wouldn't be ending this way. But, it appears that Jeff may have a decent alternative in store.

2nd Meetup of The Brew Lounge: May 22nd

Is it time for another meetup of the patrons of The Brew Lounge? (uh, wait. Patron implies paying customer. Let's call ourselves friends.) Me thinks so too. Remember last time? Let's do it again. This time, I'm proposing next Thursday, May 22nd, at The Drafting Room in Exton, PA. Hopefully this is not too short of notice for you. This gives anyone leaving the area for the holiday weekend a last chance to have a local beer with friends. TDR will have some tables set aside for us. Adding to the intrigue, the management of TDR has offered to put up a keg of our choosing, the quality of which will be determined by the number of people who reply. Basically, this means the more that reply the more special of a keg that they will put on for us. More on this later. We are also invited to bring any "special bottles" that we may want to share with each other. As long as we remember that we are not freeloaders and will appropriately take care of the staff. And, one more thing? If necessary, game 7 of the conference finals between the Flyers and Penguins is scheduled for 7:30pm. Sounds perfect to me. But, let's not get too far ahead of ourselves! Are you in? Send RSVP via e-mail to Bryan@BrewLounge.com by Tuesday the 20th.

Philly/Pittsburgh beer wager in the news

Bob Batz, beer scribe at the Post-Gazette in Pittsburgh, has caught wind of our little wager with Pittsburgh-based Craft Beer Radio. Barring an historic comeback*, I will be turning in a bevy of beer goodies from the Philly area to Jeff at CBR. Maybe Bob can join us if we have a meetup when this series concludes. * The 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs and 1975 New York Islanders are the only NHL clubs to overcome a deficit of three games to none in a playoff series. Those teams did it 33 years apart. And this year is 33 years from 1975. (source: Tim Panaccio's column in Philadelphia Inquirer, 5/15/08)

Musings from the road; Texas Trio (Grapevine, Addison, & Dallas)

On to Texas, or shall I say back (a few weeks ago) to Texas? After jumping into a rental car at DFW, I left the airport property where I was immediately in Grapevine territory and headed to where I thought I might find the best variety of regional beer in the Dallas area. The World Market chain typically has (where allowed by law) a well-stocked inventory of beers and wines for the customer who also happens to be shopping for home accessories...go figure. I've had good experiences in California, Arizona, and Virginia at stores of theirs. (Unfortunately, the closest one to home, their Delaware location, did not carry beer/wine and recently closed....coincidence?!) This Grapevine location was pretty darn decent to say the least. The wine selection was larger than any I'd seen at other World Market locations. Ditto the beer selection. While I came prepared looking for Saint Arnold and varieties of Shiner that I hadn't seen before, I'd completely forgotten that I should be able to find New Belgium as well. And, find it I did. Okay, before you ask...no, they weren't stocking La Folie or any other of the funk house brews coming out of Colorado! So maybe in that case they aren't that great? What I did find, though, was Blue Paddle, Springboard, Skinny Dip, Trippel, and 1554 Black. I was more than happy to bring these home along with Saint Arnold's Lawnmower, Bock, Amber, and Texas Wheat. An oddball I hadn't seen before was Rahr & Sons from Fort Worth. I picked up a black lager of theirs called Ugly Pug and will let you know how that decision turned out. And Shiner's Black Lager (sensing a theme here you should) was a very roastily-decent drinker. But, don't be fooled by the "only Texans get it" label on this other beer called ZiegenBock. If I'd read the label at all, I may not have picked up this beer because the words Anheuser-Busch lurk in small print. But perhaps I'm glad that I did, because I can flatly recommend that you do not do as I did. Because if you do as I did, then you'll done pour that beer down the drain. Thin, devoid of flavor, and nothing more to say about it. I rarely pour any beer out and won't always point out to you what I don't like. Oft times I feel that it could be the current state of my own palate at the time or personal taste or bias that is influencing whether I in turn like the beer. This one deserves for you to hear about my reaction. Its fact sheet says that is "smooth, full-flavored, and easy drinking." Wow. Really? It won a bronze medal at the 2006 GABF for the American-Style Dark Lager category. Hm, must've been a specially-brewed batch for the competition...or the competition was really weak. Either way, consider yourself warned. You're welcome in advance. After finishing a day of work in Irving, I needed to catch game 7 of the Flyers playoff series. Silly of me to think that going to game 6 the night prior in Philly would have seen things wrapped up and wouldn't need to trouble myself in to finding a barstool and TV in Texas to watch Philadelphia and Washington play a hockey game. Alas, with the hotel not carrying the Versus network (not a surprise) I found myself taking The Brew Lounge show across railroad tracks and through tumbleweed to Addison's Humperdinks sports bar. I didn't really inquire too deeply about the state of beer; I was really only there for the hockey game. From what I seemed to understand from the staff, they used to be associated with Big Horn Brewing. Now, they seem to simply be a very good sports bar catering to local professional and college sports (it's very close to Univ. of Texas/Dallas); in fact, they call themselves Hockey Central. After some wrangling (that's a Texas-born term, I believe...I could use horse-trading but I didn't really trade anything), I got myself into a seat with a clear view of the one TV out of 50 with the Flyers game (42 of the others had the Mavericks playoff game on). A few suspect Sierra Nevadas and Shiner Bocks, burrito, and a Flyers win later, I headed back to my hotel. Great sports bar to watch a game, don't set your expectations too high for the beer. The last stop on the Texas swing was The Old Monk north of downtown Dallas on North Henderson Road. Apparently, they've been around for almost 10 years, but has their beer selection only recently improved? I'm not sure. Figured I should stop in and wait out some Texas Toronados that were reportedly ripping through the area. I won't write much about them here today, as I plan to give them a more thorough going-over during my next trip to the area. They definitely have the proper vibe going on at The Old Monk...dim lights, bit of a small and earthly feel to it, and the requisite Belgian drafts. They have some decent American, German, English, Czech, and others thrown in for good measure too. The glassware and service seems to be up to snuff as well. Definitely worth another trip...that you'll be sure to hear about somewhere down the road.

Musings from the road: Providence, RI

Providence, Grapevine, Addison, & Dallas. It's not exactly New York, San Francisco, and Boston. But, sometimes business travel takes me to places a little farther off the beaten path. I take 'em as they come and report to you what I find along the way. Today I'll give you a few bits about my recent trip to Providence and tomorrow a few bytes about a dip into Texas a few weeks ago. In Providence, RI I knew that I really would not have much time to search out local beer attractions. It was a 24 hour trip that basically took me from the airport to the hotel (less than 1/2 mile from airport) to the client location (a few more miles) and back to the airport. But, along the way, we stopped in for dinner at the Legal Seafoods located just outside the hotel's front door. Good enough, I figured. There might be a local beer or two (Harpoon, Boston Beer, e.g.) but with a presentation the next day, I was more interested in the food from this bastion of New England seafood dining instead of the beer. What I found here, though, continues to underscore the phenomenon of finding better beer in more out-of-the way locations than ever before. We were greeted by a large placard announcing the upcoming (actually, today 5/14) Samuel Adams Beer Dinner when we walked through the entrance of Legal Seafoods. Inside the menu at our table were inserts describing the dinner as complete with Hors d'oeuvres, 4 course meal, and "education." Wow, I thought. Not only was I surprised by a "chain-like" restaurant such as Legal Seafoods hosting a beer dinner that looked more than something just quickly thrown together. But, I was surprised by the location of it. Downtown Providence? No. Long Wharf in Boston? Nope. The location just outside the Providence airport property in Warwick, but of course. Am I the only one that finds the location odd? Who is the customer base? The local neighborhood, who is that? I'm thinking, how often is it that I consider what food and drink events might be occurring at hotels or restaurants around the Philly airport? In fact, what restaurants are near the airport that I would consider going to on any average night? Not to take anything away from Legal Seafoods. The service was great, the food excellent, and now they're hosting beer dinners! It was a full house at 8pm on this particular Tuesday evening, so they probably do a fair bit of business from transient diners just passing through or at a nearby convention. All I say is, good for them, great for the customers. But, is Utopia being served? No, but hopefully I can expect them to be saving that for Monk's, right? More from my Texas trip tomorrow...

Iron Hill's Ring of Fire Porter - revisited and revised

After discussing with Chris LaPierre in more detail, a slight bit of a revision here to what I posted yesterday. In fact, the Lodestone was the basis for Ring of Fire. When the initial result was off the Scoville chart, they went through a series of blending experiments to temper the heat. With the big malt and slight hoppiness of the Pig Iron Porter, they found the porter to be the best match for the Ring of Fire.