Split Thy Skull

There is no shortage of great beer events in Philly. As a matter of fact, I'm sure that my wallet (and financial planner) would be much happier if I didn't follow so many beer people on Twitter and Facebook so I wouldn't always be so in the know about what was going on around the area. I can honestly say that as I sit here typing this there are - without my really even thinking about it - at least 4 events happening that I could (should?) be at. Instead, I sit here writing. And I'm okay with that, because I'm writing to tell you about a can't-miss event this weekend.

Split thy Skull - a Celebration of Barleywine will be held this Saturday, March 30 from 1 - 6 pm at Tattoed Mom on South Street. I've been to this event before and can attest to its awesomeness. This year - the 17th!! - promises more of the same. There will be at least a dozen local and national breweries represented by their finest, and some rarely featured, barelywines including:

Troeg's Flying Mouflan
Iron Hill The Situation
Widmer Old Embalmer
Duclaw Devil's Milk
Boulder Killer Penguin

The beers will be available both individually or in two flights of 4 each.

Drink enough of those and your skull will feel split for sure! And hey, what else are you going to do the Saturday before Easter? (Speaking of Easter, if you don't have plans you should definitely check out the 8th Annual Zombie Crawl, which also takes place on South Street. Tattooed Mom is one of several bars that will welcome zombies that evening.

Perhaps the picture of me below from the 5th annual crawl will pique your interest. Or maybe it will scare you away!

That's me in the pink. Trying not to smile. Because you know, most zombies smile 

Philly Beergasm

I love when I get the chance to do some good with my writing. So when Sam Watson of Collaborate Philly reached out to me about sharing the news about a charity event I was happy to say yes. Even better, it's a charity event that involves beer!

The event, Philly Beergasm, is being held on Thursday, March 28th at Yards Brewing, and benefits Philabundance. Philly Beergasm will be a true love letter to local beer culture. Local breweries Forest and Main and 5 O’Clock Brew, as well as Philadelphia home brewers, will be on hand to provide their fantastic beers. Local chef Dan Berlin of Bongo Zeptobrewery is preparing an all beer-centric menu. Specific items will be made with some of the beer provided by the breweries in attendance. Beer Cakes Philly will provide their delicious beer-infused desserts (and believe me, I can attest to the deliciousness of these desserts. It's what I served my guests at my birthday soiree!). Spodee will be on hand with their wine/beer cocktails. There will be live music, a raffle, a free tour of Yards Brewing for attendees, activities like "Cream Your Own Cupcake," and much more.

Dominion Oak Barrel Stout

One of the best things about writing a blog - even for someone who writes as sporadically as me - is that when I tell people that I write a beer blog, they're usually pretty in to it, and if they're in the beer biz, I sometimes score free beer. For instance, just last week I met a couple of cool guys who were visiting from Baltimore (well, one was from CA visiting his friend in Baltimore, but you get the point). We got to talking and it turns out that one of them is a sales rep for Old Dominion Brewing out of Dover, DE. Luck was on my side and he gave me a couple of samples of their brews - Oak Barrel Stoute and Double D IPA. Both were really good, and got me wondering why I don't see them on tap in Philly. This post won't answer that question, but it will give you my impressions of the Old Barrel Stout.

Peated and smoked malts serve as the malt foundation, and dry hopping is done with vanilla beans and oak chips. The pour is black, with some dark ruby brown overtones. The smell is of coffee, toffee, caramel, and vanilla. The taste is roasty and bitter to start, followed by a sweetness that is caramelly, chocolatey, and coffeey (I know it's not really spelled that way but it followed the others). This is a great beer! While I'm really loving stouts this winter (even with the somewhat mild weather), this is one I could enjoy on a more regular basis, especially since it's only 6.1% ABV. Unfortunately, my stash was limited to only 2.

Now, I'm not saying that you'll get to try the beer for free, but if you see Old Dominion around (and apparently it's available at Wegman's in PA), it's definitely worth a try. Cheers!

A Worthy Beer

I was out in Minneapolis for New Years Eve. As I said to anyone who would listen, who doesn't want to go to the midwest in December/January? Yes, it was cold. There were wind chill advisories because temperatures were expected to feel like negative 20. It's all a matter of what you're used to, though. I went to the gym one morning and while I walked out in my heaviest winter coat buttoned to the top (which was over half my face), my hood pulled up, and gloves on, another woman who was leaving with me felt that only yoga pants that came to her mid-calf, flat shoes with no socks and an unzipped hoodie were necessary to make her feel warm.

While I'm sure you're not interested in the thinness of my blood, you may be interested in a tasty beverage I had while I was out there - Fulton's Worthy Adversary. The 9.2% ABV Russian Imperial Stout was up to the challenge of warming this Philly girl on the coldest of days. Pour was an inky black. Smell was of dark fruits, coffee and chocolate, and the taste followed with coffee, chocolate, roasty malts, and a touch of alcohol coming through. With such a big beer you'd expect the alcohol to be stronger. The fact that it wasn't was both delicious - and dangerous! You could easily get yourself in to trouble with this beer, especially if you don't realize how big it is going in to it.

Laugh at me as you may for visiting one of the coldest spots in the US during the one of the coldest times of the year. I think I got the last laugh by getting to try some of this amazing, locally brewed (Fulton is in Minneapolis) beer.

My best beer moments of 2012

Let me start off by saying I had a lot of great beer in 2012. A lot of it. But since I don't feel prepared to write about all of my favorites, instead I'll write about my favorite beer moments from throughout the year.

1) Not being hungover on New Years Day. Okay, so technically this is kind of like the absence of beer, but as someone who has spent many a New Years Day feeling hungover, it was really refreshing to wake up feeling great. I credit friends of mine for getting married on New Years Eve, and for not having a good beer selection at the reception. Thanks also to John for being a dancer and keeping me on the dance floor most of the night.

2) One of the rites of passage every February is the release of Pliny the Younger. I've had it the past 2 years, but this year I got to have it with John who has never had it before. It was nice to share the experience with him, since I know he had tried to get it in the past but wasn't able to.

3) Having Pliny the Younger (on a separate night than the one mentioned above) as well as Hopslam and Nugget Nectar. Talk about a good night of drinking!

At Closed For Business (SC)

4) In April, John and I went on a road trip. We drove as far south as Charleston, SC, and along the way we made many stops that included great beers. The Churchkey in DC is an amazing beer bar that I can't wait to get to again. We also stopped at the bar in Charlottesville where the Dave Matthews Band got its start. Afterward, we headed to Asheville -- which anyone who knows anything about beer will know it's a beer city. And finally on to Charleston, where we had lots of delicious food and some great local beers. It was an unforgettable trip, and proved that we can travel very well together -- even when driving for hours at a stretch.

Beer Scene Awards at WCL

5) In May, Philly Beer Scene had their first annual Philly Beer Scene Awards. It was a red carpet event held at World Cafe Live and one fun night. I can't wait for it to happen again this year!

Me and the HOG during Beer Week!

6) Philly Beer Week. Enough said.

7) I celebrated a big birthday this past summer. We chose to have a party at City Tap House, and couldn't have picked a better spot. Huge space, beautiful outdoor seating, so much great beer! Best of all, Lee Marren of Stone Brewing provided a keg of Ruination 10th Anniversary as part of the celebration, and Andy, City Tap House manager, opened a magnum of Blue Chimay (!) so that everyone could toast a birthday cheers. Now that's turning 40 in style!

8) The premiere of "Beeradelphia -- The City of Brewery Love." This event was right up there with the Philly Beer Scene Awards. A fun night of beer people getting together to watch a great movie was made even better by all the familiar faces on the screen (including a few unexpected spottings of my own!).  I wonder if everyone claps, whistles, and cheers at Hollywood viewing parties when they see someone they know? Regardless, I'm sure we had them beat with all the brews being served that night.

At Lagunitas

At Bear Republic

9) In October John and I went to San Francisco for 8 days. It was a wonderful trip that included lots of wine and beer. We had a memorable night at Russian River, where a $15 beer flight allowed us to sample EVERY beer they had on draft! We also went to Bear Republic, and had a fun afternoon trying out some of the beers we can't get here. But the best night was at Lagunitas, where we were able to crash a private event after we told the guys who worked there that we were visiting from Philly and wouldn't be able to come back another night. As always, the saying "beer people are good people" proves true.

Our flight at Russian River

10) And finally --  the Stone Epic vertical tasting at City Tap House. This one just took place a couple of weeks ago and it was truly epic! We tasted all of the Stone Epics, except for the '02. Can you even imagine? As if that wasn't enough, each one was paired with a perfect food accompaniment.


So there you go. My best beer moments of the last year. What were yours?

New Years Eve eve

It's the night before New Years Eve and I'm with friends in Minneapolis. I feel like I need more time to come up with my resolutions (because 364 days haven't been enough, apparently). I don't really have the time to alone to reflect on this past year, but I'm hoping tomorrow will allow some "me time" for reflection. I need to do that in order to better see where I've been and where I want to go next year. Again, I'm sure I could have done this earlier than now, so maybe I'll work on not procrastinating next year. Anyway, one thing is for sure. I'll be looking forward to many more good times - and good beers - with friends and family. As always, this year has had it's shares of ups and downs but I'm once again lucky enough to have had more ups than downs. I hope that you can say the same and if not, then I'm wishing you a better 2013. Hopefully I'll be more consistent with writing next year (not strongly worded enough for that to be a resolution, but I can change that).
Cheers!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Why I Love Philly

Recently, the Travel Channel featured the episode of Anthony Bourdain's The Layover in Philadelphia. I know there were were a lot of viewing parties throughout the city in places that were featured on the show. While I didn't make it out to view with my fellow Philadelphians, I had a great time watching it at home. I was proud of the city I love so much; Anthony showed the real diversity that exists in the city, proved that our food scene is far more than just cheese steaks (as someone on the show rightly pointed out, people who live here really don't eat them all that often), and made us look like we're more than just an angry group of people (minus the woman who gave the finger to the cameraman at opening of the show, of course) who throw snowballs at Santa Claus and beat up on tourists.

It got me thinking about why I love Philly as much as I do. Sure, there are problems. Our transit system isn't that great, regardless of what Anthony said. Our public schools are mostly failing. There are a lot of homeless people and panhandlers. But I don't want to focus on what's wrong. I want to focus on what's right.

My boyfriend grew up in Iowa and moved to the east coast about 13 years ago. He was the first person, but not the last, that I heard call Philadelphia "the biggest little city". It's true. It's one of the things that I love most about the city. Because I grew up in the suburbs of Philly, then worked in one of the largest ad agencies here, and because of my involvement in the beer scene, there's rarely a time that we go out and I don't run in to someone I know. It doesn't matter what part of the city we're in - chances are I'll know someone. Now, that might sound like my ego talking, but it's not. It's what makes Philadelphia feel like a community to me. The whole damn city is really just one big community! It's so easy to get to know the people who are interested in the same things you are, if you're willing to make the effort.

Also, it's an extremely approachable city. It's not as big, or as busy, as New York, which makes you feel like you can come in and really get to know the different neighborhoods and the people who live there. As much as I feel that there's a lot of community in Philly, there are distinct neighborhoods. Each one has it's own vibe and offers something to the people living there. I was lucky enough to live Fairmount for 5 years. It was quiet, tree-lined, and full of great culture and restaurants. Then I was even luckier to move to Bella Vista and live there for two years. It was hip, cool, and eclectic. Lots of amazing things going on in that neighborhood to this day, as the restaurants and stores continue to come in to that vibrant area.

Of course, nothing is perfect and Philly most certainly isn't. But to me, it's perfect in it's imperfection.

Prohibition Taproom Events

Celebrate the Repeal of Prohibition at Prohibition Taproom!

This Wednesday, December 5 marks the anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition. Many bars will be doing something to celebrate, and you should take advantage! I know I will.

Prohibition Taproom is celebrating with Founders Brewing Co. beginning at 5 pm. They'll be serving up beer cocktails that were co-created by Jonathan McIntire of Founders and are made with each of the beers on tap. If you can guess the ingredients in your cocktail, you'll receive 2 free tickets to the American Spirits: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition at the National Constitution Center.

They'll also have Curmudgeon and Backwoods Bastard (which I had the other night and can tell you alone is worth the visit!) in bottles, and you'll have the chance to hang with Mike Stevens, Founders co-founder, Michael Bell, and Bob Kaiser.

Best of all, there will be a toast at 9 pm with Bolt Cutter, a 15% ABV barely wine that was brewed to celebrate Founders 15th anniversary. Tickets are required for a pour, and go on sale at 5 pm on the 5th.

2nd Annual Holiday Roast with Don Russell, aka Joe Sixpack

Most beer drinkers in the city know Don Russell, aka Joe Sixpack, either through his weekly column in the Philadelphia Daily News, as an Executive Director of Philly Beer Week, from his blog or one of his 3 books, or just from having run in to him at any one of the many events he can be found at.

Don has agreed to be the guest of honor for Prohibition Taproom's 2nd annual holiday roast (last year it was Steve Mashington, and from all accounts, was a crazy good time).

Come join the fun on Tuesday, December 18th at 8 pm as Don is roasted (think Comedy Central-style roast) by Glen Macnow, Bob Warner, Tom Peters (via satellite), Tom Kehoe, Curt Decker, Ron Goldwyn, and more!!

A portion of the proceeds from the event will go to Philabundance. Can't make the event but still want to donate to Philabundance? Prohibition Taproom is an official drop off point for food donations from December 1st to the 22nd.

Into the Black

Last Friday was Black Friday and many bars in the area easily used this as an excuse to have dark beer events, many with clever names. The only one I went to was at City Taphouse and the event was called Into the Black. I thought this was an apt name not only for the event, but also for where my tastebuds have been going lately. Not satisfied anymore with just dark beers - stouts and porters - my tastebuds suddenly seem to be wanting bourbon-barrel aged dark beers. I hardly recognize myself! Just a couple of years ago I tried a Lost Abbey Angel's Share. I even wrote about it here. I didn't love it. The taste of the bourbon was too overwhelming. Well, I'm happy to report that no longer seems to be the case. Now, I can't seem to get enough of the taste. Next thing you know, I'll be loving bourbon on its own. Or sour beers. Who knows how far the madness will go.

I've tried a number of fantastic beers over the last week or so. Without further ado, some of my very favorites.

Avery Brewing Uncle Jacob's Stout. This big 17.4% ABV beauty is aged in first-use bourbon barrels for 6 months. Yes, it's boozy but not as much as one might expect. While definitely a sipper, it's still supremely drinkable. Be careful with this one. It will knock you out.

Founder's Kentucky Breakfast Stout. I said to someone at the bar that it was the first time I was enjoying the KBS. They were surprised that I'd never had it before. Me, too! But I can tell you it won't be my last. So delicious! It's aged in oak bourbon barrels for over a year, but you would never know it.

Dock Street Barrel Aged Prince Myshkin's Imperial Stout. Aged for 11 months in oak barrels that previously held pinot noir, the Prince Myshkin is wonderful. Creamy, smooth, and full of roasted chocolate, dark fruit, caramel flavors this is a must-try.

Were there others I enjoyed? You bet. But these were the standouts that I'm still thinking and talking about, and the ones I would encourage you to try if you have the chance.

Drinking during pregnancy

I'm not sure how this will make me sound, but one of the reasons, among many, that I've worried about the day that I get pregnant is the idea of not drinking for 9 months. Or however many months, since I understand it takes some time for most people to realize they're pregnant.

I have other, better reasons for pregnancy concerns but the not drinking definitely is on that list. It's been a big part of my life for about 20 years (yikes!!). I've always said that it's the perfect companion for any situation, helping to celebrate the good times and make easier the bad ones. Most importantly, I just love it. I love a refreshing beer on a hot summer day. Or a big, boozy one on a cold winter day. Or really, just a beer on any given day. So I was plenty excited about the latest news out of Denmark saying that moderate drinking during pregnancy may not affect a child's neurodevelopment.

Not one but five studies came out earlier this week suggesting that women who drink low (defined as one to four drinks per week) to moderate (defined as five to eight weekly drinks) levels of alcohol during early pregnancy may not risk neurological and psychological damage to their child. It's also important to note that in Denmark a drink is defined as 0.4 ounces of pure alcohol whereas in the U.S. an alcoholic drink is defined as 0.6 ounces.

The studies, which followed more than 1,600 pregnant women, looked at the effects alcohol had on children's IQ, attention span, and "executive function" skills- skills that relate to planning, organization and self-control.

 The studies found that low to moderate weekly drinking and binge drinking (defined as five or more drinks in a single setting, which most women said they did only once) had no significant effects on a child's neurological development. Women drank, on average, around 17 weeks (first trimester). There were no differences in IQ test scores or other tests that measure executive function in those children whose mothers drank low to moderately and those children whose mothers didn't drink at all. Interestingly, children whose mothers drank heavily (nine or more weekly drinks) did have lower attention spans when the child reached five years old.

Of course  there are many caveats, and the CDC stands by their recommendation that pregnant women not drink at all. Personally, I know friends who have drank - very moderately - during pregnancy and their children are fine. I'm not sure which side of the line I'll come down on, should the day come I'm pregnant, but I'm not going to lie and say I'm not relieved that there is some news out there that drinking moderately may not be the worst thing ever for an unborn child. If I do decide to have a drink at least I won't feel like a monster.

Where do you fall on this question? Would you drink, or have you, while pregnant?

Summertime and the beer is easy

Summer may not arrive officially until June 21, but don't tell that to the 90 degree weather and high humidity we're expecting over the next few days. I may be one of the few people alive who seriously dislikes summertime. The heat.  The humidity. The limp locks and constant sweating. Bleh! Give me a good snowstorm over those any day.

Lest I sound too curmudgeonly, there are a few things I do enjoy about summer. The long hours of sunshine. Beautiful blue skies. Baseball games. BBQs. And I definitely dig a lot of the beers that become available. Below are some of my favorites that have been popping up around the city.

Bell's Oberon: An American wheat beer brewed by Bell's Brewery out of Kalamazoo, MI. This is a summer classic. Light, refreshing with a fruity - orange - taste, and touch of spice coming through. Clocks in at 5.8% ABV, so nothing crazy.

Troeg's Sunshine Pils: This is one I've written about. You can read my review here.

Sierra Nevada Summerfest: I love hoppy beers, and this is a hoppier summer beer (even though it's a lager). There are tastes of orange and spiciness, as well as bready malts. Just a really good, really easy-to-drink brew, especially given it's just 5% ABV.

Evil Twin Bikini Beer: I'll admit that adding this one is almost unfair, since your chances of getting one are pretty limited. I bought this while I was road tripping down the east coast about a month ago and the closest I've been able to find it to Philly is at State Line in Elkton, MD. Having said that, it's totally worth the drive if you have the time and inclination to seek it out. To say that this is sessionable is almost an understatement; it comes in at just 2.7% ABV! Most amazingly, it's flavorful. A really nice balance of malts and citrusy hops. I could literally drink this all day long.

Victory Summer Love Ale: This crisp, refreshing blonde ale comes in at 5.2% ABV. It has a nice bite to it that is somewhat hoppier than you might expect from this type of beer, mixed with some nice toasty, breaded malts.

Sam Adams Summer: Another American wheat ale brewed by an original in the craft beer movement. This brew uses Grains of Paradise, a rare pepper from Africa, to impart a slightly spicy flavor in addition to the citrus and crisp wheat flavors that come through. Another day-long drinker, this one is just 5.3% ABV.

One thing these all have in common is the lower ABV (which I like, especially after the triple IPAs and Imperial stouts that get me through the colder winter months). They're also all crisp and refreshing, making them the perfect accompaniment to your summer activities. What are some beers that you enjoy during the dog days of summer?

Philly Beer Week, the aftermath

That sound you hear? It's the sigh of livers across the Philadelphia area realizing that Philly Beer Week has come to an end for another year. I decided to sit out the official close yesterday, figuring I'd done enough during the week. I was mightily impressed with the number of people still out, drinking and having fun (according to their Twitter feeds, anyway).

Having said that, there's still plenty of good beer to be found around the Philly area for those that didn't get enough over the past 10 days.

Use the hashtag #pbwleftovers to search on Twitter to find out who is pouring what. You should also use that hashtag to post something if you're out and about and find something good on tap.

For those that truly don't want to let a good thing end, there are plenty of after events still taking place (hey, those kegs aren't going to kick themselves). You can find out what's going on by visiting phillybeerweek.org for all the information.

I, for one, will be taking it easy the next couple of days. See you out there again soon!

Philly Beer Week, Days 8 and 9

As I write this, the sun is up and shining and it's the last day of Beer Week. As usually happens, I met this day with a sense of relief. No, I don't have to go out every day during Beer Week, and I obviously didn't. But I still went out much more than usual, and I'm looking forward to my usual routing kicking back in.

Having said that, here is my wrap up of Days 8 and 9.

Day 8
Day 8 was an exciting one for me - John was coming home. I knew I'd have some time to kill before I had to meet him at the airport, so had decided to head to South Philly, where it would be easy for me to jump on 95 to pick him up. I wound up at P.O.P.E. with some friends, and while they weren't doing anything specifically for Beer Week at that time, they had the Allagash Yakuza on tap. Yakuza is the Tripel dry hopped with Sorachi Ace and Cascade hops. It's a big beer at 9%, but extremely well balanced and tasty. I think it's pretty rare - there's only 2 reviews for it on Beer Advocate and 3 on Rate Beer! I also had the Elysian Loser Pale Ale, one of my favorite pale ales. So flavorful!

After getting John from the airport, we headed to Misconduct Tavern. I love their burgers and we were both hungry for some dinner. I had the Harpoon Catamount Maple Wheat, a wheat beer brewed with Vermont maple syrup, which was quite good. After dinner we headed to Monk's, because even with all their great beer events I hadn't been there during the week. Again, nothing really going on per se, but they did have some great Russian River brews on tap, including one of my all-time faves, the Blind Pig, which is what I eagerly ordered.

Decided to take a little bit of a walk on to the other side of Broad Street, and found ourselves at Varga, where they were having Weyerbacher night. I had the Weyerbacher Victor, an India Red Ale, and their latest in the Brewer's Select Series. Really drinkable and delicious, and only 5.8%. I also had the Last Chance IPA, which I'd had earlier in the week.

We found ourselves at Tria after leaving Varga. Grabbed more food and I actually switched to a glass of wine at that point. Having only water probably would have been smarter, but I enjoyed the wine nonetheless.

Home was next on our agenda, and much needed at that point.

Day 9
I could tell Beer Week was getting to me, as I slept until 10:30, which I never do. Had a bit of leisurely morning - John was acclimating back to east coast time, and he slept until noon. He probably would have slept later if I hadn't woken up, but my stomach was telling me that some serious food was in order. We headed over the Memphis Taproom where they were having a home brew event. After having brunch (and a Brussels Calling from Brasserie de la Senne) we headed out to the beer garden where the beers of several home brewers were being showcased. Really fun event. We got to try some different beers, and met people that I'd been following on Twitter that I hadn't met in person before. I had a lovely lavendar saison brewed by Bombshell Brewing, a Candadian Bacon IPA (two of my favorite things in one drink!), a Wit or Witout (Belgian Wit) from St. Benjamin Brewing, an English Pale Ale by Mellody Brewing, Fishtown Smally (a Trappist-style table beer), Summer Blonde, and Love Bite (English Ruby Mild).

Headed over the Royal Tavern, because we were both hungry again. They had a Troegs Tap Takeover, and I had the Sunshine Pils, one of my favorite summer beers.

From there we headed out to celebrate a friend's birthday. So once again, Beer Week fun ended but the party continued on.

Not sure what's on the agenda today. May head out for one last hurrah, or may start the detox process. I guess we'll see soon enough!

Philly Beer Week, Day 6

I had another great day celebrating craft beer in Philly on Wednesday.

The day started off at The Water Works Interpretive Center, with an event put together by Great Lakes. Let me say that I've been to the Water Works restaurant and have been past this building hundreds of times and I had no idea that there was anything other than the restaurant. But there is, and it's so interesting! You learn about the history of The Water Works, and many interesting facts about water and the ties between water and the development of Philadelphia. For instance, the Philadelphia water department was the first to supply an entire city with clean drinking water. And how about the fact that Fairmount Park, one of the largest urban parks, was established to protect the drinking water? But back to the event... there was a brief, but in-depth, presentation from Rich Wagner, author of ... , on the history of brewing in Philadelphia. It was a really educational couple of hours made even better by the addition of Great Lakes beers! I got to have one of my favorites - the Commodore Perry IPA - and got to try the Rally Drum Red Ale, typically only available at the pub.

Next I stopped by the Four Seasons With Love Beer Garden. On tap that day were a couple of new local brewers including Round Guys and Evil Genius. I had the Evil Genius Big Eye PA, which I really enjoyed. I also had an amazing shrimp taco. Definitely wish I'd made it out to see more brewers at this garden. Didn't spend too long here, because I was excited to get over to St. Stephen's Green for their Bell's event.

For those that don't know, SSG (as I refer to it) is the place I have to thank for my love of craft beer. I was lucky enough to live across the street from this great bar for 4 years. Thanks to the wonderful people that work there, I was able to constantly try new beers. If I didn't like something I'd ordered (which happened fairly frequently as I was getting used to all the new beer flavors), they were always willing to give me something else to try. Just love!

My last beer of the night was a Bell's Black Note, and what a way to end the night. This big, 11.5% brew is a combination of the Expedition Stout and Double Cream Stout aged in newly retired oak bourbon barrels for months. I'll admit it was a bit potent for me. I don't love bourbon, and the flavor came through a bit too strong for me, especially given some of the beers I'd been enjoying earlier in the evening. Having said that, I'm really  glad I got to try it.

Day 7 was a day off for me. But here we are at Day 8 and I'm looking forward to some good  times tonight.

Philly Beer Week, Day 5

As I mentioned in my last post, I stayed in on Monday so don't have a recap of Day 4. However, Day 5 proved to be a good one.

I met up with my friend Heather at The Belgian Cafe, where they were having a Southern Tier Tap Takeover. Southern Tier makes one of my favorite seasonal beers, the Pumking. You can read my review of it here. Belgian Cafe was offering oak-aged Pumking. As delicious as it was, Heather and I both agreed that we both prefer the original. We also had the Inquity, an Imperial Black Ale, which I really loved. I've never had it before and am looking forward to having it again soon.

From there we went to London Grill. Earlier in the day they'd had a Dunk the Rep event, but unfortunately that was over by the time we go there. I had a Weyerbacher Last Chance IPA. A couple of things about this beer. It was just released last week, and it's replacing one of my favorites - the Hops Infusion - so it's a good thing I liked it as much as I did! Also, Weyerbacher will be donating a portion of all proceeds from the sale of this IPA to small, regional animal rescue operations.

On to Time Midtown. They were having an Ommegang night, but neither of us actually wound up with an Ommegang beer. Instead I had a Saranac White IPA, which I really enjoyed. It was a light, refreshing IPA that was a nice balance in flavor between wheat and hop.

Was going to call it a night after that, but on my way home I saw that there was an Allagash night at Uno's Maple Shade, so I stopped in for a try. I had a flight, which consisted of  the Victor, Saison, Tripel, and Dubbel. Always good beers from Allagash, and last night didn't disappoint.

It was a very nice, if low key (which is respectable for a Tuesday) night. More events on my agenda later today, so will see where the night takes me.

Philly Beer Week, Days 2 and 3

The first weekend of Philly Beer Week is over, and I made it through! I think I'm getting smarter about this whole drinking thing because I managed not to have a hangover at any point. So that only took about 20 years.

Anyway, what a great weekend it was! The weather couldn't have been better, and the events I went to couldn't have been more fun. Let's start with Saturday, or Day 2.

Day 2
After getting a very late start, I made it to The Pour House in Collingswood for lunch where they were having a Goose Island Tap Takeover. It was also the Haddon Pub Fest, but we didn't do any crawling. Finally made it in to Philly a little before 5 and headed straight to Varga where they were having their annual block party. Although it was late in the day (the event only went until about 6), we were still there in plenty of time for fun and good beer. There was a DJ spinning great music and everyone was just chilling out, enjoying the beautiful skies and light breeze. The block party ended and then it was a Great Lakes Tap Takeover event. Got to have some of the great beers from Great Lakes before heading to the next destination.

Devil's Den was next on our list. Although there wasn't anything in particular happening while we were there, we benefited from earlier events in the form of rare/new beers. I got a flight, which consisted of Ballast Point Even Keel (an amazing, tasty session beer that's only 3.7% ABV), Reprisal Centennial Red from 4 Hands Brewing, Belgian Tripel from Neshaminy Creek (really liking what these guys are doing!), and a Choco-Latte from Williamsburg AleWerks.

Our Beer Week adventures ended there, but the fun continued as we helped a friend celebrate his birthday.

Day 3

Sunday was another beautiful day. Unfortunately, I had to take John to the airport as he'll be in LA for the week for work. I was sad to drop him off, but luckily I had some Heady Topper from The Alchemist at Misconduct Tavern to look forward to. This was the first I've had of the Heady Topper; it was from a keg and it was honestly awesome. I've heard some say it's a strong rival against Pliny the Younger, and I agree with this sentiment! Next up was a Lavery Oak-aged Lipoard Oir, from Lavery Brewing, which even after the bitter bite of the Heady Topper still came through as a beautiful saison.

The artist at work

 The best part of Sunday was absolutely Mat Falco of Philly Beer Scene getting his head shaved by Casey Hughes. I believe Mat's been growing his hair for 2 years. To the left you can see what Casey had to work through. I don't even have the words to describe how much fun it was to see this happen.
Mat was a great sport, although more than once I'm sure he had to be wondering what he had gotten himself in to.

The end result

Casey did a nice job, although Mat may feel differently. You can see more photos here.

Next up was the Cirque de Sasion at Tapestry. This was a great event for kids and adults. There was face painting, live music provided by Slo & Shakey, men on stilts, hoola-hooping, and an amazing array of saisons. I had the Del Ducato Nuova Mattina. Delizioso!

Making my way north and east, I wound up at Standard Tap where they were having a scratch beer showdown between beer writers Lew Bryson and Jack Curtin. Both used Troeg's facility to brew their beers; Lew's was a Zwickel Licker and Jack offered a Biere de Grouche. It was essentially a dead heat, with Jack beating Lew by just three glasses. (I'll be honest. I didn't stay until the end and I just read online what the outcome was). Having tried both, I'd say they were both winners.

It was an epic weekend, followed by the need for a day off, which is why I won't be posting anything tomorrow about Day 4. My Day 4 consisted of lots of TV time and water. Back at it again tomorrow (Day 5) and am excited for what the night will bring.

Photos courtesy of Stephen Lyford.






                                                                                

Philly Beer Week, Day 1

Yesterday was the start of Philly Beer Week. Leading up to it I was feeling a sense of excitement, but when I woke up yesterday I couldn't wait for the fun to begin. It was that feeling of anticipation that is reserved for big events like Christmas morning when you were a kid, or the morning of your wedding.

There are so many events taking place each day it's hard to decide what to do. A few years ago I wasn't working and went to multiple events every day (except for Wednesday. I remember I needed some downtime at that point). It's really exhausting for the beer drinker and even more so for those working the events. As I said to someone last night, it's hard for me to complain to someone about how tiring Beer Week is when he was going to be working 20 hour days. I'll just be drinking!

Day 1 was a good one. I'd been thinking about following the Hammer o'Glory on its way to Independence Hall for the official first keg tapping, but I decided it was smarter to wait to start drinking until later in the day. Since I was going to the Opening Tap festival, it seemed a good idea to head over to Old City, where we'd be within walking distance of Independence Visitor Center. I'm glad we did.

First stop was Eulogy Belgian Tavern, where they were having a Firestone Walker event. Obviously one of the points of beer week is to enjoy new, rare beers - of which there promises to be plenty! I had the Wookey Jack, an unfiltered black rye IPA (which happens to have just been released), and DBA, an English pale ale, which was the 2011 Great American Beer Festival Gold winner for English/Special Bitter. Both were delicious, which isn't surprising. Having had the Double Jack and Union Jack before, I knew I could expect something special from these guys. I also got to meet Dave Walker, co-founder and brewer. He was a lot of fun to talk to, and not just because he was easy on the eyes and had an accent (although neither of those hurt).

Next up was The Irish Pol, where they were having a 4 Hands event. 4 Hands is a brewery out of St. Louis that isn't even yet distributed in Philly. I had the Single Speed Session, an American blonde ale brewed with elderflower, red wheat, and three different varieties of hops. It was very light and refreshing. The brewer was there but since we wanted to head over to Opening Tap, we didn't have a chance to talk to him.

Opening Festival was the same fun event it's been for the past 3 years that I've gone. Yes, there are a lot of people but you never wait long for a beer. I got to try a lot of beers from new local brewers, including Round Guys, Neshaminy Creek, Evil Genius, Springhouse, and Free Will. And of course all the usual suspects were there. I'll post a link to pictures once they become available.

Today is beautiful and I'm looking forward to the fun that lies ahead. I'll post tomorrow about the events I make it to today.

Drink This, Not That

Yesterday the Today Show (admittedly one of my favorite shows and one that I hate saying anything negative against, but they forced my hand) aired Drink This, Not That, a variation of one of their regular segments Eat This, Not That, during which author Dave Zinczenko explains healthier substitutes for high-fat, high-sugar, high-calorie foods. Yesterday they focused on the worst summer drinks. I was only half listening, since I never drink ice cream shakes (although it was interesting to learn that 32 oz of Baskin Robbins Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Shake is equivalent to 8.5 Krispy Kreme donuts!); however, I really paid attention when they got to the subject of beer.

Dave, author of the book Eat This, Not That and an editor at Men's Health, suggested - with a straight face - substituting Michelob Ultra for Goose Island IPA. I was actually enraged and tweeted about it immediately. To me it spoke to everything that is wrong with people who don't get what craft beer is all about. It's not about calories, it's about enjoying what you're drinking. Enjoying flavor. Enjoying variety. Not throwing something back just because it happens to only have 95 flavorless calories.

Now, I'm not trying to suggest that calories don't matter. Of course they do. Especially in the summer when we're wearing less and showing more. I just think that there are better ways to watch calories than skimping on beer. For instance, I rarely eat buns with burgers or sandwiches, and I'll usually order a side salad instead of fries. To me it's worth it, because I'm drinking a beer that I'm actually enjoying (it's also a reason that I rarely order dessert; I prefer drinking my calories to eating them).

You can also look for great-tasting, low calorie beer. Yes, they do exist! The calories in beer come from sugars that are responsible for the alcohol in the beer; therefore, higher ABV beers have higher caloric content. Lucky for us, it's not just summer that these "light" brews are available; the return to more sessionable beers that many brewers are embracing assures us that delicious, lower calorie beers are always easily found.

What are some of your favorite "light" beers and what do you do (if anything) to save for beer calories?

Best of Philly Awards Show

Tuesday night was Philly Beer Scene's first annual, red- carpet Best of Philly awards show, and what a fun night it was! Held at World Cafe Live, beer lovers of all sorts - brewers, writers, distributors, pushers (sales reps), and drinkers - were present.

Being treated like celebrities

As soon as you arrived, you knew something special was going on. Photographers waited outside to capture your image as you walked in on the red carpet. More photo opportunities were afforded by the Philly Beer Scene/ Best of Philly Awards back drop immediately inside.

The emcee with the mostest

Philly Beer Scene, and Mat Falco in particular, should be congratulated on pulling together such a great show. Joe Gunn of Jose Pistolas was the perfect emcee. He was funny, engaging, and extremely entertaining, as were the presenters. Some had skits planned, some didn't, but regardless of how they presented, everyone did a really good job. The band, Swift Technique, was fantastic (and funny, especially when Joe asked them if they wanted something to drink).

Swift Technique

Since the theme was giving the best in the Philly beer scene their due props, you can imagine there was some tasty beer flowing. I enjoyed a couple of glasses of the Victory Ranch Double R IPA, but was disappointed that the Forest and Main IPA had already kicked when I finally got around to asking for one.

"Who cares about all that?", I can hear you saying. "I just want to know the winners!"  I'll be honest, I tried to capture as much as I could, but then long periods of time would go by and I'd realize that I hadn't written anything in a while and I'd be lost trying to remember what else had been presented. So, without further ado (and probably some missing) - The Winners (that I remembered to write down):

Best Brewery Rep: Mike Lubieski, Weyerbacher
Best Distributor in Philly: Bella Vista 
Best Belgian-style beer: Weyerbacher Merry Monk's
Best Bottle Shop in Philly: Craft Beer Outlet
Best Wholesaler: Origlio
Best European Beer Bar: Monk's
Best Beer Writer: Lew Bryson
Best Place to Watch Sports: City Tap House
Best Home Brew Store: Keystone
Best Dark Beer: Victory Storm King Stout
Best Pale Ale: Yards Pale Ale
Best Bourbon-barrel aged: Weyerbacher Insanity
Best Brew Pub: Iron Hill
Best Beer Bar: Standard Tap
Best New Bar in the City: Barcade
Best Brewery: Victory
Best Brewmaster: Chris Wilson, Weyerbacher

Forgive yourself if you didn't make it out to this year's event, but don't miss (what will hopefully be) the next one!

PS. check out the latest issue of Philly Beer Scene, which has the complete list of winners, including some not announced at the awards show.

Photos are courtesy of Stephen Lyford. You can see more here.

Italian Market Festival

Three years ago I moved from the Fairmount section of the city to South Philly (Bella Vista). I'd lived in Fairmount for 5 years and I was ready for a change and excited to experience another part of the city. I moved in the weekend of the Italian Market Festival, something I'd never attended, let alone heard of. I couldn't go on Saturday, because of the move, and awoke early on Sunday, eager to see what the event would be like.

And what an event it was! Everyone, everywhere dancing and singing, eating and drinking. It didn't matter the person's age, gender, or ethnicity. Everyone was having a great time. I was almost in tears with happiness over the great luck of having moved to such an amazing, vibrant area.



This past weekend marked the 9th annual Festival, which takes place on 9th Street between Fitzwater and Federal Streets. I went, and was reminded of that first experience 3 years ago. The street was packed with people having a great time. The weather cooperated beautifully, giving us festival-goers sunny skies and a light breeze to ensure we didn't get too hot.

A main focus at the Festival, is, of course, the food. And not just the pizza, pasta, and meatballs with gravy you'd expect to find at an event called the Italian Market Festival, although there was plenty of that to be had. In keeping with the diversity of the neighborhood, you could also find Mexican and Vietnamese vendors offering treats like sausage and peppers, grilled corn on the cob, cured meats, and more. There was no shortage of pastries and other delectable sweet treats, either.

No street festival is complete without music, and there was no reason to be disappointed here. Between the DJ set up at 9th and Christian, to the live bands that played at 9th and Washington, and the other DJ stage at 9th and Federal, no matter where your stroll took you, you were sure to be rockin'. The best part for me has always been seeing everyone dancing through the streets, especially as the day gets older and the beer takes hold (more on that in a minute).

As if food and music weren't enough, there were plenty of artists set up selling everything from jewelry, to prints, to paintings, to clothing.

Of course one of my favorite parts is the drinking. While many restaurants were selling limoncello shots and Peroni, 12 Steps Down appealed to me with their craft brew offerings, including Troegs Sunshine Pils and Bells Two Hearted. So much fun to be able to walk down the street, cup of beer in hand, along with hundreds of other people. Wish we could do it every day!

Although it's too late to enjoy the festivities this year, be sure to set your calendar for 2013. Given that it's the 10th anniversary, I'm sure they'll have something planned to make it an even more spectacular event than it already is.