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.

The Gravity Tap at Bridgid's opens this Saturday!

Brigid's, the original Belgian beer bar in Philly, is also home to the only gravity tap on the east coast. Not sure what a gravity tap is? In simplest terms it's an unpressurized sixtel that sits 3 stories above the bar. A tube runs through the building down to the bar where the beer comes out of the tap. Sound interesting? Want to see it in action? Then you're in luck.

The gravity tap can only be used in the colder months because of the distance the beer has to travel between the sixtel and the tap, and this Saturday, November 20th is the official opening! Tickets are being sold: $25 in advance and $35 at the door will get you unlimited pours of Yards beer from the gravity tap, $2 and $3 for any other Yards beers, and a food buffet. A very good deal, indeed!

The event runs from 2 - 4 PM. To buy your tickets online, click here.

Green Flash Hop Head Red Ale

There are some breweries that, in my mind, seem to be able to do no wrong. Yards, Ballast Point, Russian River are just a few that come to mind immediately. I'm adding Green Flash to that list. I love their West Coast IPA, and I can now add the Hop Head Red Ale to my list of favorites.

The name really tells you what you're getting with this beer. It's a red ale but so much more than just a red ale, as indicated by the addition of "hop head". It's a red ale for those people, like me, who love the hops.

The pour is what you would expect from a red ale - a nice, clear red.

According to the BJCP, the aroma for red ales should exhibit "low to moderate hop aroma from dry hopping or late kettle additions of American hop varieties. A citrusy hop character is common, but not required. Moderately low to moderately high maltiness balances and sometimes masks the hop presentation, and usually shows a moderate caramel character". And the aroma (and taste) is where the "hop head" of this beer really comes through. The smell of hops overrides that of the malt - it's just the way I like it, piney and citrusy.

The taste starts off hoppy, with some nice malt flavors coming in after. This definitely isn't what you would expect from a typical red ale. I guess that's why even the brewers beg the question "Is it red IPA?" I would answer emphatically and excitedly "yes!" followed by "give me another!"

Summer Ale Festival

Last night I went with a friend to the Summer Ale Festival at the Philadelphia Zoo. We had a really good time, and I realized how much I love the zoo - I don't think I've been to one since I was 13! I'm definitely going back again soon.

The funniest part of the night came when my friend decided to give me a plug on her facebook page. She wrote "At the Summer Ale Festival with Philly Bear Girl" BEAR, not beer. We didn't realize it until another one of our friends texted me and told me what was written. It was appropriate given that we were at the zoo (although there are no bears), but so hysterically funny. I'm still laughing out loud as I'm writing this. I told everyone to be on the lookout for my other blog, which will be about wild animals.

There were a number of local brewers at the event, and all featured at least two of their summer ales. In addition, there were several local restaurants who were onhand to provide some delicious eats.

Now, I don't like to complain, especially about an event whose proceeds went to the education and preservation efforts at the zoo. But my friend and I got there at 7 - the event started at 6:30 - and there were already a number of vendors who were out of food. What? People had only begun arriving 1/2 an hour before that, and they were already out? It was like there was no communication between the event organizers and the restaurants that were participating.
The other problem was the long lines. I really don't think anyone was properly prepared for the number of people in attendance, and lines wound round and round and up and down. It was made interesting because while you were waiting in line, you were typically near some sort of animal, but it didn't take away from the fact that there was a whole lot of waiting going on.

Having said that, the event was a lot of fun, even if I didn't get to try all the beers I wanted to (lines were just too long). I had the wonderful Weyerbacher Double Simcoe and a Hops Infusion. I paired the Hops Infusion with a fish taco, and it was fantastic! I also had the Victory Golden Monkey with a piece of banana bread, and the Victory Storm King Stout with a piece of banana chocolate truffle. Mmmmm! The River Horse Double Wit and Victory Whirlwind Wit were a hit with my friend. I enjoyed the River Horse Hop Hazard Pale Ale, Victory Hop Devil and Yards Pale Ale.

Wow, when I write it all out like that, you probably wonder how many other beers I could have wanted to try! But believe me, there were a number of them. However, we did get some really good ones in and - much like I want this blog to be - I think the night was an eye-opening event for my friend and showed her just how many different types of beers she likes.