The Trouble with Trippels

Tomorrow beginning at 11am, Johnny Brenda's will be bringing us all the three-baggers we can handle. Not a bad way to spend the first Saturday with no football. They will be rolling out:

Sly Fox Incubus
Weyerbacher Merry Monks
Stoudts Triple
Manayunk Triple (Monk from the 'Yunk)
Iron Hill Triple
Riverhorse Triple
Flying Fish Exit 4 (American Trippel)
Legacy Euphoria
Victory Golden Monkey
Dock Street Prisoner of Hell

In addition they will have special food on the menu including: Sausage, Terrine, and Charcuterie.

Growlers on the rise

The New York Times discovers the growing trend of growlers:

Growlers — 64-ounce glass vessels that look like a moonshine jug — have become the beer accessory of the moment. And the jugs, filled at taps in bars and stores, are not just the toys of the bearded, flannel-shirt, beer-geek set.

“In the beginning we tried to figure out, ‘Who’s going to be our market?’ ” said Ben Granger, 32, an owner of Bierkraft, which began filling growlers in spring 2006. “We thought, mullet-heads and beer-bellied dudes. But the first run was ladies with strollers. They will tell you they’re buying them for their husbands. Three weeks later, they’ve got two. One’s his and one’s hers. The next one that caught me by surprise was dads coming in with their kids. Then there’s the beer crowd who’ll rush in to get on this or that before it’s gone. There’s no age limit.”

The Head House

Looks like the former ZoT's location will be seeing new life. It is a nice property in what should be a great neighborhood for both residential and tourist business. Hopefully, Bruce does a better job at running a business and maintaining a staff than the previous owner at this spot did. Press release:

Philadelphia Beer Week co-founder and president of Museum Catering, Bruce Nichols is thrilled to announce that he will partner with Madame Saito to open The Head House (122 Lombard Street), a restaurant and beer bar with more than 20 craft taps and beer-friendly foods located on Philadelphia’s historic Head House Square. The Head House will also become a new location for Museum Catering with a private event space to accommodate up to 100 people on the restaurant's second floor. The Head House will serve dinner seven days a week and is slated to open in March. More details will be available as the opening nears.

SPTR Beef n Beer

On Sunday, January 31st the South Philadelphia Tap Room (1509 Mifflin) will host their second annual Beef and Beer from 5-9pm. Tickets are $50 per person for this all you can eat & drink event.

Don’t expect a traditional beef and beer. There will be no dry as the desert hunk of what may or may not be pot roast. None of the brews will be followed by the word “Lite.” Instead, think all you can eat hormone-free prime rib and all you can drink firkins from your favorite local breweries.

Beer will include firkins of Tröegs Nugget Nectar, Weyerbacher Hops Infusion, Sly Fox Chester County Bitter and Philadelphia Brewing Company’s newest seasonal, a Scotch Ale – in addition to a few additional real ale surprises.

Chef Scott Schroeder will prepare a slow roasted hormone & antibiotic free prime rib accompanied by house-made goodies like marinated mushrooms, au jus and horseradish. Also expect to feast on house-smoked brisket tacos & classic beef tartar topped with black pepper sabayon -- both made from local, grass-fed beef.

Tickets are available for purchase at SPTR, over the phone at 215.271.7787, or at http://www.southphiladelphiataproom.com.

Happy Birthday Pop

Dad turns 75 today. You know we will be raising a pint or two today!

Pierogie Week

Starting today at the Green Rock Tavern (2546 East Lehigh Ave), its Pierogie Week!

They will be pairing 7 kinds of homemade pierogies with 7 Philadelphia Brewing Company beers. Now that's an event: terrific food paired with great beer. Trust me, there is nothing better than fresh homemade pierogies, not that frozen store bought stuff.

Come out and try a delicious change of pace.

Belgium Comes to West Chester

Iron Hill's 4th annual Belgian style beer tasting, appropriately named Belgium Comes to West Chester, is scheduled for Saturday, February 6th 2010 starting at 2:00p.m. (3 West Gay Street, West Chester. Currently they have 28 brewers and over 30 beers committed to the event.

Here’s what the list looks like so far:
Cambridge Brewing Company Tripel Threat
Cambridge Brewing Company Weekepaug Gruit
Devil’s Backbone something
Dogfish Red and White
Earth Bread and Brewery Trappist Pale Ale
Flying Fish Exit 4 American Trippel
Harpoon Jed’s Donkey
Iron Hill Lancaster Oak Quad
Iron Hill Mapleshade Heywood
Iron Hill Media Cassis
Iron Hill North Wales Peppercorn Tripel
Iron Hill Phoenixville Tripelsec
Iron Hill West Chester Cherry Dubbel
Iron Hill West Chester Farmer Chuck
Iron Hill West Chester Framboise
Iron Hill West Chester Lambic
Iron Hill Wilmington Nocturnum
Ithica something
Manayunk Yunkers nocturnem
McKenzies Vatour du Bois
Nodding Head Rudys Kung Fu grip
Rock Bottom Grand Cru
Sly Fox Dale’s Dark Saison
Stewart’s Obscurum
Stoudt’s Tripel (sixer)
Troeg’s Mad Elf
Victory Abbey 5
Weyerbacher Fourteen
Yards Bart

Crisis in Belgium?

Time magazine has a great story out on the turmoil at InBev in Belgium: blockades of breweries, hostages, looming strikes, court interventions. It's fascinating stuff, even if it may shorten our supply of Stella, Hoegaarden and Leffe for awhile. (Photo :Reuters Pictures)

Philadelphia Beer Experience Walking Tour

This Saturday, Rolling Barrel Events will be hosting a beer tour of the Fairmount section. Group will meet at 11:00 am at the Belgian Cafe (2047 Green Street). Cost is $32.50 per person.

It was only a matter of time until we gave some love to this section of town. Join us for our inaugural walk as we taste our way through Rolling Barrel’s top four places to grab a beer in Fairmount. Passes include beer samples at all four locations, plus a guided tour and other surprises along the way. Warm clothes and comfortable shoes are highly encouraged.

They will be stopping over at Belgian Cafe, Jack’s Firehouse, London Grill and of course Bridgid’s. Great time to take in Eastern State Penitentiary as well.

Cold Point Pub

The Inquirer's food columnist Rick Nichols ventures out to the Whole Foods in Plymouth Meeting. Other folks in more progressive states may laugh at the fuss over a small tavern with beer access in a store, but its a huge step here.

But there was a Door No. 2, 50 feet away. And if you hooked an immediate left after entering it, an entirely different reality loomed: the Cold Point Pub.

Let us revise that. It was a different reality for suburban Philadelphia - a 28-seat tavern tucked in the bosom of a 45,000-square-foot supermarket, offering a modest menu, wine by the glass, beer by the pint, and local craft beers (Victory, Yards, Sly Fox, etc.) and imported beers in six-packs to go.

At other Whole Foods - in Los Angeles' Fairfax neighborhood, say, or in D.C. - beer and wine are sold as staples, treated no more exotically than the olive bar.

In Plymouth Meeting, the new wrinkle was a conversation piece: "I like that you can try a bottle at a time, and see if you like it before putting out $150 for a case," said Larry Herman, an electrical contractor, nursing a Troegs Rugged Trail Nut Brown Ale with his slice of pizza.

The Cold Point isn't exactly what you'd call a cheating bar. Its windows look out on the back of the checkout lanes, and the two-for-$4 tortilla-bag specials; its interior has the crisp impersonality of a Starbucks.

But it is a baby step toward mainstreaming beer and wine sales, making them more a part of daily shopping and dining; what's for supper, not just the stadium (or the sports bar or freshman binge-drinking). Normalizing the stuff, in other words.

Even so, it's not exactly the Wild West: Whole Foods has a state "tavern license," which means that the pub is on a separate register, that half its sales are booze, that the total amount of beer you can take out is 192 ounces (roughly 16 12-ounce bottles or three 64-ounce growlers).

To drink a glass of wine, you buy a smart card, insert it in a slot, and get 1-, 3- and 6-ounce pours from a vending machine stocked with what appeared to be French, Italian, and German wines - San Michele all'Adige Pinot Nero 2006, for instance, or Hirsch Riesling "Zobing" 2008. (Bottles of wine cannot be purchased to take home. Or what, the sky would fall?)

So it went in Plymouth Meeting, at a tiny pub a small step forward - the state's twisted posture on alcohol sales slightly relaxed.

Robbie Burns Birthday Bash

Robbie Burns "The Bard" is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland. Sly Fox in Phoenixville celebrates his birthday tomorrow starting at 5pm. The Eighth Annual Robbie Burns Birthday Bash means bagpipers and kilts, customers reciting the great Scottish poet's verses, and the traditional piping in of the Haggis, as well as the release of Sly Fox Gang Aft Agley Scotch Ale 2010.

The Burns birthday celebration has become one of the most anticipated Sly Fox annual events so don't miss it!

Love foreign beer commercials

St. Victorious Dopplebock

Just finished a growler of the from Victory. It pours a nice amber color with a decent tan head. The aroma is dominated by the strong malt scent with some berry in there too.

Taste is not unexpectedly dominated by the malts with lots of flavors fighting for attention: raisins, berries, chocolate and molasses. It brings a nice warm sweetness to the palate that is complementary and not distracting at all.

This is a very smooth beer, a bit thin and light on carbonation, but very easy to drink. Surprising little alcohol flavor considering the 8.5% ABV.

B+

Flyish Fish Oyster Stout video

Gene Muller from Flying Fish discusses the Exit Series and the Exit 1 Oyster Stout in particular.

Sly Fox head brewer Brian O'Reilly

An interview with Sly Fox head brewer (and Stout namesake) Brian O'Reilly from the AV Club. Money quote:

Brian O'Reilly on creating a well-balanced dry stout…

I’ve always liked the drinkability of dry stouts, whether it’s Murphy, Beamish, or Guinness. Those are the big three. So more than anything I tried to figure out what they had in common. I came up with lower alcohol, lower original gravity, a lot of hops bitterness but not much hops flavor or aroma, and then that dry-roasted barley flavor. I started trying to make a beer that would taste like that, and then I worked on getting it so it would pour like those beers as well. I first brewed it as a seasonal beer. And then I brewed it again and again, making small adjustments but nothing major.

Yuengling bottles Bock Beer

Last year, Yuengling brought back their Bock Beer for the first time in 40 years as part of their 180th anniversary celebration.

This dark, rich brew had been only available on draft, and the brewery was inundated with requests from beer fans for a bottled version. The fine folks in Pottsville listened and will be releasing kegs and bottles for a limited time starting tomorrow.

“Last year, there were many loyal customers looking for Bock in bottles to take home and enjoy with family and friends, but it was not available. There’s a great deal of consumer excitement that it’s coming back in draft and package,” said Lou Romano, Yuengling spokesman.

PA’s Disgraceful Liquor Laws

Great article this week in Philadelphia Weekly depicting the labyrinth of PA's liquor laws and just how insane the PLCB really is.

Maxim Top Beers of 2009

And here is the list of the top 25 beers of 2009 according to Maxim magazine. Of course the validity of this is thrown out completely by their choice for #11, but the list still does include a number of local brews:

1. Butternuts Beer & Ale Porkslap Pale Ale
2. Widmer Brothers Drifter Pale Ale
3. Great Divide Hoss ("Best Name")
4. New Belgium Hoptober ("Staff's No.1")
5. Victory Helios Ale
6. Oskar Blues Ten Fidy
7. Pyramid Haywire
8. Sam Adams Noble Pils
9. Sierra Nevada Torpedo
10. Clipper City Marz Hon
11. Bud Light Golden Wheat (whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?)
12. 21st Amendment Brew Free! Or Die IPA
13. Dogfish Head Indian Brown
14. North Coast Old Stock
15. Foothills Sexual Chocolate
16. Deschutes Green Lakes Organic Ale
17. Upslope Pale Ale ("Best Pale Ale")
18. Intercourse Brewing Blue Ball Porter
19. Ballast Point Calico
20. New Glarus Fat Squirrel
21. Brooklyn Local 1 ("Best Wine Sub")
22. Barley Brown's Tumble Off
23. Firestone Walker Union Jack ("Best IPA")
24. Harpoon UFO White
25. Sly Fox Phoenix

Maxim toasts Philly's beer scene

It is nice to see some national recognition for what we have known around here for a very longtime.

Michael Klein in today's Inquirer:

Maxim mag, which you read for the articles anyway, drops this bombshell in February's issue in a spread about beer:

"Sure, Portland, Oregon, still produces great suds (Widmer, Hopworks) — and, yes, you P-town natives are so cool because you all can telemark ski — but the crown of Best Beer Town has been swiped from you guys and smuggled back east to the scrappy and beer-soaked City of Brotherly Love."

The story gives a shout-out to Philly Beer Week and provides a history lesson ("The Constitution was hatched while dudes in wigs knocked back beer in Philadelphia taverns. Ben Franklin says so: 'Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants to see us happy.'”).

Singled out for praise were Victory Brewing's Helios Ale, Dogfish Head's Indian Brown, Sly Fox's Phoenix Pale Ale, and Intercourse's Blue Ball. OK, so they're not in the city proper, but still...

FreeTheHikers scotch ale

Earth Bread + Brewery (7136 Germantown Ave.) now has FreeTheHikers Scotch Ale on tap.

For each glass of Ale sold, a donation by EB+B will be made to the families of the 3 Americans who are imprisoned in Iran (since July 31, 2009). One of the hikers, Josh Fattal, grew up in Cheltenham. They have dedicated this brew to their plight, so come visit Earth and drink to a good cause. Help bring awareness to the situation, and help Free the Hikers.

Drinking for a Good Cause

You can drink and do some good this coming Saturday. A few Drexel seniors are holding a PA Micro-Brew Fest Fundraiser for the computer automated brewing team at Drexel. They are looking to fund their senior design project -- a computer controlled brewing system. What a truly noble cause!

The event will be this Saturday, January 16th at the Blockley Pourhouse (for you fellow old schoolers: the old Chestnut Cabaret) at 38th & Ludlow from 4-8pm.

You can purchase advance tickets for the event for $20 or pay $25 at the door. At the Blockley on Saturday you will enjoy microbrews from some of our area’s best brewers like Yards, McKenzies, Sly Fox, Appalachian and Rock Bottom.

Good beer and a good cause – the perfect excuse to drink!

One Giant Beer Company

Are we heading towards the days when AnheuserInbevSABMillerCoorsHeineken will make all of the world's beer? Things sure seem to be heading in that direction!

Whole Foods at Plymouth Meeting Mall

Michael Klein in the Inquirer has the scoop on the the Whole Foods store opening tomorrow at Plymouth Meeting Mall (500 W. Germantown Pike). They will have a rooftop cafe and sit-down pub serving beer and wine -- innovative in some ways (at least by PA standards) and infuriating in other (no bottled beer sales?).

I am glad to see the LCB branching out but we still seem to be moving at a snail's pace towards better retail beer establishments.

Bell's Winter White Ale

Dove into a few glasses of Bell’s Winter White (Michigan) today. It is a hazy yellow pour with a big fluffy head that dissipates quickly but leaves a nice residue.

The aroma is a fairly strong mix of clove and fruit (banana, lemon). It is one of those scents that really draws you into a beer, and the taste does not disappoint. Strong wheat flavor with the fruit and spices along for the ride. Light and very well balanced with just the right level of carbonation, it produces a pleasant hoppy finish and a lot of lingering fruit flavors.

At 4.5% ABV, this is a seriously delicious and extremely drinkable session beer. I had made up my mind to have just one and sample a few other offerings but settled in with this for the afternoon. Trust me, it was not a bad choice!

Tasty Looking Video

Something new for your to-do list:

Vote For The Best Craft Beer Of 2009

The Full Pint is looking for votes for the Best Craft Beer of 2009. You can vote here.

There are five local brews on the list: Victory Yakima Twilight, Iron Hill Honey Do Wit, Flying Fish Exit 1 Bayshore Oyster Stout, Troegs Flying Mouflan and Dogfish Head Sahtea.

Voting ends January 22.

The perfect birthday cake

OK kids, here is what dad would like on his birthday.....hint hint.

The 5 Best of 2009

Todd Shaner at the CourierPost publishes his list of the 5 Best Beers of 2009. I may differ with his order but it is difficult to argue his choices: Dock Street Great Pumpkin, Captain Sig’s Northwestern Ale (mmmm), Founders Imperial Stout, Russian River Pliny the Elder and Flying Fish Exit 1: The Bayshore Oyster Stout.

5 Months To Go

Love foreign beer commercials