McGillin's Oktoberfest Celebration

Get out your lederhose & beer steins, McGillin's is throwing a month-long Oktoberfest celebration! McGillin's will be pouring German beers and serving German foods from Thursday, September 2 through the Midtown Village Fall Festival on Saturday, October 2.

McGillin's, Philadelphia's oldest continuously operating tavern, will serve Stoudt's Fest, Flying Fish's Octoberphish, Victory's Festbier, Ramstein's Oktoberfest and a multitude of local and international Octoberfest beers.

German cuisine will be added to McGillin's hearty menu of reasonably-priced comfort foods. German lunch and dinner specials will include Mussels Steamed in Oktoberfest Lager served over Hay & Straw Noodles with German-Style Toasted Cheese Bread; Grilled Pork Loin with Sweet & Sour Cherry Sauce, Braised Cabbage, Apples & Potato Dumpling; German Style Grilled Sausage Platter with Bratwurst, Knockwurst, Red Cabbage & Warm German Potato Salad; and Kasebrotchen (Chicken Breast topped with German Style Spread of Ale, Brown Mustard & Sharp Cheddar Cheese & baked to a bubbly finish) and served with Himmel Und Erde and more.

Beerfest at the Ballpark

Coming up at McFaddens at Citizens Bank Park this Sunday from 2-6pm is the 3rd Annual Beerfest at the Ballpark. There will be over 20 Breweries to sample with food, live music, games, & prizes. Phillies vs. Padres on the Big Screens beginning at 4:10 PM. Tickets are $40 in advance; $50 at the door (If Available). A portion of the tickets proceeds benefits the PSPCA.

Tickets and more info here.

Rumspringa Golden Bock

Got to sample Lancaster Brewing's Rumspringa Golden Bock. They name alot of their beers after Amish themes and this one is no exception. The namesake of this brew is the period of time in each young Amish man's life when he is allowed to head out into the world and sow his wild oats.

This beer pours a bright golden color with a thin head and a honey-laced aroma. It is slightly sweet and smooth tasting with a great balance and a surprisingly bitter finish. Pretty drinkable at 6.6%ABV although I would have guessed it was higher.

Overall a very nice maibock: B+

Yappy Hour!

Well now this is a pretty cool event, well at least for us dog owners. A happy hour at Sly Fox in Royersford for those of us with four legged friends. One Thursday each month they will welcome dogs and owners for some beers and doggy socilization.

I am looking forward to it!

Preparing for Oktoberfest

The Mercer and Fonthill Museums present their annual beer tasting event, Biergarten Evening (formerly known as Brewery Night) on Friday, Aug. 27, from 7 p.m. 10 p.m. The event offers Old

World charm with a modern twist in the spectacular outdoor setting of Fonthill.

Guests will add to their knowledge of brewing history courtesy of Dean Browne of Philly Beer School and Philadelphia Brewing Company, who will explain the main styles of German beer, detail the brewing process and discuss the history of brewing in Germany. After the talk, guests will sharpen their palates with a tutored beer tasting of German beer, including lagers, bocks, wheat beer pils and helles, sample German fare and listen tothe sounds of the Philadelphia German Brass Band. Keystone Homebrew Supply

will also be on-hand to offer samples of their beer and to give instructions on homebrewing.

Biergarten Evening is $40 per person and $34 for members. Registration is required. To register for the event, call 215-345-0210, ext. 123. Fonthill Museum is located on East Court Street & Route 313 in Doylestown.

Not Good News

What is it with freaky accidents closing down Monks??

More Gluten Free Beer On Its Way

For a third year running, West Philadelphia's Dock Street Brewing Company ((701 South 50th Street, 215-726-2337) is brewing a small batch of the sought-after Sudan Grass Ale. This sorghum ale is inspired by the traditional fermented sorghum beverages found in Africa. Known as pombe in East Africa, bil-bil in Cameroon, or burukuto in Nigeria, these sorghum beers play an important role in African culture throughout the entire continent. They provide nutritional sustenance, help protect against disease and infection and are used in ceremonial practice.

Sorghum is a grass that is now produced commercially all over the world, but is believed to have been originally cultivated in Sub-Saharan Africa, and perhaps in Yemen and Sudan, around 100 C.E. This is the only area where it still grows wildly today and serves as the inspiration for the name of the beer.

Not only does sorghum have special importance to certain African cultures, but it can also satisfy the beer desires of anyone suffering from celiac disease. This grain is one of only a few that can be used to produce gluten-free beer.

Dock Street's take on the traditional African beer is fermented with gluten-free yeast, and was brewed with a combination of sorghum and wildflower honey (locally sourced from Pennsylvania). Sudan Grass Ale is spiced in the kettle with hibiscus, rose hips, rooibos and lemon grass. Like its traditional counterpart, Sudan Grass is served unfiltered, which explains its natural cloudy appearance. Slightly tart and fruity in flavor, it is reminiscent of a cider or mead.

Sudan Grass Ale will be available on tap at Dock Street for a limited time beginning in early September.

Victory Adds New Tanks

This week Victory Brewing Co. installed eight large fermentation tanks that will boost the brewers capacity by a third. The 8 join four that were installed just last year.

Its an amazing growth spurt in a marketplace that saw overall beer sales drop 2% last year. Victory's sales however are up sharply, 25% YTD over 2009.

The new tanks will up the capacity of the brewery to almost 100,000 barrels. That is tremendous when you consider they sold under 50,000 last year and are tracking to sell 60,000 this year. Obviously the growth is expected to continue.

Ommegang Zuur Sour Ale

Tried this new Ommegang brew on tap at Local 44. The brewery discribes it thusly:

“Zuur – or Sour – is our collaborative Flemish sour brown ale. A beer whose style arises from the mists of brewing history. It uses mixed fermentation, real fruit, significant aging, and master blending. All of these are ancient and revered Belgian techniques. This unique Flemish sour brown ale is complex, tart with a touch of sweetness, lightly malty and gently hopped. Zuur is a unique blend created in collaboration between Brewery Ommegang and Brouwerij Liefmans.”

It pours a golden brown with a small white head and a fairly strong fruity aroma. A decent amount of sour fruit flavor up front that fades fairly quickly. Not an overwhelming type of sour but more subtle with nice carbonation and a medium body that goes down smooth at 6%ABV. A little disappointing on my end but I am sure many more who are not big sour fans will find this beer much more approachable.

B

Monk's Mad Monday

Well well...looks like it's time for another Monk's Mad Monday. This week they will be highlighting some special kegs from Allagash. Better get there early because there is only one keg of most of these special beers. The doors will open at 11:30AM.

BLACK - Their Belgian-style stout aged in a bourbon barrel

CONFLUENCE - Their house strain of Belgian yeast and their Brettanomyces yeast.

INTERLUDE - 9.5%abv Saison-ish beer

ODYSSEY - 10% Wheat beer aged in American Oak

VICTOR - 9%abv ale made with local Red Chancellor grapes.

VICTORIA - same beer, but with Chardonnay grapes instead.

WHITE - their kick-ass Belgian-style wit.

Sly Fox Grand Opening

August 6-8 will be the Grand Opening Party for the relocated Sly Fox brewpub in Phoenixville and they will mark the occasion with 23 beers pouring all weekend (or as long as they last).

Things will get rolling on Friday with 23 beers pouring and specials on the food- menu--including a particularly appealing dessert--O'Reilly's Stout Ice Cream Floats--and continue throughout the weekend. The very popular local band Celtic Spirit will be filling the building with Irish music from 7-11 on Saturday night as an additional treat.

I have not made it out to the new place yet but plan to make some time this weekend!

Mann Music Center

I was quite impressed when arriving for my first show at the Mann in quite awhile to find a beer station right inside the gate that was pouring all local brews. Finding Victory, Sly Fox and Philadelphia Brewing was certainly a nice change from the Bud Light vendors.

We visited that station several times but I also noticed that the bar at the top of the hill also stocked a pretty wide variety of beers.

I am not sure if this is just a reaction to the types of crowds they get at the Mann, but I am hoping its a trend that will spread to other city venues!

Varying definitions

Apparently my definition of what a "Premium" beer is differs greatly from this establishment. Not only do they consider Bud Light Lime to be "Premium" beer but they then charge the same price as a "Domestic".

And don't even get me started on the fact that those "Premium" beers are for the most part all domestic!

Gluten Free beer

Earth Bread + Brewery on Germanown Ave has unveiled a new gkuten-free beer called Gluntenus Minimus. The brew is very light, tart and refreshing. At 2.7% ABV it may also be the perfect "lawnmower beer". Not available in bottles but the growlers sure come in handy!