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Contents February/March 2010
specials
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Scrapple and self-sustainability No better way to start the day. By Mat Falco
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Everyone’s Irish on St. Paddy’s Day Explore this holiday tradition. By John Galster
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From Zymurgy to Celebrity Rock star brewers are putting a concert in your face. By Scott Willey
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Ch...Ch...Changes Philly Beer Week Marches on to June. By Mat Falco
30 sections 8 on the scene
20 tapping into technology Beer trading: Share and share alike. By Zeke Diaz
Beer events in Philly’s beer scene.
10 the variety pack By John Galster, Andrew Loder, Mat Falco, Christopher Yasiejko
14 woman on the scene From bar keep to key keeper. By Suzanne Woods
16 fun with beer DIY Beerrings: A fun gift for your girl. By Neil Harner
17 homebrewer’s corner Chocolate Covered Cherry
21 beer travel Manhattan beer scene. By Genevieve Shuler
22 not beer The spirit of a Rogue. By Scott Willey
23 You’ve Been Served The snifter: “Palm” this bad boy. By Scott Willey
40 bar & restaurant reviews
18 cooking with beer El Puplo Y Puerco By Robert Legget
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Unique beer destinations for a pint and a meal in and out of the city. By John Galster
42 42 the tasting room 12 Beers reviewed by our panel with special guest: Tom Peters.
46 directory
Local listings of places to drink a great beer, take home a great beer, or make your own (great) beer.
50 beer events Local happenings throughout the Philly beer scene. By Alicia Eichelman
Philadelphia’s Oldest
St. Patrick’s Day Celebration
150 years running!
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meet the founders Scott >> scott@beerscenemag.com
Currently Drinking: Harviestoun Ola Dubh Special Reserve 30 Style of the Moment: Stouts, Porters Best Beer-Moment Since the Last Issue: Finding Out Walker’s Carries Rogue Spirits First Craft Beer and When: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale in 1999. Other Vices: Fine tobaccos. Very complex flavors that can be matched well with beers. Random Likes: Independent music. Random Dislikes: Hair on soap
Mat >> mat@beerscenemag.com
Currently Drinking: Weyerbacher Fireside Ale as I write this Style of the Moment: Porters Best Beer-Moment Since the Last Issue: Dinner with the Founders guys at SPTR First Craft Beer and When: Magic Hat #9 Other vices: Finding great unknown dining spots in Philly Random likes: Old Rasputin Chili at the Institute Random dislikes: Waiting for Paesanos on 9th and Christian to open
Neil >> neil@beerscenemag.com
Currently Drinking: Homebrews Style of the Moment: Porters Beer-Moment Since the Last Issue: Drinking some homebrews at 10am on a Sunday with Ken, this issues featured homebrewer First Craft Beer and When: Weyerebacher’s Blithering Idiot. Other vices: Netflix, Hulu, & TV on DVD Random likes: Making my son, Cael, reenact Carlos’ breakfast scene from The Hangover Random dislikes: When people put the toilet paper roll on upside down
John >> john@beerscenemag.com Currently Drinking: Weyerbacher Hotel Style of the Moment: Double IPA Best Beer-Moment Since the Last Issue: Sharing craft beers with my nonbeer-drinking relatives First Craft Beer and When: Hell if I remember Other vices: Books with too many pages Random likes: Christmas trees still up way after Christmas Random dislikes: Limits on how much I can throw away on collection days
founders
Scott Willey, Mat Falco, Neil Harner & John Galster Art Director
Melissa Levenduski Executive Editor
Shannon McLaughlin Associate Art Director
Brandi Kerekes Contributing Editors
Zeke Diaz Robert Legget Ken Ogborn Genevieve Shuler Suzanne Woods Christopher Yasiejko Contributing Artist
Andrew Loder Editorial Assistant & Subscriptions Manager
Alicia Eichelman Photography
Jonathan Clark Pete Schuster Adam Taylor Web Designer
Amanda Mitchell
Philly Beer Scene is Designed & Printed in the USA. Philly Beer Scene is an Inverse Paradox Publication. Copyright © 2010 Inverse Paradox, LLC. Philly Beer Scene is published bi-monthly by Inverse Paradox, LLC. 4432 Bristol Road, Suite 1B, Oakford, PA 19053 | 215-478-6586 For subscription inquires please visit us on the web at www.beerscenemag.com/subscribe.html
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Letter from the Founder So being the procrastinator that I am, I am writing this on the day we go to print, January 22nd, 2010. Today is also my birthday, and I am overwhelmed with the Twitter and Facebook birthday wishes from my friends, but even more so, my beer loving acquaintances. That’s awesome. I have said it before, but the craft beer scene is like a fraternity. It’s amazing that people from so many unique backgrounds and beliefs can join together over their love for beer. Living in the Philadelphia area, this is intensified when you are out on the beer scene here. Many friendships are forged over a pint of craft ale, and you constantly see the same faces at all of the great beer bars this city has to offer. Hell, Maxim Magazine took it upon themselves to dethrone Portland of the title “Greatest Beer City,” and pass the crown to the City of Brotherly Love. That fraternal spirit even carries over to Philadelphia’s tag line. I am recently single after an eight year relationship, so I was a little nervous about this February/March issue since it’s the first time I will be alone on a Valentine’s Day in eight years, and I might over do it on St. Patty’s Day to drown my sorrows. I have never really been a fan of Valentine’s Day or St. Patty’s Day (even though I’m Irish). I always felt it to be an excuse for chocolate companies, card makers, and floral shops to roll over their sales from the holiday season since there are no other holidays in February and March. Sure, we thought about doing some love themed articles for the craft loving couple, but the closest we are going to get to that is the love between craft brewers, with their offspring being collaboration beers. Sorry Philadelphia that might have been a little selfish of me. I’m sure you are all concerned about me Philadelphia, but I’ll be ok. This love of beer and fraternal spirit we all share will carry me through these darkest of days knowing that I will see countless welcoming faces, and “clink” many a pint glass over these next two months. John wrote a solid article about St. Patty’s Day, and thanks to Mat, we have an AWESOME line up of events to fill the void of where Philly Beer Week was last year, which is right around the Irish Holiday. I wrote a quote recently, and would like to share it with all of you “One love lost results in many friendships fortified.” Thank you to all of our readers, and everyone that is involved in the Philadelphia craft beer scene that makes it such a loving community. You have made the City of Brotherly Love the best beer drinking city in the world. Cheers to all of you, my friends! Love (yeah, I said it), Scott Willey Founder, Philly Beer Scene Magazine
Featuring...
Named “Best Place to Buy Beer” (Philadelphia Magazine)
Named One of 79 “Remarkable Retailers” Joe Sixpacks (in the world) “Best Places for Six Packs”
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On the Scene
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Philly Beer Scene’s Candid Photos from the Fun and Exciting World of Craft Beer 1. A view from the mezzanine at the Winterfest at World Cafe Live. 2. An adorable couple that got engaged at Brooklyn’s Cookie Jar Porter at the launch party at the brewery. 3. Friends enjoying the awesome beer selection at the World Cafe Live Winterfest.
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4. Brewmaster Chris Wilson showing off the brewery at the Weyerbacher Fireside release party. 5. Suzy Woods and the ladies celebrating National Can Beer Day at Varga Bar during the Sly Fox Pub Crawl. 6. Garrett Oliver getting the honor to have a drink with Mat of Philly Beer Scene (or maybe it’s the other way around).
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The Variety Pack
Meet the Scene Get to know Mike Lubieski, area beer rep for Weyerbacher. By Mat Falco PBS: Because sometimes there is more to life than beer, what do you do when you’re sober? Mike: Work. A lot. I also play guitar, work on
my house and garden, play in a few softball leagues, a wiffleball league, I am in the hall of fame. Seriously. Look it up. LWA Wiffleball, swim, play bocce, pool. I’ve been playing for the Hulmeville for about 10 years. Well, I guess not all of these are totally sober activities. PBS: Aside from Weyerbacher, what’s your favorite brewery? Mike: There are so many great breweries, so
Philly Beer Scene: What did you go to college for and actually want to be when you grew up, prior to deciding to drink beer for a living? Mike Lubieski: I actually graduated from
University of the Arts with a Bachelor in Music. I studied jazz guitar while I was there and played a lot in the Philly area. I taught guitar and piano for a while and worked as an account manager for Hoshino USA (Ibanez guitars/TAMA drums). I actually still teach a little, but it’s only a few students. I still love music and wish I had more time to play. I really can’t complain with beer being the trade-off, though. PBS: What was your first craft beer? Mike: Well, after we graduated from Busch
pounders, we went to Yuengling products and we thought we were drinking some really classy stuff. Then I went to Joe’s Mill Hill in Trenton after I turned 21. Back then they were a brew pub and I had my first Imperial Stout. I was hooked. I realized how good beer could actually taste, and I started to try everything I could get my hands on. This was back in 1997 and since then, I’ve tried TONS of beer. So Joe’s Mill Hills Imperial Stout was my first craft, and I never looked back.
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I don’t really have just one favorite. There are so many local breweries that we really get spoiled out here. Sly Fox, Troegs, Yards, Dogfish Head, Victory...I could go on, but I’ll just say “all of our locals.” I’m also a big fan of Bells and Founders. Dark Horse came to our area kind of recently, too, and I haven’t had a bad beer from those guys. PBS: If you were stuck on a deserted island and had to choose only one beer to drink for the rest of your life, what would it be? Mike: I’d probably go with Hops Infusion.
If it’s a deserted island, it’s probably in the tropics, and HI is a thirst-quencher with a ton of flavor. At 6.2 ABV you can drink a good amount of it too. However, if a few cases of Jever Pils gor mixed in, that would be nice. I love a nice pilsner in the sun. PBS: What’s been your best experience so far working in the beer industry? Mike: It’s definitely the people. So many
people in this industry truly love what they are doing. It’s very refreshing, and it really makes work not feel like a job. PBS: Reason why you think people should drink more Weyerbacher? Mike: Because our beers are delicious! We
do a fantastic job with each style that we brew and always work on new recipes. Our quality-control standards are very high, too. Consistency is so important. It’s also nice to support your local breweries!
february/march 2010
John Knows Best ...or does he? Is something stumping you about beer? Email your questions to john@beerscenemag.com. Dear John, I’d like to drink a few Guinness pints this St. Patrick’s Day but the bartender always takes so long to pour it for me. What gives? -Lindsay M., Bensalem, PA Actually, it is supposed to take a little longer to pour than other beers. The company that owns Guinness maintains that it should be poured in a 2 minute traditional process in which the bartender stops a little more than halfway through and lets the initial pour settle before slowly topping it off. Dear John, I’m starting to get into good beers and I can tell you whether a beer tastes malty or hoppy. The thing is that I know what hops are but I have no clue what malt is. I hear all about it but as far as I know it is a powder you get at the homebrew store. Please enlighten me. -Andrew K., Wilmington, DE Malt is actually grain (usually barley) that has undergone the malting process. This refers to soaking the grain in water and allowing it to germinate or seed followed by kiln, drying it to prevent further germination. This process creates enzymes important to the brewing process that allows sugars to be broken down and yeast to thrive. The powder you are thinking of is malt extract, used as a substitute for grains by homebrewers. Dear John, I find that as I drink more and more craft beer I start to realize that many of these beers are not pasteurized – is this safe in the long term? Why wouldn’t a company do this? - Jake P., Philadelphia, PA Drinking unpasteurized beer is not even close to drinking unpasteurized milk and is totally safe. Firstly, the beer contains alcohol which is a toxin and kills a good amount of bacteria. Secondly, beer that is not pasteurized is usually live – there is still yeast floating around in that bottle. This allows beer to really age and mature and also considerably changes the flavor. Pasteurizing the beer would kill off all that yeast. The breweries that do pasteurize usually do it to extend the shelf life of beer – not to make it safer.
The Variety Pack
The Beer Exchange Bella Vista’s Box for Beer Trading. By Christopher Yasiejko
As an adventurous but indecisive beer drinker, I faced a dilemma. About a month into my recent obsession with India Pale Ales, I was tramping the aisles of Bella Vista Beer Distributor when I noticed Abita’s Jockamo. I’m a sucker for creative names and labels – this one features a Mardi Gras Indian wearing a blue headdress. Likewise for decent alcohol-by-volume counts (Jockamo is 6.5 percent) and prices (this one was less than $30, a rarity for an IPA). But moments earlier, I’d seen the bright yellows and greens of Lakefront IPA’s label. I stopped and looked more closely. It was a good read: “American Cascade
D-LITE
and Chinook hops… A citrusy, floral bouquet… Goes well with any spicy food.” Sounded good to me. But along with its 6.9 percent ABV came a somewhat higher price. I resumed browsing. If only I could’ve sampled a bottle, right then and there, I might’ve bought a case. I went to the register with the Jockamo. And there, to the right, was The Box. “Bella Vista Beer Exchange,” the attached sign read. It was nondescript, a used case with flaps folded in. Twenty-four beers, all but one of them bottles, poked above the cardboard. Each was an American craft beer. None were cold, as per the three posted rules. None were duplicates – a brewer can be represented more than once, but each beer must be of a different variety. And none were on sale. I lifted each bottle by its neck and peeked at the label. There, in the back row, was the Lakefront IPA. A Jockamo from my case quickly replaced it. This was a fortunate opportunity – the Lakefront IPA, sampled at home after a Jockamo, featured the hops I’ve come to adore and a malty flavor that coated my throat. Had the distributor at 11th and Catharine streets not placed that box beside the register early in the summer, I might not have bothered trying the Lakefront. Credit for the
experiment goes to Chris Fetfatzes, brother of Jordan, the manager. Chris liked the mix-a-six-pack option at The Foodery – the closer of its two locations is at 10th and Pine – and wanted to adapt that versatility for the distributor, which must abide by Pennsylvania’s anachronistic beer laws. Customers at a distributor can buy no less than a case, so unless they pick up a prepackaged variety case, sampling individual beers is but a dream. Bella Vista got around that by allowing customers to swap one beer for another after the sale is complete. Some customers have altered their buying habits. They immediately dig through the Beer Exchange so they won’t buy a case that’s already represented. Chances are, a PBC Kenzinger is in the box, which means a conservative beer drinker might buy an unfamiliar case and trade one bottle for another exotic brand. Beer snobs, take heart: Yuengling and Sam Adams aren’t allowed. Not obscure enough. Philadelphia Brewing Company and Yards, among the most popular brands there, are permitted, mostly because they’re local breweries. Otherwise, the clerks act as emergency referees. Just don’t try swapping out a Lionshead for a Dogfish Head.
By Andrew Loder
I prefer a beer that has a great balance of malt and hops.
how about you, DO you like balance in your beer or do y-
I really like hops.
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The Variety Pack
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With the push for more organic foods and beverages, it is no surprise that the beer world would inevitably pick up on the trend. The first to capitalize on the organic lifestyle was Northern California’s Eel River Brewing Company. According to their website (www.eelriverbrewing.com), Eel River was the first American brewery to be certified organic by the California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF). Their newest creation is the Acai Berry Wheat, a light-bodied wheat ale. What makes it USDA organic is that it is brewed with Brazilian Acai berries. Acai berries are extremely high in antioxidants and are said to be helpful in the fight against certain diseases and illnesses, not to mention contribute to anti-aging. Antioxidants help minimize the damage to our bodies done by free radicals, which are groups of electrons that essentially travel through our body and do harm along the way. The combination of the Acai berries and four other organic berries makes this brew extremely refreshing and dare we say, almost healthy. Coming in at 4.0% ABV you can throw back a few and get your daily dose of antioxidants.
Go + od Go Fr = od ien A Be ds ti gre ers me at !!
must be at least 21 with valid id to aaend
the Atlantic City Convention Center One Miss America Way Atlantic City, NJ 08401
March 20th & 21st 5th annual
Atlantic City Beer Festival
www.acbeerfest.com
february/march 2010
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Woman on the Scene
From Bar Keep to Key Keeper How familiar faces shaped our beer scene. By: Suzanne Woods Tom and Fergie
They were friends. Some were mentors. The elders were teaching the youngsters the ropes. The youngsters were teaching the elders not to be so jaded. The barkeeps of the late 90’s are the foundation of the great pub culture we have today. There’s a group now spread throughout the city running their own bars- but reflect back on a time when they were all working under one roof at Philly’s original beer bar. Khyber’s alumni include Marc Sonstein, Meghan Wright, Kurt Wunder, Casey Parker, Brendan Hartranft, Chris Morris and many more. On the other side of town, there were a few guys Tom Peters, Fergie Carey and James Fernandez keeping 15th Street lively. I attempted to start a beer family tree and got so jumbled I had to get a beer. Here’s a brief history on the roots of some of Philly’s favorite barmen (and maid). Meghan and Marc
Marc Sonstein was bar backing at Khyber for a couple of years while working with now- biz partner, Meghan Wright. Wright started at the Khyber in 1992. She worked there about 6 years amongst all the guys. “They were all like my big brothers,” Wright says, “They taught me all about beer.” Sonstein would move on to open The Griffin, a funky cafe where people would hang out as though
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it was a bar- but with no alcohol. Meghan moved on to become the first Shangy’s rep. She was then the manager for years at Bridgid’s. During her tenure there, Marc approached her to open a bar together. Marc, a former art director, created the bottle capped logo with his friend. They opened The Abbaye just one month later. If you walk into The Abbaye at 3rd and Fairmount, you’re likely notice the local band, Black Landlord, playing on the iPod. Marc is the all-star collective’s percussion. The respectable beer selection is the expected handiwork of Wright and Sonstein combined. “I wanted it to be a place filled with things that I would want to do; deejays, live music,” she even jokes- “maybe one day roller skating.” Years spent answering to others helped shape the kind of “boss” that Wright would be. She never wanted her staff to think of it as her place, or Marc’s place, but rather their place. A block away sits 700 Club, the pioneering craft-centric pub of the Northern Liberties area dating back to 1997 when master carpenter/DJ/bartender/dreamboat Kurt Wunder opened it with music buddy Tracy Stanton. To the unaware they might think it’s odd you can find them hopping in and out of each others’ bars, but it’s definitely not. “We’ve all been friends forever. We care about each other. We grew up together,” says Wright.
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Fergus Carey arrived in the states in 1986 to write plays and act. He started at McGlinchey’s in 1988 and worked there for five years next door to a crew that consisted of Tom Peters, James Fernandez, whom now is managing partner of Grace Tavern, and Chris Markham (who now owns Misconduct Tavern) before opening Fergie’s with Wajih Abed. They opened the door on Dec. 1, 1994. It was to be a bar with traditional Irish music sessions, live music, plays, spoken word and personality-lots of personality. It became an institution and an academy where Philly’s finest bar and restaurant owners, like Kip Wade (Southwark), would learn from the master. Just three years later Carey and Peters would open Monks Café. Tom got his start at Café Nola on Headhouse Square, but put his name on the national map when he poured the first specialty Belgian draft in the states at Copa Too in 1995. It wasn’t an easy feat. In the days before cell phones, Peters was ringing Monks off the hook trying to get them to export draft beer. You can tell that the duo manages their employees well. It appears the only time staff leaves is when they’re ready to open up their own. Which brings us to… Joe and Casey
Casey Parker, co-owner of Jose Pistola’s, had graduated from the University of the Arts and was getting some singing gigs but not enough to keep the landlord happy. He got a job dishwashing at Fergie’s to subsidize. Next, Fergie’s opened the upstairs. Parker was asked to book shows and host open mic. Then became head bartender for 5 years. “Fergie gave you long enough of a leash that you almost controlled the show, and when you had some success with it you thought ‘I can do that, I can own a bar-but its way harder than I thought.’” “The crowd always makes it worth it,” Parkers says. His partner Joe Gunn agrees, “Two years into it, the core of our business are people we really didn’t know when we opened which kind of surprised me. It’s a
pretty diverse crowd. It’s my favorite part about being in the heart of the city.” Gunn believes bartending at Fergie’s over the course of five years taught him the importance of a personality in a bar. “The idea of keeping it simple, but focusing on the overall vibe of the place without being cheesy.” “I love the creative part to it all. I feel like it’s the closest I’ll get to being an actual artist. I’ve kind of looked at Pistola’s as our interpretation of what a good time is.” Bar regulars can always count on Casey to do the entertaining he became famous for at Fergie’s. You’d think Guns N’ Roses was his favoritebut he reveals that the song that makes him shake margies a bit faster is actually “You Make My Dreams Come True,” from Hall and Oates. His dream of owning a bar has come true. But it took years of clocking in at Fergie’s, the Khyber and Royal Tavern before he was ready. And he still wasn’t ready. People who say “just make it through your first year- it get easier- well, that’s complete bullshit.” Curt
“Back in the day I would wrap up things at Brownies and sneak Snapple bottles filled with the hoppiest thing on tap for Marc over at the Griffin,” says Curt Decker, co-proprietor of Nodding Head. Decker tended bar at Brownies on 2nd St. during the 1990’s when the adjacent Khyber closed down for a bit. “I saw it as an opportunity to pour more American craft.” He saw them as crossover beers to try and get customers to step out of their comfort zones. Whereas Parker is the endless entertainer, Decker fits the role of the sarcastic guy that probably scored a 1550 on his SATS. He could have been in any field, but chose the tender bar. “If I didn’t do this? I don’t knowthen I would have to do something with ‘real world shit’ and I’m bad at it- I don’t like it.” Decker had known Tom Peters for almost 15 years at the time Sam Adams Brewpub was shutting down. They had talked about joining up for a while until it came into fruition in December of 1999. Independence was around as was Dock Street, but this would have a different feel. Decker’s dry humor and snarkiness pervade
the bar literature. Sitting in front of a glass cabinet containing over 100 bobble heads, Decker says “It’s a bar -you shouldn’t take yourself so seriously.” Clark
As a bartender your job is to entertain, advise, set the scene, know what’s happening in the world to talk about random shit when your least favorite regular comes in, and know how to make up and shake up one hell of a cocktail. Then you get to leave. “When I was a bartender I could just make my money and go home,” says Lucky 13 owner Clark Newman. “Now I have to get everyone to do what needs to be done.” Newman started off at “Ribbit,” a bar once located where the Walnut Room is located now. He worked there from 1986 to 1993. “I had just moved out of my house. It was the most fun I had ever had.” In the 90’s he would work at Le Bus during the day and moonlight at Grape Street Pub. His future bar would be a hybrid of the two. Music was very important but he also wanted the good grub component that Le Bus represented. When he opened Lucky 13 in 2008, he wanted it to be an extension of his living room. Non-stop Encore movies get the bar talking to each other. His all time favorite band, the Clash, plays in the foreground. You know you’re drinking at Clark’s bar when you see posters of the beloved Joe Strummer on the walls, and Buzz Lightyear figurines on the back bar. “These are all my toys; this is what I grew up on.” I’ve now been in the city just short of nine years. The first two bars I went to no longer exist. Cuvee is now St. Stephens, owned by pub veterans Jeff Keel and James Stevens. And Tavern on the Green has gone to the bar graveyard as Tom Peters and Fergie Carey opened the Belgian Café. I fell in love with the bar in 2001. Some of it is aesthetic- the perfect texture play of chrome and tiger maple wood that my beer might rest on. Many times it’s the beer that’s being poured. But often it’s the person pouring it. There are some rather dynamic individuals around our city doing so. And the bar keep today, might just keep the keys tomorrow.
The Solar Homebrewer 208 Sanhican Drive (RT.29) Trenton, NJ 08618 joe@solarhomebrew.com
(609) 252-1800 (609) 393-9399
february/march 2010
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Fun With Beer
DIY Beerrings A fun gift for your girlfriend on Valentine’s Day. By Neil Harner Have you ever got stuck in a jam where you just can’t figure out what to get your girl for Valentine’s Day? Or maybe you just forgot about the holiday all together? Well, if she’s a beer lover, we have the perfect, easy, do-it-yourself gift that she’ll be sure to love: Beerrings.
After a quick stop to your local craft store, these simple bottle cap earrings can be made for under $10 and in about 10 minutes. The best part about it is that you can have a few beers in the process since you’ll need to remove the caps!
what you’ll need (2) bottled beers (the beer’s for you, the caps are for the earrings) (1) 9mm jump rings (2) earrings (2) .25in to .5in (depending on how dangly you want them) lengths of 2m chain (1) Needle nose pliers
the steps
Before you begin: SANITIZE everything as best you can!
Step 1: Remove bottle caps from bottles careful to not bend the caps.
(1) Hammer (1) Nail
Step 2: Drink beers. Step 3: Punch small hole at top of each bottle cap above beer logo using nail and hammer. Step 4: Fish 1 jump ring through hole. Step 5: Attach chain to jump ring. Step 6: Close jump ring using pliers so that chain is secure and cannot be removed. Step 7: Attach the other end of the chain to bracket on earring. Step 8: Be sure to close earrings bracket tightly with pliers.
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Tips that might help... Your local craft store sells a wide variety of jewelry making components. If your craft-beer bottle cap of choice is golden, go with gold components. If your cap is colored or silver, go with the silver components. Remember, some girls like yellow gold and some like white. Be mindful when selecting your caps and jewelry making components. Be careful punching holes in the bottle caps if you had two beers right before. Of course this depends on your alcohol tolerance and the alcohol percentage of the beer...but we just don’t want you to get hurt.
Homebrewer’s Corner
Chocolate Covered Cherry Here is a beer you can enjoy almost any time of the year. Due to its dark amber color and reddish tint from the cherries, most of my friends enjoy this in the late summer and fall timeframe. Based on an Octoberfest lager this beer is smooth and flavorful. A slight smoky taste from toasting the grains and bit of vanilla finish this one off. A slight sour taste from the cherries along with a hint of chocolate malt makes this one of the more unique beers you will ever taste and my favorite to brew. Hated or Loved, but never ignored. About the Creator
Ken Ogborn is a businessman by trade working in sales and marketing by day and an avid homebrewer by night and weekends. He has been a homebrewer for five years, starting out when his kids bought him a homebrew kit for his birthday. Now he spends time in his garage most weekends working on the latest creations including most recently “Mint Chocolate Chip,” a Belgian stout that his friends helped him create. His wife, family and friends are all fans of his brews and often stop over to see what’s on tap.
Specialty Grains:
1/2lb Chocolate Malt 1lb Crystal 60 malt 5lbs Munich Malt 5lbs Pilsner Malt All Extract:
Substitute Pilsner Malt with 2lbs Pilsen Dry Malt Extract Substitute Munich Malt with 6lbs Amber Malt Syrup Hops & Spices:
½ oz Fuggles hops (4.0 % AA) 1oz Aged Hallertauer (3.0% AA) 1 oz Pure Vanilla Extract 1 Dried Vanilla Bean Stalk 2 cans Oregon Fruit Company dark sweet cherries in syrup
Ingredients and Directions Procedure:
Step 1: Broil Specialty Grains for 10 minutes then crack them. Step 2: (if using extracts skip to step 4) Crack Pilsner and Munich Malt. Mash all grains at 150 degrees for 90 minutes in 2.75 gallons water. Add Supercharge to water before adding grains. Step 3: Sparge regular and specialty grains in 5 Gallons of water at 170 degrees until liquid is clear. Step 4: Bring liquid to a rolling boil, remove from heat and add ½ oz fuggles for 90 minutes. If using extracts, add at this time.
Step 7: Ferment at room temperature for 24-48 hours then bring fermentation temperature down to between 50 and 55 degrees. Leave in fermenter for approximately three weeks. Step 8: Transfer to secondary fermenter. Rack out wort and leave sediment behind. Lager for 60-90 days bringing temperature down to approx 38 degrees. Bring temperature down about 2 degrees every day. Step 9: Be Patient.
Additives:
1 tsp Irish Moss of Whirlfloc Tablet 1 tablespoon Supercharger 1 capsule Servyomyces 1 tsp Pectic Enzyme (if bottling)
Step 5: During last 15 minutes add 1 oz aged Hallertauers, 1 tsp Irish moss or Whirlfloc, servomyces, 1 dried vanilla bean stalk chopped up.
Yeast:
Step 6: After wort has cooled, add two cans of dark sweet cherries in syrup, 1 oz
Wyeast or White Labs German Lager Yeast
pure vanilla extract and pitch German lager yeast. Add two teaspoons of Pectic Enzyme mixed with 1 cup cold water. Gravity reading should be around 1.050.
Step 10: (If kegging skip this step.) Boil two cups water with 1 and ¼ cups corn sugar, two teaspoons heading agent. Stir into beer and bottle. Let bottles carbonate for about two weeks, then store in cooler temperatures. This beer will age well over several months.
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Cooking With Beer
Chef Robert Legget’s resume includes travels from Miami to Rhode Island in such places as Rouge, ZoT, The Dark Horse, The Black Sheep, Pasion with Guillermo Pernot, Vesuvio and graduating from Johnson & Wales University.
El Puplo Y Puerco By Robert Legget, Executive Chef, Cuba Libre
Coming from many exciting restaurant destinations and now currently employed at Cuba Libre Restaurant and Rum Bar as the Executive Chef, I have become very intrigued with the American Gastro Pub movement and its cuisine, always rushing out to taste and sample every tavern that hails from this classification. This untamed “wild west” of a genre excites me; it is the new frontier of local cuisine. This excitement combined with my love of not only drinking beer, but also home brewing, causes me to spend most of what little spare time I have focusing on cooking with beer. I mean, really cooking with beer. Sorry wine...your days are numbered. Pulling influence from the many talented chefs and restaurateurs that I have worked with, as well as the lessons from my brewing mentor Barry “Home Brew” Mulharon, I have successfully morphed cooking with beer into what I like to call Gastro-Brew Cuisine. For example, hop schedules in brewing are the same practice I use for spice and herb additions (and dry hopping) in both sauce & soup preparations. Such as, steeping dried chilies in wort for a unique bitterness in stouts and lagers or using hops and their IBUs to balance flavorings to complete a dish. Whether cooking in a sauce or a quick beer emulsion to finish a plate with bubbly flavor and mouth feel, it’s a wonderfully under-utilized concept! Beer simply is the most versatile ingredient to complement any dish in both cooking and consumption. The following recipe is a reflection of that versatility. The three primary ingredients are pork belly, octopus and beer. The beers are used repeatedly throughout this preparation in unique ways. So please, make this for yourself as soon as possible or take it to a party and watch as new friends surround you and enjoy the wonders of pork belly and beer. Keep an eye open for my upcoming book on the topic and become a fan of Robert Legget on Facebook.
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Basic Beer Brine Ingredients: 2.5lb Pork Belly (preferably Berkshire) 36oz Dunkel Lager (3 beers) 28oz of water
1 cup kosher salt 1 cup lite brown sugar
Directions: Combine the ingredients in a pot over low heat until salt and sugar dissipate. Chill to 40 degrees and cover your pork belly enough that it floats. Place a small plate or any light weight, non reactive kitchen item on top of the pork to keep submerged, but not touching the bottom. 24 hour Brine, turn over the belly after the first 12 hours. You can brine up to 3 days, which is best, continuing to turn the belly every 12 hours. While you are brining, cook your octopus. Beer Poaching Liquid Ingredients: 2lb Baby Octopus (26/40 count) (3) 12oz Sly Fox Pils 12 oz water ¼ cup Sambal chili paste 2 Stalk Lemongrass, pulverized with the back of your knife 1 lemon slice
1 orange slice 1 lime slice 5 crushed garlic cloves, peeled 3 shallots, thin sliced ¼ cup sliced fresh ginger, peeled Salt to taste
Directions: Combine all of the ingredients in a non-reactive pot. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes to give the ingredients time to steep together. Add your baby octopus, cook until tender, approximately 10 – 15 minutes. Check frequently.
Cooking With Beer (Beer Poaching Liquid cont’d) Remove the octopus from the pot, then shock in ice water to chill immediately. Remove the octopus from the ice & marinate in ¼ cup extra virgin oil, 4 paper thin sliced garlic cloves, 1 tbsp paprika and 1 tbsp chili flakes. Toss thoroughly and refrigerate in a Ziploc bag. This is best when done a day in advance. When you are ready to braise the belly, place the belly in a non reactive roasting pan. Pour over enough Sly Fox Dunkel Lager to make it float, and then some more. Cover with foil, braise in the oven at 3000 for 3.5 hours. A fork should penetrate with no effort. Remove and let cool in its liquid overnight. The next day, remove the belly from the liquid and discard any solidified fat. What remains should be approximately a quart of unbelievable pork flavored beer juice. This will be the base for the glaze.
Monday-Friday 5pm–7pm 1/2 Priced Drafts & $4 Wells Wednesday 5pm–11pm Burger & a Beer $10 Saturday 6pm–8pm
Finishing Glaze Ingredients: 2 ancho chilies 2 guajillo chilies 1 qt reserved pork juice 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced 4 oz diced green pepper 4 oz diced red pepper ¾ cup dice white onion 2 tbsp minced ginger
Happy Hour
1 tbsp molasses ½ cup cider vinegar 1 Sly Fox Pilsner 1 tbsp Dijon 1 tbsp Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce 3 tbsp sweet Thai chili sauce 2 cups lite brown sugar
Directions: In a small pot, bring your pork juice to a boil. As you are doing this, toast the deseeded chilies in a hot pan with a little oil until the skins begin to change color. Remove them from the heat and place the chilies in a bowl, pour the hot pork juice over the chilies and cover tight with plastic wrap for 30 minutes. As your chilies are steeping, make your glaze. In hot oil over a medium heat, sauté your garlic and onion until cooked-but not browned. Then add your peppers and ginger. Continue for 5 minutes till tender. Add your beer, molasses, cider vinegar, Worcestershire, Thai chili sauce, Dijon and brown sugar. Reduce this mix over medium heat until it becomes the consistency of molasses-a nice thick glaze. While this is reducing, pour your steeped chilies with the liquid into a blender. Blend on high until it is a smooth paste, and then pour into your glaze. Continue to simmer for 15 more minutes. Set aside. Slice the pork belly like super thick bacon, about ¾ inch. Then cut the slices again the same size to make rectangles. Take a 6” bamboo skewer and push through the portioned belly meat. Place one whole octopus on the end of the skewer in contact with the belly. In a hot pan, preferably non stick or well seasoned, sauté your pork bellies. When browned on all sides, add some glaze, just enough to coat the bellies and octopus, and serve. I enjoy serving them with toasted crushed macadamia nuts and toasted sesame.
11:30am–2am
$2 Bud & Bud Light Bottles
Every Saturday!
You are now the life of the party, Cheers. Note: Both octopus and pork bellies are readily available at the Asian Markets on Washington Avenue
100 Buck Road Holland P.A. 18966 215-357-7700
february/march 2010
19
Tapping into Technology
Beer Trading: Share and Share Alike How to get the hard to reach brews. By: Zeke Diaz
12 Beers on Tap
Beer list always updated at FWOT.com click “Specials”
6 Packs & Growlers And don’t forget to check out our
Award Winning Chicken Fingers & Wings Fingers Wings & Other Things 107 W. Ridge Pike • Conshohocken, PA
610-828-6191 • www.FWOT.com
ADVERTISE HERE TODAY!
Call 215-478-6586 to get more information or download our media kit at
www.beerscenemag.com.
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When I’m packing my suitcase, I make sure to pack bubble wrap, zip lock bags and padded envelopes. Yes, I pack the normal stuff but I want to make sure the beer doesn’t get damaged. Why do I pack beer? Simply because most craft beers are only available regionally. One of my favorite beers is New Belgium’s 1554, a dark, chocolaty, black ale that is not currently available in the Philadelphia area. I also like Dark Lord, The Abyss and Darkness; these are only available at the brewery. If I try to score these beers, I’m not only going to use up some sick days but also do a fair amount of driving. I have two ways of getting beers that I want: 1) Drive to another state or 2) Do a beer trade. Beer trading is very simple and easy. You can go on Beer Advocate (www.beeradvocate.com) or Rate Beer (www.ratebeer.com) and browse the trade forums. Or you can simply do a Google search and find other websites very easily. I look for someone close to where I’m going and send an email. I simply tell them when I’m going to be there, what I’m looking for and what beers I have in my cellar or have access to. When it’s time to make the trip, I wrap each bottle in bubble wrap and put the whole thing into a padded envelope. I splurged and got the plastic envelopes. They’re a little more expensive but they can be reused. I then take Saran wrap and wrap the whole thing about three times. I get a box big enough to hold all the bottles or simply put them in the middle of my suitcase. I prefer sticking them in my suitcase since it’s less stuff to haul to and from the airport. I’ve only had one problem with leakage when I brought home some cans of Southern Star Brewing; not a biggie, but I now always use Ziploc bags when traveling with beer. If you decide to ship a trade, keep in mind that the shipping fees can easily double the total cost of the trade. You will also need to purchase the initial supplies. I ask the guys in the mailroom to save a few boxes, bubble wrap and Styrofoam peanuts for me. It saves me a couple of bucks and it helps the environment. If you’re shipping 22oz bottles then you may want to get a triple-wall box. It’s more expensive than a double-wall but the added protection is worth it. How do you make a trade equitable? Some people like to trade dollar for dollar, others trade bottle for bottle or even ounce per ounce. Make sure you’re comfortable with all aspects of the trade. Ask all your questions up front. Decide who ships first and how to handle missing or broken bottles. Usually, broken or missing bottles are reshipped or replaced. As with any transaction, there are risks involved. Get and verify contact information. Generally home/work, cell phone numbers and home/work e-mail addresses are the minimum information to exchange. Provide the tracking information when the package ships and do respond promptly to any phone calls or e-mails. Enjoy the beer you get and share it with your less fortunate friends. Beer is meant to be shared and good beer is meant to be enjoyed and appreciated.
february/march 2010
Beer Travel
The Ginger Man is located at 11 East 36th Street.
Manhattan Beer Scene Exploring the Beer Bars of New York City. By Genevieve Shuler While craft beer may not be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of NYC, the city’s craft beer presence is growing and makes for a quick and easy weekend trip out of Philly. Whether you choose to hit the road or ride the rails, an hour and a half north you’ll find a city full of great beer bars waiting. If you’re arriving by train into Penn Station, your first stop is just a few blocks east where you’ll find two fabulous craft beer bars located just three blocks apart. The Ginger Man, on East 36th St. is an upscale bar with an old school feel that features an incredible 70 beers on tap as well as 160 bottles! With high ceilings, dark wood, old bank-style lamps on the bar and a cozy nook in the back with couches, sitting down to a beer here is truly a pleasure. Stroll three blocks south to East 33rd and you’ll find the phenomenon that is Rattle’n’Hum Bar. With 40 craft beers on tap, a separate cask bar in the back, an extensive bottle list spanning the country and globe and regular brewery nights, Rattle’n’Hum is a pint of beer heaven. The impressive tap list, recently featured The Bruery’s Two Turtle Doves, Pretty Things’ Babayaga, 21st Amendment’s Monk’s Blood and the Brew Dog/ Stone Bashah! The other wonderland neighborhood for the craft beer scene in Manhattan is the West Village. Hop a train down to West 4th St. and get ready for a mini pub-crawl. Start out at Amity Hall, the neighborhood’s newest addition to the scene. This gorgeous two-story beer hall has 20 fixed taps (featuring 7 local brews), 20 rotating taps, a full food menu and plenty of room to spread out and catch a game while sampling some great beer. From Amity Hall, head west on West 3rd and hang a left on McDougal. Just about half a block down on your left, if you don’t slip right past it, you’ll find a black
door for the 124 Rabbit Club, a speakeasy style, subterranean, candle-lit bar with an impressive list and a sometimes romantic, sometimes clandestine vibe. At this bar the focus is on bottles, with only a small selection on tap, but the staff is well informed and able to offer suggestions on navigating the bottle list. When you again emerge into the sunlight and are in need of some sustenance, look across the street and just to the right for the telltale brown awning of Mamoun’s, and the best $2.50 falafel in the city! Just NW on West 4th between McDougal & 6th Ave, through a big red door you’ll find Vol de Nuit. This cozy Belgian beer hall has a wonderful enclosed courtyard and serves up, in addition to their 8 taps and 30+ bottles, spectacular mussels and fries with a variety of delicious dipping sauces. For your last stop, wander over to the corner of Bleecker and Jones where you’ll find the legendary Blind Tiger Ale House: 28 beers on tap, 2 casks, 1 gravity, 50+ bottled beers, vintage beers, a fireplace in the winter or windows open to the street in the summer and a food menu that brings in even the non-beer-drinkers, all combine to make the Blind Tiger one of New York’s favorite craft beer destinations. As if all that wasn’t enough, on most Wednesdays they have events featuring breweries from near and far. In the past year they’ve hosted nights for Elysian, Kuhnehnn, Blue Point, Ommegang, Troegs, Dogfish Head, Sierra Nevada, Allagash, Brew Dog and Speakeasy! No matter the day or time, walking into the Blind Tiger is like waking up Christmas morning... you never know exactly what you’re going to find under the tree (or on the board), but you know you’re going to be excited about it! These are only some of the worthy craft beer bars in Manhattan, so be sure to do a search for other pubs such as The Pony Bar, Valhalla, D.B.A. and Manchester Pub, depending on which other parts of the city you plan to visit on your weekend beer getaway!
february/march 2010
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Not Beer
The Spirit of a Rogue Living up to the standards of the Rogue Nation, the folks at Rogue Ales also distills artisan spirits. By Scott Willey If you are into craft beer, you are familiar with Rogue Ales out of Oregon. A lot of people aren’t familiar with the line of Rogue Spirits though, since they are not available in Pennsylvania. Rogue Distilleries, with locations in Portland and Newport, Oregon, offer up their artisan distilled spirits along with beer to go, handmade root beer, and cheeses from the Rogue Creamery. Distiller John Couchot is the perfect fit for the Rogue Nation. His unique distilling recipes have won Rogue Spirits a handful of awards. At the World Beverage Competition in Geneva, Switzerland, John brought home the gold four times in the 2009/2010 competition alone for the Dead Guy Whiskey, Spruce Gin, Hazelnut Rum, and Dark Rum. John comes from a unique background involving chemistry and brewing which eventually led him, as his Rogue.com bio says, to “inspired alchemy.” Pictured in this article, are the Spruce Gin and the Hazelnut Spice Rum. The Hazelnut Spice Rum is distilled with ingredients including toasted Oregon hazelnuts, orange peel, Madagascar Bourbon vanilla beans, cinnamon and clove. The flavor boasts toasted hazelnut and orange, with a rich scent of vanilla mingled with clove and cinnamon. This is great just for sipping. If you were to mix it, I would suggest just mixing it with club soda to capture all of the flavors without adding sweetness from ginger ale or lemon-lime sodas. The Spruce Gin, a part of the award winning line, is distilled from 14 unique ingredients including spruce, cucumber, angelica root, grains of paradise, ginger and tangerine, just to name a few. So where do you get Rogue Spirits if you live in PA? I recommend going to Walker’s Liquor Store on the corner of Bridge St. and Rt. 29 in Lambertville, NJ. They carry the full line of Rogue Artisan Spirits, as well as an amazing selection of wines and craft and import beers.
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You’ve Been Served
You’ve Been Served... The Snifter- Make sure you “palm” this bad boy. Don’t hold it like a sissy with your pinky hangin’ out. By Scott Willey Ok, ok... I know I said in the first issue of Philly Beer Scene that we wouldn’t bore you with correct glassware, boiling temperatures or Plato scales, but if you remember correctly, I also said that this is your magazine, Philadelphia. That’s where this new column comes in. Our readers have given us tons of feedback as to what they would like to see in the magazine, and this theme reigned supreme. Enjoy this first installment of “You’ve Been Served...”
Here we have the snifter. It is a bell shaped glass with a stem, wider at the bottom, and tapering in towards the lip of the glass. More commonly used for brandy and cognac, the snifter is great for capturing the aromas, or “nose” on a beer. Personally, I like this glass because you can palm it. By palming this glass, the heat from your hand warms the glass, bringing the beer closer to room temperature, where you are going to appreciate the complex flavors more. I often compare a cold beer to cold pizza. The flavors aren’t as intense when you eat cold pizza right out of the fridge. Also, you want to fill this glass to about where it starts curving inward to ensure you leave plenty of room to swirl the beer and agitate the volatiles. This glass will bring out the aromatic properties, giving you a more fulfilling beer drinking experience. Suggested Styles to be Enjoyed in a Snifter American Barleywine, Imperial IPA, Imperial Stout
Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy Lambic - Fruit
Belgian Strongs (Dark, Pale Ale, etc.)
Old Ale
English Barleywine
Quadrupel (Quad)
Foreign / Export Stout
Russian Imperial Stout
presents...
WINTERFEST
OVER 100 BEERS TO TRY! SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2010 SESSIONS
2
12PM – 3PM 4PM – 7PM
TICKETS $10 in advance & $12 at the door 24 TAKEOUT DOORS LOOK FOR OUR NEW SEASONALS ON OUR WEBSITE
FRONTIERSALOON.COM 336 Kedron Avenue, Folsom 610-461-9775
february/march 2010
23
By Kevin Romer
By. Mat Falco
Self-Sustainability
Scrapple
The Brewmaster
and
“What’s scrapple?” asks Pat Conway, co-owner of Great Lakes Brewing Company (GLBC). We all stared around in a silent laughter thinking amongst ourselves, “how do you describe such a special (for a lack of a better term) regional offering?” Johnny Billotta of Two Guys on Beer decided to step up and try and explain it, but in the end Pat decided between the hangover he was battling and the drive back to Cleveland after breakfast, that passing was probably the better idea. Once we got past the scrapple discussion and a random debate on geology, we did finally end up talking beer and brewing in Cleveland, Ohio. Of course, scrapple came up again, multiple times. Before Pat Conway, there was no such thing as craft beer in Cleveland. Today there is barely a bar in the city that doesn’t carry a Great Lakes brew. Pat has turned Great Lakes into the behemoth it is in the beer world by not just brewing great beers, but also by running a great business. GLBC has a created a business philosophy they call the Triple-Bottom Line. It is a philosophy that revolves
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No better way to start the day than a scrapple breakfast while discussing the benefits of worm farms at breweries...
around engaging in economic, social and environmental practices in order to run a sustainable and profitable business. These engagements include reducing, reusing and recycling, being energy efficient, investing in local community non-profit organizations and more. There is actually a meaning behind having three waves in the logo—they stand for the triple-bottom line philosophy. Not having waste and being efficient is something Pat is extremely passionate about. Going green has become a huge movement over the past couple years, but it is something Pat started over 15 years ago at the brewery. “After school I traveled the world. I came back and was appalled by how much poverty I had seen, but inspired by how resourceful a lot of people are. Like flattening cans and turning them into shingles for their house and collecting falling coals on the train tracks to heat their house.” This was Pat’s inspiration for transforming his brewery and something he has taken to great extents. “We feed worms our office paper, kitchen scraps and barley. When you feed them, their waste,
“After school I traveled the world. I came back and was appalled by how much poverty I had seen, but inspired by how resourceful a lot of people are. Like flattening cans and turning them into shingles for their house and collecting falling coals on the train tracks to heat their house.”
their shit is called castings. It’s full of nutrients and if you use that as a soil amendment, it does great stuff.” Yes, Pat even put a worm farm in the basement to decrease waste and increase productivity from his farm. A large majority of the food used in the restaurant is locally farmed or raised. The brewery and restaurant is also heated through the use of solar panels. The efforts put into making the brewery more environmentally friendly is a never ending mission. GLBC has also recently worked out a deal with a local historic farm in the Cuyahoga Valley Countryside Conservancy in which they are going to farm the land like it would have been hundreds of years ago. GLBC will serve the food in their restaurant and in exchange they will help celebrate and promote the conservancy which has been struggling for years and losing interest amongst tourists. After discussing Pat’s Triple-Bottom Line philosophy with him, it is hard to argue that it isn’t a huge reason behind the success the Great Lakes Brewing Company has seen. GLBC is a local staple amongst all types of people and is becoming a staple to beer drinkers’ fridges country-wide. Oh and if you were wondering whether or not Pat like the scrapple? “No.”
The Brewmaster Series brands will be featured on draft at the following locations when released:
Delaware County
Montgomery County
Pinocchio’s Media www.pinbeer.com
Chap’s Taproom Jeffersonville www.chapstap.com
Bucks County
Union Jacks Glenside 215-886-6014
Pappous Pizza Pub Morton 610-544-0142
Becker’s Corner Quakertown
Abington Country Club Jenkintown www.abingtonclub.com
The Whitpain Tavern Blue Bell www.thewhitpaintavern.com
february/march 2010
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february/march 2010
Everyone’s
Irish On St. Paddy’s Day Since St. Paddy’s Day is engrossed with beer culture, it’s only natural that we explore this holiday tradition. With more knowledge and a little luck, you’ll be ready to down those dry Irish stouts. By: John Galster
W
e’ll start our little history lesson with a bit of info about the real Saint Patrick. The man who would become known as the patron saint of Ireland was born sometime in the late Roman occupation of Britain around 390 AD. We know from authentic documents written by him that he was kidnapped as a teenager and taken to Ireland where he lived as a slave for six years. Seeing a vision of God inspired Patrick to escape back to his family and join the Christian church. Patrick studied and advanced for over a decade before finally returning to Ireland as a bishop. While there are many stories and legends about Patrick’s time in Ireland, most of what we do know for certain comes from the letters that he wrote. While Ireland may never have had actual snakes for Patrick to drive out, the idea that he drove out the snakes of Ireland may be a metaphor for the serpent that represents evil and the devil in Christian symbolism or the druids who were sometimes represented by serpent imagery. On his mission of conversion, he told that he was beaten, robbed, and even at one point put in chains, yet he still managed to convert and baptize thousands of people. One popular legend states that St Patrick used the Shamrock or threeleafed clover to explain to the locals the concept of the Christian Trinity – this refers to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, all combined as one. Whether this is true and led to the popularity of the Shamrock in Ireland or whether its popularity led to the origin
of this legend remains debated to this day. Patrick opened schools and churches all over Ireland, eventually making way for monasteries and church councils. In fact, he was so successful that when he died, different groups fought over his body as it was revered as a holy object. St. Patrick was canonized soon after his death and represents one of the earliest and most successful church missionaries traveling abroad to spread the Christian faith. Of course after his acceptance into sainthood comes the part that the rest of us really like – the partying. March 17th is officially recognized as the date of St. Patrick’s death and was first placed on the Catholic liturgical calendar in the early 1600’s. St Patrick’s Day is meant to be a day of feasting and celebration. Falling during the period of Lent, many bishops – especially in Ireland – allow consumption of meat on a Friday (typically not allowed in Lent) if St. Paddy’s Day ends up on one. The holiday was mainly just a religious celebration until the Irish Society of Boston organized a parade in the British-American colonies in 1737 with New York’s parade starting in 1762 and Philadelphia’s own in 1771. Irish immigrants in early America were generally looked down on and often treated as lower class citizens, not only because of anti-immigration sentiment but also because most Irish were Catholic as well. These parades and the ones they inspired all over the country served as a political and social statement and bolstered the morale of the poor
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Irish in the colonies, the soon to be United States and Canada. Over the years, as conditions improved, the holiday became what it is today – a day to party, celebrate all things Irish, and when everyone can be Irish for a day. Surprisingly, it is only very recently that St Patrick’s Day has come to be celebrated as more than a religious holiday in Ireland itself.
“...the more green you wear, the better. Those who forget to, or simply don’t wear any green at all, get pinched by those of us who do.”
and cabbage is served at many bars and pubs on St. Paddy’s Day and is generally the most well known of St Patrick’s Day dishes. Sometimes places will serve these for a couple days before too. It is usually a good idea to try and get some as soon as possible because there have been quite a few times where I couldn’t find any, despite hopping to several bars as they were all out. The Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day parade will be held this year on Sunday the 14th and will be shown on TV live and in encore on the 17th so there really is no excuse to miss it. Of course, the reason many of us love the holiday so much is that it is a good excuse to go drink with our friends and make new ones along the way. We have the good fortune to have several local Irish spots that pour a good pint on St Paddy’s Day. McGillin’s Olde Ale House on Drury Street (the biggest little street) is Philadelphia’s oldest continuously operating
It wasn’t until 1903 that it became a public holiday and shortly after that, a law was passed closing pubs on the holiday until it was repealed in 1970. It took as long as the mid 1990’s before the Irish government realized that they could use the celebrations to promote Irish culture, heritage, and tourism in their own country on St. Paddy’s Day. Now, people flock from all over the world to enjoy the many festivals held across the country lasting for days. Ironically, much of the Irish government spends the day visiting the heads of state of other countries. Today St Patrick’s Day is celebrated all over the world with some of the largest events held in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, South America and even Japan. OK, so we now know a little bit about Saint Patrick and the day we hold in his honor, but there is more to it than that. This isn’t just a day to go out and drink, there are rules to follow! The first is that no self-respecting St Paddy’s Day reveler should leave his house without wearing something green. “The wearing of the green” originally meant to wear a shamrock on one’s clothing, but today anything green will suffice. In fact, the more green you wear, the better. Those who forget to, or simply don’t wear any green at all, get pinched by those of us who do. One thing you’ll want to make sure you get out early for is the Irish food. Corned beef
Fergie’s Pub, located at 1214 Sansom Street Philadelphia, PA 19107
A Saint Patrick’s Day Timeline St. Patrick is born.
St. Patrick joins the church. Women everywhere cry.
~390
~411
St. Patrick dies and is raised to Sainthood.
~490
400 ~405
~428
St. Patrick goes to Ireland. Doesn’t see any snakes.
beerscenemag.com
Chicago first dyes its river green
1961
1778
500 1600
St. Patrick taken into slavery.
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First St. Patrick’s Day parade is held in Boston. Guinness starts 1737 selling beer.
1700 ~1630
St. Patrick’s Day entered into Catholic calendar of holidays.
february/march 2010
1800 1771
Philly holds its own parade. Is better than Boston’s in every possible way.
1860
Documentary movie Leprechaun is released.
1993
1900
McGillin’s opens under the name The Bell in Hand
2000 1970
McDonald’s starts selling Shamrock Shakes.
2009
Guinness holds their 250th anniversary.
tavern and one of the city’s premiere Irish pubs. The Plough and the Stars is a nice joint that features traditional Irish music sessions and sometimes even dancers. The Irish Pol features a tap list that is both extensive and excellent as well as offering what may be the best happy hour I’ve ever seen. Moriarty’s claims to have a Shamrock Show-down on St Paddy’s Day with contests, dancing, and even bag-pipers. A couple good places to go just outside the city are one of the two Sly Fox locations where you can get an O’Reilly’s Stout on tap or Triumph in Princeton for their Irish Dry Stout if they have it at the time – both are listed in the top ten Irish Dry Stouts.
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Fun Saint Patrick’s Day Facts.
• Corned Beef is not a traditional Irish food. It was used as a cheaper substitute for back-bacon. • For every 1 four-leaf clover there are about 10,000 three-leaf clovers. • It is traditional to kiss someone Irish on St Paddy’s Day. Keep that in mind if you see me.
Moriarty’s, located at 1116 Walnut Street Philadelphia, PA 19107
Of course, another Philly tradition is the Erin Express. This pub crawl runs across the city and features a bunch of buses taking patrons to each bar in a continuous loop from 12:30 PM to 5:30 PM on the 6th and the 13th. The best part about this is that the bus rides are completely free. This loop includes bars such as Cavanaugh’s, Westy’s, Callahan’s Grille, and The Blarney Stone. This event gets very busy so the organizers suggest that people come early if they want to try for a seat. Of course, there are far too many bars, pubs, and restaurants for me to include more than even just this small amount – everyone loves to get in on the Irish action on St. Paddy’s. Even if the bar you go to isn’t a traditional Irish place, you can keep an eye out for good Irish beer. O’Hara’s makes some good brews and if you can find some Beamish, make sure you grab it as it might be the last chance you get – Beamish is no longer going to be imported to the US. So put on your green clothes, grab yourself a green pint with your friends and raise a toast to Saint Patrick, all of Ireland and its people, because although you may not have been lucky enough to be born Irish, we’re all Irish on this day in this city.
• Irish locals peeing on the Blarney Stone? Nope, just a myth. The stone is in a tower in a castle out in the country – not exactly a convenient place for a prank. • Clovers can actually have many leaves – the current world record is 21 leaves. • St Patrick’s associated color is actually blue. • Guinness consumption rises from about 5.5 million pints on any given day to about 13 million on St. Paddy’s Day. • According to a 2007 study, over 36 million Americans claim Irish ancestry. More than 8 times the population of Ireland. • McDonald’s Shamrock Shakes contain no actual shamrocks. • The 1993 movie Leprechaun is a documentary that details what happens when you take a Leprechaun’s gold.
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By Scott Willey
Zymurgy From
Celebrity
to
Rock Star Brewers Are Putting On A Concert... In Your Face.
C
ollaboration brews, which I affectionately call collabrews, are currently all the rage in the beer scene – having the craft beer lover screaming like a school girl in anticipation as our favorite rock star brewers get together to meld their artistic brewing styles into our favorite new craft beers. Getting a hold of these “love-child” brews is like collecting rare live performances of our favorite musicians. Some of these beers, so rare, can be a tough find; seeing that very few end up in the hands of the craft beer drinkers who yearn for them. Is the collaboration brew the sold out concert of the craft beer scene, or is the ticket too overpriced and too limited for the true fan to enjoy?
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ecently we have seen an explosion of collaboration brews on the market from micro breweries near and far, and some in between. We have the cross country collab between Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head in Life & Limb. We have the upcoming collaborative efforts of Bavarian Barbarian and Bullfrog that could have been brainstormed at the bus stop. These two breweries are about two blocks away from one another in Williamsport, Pa. We also see G. Schnider & Sons Brewery from Germany teaming up with Brooklyn Brewery to conceive Brooklyner-Schneider Hopfen-Weisse and Schneider-Brooklyner Hopfen-Weisse (yes, I know it’s confusing) where each brewmaster took the trip to the others brewery to father a child. There’s even a few menagea-trois beers around, such as the retired Alesmith, Mikkeller, and Stone’s Belgian Style Tripel Ale. All of this can seem a bit overwhelming, but as much as a utopia to the beer geek as the Justice League is to the comic reader. We put our favorite breweries on a pedestal, and secretly fantasize about them teaming up as if they were going to fight crime together like Batman and Superman. Many noobs in the beer scene find a brewery they like, and akin to the craft beer nerds that we are, seek out these often limited brews to extend their palate by trying to find the mild nuances within these beers the sister brewery infused. It’s a very exciting time in the brewery world with all of these collaboration brews. But is it a flash in the pan of the overall scene? One of the most recent collaboration beers to hit the scene is Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head’s limited offering of Life and Limb (and the even rarer, keg only Limb and Life.) In researching this beer, I found
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the following quotes within this article from Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head Brewery, and Ken Grossman of Sierra Nevada on www.lifelimb.com, the website for the collaborative brews. Their words are sincere, and sum up what craft beer brewing and collaboration are all about. One of the most respectable aspects of the craft beer scene is that it is not a competition, but rather, a brotherhood. We as the consumer see this at the many craft beer festivals, and corner bars ourselves. The craft beer drinker, although they never signed up, belong to a fraternity. It is amazing to me that a city as large as Philadelphia can have a small town feel if you truly enjoy craft beer. We see familiar faces at the craft beer bars, and many of us are friends through social networking;
looking out for one another when we get the drop on a new beer being tapped. Sam Calagione understands this relationship amongst all of us, from drinker to brewer, with his quote about collaborating with Ken. Sam said, “I have gotten to know Ken through our years on The Brewers Association Board and at numerous beer events throughout the country. As a brewer myself, it is inspiring to see a person like Ken drive a beer-centric (as opposed to a biz-centric) brewery so far and so wide while sticking to his original ideals and integrating his family into the company. I have enjoyed talking (and drinking) beer with his children, especially Sierra and Brian who currently work alongside Ken at Sierra Nevada. The iterative process of conceptualizing and brewing this
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beer with Ken and all the folks at Sierra has been a joy. We have designed this beer to intertwine signature aspects of both of our breweries’ creative approaches— from sustainability to exotic sugars, from bottle conditioning to cellarability. I hope Mariah (Sam’s wife), our amazing co-workers, and I can keep Dogfish on track with our beer-centric ideals for many years to come. I will know how successful we’ve been at this task if my children, Sammy and Grier, are able to share a bottle of 2009 Life & Limb with Sierra and Brian at a beer dinner or festival 15 years or so from now. I am hopeful that, as they toast each other, they can hold their heads up high knowing our two breweries were among many fine breweries that breathed LIFE into the colorful, diverse, and beautiful LIMBS of the American craft-brewing family tree.” If that quote isn’t something to toast to, I don’t know what is. The collaborative spirit doesn’t just include breweries. For example, take Rogue Brewery from Oregon and their collaboration with world renowned, James Beard Award winning chef, Masaharu Morimoto. Also of Iron Chef fame, Morimoto has restaurants in New York and Philly, simply called Morimoto. The Rogue Ales Morimoto Signature Series puts a unique twist on the collaboration scene by taking unique ingredients to pair with Chef Morimoto’s culinary specialties. Within this award-winning series are ales such as an Imperial Pilsner, Soba Ale, Black Obi Ale, and Morimoto Hazelnut. Yes, the hazelnut is the same recipe as the Hazelnut Brown Nectar, but within Philadelphia and New York it is labeled as Morimoto Hazelnut to be served in, and promote his restaurants. An even more extreme collaboration takes place between Dogfish Head Brewery and molecular archaeologist Dr. Patrick
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Fan Boys in Brewing Bill Covaleski and Ron Barchet were such fans of a beer, they invited Tom Baker to their brewery to recreate a legend. Baltic Thunder is Victory Brewing Co.’s take on Purkuno’s Hammer, a beer once brewed by the now defunct Heavyweight Brewing Co. out of Ocean Township, New Jersey. This original porter was a hit for its time and a collaboration between Tom Baker—the former owner of Heavyweight Brewing, and current owner/brewmaster at Earth Bread and Brewery—and notable Philadelphia beer writer, Lew Bryson. Several years after the closing of Heavyweight, Bill Covaleski and Ron Barchet from Victory Brewing Co. in Downingtown, PA, invited Tom to stop by Victory to recreate the legend of Purkuno with some changes to the original recipe. The biggest difference between the two brews is that for cost reasons, black-eyed peas were used in place of Roman beans. The interesting difference between porters and Baltic porters lies in the yeast strain. Although porters are an ale, Baltic porters employ a lager yeast strain and go through a process of cool maturation like a lager, but ferment at a higher temperature which is more common in brewing ales. At Philly Beer Scene, we were fortunate to get our hands on a bottle of the original Perkuno’s Hammer as well as the modern, Baltic Thunder. We tried these side by side and could immediately recognize distinct differences between both beers. The Perkuno’s Hammer was mellower, most likely due to aging while the Baltic Thunder had a slight touch of hops, which is often characteristic in most Victory beers. If you are fortunate enough to see a bottle of Perkuno’s Hammer, grab it. This is a beer of which legends are born.
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McGovern from the University of Pennsylvania Molecular archaeologists study human ancestry and genetic development, medical practice and even ancient dietary practices involving cuisine and beverages. Dr. McGovern is one of the world’s leading experts in ancient beverages. Sam Calagione teamed up with Dr. McGovern to bring us the Ancient Ales Series which includes the Midas Touch, Chateau Jiahu and Theobroma. The Midas Touch is brewed with honey, white muscat grapes and saffron. The basis of this recipe is of the molecular evidence found in drinking vessels in King Midas’ tomb. The Chateau Jiahu brings us back nine thousand years and places us in Northern China. The use of hawthorn fruit, sake, rice, barley and honey to brew this beer relies on evidence discovered in the pottery of a grave in the Neolithic village of Jiahu. Lastly, and most recently, we have the Theobroma. This recipe lends itself to the celebratory, chocolate alcoholic beverages enjoyed by the ancient Aztec and Mayan cultures. By teaming up with Dr. McGovern, Sam Calagione has traveled through time to collaborate on beers with some of the most influential cultures in the world. Through his Ancient Ales series, we get a unique glimpse of ancient beer recipes that have been lost for thousands of years, and this can be compared to a more recent collaboration with Yards and our founding fathers. Yards brews beers using the recipes of George Washington, Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. Search out the first issue of Philly Beer Scene magazine for the full story on Yards’ (literally speaking) revolutionary ales. Using ancient recipes, traveling the world to co-brew an ale, and unique ingredients— these beers must be priceless, you’re thinking. Well, you are close to being right. Although the collaboration efforts of these breweries are an exciting frontier on the beer scene, the truth is, they are pricy. Some argue that the consumer is paying for lush accommodations and travel time to far away breweries. Others argue that the prices nearly double for both breweries to get a cut of the proceeds. And still others argue that we are paying for unique and fancy packaging, or the limited availability
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of these collabrews, leaving many craft beer drinkers to only read about the product because it is snatched up by the employees of distributors and take-outs before the customer ever gets the chance. Some of these theories may be true, but I would like to think these collaborations are for the love of the art of brewing. We don’t see the macro breweries teaming up just for the love of beer (the thought of the end result, if it did happen, makes me shudder.) Macro breweries are driven by greed and control of the market. From my experiences, I have yet to meet the craft brewer that solely did it for profitability, and firmly believe that the armor of the craft beer market would be tarnished to a level that it couldn’t be repaired if a large majority of the craft industry was attempting to put out a poorly made product simply on hype and to make a quick buck. Sure, there are breweries that were previously considered craft, and end up being referred to as sell-outs because of their lack of focus on their product, and trying to boost their income by distributing to a larger territory too quickly. Others have sold themselves outright to be housed by the macro breweries, and sadly, lost brand integrity. With that being said, I will still continue to believe that the collaboration brews are a labor of love; an experiment to bring you new and creative styles in the world of craft brewing. Ken Grossman of Sierra Nevada summed up his collaboration with Dogfish Head by saying, “Sam and I have spent many evenings laughing, arguing and toasting glasses, talking about where we are in the business and where we’re going. As Sierra Nevada approaches our 30th anniversary, it’s inspiring to step back and see how far American craft beer has come. People like Sam and Dogfish help to push the boundaries of beer, and it has been fun working with him and the Dogfish crew. It will be great to see our families share this beer during anniversaries of their own.” I agree with Ken. It’s all about the love and compassion to the art. If that means I have to shell out a few extra bucks for the process, I will, knowing that these beers were made just as much for them, as they were for their ever adoring fans. Rock on, micro brewers.
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Ch..Ch…Changes Philly Beer Week Marches on to June. By: Mat Falco
Ahhh…March! What a great month. Winter is nearing its end, the days are getting longer, St. Patty’s Day festivities are in full swing, and the greatest ten days of beer drinking in the world are taking place. There is no reason this is not Philadelphia’s favorite month of the year. Well, at least there was no reason for the past two years. Oh how things change over a year. Sadly, March has taken a huge blow and is no longer home to those 10 great days known as Philly Beer Week. “Yes, we moved it from the first weekend of March. Believe me, this was an incredibly difficult decision, particularly because we had such great success in March over PBW’s first 2 years.” Those were the groundbreaking words of Joe Sixpack himself, Don Russell. Don is one of the beer pioneers of this great city and one of the key voices behind Philly Beer Week. So why did it move? Why did Don and the other leaders of Philly Beer Week decide to change something that has been doing so great? Haven’t they ever heard the proverbs: “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” or “you don’t get off the winning horse in the middle of the race?” Well, there are answers. A few answers actually. Like I said earlier, March is also home to one of the biggest beer drinking holidays of the year, St. Patrick’s Day. Yes, this is not anything like a Philly Beer Week event as it usually revolves around Guinness and plethora of shitty beer, but this day does draws an immense amount of business for bar owners. That makes March already a busy and profitable month, so it would be nice to give the bars some love and move Philly Beer Week to a less profitable time of year. It also makes things easier on distributors as they only have to try and keep up with St. Patty’s
Day business. Also according to Don, “There was some concern that responsible craft beer lovers are wrongly confused with the chugand-puke crowd of the Erin Express.” (Classic: I’m told that at the Good Dog, Erin Expressers—who were banned from the bar—referred to us as Beer Week Yuppies. Gotta love it.) Reason number two: the Zythos Festival in Belgium, one of the biggest festivals of the year, occurs at the same time. This makes it hard for a lot of the Belgian brewers to make their way over the big pond as well as makes it hard for the Belgian importers to get their hands on beer for the US. A lot of the special Belgian brews are going right to the Zythos festival. This is a pretty solid reason considering what a strong Belgian market this city has grown known for. Reason number 3: Philly Beer Week is getting huge and the growth it showed in only its second year goes to show that we’re going to start needing some bigger facilities, and there is no bigger location in Philadelphia than the Convention Center. Only problem with that in the past was, Philly Beer Week took place right after the annual flower show so the Convention Center was off-limits. The flower show also already gave the city a boost in tourism. Now with the Convention Center in play, one can only imagine the possibilities. Lastly, reason number 4: the weather in March sucks. Philly Beer Week has been fortunate the past two years with only minimal amounts of bad weather, but despite winter drawing to its end, March has a reputation for bringing some extreme weather conditions. A snowstorm in the middle of Beer Week could cause some significant problems and put a damper on the festivities. Sadly this means there is no hope for an annual U.S. vs. Belgian snowball fight. Thanks to those above stated reasons, we now have an extra three months to wait until Philly Beer Week 2010. June 4th-13th ended up being the lucky recipient of these glorious ten days. Waiting, however, may end up not being such a bad thing. Imagine how much nicer it’ll be walking from bar to bar on a nice summer day, not having to worry about bundling up in multiple layers, scarves and hats. Not only will the commute be nice, but some of our favorite bars with patios may start moving their events outside under the early evening sun. It’s hard to argue a more enjoyable activity than having
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a well-crafted beer outside amongst friends on a warm summer day. Block parties anyone? There are definitely already talks of such lovely events this June. So how exactly did all this beer week madness begin in the first place? Well it was pretty much destined to come to Philly. Beer in Philadelphia dates all the way back to William Penn in 1680, and by 1870 it was home to 69 breweries. Rumor has it that U.S. Marine Corp was conceived over a couple pints at the old Tun Tavern that is no longer around. There was even a part of the city called Brewerytown, named after large amount of breweries. Philadelphia is a city built off beer, so why not have a ten-day week to celebrate it. Philly Beer Week would give the city an opportunity to show off not only it greats area breweries but also its vast array off awesome bars that range from the now 150 year old, historical McGillin’s to the premier Belgian bars like Monk’s that have paved road for bars throughout the country for bringing in a vast array of Belgian beers. Philly Beer Week would also help solidify that Philadelphia is the premier beer city in the country. It is because of all this that Don Russell and the rest of the Philly Beer Week committee decided to set aside ten days a year and make them an annual celebration of Philadelphia’s beer culture. Though cities such as Portland and San Diego might argue, thanks to the success of Philly Beer Week and having many cities follow in its footsteps and throwing their own weeks, Philadelphia now proudly considers itself the premier beer city in the U.S. Even the ever-prestigious Maxim Magazine named Philadelphia the top overall beer city in the country. (Ok, maybe a little sarcasm in the ever-prestigious part, but still cool that a magazine that usually limits its beer mentions to shit beer and sexually-named beers such as Intercourse Blue Ball Porter, noticed such an awesome craft beer scene here.) It’s hard to find a list that doesn’t rank Philadelphia in the top 5 (and if you find one it’s probably bullshit). No matter what month Philly Beer Week takes place, it’s hard to imagine it not being the best ten days of the year. In only one year it grew to over double the size of events and participants and it already seems that it’ll grow even larger this year. We’re only halfway through January and there are over 130 bars and breweries signed up to host events. It’s not just your typical bars that participate either. Everyone from University City area music venue World Café Live to award-winning Iron Chef Jose Garces restaurant: Amada. There will be something for beer drinkers of all kinds this year. Also, it will be during Father’s Day, so fathers will have at least one day with an excuse to get out and have a few pints. “I mean, if a guy can’t get a pass to spend the day drinking beer on Father’s Day…,” stated Don Russell when asked of the benefits of moving. So yes, Philly Beer Week has moved on from March and left us feeling a little empty in that cold month, and, yes, we have to wait three extra months before we get to put our lives on hold for ten days of firkin-flowing fun, but not all is lost. Good times were had and only better times are sure to be had this year. Come June, there will be all kinds of new stories to share and memories to be had. So, here’s to Philly Beer Week in June and the great beers to be had! Cheers and come quickly June 4th!
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Filling the void: Ten events in Ten Days March 5th:
March 10th:
Two Guys on Beer/Great Lakes Kickoff Party 8:00 Friday night, we’re kicking off our ten days of festivities at Cavanaugh’s Rittenhouse. Dave and Johnny of TwoGuysOnBeer.com are joining us and Great Lakes will be releasing a new beer to the Philadelphia market. This will be your first opportunity to drink Holy Moses White Ale. There are also a few surprises on hand so be sure not to miss out.
Meet the Brewers Night Join us at the General Lafayette at 7:30 Tuesday night for an opportunity to meet not one but two local craft brewers. Meet Chris Leonard of General Lafayette and one of Philly’s newest brewers, Robert de Maria of Prism brewing. Both brewers will be in-house pouring their great brews. There will also be a firkin of Prism’s Bitto Honey IPA.
March 6th: Philly Craft Beer Festival We were going to throw a unique event this day, but there is no reason to compete against an event we’re already going to. So, come join us at the festival and sample a few beers with us. This is great annual festival that has always impressed.
March 7th: Beers, Bowling and BBQ On Sunday afternoon from 3:00-7:00 we’re renting out St. Monica’s Bowling Alley in South Philly to bring you four awesome hours of all you can eat, drink and bowl. Philadelphia Brewing Co. will be on hand and providing as much of their locally crafted beers as you desire. The food will be provided by ’09 Best of Philly winner and new king of Philly BBQ: Bebe’s BBQ (their pulled pork is a must try amongst every foodie in the city). There will also be live music. Tickets, available on beerscenemag.com, are limited and only $40 so get them quick.
March 8th: 150 Minutes for 150 Years To help celebrate McGillin’s 150th anniversary, we’re hosting a 150-minute long historical beer dinner. The dinner will feature menu items taken off classic McGillin’s menus dating up to 100 years ago and will be paired with Yards Ales of the Revolution. Tom Kehoe of Yards will be on hand to discuss the history of his beers. The two Chris Mullins behind McGillin’s will also be sharing the history of their bar through slideshows and exhibits. Tickets are extremely limited and available on beerscenemag.com.
March 9th: Are You Smarter Than TwoGuysOnBeer.com? Lancaster Brewing Co. is sponsoring a night of beer trivia that is putting the hosts of TwoGuysOnBeer.com’s, Johnny and Dave, beer knowledge to the test. Think you have a team of two that can outsmart TGOB and the rest of Philadelphia? Come out to National Mechanics to compete and win the opportunity to takeover an episode of Johnny and Dave’s show and prize pack from Lancaster Brewing Co.
March 11th: How Do You Like Your Weyerbacher? Weyerbacher classics, Old Heathen and Blithering Idiot will be on draft in all their forms so that you can choose how you like yours best. The Hulmeville Inn will be tapping a keg and pin of Old Heathen along with a keg of Heresey. They will also be tapping a keg and pin of Blithering Idiot along with a keg of Blasphemy. It’s not very often you get to try such awesome beers side by side—be sure not to miss out.
March 12th: Founders Friday We’re going to be hanging out at South Philly Tap Room (SPTR) on Friday night and there is no better pairing for SPTR than Founders Brewery. Come hang out and enjoy a night of a bunch of awesome Founders beers and food specials. And, you never know, there just may be a firkin filled with a Founders brew.
March 13th: Feats of Strength and Weakness Starting at 8:00 on Saturday night we’re teaming up with Scots of the Grey Lodge to put the local beer reps to the test. 10 area reps will be competing in challenges of physical strength, mental strength, and weakness (providing the best low-alcohol beer). Each brewery will be represented by their session beer of choice on tap. So come cheer on your favorite beer rep or just come and get to know them as they show off their talents and try to be named king/ queen of the local beer reps.
March 14th: Beer Geek Brunch No better way to close out 10 days of drinking festivities than with a beer brunch. Readers have submitted their favorite beer-infused brunch recipes and we’re putting the 4 best against each other at Hawthornes. Reserve your seats to this limited 4 course beer brunch that will be paired with beers from Nodding Head, General Lafayette and Bullfrog Brewery and feature limited beers such as Mikkellers Beer Geek Breakfast!
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Bar & Restaurant Review 40
Behind the Music Enjoy great food and even better beer at this Old City spot. By Mat Falco
You know your mom always told you not to judge a book by its cover? Well, sometimes, maybe you should listen to her. Having a reputation for being a slummy, very-indie music venue/bar, the Khyber is one of those places that deserves a deeper look. Get beyond the old, grungy appearance and walk in on a weekday afternoon for lunch. You’ll have a completely different experience than you would expect; one with a great draft beer selection and a top-notch kitchen. Bar manager Jeremy Thompson, loves good beer and has done a great job with the beer selection. There is always a beer I’ve yet to try on tap along with a few favorites. New to the area breweries like Cigar City, always seem to show up shortly after their arrival. There are twelve taps in all and none of them belong to a macro brew. They also always have a cask on the hand pump. Beyond the taps, there is also about 30 bottles and cans to choose from, ranging from classics like Bells Amber to more sought after brews such as Russian River Damnation. Like events? The Khyber has been home to some awesome events over the past year including “Firkins for our Furry Friends” which was taking $20 donations in exchange for a bottomless cup of a variety of local firkins all to support animals in need. Like the food at the Royal Tavern? You know, that
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infamous Royal Burger with the long hots on it? Well imagine enjoying an almost identical burger in an even more laid back, casual atmosphere for only half the price. Being under the same ownership you can find a few similarities between the two bars including that burger. There is also a bunch of unique dishes at the Khyber like homemade pierogies and a cheesesteak loaded with hash browns, bacon, onions, long-hots, American and cheddar cheese and a fried egg, called the Get Outta Towner. Not only is the food cheap and delicious (the tilapia tacos are some of the best in the city), the portions are ridiculously huge. I’ve never seen such big pierogies, finishing three of them was a challenge. Don’t order a meal and an appetizer like I keep attempting, it’s a waste of food. Yes, they still might be a grungy music venue, and you may be eating food with plastic silverware and soups out of to-go containers, but there is more to the Khyber and it deserves a second look. In a city filled with classier, fancy bars, there’s something to be said for having an alternative to get good food to pair with your good beer. Sometimes you just want to escape and hang out at more of a dive type atmosphere and the Khyber is perfect destination. So, next time you want to go out and try something different, take a seat at the Khyber’s legendary bar and save yourself a few bucks on a great meal and beer.
Beers, Tunes, and Ghosts. By Neil Harner
Right in the heart of Phoenixville sits another one of the Scene’s more historical beer drinking destinations. Today, The Pickering Creek Inn, once known as the Mansion House, is a casual bar & restaurant serving up great beers, local music, and a few ghost stories. The Mansion House was one of the oldest hotels in Phoenixville offering accommodations for about 25 guests. It featured a restaurant and bar on the first floor serving up a fine wine list and liquor list as well as cigars. It has even been said that Abraham Lincoln once dined there and it was a destination that slaves escaping the south often frequented as part of the Underground Railroad. With so much history throughout the last 170 years of the Inn’s existence, it is no surprise that with Phoenixville’s reputation as being one of the state’s most haunted destinations, The Pickering Creek Inn would be a featured location of “Ghost Tours of Phoenixville.” It is said that there have been several ghostly encounters some noted by paranormal researchers and common workers such as the men that refused to continue working on renovations after an encounter at the Inn after unsealing a few hidden rooms which haven’t been opened in nearly a century. Today, the Phoenixville Inn offers a quite casual atmosphere with plenty of seats at the bar and tables
in their dining room if you’re looking for a meal. They feature a great beer list including plenty of local crafts like beers from Phoenxville’s Sly Fox, craft beer from throughout the country, and even a few notable imports. The menu offers pretty a limited selection of pretty standard pub and American fare but the quality does not disappoint. The most notable attraction, other than the beer, that the Inn offers is its constant rotation of nighttime entertainment. Other than a constant schedule of featured local musicians, the Inn also gives any budding star the opportunity to conquer the spotlight either on their Karaoke nights or Sunday Open Mic Nights. My personal favorite though, is Wednesday’s Grateful Dead Nights where live recordings are played throughout the bar. If you’re ever in the area, be sure to drop by for a beer. Or if you are looking for a fun-filled night with some good crafts, the Pickering Creek Inn is the perfect spot. You can even make your own little pub crawl by starting off here and hitting some of the other Phoenixville destination such at Iron Hill and Molly Maguire’s. The Pickering Creek Inn is located at 37 East Bridge Street, Phoenixville, PA 19460.
Bar & Restaurant Review
Pickering Creek Inn
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The Tasting Room How Philly Beer Scene Reviews Beer
This issue’s Tasting Room brought us to one of the most legendary Belgian bars in the Philadelphia and the country.
Every issue the four founders of Philly Beer Scene, Scott, Neil, Mat and John get together with a notable guest for a small, private, tasting session called the “The Tasting Room.” Approximately a dozen beers are chosen that are new, seasonal or just interesting.
Monks Café in Center City, is one the most respected bars in the country not only for their unparalleled beer selection but also for their award winning variety of incredible moules frites. A Philadelphia landmark for years now, Monks is a must try for anyone who appreciates fine beer and food.
Rather than presenting an overly-detailed single perspective review, “The Tasting Room” serves to be a brief written account of key points made between the tasters. Each taster designates a rating from zero to five stars, justifying it in their own way. The scores are then averaged and always rounded to the nearest half star for a final rating.
Star Gazing Stay Away From This Beer A Drinkable Beer But Not Worth Seeking Out An Average Beer A Pretty Decent Beer Worth Drinking Anytime If You See This Beer, Order It You Better Go Out And Find This Beer Now
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Our notable guest Being at Monks, it only made sense to have world-renowned publican Tom Peters as our guest reviewer. As one of the owners of Monks, Tom is one of the key players behind the immense variety of Belgian beers in Philadelphia. Tom is also one of the leaders of the Philly Beer Week committee. Also, “crashing” our Tasting Room was Chris Fetfatzes of the newly opened beer boutique and gourmet eatery, Hawthorne’s.
Weyerbacher Fireside Ale
Lancaster Milk Stout
Initially dubbed “Charlie” in the Weyerbacher
A dark ale complemented with roasted barley dryness,
Brewer’s Select Series. With hints of smokiness and
mellowed by addition with of non-fermentable lactose
malt favor, the combination creates a crisp bitterness
sugar, providing a minimal sweetness. ABV: 5.3%
and perfect blend. ABV: 8.7%
Tom 3.5 Subtle, but noticeable smoke aroma. A bit of sweetness in the middle, finishes dry. I like this.
Tom
3
Classic milk stout with lactose. Good body. A little chalky in finish.
Mat
3
Much better beer on tap.
Mat
4
Love the hidden smoke flavor. ABV is scary though, well hidden.
Scott
3
Slight, smokiness scent balanced with malt sweetness. Heat is unnoticeable at 7.5%.
Scott
3
Lactose sweetness up front, a little thin, but solid for a sweet stout.
John
3
Warm, thick and creamy tasting. Nice finish. Smells like alcohol but doesn’t taste like it.
John
3
It’s a milk stout.
Neil
1
Better on draught.
Neil 3.5 Great sweetness upfront with a very mild smoke.
Fuller’s London Porter
Prism Bitto Honey IPA
From across the pond comes this solid English Porter
The flagship brew from one of the newest brewers in the
from Fuller’s. London Porter is brewed from a mix of
area. Heavy dose of honey malt and fresh clover honey
Brown, Crystal and Chocolate malts for a creamy taste
to add a touch of sweetness to the bitter hops.
balanced by Fuggles hops. ABV: 5.4%
ABV: 6.5 %
Tom 3.5 Good, roasted aroma. Medium body. Chocolate, light roasted coffee taste. Classic English Porter.
Tom 3.5 Huge hop aroma with notes of citrus & pine. Subtle honey flavor. A bit too much bittering hops.
3
Good, traditional porter. Not overwhelming, but a quality beer.
Mat
3
Great first attempt. Smells like a tree and has a nice dry finish.
Scott
3
Carmel & slight hoppy nose. Great medium bodied, silky mouth feel.
Scott
4
Very cloudy, unfiltered. Floral, sweet earthy nose with spruce. Honey is barely noticeable- very dry.
John
3
Strong, malty, caramel, sweet smell. Sweet, lots of roastiness. Good, but not amazing.
John
4
Smells like hops and honey. Really good. True honey is a great balance to the bitterness.
Neil
3
Great hops aroma, a little bitter, dry
Mat
Traditional, solid, roasty and sweet. Medium bodied.
Neil 3.5 Got to respect it.
Voodoo Wynona’s Big Brown
Long Trail Winter White
American Brown Ale from Voodoo Brewing Company
Part of Long Trail’s Brewmaster Reserve Series, this
in Meadville, PA. Hopped with brown malt and marris
unfiltered Belgian witbier will surprisingly keep you
otter malt as well as Simcoe, Amarillo and Northern
warm on a chilly night at 7.2% alcohol.
Brewer to enhance the flavor and the aroma.
ABV: 7.2 %
ABV: 7.3 % Tom Tom 3.5
Unusual fruitiness in aroma. Taste like Cadbury milk chocolate bar with raisins in flavor.
Mat
4
Great brown ale. Lot of unexpected fruit flavor.
Scott
3
Lumbery aroma with sour cherries. Alcohol is very present. Burnt coffee flavor lingers in the finish.
John 3.5 Neil
4
Sweet and caramely without a lot of hop flavor. Solid all around and very drinkable. Strong alcohol & wood aroma. Alcohol & sweetness very strong. Many flavors going on.
1
Copious amounts of Coriander in nose.
Mat 1.5 Not my favorite in brew master series. Scott 3.5
Pineapple & coriander in the nose. Nice, thick body for a white ale. Alcohol isn’t present until the end.
John 3.5 Warm & thick. Too sweet but not bad. You know the smell of hand soap from your grade
Neil 3.5 school? That’s it.
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De Ranke XX Bitter
St. Martin’s Triple
XX Bitter is a very weighty beer, aggressively
Three varieties of malt and three of hops create the
brewed to be the hoppiest in Belgium. It is first of all
robust character of this triple-strength 9% pale beer.
remarkably hoppy – and it persists in its hoppiness
Brewed by Brunehaut in Rongy, Belgium
unto the bitter end – but it does not want for balanc-
ABV: 9 %
ing maltiness. ABV: 6.2 % Tom Tom
4
Hop aroma. Great balance of malty hops (sweet and bitter). A bit of fruitiness from Belgian yeast strain.
Mat
3
A little over carbonated, but a nice bittering taste.
Scott 2.5
3
Fruit (apricot?) aroma. Pleasingly dry finish.
Mat 3.5 Very approachable and not overwhelming. Sweet, which is nice in a triple.
Scott
4
Skunky hop nose. Too carbonated- takes away from the hop flavor, finishes like a seltzer.
Light, melon nose. Sweet, grassy/organic flavor. Medium bodied, easy drinking triple.
John
3
Sweet, light, sugary.
Neil
4
Light and airy. Fresh fruits. Dry for a triple.
John
1
Change from start to finish is too much. Tastes like a normal Belgian golden up front.
Neil
3
Great lacing, bitter, farmhouse funk.
Victory St. Victorious Bruery Rugbrod A Danish-style brown rye ale. Dark, dense blended with rich, toasty flavors, for one robust brew. ABV: 8%
From the tradition started by the monks of St. Francis of Paula in 1634 comes this warming beer of rich heritage. A dark, rich lager of sublime complexity and character, St. Victorious is created from multiple German malts.
4
Tom
The rye pops out in the middle and finish. Rye spiciness in middle.
Mat 3.5 Great flavor, but over carbonation ruins it. Scott
4
Sweet nose with rye. Over carbonated, too carbonated. Great sweetness upfront, finished like a brown ale.
John
4
Spicy nose, sweet, bready taste. That sourish rye bread taste.
Neil
4
Awesome flavor. Actually rye. Sweet.
ABV: 7.6%
Tom 3.5 Medium mouthfeel. Malty aroma. Caramel chocolate finish.
Mat 2.5 Very simple, lacking in dimension. Scott
2
Caramel, sweet, one dimensional. Nothing upfront, nothing follows.
John
3
Good, sweet and bland. A little bit of bitterness at the end saves it.
Neil 3.5 Solid. Sweet but not much up front or finish.
Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA Pretty Things Baby Tree This is a full bodied beer using American grains. The goal was to create a base for showing off the unique
Baby Tree is a “quadruple” brewed with a single
floral qualities of two Pacific Northwest hops,
strain of Belgian yeast. This quad also boosts the
Columbus and Cascade.
addition of 401lbs of dried California plums in the
ABV: 7%
kettle to enhance its dark fruit character. ABV: 8.6 %
Tom
4
Classic West Coast IPA with the requisite citrus aromas. Perfect balance of malt hops. Great session beer.
Mat
4
Amazing aroma and just a great IPA.
4
Great floral hop aroma. Hops in the front, hops in the back. Pinnacle IPA. Nice and clean.
John
4
Nice and mellow with good, light bitterness. An easy drinking IPA. Nice amount of sweetness.
Neil
4
Phenomenal IPA. Bitter & perfect sweetness.
Scott
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Tom
3
Malt and dried fruit in aromas. Medium bodied, I expected more
Mat
4
Quad I actually really like. Dryness really helped mellow out the sweetness.
Scott
4
9% is well masked. Very dry for a quad. Mild sweetness. Trace flavors of dark fruit.
John
4
Metallic, dry and fruity without being too sweet. Not particularly pruny.
Neil
4
Nice body. Nice sweetness but not typical of a quad.
Weird beer #5
The Final Picks After some long discussion and debate over the twelve craft beers that were sampled, our panel and Tom Peters are ready to reveal each of their
5
Tactical Nuclear Beer
Eli Duke
favorite picks for Febuary and March.
Tom Peters’ Final Pick: De Ranke XX Bitter: A perfect balance of Belgium & USA influences. Aggressively hopped with a bit of fruitiness from the Belgian yeast. Great session beer, I could drink this all day.
Mat’s Final Pick: Voodoo Wynona’s Big Brown: A very unique take on a brown ale. The fruitiness really complemented the beer and makes it something unique.
Scott’s Final Pick: Pretty Things Baby Tree: Perfectly balanced for an untraditional quad. If that makes any sense. Not overly sweet, not bitter. A sessionable quad, which is an oxymoron.
John’s Final Pick: Prism Bitto Honey: This local beer has a great balance between a tiny bit of honey sweetness and a sizeable hop bitterness.
Neil’s Final Pick: Bruery Rugbrod: I like brown ales and this reminds me of one but in terms of flavor there is a whole new level due to the depth of rye.
Last month we introduced you to Samuel Adam’s 2009 Utopias touting it as the World’s Strongest Beer. Little did we know that at the exact time that article was being written, BrewDog Brewery, out of Scotland were releasing their Tactical Nuclear Penguin. At Philly Beer Scene, we were fortunate enough to get our hands on this very limited release beer which most definitely will not be available commonly throughout the U.S. The Tactical Nuclear Penguin weighs in at an impressive 32% ABV. The beer starts out as an imperial stout that is then double barrel aged for 14 months in Scottish whiskey casks. Then, the beer is taken to an ice cream factory to be frozen multiple times to remove the excess frozen water from the beer and thereby concentrating the beer and alcohol. The beer itself has a great level of complexity in flavors although the alcohol is quite potent both in the nose and the flavor. You might as well be drinking a spirit. It takes several sips of the beer to get past the potency and start appreciated the deep flavors most notably characteristic of the whiskey barrel and the wood. What was most surprising was that for such a high-alcohol beer, it maintained a surprising level of carbonation often lost in other high ABV beers such as Utopias or Dogfish Head’s World Wide Stout. And if you have any doubts about this beer being a weird beer, just check out BrewDog’s video about the making of this beer which can be found on the home page of Philly Beer Scene’s website, www.beerscenemag.com.
february/march 2010
45
Directory
Philadelphia Bars & Restaurants 12 Steps Down 831 Christian St. www.12stepsdown.com 700 700 N. 2nd Street www.the700.org 1601 Café 1601 S. 10th Street www.1601cafe.com
Cavanaugh’s Rittenhouse 1823 Sansom Street www.cavsrittenhouse.com
For Pete’s Sake 900 S. Front Street forpetessakepub.com
Local 44 4333 Spruce Street www.local44beerbar.com
North Third 801 N. 3rd Street www.norththird.com
Sassafras Café 48 S. 2nd Street www.sassafrasbar.com
Cherry Street Tavern 129 N. 22nd Street
Good Dog 224 S. 15th Street www.gooddogbar.com
London Grill 2301 Fairmount Ave. www.londongrill.com
O’Neals Pub 611 S. 3rd Street www.onealspub.com
Silk City 435 Spring Garden Street www.silkcityphilly.com
Grace Tavern 2229 Grays Ferry www.gracetavern.com
Lyons Den 848 S. 2nd Street
Old Eagle Tavern 177 Markle Street www.oldeagletavern.com
Sansom Street Oyster House 1516 Sansom Street oysterhousephilly.com
Chris’s Jazz Café 1421 Samson Street www.chrisjazzcafe.com
The Abbaye 637 N. 3rd Street
City Tavern 138 S. 2nd Street www.citytavern.com
Aspen 747 N. 25th Street theaspenrestaurant.com
Coffee Bar 1701 Locust Street intoxicaffeineation.com
Atlantis: The Lost Bar 2442 Frankford Ave.
Coos Sports Bar 822 N Broad St www.coossportsbar.com
Bar Ferdinand 1030 N. 2nd Street www.barferdinand.com The Belgian Café 2047 Green Street www.thebelgiancafe.com Beneluxx Tasting Room 33 S. 3rd Street www.beneluxx.com The Bishop’s Collar 2349 Fairmont Ave. The Black Sheep 247 S. 17th Street theblacksheeppub.com The Blockley 38th & Ludlow Streets www.theblockley.com Brauhaus Schmitz 718 South St. brauhausschmitz.com Bridgid’s 726 N. 24th Street www.bridgids.com Bridget Foy’s 200 South Street www.bridgetfoys.com Brownie’s Irish Pub 46 S. 2nd Street browniesirishpub.com Cantina Dos Segundos 931 N 2nd Street cantinadossegundos.com
Dawson Street Pub 100 Dawson Street dawsonstreetpub.com
The Grey Lodge Pub 6235 Frankford Ave. www.greylodge.com Hawthornes 738 S. 11th St www.hawthornecafe.com The Institute 549 N. 12th Street www.institutebar.com The Irish Pol 45 S. 3rd Street www.theirishpol.com
Devil’s Alley 1907 Chestnut Street www.devilsalleybarandgrill.com
Jack’s Firehouse 2130 Fairmount Ave www.jacksfirehouse.com
Devil’s Den 1148 S. 11th Street www.devilsdenphilly.com
Johnny Brenda’s 1201 Frankford Ave. www.johnnybrendas.com
The Dive 947 E. Passyunk Ave www.myspace.com/ thedivebar
Jose Pistolas 263 S. 15th Street www.josepistolas.com
Doobies 2201 Lombard Street
The Khyber 56 S. Second Street www.thekhyber.com
The Draught Horse 1431 Cecil B. Moore Ave. www.draughthorse.com
Kite And Key 1836 Callowhill Street www.thekiteandkey.com
Druid’s Keep 149 Brown Street
Kong 702-704 North 2nd st www.eatatkong.com
El Camino Real 1040 N 2nd Street www.bbqburritobar.com
Ladder 15 1528 Sansom Street www.ladder15philly.com
Eulogy Belgian Tavern 136 Chestnut Street eulogybar.server101.com
Las Vegas Lounge 704 Chestnut Street www.lasvegaslounge.com
Fergie’s Pub 1214 Sansom Street www.fergies.com
La Terrasse 3432 Sansom Street laterrasserestaurant.com
Flat Rock Saloon 4301 Main Street
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Mad Mex 3401 Walnut Street www.madmex.com Manny Brown’s 512 South Street www.manny-browns.com Mary Oaks 3801 Chestnut St. www.maryoaks.com McGillin’s Old Ale House 1310 Drury Lane www.mcgillins.com McGlinchey’s 259 S 15th Street McMenamin’s Tavern 7170 Germantown Ave. Memphis Taproom 2331 E. Cumberland St. memphistaproom.com Misconduct Tavern 1511 Locust Street misconduct-tavern.com Monk’s Café 264 S. 16th Street www.monkscafe.com Moriarty’s Pub 1116 Walnut Street www.moriartyspub.com National Mechanics 22 S. 3rd Street nationalmechanics.com New Wave Café 784 S 3rd Street www.newwavecafe.com North Bowl 909 N 2nd Street www.northbowlphilly.com North Star Bar 2639 Poplar Street www.northstarrocks.com
Ortlieb’s Jazzhaus 847 N. 3rd Street ortliebsjazzhaus.com Percy Street Barbecue 600 S. 9th St www.percystreet.com Plough and The Stars 123 Chestnut Street www.ploughstars.com Prohibition Taproom 501 N. 13th Street theprohibitiontaproom.com Pub and Kitchen 1946 Lombard St thepubandkitchen.com Pub On Passyunk East (POPE) 1501 E. Passyunk Ave. PYT 1050 N. Hancock Street www.pytphilly.com Q BBQ & Tequila 207 Chestnut St www.Qoldcity.com Race Street Café 208 Race Street www.racestreetcafe.net Raw Dawgs 1700 S. 2nd St. rawdawgssaloon.com Rembrandt’s 741 N. 23rd Street www.rembrandts.com Resurrection Ale House 2425 Grays Ferry Ave. resurrectionalehouse.com Royal Tavern 937 East Passyunk Ave. www.royaltavern.com
Slate 102 S 21st Street slatephiladelphia.com Smiths 39 S. 19th Street smiths-restaurant.com Smokin’ Bettys 116 S. 11th Street Society Hill Hotel 301 Chestnut Street South Philadelphia Tap Room 1509 Mifflin Street southphiladelphiataproom. com Southwark 701 S. 4th Street southwarkrestaurant.com Standard Tap 901 N. 2nd Street www.standardtap.com St. Stephen’s Green 1701 Green Street saintstephensgreen.com Sugar Mom’s Church Street Lounge 225 Church Street myspace.com/sugarmoms Swift Half 1001 N. 2nd Street swifthalfpub.com Tangier 1801 Lombard St tangier.thekalon.com Tattooed Mom 530 South Street www.myspace.com/ tattooed_mom Ten Stone 2063 South Street www.tenstone.com
Directory
Three Monkeys 9645 James Street www.3monkeyscafe.com TIME 1315 Sansom Street www.timerestaurant.net
Breweries Dock Street Brewing Company 701 S. 50th Street www.dockstreetbeer.com Philadelphia Brewing Co. 2439 Amber Street philadelphiabrewing.com
Tria 123 S. 18th Street 1137 Spruce Street www.triacafe.com
Yards Brewing Co. 901 N. Delaware Avenue www.yardsbrewing.com
The Ugly American 1100 S. Front Street uglyamericanphilly.com
Retail Beer The Beer Outlet 77 Franklin Mills Blvd.
Union Jack’s 4801 Umbria Street
Bella Vista Specialty Beer Distributors 738 S. 11th Street
Valanni 1229 Spruce Street www.valanni.com Varga Bar 941 Spruce Street www.vargabar.com The Wishing Well (coming soon) 9th and Catharine wishingwellphilly.com World Cafe Live 3025 Walnut Street www.worldcafelive.com Brewpubs Dock Street Brewing Company 701 S. 50th Street www.dockstreetbeer.com Earth Bread + Brewery 7136 Germantown Ave. earthbreadbrewery.com
Bell’s Beverage 2809 S. Front Street Brew 1900 S. 15th Street Craft Beer Outlet 9910 Frankford Ave.
Brady’s 4700 Street Road Trevose, PA 19053 www.cpbuckscounty.com The Buck Hotel 1200 Buck Road Feasterville, PA 19053 www.thebuckhotel.com Candlewyck Lounge Routes 413 & 202 Buckingham, PA 18912 Capone’s Restaurant 224 W. Germantown Pike Norristown, PA 19401 caponesdraftlist.blogspot. com Craft Ale House 708 W. Ridge Pike Limerick, PA 19468 www.craftalehouse.com
Doc’s World Of Beer 701 E. Cathedral Road
The Drafting Room 635 N. Pottstown Pike Exton, PA 19341
The Foodery 837 N. 2nd Street 324 S. 10th Street www.fooderybeer.com
900 N. Bethlehem Pike Spring House, PA 19477 www.draftingroom.com
The Six Pack Store 7015 Roosevelt Boulevard thesixpackstore.com Home Brew Supplies Barry’s Homebrew Outlet 101 Snyder Ave. barryshomebrew.com
Manayunk Brewery and Restaurant 4120 Main Street manayunkbrewery.com
Home Sweet Homebrew 2008 Sansom St. homesweethomebrew.com
Nodding Head Brewery and Restaurant 1516 Sansom Street www.noddinghead.com
Bars & Restaurants Blue Dog Pub 850 South Valley Forge Rd Lansdale, PA 19446 www.bluedog.cc
Triumph Brewing Company 117-121 Chestnut Street triumphbrewing.com
Broad Axe Tavern 901 W. Butler Pike Ambler, PA 19002 broadaxetavern.com
Suburbs
Blue Dog Tavern 4275 Country Line Road Chalfont, PA 18914 www.bluedog.cc
Epicurean Restaurant and Bar 902 Village At Eland Phoenixville, PA 19460 epicureanrestaurant.com Fingers Wings And Other Things 107 W. Ridge Pike Conshohocken, PA 19428 www.fwot.com Firewaters 1110 Baltimore Pike Concord, PA 19342 www.firewatersbar.com
Great Pubfare! Great Prices! Manny Brown's Neshaminy 3900 Rockhill Drive Neshaminy Mall #665 Bensalem, PA 19020 (215) 357-9242
24 Taps Over 75 Bottles
Great Outdoor Patio!
Manny Brown's South Street 512 South Street Philadelphia, PA 19147 (215) 627-7427
20 Taps Over 50 Bottles
Manny Brown's Newtown 25 Doublewoods Road Langhorne, PA 19047 (215) 860-9288
20 Taps Over 50 Bottles
Serving Lunch, Dinner, & Late Night
Flanigan’s Boathouse 113 Fayette Street Conshohocken, PA 19428 www.flanboathouse.com 16 Great Valley Parkway Malvern, PA 19355 www.flanboathouse.com
www.manny-browns.com
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Directory 118 N. Wayne Ave. Wayne, PA 19087 www.flanboathouse.com Flying Pig Saloon 121 E. King Street Malvern, PA 19149 Freight House 194 W. Ashland Ave. Doylestown, PA 18901 www.thefreighthouse.net Frontier Saloon 336 Kedron Ave. Folsom, PA 19033 www.frontiersaloon.com Green Parrot Restaurant Pub & Patio 240 N Sycamore St, Newtown, PA 18940 greenparrotirishpub.com
A Philadelphia Beer Bar
1509 Mifflin St. 215.271.7787 southphiladelphiataproom.com
Gullifty’s 1149 Lancaster Ave. Rosemont, PA 19010 www.gulliftys.com Half Moon Restaurant & Saloon 108 W. State Street Kennett Square, PA 19348 halfmoonrestaurant.com Holy Smoke 473 Leverington Ave. Roxborough, PA 19128 holysmokephilly.com Honey 42 Shewell Ave. Doylestown, PA 18901 honeyrestaurant.com Hulmeville Inn 4 Trenton Road Hulmeville, PA 19047 www.hulmevilleinn.com Iron Abbey Gastro Pub 680 N. Easton Road Horsham, PA 19044 www.ironabbey.com Isaac Newton’s 18 S. State Street Newtown, PA 18940 www.isaacnewtons.com Lucky Dog Saloon And Grille 417 Germantown Pike Lafayette Hill, PA 19106 theluckydogsaloon.com
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Maggio’s Restaurant 400 2nd Street Pike Southampton, PA 18966 maggiosrestaurant.com
Spinnerstown Hotel 2195 Spinnertown Road Spinnerstown, PA 18968 spinnerstownhotel.com
Manny Brown’s 3900 Rockhill Dr. Bensalem, PA 19020 www.manny-browns.com
Teresa’s Next Door 126 N. Wayne Ave. Wayne, PA 19087 www.teresas-cafe.com
25 Doublewoods Road Langhorne, PA 19047 www.manny-browns.com
TJ’s Everday 35 Paoli Plaza Paoli, PA 19301 www.tjseveryday.com
McCloskey Restaurant & Bar 17 Cricket Ave Ardmore, PA 19003 Mesquito Grill 128 W. State Street Doylestown, PA 18901 Newportville Inn 4120 Lower Road Newportville, PA 19056 www.newportvilleinn.net Otto’s Brauhaus 233 Easton Road Horsham, Pa 19044 ottosbrauhauspa.com Patagonia 59 Almshouse Road Richboro, PA 18974 Pickering Creek Inn 37 Bridge Street Phoenixville, PA 19460 pickeringcreekinn.com Puck 14 E. Court Street Doylestown, PA 18901 www.pucklive.com Quotations 37 E. State Street Media, PA 19063 Ron’s Original Bar & Grille 74 E. Uwchlan Ave. Exton, PA 19341 www.ronsoriginal.com The Saloon Bar & Grill 2508 W. Main St. Jeffersonvile, PA 19403 Sly Fox Brewing Company 312 N. Lewis Road Royersford, PA 19468 www.slyfoxbeer.com
Tony’s Place Bar & Grill 1297 Greeley Ave Ivyland, PA 18974 tonysplaceivyland.com Union Jack’s 2750 Limekiln Pike Glenside, PA 19038 Uno Chicago Grill 198 N. Buckstown Road Langhorne, PA 19047 www.unos.com 801 Neshaminy Mall Bensalem, PA 19020 www.unos.com Brewpubs General Lafayette Inn & Brewery 646 Germantown Pike Layayette Hill, PA 19444 generallafayetteinn.com Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant 30 E. State Street Media, PA 19063 www.ironhillbrewery.com 130-138 Bridge Street Phoenixville, PA 19460 www.ironhillbrewery.com 3 W. Gay Street West Chester, PA 19380 www.ironhillbrewery.com 1460 Bethlehem Pike North Wales, PA 19454 www.ironhillbrewery.com McKenzie Brew House Rt. 202 Chadds Ford, PA 19342 mckenziebrewhouse.com
240 Lancaster Ave. Malvern, PA 19355 mckenziebrewhouse.com
Edgemont Beer & Cigars 5042-B West Chester Pike Newtown Sq, PA 19073 edgemontbeerandcigars.com
Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery 1001 King of Prussia Plaza King of Prussia, PA 19406 www.rockbottom.com
Epps Beverages 79 W. Ridge Pike Limerick, PA 19468
Sly Fox Brewing Company 519 Kimberton Road Phoenixville, PA 19460 www.slyfoxbeer.com Breweries Royersford Brewing Company 519 Main Street Royersford, PA 19468 www.royersfordbrew.com Sly Fox Brewing Company 519 Kimberton Road Royersford, PA 19468 www.slyfoxbeer.com Victory Brewing Company 420 Acorn Lane Downingtown, PA 19335 www.victorybeer.com Retail Beer B&B Beverage 3670 Sawmill Road Doylestown, PA 18902 bandbbeverages.com Beer Yard, Inc. 218 E. Lancaster Ave. Wayne, PA 19087 www.beeryard.com Bensalem Beer & Soda 1919 Street Road Bensalem, PA 19020 www.bensalembeer.com Bound Beverage 2544 Bristol Pike Bensalem, PA 19020 Capone’s Restaurant (takeout) 224 W. Germantown Pike Norristown, PA 19401 caponesdraftlist.blogspot. com Domestic & Imported Beverages 485 Baltimore Pike Glen Mills, PA 19342
Exton Beverage Center 310 E. Lincoln Highway Exton, PA 19341 www.extonbeverage.com Frosty Caps 1745-47 Old York Road Abington, PA 19001 Hatboro Beverage 201 Jacksonville Road Hatboro, PA 19040 www.hatbev.com Pinocchio’s 131 E. Baltimore Pike Media, PA 19063 www.pinbeer.com Stephanie’s Take-Out 29 S. Main Street Doylestown, PA 18901 www.stephaniesrl.com Richboro Beer & Soda 1041 2nd Street Pike Richboro, PA 18954 www.geocities.com/richborobeer Township Line Beer & Cigars 5315 Township Line Road Drexel Hill, PA 19026 Trenton Road Take Out 1024 Trenton Road Levittown, PA 19054 trentonroadtakeout.com Trevose Beer & Soda 550 Andrews Rd Langhorne, PA 19053 Home Brew Supplies Brew Your Own Beer & Winemaking Too! 2026 Darby Road Havertown, PA 19083 Keystone Homebrew Supply 779 Bethlehem Pike Montgomeryville, PA 18936 keystonehomebrew.com
Wine, Barley & Hops Homebrew Supply 248 Bustleton Pike Feasterville, PA 19053 winebarleyandhops.com The Wine & Beer Barrel 101 Ridge Road Chadds Ford, PA 19317
New Jersey / Delaware Bars & Restaurants Buckley’s Tavern 5821 Kennett Pike Centerville, DE 19807 www.buckleystavern.org Champps Marlton Cr. 25 Rt. 73 S. Marlton, NJ 08053 www.champps.com Cork 90 Haddon Avenue Westmont, NJ 08108 www.corknj.com Dublin Square 167 Route 130 Bordentown, NJ 08505 dublinsquarepubs.com Eclipse Restaurant 1020-B N. Union Street Wilmington, DE 19805 Exchange on Market 902 N. Market Street Wilmington, DE 19801 The Firkin Tavern 1400 Parkway Ave. Ewing, NJ 08628 www.firkintavern.com Geraghty’s Pub 148 W. Broad Street Burlington, NJ 08016 www.geraghtyspub.com High Street Grill 64 High Street Mount Holly, NJ 09199 www.highstreetgrill.net Mexican Food Factory 601 W Route 70 Marlton, NJ 08053 themexicanfoodfactory.com Red White and Brew 33 High Street Mount Holly, NJ 08060 www.redwhitebrew.net
Uno Chicago Grill 2803 Route 73 Maple Shade, NJ 08052 www.unos.com
Joe Canal’s 3375 US Rt. 1 Lawrence Twp, NJ 08648 www.joecanals.com
Washington Street Ale House 1206 Washington Street Wilmington, DE 19801 www.wsalehouse.com
Monster Beverage 1299 N. Delsea Drive Glassboro, NJ 08028 www.wineaccess.com
Brewpubs Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant 710 S. Madison Street Wilmington, DE 19801 www.ironhillbrewery.com Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant 124 E. Kings Highway Maple Shade, NJ 08052 www.ironhillbrewery.com Triumph Brewing Company 138 Nassau Street Princeton, NJ 08542 triumphbrewing.com Breweries Flying Fish Brewing Company 1940 Olney Avenue Cherry Hill, NJ 08003 www.flyingfish.com
Total Wine and More 691 Naamans Road Claymont, DE 19703 www.totalwine.com 1325 McKennans Church Rd Wilmington, DE 19808 Walker’s Liquor Store 86 Bridge Street Lambertville, NJ 08530 Wonderful World of Wine 8 South Union Street Lambertville, NJ 08530 wonderfulworldofwines.net
Princeton Homebrew 208 Sanhican Drive Trenton, NJ 08618
If you would like to be added to our directory, please send your bar, restaurant, brewpub, brewery, retail beer store, or home brew supply store’s name, address, and contact info to directory@beerscenemag.com or call 215.478.6586 and ask to be included in our next edition.
Home Brew Supplies Beercrafters, Inc. 110A Greentree Road Turnersville, NJ, 07728
River Horse Brewing Co. 80 Lambert Lane Lambertville, NJ 08530 www.riverhorse.com Twin Lakes Brewing Co 4210 Kennett Pike Greenville, DE 19807 Retail Beer Canal’s Discount Liquors 2004 Mount Holly Road Burlington, NJ 08016 www.joecanals.com Route 73 and Harker Ave Berlin, NJ 08009 canalsofberlin.com
Follow Us Online At: Facebook: www.facebook.com/phillybeerscene Twitter: www.twitter.com/phillybeerscene Flickr: www.flickr.com/phillybeerscene
Circle Super Saver 222 Rt. 31 S. Pennington, NJ 08534 www.sswines.com Hops And Grapes 810 N. Delsea Drive Glassboro, NJ 08028 hopsandgrapesonline.com
www.beerscenemag.com
february/march 2010
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Beer Events
Beer Events For more information about these events, visit us on the web at www.beerscenemag.com.
February Saturday, February 13th President’s Day Weekend White Sale The Grey Lodge 6235 Frankford Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19134 Tuesday, February 16th Meet the Brewer: Beer Dinner with Yards Brewing Co. La Terrasse 3432 Sansom St., Philadelphia, PA 19104 Saturday, February 20th Frontier Saloon Winterfest Frontier Saloon 336 Kedron Ave., Folsom, PA 19033 Tuesday, February 23rd Lost Abbey/Port Beer Dinner Monk’s Cafe 626 S 16th St., Philadelphia, Pa 19146
March Thursday, March 4th Brew and Chew with Lancaster Brewing Company Cavanaugh’s Rittenhouse 1823 Sansom St., Philadelphia, PA 19103
Saturday, March 13th Philly Beer Scene presents...Feats of Strength and Weakness The Grey Lodge Pub 6235 Frankford Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19135
Friday, March 5th Two Guys on Beer/ Great Lakes Kickoff Party presented by Philly Beer Scene Cavanaugh’s Rittenhouse 1823 Sansom St., Philadelphia, PA 19103
20th Anniversary Jackson Beer Tasting Penn Museum 3260 South St., Philadelphia, PA 19104
Saturday, March 6th Philly Craft Beer Festival Philadelphia Cruise Terminal 5100 South Broad St., Philadelphia, PA 19112 Sunday, March 7th Beers, Bowling and BBQ with Philly Beer Scene St. Monica’s 1601 Shunk St., Philadelphia, PA 19145 Monday, March 8th 150 Minutes for 150 Years with Philly Beer Scene McGillin’s Olde Ale House 1310 Drury St., Philadelphia, PA 19107
Thursday, February 25th Brew and Chew with Victory Brewing Co. Cavanaugh’s Rittenhouse 1823 Sansom St., Philadelphia, PA 19103
Tuesday, March 9th Philly Beer Scene presents Are You Smarter Than TwoGuysOnBeer.com? National Mechanics 22 S. 3rd St., Philadelphia, PA 19106
Friday, February 26th A Night with the Glimmer Twins The Grey Lodge 6235 Frankford Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19134
Wednesday March 10th Meet the Brewers Night presented by Philly Beer Scene The General Lafayette 646 Germantown Pk., Lafayette Hill, PA 19444
Friday, February 26th The Bavarian Barbarian Craft Beer Dinner Presented by Philly Beer Scene The Buck Hotel 1200 Buck Road, Feasterville, PA 19053 Saturday, February 27th Beats, Brews, & BBQ: 6th Annual Beer Festival World Cafe’ Live 3025 Walnut St., Philadelphia, PA 19104 Maggio’s 2nd Annual Brewfest Maggio’s Restaurant 400 Second Street Pk., Southampton, PA 18966
Lancaster Brewing Night The Devil’s Den 1148 S 11th St., Philadelphia, PA 19147 Thursday, March 11th Philly Beer Scene presents…How Do You Like Your Weyerbacher? Hulmeville Inn 4 Trenton Rd., Hulmeville, PA 19047 Friday, March 12th Founders Friday with Philly Beer Scene South Philadelphia Tap Room 1509 Mifflin St., Philadelphia, PA 19145
For more events visit www.beerscenemag.com and check out the events page. 50
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Sunday, March 14th Beer Geek Brunch with Philly Beer Scene Hawthornes Cafe 738 S. 11th St., Philadelphia, PA 19147 The Sixth Annual Brewer’s Plate : 4pm Penn Museum 3260 South St., Philadelphia, PA 19104 Saturday & Sunday, March 20th & 21st Atlantic City Beer Festival Atlantic City Convention Center 1 Miss America Way, Atlantic City NJ 08401
April Saturday, April 3rd Stout Season Opens The Grey Lodge 6235 Frankford Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19134 Wednesday, April 7th Meet the Brewer: Manayunk Brewing Co. Spinnerstown Hotel 2195 Spinnerstown Rd., Philadelphia, PA 18968
Michelob.com
Š2008 Michelob Brewing Co. MichelobŽ Family of Beers, St. Louis, MO 51 february/march 2010
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