Seen Through a Glass

And the seasons, they go round and round...

Lew@LewBryson.com (Lew Bryson) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 22:55:00 +0000

I was thinking of Joni Mitchell's "Circle Game" today. The change of seasons has set in hard, finally. We had a stiff frost this morning, and a temperature of 26°F. It is definitely November in Pennsylvania.

After some other work, I got Thomas to work on mowing the lawn. Only...about ten minutes after he started, he comes in and tells me the mower quit and it's smoking. Damn. Burning oil? I go out...and the damned thing's still smoking, curling right up out of the spinner. WTF! I tried starting it, and it fired right up. Okay...and then smoke poured out. Dammit. I'm picturing buying a new mower, and this one only three years old, I was not a happy camper.

Then I stopped, and smelled the smoke. Smelled like autumn, like...burning leaves. "Thomas," I said, "we've got a mouse nest." Sure enough, once we got the plastic hood and the metal shroud off the engine, the space inside, up against the cylinder head, was stuffed with dry leaves, shreds of cardboard, and pine needles. The heat made it smolder. Half an hour later, he was mowing happily away -- well, I was happy -- and when he finished up, we went to Austrian Village for lunch (and a nice glass of DAB). A good fall day.

The Session #33: Framing Beers

Lew@LewBryson.com (Lew Bryson) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 01:14:00 +0000

I'm not really completely clear on what this month's assignment, from Andrew Couch at I'll Have a Beer, is. Or rather, I'm fairly sure I get it, but I'll be dipped if I can state it concisely. So...go read it. Meantime, what he did mention was blind tasting, and I do a lot of that, have for years, and I've enthused about it. It's kind of standing this idea on its head, but that's what I'm going to do.

I've had this bottle, an unmarked 22 oz. brown bottle with a plain gold cap, sitting in my Dedicated Beer Fridge for...years. I don't remember where I got it, whether it's homebrew, or brewpub sample, or a commercial beer the label fell off; I have no idea. So...nothing is giving me any expectations on this beer. There is no 'framing.' I don't even know if it's light or dark. This is the beer I'm going to open, drink, and write about...blind.

As you can see, it's a nice amber/copper color. The aroma almost confirms it's an ale: fruity beyond hops, although there's clearly some hop character there, which is pretty impressive, since I know this has been in the fridge for at least three years. It actually smells like it might be a barleywine or a DIPA. There's some sherry character too, oxidation, which makes it more likely that it's homebrew or brewpub hand-bottling...but not definite. The aroma's strong enough that I can smell it clearly from a foot away.

Wow. It's big in the mouth, too. Hoppy, but not overly so; I'd peg this as a barleywine rather than a DIPA, because it's for sure got the power. There's bitterness spined down through it, but the malt's playing the winning hand. Actually, the oxidation's winning...and for me, that's not all bad: I like the sherry character, because this one's big enough that it doesn't go over the top. But I can't help thinking it would have been a real cracker when it was fresh. Gotta start drinking 'em when I get 'em!

What's this tell me about framing? Dunno. What's it tell me about blind tasting? It sharpens the senses and the brain. Not only do you not have the shortcuts that labels and styles deliver, you don't have the work of trying to objectify those inputs, leaving you free to focus on the beer, and nothing else. It kind of puts "style" in the backseat -- or the trunk -- which is where it belongs when you're drinking beer. All in all, a good exercise. Thanks!

A Little Help with PA Breweries 4?

Lew@LewBryson.com (Lew Bryson) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:44:00 +0000

Pennsylvania Breweries 3rd edition came out in 2005. I'm working on the 4th edition now, writing the sad section I call The Boneyard: what happened to all the breweries that were in the 3rd edition that didn't make it to the 4th: the John Harvard's, Iron City (still can't believe that), Johnstown, Independence and Red Bell, and -- woohoo! -- Gettysbrew!

What I'm looking for some help on are the breweries that opened after the 3rd edition came out, but didn't stay open long enough to make it in, like Destiny, Hereford & Hops...and who else? There HAD to be others. Didn't there?

Anybody think of other Pennsylvania breweries that opened after September 2005 and closed before, well, today?

Booze Politics News and Thoughts

Lew@LewBryson.com (Lew Bryson) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:07:00 +0000

I've got a bunch of booze politics things that came in this week; rather than put up a bunch of posts, I'll just address all of it here. It kind of hangs together.

First, the Commonwealth Foundation study about how Pennsylvania's liquor "control" system does nothing to make the state safer from alcohol abuse, drunk driving, or underage drinking (like I didn't know that already?!) has been all over the state newspapers. I got my comments here, on the PLCB blog, go read. Meanwhile, Virginia's governor-elect, Bob McDonnell, made privatizing Virginia's ABC stores (the state sells liquor; wine and beer are in private stores) part of his campaign platform, stressing the windfall. Maybe he should have talked more about how stupid and backwards it makes the state look, and what a pain in the butt it is? And North Carolina's legislature is considering an internal report that found the state's ABC store system is outdated and needs to change. I tell you: it's time to push, and push hard.

Second, the real problem with the PLCB is The Almighty Liquor Code, which needs a total re-write. That's exactly what Frank Cagle is calling for in Tennessee in his latest "Frank Talk" column in the Knoxville weekly Metro Pulse. Tennessee's liquor code, says Cagle, is too broke to fix. "Sometimes a thing has been patched so many times it’s better to throw it out and start over." One look at The Almighty Liquor Code will convince you that it's time to throw it out. The twisted, tangled lawyerese that it is written in damns it to constant tinkering. The PA Liquor Code should be scrapped, and rewritten, in simple language, with consumer oversight, as a model of simple common sense in alcohol policy. First thing to go? All such Repeal-era language as this, the opening justification for the Code:

for the protection of the public welfare, health, peace and morals of the people
of the Commonwealth and to prohibit forever the open saloon, and all of the
provisions of this act shall be liberally construed for the accomplishment of
this purpose.

Are you kidding me? In the trash with it, and we need never soil our minds with it again. An alcohol code should establish taxes -- of a reasonable level, based on pure alcohol content, not whether its wine, beer, or spirits -- a licensing facility for producers, importers, wholesalers, and retailers that benefits the state, not lawyers or speculators; provide rules for operation that are not based on moral or religious grounds, punishments for breaking those rules, and an enforcement procedure for dealing with this in a prompt manner; and puts the Commonwealth out of the booze business completely. Sheesh. How hard can it be?

In the New Dry section, there's this revamped informational site. It shows just the kind of inertial, pie-in-the-sky policy-driven stuff drinkers are up against; specifically, the continuing march of keg registration laws, after even the New Drys have admitted that they don't actually work. I'll say it again, for Google: Keg registration laws don't work, and PIRE confirms it. Why do 31 states have them? The same reason we got national Prohibition: someone thought it was a good idea, and would work, if only we had the whole county/state/country under control. Sorry. Turns out this one's wrong, too.

Finally, when 0.08 BAC laws were slammed through during the Clinton Administration, we were told that MADD -- the major supporter of the laws -- didn't want to go further than that, that they were not a prohibitionist group. True colors, folks: MADD Canada is recommending 0.05 BAC in Quebec. When do they stop?

So. Good, bad, interesting. That's the booze policy news this week.

Exit 1 & Harvest From the Hood

Lew@LewBryson.com (Lew Bryson) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:39:00 +0000

I dropped down to the Hulmeville Inn last night for a couple quick beers; not just any beer, but the new Flying Fish Exit 1 Bayshore Oyster Stout (thanks to big Tom Linquist for the tip on the Flying Fish Exit 1 firkin). I had dinner ready when Cathy got home at 5:45; 'Look, dear, casserole's ready in 20 minutes...but they're tapping a firkin of Oyster Stout at Hulmeville at 6 and those firkins never last long do you want to come along aw come on you can go oh gotta pack for Scranton okay see ya bye!' (If you talk fast enough, you can be out the door while the sound is still hanging in the air...)

So I walk in the door and there's big Tom sitting at the bar right across the room: Hey! I joined him, and the rest of the friendly pack of beer lovers at the Inn, and got a pint of Exit 1 off the gravity-pour firkin (you can see Tom tapping -- er, mostly -- the previous firkin, Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin, below; in Tom's defense, I'd use a bigger mallet). First off, the stuff's very dark, close to black. It was not what I'd call 'rich,' though there was a nice hint of bitter chocolate to it; this was dry stout, with a good nip of bitterness on the end, a kind of bite that did not get in the way of having another at all. Nice beer...exceptional beer? Maybe not, but a real good pint. Good enough that I had another (and paid for this one, thanks for the first one, Jeff!).

Then Jeff (Lavin, the owner) brought out some small glasses and a 12 oz. sample of harvest from the Hood, Philadelphia Brewing's new fresh hop beer, using hops grown at the brewery and Greensgrow Farms, Philly's urban CSA (just down the street from Memphis Taproom). The hop aroma was huge -- it oughta be, the label cheekily notes that it's "Sextuple Hops Brewed" -- but not what you'd call 'delicate' or 'refined,' more like "big." This one's about as subtle as the label: Hey, sailor! It's quite hoppy, and a bit rough around the edges, which I think fits the beer's Kensington roots perfectly. This beer's got terroir, dammit! Looking forward to trying it on tap (don't look for bottles, there were only about two cases made for bar samples).

At that point, I decided to go home and get some of that casserole. I sweet-talked Jeff into filling a 12 oz. "growler" for Cathy (a brown-glass flip-top I use for sampling; quite handy) -- thanks again, Jeff -- and headed up the hill to home.

The Naked Pint book launch dinner at Fork

Lew@LewBryson.com (Lew Bryson) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:33:00 +0000

November 16th will see author Christina Perozzi in town for a beer dinner at Fork (6:30 PM, $55 for all the food and beer you see below...and I have never come away from an event at Fork feeling like I'd gotten anything but full measure) to celebrate the launch of her book The Naked Pint, a beer book that opens up beer's feminine side. That's not to say this is all cliches about fruit beers and chocolate beers; far from it. Perozzi and her co-author, Hallie Beaune, are experienced beer sommeliers and presenters, and love beer deeply and fully. The book is more about proving beer is okay for women. Can I get a big "Hell yes!" (I'll be reviewing the book here soon; I got a copy a few weeks ago and I've been reading it.)

Anyway, to match this woman of beer from the west coast, Fork has invited some of the cool Philly-area women of beer: Suzy Woods, Philly Beer Week maven Jennie Hatton, Megan Maguire from Ommegang, Tracy Mulligan from Victory, Seb Buhler from Rogue, and possibly Jodi Stoudt, Whitney Thompson from Victory and Wendy Dormant from Dogfish Head. Quite a line-up, and a lot of experience. But check this menu!

Spicy tuna confit with capers on focaccia toasts · Grilled flatbread with artichokes and saffron aioli

Victory Prima Pils, Stoudt’s American Pale Ale

Chef’s selection of tapas: grilled house made chorizo with spicy white beans · salmon rillettes · grilled shrimp with grits and smoked tomato jam · vegetables à la grecque · marinated olives

Sly Fox Saison Vos

Seared sea scallops with coriander, caramelized brussels sprouts, meyer lemon jam

Ommegang Rare Vos

Lightly smoked duck breast with spiced croutons, caramelized onion, bacon, parsnips

Dogfish Head Raison d’Etre

Chocolate caramel tart with lemon-thyme chantilly cream

Rogue Chocolate Stout

Wet Hop Rodeo at Johnny Brenda's

Lew@LewBryson.com (Lew Bryson) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:50:00 +0000

It's that time of year: hop harvest and wet-hopped beers, those wonderfully aromatic beers made with hops fresh out of the hopyards. I've been loving them this year, and there's more coming at Johnny Brenda's Wet Hop Rodeo.

Here's the deal:

A Round-up of Local and National Wet Hopped Beers

Saturday, November 14, 2009 11am-2am
We will be featuring 8 wet-hopped beers on tap, including, for the first time at Johnny Brenda's, craft beers that have not been brewed locally [JB's is all about the local]. The line-up includes:

Victory Harvest Pils

Victory Harvest Ale

Weyerbacher Harvest Ale

Philadelphia Brewing Company Harvest from the Hood

Manayunk Brewing Hop Harvest

Port Brewing High Tide

Sierra Nevada Harvest Ale

Rogue Wet Hop Ale
plus a firkin of wet hopped ale from Iron Hill

Can't say I'll see you there for sure -- it's a busy week afterwards, and Friday the Firkinteenth the day before -- but I'm hoping to make it.

"DUH!" of the Week...

Lew@LewBryson.com (Lew Bryson) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:16:00 +0000

Check out this headline from the BBC:

Heavy drinkers seek out bargains

This study found that people who drink heavily bought cheap booze: vodka, mostly but "White cider is the beverage to which our patients appear to have particularly cheap access, along with whisky." (Really? Whisky? Why the hell is whisky cheap? It's because distillers dump it to 'own brand' schemes in stores for quick cash; incredibly short-sighted, because it keeps the price of better whisky down as well).

Did anyone really think most drunks -- all the people surveyed were being treated for alcohol problems -- bought high-end booze-o? Heck no! These are the folks who skew the numbers, the 20% that consumer 80%, and they buy the cheapest buzz they can get, something the UK government has made even easier by mandating "units" of alcohol per bottle/serving being shown. Makes it easier for the drunk to spot the bargain, y'know?

So the study is supporting the government's latest plan, which goes beyond raising the UK's already stiff drink taxes: minimum booze pricing. Raise the price per unit to a higher minimum price. Wonder who pockets the difference? Bet it's not the booze producers...

Hello, Pittsburgh!

Lew@LewBryson.com (Lew Bryson) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:33:00 +0000

I'm headed out to Pittsburgh week after next to do brewery/bar visits for Pennsylvania Breweries 4th edition, and I've managed to book some events. Hope I see some of you there.

On Tuesday, November 17, at 6:15 PM, I'll be hosting an edition of Craft Beer School at the Theater Square Cabaret; it's all about my favorite topic, Session Beers. Details are here and here (sorry, they each have details the other doesn't!). Craft Beer School is the brainchild of Vecenie Distributing's Tony "The Beer Man" Knipling, one of the most dogged, determined champions of craft beer I've ever met, and -- believe it or not -- the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. It's a short, fun session, about an hour, and we'll talk about the beauties of low-alcohol beer.

The next night, Wednesday the 18th, I'll be doing a barrel-aged beer tasting at Bocktown Beer & Grill, and they have corraled some excellent beers: New Holland Oaked Mad Hatter IPA, Stoudt's Scarlet Lady ESB through their "Brewser the Infuser" filled with bourbon-soaked oak, Great Lakes Oaked Black Out Stout, Erie Oaked Railbender, Arcadia Oak-Aged Cereal Killer, and Arcadia Big Dick's Old Ale aged in Pappy Van Winkle barrels. And we may have a few more amazings up our sleeves; still working on that. Expect a lot about the bourbon aging process and the secrets in the wood; I am a beer and whiskey guy, after all. I'll have details on this one soon; watch this space!

And if you're in the biz in the area -- bar or distributor -- Vecenie is throwing a craft beer pep rally Monday night (the 16th) at the Teutonia Männerchor, where I'll be talking about the whole craft beer revolution, where it came from, how it's doing, and where it's headed. Get in touch with them and come on out! (This is for retailers only; sorry, general public.)

Now it's over

Lew@LewBryson.com (Lew Bryson) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:27:00 +0000

We lost. Not "the Phillies lost." We lost. We're in this together, and just saying that makes me realize that after 45 years of not really giving a damn about team sports -- except for a brief flirtation during college when F&M's basketball team made it to the Final Four -- I have become a fan. Which is not a bad thing, and I am prepared to suffer as well as celebrate. Hell, I suffered in 2007, a little. God knows the Iggles have made me suffer (Lose to Oakland, kick the snot out of the Giants? Which team plays this Sunday, boys?)

But we had a good run this year, a great run, and it's a young team. 2010's going to be another great year.

Great job, Phillies!

You umpires, though...wow, did you suck this post-season...

Come All You Young Vegans (and old ones, too, Tom & Peggy...)

Lew@LewBryson.com (Lew Bryson) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:32:00 +0000

Just got this from the folks at Royal Tavern, who are celebrating their 7th anniversary:

On Wednesday, November 11th Royal Tavern’s week-long 7th anniversary celebration kicks off with a night for vegans and vegetarians. For one night only the blackboard specials will consist entirely of vegetarian and vegan items. There will be a specialty cocktail menu crafted from cruelty-free ingredients. Festivities start at 5pm and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to PAWS.

So I guess a bullshot is out of the question... Seriously, is Philly Veg-Central? I'm not at all vegetarian, but I love choice. Cheers, Royal Tavern!

Comment Spam Explodes

Lew@LewBryson.com (Lew Bryson) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:09:00 +0000

I've had comment moderation on for years, thanks to a couple real jerkwads who insisted on polluting the blog. But I've never had much problem with "blogspam," comments full of advertising and links to crapsites, and I just rejected them. I got maybe one every other week.

Yesterday, all of a sudden, I got twelve, and it's continuing today. So I'm considering adding CAPTCHA tech to the comment field; that thing where you have to type in the 'word' you see in a window before your comment will post. I don't want to do this -- it's a pain in your neck -- but neither do I want to have my time sucked up by rejecting a bunch of "Miley Cyrus NUD!" spam, you know?

So...will having to do that one extra step be a real pain in all your butts? Or is it no big deal? Let me know, and I'll factor that in before I decide. And who knows, this may just be temporary.

November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month

Lew@LewBryson.com (Lew Bryson) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:48:00 +0000

Nothing about beer, food, baseball, whiskey, or the PLCB here. I'd like to talk to you about pancreatic cancer, for two reasons.

First, this is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month. Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths in America, and has the highest mortality rate of all major cancers. This year, an estimated 42,470 Americans will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. 76% of them will die within one year of the diagnosis. Yet pancreatic cancer research receives less than 2% of the National Cancer Institute's budget. It's not a hidden disease. Patrick Swayze, Justice Ruth Ginsburg, Steve Jobs, Randy "The Last Lecture" Pausch all had/have pancreatic cancer; chances are sadly quite good that you know someone who did.

And that's my second reason. Next Thursday, November 12, will mark one year since my dad told me he had pancreatic cancer. As he said at the time, when he handed me the green folder with his diagnostic report in it, "There's no easy way to say this."

As I learned more about pancreatic cancer and its bleak prognosis over the next few weeks, "no easy way" loomed large in my mind. Our calendar seemed suddenly, cruelly short. We gained hope when we learned his tumor was small, more when chemotherapy and radiation -- including a clinical trial of a new regimen that my father undertook, painful and wearying though it was -- shrank it to the point of being operable. Our hopes were dashed when the surgeons found that the cancer had already metastasized, as pancreatic cancer often does. It is an evil, spiteful bastard of a cancer, and if I could reach into my father's body and tear it out by the roots and stomp on it, I would.

But...subsequent chemotherapy has been moderately successful; it has significantly slowed the advance of the disease (the main tumor is actually smaller). My father is in good health, considering that he's 80 years old and undergoing chemotherapy, and he's still doing yardwork and baking biscuits for the dogs. He wants to see Thomas graduate from high school this spring, and I believe he'll make it.

That's why I'm taking this opportunity to talk to you. I know it's not fun to read. But if any of you see this, and want to help, click on the banner up above. One of the most important things you can do is to write your Congressional Representative about HR 745, the Pancreatic Cancer Research and Education Act, which will direct and enable the Department of Health and Human Services to increase funding for pancreatic cancer research. And if you have your own causes -- something I thoroughly understand, and endorse! -- and decide to take a pass, no problem. I just wanted to do something for my dad.

Thanks for listening. You really are a great bunch of readers, and I appreciate it.

The World Series is Not Over

Lew@LewBryson.com (Lew Bryson) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:04:00 +0000

We're still watching, still fightin'. Bill Lyon had a great piece in the Inky this morning: "Start spreadin' the news: The Fightin's live." The Phillies have done an amazing thing: they made my wife, a life-long Yankees fan, into a Phillies fan. She's biting her nails on this.

Now all they need is one more not-so-amazing thing. They have to win three straight, two of them on the road after one at home. Why's that not-so-amazing? Might I remind you: that's exactly what the Yankees just did.

High hopes, brothers and sisters. High hopes. The Fightin's live.

Oh. Beer? I plan to have a BrewDog Punk IPA during the 7th inning stretch tomorrow. I'll let you know how that goes.

That's Pedro Martinez, ready and waiting for Game 6. Daddy's home, New York. photo by Ron Cortes, of the Inquirer.

Great column on why an increased beer tax just ain't fair

Lew@LewBryson.com (Lew Bryson) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:25:00 +0000

Tom Purcell has a great column in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (that's been picked up and re-published across the country) on why an increase in beer tax is a bad and unfair idea.

Here's part of it, a part I fully endorse (except the "beer-slugging" part...but I'd be a liar if I said I didn't knock back beers pretty heavily in college myself):

I'm not entirely against paying taxes to fund government programs. I like driving around on the wide-open highways that my tax contributions helped build.
I'm grateful for the government-backed loans that got me through my beer-slugging days at Penn State (to paraphrase comedian Frank Nicotero, I graduated with a 1.2 ... blood-alcohol level).
I'm happy for the government agencies that protect our borders, track down criminals across state lines and make sure our food and water are safe.
But higher taxes on beer? Why not increase taxes on hot dogs and apple pie while we're at it?

That's right, Tom. Take a look. It's a fairness issue.

WhiskyFest: Good News, Bad News

Lew@LewBryson.com (Lew Bryson) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:03:00 +0000

Just got the latest WhiskyNotes from Malt Advocate.

The good news: These new whiskies will be at WhiskyFest New York: Ardbeg's Corryvreckan (we tasted a bit of this at the Malt Advocate staff party in August; it's excellent), Hibiki (sampled this blended whisky from Suntory at WFSF, quite nice stuff), Pappy Van Winkle 23 yr., Parker's Heritage Collection 27 yr., Glenmorangie Signet, Glenrothes 1975, The Dalmore 1974, Glen Grant 10 yr., Glen Grant 16 yr.; and these exhibitors will be at WFNY for the first time: GlenDronach (again, some nice tastings at WFSF), The Wild Geese Irish Soldiers & Heroes, Amrut Indian Single Malt (tasted these at Binny's in Chicago: very good for their age), Finger Lakes Distilling (source of that rye we had at Man Full of Trouble), N. PALAZZI Spirits, Pierre Ferrand Cognac.

The bad news? WhiskyFest New York is sold out, so if you don't have a ticket, it's too late. Which is, after all, good news for Malt Advocate, and good news for the whisky biz.

Four Breweries

Lew@LewBryson.com (Lew Bryson) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:24:00 +0000

I visited PA breweries last Thursday: the new ShawneeCraft, Barley Creek, and the two Brew Works, Bethlehem and Allentown. It was a long day: drove up along the river to Shawnee at 7 AM, got back from Allentown at 6:30, about 188 miles all told. Good, though.

ShawneeCraft is an outgrowth of the Shawnee Inn in the Poconos, right along the Delaware river. Leo Bongiorno is the brewer (formerly of Butternuts, and, well, a lot of other places; he's been in the biz about 16 years), and yes, the stories you've heard of an ambitious barrel-aging program are all true (that's the racks in the taproom at right...but those are all empty, for now). Leo's doing some barrel-aging now -- bourbon barrel stuff -- but even that's just step 1: he's really doing that to get the barrels clear for bug innoculation (and to make some money, to be truthful). But that's going to take over a year till he's got some sour/brett beers ready; in the meantime he's brewing stuff like the pumpkin saison I tasted. It had an amazing volatile spiciness that floated high in the mouth, as energetic as ginger but different. Fresh-ground mace, he told me, and it was brilliant. They've got the brewery set up in an old ice hockey rink, and the taproom is the Gem & Keystone Inn, a nice snug two-story bar and restaurant up by the road. That's open now: stop by.

Barley Creek was next, and as always, it looked different from the last time I was there. The deck was fully enclosed for more seating and another bar (nice: underlit, creamy butter color, streaked like marble). I joined Trip Ruvane and brewer-for-life Tim Phillips at the bar and ran the taps -- Rescue IPA opened my eyes: forget what you thought you knew about IPA at Barley Creek. Woof. The chef made a little tasting menu, starting with the always fun Crane's Crazy Chip Dip, some sandwiches (a great veggie/pesto one, and roast beef with horseradish cream), and delicious garlic shrimp. Beers were clean (especially the light; impressive) and tasty, though my favorite Renovator Stout was not on (supposed to be on this week).

Brew Works... GABF medals, multiple batches of house-made 'lambic' (quite nice), bourbon barrel aging, 25.4 oz. cork-n-cage bottles (Hop'solutely and Rude Elf's Reserve), Boom-Boom Shrimp (don't ask, just eat, but have a beer ready), and the three-level+beer garden business of Allentown. Lots of change, and a lot going on here, and Beau's making some very nice beers.

More breweries to come...and more pix, when I get a moment.

Flying Fish Exit 1 video

Lew@LewBryson.com (Lew Bryson) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:02:00 +0000

Jeff Linkous ("Beer Stained Letter") does beer blogging and video. He just sent me this link to a video about the new Flying Fish Exit 1 Oyster Stout. He interviewed me for the piece (at Joe's Mill Hill Saloon, in Trenton; a good afternoon). Enjoy!

Two new visits for me

Lew@LewBryson.com (Lew Bryson) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:26:00 +0000

I'm crushed by the number of new beer-strong bars in Philly that I haven't been to yet: Resurrection, Devil's Alley, Beneluxx -- hell, I haven't even made it to Zōt yet. But Tuesday night Cathy and I crossed two off the list: Lucky 13 and P.O.P.E. (Yeah, really, three years and this is the first time...it's a busy life, what can I tell you?). We wanted to go out for the Bosteels night at P.O.P.E., and since Lucky 13 is so close, well, you know, two birds, one Jetta...

It was a rainy night, but that didn't stop me from jockeying into a very tight parking spot on Mifflin, and we walked around the corner to Lucky 13. I got a bit irked when the bartender decided to finish her texting before greeting us -- there were only three other people in the place, but I got over it quickly; she was real nice, friendly, and happy to give us a sample of the SixPoint Otis (nice body, beautifully black, just sweet enough; Cathy got one, and I got a Southampton IPA). We made some easy conversation with the other folks at the smallish bar in the front of the place, and had to exercise restraint on the menu; it looked really good (Craig LaBan liked it, too). Not a ton of taps, but the craft that was there was nicely chosen and not The Usual Suspects. I suspect if we'd eaten, Lucky 13 might have made it onto the "Why Isn't This Near Us?" list.

I was planning to walk to P.O.P.E., but it was raining harder now, so I took my chances with finding another parking space. Took a bit, but we did, and I finally got to the pub I'd heard so much about. P.O.P.E. (Pub On Passyunk East) has a long bar off its corner entrance, leading back to two dining areas divided by brick archways. It kind of put me in mind of the basement bar at The Brewer's Art in Baltimore, which I love. We sat in the back, and quickly ordered a flight of all three beers -- DeuS, Tripel Karmeliet, and Kwak -- an order of crab fries (wit' real crab; take note, Chickie and Pete's), and gingerbread.

I jumped on the Karmeliet and enjoyed its sweet, spicy goodness. Cathy is a Kwak fan and yummed over how it went with the gingerbread. Me, I was somewhat dismayed to find how well the DeuS -- which I still say is much better than when it first came out, but I realize that's just me -- went with the crab fries; just what I need, a really expensive beer that's frickin' great with bar food...

About that time Cameron Saunders, beer ace from Shangy's, spotted me (lucky, because I was looking for importer Lanny Hoff, who was up in Emmaus for an event that apparently didn't happen...) and brought Bosteels export director Jack Van Antwerpen over to meet us. Jack was quite the affable guy -- no surprise from a Belgian in beer exporting! -- and we were quickly swapping stories about brewery patriarch Ivo Bosteels and my visit to the brewery last year. He bought us another round -- thanks, Jack! -- of Karmeliet and Kwak, and left to continue his low-key promotion of simply talking to people about the beer. Nice guy.

We were just getting ready to leave, finishing up the beers, getting the check, 'when entered in to that hall of sin, into that harlots' hell, A lusty maid who was unafraid--and her name was...' Suzanne Woods. (JK on the reference, Suz, it was just too much fun to pass up!) Well, we couldn't leave then, not when the girl was so jazzed that I'd finally visited her favorite neighborhood bar. So we chatted, got caught up...and then we went home. Nice night out.

Sex for Series tickets...and one jaw-dropping beer reference

Lew@LewBryson.com (Lew Bryson) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:17:00 +0000

Did anyone read Karen Heller's column in this morning's Inquirer? Heller often pisses me off one way or another: mountains out of molehills, odd reasoning, or sometimes just plain whiney. But this morning's column really caught my eye.

She was writing about the ridiculous "Sex and the Series" story, how Bensalem cops decided that public safety was threatened by a craigslist ad that read:

"DESPERATE BLONDE NEEDS WS TIX. Diehard Phillies fan - gorgeous tall buxom blonde - in desperate need of two World Series Tickets. Price negotiable - I'm the creative type! Maybe we can help each other!"

The silly story of how five undercover Bensalem cops set up the sting at Manny Brown's in the Neshaminy Mall -- and actually handcuffed the woman! -- has been told in news outlets around the world, and Heller piles on; which, to be fair, these cops deserve. There was no crime here. But that's not what made me stop mid-breakfast.

It was this:

Residents of Bensalem Township might wonder if their tax dollars are being served. Finkelstein and her attorney, William J. Brennan, said five undercover cops were at Manny Brown's Bar & Grill at the Neshaminy Mall. That's where Finkelstein, a lifelong Philadelphian, met the alleged ticket seller over a beer, Founders Breakfast Stout.

See those last three words? That's mainstream, baby! I thought there was some kind of newspaper rule that the only beer ever mentioned in crime stories had to be "Yuengling." More evidence that there was no crime here, I guess. Who was drinking the Founders, Finkelstein, or the cop? My experience with Bensalem cops -- strictly through attending two lectures, I swear -- leads me to believe it was Finkelstein, but you never know.

And hats off to Manny Brown's!

New Pennsylvania production brewery coming

Lew@LewBryson.com (Lew Bryson) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:25:00 +0000

Just found out about a new production brewery that should be opening in January outside of Pittsburgh. The principals include three of my favorite western PA brewers (no, surprisingly, Matt Allyn is not involved in this project), and I'm very glad to hear that they're planning to bottle beers. I'm not sure how much I'm allowed to reveal at this point. Enough to say that these guys are very good brewers and have some business experience as well. Auspicious!

Cat's out of the bag: check the comments for details.

The Bartender's Gin Compendium

Lew@LewBryson.com (Lew Bryson) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:25:00 +0000

One of the people in Louisville with John and I this past weekend was Gary Regan. Gary's a good friend, and a wonderful story-teller, a nice guy and a great champion of cocktails and the folks who make them. We had a very good time with him Saturday night at the bar at Proof, as he bantered with the bartenders there (and ogled, openly, one of the very nice ladies behind the bar; it's an odd part of his charm).

Gary gave John and I each a copy of his new book, The bartender's GIN compendium (that's a link to buy the book, only available on-line...I think), which, you'll note in the picture to the left, is attributed to "gaz regan." "Gaz," he explained, is the nickname of practically everyone in the UK named "Gary," and his friends there all call him Gaz. We, he said, could call him that, or continue to call him Gary, whichever we were comfortable with. Gary, then.

Anyway, I don't know nearly enough about gin, so I started reading the book when I woke up way too early on Sunday morning, continued to read it in the airport and on the flight home, and just finished it. It took me back 30 years to when I was just starting to drink and wanted to learn everything about booze...which eventually left me with some odd bits of knowledge about pisco and advocaat, a desire for cocktails no one then seemed to know how to make -- I certainly couldn't, and still can't, to my shame -- and the decision that what I really liked to drink was beer, so I'd just learn about that. (And thanks to Michael Jackson and a lot of other good people, I did, and then John Hansell came along and I learned about whiskey, too.)

GIN brought back that fascination, that sense that there was so much out there that was possible to enjoy. I learned a lot about gin, and what a great time to do it. Gin is resurgent, much like my beloved whiskeys. Much was made of the ascendency of "white spirits" like vodka, white rum, and gin over the past 40 years, but gin was the weak sister of the bunch, overshadowed by the others. If my wife hadn't been such a summer devotee of gin and tonics, I'd never have seen gin at all. My mother claims to be allergic to the stuff, getting a pounding headache after only a drink or two of it, so I assumed I'd be the same, and never gave it a chance.

Now gin's exploding -- in a small way -- in a new profusion of brands that tweak the definition. There are distilleries small and large making new gins, older gins -- Plymouth, Old Tom, and genever -- are getting more attention and new iterations, and of course, bartenders -- cocktailians, as Gary says -- are making lots more of both classic gin cocktails and new inventions. The time seemed right for a book.

What about the book? It runs the history of gin, borrowing from other sources -- at times you get the feeling that David Wondrich just didn't have time to write a gin book, so Gary did it for him; though with those two as thick as thieves, it's hard to separate the ideas at times -- then into descriptions of the major botanicals, and then into the meat of the book: descriptions of dry gins, Plymouth gin, Old Toms, and genevers, followed by a thick sheaf of excellent cocktail recipes and mixing suggestions.

The descriptions may be problematic for some. Gary relied on the distillers to write most of this. At first I wasn't that comfortable with this, particularly since the distillers sponsored the book, to the tune of payments for the inclusion of logos and bottle-shots. But...I mean, we know this because Gary tells us so, right up front, including what distillers paid for and supplied, and what they didn't. He did, after all, self-publish the book, and so he's kind of in the position of being the editor and publisher: are magazines that accept advertising independent or not? I decided that being forewarned -- and Gary certainly forewarns you! -- was forearmed, and took all of that with a grain of salt.

That said, I like having the distillers talk about their gins, particularly when Gary invites them to "Tell us why you think your gin stands apart from all the others" and asks if there are "Any other idiosyncrasies that you'd like to tell us about?" Some marketonic stuff, but also some very interesting details and perspectives, too.

About the self-publishing: there were times when my editor's eye twitched: typos, duplicate phrases, grammar (really, not just Englishisms). There were times the layout betrayed the flow. And the black&white snapshots look like black&white snapshots. Grainy ones.

Bitch, bitch, bitch. It was never enough to keep me from enjoying this book a lot, partly thanks to something I haven't even gotten to mentioning yet: Gary's voice. He's young and old, self-deprecating and full of great stories about great times, making clever asides that he doesn't even bother to parenthesize. The 'recipe' for Gin and Tonic, for example: "I seem to have lost the recipe for this one, so I'm hoping you'll be able to figure it out for yourself. If memory serves it works well with a wedge of lime as a garnish." Yes, indeed.

Add a lot of great gin quotes from literature -- which helps to hammer home just what a place gin has in English-speaking literature -- and some razzle-dazzle, and the regulations for what gin is, and an appreciated cocked snook at vodka... you'll understand why I advise you to buy this book and start drinking gin.

Who said you can't have great beer and sports?

Lew@LewBryson.com (Lew Bryson) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:48:00 +0000

I know two places -- so far -- that have BOTH good screens that will be tuned to the World Series and great craft beer:

Local 44 has installed a "100% more gi-normous TV" and a TV in the dining room for the Series, and will have $3 drafts during all games.

Victory Brewing has multiple plasmas tuned to the games, and, well...all that great Victory beer, including Yakima Twilight. Of course, they also have Richard Ruch, but, um...all that great Victory beer!

Anyone else with an exceptional TV system and exceptional craft beer, feel free to pile on in the Comments, and we'll never have to suffer through light beer with the Series again. Repeat!

Fresh Hops? How about Capone's?

Lew@LewBryson.com (Lew Bryson) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 04:46:00 +0000

A fresh hop beer on draft? Two? Six?

How about ten fresh hop beers on draft? That's what Capone's has on this Thursday:

Manayunk Fresh Hop IPA
General Lafayette Fesh Hop IPA
Victory Harvest Pils
Victory Harvest Ale
Southern Tier Harvest Ale
Sierra Nevada Wet Hop Harvest Ale
Port Brewing High Tide IPA
Ballast Point Fresh Eye IPA
Left Hand Warrior IPA
Founders Fresh Hop Harvest

That's pretty damned impressive...you know, for the East Coast.

Like I've always said: we'll take the best you've got, because what we want in beer...is everything. And that's what makes Philly great!

Magic Hat Fall 09 Odd Notion

Lew@LewBryson.com (Lew Bryson) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:37:00 +0000

I got a sample of Magic Hat's Fall Odd Notion back in September, stuck it in the fridge to chill...and hit the road. Kentucky Bourbon Festival, moving my mother-in-law (came back from that with 18 bottles of Guinness that I stuck in the fridge...in front of the Odd Notion (and there's a Deschutes Jubelale in there, too, I see...later)), WhiskyFest San Francisco...I forgot about it.

So today I get an e-mail from Magic Hat's publicity guy, Dave Obenour. Hey, he says, are you ever gonna drink that stuff? Good publicity guy! Sure, why not? I don't have to go pick up Nora today, I'll have a beer.

It's a "chocolate Belgian stout," and it pours really, really dark with a tenacious dark tan head. The nose is like baker's chocolate: chocolatey, but dry with it, and a hint of malt and graham. Mmmm... That's the taste, only with some fruit to it -- orange, hints of berry, maybe a bit of grape -- and a solid bitterness on the end. The mouthfeel's better than I've had from most Magic Hat beers lately, too: creamy, not quite rich, smooth but not light. Seems to be asking to be used for cooking, too: this would make an excellent stewing beer. I like beers like this for roasting my pork and sauerkraut.

A lot going on here, but not so much that it isn't quite drinkable. Glad you followed up, Dave. I'll recommend this: it's part of the seasonal Night of the Living Dead 12-pack, with the hoppy Roxy Rolles, #9 (which I saw over the weekend in Louisville), and, well, Circus Boy 'hefeweizen.' I'm sure there are people who like Circus Boy that you could serve this to. I'm not one of them. But this Odd Notion stuff is worth it.