Seen Through a Glass

World Whisky Day tasting at Teresa's in Wayne: join me!

noreply@blogger.com (Lew Bryson) — Thu, 09 May 2013 17:23:00 +0000

Grueling research in the malt kilns of Bowmore.

No Scottish boat rides are included in this tasting. Sorry.

The gang at Teresa's Next Door contacted me a while ago with a great idea: this new World Whisky Day thing...how about you come out to Wayne and we do a whisky tasting? I checked my calendar, May 18 was open, so I said hell yeah, and we started talking whiskies.

Here's what's going to go down. We're going to do the tasting on Saturday afternoon, May 18, from 12:30 to 3:00, so there's plenty of time left in the day to do other things (like get on the train and head into Philly, or just stay right where you are and enjoy the great beers at Teresa's).

What you'll be tasting (and hearing me talk about) is a kind of whisky overview. The idea was something like "Whisky 101 For Beer Geeks" (because I was frankly appalled at the whiskies beer geeks were drinking), so we lined up a variety. Here's the list:

Irish: Redbreast, the mother of Jameson.
Scotch Blend: Compass Box Great King Street, because good Scotch doesn't have to be a single malt.
Sherried Single Malt: Glenfarclas 105, a big ballsy malt.
Peated Single Malt: Lagavulin 16, from the peaty shore of Islay; smoke it if you got it.
Rye: Templeton Rye, small bottler, big flavor.
Bourbon, before and after: Buffalo Trace and Buffalo Trace White Dog, for an inside look at what the barrel does to whiskey.

All that plus Teresa's seriously good eats to go with it (snacks, but good and carefully paired), plus my amazingly interesting insights on just what the hell it is you're drinking...well, it's quite a deal at $45 (and you have to call ahead 610-293-9909, or email before the event to get registered). Hope you can join us on Wold Whisky Day, May 18th!

The Angel's Share -- whisky movie opens in Philly today

noreply@blogger.com (Lew Bryson) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 12:51:00 +0000

Talk "whisky movie" and people turn blank. Maybe Thunder Road, or if they're Scottish, Whisky Galore, or if you're a real film fanatic, the Uruguayan Whisky (which is not actually about whisky...) but whisky has not been a popular topic for films.

Which is why The Angel's Share is such a delight for a whisky drinker. Usually it takes a few failures for filmmakers to get the feel of a genre right (look at how many dopey tries they took at Batman before Heath Ledger licked his lips to perfection), but this? Bang, first pour, right out of the bottle. There's a real distillery (three of them, actually: Balblair, Deanston, and Glengoyne), real whiskies (Robbie, the main character, guesses Glenfarclas on a blind tasting; it's a Cragganmore), real tasting (nosing, Glencairn glasses, picking apart aroma/flavor notes), and a real whisky expert, Charlie MacLean, who does a great job in a supporting role as "Rory McAlister", essentially playing his own affable, greatly knowledgeable self. But the whisky star of the movie is a cask of Malt Mill, a real unicorn of whisky, from an Islay distillery that closed in 1962 and was never bottled as a single malt. If there's anything that would open the eyes of a whisky fancier...that's it.

Charlie MacLean (left) leads a tasting that includes Harry and Robbie (far right).

So, that's the whisky part, which is well-done. The film part that kept my family watching through our preview is a gritty tale of redemption through whisky...and crime. Robbie (Paul Brannigan) is a Glasgow scrapper, a vicious street thug, to be honest, but he's charmed Leonie (Siobhan Reilly), a gentler girl who manages to hold him through her pregnancy and presents him with a son. But even in the hospital, he's jumped by old enemies who seem determined to drag him back into the pit with them. He runs, and evades them, and returns to his 300 hours of public service to pay off his crimes.

That's where he's met Harry (John Henshaw), the work trainer who sees the best in his charges. Harry's patience and love for Scotch whisky eventually leads to a weekend trip for Paul and three of his public service mates (Rhino, Albert, and the light-fingered Mo) to visit Deanston distillery for a tour. Robbie discovers he has a nose, and a growing love for the the best of whisky. Harry takes him on, and they go to a tasting hosted by Rory, where the plot suddenly develops: the cask of Malt Mill is to be auctioned off, and Robbie hatches a plot to steal enough to give he and his friends enough to get out of the pit.

Mo, Albert, Robbie, and Rhino: ready for the Highlands

The ensuing caper is grueling (imagine walking miles in a kilt when you're not...pre-chafed), funny (the French tourist letting the young Scotsman know his kilt's on backwards), disgusting (whisky decanted into Irn Bru bottles), and expanding (as the urban Scots encounter the Highlands). But it is Robbie's path to adult responsibility, and his growth into a serious, sober father is charming.

The scenery in the film is great, the whisky chat is spot-on. The rage and violence in the beginning is shocking (there's a lot of f-bombing, but it wears off quickly), but Robbie's grief when confronted by the results of what he's done is genuine; he's been shocked too. He wants to change, to be a father to his son, a man for his new family...and whisky gives him the opportunity. Worth a look.

The Angel's Share won the 2012 Cannes Film Festival Jury Prize. It was directed by Ken Loach (The Wind That Shakes the Barley). And it opens in Philadelphia today, at the Ritz Five.

Double Cross Vodka

noreply@blogger.com (Lew Bryson) — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 16:35:00 +0000

I'll quote myself again about vodka: "To call this protean liquor “colorless, odorless, and tasteless” sells it terribly short." I was a serious -- i.e., straight -- vodka drinker years before I got serious about whiskey, and I've been rediscovering the good points of vodka lately.

Like this bottle of Double Cross I was sent a couple years ago when I was working on a vodka story for Mass Beverage Business. It sat on my shelf -- I wasn't reviewing vodkas, just writing about them -- until a few weeks ago, when Cathy and I took her brother Curt out to Uzbekistan (which is just great, BTW, and if you haven't been, go). It's BYO, so we got together a clutch of beers and ciders and two bottles of wine (the chardonnay worked really well; the sauvignon blanc, not so much), and I saw the bottle of Double Cross, and thought, hell, why not? And stuffed it in the freezer around noon to get chilled for the evening.

We started eating. First it was achik-chuck, a delicious traditional tomato salad. Salud! Curt and I had half-ounce shots of vodka. Then the piping hot bread came. Salud! Then some skewers of lamb. Salud! We finished the skewers of lamb. Salud! Cathy's stroganoff came. Salud! Cathy joined us for a shot. Salud! We got pilov -- Salud! -- and more skewers. Salud! We eventually Salud!-ed our way through half the bottle, and Cathy drove home.

And you know? The Double Cross was brilliant. From the very first shot, it was clean, no trace of any nasty solvent flavors; it was well-bodied without being sweet; and it had a faint but distinct graininess to it that was just perfect. Best of all, the little half-ounce shots made an excellent palate refresher between courses. I liked the Double Cross, and after another meal at Uzbekistan, I intend to buy another bottle.

Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week starts on Friday!

noreply@blogger.com (Lew Bryson) — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 13:31:00 +0000

Yet another beer extravaganza I'm really sorry to be missing -- mainly because it's in Pittsburgh -- starts tomorrow: Friday April 19 is the start of Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week. Philadelphia may have started this (or maybe not; Philly Beer Week started from a wholly internal idea, but Ohio Brew Week appears to be at least two years older...but whatever), but the idea of two Beer Weeks at either end of the state is pretty damned cool.

Here's the schedule, and here's an article by beer-lovin' Bob Batz about five fantastic collaboration beers brewed for the event. They've got their own superhero, a beer barge tour, and if I know this town, more great fun than you can shake a tap at. Sorry I didn't say anything earlier, but...really, what were you doing this weekend? Go to Pittsburgh!

"India Pale Ale displayed the strongest unit growth in 2012"

noreply@blogger.com (Lew Bryson) — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 13:24:00 +0000

It should come to a surprise to no one, but sales tracking company GuestMetrics has released a report showing that IPA kicked ass and took names last year. According to their database (from POS systems in restaurants and bars), IPA showed stronger growth than any other type of beer last year: an amazing 39% year on year. And it's accelerating going into the second quarter of 2013; 1Q 2013 showed 40% growth.

And who's doing the best? "Based on data from GuestMetrics, the IPA brands with the largest share gains last year were Widmer Broken Halo IPA, Lagunitas India Pale Ale, Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA, and Ballast Point Sculpin."

Meanwhile, the flipside -- which might have sent craft beer geeks into spins of delight five years ago, but now only evokes a "damn straight" nod and grin -- is that "pale lager" is sucking wind.

"Pale Lagers saw unit sales contract by 5% in 2012 compared to the prior year, and as a result, experienced by far the largest share loss at about 170 basis points in 2012," said Peter Reidhead, VP of Strategy and Insights at GuestMetrics. "Additionally, in analyzing the quarter of 2013, the picture does not appear to be improving for Pale Lagers, with units contracting 6.2% against prior year, and the share loss accelerating slightly to 180 basis points." Based on data from GuestMetrics, the Pale Lager brands with the largest share loss last year were Miller Lite, Bud Light, and Budweiser."

Like I told someone in an interview the other day, betting against IPA is like betting against vodka: don't do it. This is not a cycle. This is not a trend. It's a straight, upward line. People have been looking for IPA to peak and head back down since 1995, and they've been wasting their time.

Just look at craft beer branding these days: it's all about different kinds of IPAs! We have black, double, session, rye, red, green, wheat, and white IPAs, and you can bet I missed some that a brewer is concocting even now. Brewers see that putting "IPA" on your label is like rubbing money on it; hops are crack, like Dogfish Head said about 90 Minute IPA, that's the sickness and the cure!

Bourbon, Charity, and Go-go Dancers

noreply@blogger.com (Lew Bryson) — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 12:52:00 +0000

The poster pretty much says it all, but let me break it down for you. The Trestle Inn -- which I'm pretty sure you have no idea how much I'm stoked about...but I am -- is sponsoring a bourbon cocktail competition among bartenders from four of the best whiskey bars in the city: Time, Lloyd, The Industry, and themselves. The competition is sponsored by Woodford Reserve and Old Forester. It's a benefit for PAWS, the Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society. It's a $20 ticket ($25 at the door), and $10 of that goes directly to PAWS, and gets you four tastings of the cocktails. Get your tickets here, and go have some fun! (I'd join you, but I have a rehearsal that night...sigh.)

Russell's Reserve Small Batch Single Barrel Bourbon

noreply@blogger.com (Lew Bryson) — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 22:10:00 +0000

Okay, I had more than one...

We first got a taste of this last year at WhiskyFest San Francisco. A very excited Robin Coupar strode up with a sample bottle, and told me that this was a first: a single barrel from Wild Turkey, selected by Jimmy and Eddie Russell. It was Wild Turkey all the way through: full and rich, with full-throated oaky sweetness, but sparked by youthful mint and cinnamon, and a wonderful spread through the mouth; reminiscent of Rare Breed, but a fuller drink. He promised he'd get me more.

And so he did, and I got too busy to do a proper tasting of it. My apologies, to Robin and to you, because this does deserve your attention. First, it's worth noting that although it's 110° proof/55% ABV, it is easy to drink without water. I'm having it as my first whiskey of the day; I usually need to warm up my mouth a bit to take on a 55% without water. Nicely done.

A few more things: there's no age statement, no "X Years Old," and no real suggestion on that. It's non-chill filtered (whiskeys are often chilled, which causes some proteins to precipitate in a haze, and then filtered; this keeps the whiskey from getting (unappealingly) hazy if it gets cold in shipment or storage, but some of us like the whole thing, protein and all), which is appealing to the whiskey geek in me, and unusual in an American whiskey. Suggested retail is about $50. And it is in the Russell's Reserve line, and we're assured that Jimmy and Eddie are both doing the selection...so you've got continuity. I do not know why it's both "small batch" and "single barrel;" I would think that single barrel would imply small batch! Belts, suspenders, whatever; Jimmy's got a sense of humor!

It is tasty, in a way that is rare in such a big-hammer proofing. The mint is hot, but the sweetness and the the citrus/orange notes smooth it right out. Right nice indeed; well-done!

Truman Cox: gone too soon

noreply@blogger.com (Lew Bryson) — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 14:19:00 +0000

Truman (on right) and Valley Malt's Christian Stanley

I received tragic news today. My very good friend, Truman Cox, the young, gifted, and extremely personable master distiller at A. Smith Bowman in Fredericksburg, Va., died suddenly last night. I am devastated at this news, and my heart and prayers go out to his wife and daughter.
Truman had just reached his life goal; becoming a master distiller. He was enjoying his new job -- and bottling some excellent whiskey! -- having great fun as husband and father, and happy as a pig in shit. He was technically gifted, and had an absolutely honest pleasure in working, in explaining the distillery to visitors, and in spreading the good word about whiskey.

Truman Cox was one of my best friends, in or out of the industry, and I am missing him terribly already. Too young, too fast...oh, too bad, too bad!

Philly Loves Lagers: hello, Philly Bierfest!

noreply@blogger.com (Lew Bryson) — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 22:38:00 +0000

Gearing up for the second annual Philly Bierfest on February 23rd (1-5), and I'm starting to get a lager Stiffe. The German Society of Philadelphia is hosting the event, along with Brauhaus Schmitz and the Philly Roller Girls (that's right: women-owned and operated roller derby!).

You know I love me some smooth, cold-matured lager loveliness, and there's no place like Pennsylvania to get great fresh examples; er, outside of Germany, that is! For your $45 ticket (or $60 VIP), you'll get lagers and weizens from fantastic Pennsylvania breweries like this:

Appalachian Brewing Co.          Berwick Brewing Co.
Lancaster Brewing Co.             The Lion Brewery
Pennsylvania Brewing Co.         Philadelphia Brewing Co.
Manayunk Brewing Co.            Neshaminy Creek Brewing Co.
Nodding Head Brewery             Round Guys Brewing Co.
Sly Fox Brewing Co.                Stoudts Brewing Co.
Straub Brewery                       Susquehanna Brewing Co.
Victory Brewing Co.                Yuengling and Sons Brewery

Meanwhile, down in the Ratskellar, the beer-loving folks from The Foodery will be pouring beers from German breweries like Ayinger, Jever, Trauenstein, and a number of smaller, less-familiar (and delish) brewers, including one possible surprise they're still working on; keep your fingers crossed that this famous doublebock makes it in!

Why am I plugging this? What, a guy can't like lagers? Okay, okay: I'm plugging it because I'm in it, a member of the Brewer’s Discussion Panel on ‘Lager-Love and the Resurgence of Session Styles’ (I swear, I had nothing to do with the title!) at 4 pm in the Society's historic Horner Memorial Library.

Other members of the panel? Artie Tafoya, of Appalachian Brewing (and a past-master of hefe-brewing), Bill Covaleski of Victory Brewing (where they've been known to brew a lager or ten), and German beer importer Lars Dahlhaus. It's moderated by Marnie Old, Philly's best-known sommelier...who is also a fierce proponent of beers, especially lagers. We'll have a few good things to talk about.

I hope you can remember to come hear us, after three hours of lager, weissbier, great German eats from Brauhaus Schmitz (snacks for freesies, more substantial -- and the Germans do know "substantial" -- eats for additional bucks), and the bluegrass picking of the Keystone Mountain Boys.

What do you get for that extra $15 for the VIP ticket? You get a bigger cup...and if that's not enough, you also get in at noon for a tutored tasting on German beer styles by Marnie. Trust me, there are more German beer styles than most people know. It's more than just light lager/dark lager/strong lager/wheat!

Oh, and the Roller Girls. Don't you worry about them, you'll understand that soon enough. So...check it out here, and I'll see you there!

The German Society -- 611 Spring Garden St. Philadelphia, PA 19123

Joe Sixpack puts me in the Wayback Machine

noreply@blogger.com (Lew Bryson) — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 16:59:00 +0000

From Don "Joe Sixpack" Russell's Weekly Update email newsletter today, a note that took me way, way back:

Orkney Skull Splitter is making a big deal about sending Philly it's "first" U.S. draft ever. Its supposed debut is next Thursday (1/24) at P.O.P.E. (South Philly). I coulda sworn I'd had it on draft before, so I checked my notes and found that Jim Anderson, the former Philly beer entrepreneur, served a cask of it at his appropriately named Split Thy Skull barleywine fest 12 years ago... Just for kicks, check out what else was on tap at Sugar Mom's (Old City) on April 14, 2001:
Hair of the Dog Fred
Heavyweight Old Salty
New Road Ichor
Nodding Head Old Willie's Ghost
Rogue Imperial Stout
Schloss Eggenberger Samichlaus
Stoudt's Scotch Style
Valley Forge Imperial Stout
Victory Blacker and Tanner
Weyerbacher Quad
Yards Old Bart

I borrowed this from the Tattooed Mom's website.

Look at that list. Heavyweight, New Road, Valley Forge: all closed (though Heavyweight's Tom Baker owns/brews at Earth, Bread + Brewery, and New Road brewer Brian O'Reilly is the famed head brewer at Sly Fox). Nodding Head: new brewer. Stoudt's: substantially different brewery and beer line-up. Victory: much bigger and building a very large production brewery. Weyerbacher: moving into a large expansion this week. Yards: split up, and booming.

Things change...but they remain the same, too. Great beers in this town. Great beer people. And yes...Split Thy Skull XVII is on for March 30 (as always, the day before Easter, from which stems my long-running habit of having a few very strong beers before singing the Easter Vigil mass) at Tattooed Mom's. Haven't been in a while; maybe it's time to take up that cross again. Thanks for the wake-up call, Don!

Yuengs for your Wings

noreply@blogger.com (Lew Bryson) — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 17:41:00 +0000

Can't believe this took so long: Yuengling has launched a line of Barbecue and Wing sauces incorporating their beers: Lager, Light Lager, Porter, and Black and Tan. Check it out here. This should be a runaway success.

Winding up the year, starting the next one

noreply@blogger.com (Lew Bryson) — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 02:40:00 +0000

Early Thursday morning

Well...I had a really horrible 9 hour drive through Wednesday's snowstorm (a drive that usually takes about 5 hours) to my in-laws in upstate New York. But at the end of it, we got stuck into some seriously good beers: DC Brau's On The Wings of Armageddon (a jaw-slapping double IPA) and a jug of Selin's Grove's SNAFU IPA from Friday the 21st (when Nora and I dropped in at the brewpub for their 16th anniversary), and then some Smuttynose Big Beers: Zinneke (a Belgian-type stout that was good but wasn't fantastic), Scottish (delicious malt pillow), and Gravitation (a marvelous quad-type that really kept the malt train rolling along, rich and tongue-heavy).

Thursday...we recovered, and then Friday the bros-in-law and I went out to Sticky Lips BBQ in Henrietta, NY. The catfish was good (the fried pickles were just okay), the ribs were good, and the pulled pork was great. I had an Ed Fitz Porter (an always favorite) and a Three Heads The Kind IPA (excellently hoppy and brisk, even more so at $4 a 16 oz. glass). I had some GoldenCold when we got home. Saturday? Another long drive through snow, and some beers at the end...and a few more tonight.

But look, tomorrow is New Year's Day! As we've done for a few years now, we'll be going to Memphis Taproom for a late lunch (they have their full brunch menu from 11 AM to 3 PM NYE and NYD; late lunch, late breakfast, whatever, right?), then picking up some bratwurst at Rieker's for our midnight grillfest. I've got a magnum of Dupont Avec les Bons Vouex for the celebration.

Now, New Year's Day is a conflicting set of traditions for me. I've been watching the Mummer's Parade since I was a little kid -- on television, never been able to get down there... -- but Cathy has never understood, appreciated, or wanted to get anywhere near the Mummers. At all. Which may have something to do with why I've never been able to get to the parade, come to think of it. The other tradition is spending the day with my brother-in-law Carl and his family...but they couldn't make it this year; neither could we, actually. So we're on our own, and it turns out that there are some really good things to do on New Year's Day.

Like we may start at Monk's Cafe,where Tom and Fergie have started their own odd little tradition of serving all stouts (and one excellent sour, TBA) on NYD. Here's the list so far:
1. Allagash Bourbon Black
2. Alvinne Catherine The Great3. Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout
4. Dogfish Head Bitches Brew
5. Dogfish Head Chicory Stout
6. Dupont Monks Stout7. Dogfish Head World Wide Stout
8. Emelisse Russian Imperial Stout
9. Founder's Breakfast Stout10. Great Divide oak aged Yeti
11. Lost Abbey Deliverance (cellared for a year)
12. Sierra Nevada Narwhal Imperial Stout
13. Stoudt's Fat Dog Stout
14. New Holland Poet Oatmeal Stout
15. Bells Java Stout
16. Laughing Dog Dogfather Imperial Stout
17. Smuttynose Zinneke Belgian-style Stout

Pretty sure we can find something (fancy a Narwhal?).

Then we've got a private drop-in party to hit, followed by the annual whoopee at Local 44, where they celebrate their opening anniversary on January 1st (I'm hoping to snag some of the Lees Moonraker). Then it's back home, where I guess we'll have to have some amount of pork and sauerkraut, just because I'm a Dutchman.

Christmas gift ideas

noreply@blogger.com (Lew Bryson) — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 04:47:00 +0000

Got a couple Christmas gift ideas for you.

First, Massachusetts Breweries, by John Holl and April Darcy. It's one of the series of Stackpole Books brewery guides that my editor and I founded (and perfected, if I do say so myself), and it's a great job. John and April have captured the spirit of my intent with these books -- tell the story of the brewery, and make the place and the people come alive for the reader -- with writing that's accurate as well as lively and entertaining. It reads well, and it reads right. If you're headed to Mass, and you have a thirst, or just an itch to do some beer traveling, you'll want this book. And you still have plenty of time to get a copy from Amazon.

The other idea is the Liberty, Prosperity & Craftbeer Calendar, a New Jersey brewery 2013 calendar produced by Gretchen Schmidhausler, the long-time brewmaster at Basil T's in Red Bank. Now, I know what you're thinking: I don't live in Jersey, what the hell do I want with a NJ beer calendar? (You guys from Jersey, you already ordered one, I hope.) Let me tell you: the pictures of brewing scenes are beautiful. No matter where you live or drink, you'll be thinking of beer when you look up at this great piece of brewery enthusiasm. Get one today, because you get free shipping if you order by December 20; click here to get one.

Merry Christmas!

A Pilsner Urquell story

noreply@blogger.com (Lew Bryson) — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 00:51:00 +0000

The first was in September. I was at the brewery in Pilsen, in the Czech Republic. We saw the huge, modern brewery with the big copper brewing kettles (heated by direct fire) and the massive stainless fermentation and maturation tanks . . . all aboveground. Then we were led below ground, into nine kilometers of tunnels cut through the native sandstone.

Down here, in the dim, wet halls where all Pilsner Urquell used to be lagered in great wooden barrels, they still make a small amount of it in the old, traditional way: fermented in open vats, aged in the big barrels that are still made by an onsite cooperage, and cooled by the natural temperature of the earth. They do that to make sure the beer made the modern way tastes the same as the old school stuff.

Vaclav handing Thomas his first beer

And there I was, in the very birthplace of pilsner, drinking fresh-as-life beer tapped directly from those barrels, with none other than the Pilsner Urquell brewmaster, a huge blond bear of a man named Vaclav Berka. It was cool, deliciously zingy with Saaz hop aroma and bitterness, and fantastically fresh.

The second moment was in mid-October. It was my son’s 21st birthday, and I managed to get him to hold off having a drink until 4:30 in the afternoon. That was when we went to a Pilsner Urquell event (at City Tap House), and my son’s first legal beer was a Pilsner Urquell, tapped and handed to him by a huge blond bear of a man . . . named Vaclav Berka. I got the next one, and it was cool, deliciously zingy with Saaz hop aroma and bitterness, and fantastically fresh....

And you can read the rest of that story here. It's a trade journal piece, but a good piece. And I have a follow-up, too. Yesterday I picked up a liter of unpasteurized Pilsner Urquell in the beautiful bottle you see to the left. I got it from the people at Muller Beverage, who told me it was one of only 60 in the country (edit: Ahhh...no. It was actually one of 60 that Muller got, which is quite a bit different! I was moving fast, and it was a simple misunderstanding. My apologies to all). They also told me I should drink it right away, because it had been held up in shipping because of Hurricane Sandy (that bastard).

So I did. I picked up some lobsters at a local supermarket (I'd say where and give them a plug, but they sold me a piece of bad bluefish at the same time, so screw 'em), got some barbecue mushrooms at the farmer's market, and went home to Cathy and Thomas. I popped open the liter, poured it into two beautiful Pilsner glasses I got at the Grey Lodge some years back and cherish, and Thomas's mug (which you see in Vaclav's big hand above), and we drank that sweet thing... And we all said, hey, that's pretty good! And it was. I hope the whole Express Shipped Cold thing works out, because then we'll see more of this kind of thing, and it won't just be lucky journalists and bar owners who get this delicious stuff.

Thanksgiving: almost here

noreply@blogger.com (Lew Bryson) — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 14:40:00 +0000

I've got a couple notes for Thanksgiving. First, I wrote this back in 2008, and it holds up well as my advice on beers for the holiday. As some of you know, I also do some writing for Origlio Beverage, a large wholesaler here in Philly that was the Craft Beer Wholesaler of the Year in 2009; here's what I did for them last year (PDF link; my story's on page 12).

There's also this from Local 44, where they note that -- in keeping with their name -- this is that time of year when everyone goes "home", leaving the neighborhood bars to the locals (and their friends and relations who have come "home," which is why Thanksgiving Eve is the busiest bar night of the year). They always make a big deal of Thanksgiving (though they're closed on the actual day, which suits me fine), and here are two things going on there that I thought you would like to know about.

Starting TODAY thru Wednesday, Nov 21 we've got special "Impress Your Friends and In-Laws" prices on all LARGE FORMAT bottles (aka those really big suckers we keep tucked behind the bar). We've been stocking up on some exciting new large format bottles -- don't go to dinner empty handed!

We are also super stocked up for all the Gluten-Free beer lovers at your Thanksgiving dinner table. Stop by to talk to any of our Bottle Shop staffers about some of the special Gluten-Free options we've got in stock. (Don't Forget! Gluten-Free Holiday Beer Baskets go on sale in the Bottle Shop on Monday, November 26. The Gluten-Free Baskets are also available by special order! Email bottles@local44beerbar.com for more information or to pre-order yours!)

I just did a piece on gluten-free beer for Massachusetts Beverage Business, should be out in the next issue: the upshot is that gluten free beers are much better than they used to be, and so is cider, another beer-strength gluten-free option. And you wouldn't want to exclude your celiac friends from the holiday fun, would you?

Is That Another Growler I See?

noreply@blogger.com (Lew Bryson) — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 21:54:00 +0000

I spotted what I'm pretty sure is an old-style growler back in August here. It's in a John Sloan painting in the Philly Museum of Art.

Regular reader Steven Herberger spotted another, and I got permission to link to the picture: it's at Print Magazine's website. Take a look.

STAG does not endorse Prohibition-era stereotyping.

Check the large pail the slack-bellied fellow with the spade is holding. I don't believe he's bailing out a ditch he's dug; I'm pretty sure he's supposed to represent 'immigrant labor.' Let's leave the stereotyping out, though (the point being made is that while the scary Papa Doc-type black man, and the slob of a ditch digger, and the scary Italian extortionist, and even the dopey white guy get to vote, the beautiful, virginal woman does not), and focus on the growler.

Note that it's shiny! It's a steel growler, not a dull tin item. And it's a big one, too. You've got to agree: no one holds their lunchbucket that way; Ditch-digging Danny-boy (or Duncan, or Dietrich, or Dmitri) is definitely getting a noseful of suds, 1913-style. (UPDATED: I had '1919' here, Steve Herberger corrected me. Don't know how I got that wrong; thanks!)

Growlers. The history is out there. Keep your eyes open. (Thanks, Steven, and thanks to Steven Heller of Print for permission to make the link.)

Good times at Tröegs

noreply@blogger.com (Lew Bryson) — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 02:57:00 +0000

Cathy and I went to the wedding of our old college friend Scott Fasnacht to Aimee Achorn this past weekend. It was a fantastic weekend, got to see a lot of old friends, including Scott's father Claire, who's getting up there but is still sharp, and Scott's brother Jim, an old friend himself from a different angle (things like this happen when you all live in Lancaster County...). Anyway...the wedding was in Elizabethtown (the rehearsal dinner was at the Liederkranz in Lancaster, and man, do they have a great beer selection), followed by a reception at the Hershey Country Club, where we were stuffed with great food (and some really good Bordeaux) and danced happily -- even me -- to the swing tunes of the Rob Stoneback Big Band (Rob's also an F&M alum, class of '73). Fantastic band, best I've heard in years.

So...the party's over around 5:30, and we're at loose ends, so...I suggested that Tröegs was right down the road from the Hotel Hershey, where we were all staying (and they had no Tröegs on tap, though they made me some excellent Old Grand-dad Manhattans), why don't we head down there? No one else had ever been, so we went back and changed, consolidated cars, and while Cathy and another wife went next door to the outlets, I went into the brewery with four of my best friends: Eric Noll and his wife Georgie, Tom Curtin (Thomas's godfather), and Larry Tighe.

We had a great time! Saw Ed Yashinsky and some of the Tröegs crew at the front, said hi, that got tucked into some Perpetual IPA and Scratch Fresh Hop, and we all started telling stories. The place was hopping, loud and happy, and the beer was excellent. I'm almost relieved there's not a place this great near me; I'd be there four times a week!

This was my first time at the brewery when it's been busy, and it is a LOT of fun. If we'd been hungry at all, we'd have tried some of the food -- it looked great -- but we were all still stuffed. Great weekend; great beers.

Allagash Cookbook? Yes, please

noreply@blogger.com (Lew Bryson) — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 17:32:00 +0000

If there's an American craft brewery that makes me think, 'Yes, a cookbook from them would be a great idea' more than Allagash, well, I can't think of it. I've been drinking Rob Tod's exceptional beers almost from the beginning, and from the first time I visited the brewery -- a long time ago, I love Maine -- we've had a conversation going about great food. I still think one of the very best beer/food pairings I ever had was at a Monk's Cafe "coastal beer and food" dinner where Stephen Beaumont had paired Allagash Interlude with snails in a buttery sauce in a huge hunk of puff pastry. It was a brilliant pairing: the knife-sharp dryness of the Interlude cut right through the richness of the sauce to marry with the snails.

So it was no surprise to get notice of an event at Pub and Kitchen next Tuesday (11/13, 7-9, PAYG): the launch of Allagash: The Cookbook. Chef James Simpkins has worked with the brewery to create a culinary tour of the United States, accompanied by the wide range of beers Allagash continues to produce. The launch will feature Rob Tod and P and K chef Jonathan Adams presenting two beer and food pairings, and four Allagash beers: White, Hugh Malone, Smoke & Beards, and Fluxus '12.

Always a pleasure to see Rob in Philly; always -- always -- a pleasure to taste fine food pairings with Allagash.

Hop Crisis Imperial IPA

noreply@blogger.com (Lew Bryson) — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 01:21:00 +0000

You know I love the session beers. And you know I love the 21st Amendment Bitter American in particular, because it's a perfect American session beer: hoppy, drinky-drinky, and it comes in a can. And it's got a picture of a monkey on the can, so that's just a bonus.

But just to show you I also love me some big old beers -- as if you needed more proof -- I cracked out this can of 21st Amendment Hop Crisis I've been saving...Election Day seemed like a good time to do it.

It poured light gold, some white foam up top, and just a bit cloudy with hop stuff. The nose was awesome; pine and citrus zest boiling off of there with proper West Coast vigor. Now...this is aged on "oak spirals," and I wasn't sure how that would go. There was a breadth to it, not quite a creaminess but a rounding of the malt/bitter interface kind of thing that I found interesting. The bitterness was crushingly good, especially with fairly hot batch of chili we had for dinner; Hop Crisis banged right through that, and the spice perked up the bitter (as it will).

I'd do another, if I had one, and I'll happily do a bit of crisis management the next time I see one.

Time to get involved: Public Beer Laws Forum this Thursday at Yards

noreply@blogger.com (Lew Bryson) — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 18:49:00 +0000

I'm going to be on the panel at another Philly Beer Scene Beer Laws Forum at Yards Brewing again, this Thursday at 7 PM. Hope you can come out; we had about 100 people last time, and I'd love to see more of you this time. Details on the forum can be found here, but I'd like to use this post to get you prepped up for the debate.

The panel's going to be State Senator Chuck McIlhinney, representing the PA Legislature, Bill Covaleski of Victory Brewing, representing the brewers of Pennsylvania, and Mike Gretz Sr. of Gretz Beer Distributors, representing the beer wholesalers, Tom Kehoe of Yards, who is moderating the thing, and me, who's pretty much representing you, the beer drinker...or as I like to call us, the fourth tier.

We wanted to let you know what kind of things are going to come up. These are some questions we've been tossing around.

First and most important: what can people do that's effective to stand for what they believe in about changing the state's liquor code? How do we effect change through the Legislature?
We'd like to ask you, our beer-centric audience, how much spirits you buy in PA. Do you buy much wine and spirits at all, and when you do, do you buy them here, or do you cross the border. We'll do a show of hands, but if you want to comment here, that's good too. We'd also like to know if privatization of the state liquor stores interests you...and if it does, where do beer sales fit in that?
Why is a simple sixpack sale change to the Liquor Code is so hard to make when Pennsylvanians overwhelmingly support it?
What do you want? Do you want to do away with the case law? Privatize the state stores and make them "all alcohol" stores? Sell beer and wine in every grocery store? Or just increase the number of licenses?
And what seems like a very simple, reasonable request from Tom Peters at Monk's Cafe: Can it be arranged that a restaurant licensee could get a "one-time" permit to receive beer from a currently unregistered brewery, pay the applicable taxes, and not have to go through an Importing Distributor?

That's what we're thinking about. We hope you're thinking about coming out Thursday night. Remember: privatization isn't over, the sixpack law change isn't over, they're just on legislative holiday. Next year it all starts up again, and we want something to happen. This is where that starts.

And yes, the bar at the brewery will be open for business. Debating is thirsty work.

Red Thunder coming same day as Red Dawn

noreply@blogger.com (Lew Bryson) — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 20:29:00 +0000

A little Red Thunder

Last week I was able to try Victory's Red Thunder, their Baltic Thunder Baltic porter aged in once-used red wine barrels from Wente Vineyards, ahead of the release on November 21, which Victory has dubbed Red Wednesday. (As the folks in Downingtown admit, yeah, not tremendously imaginative to re-dub last year's Dark Intrigue release -- Dark Wednesday -- Red Wednesday, but there you are.) Red Wednesday is going to be a first for Victory: instead of the mad free-for-all of Dark Wednesday, this will begin at 8 AM with a sit-down breakfast:

Eggs Benedict
Spinach, Mushroom and Feta Quiche
Scrambled Eggs with Bacon or Sausage and Home Fries
Stuffed Cornflake French Toast with Blackberry Compote, Butter and Maple Syrup
English Muffin Sticky Buns

Ron's real hair. He wears a baldy cap.

Served with the full complement of Victory drafts, which, I hasten to point out, is awesome on any day, and sure to be excellent on this day. It will also include Red Thunder; you tickers can get tasters, the rest of us can get full 12 oz. pours, and you can even purchase up to six RT bottles to go. Such a deal!

So how was the Red Thunder? Well, bearing in mind that what I had was a five year old bottle sample of a pilot project...it was pretty damned good. The cocoa/chocolate richness of the Baltic Thunder was still there, but the berry/pitfruit flavors of the big dark booger had been attenuated and refined by the red wine oak's fruit and tannins. It's a sophisticated drink, not a whack-in-the-chops stunner, and I quite liked it. Mind you, I quite liked the slow-pour Braumeister the goofy booger with the blonde curls at the left suggested I follow it up with, too.

Remember the timing, too. You can go get a Victory breakfast, with Victory beers, and score your Red Thunder (up to a case, and if you want more -- greedy sod -- there WILL be more available throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts and Ohio)...and then go catch the opening day of the remake of Red Dawn. Wow. Now that's a day, huh? Wolverines!!!

Let's beat up Dick Yuengling again!

noreply@blogger.com (Lew Bryson) — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 20:07:00 +0000

Saw this...blather on PhillyMag's blog today, and just lost it. Gene Marks, a business consultant who writes...a lot, decided that he was going to take Dick Yuengling to task for something The Dickster said in a recent interview. Here's what Dick said about why he may or may not open an expansion brewery in western Pennsylvania:

“Some states are very economically friendly,” Yuengling said. “We don’t necessarily base business decisions on incentives like that. But if they are going to give them to somebody, we would stand there and take them.”
“Pennsylvania is a great location. But it’s not very business-friendly. You look for fair tax breaks, fair taxation. And the bottom line is more jobs. That’s what it’s all about.”

And Marks jumped all over him for it, mainly making the point that Yuengling -- because he mentioned that he might locate a new brewery in another state -- is just another entitled grabber, sticking out his hand for something he doesn't deserve.

So can we all admit that we’re the same? The unions. The small-business owners. The down-and-out workers. The big business executives. The 99 percent. In the end, we’re all trying to negotiate the best deal we can, regardless of the effects elsewhere. We’re all going to take it if we can get it. Whether we’re entitled to it or not.

Marks clearly doesn't know Dick. This is the last person to think he's NOT 'all the same.' He drives a well-used Ford. He wears jeans and flannel shirts. He still has his office in the 1831 building that houses the brewery, in Pottsville. He chainsmokes, and uses a coffee cup for an ashtray. He's folks.

I'm so tired of this being beaten to death for political reasons, because this is about the election. Did you miss that "99 percent," didja know Dick's a Republican? Can we put that crap aside just once before November? Dick Yuengling kept jobs in Pennsylvania when other breweries in the state were closing. He added jobs in Pennsylvania when he built his new brewery here. And now he needs to expand, and he says that he may not build another brewery here...and now he's evil.

Give me a break. This man's business decisions saved America's oldest brewery, gave union workers in Florida back their jobs (when Yuengling re-opened the Stroh brewery in Tampa, which went under because of bad business decisions), and made this the biggest American-owned brewery in 2012. I'm sorry; if the man wants to open a brewery somewhere else -- New England, maybe, or the Midwest -- that's his prerogative. It's his business, it's not a corporation. He can do whatever he wants with it.

And you know what? Doing just that -- whatever he wants with it -- has worked out really, REALLY well for his employees, for the thousands of people in PA who sell Yuengling, and for the residents of Pottsville. I'd say let him keep doing what he's doing.

Sorry, I've been away...

noreply@blogger.com (Lew Bryson) — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 20:47:00 +0000

Photo by David Handschuh; more of his awesome photos of the trip here.

Yup. A LONG way away. This is the third of three lengthy trips I did in September, which I'll try to get up here: Pilsen/Prague, Tennessee/Kentucky, and this one, a DISCUS press trip to the distilleries of Ireland and Islay. This is that group at the Forest of Argyll. As you can see, by this last day of the trip we were exhausted, we hated each other, and were having no fun whatsoever.

Heh. More soon, I promise.

Bourbon Heritage Month

noreply@blogger.com (Lew Bryson) — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 16:48:00 +0000

Sorry...it's been busy, and I'll tell you about it soon. Did some tasting, went to Prague and Plzn, you know, the usual stuff. Meanwhile, it's Bourbon Heritage Month, and I'm about to leave for Tennessee and Kentucky for the Kentucky Bourbon Festival, so this bourbon infographic (from Wild Turkey, in case you didn't guess) seemed appropriate:

Beaujolais and Burgers: a rare wine post

noreply@blogger.com (Lew Bryson) — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 16:53:00 +0000

There's an event next month that I'm not even going to...but I would if I could, so I thought I'd tell you about it. I know I don't post most of the GREAT beer events that go on around here, but...this is a wine event that intrigued me, so I'm passing it on.

Beaujolais and Burgers is on Monday September 17, 6-9, at The Walnut Room. For $15, you get "gourmet burgers" from 500 Degrees (don't know if the truffle-oil fries are included) paired with Georges Dubeouf's Beaujolais by wine author Mark Oldman. There are "party favors" (that's code for schwag) and chances to win prizes.

Beaujolais is easy-drinking wine, something I'm always urged to drink heavily in November...but I always forget. I wanted to try this event, and have some fun, but I'm traveling. If anyone does go...can you drop a note?