Beerlass

Two Track: Love Hurts

2012-01-24T15:55:00.000-05:00

I had an event in DC last night. I met a few new friends at the bar. Two of the three were separating from their long-time partners and moving out. This goes out to them.

I didn't realize that Nazareth didn't write this. I remember playing the "Daxed and Confused" Soundtrack featuring the Nazareth version over and over again in high school.

Everly Brothers 1960

Nazareth 1976

I'll be here in 25 days.

2012-01-23T00:37:00.001-05:00

The White Horse on Parsons Green, London

Photo: The Beer Lens

Rest in Peace Miss Peaches

2012-01-20T11:51:00.001-05:00

Just found out that the amazingly talented Etta James passed away today after a bout with Leukemia at the age of 73. We should all be grateful for her gift that she shared with us during her time here.
This is one of my first 45 rpms and one of my all-time favorite songs.

Barrels, Bourbon and BUGS at Iron Hill Maple Shade this Saturday

2012-01-20T00:08:00.000-05:00

This Saturday- you could be at Johnny Brenda's sipping on triples. You could be in Chili heaven at the POPE as 12 contestants bust out their crockers and put their best chili feet forward.
OR you could be at Iron Hill in Maple Shade where Lance Romance is hosting "Barrels, Bourbon, and Bugs" for the second year in a row.

Tapping of the bourbon-aged and wild beers is at 12.

This Saturday: The Trouble with Trippels

2012-01-20T00:03:00.000-05:00

Starting at 11 am on Satuday and running all day is Johnny Brenda's 3rd Annual "Trouble with Trippels."
They are actually pouring Allagash Tripel at this event even though it is not within 90 miles;)

I Hate the Gym

2012-01-19T13:36:00.003-05:00

I hate the gym.
My sister loves the gym. She's like the homecoming queen of the gym. Over the fall, I went to a spinning class at La Fitness with her. Apparently an "easy" spinning class. It was called the "candy class" and the music was all over the place (in a good way- not just that typical "club gym" music that plays.) You could do whatever you wanted on the bike at whatever intensity you could handle.
I made it about 30 minutes and called it quits and had to leave the class. I learned that the only bike for me is one that moves. I ran circles around the parking lot feeling like a loser until she was done. Then we "lifted."
Everyone at the gym was happy to see my sister. She pretty much belongs on the cover of Muscle Fitness magazine. She's that woman you see with sculpted arms. Not quite Madonna arms- but she's beyond toned. Probably 2% bodyfat. People were most likely wondering what the hell happened to me as they were previously unaware that Patty Sharp had such a heffer for a sister.

But that's got to change. I was honored back in November when my other sister Kathy asked me to be the Maid of Honor in her wedding. Miss muscle is Matron of honor. Even trying on dresses last weekend was brutal. I said to the soon-to-be-bride, "Don't worry I'm enrolling in the "Beerest Loser" and I'm going to lose 20 lbs." Her response was, "You think? The wedding is in four months!"
Ouch!

I can win $250 for the beerest loser. I really want to win but I ate thai noodles the last two days and I had a cupcake last night (even though I typically pan the dessert.) Not really the diet of a beerest loser. I joined the gym on Sunday with my gym buddy Jonny. I went running the last two days. I don't own a lot of workout clothes so I just wear beer shirts. I joined SWEAT. So if you're a member and you want to teach me how to work out since I suck at it- feel free to email me.

Lance-Jealous of Mat Falco's Hair- Decides to Grown his own....

2012-01-19T13:07:00.001-05:00

HOPSLAM makes its 2012 Philly Debut

2012-01-18T17:15:00.000-05:00

Back when Double IPAs were in diapers- you had HOPSLAM. A 10% Imperial bursting with grapefruit flavor, honey character, and a beautiful caramel malt backbone --You don't get to 10% without a ton of malt, right?

2,492 people on Beer Advocate rate it a 99 (which means "world-class" according to Beer Advocate standards)

Tomorrow night at 7 pm... the beer makes its Philly 2012 debut at POPE. There will be a firkin of Two-hearted as well as the Sparkling ale and others.

I'm assuming it kicks tomorrow night- but if not- join us at the POPE for the chili-cook off on Saturday.
And if anyone has any ideas for my chili- please email me as I am still in the recipe development phase (and probably still will be at 2 am day of).

Two Track: The Man Who Loved Beer

2012-01-18T17:05:00.000-05:00

I remember discovering Lambchop by accident in 2002. It was as mellow as mellow gets. People would compare his voice to the great Leonard Cohen. Here David Byrne remakes his 1996 "The Man who love Beer" But the lyrics don't include the word beer once.

to whom can i speak today
the brothers they are evil
and the old friends of today
they have become unlovable
to whom can i speak today
the gentleness has perished
and the violent man has come down on everyone
to whom can i speak today
the wrong which roams the earth
there can be no end to it
it is just unstoppable
death is in my sights today
and when a man desires
to see home after many years in jail
february through december
we have such a tragic hue
as separate as the fingers
or suddenly as one as the hand
and the violent man comes down on everyone

Lambchop 1996

David Byrne 2004- This is my preferred version- more violins.More energy overall.

ICE CAPADES @ Nodding HEAD tomorrow

2012-01-13T11:09:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow from 3-6 - you best be at Nodding Head for the 2nd Ice Capades.

Last year we sipped on delicious (and potent) Eisbock while a few ladies mingled about in Rink attire.

There will be 5 iced versions of NH beer including "Phunkywine."

See you there.

Happy Friday the 13th: celebrate with Sly Fox's 113 IPA and Firkins at Grey Lodge

2012-01-13T09:09:00.000-05:00

Greetings from DC!
Back in PA today- Sly Fox is celebrating the Rt 113 IPA today.
If you are at the P-Ville bar at 1:13 pm- you can get your pint for a mere $1.13.
They will be tapping a firkin at 5.

A happy Friday the 13th to you. Today is the 24th Friday the Firkinteenth at Scoats' Grey Lodge. The next one is in April.
First firkins (of the 26) will be tapped at 12 noon.

THE POURS- including the local nano-cidery Desiato!

Bavarian Barbarian First Snow
Boulder Mojo
Desiato Cider
Dock Street Rye IPA, dry-hopped
Duck Rabbit dry-hopped Brown Ale
FiftyFifty Rockslide IPA
Flying Fish Scarlet Fever
Heavy Seas Loose Cannon
Iron Hill West Chester Anvil Ale
Lancaster Milk Stout
Manayunk Rye of the Tiger
Nodding Head 60 Shilling
Old Speckled Hen
Philly Joe Porter
Prism Bitto Honey IPA
Ruddles County Ale
Sixpoint Gorilla Warfare
Sixpoint Vienna Pale
Sly Fox Sly Fox 113 IPA (113 on 1/13)
Sly Fox Robbie Burns Scottish Ale
Stone Stone Stone Smoked Porter - dry hopped w/ Chinook
Stouts Chocolate ESB
Victory ESB
Voodoo Four Seasons IPA
Weyerbacher Fireside
Yards Brawler

Wednesday: Artisanal Imports showcase at Farmer's Cabinet

2012-01-10T11:29:00.000-05:00

There's a nice lineup of beers (as always) at Farmers Cabinet tomorrow night.

They are showcasing beers from Artisanal Imports---including
La Trappe Wit, St Feuillien Brune, Cuvée des Jacobins Lambic, Tripel Karmeliet, Urthel Quad, and Meantime IPA on draft.

Drink one for me and hug Cameron as I am in Virginia.

Two Track: Tainted Love

2012-01-10T10:39:00.000-05:00

I have no reason for this week's two track.
Maybe I can attribute it to the demise of several Hollywood relationships including the ever-affable Zooey Deschanel and Ben Gibbard.

Here's "Tainted Love."
Most of you know Soft Cell. But do you know Gloria Jones version?

1964

Soft Cell- 1980

Rob Tod to visit Philly and drink a bunch of "things" next Monday

2012-01-09T12:02:00.001-05:00

Allagash's head honcho Rob Tod will be in town next week LTO- just Monday.

I've had the more than distinct pleasure of working with him since September. It's the first time he'll be in Philadelphia since I assumed my role last fall.

We'll be here there and everywhere. I hope to get him to try his first Pub and Kitchen burger. Maybe visit with his friend Felicia at Federal Donuts. See how his game skills are at Barcade. I know we'll be hitting Monks Mad Monday featuring Dogfish Head beers and I can guarantee a good time 5 till 7 at TRIA at 12th and Spruce.

We'll be tapping Thing 1 and Thing 2. Both collaborations with Beer Advocate. They are made from the same base wort. Thing 1 is a golden monks table beer. Nice and dry. Sort of reminiscent of Taras Boulba. Thing 2 has darker malts and the addition of Belgian candied sugar. It's a bit higher in alcohol and has a touch more sweetness. TRIA will also have white and BLACK on tap and a few bottles to be poured to boot.

Please join us for happy hour next Monday. If not- I'll be tweeting our whereabouts all day.

This weekend: Iron Hill Chestnut Hill

2012-01-06T14:42:00.001-05:00

Paul Rutherford, Head Brewer Chestnut Hill

Iron Hill's 9th location- but first in Philadelphia County- opened this past Wednesday. Chestnut Hill hopheads have many an IPA to look forward to in 2012 because head brewer Paul Rutherford loves to brew them.

He's made the move from Lancaster-where he spent the last three years riding Amtrak to get to work. His dedication has paid off because he's commute has been cut down by hours. Now he gets to spend his days satiating the thirsty strollers on charming Germantown Ave as the new location is flanked by funky shops and galleries.

Kevin Finn, one of Iron Hill's founding partners, gets to scout out the brewpub group's locations. He shares, “We’ve wanted to join Philadelphia’s restaurant scene for a long time. We were looking for a place with a vibrant community where we could become a part of a great neighborhood, and Chestnut Hill is exactly that."

This weekend is the PERFECT chance to head up there. You can even take The Chestnut Hill West Line and have a .2 mile (4 minute) walk.

And just think in the spring-- a nice bird-chirping bike ride through East falls, followed by beers in Mount Airy at Earth Bread + Brewery and/or the great Mcmenamins then a little west on Germantown and you're there.

Tonight in CRAFT BEER: Winter Beer Night At Barcade. Joel's last spins at POPE.

2012-01-05T00:30:00.001-05:00

Tonight- Barcade Philly will kick off their inaugural winter beer night.
I got a text from Victory Manager Pete Danford about it last week...and knew I would probably make it- but one look at the lineup and the probably is now a definitely.

Tonight is one of those nights- that my body and all it's still functioning organs should be recovering from the craze of the holidays...but instead I will attend not one- but two events since Dr. Joel's last hurrah will be at POPE - with DJ's Adam Ritter (or Sidecar fame), Denjams, Dr. Joel, and Jersey Dan of Sixpoint.

THE barcade POURS
Allagash Bookers Curieux – 11.0% – Aged in Bookers bourbon barrels instead of Jim Beam
Allagash Curieux – 9.0% – The original aged in Jim Beam barrels to compare with above
Avery Samael – 15.5% – Oak-aged demon of a Barley Wine
Ballast Point ‘Barrel Aged’ Black Marlin Porter – 5.9% – Porter aged in Bourbon
Bell’s Christmas Ale – 5.4% – Scottish Ale
Bruery 4 Calling Birds – 11.0% – Belgian style Strong Ale
Cigar City Marshall Zhukov – 11.0% – Imperial Stout
Doc’s Winter Spice Cider – 5.0% (estimated) – Cider with some spice
Dogfish Head Hellhound On My Ale – 10.0% – Imperial IPA
Great Lakes Christmas Ale – 7.5% – Fan favorite
Lagunitas Sucks Christmas Ale – 7.6% – The apology for no Brown Shugga’
Lost Abbey Gift of the Magi – 10.0% – Brewed with Frankincense and Myrrh
North Coast Grand Cru – 12.9% – Strong Belgian Ale
Sixpoint Triple Sweet Action – 10% – American Strong Ale
Southern Tier Oaked Pumking – 10.0% – It’s Pumking, aged in oak! Nuff’ said
Stone Vertical Epic – 9.4% – 11.11.11
Troegs Scratch #55 – 8.9% – Double IPA hop sledgehammer
Victory Ranch S – 9.0% – Double IPA just released
Victory Otto – 8.1% – The only keg you’re gonna see around
Voodoo ‘Bourbon Oak Chip’ Big Black Voodoo Daddy (cask) – 12% – Imperial Stout on the handpump
Weyerbacher Fourteen – 11.8% – Wheat Wine brewed in ’09 and aged
Yard’s Imperial Stout – 8.4% – Straight from the brewhouse

Beer starts a flowin' at 4 pm at BARCADE.
I don't expect the records to start spinning at POPE till 9 or 10.

Lew Bryson- American Beer Blogger event at Devil's Den -Monday, January 9th

2012-01-05T00:10:00.001-05:00

Shame on me that I haven't been at the Devil's Den since the fireplace lighting.
Have you? If not- it's finally getting quite chilly out there. I believe my courtyard has a thin layer of accumulated flurries on it as I type this.
As many of you know- Lew Bryson has been devoted to fundraising for a TV show, American Beer Blogger over the last few months. He will be on hand next Monday to discuss the project and of course beer starting at 7 pm.
I suggest you get there a bit earlier to have some beers during their awesome happy hour.

From Devil's Den:

If you are interested you can they will be set up to take your pledges here on Monday , or you can go to http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1119215224/american-beer-blogger?ref=live and make a donation. For more information about American Beer Blogger check out Lew's Blog Seen Through a Glass at http://networkedblogs.com/sgRcm .

THE POURS
firkin of Stoudt's Sugar Plum lager,
Philadelphia Brewing Shakamaxium,
Voodoo Gran Met,
Weyerbacher Tango,
Bavarian Barbarian First Snow,
Dogfish Head Burton Baton,
Sly Fox Odyssey,
Brew Works Second Coming
Yard's Philly Pale Ale.

Two Track: (I'd Go the) Whole Wide World

2012-01-03T18:01:00.002-05:00

Lance and I attended a wedding on New Years Eve. First time I ever did the NY eve wedding thing.
It was a ton of potluck fun. Everyone brought a dish. I made my not-so-world famous tater tot casserole.

Kevin, the groom (and Iron Hill Lancaster brewer) loves old celtic punk. The first song to play after the ceremony was Wreckless Eric's "Whole Wide World." I don't believe I ever heard that song before. It was an awesome moment. I had to go home and look it up. Here are a few versions including Will Ferrell's take in the movie "Stranger than Fiction." He plays it for Maggie Gyllenhall's character on acoustic guitar.

Wreckless Eric 1980

Stranger than Fiction scene

The Proclaimers

A version by the great local band, Blood Feathers at Johnny Brendas

A ukelele/hula version with lyrics

Happy New Years Eve!

2011-12-31T20:06:00.001-05:00

NYC eats

2011-12-30T23:54:00.000-05:00

I headed up to NYC on Monday with my sister to check out MoMA for the first time since I was in high school. I'm typically good for about an hour in a museum. This was a record breaker as I was there for over three.My favorite exhibit was the one that served Chicken Curry.

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Afterwards I check into my hotel. I was staying in Midtown East. Whenever Lance and I head up we typically hang out in the village. So this trip forced me to get out of my Blind Tiger comfort zone and try some other venues.

My hotel was on the same block as the famed Waldorf- Astoria. I convinced Michelle to check it out with me- although I knew whatever we ordered would be ten dollars more than it should be. But I felt it imperative to spend time in the birthplace of the waldorf salad, eggs benny, the rob roy and most importantly-the red velvet cake.

I had a glass of the Waldorf-astoria champers and michelle had a $18 glass of cabernet. They didn't serve food at Sir Harrys. Just bar snacks and wasabi peas.
We managed to embarrass ourselves twice before leaving. Michelle had several objects fall out of her pocket that another bar patron had to point out.
Then on the way out the door- I managed to get my earmuffs around my leg.

We then took the elevator up to the starlight room. Nobody was up there. We walked around a bit taking in a few great photos of galas in the 1930s.

We then ventured to Rickshaw dumpling. Sister is a borderline vegan so we went with the sweet potato dumplings. I was already plotting to take my friend Megan there the next day for the Chicken and Thai Basil. Michelle was leaving on a 7 pm train and Megan was arriving on the 8:30.

Megs wanted to check out an "Iron Chef" like restaurant. Also a block away from our hotel on Lexington was "The National," the newest Iron Chef, Geoffrey Zakarian's, chic bistro. We ordered every first course on the menu besides oysters. The stand outs were the beef tartare and the lamb meatballs (although they could have been a tad hotter). Instead of serving the tartare with crostini it was kind of chopped up throughout it. It also had pickles and a nice dijon character to it. But the bartender did the bare minimum. The menus were dirty. Not what I would expect from a Geoffrey Zakarian establishment.

Then we went to "Upstairs," at the Kimberly hotel a block away. It was an awesome roofdeck. I thought it would be cheesy- but it was well-done. The cocktails were awesome. I had one that promised "Anti-inflammatory" effects. We had the BEST ice cream sandwich. It was served with a house made salted caramel and black berries.

The next day- just as I had hoped we went back to Rickshaw dumplings. They were awesome.
Then we watched the ice skaters at Rockefeller and headed six blocks north to Ma Peche. I have been wanting to eat at David Chang's Ma Peche for quite some time. It was funkier than I thought it would be. We had awesome pork buns and chicken curry noodles- an umami dream come true.

Then it was off to Brooklyn. I had to meet up with a friend there. He suggested Boudin Tent, a Middle Eastern Pita restaurant. They're baba ganoush rocked. It had a great charred quality/smokiness.

And I was back on Amtrak and back to Philly.

Two Track: The Sampling Edition

2011-12-29T13:18:00.000-05:00

This isn't a complete "cover" per se. But Biz Markie does sample Freddie Scott's awesome "You got what I need."

I was at the Khyber on Christmas. To my surprise they had an awesome dj that kept me shoulder shruggin' for hours to the motown/soul sound. He played Scott's "You got what I need" and I decided mid-Green Flash Triple that this would be my Tuesday two track (on Thursday.

1968 Freddie Scott "You got what I need"

Biz Markie "Just a friend"

Cristina Tessaro from London Grill talks Winter Cocktails on Fox

2011-12-28T12:48:00.000-05:00

Watch my friend Cristina Tessaro of Fairmount's London Grill as she does a "bang-up" job chatting holiday booze with Mike and Karen, the Fox morning anchors.

Holiday Drinks For New Year's Eve: MyFoxPHILLY.com

Scarlett Ribbons

2011-12-23T11:38:00.002-05:00

This is Lance Romance's favorite christmas song.
And a version from my dad's favorite singer, Roy Orbison.

I present you with "Christmas Bomb" as seen on "A Very Joe Gunn Christmas"

2011-12-21T13:40:00.001-05:00

Click with caution. There's profanity. Lots of it.

Two Track: Silent Night

2011-12-21T12:10:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I was a tad too busy to get the two-track up. And last night was anything but silent.
After having twelve different dishes at Amis- Lance and I headed over to "A Very Joe Gunn Christmas" at Jose Pistolas where I got to hang out with Christmas Bomb - the musical talent of the night. I saw Casey Parker cover Outfield's "Your Love" (I don't wanna lose your love toonighyight....) and I watched the raging panda win a hot toddy chugging contest. One of the greatest nights ever.

I have to hope that the rest of my holiday week is a bit tamer.
Here's two versions of Silent night.
One from the local, WEEN

And my favorite version- Stevie Nicks- here with her friend Robbie Neville 1989

Enjoy the week- it truly is the most wonderful time of the year.