Philly Beer Week Diary
Monday - Double Bock Bonanza at Dawson Street. The place was jammed, owner Dave Wilby covered the pool table with goodies from Rieker’s, and the beer poured ALL night. We went through nine - yes 9 - different double bocks. I don’t know how anybody was standing. Had to be the longest tasting I’ve ever led: 4 hours non-stop.
The two favorites were, not surprisingly, Ayinger Celebrator and Schneider Aventinus, with good words for Lancaster Double Bock.
Tuesday - A light day for me: no formal tastings or dinners. I thought I’d be able to relax and enjoy reading all the Gov. Spitzer stories. (Best line I’ve heard so far about the guv’s fondness for high-priced hookers: “$31,000 for sex? My whole wedding didn’t cost $31,000, and I’ve been getting laid for 5 years.”)
But I nearly forgot I’d committed to an hour on Marty Moss-Coane’s Radio Times on WHYY, so I had to hustle downtown. Craig LaBan from the Inquirer joined me and we had a good time talking about beer on public radio. I know a lot of folks have mixed feelings about Craig’s coverage of the beer scene, but as much as it pains me to throw a compliment to the competition, the guy does write about it seriously as part of Philly’s dining scene. Among other things, it’s a sign of how far beer has come in this town. (Remember, when I started writing Joe Sixpack 12 years ago, it was partly a tabloid reaction to the Inquirer’s status as a snobby “wine” newspaper.)
After the radio show, I caught up with Marty Jones from Oskar Blues in Colorado, for lunch at Monk’s. It was his first visit to Philly since he was 10, and he was absolutely blown away by the beer scene, from Jose Pistolas (which he couldn’t stop raving about) to Standard Tap. Just before we left, Adam Avery showed up, but I didn’t get much of a chance to chat - he headed to the back room for one of those Tuesday afternoon massages that Monk’s provides for its employees.
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