July 30th, 2010 Joe Sixpack
Local artist and beer lover Andrew Loder has created a very cool poster (above) honoring Philly’s beer scene. The artwork depicts all of the local breweries in a fun Philly setting. Cost: $15 for a numbered print…
Johnny Brenda’s (Fishtown) is hosting a Kenzinger Clambake Saturday (7/31) at 4 p.m., with a limbo contest emceed by Phila. Brewing Co… Sly Fox will hold the grand opening of its new brewpub in Phoenixville next weekend. They’re promising 20+ beers on tap and lots o’ fun…
Word from NEPhilly.com is that Matthew Hartnett, formerly of Slate on Rittenhouse Square, will be executive chef at the soon-to-open Hop Angel. The German-style beer house will be opened by Mike (Scoats from the Grey Lodge) Scotese at the site of the former Blue Ox in Fox Chase… Downingtown’s Victory Brewing is growing again. The brewery is expected to take delivery next week of eight 440 bbl fermenters to boost its annual capacity to about 100,000 bbl a year. The brewery reports its sales are up 24 percent so far in 2010 - very impressive…
Why anybody would want them I don’t know, but some company called Beer Savers will sell you a half dozen silicon beer caps for $12.99. Supposedly they keep a beer carbonated after you open the bottle in the off-chance that you can’t drink an entire 12 ounces…
Black Star Beer is running a sweepstakes on Facebook called “Maybe the Best Trip Ever.” A trip to Brussels? Munich? Wildwood, N.J.? Nope, winner gets to go to Montana…
America’s only Benedictine monastery brewery, New Mexico’s Abbey of Christ in the Desert, will soon be sending its beer to Philly. South Philly’s Bella Vista Specialty Wholesalers scored the beer, which it says is along the small beers made by Belgium’s Westmalle and Chimay…
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May 10th, 2010 Joe Sixpack
In preparation for Philly Beer Week, FYI did a really nice piece on three great Philly beer stops: The Yards Tasting Room, Atlantis: The Lost Bar & the Wishing Well. Take a look! (Give the video a chance to load.)
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May 10th, 2010 Joe Sixpack
I caught up with Christian Heim, the former brewer at Lancaster Brewing, in a phone conversation over the weekend for a column for Beer Advocate mag about one of his beers, and during our conversation he filled me in on his ouster from the brewery late last year. According to Heim, he and head sales guy John Franz, who both had skin in the brewery’s operation, had a falling out with the majority partners over the future growth of the brewery.
Heim said the crux of the dispute was a 100,000 square foot former Hanover Foods facility that he and Franz own. They wanted to move the brewery into the facility as part of a significant expansion; their partners - the Keares Restaurant Group - wanted to go in another direction, he said.
Heim said he and Franz are still pursuing plans to open a brewery in the building, which he described as ideal for a brewhouse. The story has a familiar (e.g. Yards/PBC) ring to it, so - like that split-up - maybe this will all work out for the best.
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May 7th, 2010 Joe Sixpack
- Weyerbacher Double Simcoe @ Brady’s (Trevose, Buxco) Crowne Plaza Beer Fest, tonight.
- UFO Raspberry Hefeweizen @ Civera’s Deli (Drexel Hill, Delco) Harpoon tasting, today, 5 p.m.
- Lancaster Spring Bock @ Johnny Brenda’s (Fishtown) Don’t Block the Bocks, Saturday (5/8), all day.
- Troegs Dreamweaver @ French Quarter Bistro (Royersford, Chesco) Brewhaha Fest, Saturday (5/8), all day.
- Expedition Stout @ Tria Fermentation School (Center City) Bell Brewery & Cheese class, Wednesday (5/12), 6:30 p.m.
- Holy Moses White Ale @ Fingers Wings & Other Things (Conshy, Montco) Great Lakes tasting, Wednesday (5/12), 7:30 p.m.
About these beers… this is just my way of plugging upcoming events and the outstanding beers being served throughout the region. You can buy all the beer you like and guzzle at home, but there’s no better place to drink beer than at a bar. Get off your butt… visit a favorite, discover a new joint. If you’re just a beer drinker like me, sign up for my weekly newsletter by visiting JoeSixpack.net. I share this and other great info every Friday!
If you’re a tavern owner in Philly, drop me an email about your events and the beer you’re serving. It’s joe (at) joesixpack.net.
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April 30th, 2010 Joe Sixpack
Sly Fox (Phoenixville) completed its move across Rt. 113 to the Maple Lawn Shopping Center, and full menu service begins tomorrow. The new joint has 20 taps, three hand pumps and an automated growler filler On Sunday, the spectacular Bock Festival & Goat Races will be held in the Maple Lawn parking lot (not the Pikeland Village lot, as I wrote in my newsletter this a.m.)…
Dock Street (West Philly) has a bunch of summertime refreshers heading for the taps. Look for Summer Session spiced with lemongrass, Saison Du Potts (coyly named after brewer Ben Potts) and Bubbly Wheat, a Champagne-like Belgian witbier… Gen. Lafayette Inn & Brewery’s Suds for Buds continues on Sunday (4/2) from 3-6 p.m. Bring your dog, grab a pint, enjoy the fun in the sun and help raise some much-needed funds for the SPCA…
Fire Island Beer is running a summertime sweepstakes with a chance to win a trip to, yes, Fire Island… Here’s a pretty cool resource for pre-game beer-drinking: It’s the Tailgate Wiki, a guide to tailgating action across the country.
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April 30th, 2010 Joe Sixpack
- Red Sky at Night @Â Bell’s Beverage (South Philly) Heavy Seas sampling with Joe Sixpack, today, 4-6 p.m.
- Old Rasputin VII @ Spinnerstown Hotel (Buxco) Barrel-Aged Afternoon, Saturday (5/1).
- AleSmith IPA @ Hawthornes (Bella Vista) IPA Block Party, Sunday (5/2), 3-7 p.m.
- Slacker Bock @ Sly Fox Brewery (Phoenixville, Chesco) Bock Fest & Goat Race, Saturday (5/2), 11 a.m..
- Dock Street West of Center Pale Ale @ Triumph Brewing (Old City) Guest Brewer night, Monday (5/3), 9 p.m.
- Whirlwind Witbier @ For Pete’s Sake (South Philly) Victory Brewing Beer Tasting & Food Pairing, Thursday (5/6), 6 p.m.
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April 29th, 2010 Joe Sixpack
As you undoubtedly heard earlier this week, an investment firm called the Griffin Group has purchased Anchor Brewing from Fritz Maytag, pioneering brewing icon of the craft beer renaissance.
I interviewed Fritz this afternoon by telephone, shortly after he and the Griffin Group’s partners spoke with his employees about the transaction. I’ll be writing more about this in a future column in the Daily News. In the meantime, here’s an edited version of the Q&A. (Many thanks to Andy Musser for helping me pull this together.)
Q. What actually happened here? Have you sold 100 percent of Anchor Brewing?
A. It’s not very complicated. I own 100 percent of the company, and the deal is for 100 percent of the company.
But one thing, the company has not been sold, yet. These guys are not the owners, yet. They have agreed to buy the company from me under certain terms. If they back out, it will cost them a pretty penny. But there are all kinds of things to do. They are the potential new owners. I will continue to run the company in the meantime…We’ll be lucky if they can take over in 3 months – August probably…
Q. This came as a surprise to many people. How long have you been thinking about selling the company?
A. I don’t think it has caught my employees by surprise. I’ve been talking for years about the fact that I’m getting up in years and that something would happen with the company, and that I would like to direct what would happen…
I’ve been looking hard for more than 5 years, trying to find the right owner. The great recession happened in the middle of that, but it’s been a quiet steady process for more than 5 years. I’ve been talking to these guys almost for 5 years. We had a lead on these guys very early on, and they came back relatively recently. One of the [partners] was our first choice, years and years ago. Our very, very first choice. We went out looking for them, we didn’t wait for anyone to call us.
Q. Why the Griffin Group?
A. I have had a list of requirements: I wanted San Franciscans, and these guys are from San Francisco or nearby. I wanted someone young enough to have a long career. I wanted very capable people, so it would be in good hands. I wanted financial strength… and I wanted integrity.
There were some names [of potential buyers] we had heard that we didn’t even talk to. We wanted something special. These guys have met all of my requirements. And not only that, they are terrific.
Q. When did you realize you might actually sell the company to them?
We signed last Thursday. It was pretty obvious they were wildly enthusiastic about it… But it’s one thing to have a handshake. It’s another to do due diligence. All the details, all of the facts have to be in writing. You’re talking about a major commitment financially and morally.
I’m very please with these guys. I’ve worked very hard to find the right owners and I think these guys are really good.
Q. Was there any interest from anyone in the Maytag family or employees?
A. There’s no one in family who’d be interested. I have a daughter with 3 kids – she’s a psychologist, and she’s involved in Maytag blue cheese company, where I’m more worried about family continuity. But Anchor is not the sort of thing she would want to do…
I never received what you would call a serious offer from any employees.
Q. Did the buyers present any plans on the future of the company? You always seemed happy with the size of the company – do you see it expanding?
A. We have discussed several things like that. I won’t be an owner, so it won’t be in my hands. I’m reluctant to talk about details… They’ve made commitments to me sufficient to give me comfort that all the concepts and principles I’ve worked to build will be maintained and won’t be significantly changed.
Q. Do you have any concerns about the future of the Anchor brand?
A. These guys have impressed me tremendously with the fact that they’re not buying company because we sell 88,000 barrels of beer. They’re buying it for Anchor’s reputation and its position in the marketplace. My life work has been all about building quality and integrity, not volume… These guys understand what Anchor means, and it’s in as good as hands as I could possibly leave it.
Q. Are the current employees going to keep their jobs?
A. Yes… [the partnership] has committed to retaining all of the employees for a period of time that gives me great comfort… We have a fantastic team of people. It was terribly important to me to get a commitment from the new owners to keep that team together.
Q. What’s next for you?
A. My wife is worried I’ll come home and start alphabetizing the spices… But it’s nice to know I don’t have to solve problems. Somebody else is going to run the Anchor brewing company, and I like that.
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April 29th, 2010 Joe Sixpack
Great name for a beer, and an excellent label. Unfortunately, this IPA was brewed in honor not of Philly’s Northern Liberties section, but a neighborhood with the same name in Cincinnati. Turns out that, like Philadelphia’s N.L. section, the one in Cincinnati was also home to early American immigrants who, presumably, dressed up like Lady Liberty and paraded around with pint glasses.
I checked in with William Reed, co-owner of of Philly Northern Liberties’ Standard Tap, to see if he’d be pouring this IPA anytime soon. True, the Tap serves only locally brewed beer; but you’d figure that an ale called Northern Liberties automatically makes it local, right?
Nope, said Reed, Cincinnati isn’t close enough. Maybe some other Northern Liberties bar will track it down.
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