Beer Radar

Find the Elf in this picture

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Merry Christmas, yo!

This should go down in the books as a classic Philly beer stunt:

Nodding Head (which is celebrating its 10th anniversary tonight) has added a second Xmas beer to its lineup, along with the perfectly named Sledwrecker, a spiced ale now on the hand pump. The new one is called Home for the Holidaze, a decidedly hoppy ale with a hint of pine.

And where did that pine come from? My sources say it was made with clippings from the Christmas tree in the City Hall courtyard.

An assistant brewer who shall remain nameless trimmed a bag’s worth of needles from the city’s iconic tree and added them to the brew. “I was going to grab some from the tree at Love Park, ’til I realized that one is artificial,” he told me.

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Christmas at Cooperstown

Just got word that Brewery Ommegang will produce its first official Christmas/winter beer next season. The brewery hasn’t decided on a style, yet.

This year, Ommegang marketed its Chocolate Indulgence Stout as its winter seasonal; a keg of it made a surprise appearance at the Philly Christmas Beer Fest (despite my mis-tapping, which left me soaked with the sticky stout).

Ommegang Minister of Propaganda Larry Bennett reports the beer will probably “fit somewhere in the range of a high-gravity Belgian-style winter warmer, with an Ommegang twist.” He adds, “Feel free to send ideas, recommendations and samples of Noel beers you love. We promise to use for educational purposes only.”

Meanwhile, look for kegs of Inauguration Ale 2009 to make their appearance this month.  The brewery wanted to call it Obamagang, but the feds frowned on that. Bennett describes it as somewhere “between a porter and stout, with a bit of Kriek and a touch of chocolate blended in.” A portion of sales will benefit local (as yet named) charities.

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Joe Sixpack on NPR

Tune in Wednesday morning (12/24) to Morning Edition on your local NPR station for a feature on Christmas Beer. The reporter on the story visited my class earlier this month at the Tria Fermentation School.

I don’t know what time slot it’ll run, but if you miss it, it’ll likely show up on the Web as well.

(NPR airs on WHYY, 90.9 FM, in Philly).

Click here for Neda Ulaby’s online report (audio to be posted at 9 a.m. on Wednesday)

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Last-minute shopping

Good luck finding “Christmas Beer” in bookstores. I’m told by many readers that it’s sold out in the Philly area.

If you’re trying to track down a last-minute copy, check out these locations (and, bonus, you grab a beer while you’re shopping):

• Bella Vista Beverage (11th & Catharine, South Philly)
• Tria Cafe (12th & Spruce or 18th & Sansom, Center City)
• Home Sweet Homebrew (2008 Sansom St., Center City)
• Capone’s (224 Germantown Ave., Norristown)
• The Beer Yard (218 E. Lancaster Ave., Wayne)

And, you can order it online here - but do it by Sunday (12/21) to ensure delivery in time for Christmas.

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Christmas Beer book tour - the home stretch

December’s been a busy month, but I’ve got a few final book signings before the end of the year. Catch up with me and we’ll share a cold one.

Tuesday, Dec. 23rd - Christmas Eve Eve at Gullifty’s (1149 Lancaster Ave. Rosemont). Peter Cherpack from BeerAppreciation.com will join me for this one! 7 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 27th - Philly Christmas Beer Festival at the Penn Museum.  Tix are still available - and remember, VIP ticket holders get a complimentary copy of “Christmas Beer.” Order tix here. 1-4 p.m.

Tuesday, Dec. 30th - Christmas beer tasting & book-signing at Roller’s  ( 8142 Germantown Ave., Chestnut Hill). We’ll sample 10 different Christmas beers, enjoy light hors d’oeuvres and chat about this great holiday beer tradition. 7:30 p.m. $20.

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Get your butt to Devil’s Den

If you missed last night’s book-signing at Devil’s Den (10th and Ellsworth, South Philly), you really missed a helluva Christmas beer tap lineup:

• Stoudt’s Winter Ale
• St. Bernardus Christmas
  
• Sly Fox Christmas Ale
  
• Anderson Valley Winter Solstice  
• Southampton French Christmas
• Dupont Avec les Bons Vouex
  
• Bell’s Christmas Ale
  
• Phila. Brewing Pedro Feliz Navidad  

I mention the list not to rub it in, but to give you the heads up that:

1. All of these beers are likely still on tap today.
2. Devil’s Den has one of the most generous happy hour deals in the city: HALF-OFF all drafts from 4-7 p.m., Monday to Friday.

For those of you with lousy math skills and tight wallets, let me tell you what this means: goblets of St. Bernie’s and Dupont for just $3.75. Or, how about pints of Founders Centennial (yes, the notoriously hoppy IPA that chimes in at 7.2% ABV) for $2.50? I haven’t seen a deal like this since Michel left town and boarded up Cuvee Notre Dame.

Throughout these cold months, Devil’s Den is stoking its welcoming fireplace. The tavern is just a beautiful place to get toasty and toasted.

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Center City Xmas bar hop

Mrs. Sixpack joined me for an afternoon bar hop today - a chance to do some gift shopping and visit a few locals.

The two highlights of the afternoon:

• Gouden Carolus Noel on tap at Tria (18th and Sansom). Phenomenal, incredibly malty, soft body with lots of chocolate and cherry notes. The missus passed off her Maredsous 8 to me and Bogarted my goblet.
• Sled Wrecker at Nodding Head (15th and Sansom). Spiced ale is not my favorite, so I ordered a small glass. But, wow, this was just wonderfully balanced; the spices were understated and the malt carried the day. Just beautiful. I also put away a freshly tapped pint of O-Tay, a somewhat hoppy buckwhat ale (thus the name) with a tremendous Belgian yeast character.

We also stopped by the Christmas village market in front of City Hall. Just a heads up: One of the shops is selling cool German beer steins - they make a great gift.

What else? We were in the holiday spirit, so we decided to check out some high-end joints.

We dropped in at the Ritz-Carlton, a longtime family tradition because of the place (the former Girard Bank on Broad Street) is so normally well-decorated. But this year the place was about as well appointed as your local Kmart - just a lonely tree and no t much more. We used the bathrooms and booked.

We also made quick visits to the bars at two steakhouses, Del Frisco’s (15th and Chestnut) & Butcher & Singer (15th & Walnut). The best beer at Del Frisco’s was Brooklyn Lager, which didn’t ring my bell at the time, so I went with a pineapple-infused vodka (yeah, I know, I know…). At Butcher & Singer (formerly Striped Bass), they were serving Chimay in overpriced bottles, so I went with an Absolut martini. Then Georges Perrier of Le Bec Fin plopped down next to me (we had lunch together once about 5 years ago, but he didn’t remember me) and ordered the same thing!

Georges was on his way to the Eagles game. So was I, only I was watching it on the flatscreen at home.

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Christmas Beer book tour continues - corrected version

I’ve added a couple more appearances next week through the city. Pick up a copy of “Christmas Beer” or “Joe Sixpack’s Philly Beer Guide” for the beer lover on your gift list. Do your drinking AND your Christmas shopping at the same time!

(Note: These dates have been corrected; please disregard the screwup in my weekly email newsletter.)

Wednesday, Dec. 17 -  Home Sweet Homebrew (2008 Sansom St., Center City). Taste George’s favorite home-brewed Xmas beer. 5 p.m.

Wednesday, Dec. 17 - Devil’s Den (1148 S 11th St., South Philly). A great selection of Christmas faves on tap.  7 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 18 - The Irish Pol (45  S. 3rd St., Old City). The city’s newest beer bar shows off its stuff.  7  p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 27 - Philly Christmas Beer Fest at the Penn Museum (33rd & Spruce streets, University City). 1-3 p.m. Buy the VIP tix and get a complimentary copy of my book!

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Joe Sixpack meets Martha Stewart

OK, I’m not exactly going to meet Martha Herself. But if you tune into Martha Stewart Living on Sirius XM satellite radio Thursday morning (12/11) about 11 a.m., you can catch my chat about my Christmas beer book on “Everyday Food” with hostess Sandy Gluck.

I am totally looking forward to learning how to fold cocktail napkins!

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