Best of Philly
July 21st, 2008 Joe Sixpack
Philly Beer Week has been named the city’s Best Event by Philadelphia Magazine.
Wait till they see ‘09.
Philly Beer Week has been named the city’s Best Event by Philadelphia Magazine.
Wait till they see ‘09.
Mark your calendars: It’s March 6-15, 2009.
And yes, just like ‘08, that’s 10 straight days of celebration in the Best Beer-Drinking City in America. We’ll be announcing more details very shortly, including info on new festivals, tours and (keep your fingers crossed) a very cool Philly Beer Week HQ.
The Inky’s Marilyn Marter pulled together a nice look back at Philly Beer Week, including this quote from Marty Jones, the gracious beer writer and Oskar Blues rep:
“Many people think of Denver as America’s top beer city. But our beer-bar culture doesn’t come close to what you have in Philadelphia.”
Note to the denizens of Falling Rock: Please don’t run Marty out of the bar! Instead, join him next year when he returns to our town for Philly Beer Week ‘09.
In the end, it’s all about great beer in a great beer-drinking city. But to give you a taste of how the rest of America sees the Philly beer scene, I’ve compiled a bunch of links below. It’s just the tip of the iceberg. An informal report on media coverage from the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corp. notes there were at least 45 out-of-town TV reports and 50 newspaper reports on PBW.
Here’s my collection of web links:
A couple of podcasts from FeastofFools.net
http://www.feastoffools.net/gay-fun-show/2008/03/12/fof-721-i-wish-i-was-in-philly-031108/
http://www.feastoffools.net/gay-fun-show/2008/03/11/fof-720-a-glass-of-joy-031108/
Rick Sellers of Draft magazine
Friday - Michael Jackson Tribute. Pretty decent crowd at the Penn Museum, highlighted by Tony Forder on the pipe, and Carolyn Smagalski at the dais.
Saturday - First a quick interview with Glen Macnow on WIP, then off to the 19th annual Tutored Tasting at the Penn Museum. With Michael Jackson gone, I led a panel featuring Tom Dalldorf of Celebrator News, Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head and Tom Peters of Monk’s Cafe in a tasting of beers influenced by the Beer Hunter. All three sessions were sold out, which is probably more of a tribute to the actual beer than the presence of any of the speakers. Nonetheless, the crowds seemed appreciative of our chats - especially the background to Dogfish Head’s new Palo Santos, aged in the brewery’s new 10,000 gallon wooden vat. What caught my palate on the floor: a quadruppel from Triumph, a double bock from Climax and Bob Grossman’s homebrewed barleywine (aged since 2001, I believe).
Today - Philly Beer Week wraps up. I’m going to take it easy and attend only the final Michael Jackson dinner at Monk’s Cafe. And, yeah, I’ll probably get sucked into a bit of carousing later on.
Wednesday: Finally, my lousy cold has broken and I had a chance to really enjoy all the fun. I was honored to formally open Johnny Brenda’s new dining room with a terrific tasting menu from Paul Kimport:
Afterwards, JB’s co-owner William Reed and I headed into Center City to catch up with the brewers’ pub crawl, which had settled into its final stop at McGillin’s Old Ale House. The joint was absolutely packed and I was happy to find a seat next to David Buhler, the brewer from Seattle’s Elysian who told me he’s here for the entire week. Yards brewer Steve Mashington Flying Fish brewer Casey Hughes (wearing a bizarre “Baby Mash” t-shirt that he printed up for the crew) told me there were crowds at each of the previous six stops. “Really, I thought the whole thing might end up being just me and some friends doing some bar-hopping,” Mashington told me. “We walked into Misconduct, and there were 50 people waiting for us.”
McGillin’s did a heroic job pouring $2 mugs of 7 different local brews, including Iron Hill’s new standard, Vienna Lager.
Tonight, I’m at Jose Pistola’s with a Bitter Bite, then hopefully onto the Philly Beer Geek contest back at Johnny Brenda’s.
Meanwhile, here’s a link from Bernard Scally, erstwhile reporter at the Roxborough Review. He caught the mayor tapping PBW’s official first keg, then dropped in at my Monday night double bock tasting at Dawson Street. (I’m dutybound to report, however, that he bailed after “only” 5 of the 9 bocks.)
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.
Sunday - I’m still shaking off a lousy cold, so I could handle only one event: the 4th Annual Brewers Plate. The fest was moved this year to the Independence Visitors Center because organizers were looking for a bigger venue. The place was packed crazy nonetheless. I never did make it to the back of the long hall, so I completely missed a few breweries, including Troegs and Phila. Brewing.
But I heard no complaints about overcrowding and folks were raving about all the good food.
The only real complaint I’ve heard so far about Beer Week (other than some screwups with the Daily News pullout guide) is that there are too many events. I don’t get that one; it’s like saying the party was crappy because there was too much beer. The only people who should gripe about the number of events are brewers (and maybe distributors) who are being stretched thin. But it’s only 10 days, and they’ve bucked up pretty well, if you ask me. Â
The rest of you? Get out there and start drinking!
If you’re confused about all the selections, join me tonight at the Dawson Street Pub tonight with a raft of double bocks. That’ll set you straight.
John Taggart, who shot the cover photo on my book, stopped by the beer fest on Friday with his camera. Here’s a nice slide show.
My apologies for not posting this earlier: Here’s where I’ll be for the rest of Philly Beer Week.
Sunday - Brewer’s Plate.
Monday - Double Bock Bonanza at Dawson Street Pub.
Tuesday - To be decided - probably hitting as many “Meet the Brewers” as possible.
Wednesday - Paired tasting at Johnny Brenda’s.
Thursday - A Bitter Bite at Jose Pistola’s
Friday - A Tribute to Michael Jackson
Saturday - Michael Jackson tutored tasting at Penn Museum
Sunday - Real Ale Festival.
Monday - Rehab.
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