Drink beer? Everyone I talk to thinks Italian beer is the next Big Beer Thing. You can find out at next week’s Italian beer tasting at Tria Fermentation School (160w Walnut St., Center City).
Matthias Neidhart, founder-director of importer B. United International, will be presenting the beer, which I suspect includes a few of these babies.
6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 6. Tix: $55. Info: 215-972-7076 or school@triacafe.com
Temple film student Stephen Metzger is working on a video about Philly beer history and Yards, featuring Marlon Brando as Tom Kehoe, Sean Penn as Rich Wagner and Jerry Mathers as Steve Mashington. Joe Sixpack plays himself in a stellar cameo, which is to say he appears while hammered.
Ad Age reports Pabst is trying to revive its near-dead Colt 45 brand with a series of edgy comic-book-style (OK, graphic novel) ads drawn on, yep, brown paper bags. They’re drafted by 40oz artist Jim Mahfood, so they should be pretty cool.
Naturally, anti-alcohol forces are already upset about promoting malt liquor to urban yutes. My only fear is that my favorite watering hole is going to be overrun by former PBR posers trying to look cool while they slosh down suddenly trendy bottles of Colt.
Somehow Capone’s (224 West Germantown Pike, Norristown) was named the No. 1 beer bar in the world by the readers of RateBeer.com. That’s the ENTIRE WORLD, folks, above Brussels’ Delirium Cafe, New York’s Blind Tiger, Chicago’s Map Room, San Francisco’s Toronado, and Philly’s Monk’s Cafe…
When I ran into Matt Capone over the weekend, he was shocked. “Maybe they should have voted for me for takeout beer,” he said. Indeed, Capone’s is better known for its back-room bottle shop, not its bar. The bar has just 9 taps, and while Matt runs some very fine special events featuring unusual breweries, I don’t know how anyone with half a brain would put it in the same league as the Kulminator in Antwerp. I don’t even know if it’s the best beer bar in Montgomery County. I mean, it’s a very good joint, but if you ask its patrons, most of them are there for the Italian food, not the beer.
Polls like this are pretty much meaningless, but maybe the plaque will give Capone’s a nice boost. Matt told me he’s adding several more taps, so Capone’s will only get better. And if you haven’t made your way there, yet, it’s worth the trip - you won’t go home empty-handed.
Look what just showed in my inbox! Pulling this book together has been a huge and satisfying amount of work. Now it actually seems real.
Look for Joe Sixpack’s Philly Beer Guide shortly.
Philly Beer Week is storming forward and this week I give the rundown so far. But like I said in the column, keep your eye on Philly Beer Week’s Web site for more accurate and up-to-date schedules.
Weyerbacher’s Dan Weirback speaks on rising prices in a Q&A in today’s Joe Sixpack. The prices are a bummer, but Weirback points out that craft beer drinkers tend not to base their buying decisions on the pocketbook. That might be good news for brewers and distributors, but I’d hate to think the changing image of beer is automatically going to cost me more. The good news for now is that, even with rising costs, you can get a damn good bottle for just 2 bucks.
Meanwhile, here’s a nice job on the Philly Beer Week logo, courtesy of Jeff Linkous of Beer-Stained Letter.
“The hoppiest beer? It’s a fairly idiotic pursuit, like a chef saying, ‘This is the saltiest dish.’ Anyone can toss hops in a pot, but can you make it beautiful?” - Brooklyn Brewing’s Garrett Oliver, in the New York Times, throwing down the gauntlet to 90 percent of the craft brewers in America.
Anyway, the Times’ Asimov takes a look at Double IPAs today. Top two: Dogfish Head 90 Minute and Weyerbacher Double Simcoe
Last week I wrote about the debut of Victory Baltic Thunder. Here’s more good news on the dark front: Flying Fish Imperial Espresso Porter is making a big return. Initially brewed last year as a one-off to mark FF’s 10th anniversary, it got such a good reception, the Cherry Hill brewery is bringing it back out in cases and draft later this month. I’m quite partial to this rich, full-flavored porter, and not just because it rings in at a tidy 8 percent alcohol.
This beer will disappear quickly, guaranteed, so grab it. And if you’ve gotten your hands on the Baltic Thunder, I suggest comparing these two side-by-side.
Linda Carpenter, the wife of Yards Brewing’s Tom Kehoe, was sworn into office yesterday as a Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge. You might remember that it was Carpenter who advertised her candidacy on pint glasses distributed to taverns throughout the city - a novel campaign idea that caught caught the eye of state Supreme Court Justice James J. Fitzgerald.
In remarks during the swearing-in ceremony, Fitzgerald quipped that the pint glass ads “warmed my heart. That’s truly reaching the electorate!”
After the ceremony (Ellen Ceisler and Mike Erdos were also robed), several hundred in attendance enjoyed Yards in the mayor’s reception room at City Hall.
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