April 4th, 2008 Joe Sixpack
There’s no reason to feel guilty about beginning your weekend on a Thursday when you’re drinking for charity. Drop in at the 4th Annual Greatest Beers of the World event on 4/10 at 6 p.m. at Normandy Farms in Blue Bell and you’ll be supporting local disaster relief. More than 100 different brews will be pouring, courtesy of Gretz Beer, and the food is fantastic. Guest speaker is Alan Newman from Vermont’s Magic Hat Brewing.
Tix are $100 and all proceeds benefit the Southeastern Pennsylvania chapter of the American Red Cross. For more information or to purchase tix, call 215-299-4018 or click here.
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April 1st, 2008 Joe Sixpack
Devil’s Den (11th & Ellsworth, South Philly) opened tonight. It’s a very handsome joint - lots of woodwork (by craftsman Cameron Barton), airy window seats, a chainsaw-carved fireplace and a pair of kick-ass flatscreens. The tap towers are handsome, but even more remarkable is the glassware selection - at least 10 different types.
This is a neighborhood bar, so it’ll attract mostly locals. But if you don’t live nearby, it’s absolutely worth a special trip. Parking is fairly ample (surprising since this is South Philly), along 11th Street. Here’s a tip if you’re driving: head down Broad Street, turn left of Ellsworth, then park anywhere after 13th - plenty of spots. The neighborhood is not as rough as it looks (there’s a police district station right across the street from the bar).
As you’d expect on opening night, there were a couple rough edges - notably, the kitchen fire sprinkler erupted and shut down food service. The menu from chef Joe Turissi (ex-Union League, Carribou) is clearly going the gastropub route, with the likes of asparagus-stuffed wasabi-laced Sako tuna ($23), salmon Oscar ($19) and steak au frites ($22). Lots of very affordable bar food, too, though: mussels for $9.50 and pork-and-veggie dumplings at $8.
But you’re here for the beer, right? In addition to a primo bottle lineup (Peche Mortel, Uerige Doppelsticke, Samichlaus Helles), there are 16 taps. Here’s tonight’s list:
- Dogfish Head Red & White
- Schneider Aventinus
- Spaten Lager
- Ommegang Rare Vos
- Founders Devil Dancer
- Lucifer
- Ayinger Celebrator
- Blanche de Bruxelles
- Yards Philly Pale Ale
- Philly Rowhouse Red
- Victory HopDevil
- St. Druon French Abbey
- Gaffel Kolsch
- Franziskaner Hefeweisse.
Hmm.. that’s only 14, so I must’ve missed a couple. Anyway, the thing that struck me was the number of Germans. I joked that it looked like the joint had taken over the best of the now-closed Ludwig’s Garten. Down the road, look for Devil’s Den to open a second-floor bar with more dining and taps. But don’t wait: this place is already a hit.
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April 1st, 2008 Joe Sixpack
Apparently I’ve been sued.
Just a reminder to all parties involved: I have photographs, and the negatives are in my safety deposit box.
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April 1st, 2008 Joe Sixpack
I’ll be teaching three more Philly Beer 101 classes for the Mt. Airy Learning Tree this spring at the Trolley Car Diner. The class is a fun, two-hour rundown of the Philly beer scene with lots of beer and food.
The winter sessions all sold out, so here’s the early heads up. Classes are all Tuesdays at 7 p.m:
- April 22nd
- May 13th
- June 10th
 Click here for more details and to enroll.
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