May 29th, 2009 Joe Sixpack
- Appalachian Anniversary Maibock @ Appalachian Brewing (Harrisburg) 12th anniversary party, Saturday (5/30), 4 p.m., free concert with Cracker, 8 p.m.
- Kenzinger @ the Annual Slow Food Philadelphia Pig Roast, Philly Brewing (2439 Amber St., Kensington), Saturday (5/3), 1-4 p.m., $38.
- Monkey Brain Tonic Belgian-style table beer (2.8% abv) @ Earth Bread + Brewery (7136 Germantown Ave, Mt. Airy).
- Ommegang Hennepin @ Meet the Brewer dinner, Spinnerstown Hotel (Quakertown exit, N.E. extension), Wednesday (6/3), $40.
- Sculpin IPA @ Ballast Point night, Devil’s Den (11th & Ellsworth, South Philly), Wednesday (6/3), 7 p.m.
- Lancaster Old Sourpuss Gueuze @ Lancaster Brewing Night,Teresa’s Next Door (Wayne) Thursday (6/4), 6 p.m.
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May 28th, 2009 Joe Sixpack
Had a bit of a busy day yesterday.
After Marty Friedland’s funeral, I dropped off empty sixtels and jockey boxes at Muller distributing, then headed over to the brand new Craft Beer Outlet at the Morrell Plaza shopping center on Frankford Avenue, near Holy Family College. Owner Mark Sablowsky is busily stocking up what is already the city’s biggest craft-oriented bottle shop outside of the Foodery’s locations and the Sixpack Shop on Roosevelt Boulevard. Great addition to the Northeast!
From there, I headed up the Northeast Extension to Shangy’s, to pick up cases for Mrs. Sixpack’s first anniversary party at her studio: Great Divide mixer, Bell’s Amber and Avery Karma (the official beer of Ganesha).
Then it was over to Weyerbacher Brewing in Easton for its roll-out of Zotten. It’s a fairly hoppy Belgian pale ale - excellent yeast spiciness and a fabulous dry finish. At just 6% alcohol, it’s a fine alternative to Weyerbacher’s Merry Monks - could be a beach beer this summer. By the way, this is the second of Weyerbacher’s supposed one-offs to evolve into its label. Originally known as “Alpha,” Zotten joins Fireside Ale (nee “Charlie”) in Weyerbacher’s seasonal lineup.
Finally, on the way back home, I caught some dinner at the Spinnerstown Hotel. I’m pretty sure it was Blue Point’s Rastafar Rye (great name) on cask, and then I moved onto a small glass of Dogfish Immort.
It was a surprise seeing owner John Dale at the bar; I’ve had at least a half-dozen dinners at Spinnerstown and never saw him once, leading me to wonder if he actually does any work(!). We chatted a little about beer and the Phillies (who were playing like crap on TV), but the conversation eventually meandered toward the topic of … alpacas! Don’t ask, but for those who weirdly interested in the beasts, here’s a tip: Prices are down by more than 50 percent right now. You can get one for as little as $8500.
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May 28th, 2009 Joe Sixpack
One of the city’s beer giants passed away over the weekend. Marty Friedland, 83, owned and operated the Edward I. Friedland beer distributorship in Hunting Park.
He was a true visionary, one of America’s earliest Guinness distributors, giving Philly its first taste of the famous stout (along with Bass and Harp) in the late 1960s. Over the years, his company was way out ahead of the curve on exotic imports and microbrews.
His son, Ed, remembers importing Bellevue Gueuze in the late 1970s, and selling it or $23.50 for a case of 24 corked bottles. “And people would holler about the price like we were raping them,” Ed said. “The gueuze flopped. It was ’spoiled’ beer in this country.” But the Kriek did a bit better, packaged as quarter-liter bottles for $12.95 a case. “We took out ads in the early morning on WDAS,” Ed said, laughing, “…trying to sell cherry beer to the brothers at 4 a.m.”
Beer wasn’t Marty’s only business. He imported Swedish mineral water in the 1960s - well before anyone ever heard of Perrier - and sold it in health food stores and gourmet shops.
“He did a lot of things before his time,” said Ed.
After Marty retired he passed the business to his son, who expanded its portfolio to include the city’s widest selection of micros and imports, especially Belgians. (In 2004, Ed was knighted by the Belgium Brewer’s Guild for his work in expanding interest in Belgian beer in the U.S.) Friedland’s large portfolio of brands was eventually sold to Kunda Beverage in King of Prussia, and then to Origlio Beverage.
Perfectly attired and always offering a box of chocolates during business calls, Marty was a fine, hard-working gentleman who loved to kibbitz with customers. The most moving comments during yesterday’s funeral service came from retired Judge Joseph Bruno, who spoke not about beer, but about their long friendship. Of simple things, like dinners at local restaurants, travel and a hat that Bruno gave Marty as a gift.
Marty’s wife, Edith, who worked side by side with him at the distributorship, survives him. Many of you know Marty’s son, Ed, and his grand daughter, Katie, who both now work at Origlio Beverage. Please share your condolences.
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May 28th, 2009 Joe Sixpack
On Tuesday, I ran a small beer fest for graduating seniors at Swarthmore College. It’s a tradition on the campus to take the week off before graduation for fun and games… and beer drinking. But rather than just blow out with a drunken binge, the class actually wanted an opportunity to learn about their beer.
I gave them a 30-minute presentation, called Beer 101, which I told them would be the last class they would ever attend at Swarthmore. (And, yes, there was a test!) That led to a 3-hour festival featuring great beer from Yards* (Rick Anstotz), Iron Hill (Mark Edelson), Sly Fox (Brian O’Reilly), Gen. Lafayette (Russ Czaka), Troegs (Nick Johnson) and, via Muller Distributing, Brooklyn, Erie, Leinenkugel & Stegmaier. Also, a big shout out to Jordan Fetfatzes from Bella Vista who showed up with so many bottles (Lakefront, Sprecher, Ballast Point…) that I lost count.
The students loved the beer, of course, and the brewers and volunteers all told me they were impressed by the kids’ interest in great beer. As for all college students, a tight budget and campus culture means they’ve been drinking mostly Natty Light for the past 4 years. But most of them knew the basics and took time to ask questions about the variety of styles on hand. As the event wound down, a few of the kids secretly hustled me to a back office where they pulled out a stash of – no, not weed – bottles of New Belgium, Cantillon and Russian River.
Importantly, there was not a single drunken incident the entire afternoon. The two security guards on hand just watched the whole thing with grins.
Personally, I think this is the kind of event college campuses should run for students when they’re freshmen! Teach them there’s more to beer than excessive drinking.
*How great is this: Yards used the festival to informally unveil its new version of Saison. Very crisp spiciness, not too huge on the orange, with firm but not overwhelming hops - a definite upgrade on the old version.
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May 24th, 2009 Joe Sixpack
When did the Persian Grill (637 Germantown Pike, Lafayette Hill) across the street from the Gen. Lafayette brewpub go nuts with its beer selection? I just had an amazing chicken & rice dish with a bottle of Westmalle Dubbel.
OK, the Dubbel was actually mistakenly listed as Tripel, and the draft selection isn’t particularly notable (though it does pour Youngling!).
But the big bottles are outstanding: Chimay, Corsendonk, St. Bernardus, Chouffe, Duvel, Ommegang, Brooklyn Local 1. A bit pricey ($15.95 for most of the 25-ouncers), but not enough to complain about. They’ll even serve you one of those three-liter Chouffe’s!
And the Basmati rice is freaking spectacular.
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May 20th, 2009 Joe Sixpack
This is completely inside baseball, but some of America’s beer bloggers are laughing/grimacing over one of those “reply all” email fiascos that began when a small brewery-that-shall-not-be-named sent out a message soliciting reviews of one of its brands.
The brewery forgot to hide the names of the email addresses in the “bcc” field, and recipients responded with various criticisms, taunts and, in one instance, a request for a sample of the bottle. It’s been going on all afternoon, and it forced me to shut down Outlook.
The reason I mention all of this is that the email list contains an incredible 200 separate names of beer bloggers. I can’t believe there so many people out there who drink and write!
(Note to p.r. firms, especially those that can hook these folks up with free samples: The list is available for purchase at $1 per name.)
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May 19th, 2009 Joe Sixpack
The Far Northeast is finally getting itself a high-end takeout store. If it gets the go-ahead from city licensing poo-bahs, the Craft Beer Outlet will open this weekend at Morrell Plaza Shopping Center (Frankford Avenue and Knights Road, near Holy Family College).
Owner Mark Sablowsky told me at least 16 to 17 of the store’s 22 separate cooler doors (!) will be dedicated to craft beer and imports.
Sablowsky, who also operates the nearby Beer Outlet distributorship at Franklin Mills, said he was inspired to open the sixpack and bottle shop because of all of the customers who would come into the distributor and say, “I’d really like to try one bottle of Chimay, but not a whole case.”
With a nod to the Foodery, the city’s best takeout shop, Sablowsky said, “There’s no reason that a Center City idea like that can’t work up here.”
Directions from I-95: Exit at Academy Road, turn right at Frankford, drive 1.5 miles, store is in shopping center on left.икони
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May 18th, 2009 Joe Sixpack
On days when Kansas City right-hander Zack Greinke starts, the Royals sell ballpark beer at a price equal to the phenom’s e.r.a. Last Friday, that meant a cold draft cost just $0.51.
Wow.
FYI, Phillies starters have amassed a 6.36 era so far this year, which - if the CitzBank followed suit - would save fans a whopping 14 cents per cup.
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May 15th, 2009 Joe Sixpack
The publishers of the new Philly Beer Scene mag are letting beer lovers decide the cover of their inaugural edition. You can vote here.
Who do you like better: The one with the patriotic babe or Jack Curtin?
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May 15th, 2009 Joe Sixpack
Just a clarification about today’s column on the “return” of Schmidt’s. The beer itself is extinct.
After Pabst took over the old G. Heileman brands (Old Style, Olympia, Natty Bo) via the Stroh’s deal in 1999, it was brewed briefly as a separate label with the old Schmidt’s logo. Then Pabst pulled a fast one and morphed the Philly label with the very similar Schmidt (no apostrophe “s”) from Wisconsin.
Today, it doesn’t even bother with the ruse. It’s all packaged as “Schmidt” with illustrations of wildlife on the labels, apparently a nod to Philly’s vast hunting grounds.
Some local bars claim they’re serving our Schmidt’s on draft. That’s untrue. It’s all Schmidt.
Not that it matters. You’d have to do a lot of talking to convince me that the 20 or more “old-school” brands Pabst sells these days don’t out of the same spigot.
On a related note, reader Rich Ruch passes along word that Downingtown’s Victory Brew has just released this year’s version of draft Throwback Lager. That’s the pre-Pro pale lager made with Schmidt’s yeast.
Rich also remembers the famous Inquirer taste test that ranked Schmidt’s the No. 1 beer in America. I wrote about the test and the emergence of Coors in Philadelphia in 2005 - there’s a Word Doc with the article below.
Inquirer taste test
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