June 8th, 2009 Joe Sixpack
Word arrived today that Beverage Bistro merged its Rare Beer Club with C&H Clubs of California (operated by Kris Calef). No huge changes expected at the mail-order club, though prices are expected to drop a bit and they’ll be offering 2 selections a month.
I note the sale just to mention the that the guy passing the baton is Rob Imeson, a huge craft beer advocate who introduced a lot of us to some superb beers over the years. I got my first taste of Jolly Pumpkin, Meantime and Antares through the club.
Imeson’s club - originally known as the Michael Jackson Rare Beer Club - featured beers that were handpicked by the Beer Hunter himself. Many of us first learned of Jackson’s (ultimately fatal) Parkinson’s disease from Imeson.
I asked him for the background story on the sale. Imeson writes:
Last month marked the 10-year anniversary of The Rare Beer Club. Part of my motivation was certainly that fact–that is a long time and, at some point, it is time to move on.
The fact that Michael is gone contributed to the decision–I never would have done it if he was still with us. The beers are still great and will continue to be but, for me at least, the work (and it was never work!) isn’t as much fun.
I have known Kris Calef for years–he is really one of the good guys in the industry and he will take care of our members–that is for sure. That really made the decision easy.
I will miss it–I have been in the beer business in some way for over 30 years–but I am looking forward to the next chapter–and I have always been a big believer that the best is yet to come.
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June 8th, 2009 Joe Sixpack
I had a nice phone conversation this weekend with Victor Novak, who some of you will remember as an assistant at the former Dock Street brewpub on Logan Square (not to be confused with its current incarnation in West Philly).
I had totally lost track of Victor after he left town about 10 years ago, but his name came up in Google while I was researching a column about cream ale. Seems he’s won a bunch of GABF medals for the style as head brewer at TAPS Fish House outside of Anheim, Calif.
Amazingly, he’s turning out more than 30 different styles every year at the brewpub. But his No. 1 seller is that cream ale, which is the same recipe he was using when he worked at Dock Street. That recipe was designed by Bill Moeller, a former Schmidt’s brewmaster who helped several microbreweries (notably Brooklyn Brewing) get up and running.
“I always knew that when I got to my own brewpub, that cream ale recipe would be the basic beer,” he said. “I’m a California boy, but I respect Philly tradition.”
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June 5th, 2009 Joe Sixpack
- The Mirage 2.9% abv Belgian amber @ Gen. Lafayette Inn & Brewery (Lafayette Hill), Today, 1-4 p.m..
- Boulder Singletrack Copper @ pre-bike race draft special, Old Eagle Tavern (3938 Terrace St., Manayunk), tonight, 5-7 p.m.
- North Coast Brother Thelonius @ West Coast Brewery Night, Teresa’s Next Door (Wayne), Tonight, 6 p.m.
- Keller Marzen @ Manayunk Keller Beer Night, Grey Lodge Pub (6235 Frankford Ave., Mayfair), Tonight, 6-9 p.m.
- Bengali Tiger IPA @ 6-6-Sixpoint Beer Crawl, visiting 5 South Philly bars - Devil’s Den, 1601, POPE, Cantina Los Caballitos & South Philly Taproom - Saturday (6/6), 1-6 p.m.
- Stoudt’s Double IPA @ Keep The Pint Night, Jose Pistola’s (15th & Spruce, Center City), Tuesday (6/9).
And some unusual summer suggestions in this week’s column, here.
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June 4th, 2009 Joe Sixpack
Meal Ticket reports Bon Appetit has a nice spread on Philly in its July ish, with a nod to our beer scene. South Philly Tap Room, Johnny Brenda’s (above) and Bella Vista beer distributor all get mentions.
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June 4th, 2009 Joe Sixpack
I enjoyed the bottle below last night while watching possibly the greatest TV show in the entire history of TV: “What the Heck Were They Thinking?” with Larry Holmes.
Seriously, you have to catch this show - 7:30 p.m. on Wednesdays on Channel 51 out of Allentown. The barely literate Easton Assassin, showing nominal affects of repeated blows to the head, is teamed with a guy named Mike Mittman, whose sole talent is the ability to read from note cards on his desk.
Everything about this show is entertaining, from the set (filled with Larry Holmes memorabilia, including a weird trophy that, thanks to camera positioning, looks like a crown atop the champ’s head) to the musical interludes (snippets of MOR jazz by Larry Holmes and Marmalade) to the commercials.
The content is completely random - basically the first 5 stories on Google News. On any given night, the two could be discussing Chinese investment in America, Susan Boyle, LeBron James, Obama, AIG… well, as Mittman says, “if it’s wild and whacky, happening around the world, and we catch ya doin’ something stupid, we’re going to ask the question, ‘What the heck were they thinking?’” Last night, while discussing the Air France crash, Holmes said that if he was aboard the jet in bad weather, he’d have told the pilot to turn around. Pause… then the two of them look directly into the camera and chorus, “What the heck were they thinking?”
Inevitably the talk gets around to how Hall of Famer Larry Holmes is the greatest world champion ever, which gives them a chance to replay some old video from an Ernie Shavers fight.
Here’s a clip from the intro - go check it out. But to do this show justice, you have to put your feet up, crack open a cold one and tune in for 30 minutes of pure TV gold.
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June 4th, 2009 Joe Sixpack
Great label from Iron Hill (artist Jeff Schaller of PinkCow Studio) for its new Honey Do Wit double wit. A courier showed up with a welcome cold bottle yesterday afternoon, just after I finished trimming the azaleas.
It’s a cool, refreshing sipper, a bit sweet up front with a nice touch of orange (orange peel and orange blossom honey) and a dry enough finish to let me solo an entire 750ml. The bottle says it’s 9.5 percent alcohol, but I never felt it.
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