December 29th, 2009 Joe Sixpack
OK, there’s something that’s just not right with this illustration. If I’m reading it correctly, Scoats from the Grey Lodge (see below) will be performing unnatural acts with a 5-legged shaven mutant on New Year’s Eve at the Standard Tap. Either that, or Troegs Mad Elf and Victory Golden Monkey will be pouring (no reservations needed).
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December 29th, 2009 Joe Sixpack
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December 27th, 2009 Joe Sixpack
The Eagles game on the tube is a fine distraction to the necessary chore of cleaning out the in box. For what it’s worth, here’s what I found:
- Wrap Shack Kitchen & Bar (120 S. 18th St., Rittenhouse Sq.) proprietor Scott Hockfield has “mastered the art of the boilermaker,” according to the press release. It’s 7 bucks for a shot in Yuengling or Coors Light, 8 if you care to obliterate DFH 60 Min. IPA or Sam Adams Winter Lager.
- Yards has revived its classic Old Bart barleywine (10.3% abv). Look for its debut during starting New Year’s Eve:
- Dec. 31 - Dawson St. Pub (Manayunk)
- Jan. 1 -Devil’s Den (South Philly)
- Jan. 2 - Varga (WashWest)
- Jan. 3 - Swift Half (Northern Liberties)
- Jan. 4 - Local 44 (West Philly)
- Jan. 5 - Hulmeville Inn (Buxco)
- Jan. 6 - Standard Tap (Northern Liberties)
- Jan. 7 - Kite and Key (Franklintown)
- Jan. 8 - Pub & Kitchen (Graduate Hospital)
- Jan. 8 - London Grill (Fairmount)
- Jan. 9 - Pub on Passyunk East (South Philly)
- Tsingtao Brewery has signed a multi-year agreement with the Cleveland Cavaliers to become the exclusive Chinese beer of Quicken Loans Arena, the Cavaliers home court.
- Latest one-off from Weyerbacher: Hotel, an imperial porter (8.2% abv).
- Philly brewers get down.
- Headed to Clearwater for spring training this year? Philly expatriate Jim Keaveney is opening a Belgian-style gastropub in Sarasota, Fla.Â
- For reasons I have no clear handle on, good beer is in short supply at most gay bars. But here’s one with a decent lineup: the Westbury (261 S. 13th, Center City). Currently on tap:
- Victory Golden Monkey
- Harpoon Winter Warmer
- Rogue Double Dead Guy Ale
- Stoudt’s Scarlet Lady
- Long Trail Imperial Porter
- Philadelphia Brewing Newbold IPA
- Hoegaarden
- Philadelphia Brewing Walt Wit
- Harpoon IPA
- Troegs Mad Elf
(Good bottles, too.)
- Memphis Taproom (Port Richmond) has added a vintage bottle list to its menu. Among the highlights: 10-year-old Rochefort, ‘05 Orval and ‘04 Hanssens Gueuze.
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December 24th, 2009 Joe Sixpack
Tria Cafe (11th & Spruce, WashWest & 18th & Sansom, Rittenhouse Square) has an incredible deal for holiday shoppers, if you can make your way over there today by 4 p.m.: Buy a $100 gift certificate for a pal and get a $25 gift card for yourself. Or keep the $100 card and give the other one to a drinking buddy - he won’t know the difference.
Here are a few other ideas I mentioned in a column a couple weeks ago:
- Look for “Beer Lovers Britain” by Jeff Evans of InsideBeer.com ($9.98) or Bob Skilnik’s “Does My Butt Look Big in This Beer” ($7) at DrinkHealthyDrinkSmart.com.
- For a great laugh, download the audio version of “I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell” by Tucker Max at Audible.com.
- Make sure you never forget a gift again: Sign your pal up for a membership in a beer-of-the-month club. I can recommend BeerOnTheWall.com and RareBeerClub.BeverageBistro.com, both of which ship into Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.*
*Obligatory warning: state law (72 Pa. C. S. Section 9011) continues to prohibit the receipt or possession of beer that has not been properly taxed, thus banning home delivery of beer by mail. It’s the experience of both Joe Sixpack and many Pennsylvania beer drinkers, however, that the regulation is not strictly enforced against individuals. Proceed with caution.
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December 22nd, 2009 Joe Sixpack
Tomorrow (Wednesday) afternoon, Resurrection Ale House (2425 Grays Ferry Ave., Grays Ferry) will be tapping a cask of Munich Dark from Harpoon. This is one of my favorite styles (though I prefer it in warm months), and Harpoon’s is absolutely one of the best.
The local connection? This firkin was dry-hopped with hops grown in the Port Richmond backyard of Harpoon’s local beer rep, Sean Hamel. He picked them himself and sent them up to the brewery in Boston, which gave this German-style lager better known for its malt an English-style hops treatment.
Tapping is expected about 3 p.m. - sounds like a good stop after work or a break in holiday shopping.
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December 21st, 2009 Joe Sixpack
This should go down in the books as a classic Philly beer stunt:
Nodding Head (which is celebrating its 10th anniversary tonight) has added a second Xmas beer to its lineup, along with the perfectly named Sledwrecker, a spiced ale now on the hand pump. The new one is called Home for the Holidaze, a decidedly hoppy ale with a hint of pine.
And where did that pine come from? My sources say it was made with clippings from the Christmas tree in the City Hall courtyard.
An assistant brewer who shall remain nameless trimmed a bag’s worth of needles from the city’s iconic tree and added them to the brew. “I was going to grab some from the tree at Love Park, ’til I realized that one is artificial,” he told me.
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December 14th, 2009 Joe Sixpack
Who knew so many people were yearning to combine the relaxation of yoga with the flavor of beer? It’s the ultimate zen, I suppose.
Anyway, just a heads up for dawdlers: Just 3 seats remain for the class this Friday (12/18).
Pre-registration is a must. Details and sign-up here.
UPDATE: THIS SESSION SOLD OUT.
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December 13th, 2009 Joe Sixpack
I am constantly amazed at the beer selection at Bridgewater’s Pub, the bar at 30th Street Station. Here’s what I found on Friday before heading over to the Penn Museum for XFEST:
Draft
- Franziskaner Dunkelweizen
- Cricket Hill Hopnotic
- Spaten Christmas Bock
- Corsendonk Christmas
- Anchor Our Special Ale
- Port Santa’s Little Helper
- Flying Dog Pale Ale
- Long Trail Imperial Porter
Bottles
- Maredsous 10
- Lancaster Winter Warmer
- Ayinger Weizenbock (and paper-wrapped bottles of Aventinus ‘03)
- Scaldis Noel
- St. Feuillien Cuvee de Noel
- Delirium Noel
- Samuel Smith’s Winter Warmer
- Gouden Carolus Noel
- Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA
- Yards Philly Pale Ale
- Plus at least 3 varieties of Innstadt.
Bridgewater’s is not a neighborhood tavern. It’s a pass-through kind of place, a great stop on the way home on SEPTA regional rail, a perfect place to greet out-of-town visitors who arrive by rail. So while it may not be one of those hot local destinations, it’s absolutely a terrific asset in the Philly beer scene - totally worth your support.
Oh, and the menu is really good - no need to graze the station’s food court.
I’ve had some great beers in train stations in other parts of the world - notably Munich, Salzburg and (surprisingly) Blois, France. Union Station in D.C. has a pretty decent bar (and it’s next door to Capitol City Brewing). But I can’t think of any station bar with an equal to Bridgewater’s beer selection.
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December 10th, 2009 Joe Sixpack
I just finished rounding up our inventory for XFEST ‘09 at the Penn Museum tomorrow (Friday, 6-9 pm). We’ve got some pretty amazing stuff, including that Nogne-O collaboration with Stone & Jolly Pumpkin. There’s also a few vintage brews, including ‘08 Anchor, SNBF & Sly Fox.
If you haven’t gotten tix, yet, they’ll be available online till noon tomorrow via this link. Otherwise, tix are available at the door.
Here’s the lineup:
From America’s Craft Breweries…
- Abita Christmas (Amber)
- Anderson Valley Winter Solstice (Spiced)
- Anchor Our Special Ale ‘08 (Spiced)
- Breckenridge Christmas Ale (Winter Warmer)
- Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout
- Brooklyn Monster (Barleywine)
- Cape Ann Fisherman’s Navigator (Double Bock)
- Dogfish Head Chicory Stout
- Elysian Bifröst (Winter Warmer)
- Erie Ol’ Red Cease & Desist (Wee Heavy)
- Flying Fish Winter Grand Cru (Strong Pale Ale)
- Green Flash Nut Brown Ale
- Harpoon Winter Warmer
- Heavy Seas Winter Storm (ESB)
- Heavy Seas Below Decks (Barleywine)
- Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza (Strong Dark Ale)
- Lancaster Winter Warmer
- McKenzie Bier d’Hiver (Biere de garde)
- Port Santa’s Little Helper (Stout)
- Samuel Adams Winter Lager (Bock)
- Saranac Season’s Best (Vienna Lager)
- Shipyard Prelude (Winter Warmer)
- Sierra Nevada Big Foot ‘08 (Barleywine)
- Sly Fox Christmas Ale ‘08 (Spiced)
- Smuttynose Winter Ale (Dubbel)
- Stevens Point St. Benedict (Winter Warmer)
- Stoudt’s Winter (Red Ale)
- Troegs Mad Elf (Spiced, cherry, honey)
- Weyerbacher Winter Ale (Winter Warmer)
- Wild Goose Snow Goose (Strong English Ale)
- Yards George Washington Porter
- Yards Poor Richard’s Tavern Spruce
From the United Kingdom
- Bad Elf (India pale ale)
- Very Bad Elf (Pale ale)
- Criminally Bad Elf (Barleywine)
- Insanely Bad Elf (Strong ale)
- Seriously Bad Elf (Strong ale)
- Insane Bad Elf (Strong ale)
- Santa’s Butt (Porter)
- Samuel Smith Winter Welcome
From Belgium
- Affligem Noël (Strong dark ale)
- Barbar Winter Bok (Bock)
- Corsendonk Christmas Ale (Strong dark ale)
- Dupont Avec Les Bons Voeux (Saison)
- La Moneuse Spéciale Noël (Strong pale ale)
- Noël Des Géants (Spiced)
- Pater Lieven Kerst Pater (Strong dark ale)
- De La Senne X-Mas Zinnebir (Pale ale)
- Abbaye De Saint-Martin Cuvée De Noel (Strong dark ale)
- Kerstmutske Christmas Nightcap (Dubbel)
From France
- Thiriez Bière De Noël (Winter Warmer)
From Denmark  Â
- Ølfabrikken Jule (Strong ale)
- Ølfabrikken Kloster Jule (Strong dark ale)
From Norway
- Nøgne-Ø Special Holiday (With Jolly Pumpkin & Stone)
- Nøgne-Ø Peculiar Yule (Spiced)
From Germany.
- Mahr’s Christmas Bock
- Mönchshof Weihnachts Bier (Marzen)
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December 8th, 2009 Joe Sixpack
Mrs. Sixpack and I are launching our first Yoga + Beer session just in time for the holidays. She’ll be teaching a one-hour yoga class at her studio, Yoga on the Ridge (511 Conarroe St., REAR, Roxborough), and I’ll be following up with a one-hour tutored tasting of Christmas beers.
It’s Friday, Dec. 18, 6-8 p.m.
Ladies - this is your opportunity to drag your man to yoga class.
Guys - yoga is a helluva workout and improves beer-drinking capacity. (OK, I made that last part up.)
Info and tix here.Â
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