Friday Night is Pizza Night After All

After getting into a rut and going to the Sly Fox in Phoenixville most Friday nights I decided to make a change.  I stopped in the Drafting Room in Exton after work.  I enjoyed a Port Brewing Company Wipe Out IPA.  This is such a nice IPA I can't stand it.  Then I picked up my pizza and went home.  Sure enough, my wife asked me to go out and get groceries.  On the way I got thirsty and stopped at the Sly Fox in Phoenixville.  Some habits die hard.  I enjoyed a cask conditioned Chester County Bitter while listening to a nice version of Major Tom by some young guy with an acoutic guitar.

Still Not a Fan of Dogfish Head

We were on our way to the pumpkin patch this fine Sunday afternoon when I noticed my 5 and 3-year-olds were asleep in the back of the van.  As it happens we were just passing by  Brother Paul's Pub and Restaurant in Eagleville, PA.  My wonderful wife let me go in while she drove around keeping the kids asleep.  I had a Troegs Brewing Company Troegenator.  It is a nice Double Bock, malty with a clear alcohol presence.  Against my better judgement I followed this with a Dogfish Head beer.  Against my better judgement because I am not a big fan of Dogfish Head.  I love the brewpub in Rehoboth Beach, DE but the beers are usually mediocre at best.  On tap today at Brother Paul's was the 120 Minute IPA.  A whopping 20% abv!  That was the best part.  The taste was another story.  They call this an IPA?  To me, it was sweet...not hoppy at all.  Once I got beyond the alcohol taste the rest was like a chemical...like drinking hairspray.  I want to like Dogfish Head beers, I really do.  I just can't learn to like them.  I'll try again in a couple of months to see if my taste has changed, or even better if their taste has changed.

Belgian or Not Here I Come

Saturday afternoon I was able to stop into Union Jack's Inn on the Manatawny.  My wonderful wife dropped me off for a 20 minute break while she kept the kids asleep by driving though the countryside.  With only 20 minutes I had to work fast.  Up first was a Dock Street Rye IPA. I am partial to Rye beers and this one is up there with the best of them.  It is nicely balanced, not overdone with hops the way some IPA's can get.

My next beer was something I never heard of.  The tap said "Butuese Brassin".  The bartender said it was a Tripel.  I was in a Tripel kind of mood so I got one.  It was a very nice Tripel at that.  But was it a Belgian Tripel or a Belgian-style Tripel?  Honestly, I wouldn't know until I got home to my computer.  Union Jack's website called this beer "LE TROU DU DIABLE BUTUESE BRASSIN SPECIAL".  A Google search took a little more effort than usual to find this beer.  As it turns out, it was a Belgian-style Tripel (not a real Belgian Tripel) but worse...it was from Canada.  I have to give them credit though.  I couldn't tell that it was not a true Belgian beer.  Would I order another one.  You bet.

Drafting Room Exton - Port Brewing and Lost Abbey Promotion

I couldn’t resist the temptation to go to the Drafting Room in Exton, PA tonight. They were having a Port Brewing Company / Lost Abbey promotion. As it turns out, the Drafting Room apparently took it upon themselves to have this promotion despite the apparent lack of interest by the brewer or their representatives. I have to give credit to the Drafting Room. The line-up was awesome. If I hadn’t already had many of the beers listed, this night may have turned out drastically different than it did.

First up was the Port Brewing High Tide Fresh Hop Ale. This was a delicious golden beauty with a great bitter taste. I followed that with a Lost Abbey Red Barn. Don’t let the name fool you. This is not an American Red Ale. This is a farmhouse ale not unlike Ommegang Hennepin. I loved it. I finally moved on to the Lost Abbey Angel’s Share. First the complaints…it was $8.00 for a 10 oz pour. I have to tell you that I believe it was worth the $8.00. This was a meal in a glass. If you are looking for carbonation then this is not your beer. If you are looking for something complex and fruity (might I say almost like prune juice) with coffee and other flavors that make this more complex than a simple person like me can describe then this is your beer.
Hats off to the Drafting Room and to Port Brewing and Lost Abbey as well.

Just Tapped - Founder's Red's Rye P.A.

There's a new beer on tap in my basement.  It is Founder's Red's Rye P.A.  This is a deep copper ale with a tan head, a nice floral aroma and plenty of hop (grapefruit) flavor.  Let's not forget about that great clean finish.  I have had this one in bottles and if I'm being honest, it is just about as good in bottles as it is on draught.  That is not a knock against the new keg I have on...I love it.  It is just a compliment to Founder's for being able to maintain that great taste in a bottle as well.

Nice Surprise at the Drafting Room

So I'm driving past the Drafting Room in Exton tonight and notice the parking lot is empty.  Maybe I can stop in for a quick drink without delaying my arrival home after work.  I walk in and study the chalk board.  In disbelief I ask the bartender if they really have Bear Republic Racer 5 cask conditioned.  He confirms and I ask him to pour me one.  It's a beautiful beer.  Slightly hazy golden in color with a great floral aroma.  It is a smooth beer and I leave after only one, completely satisfied.

Playground Delayed But Not Denied

We were on our way to the playground when suddenly I got thirsty.  We stopped in ever so briefly at Union Jack's Manatawny.  I ordered an Otto's Double D Imperial IPA and 2 lemonades.  This is a very very good beer.  Nice mouthfeel and plenty of big IPA flavor.  It is advertised at 9.6% abv and at Union Jack's they pour it in an 18 oz vessel.  Needless to say, I only had one.  My daughters both said the lemonade met their satisfaction.

Lousy Weather Fabulous Saturday

Early afternoon on Saturday and the weather is lousy.  Sounds like a perfect day to visit the Craft Ale House in Royersford.  I start with a 21st Ammendment Live Free or Die.  This is a very nice IPA.  I follow that with a Coronado Hoppy Daze Belgian IPA.  This is a great beer.  It has a flavor that I can not compare to any other beer.  You gotta try this one.  Next up is an Ithaca Excelsior Ten.  This is a fabulous beer.  I like their Cascazilla Red and this one is like Cascazilla on steroids.  Awesome.

I make my way back home and my wonderful wife says that she would like to have dinner at Victory Brewing Company in Downingtown.  I said that would be satisfactory with me.  So with wife and 3 daughters in tow we go to Downingtown.  On the way, my 3-year-old falls asleep.  My wife stays in the car with her and I take my 1-year-old and 5-year-old in to the Victory to get started.  After 2 trips to the ladies room (1 trip for number 1 and a seperate trip for number 2) I am ready to enjoy the Braumeister Pils that is waiting for me.  Great start to my dinner.  This is a crisp enjoyable pilsner.  Since I haven't been to the Victory in a long while, I decide to order a sampler.  Victory has the best sampler deal I have ever seen.  YOU CHOOSE the number of different beers you want in your sampler and YOU CHOOSE which beers you would like from ANY that are currently on tap including cask conditioned beers (i.e. no exceptions).  These are not the little sample glasses you might be thinking of.  And it can get expensive but it is still a great program. 

The Wild Devil sample I got set me back $3.25.  I loved this beer when it first became available but either the taste of the beer has changed or my taste has changed.  I get the whole "wild yeast" thing and it seemed like the original version I had had a nice sour note, not overwhelming.  The new version seems astringent and not nearly as pleasant.  I say "original" and "new" version without knowing if Victory did indeed change the recipe.

The Harvest Ale (only $1.00) had a nice light taste not at all like the typical big Victory beers.

The Yakima cask ale sample was only $2.00 which I thought was a bargain.  This is a fabulous beer.  It is a dark copper color and all the big alcohol and big hops you would expect from the Victory.  The cask conditioning ensured a nice mellow flavor despite the big hops.

The Storm King Stout which really is an imperial stout was satisfying as usual.  Nice roasty flavor, it was like drinking a meal and for only $2.00.

Enough of these little glasses.  I had to get a pint of the Yakima Cask Conditioned IPA.  This still tasted just as good as it did in the little glass.

Oh yeah, we did eat also.  My 3-year-old had the hot wings which in my opinion are the best wings on earth.  My 5-year-old enjoyed her pizza.  My wife had the El Paso Ensalada which turned out to be too sweet (dressing) for her taste.  I had the Head Hunter sandwhich and this was great.  Chicken breast, BBQ sauce, mozzarella cheese and onion rings all on a soft roll.  Hurry if you want one of these.  It is on their "seasonal" menu. 

All in all it was a great day.

Third Friday, Firkin Friday

Once again I stopped at the Sly Fox on a Friday night while waiting for my pizza to get cooked next door at Rocco's Pizza.  It was before 6:00 by a couple of minutes so I had to take advantage of the happy hour pricing and chose the Pikeland Pils.  Truth be told, I probably would have chosen this one happy hour or not.  It is just a great start to my Friday night.  It also happens to be the third Friday night of the month which means Firkin Friday (i.e. they are putting on a new cask conditioned ale).  The new cask conditioned ale is Naked Wheat.  For some reason I don't think of wheat beers when I think of cask conditioned ales but that may just be my bias.  It was a pleasant beer but not exactly what I would call a full-flavored one.  It had a nice dry finish which is always good for me.  Next I noticed they had an Octoberfest on the menu.  I order one and it is actually quite good.  If you are looking for hops this is not your beer but it is a nice Octoberfest kind of beer with a clean malty taste.

Is it really the third Friday in October already?

Bad Beer and Worse Eyesight

I was in Middletown, Connecticut yesterday on business.  We stopped for lunch at a Chili's restaurant.  Prior to going in a coworker asked me why I looked depressed.  I said, "The best I can hope for in Chili's is a Sam Adams".  Sure enough, that was about the best they had on draught.  At least they had the Octoberfest which I haven't tried yet.  This beer looked nice when it came out but that is all I can say.  It tasted horrible.  I don't blame Sam Adams either.  I blame Chili's.  I couldn't even taste the beer because the off-taste from the taps.  It's almost as if Chili's doesn't care to maintain the taps with any kind of frequency.  No doubt about it, the lines were dirty.  So I still haven't really tasted a Sam Adams Octoberfest but my low expectations for a beer yesterday were not even met.

A funny thing happened though.  While walking into the bar area my sight was trained on the taps, as it usually is.  After I ascertained that nothing interesting was on tap at this Chili's, I then took my seat in the booth and turned my attention to the rest of the restaurant.  Sitting at the bar was a very attractive blond.  She would have been in my direct line of sight as I walked into the bar and perused the taps.  I would have had to look around her to get a look at those taps on the way in.  Somehow I never noticed her sitting there.  I am getting old.

Weekend End

I went to Ron's Original Bar and Grille in Exton, PA for dinner this evening.  It is a Sunday night and I figured things would be slow.  I figured wrong.  I managed to get a seat at the bar and ordered a Bear Rebuplic Double Aught.  This is a pilsner weighing in at 4.2% ABV.  I was disappointed.  I really expect a lot from Bear Rebuplic and I'm starting to see a trend.  I will say that this beer was better than Budweiser.  OK, a lot better than Budweiser but it could not hold a candle to Victory Prima Pils or even Sly Fox Pikeland Pils.

I ordered a Ceasar salad with tuna steak and a Terrapin India Brown Ale.  This is a very interesting beer that I liked a lot (but not a good choice to accompany a Ceasar salad and tuna).  This is a deep brown ale and yet there was plenty of hop character throughout.  I will look for this one again.

Limerick, Phoenixville and Beyond

I stopped at the Craft Ale House in Limerick, PA this afternoon.  My excitement was building since earlier in the afternoon when I noticed their website showed that they had 2 Bear Rebuplic IPA's on.  I ordered the Rebellion.  It is a nice IPA but not nearly as good as I expected from Bear Republic.  The description on the menu says "...with flavors of grapefruit, earth, floral and caramel".  I only tasted earth.

My faith in Bear Republic was shaken but I ordered another Bear Republic offering anyway.  Next up was the Mach 10.  I overheard others at the bar raving about this one but I found it to be just OK.  It had a great taste but I was getting an aftertaste I didn't care for.  I would still order this one again some time. 

Now it was time for Port Brewing Company's Panzer Imperial Pilsner.  This is not your father's pilsner.  This is a great pilsner as stated in an earlier post.  Get it if you can get it.

Next up was a Lost Abbey 10 Commandments.  This was a nice tasting Belgian-style but seemed a bit overcarbonated. 

Finally, I ordered a Monk's Cafe Flemish Sour.  I have had this in bottles before and didn't really care for it but I must say that it is pretty good on draft.  It is not as tart or as sour as the bottle or even when compared to a Rodenbach.  Great beer.

I decided it was time to head down the road and work my way towards home. 

Next, I was finally successful at gaining entrance to the Pickering Creek Inn in Phoenixville.  This is a nice place with plenty of character in downtown Phoenixville.  It was Saturday night and business seemed pretty good.  I ordered Summit Horizon Red Ale.  It is a very nice beer but not worth the $6 I paid for it.  It is definitely not up to the standards of a Hop Rod Rye or a Red's Rye but it is a clean tasting red, just not extraordinary.  I am glad I got it.  If they had anything else interesting on tap I would have had another but I decided to go home and have a Hop Wallop before retiring for the evening.

Typical Friday Night

Once again I stopped at the Sly Fox in Phoenixville while waiting for a pizza to cook next door.  It's happy hour and I intend to have one cheap beer and then pick up my pizza.  I ordered a Dunkel Lager for my one and only beer.  It is OK, not great.  JP behind the bar pours me a sample of the Columbus Pale Ale which is currently being served on the hand pump.  So of course, I end up ordering a pint of that as well.  I scold JP for up-selling me (cask conditioned beers at the Sly Fox are full priced even during happy hour).  Then I sit back and enjoy this one.  It is bitter and quite enjoyable.  I learn that they expect to put a new cask conditioned beer on every third Friday of the month and apparently Chester County Bitter on the first Friday with the goal of keeping a cask conditioned beer on at all times.  Let's hope it works out.

Rhode Trip

I was ordered to to Providence, RI on a business trip.  I was to fly out of Philadelphia to Providence, meet with a customer and then back to Philadelphia that night.  My itinerary didn't leave a lot of time for shenanigans.  I met up with 2 co-workers in Providence and had about an hour and a half until our visit with the customer.  My coworker started to poll his GPS to find a place to eat.  Wendy's...no.  Burger King...no.  I asked him to input Trinity (a brewpub I knew was nearby having done my due diligence prior to my visit).  It was less than 2 miles away.  We decided to go there for lunch which presented me with a dilemma.  I love brewpubs but I never visited one without having a beer and I did not want to have a beer prior to meeting with the customer.  My coworkers were not big beer drinkers so they had no problem with iced tea or Coke.  I think I can do this.

We arrive in the heart of Providence and find Trinity Brewhouse easily enough.  Parking wasn't quite as easy but we manage to find a lot nearby for $10.  There were tables set up on the sidewalk in front of the pub but more interesting to me was the brass rail out on the sidewalk.  This belly-high rail would allow several revelers to rest their beer while standing outside waiting to get in...or just standing outside enjoying a beer.  Great idea for when things are really humming.  Well, my visit was at noon on a Wednesday.  The place was not humming.  In fact, we were the only patrons when we walked in.  The place has an old feel to it, like it has been around for a while.  It has probably seen better days in an earlier incarnation.  I must say that it did have character.  There was plenty of old wood that could have looked beautiful were it not for the dust that seemed to be everywhere.  In no time we were seated and placed our order.  I got an Angus burger and iced tea.  The burger turned out to be quite good.  We soon ran out of time and had to leave for our business meeting.

Our customer meeting went well and we found ourselves with some extra time between the end of our meeting and our flight departure time.  My coworkers sensed my disappointment at visiting a brewpub without sampling the beer and suggested we go back to Trinity.  Keep in mind that I said they were not particularly big beer drinkers.  From this point on in my story I will refer to my coworkers as "my friends".

We went back to Trinity Brewhouse at about 4:00pm and although it was easy to find a table there were a few more guests than during the lunch hour.  I ordered the sampler which included all 6 of the beers currently on tap.

Kolsch - This was a typical Kolsch, not my style.

Tommy's Red - This was not a bad beer but there was not a lot there. 

Rhode Island IPA - Now we are getting somewhere.  Not a great IPA but at least I'm starting to get some flavor (and apparently alcohol as they advertise this one at 7%).  Speaking of alcohol, this brewpub is unusual in that they advertised a range for the alcohol content of a given beer.  For example, Tommy's Red was quoted as 4-5%.  Come on.  Where is the quality control.

Helles Bock - 7-8% ABV.  Again, not my style.

Belgian Saison - This was a nice tasting Saison, well made.  Very enjoyable particularly for a beer with an ABV of 3-4%.

Russian Imperial Stout - 8% ABV.  What a great surprise.   I enjoyed the heck out of this one.  Very well made.  The description didn't mention oak but I would swear that it tasted as if it were aged in an oak barrel.

I had time for a pint but with a long night of travel ahead of me I decided to have a pint of the Belgian Saison.  I enjoyed the Saison but I do regret not getting a pint of that Russian Imperial Stout.

Who Waits Until 4:00 to Open on a Saturday???

We are out and about on this gorgeous Saturday afternoon and we decide to stop at Ott's Greenhouse in Schwenksville, PA. My 3-year-old falls asleep in the car so I continue to drive up the road to have a beer at Ortino's Northside in Zieglersville, PA. For probably the hundredth time I stopped here and it is closed. It is always closed. How can you be closed at 3:00 on a Saturday afternoon? And while I'm complaining, how can you put a round-about in the middle of PA-73? This is America for crying out loud. Even New Jersey figured out that these things are ridiculous. Regardless, I drive a little further and find myself at Union Jack's Congo Hotel. My wife drops me off and continues to drive around with the kids. I ordered a Green Flash West Coast IPA. I have had these before and it is a very nice beer. I then sneak in a Lagunitas Lucky 13 before my ride comes back for me. It is a nice, but dark IPA kind of beer.

Eventually we make our way to Ott's Greenhouse and enjoy a walk among the plants, flowers, pumpkins, hardy mums etc.

Now that it is past 4:00 I decide to go back to Ortino's Northside and give them another shot. They are actually open if you can believe it. I have a Troeg's Nugget Nectar from the hand pump. It is OK, not great. It may have had a slight infection. Next up I order a Port Brewing Company Panzer Pils. This is a fine pilsner and a very deceitful one as well. You would never guess this little gem had an ABV of somewhere around 9%. In between beers we manage to order dinner. I got the eggplant parmesan sandwhich and my wife gets some kind of salad with shrimp. My daughters split an order of hot wings. Everyone seems pretty satisfied.

Why Do They Call It Hop WALLOP?

It started off innocently enough.  I went to the Sly Fox in Phoenixville as I often do and I had a Pikeland Pils as I often do.  Then I ordered a Chester County Bitter from the hand pump because, as I stated in an earlier post, the Sly Fox finally got the great idea of keeping a real beer on the hand pump at all times.  Imagine my disappointment when I was told that nothing was on the hand pump.  What gives?  I grudgingly order a Royal Weisse (in a pint glass of course because I wanted to take advantage of the happy hour pricing).

I went home and had a couple of Hop Wallop's from my kegerator.  I say a couple because I didn't keep track of how many I had.  This morning I wish I actually had kept track.  You have to be careful with that stuff.   Victory Brewing Company claims an ABV of 8.5% but like all of their beers, I suspect it is actually higher.