Boring Weekend Beerwise

Friday after work I went to the Drafting Room in Exton.  I started with a Racer 5 from Bear Republic Brewery.  It was awesome as usual.  Then I had a Pumpkin Ale from Blue Point Brewing Company.  It was OK.  When I first sniffed it I thought "Uh oh.  Too much pumpkin".  But then I tasted it and it was just fine.  The pumpkin was there but it was not overdone.

On Saturday I went into Victory Brewing Company in Downingtown.  First up was a Summer Love.  This is a Blond Ale and it was pretty good.  It was not extreme like most Victory beers but it was good none-the-less.  Then I had a cask-conditioned Harvest Ale.  Same deal.  Pretty good but nothing extreme.

What the Helios?

I needed to return an empty keg and pick up a new one from the Victory Brewing Company so after work I stopped in.  I didn't see anything of interest except for Helios which I never had.  So before making the investment I decided to go to the bar and try one.  Victory calls this one a "bottle conditioned Belgian-inspired ale".  Well, I was drinking it on draught and about to buy a keg to drink more on draught at home so I don't know about the bottle conditioned part but this is a great beer.  It is darker than I would expect a saison yet dry and refreshing.  I decided to make the investment.   As it turns out, it is not that large of an investment.  I got a sixtel for only $52.  You just can not beat that.  I'm starting to consider keeping two Victory beers on tap at home instead of one Victory and one something else.

What Was That Beer?

On Saturday we took the kids back to Sesame Place.  As usual, I would visit Isaac Newton's in Newtown for a beer when the day is done.  As we drove through Newtown we happened by an area with a lot of police activity and traffic and folks just milling about.  That was a little irritating but things got worse.  As we passed by the most congested area I said to my wife "There's some type of event going on.  What is it?"  She said it was a brewfest.  Naturally I took this as a bad joke...only she wasn't joking.  This was bad news for several reasons.  Firstly, I missed it.  Secondly, with a brewfest in Newtown, where do you think all of the drunks are going to go after the event?  Of course, Isaac Newton's.  When we got there the parking lot was full.  I told my wife I was going to pass but she encouraged me to go in and try to get a beer (apparently beer improves my mood).  I found a parking spot and headed in.  The place was 3-deep at the bar.  As soon as I walked in and saw the crowd I spun on one heel and headed back towards the entrance.  Then, a fascinating thing happened.  Some how one of the extremely busy bartenders looked past the crowd and made eye contact with me.  "Sculpin" I yelled over the noise.  I wasn't sure if he heard me so I mouthed the word very carefully as I yelled.  Within a couple of seconds he was back with my beer.  He held up seven fingers.  I nudged my way past a couple of folks to get my Sculpin and handed the bartender $8 and considering my great fortune at even getting a beer this night I should have given him a bigger tip.  Things were going well.  Too well as it turns out.  The beer in my hand was not a Sculpin.  It was dark and malty looking.  I knew what had to be done.  The chances of me getting the attention of the same bartender were slim.  Then shouting my dilemma over the din of the crowd and getting a positive response from the bartender...impossible.  All I could do was drink what I got and be happy.  I ordered a hoppy IPA and this was quite the opposite.  Brown and malty.  The good news is it was very good.  The bad news is I still don't know what it was.  I studied the draught menu to try and figure it out but nothing fit.  I've had most of the beers on the menu and ruled them out.  The remaining beers didn't fit.  For example one was a Wit beer.  No way.  My guess is that the Sculpin had kicked and the tap changed to something else but with the rush to satisfy the thirsty crowd, the tap handle wasn't changed and this bartender was not aware of the change.  That is my guess anyway.

No Randall Required?

After work tonight I stopped at TJ's Restaurant and Drinkery in Paoli.  I started with an Outdoor Harvest Ale from Ithaca Beer Company.  This is a very nice American Pale Ale...nothing extreme...just a good tasting pale ale.  I'll look for it again.  I ended with a Nosferatu from Great Lakes Brewing Company.  I love this brewer but this beer?  Not so much.  It was OK but I won't travel to get another one.  TJ's was hopping again tonight.  I hate to think it is because of that stupid Randall they have.  I'm all for innovation but it seems to me if the brewer wanted vanilla in his/her stout he/she would have put it in there.  Maybe I'm old school.

Saison, Simon and Garfunkel

I went into the Drafting Room in Exton tonight without looking on-line to see what was on tap.  That was my first mistake.  The most interesting thing they had on that I never tried before was Saison Du Buff, a collaboration between Victory Brewing Company, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery and Stone Brewing Company.  It is a Farmhouse Ale brewed with parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.  I suppose this is somehow an homage to Simon and Garfunkel.  This might have been a very nice, dry Saison if not for the parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.  Somehow I suspect this was Sam Calagione's contribution to the beer.  Hey Victory and Stone...remember this.  Paul Simon did just fine after the breakup.

A Lot of Tom Foolery for One Week

So much has happened in the past week or so that I didn't have a chance to do an update until tonight.  Here's how the week played out:

Wednesday

Ron's Original Bar and Grille, Exton - Indica Pale Ale from Lost Coast Brewery and Cafe (good, not great)

Epicurean, Phoenixville - Philadelphia Porter from Manayunk Brewery (surprisingly good porter)

Thursday

Craft Ale House, Limerick - Hugh Malone from Allagash Brewing Company (although I don't usually like Belgian-style IPAs, this is a good one).  Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout from North Coast Brewing Company (this is a very good stout).  Expedition Stout 2009 from Bell's Brewery (another very good stout).  I also had the short rib sandwich and as always it was awesome.

Friday

Craft Ale House, Limerick - Imperial IPA from Green Flash Brewing Company (very good IIPA).  Another Expedition Stout from Bell's (still good).  I also had a burger for a change.  It is a really good burger but it can't compete with that short rib sandwich.

Sly Fox, Royersford - Yes, Royersford.  It's not often I go to the Sly Fox in Royersford since I live in Phoenixville but we were in the area.  I had a Pikeland Pils (always good).  Next was an Octoberfest which I didn't expect to like but I did.  Then I had a Saison Vos (excellent as always).

Sly Fox, Phoenixville - Yes, Phoenixville.  I had to go home at some point right?  A Royal Weisse (always good) and then I called it a day.

Saturday

I went to a new place that the folks from Ortino's opened in Harleysville.  It's called East End Alehouse.  It's a lot like Ortino's Northside including a nice selection of beers on tap.  I had a Conductor Imperial IPA from Steamworks Brewing Company which was on the nitro tap.  It was pretty good.  The nitro gave it a silky mouthfeel and left a nice Vienna Lace on the glass.

Sunday

I went to Union Jack's Inn on the Manatawny, Oley - When we got to Union Jack's the parking lot was full.  Mostly it was full of Harley Davidson motorcycles.  I was a little hesitant to go in at first because I had to take my 6-year-old daughter in with me (she was awake, the other 2 were asleep).  It would be embarrassing for her to see me get my ass kicked by a bunch of bikers who didn't like the minivan I pulled up in.  My wife convinced me to go in anyway.  I had a Stone Arrogant Bastard (very good, not as harsh as I remember it to be) and my daughter had a lemonade (tart but good).  As it turns out, my daughter makes friends pretty easily...see photo below courtesy of Tony.

Monday

Back to the Craft Ale House, Limerick - This time it was a Gubna Imperial IPA from Oskar Blues Brewery.  This is a big beer.  Big alcohol and big hops.  Very good but maybe a little harsh with the hops.

Thanks Gin and Dave!!!

What a weekend that was, and starting early no less.

Friday I went to the Drafting Room in Exton for Lunch which consisted of a pretty good Buffalo Chicken Wrap and an even better DIPA.  Actually it was Outta Focus DIPA from Appalachian Brewing Company.  I expected this to be a good beer but it was a very good beer.  After work on Friday I stopped in for a quick one at TJ's Restaurant and Drinkery in Paoli.  I had a Little Sumpin' Wild from Lagunitas.  I expected a sour beer made with wild yeast but that is apparently not the case.  This is in fact their version of a Belgian Strong Ale.  It was OK but I still think we should leave the Belgian style beers to the Belgians (and perhaps Ommegang).  Later Friday night thanks to the kindness of my sister Ginger and my brother-in-law Dave, I was able to enjoy a nice evening out with my wife sans children.  We went to Marly's Restaurant / BYO in Phoenixville.  I had a nice lamb dish and a great bottle of Kosta Browne Pinot Noir.  It was a 2006 Russian River Valley and quite possibly the best wine I have ever tasted.  We liked that so much that we opened another bottle of wine for the sake of comparison.  This one was was another 2006 Pinot Noir.  It was a Kanzler Sonoma Coast.  It too was excellent.  As we found out on the way in to Phoenixville the whole downtown section was closed to traffic for a festival complete with German bands and other music.  After dinner we rambled around town and ended up it Iron Hill.  I had an unremarkable Belgian Pale Ale (see above about Americans attempting to make a Belgian-style ale).  Of course it may be because of the excellent wine we had earlier.  Perhaps this was an unfair comparison, although I don't think so.

On Saturday I went to the Craft Ale House in Limerick for lunch/dinner.  I had their excellent short rib sandwich and a Mad Hatter IPA from New Holland Brewing Company.  This was much better than expected.  It was not extreme but a very nice IPA.  I followed that with a Big A IPA from Smuttynose Brewing Company.  This too was a pleasant surprise.  A very good DIPA indeed.  I ended with a Breakfast Stout from Founder's Brewing Company.  As I have said before, this is the stout against which all others are measured.  It is awesome.  Just when I was ready to call it a day my other sister Jean called and said she was going to the Sly Fox in Phoenixville for dinner.  I stopped in there and had a Royal Weisse and a Grisette.  Both were very good as they always are. 

On Sunday I cut the lawn and did some yardwork and basically dried out for the week ahead.