Parties, Beer and Confusion

My 5-year-old was invited to a birthday party yesterday in Limerick and of course she had to go because her mother will not let them miss any kind of party, parade, fair, or activity of any kind.  Luckily the party was being held about 2 minutes away from Craft Ale House.  So my other daughter and I went to pick up the first daughter at the party and found our way to Craft Ale House.  I had an Oberon from Bell's Brewery.  This is a nice American Wheat beer that I will look forward to having as the warmer weather approaches.  Next up was a Hoppin' To Heaven from Hoppin' Frog Brewery.  This is a good American IPA.  Not the best I ever had but I would certainly drink it again.  Finally I had an Iniquity from Southern Tier Brewing Company.  OK, so I thought it was a good beer but I don't get the style.  What is an Imperial Black Ale anyway?  And why do they call these black IPA's.  Doesn't the "P" in IPA stand for pale?  So you have a black pale?  I was a little confused by this beer.  I'm not sure that I am a fan.  I will always be a fan of Southern Tier regardless.

What To Do on a Gorgeous Saturday Afternoon

What a beautiful Saturday afternoon.  As my wife and kids were leaving for a visit with my in-laws upstate I told her it was such a gorgeous day I think I'll go to the Craft Ale House in Limerick.  And that's what I did.  I had a Dogtown Pale Ale from Lagunitas.  I have had this beer before and it is an excellent pale ale.  There are IPA's out there that are not as hoppy as this pale ale.  I ordered a short rib sandwich and Gordon Imperial Red / Double IPA from Oskar Blues Brewery.  Both were excellent.  I heard a lot of people at the bar talking about yard work and I don't have any shortage of yard work at my house.  So after only 2 beers I decided to head home and do some work in the yard. 

Too Much of a Good Thing Saturday

Well it took me until Monday to post about my adventures on Saturday.  That is partly because of my adventures on Saturday.  First I went to Union Jack's Inn on the Manatawny.  I had a Double Trouble from Founder's.  This is a great DIPA.  I followed this with an Angel's Share from The Lost Abbey.  You just have to try this beer if you can ever find it.  It was absolutely incredible.  It tasted like prune juice and I mean that in a good way.  I paid $8 for a 10 oz glass and I was happy about it. 

Later on in the evening I found myself at the Craft Ale House in Limerick.  I had an India IPA from Weyerbacher Brewing Company.  I usually don't go out of my way for a Weyerbacher but this one was pretty good.  I would go out of my way for this one if I know it is on somewhere.  I followed that with an Old Guardian Barleywine from Stone Brewing Company.  If you like barleywines you will love this beer.  I happen to love barleywines.

And yes, my wife was driving. 

Sweet Wipeout and Sour Consecration

Saturday afternoon we were traveling through Limerick and I had two sleepers in the car.  My wife agreed that I could go into Craft Ale House provided I take the remaining awake daughter in with me.  So in we went.  I got a Wipeout IPA from Port Brewing Company.  It was awesome as usual.  My daughter got a lemonade which was apparently awesome as well.

We got a little farther down the road and since the two kids were still asleep I got the great idea of stopping in at Union Jack's Inn on the Manatawny.  I was unaware that they were having an event at the time.  It was a Strong Ale Fest.  All beers were over 10% abv.  Shortly before getting there the kids woke up.  What could I do?  We already committed to going to Union Jack's so I convinced my oldest daughter to keep the other two entertained while I go in.  These are the little things I do for my wife.  She shouldn't have to worry about keeping the kids entertained while I am at the bar.  I ordered a Consecration from Russian River Brewing Company.  I am a little leary about ordering Belgian style beers (i.e. beers in the Belgian style but not brewed in Belgium).  It is hard to make a beer as good as the Belgians.  And this particular beer is a sour ale which I would imagine is even more difficult to reproduce.  Russian River has done it with this one.  The taste was a lot like a Rodenbach except that the Consecration was probably more tart and definitely higher in alcohol content.  This is an excellent beer and particularly impressive is the fact that it was produced in California and not Belgium.

Saturday Shopping

Saturday afternoon I went out to do a little shopping as my wife's birthday is this week.  Before leaving the house I did my due diligence regarding what beers I might like to have in case I get thirsty and I happen to be near the Drafting Room in Exton or Ron's Original Bar and Grill in Exton.  Based on the beer list at their respective websites, I would have the Big Hoppy Monster from Terrapin Beer Company if I end up in the Drafting Room and I would have the Dugana from Avery Brewing Company if I ended up at Ron's Original bar and grill.  Sure enough I did get thirsty and I was right near the Drafting Room so in I went.  They told me the Big Hoppy Monster just kicked.  I had to settle for a Racer 5 from Bear Republic Brewing Company.  It's kind of funny to say settle for a Racer 5 isn't it?  This is one of the finest IPAs I have ever had.  I left the Drafting Room and headed for home but then I remembered that Dugana waiting for me at Ron's.  So I stopped in for a quick one.  Guess what?  They told me the Dugana just kicked.  In a panic I chose a Organic Alta Gracia Coffee Porter from Wolaver's.  I say in a panic because I never heard of this beer before but nothing else on the menu attracted my attention.  This is a great porter.  The coffee comes through strongly and the vanilla adds a nice touch.  I'm no expert on beer so I don't know if that amount of carbonation was proper for a porter but I would have preferred a less carbonated beer.  Later in the afternoon I wound up at the Craft Ale House in Limerick.  I had an Outdoor Harvest Ale from Ithaca Beer Company.  This is a great tasting wet hopped pale ale.  I am curious about the name though.  What would an Indoor Harvest be?  Never mind.

Saturday Night and I Ain't Got Nobody

It was a dark and stormy night...but I was hungry and thirsty so I decided to go to the Craft Ale House in Limerick for some dinner.  Earlier in the day my wife took the kids to visit with her parents for the weekend which gave me the opportunity to complete some of those projects around the house that had been waiting for me.  I lost track of time and forgot to eat lunch.  Next thing I know it is dinner time and I hadn't prepared anything.  That's how I ended up with the great idea of going to the Craft Ale House for dinner. 

I ordered a Terrapin Hopsecutioner.  I'm not a big fan of these stupid names (what is a Hopsecutioner anyway) but the beer was pretty good.  As you might suspect from the name, it is an IPA and I think I would order this again when I see it.  Next I ordered a Steamworks Lizard Head Red and a fish and chips dinner.  If I was a thinking man I probably would not have ordered this beer with this dinner but that thought didn't occur to me until it was too late.  Regardless, this beer was more malty than I expected.  Clara Peller might have said, "Where's the hops".  So I had an OK beer with an awesome fish and chips dinner.  Yeah, they do the fish and chips right at CAH.

After dinner I sampled a Bell's Christmas Ale.  I had low expectations as I typically don't care for Christmas Ales.  This one was different.  It was not the spicy Christmas Ale I was expecting.  It was a very sweet malty beer.  Definitely not my style.  I ordered a Hercules DIPA from Great Divide without hesitation.  This is a nice DIPA.  Not the best I've had but I enjoyed the heck out of it tonight. 

I wish I could stay here all night at the Craft Ale House.  It occurs to me that my life is a dichotomy.  Often my wife is in the car with the kids and I rush into places like Craft Ale House and have a beer...maybe two and rush back out to the car.  Then there are nights like tonight.  No wife, no kids...and no designated driver.  Either way I'm limited in the quantity of beers I can enjoy.  I guess that's my cross to bear.

Saturday at the Craft Ale House

I had the opportunity to visit the Craft Ale House in Limerick Saturday afternoon.  It was me and my 3-year-old daughter.  I started with an Oskar Blues Gordon IPA and she had a Sprite.  This is a pleasant IPA.  Next I tried a Stone Double Bastard.  This is big alcohol and big malt.  You could make a meal out of this one.  I ended with a Coronado Red Devil.  This was not as good as I remembered.  There was a flavor that I didn't care for.  It may have something to do with the beers that preceeded this one.  I'll give it another shot in the future. I'm told the Sprite was satisfactory.

Sick Day

I am home with a sick child today.  Well, not actually home because my house is getting a new roof today.  So, I am at my mother's house with my sick child today.  As it happens, my mother lives a couple of minutes away from the Craft Ale House in Limerick.  Not one to miss an opportunity like this I stopped in.  First I tried a Terrapin Depth Charge.  It is a milk stout.  It was OK.  It had more carbonation than I expected.  I then ordered an Ommegang Rare Vos.  It should be named Rare Find because although I have had this in bottles before I have never seen it on draught.  This is a fine beer.  Clean and spicy.  It would be easy to believe this was a real Belgian beer.

Halloween Treats

The kids fell asleep in the car Saturday afternoon and I found my way over to the Craft Ale House in Limerick.  With the wife and kids on the parking lot I didn't waste any time.  I tried the Terrapin Pumpkinfest.  This was an average pumpkin beer.  Not great but nothing wrong with it either.  At least the pumpkin wasn't overdone.  I couldn't resist ordering a Port Brewing Company Hop 15.  This is an excellent IPA.  I didn't have time to savor it but I still enjoyed the 10 minutes I had with this beer.  On the way out I grabbed a bottle of Coronado Islander IPA.  This was a nice IPA.  I will look for it on draught in the future to see if it is better than just "nice".

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.