Mostly IPA Saturday

Saturday was a good day.  I revisited the Railroad Street Bar and Grille in Linfield.  My last visit at about 7pm on a Saturday was a little hectic in that the place was swamped and I couldn't get a seat at the bar.  This time it was about noon so things were a little less busy but still brisk even at that early hour.  I started with a Sculpin from Ballast Point, moved on to a West Coast IPA from Green Flash and ended with a Wipeout IPA from Port Brewing.  All were excellent.  I could have stayed there all day and continued to drink one great beer after another without ever having the same one twice.  Don't believe me?  Check out their beer menu.  It was still early on a Saturday afternoon so I thought it best that I leave before things get out of hand.  On my way out, I remembered that I was pretty close to the Craft Ale House and thought it would be a shame to be so close and not visit.  So I did.  I only had one but it was a good one.  Vertical Epic 11.11.11 from Stone Brewing.  I thought this was a very good beer.  It was big alcohol as you might expect and of all things, the chili pepper flavor really came through for me.  Fantastic.

Later that night we went out for dinner as a family.  We went to the Lucky Lab in Royersford.  This is the former Sly Fox.  I had a Racer 5 IPA from Bear Republic Brewing Company and Two Hearted IPA from Bell's Brewery.  Awesome.

So, in summary, I had a Saturday filled with IPA's that I've already had many times over and I am not complaining.  They were all excellent.  And I managed to squeak in a Vertical Epic which was just icing on the cake.

Friday Night Delights

So I went to The Flying Pig in Malvern for lunch and had a cask-conditioned Racer 5 from Bear Republic.  Yeah, it was awesome.  Then I had a Firestone Walker IPA and it was awesome too!  I guess my weekend was starting out pretty good.  The grilled chicken sandwich I had was pretty good as well.  Fresh mozzarella, grilled chicken, roasted peppers in a nice wrap.

After work I stopped in at McKenzie's in Frazer.  I had a couple of Two Threads which is a nice sour ale (Saison) similar to their Houblonette which I have raved about.  I also had their Bertha which is a big malty beer and pretty good if you like that style.

Now I'm home having a couple of Storm Kings and life is good.

So Far So Good

Today I managed to get to TJ's in Paoli, The Drafting Room in Exton, and the Sly Fox in Phoenixville and the night is young.  At TJ's, I started with a 5th Anniversary DIPA from Port Brewing.  It was great.  I followed with another DIPA.  This time it was the Brewmaster's Series DIPA from Long Trail.  Again a very good DIPA.  Later at the Drafting Room, I had a cask-conditioned Racer 5 from Bear Republic.  You know this was a good one.  Then finally at the Sly Fox I had a Pikeland Pils which was as good as always.

I Must Be Getting Old

Yesterday I went to Union Jack's Congo Hotel in Barto for a beer because I was in the area.  I had a Stone IPA.  This is a nice IPA and it did the trick.  The day before I went to the Craft Ale House in Limerick to have a couple of cold ones.  I started with a Weyerbacher Oscar.  This is a "hoppy hef". That is, a hefeweizen with a little more hops than is traditional.  I thought it was pretty good.  I followed that with another Weyerbacher product.  It was their IPA Project #4743.  There was nothing wrong with it but it wasn't the greatest IPA I've ever had.  I ended with a Bell Ringer from RJ Rocker's Brewing Company.  They are out of Spartanburg, SC and this particular beer is an American Strong Ale.  I enjoyed it.  I also tried a Long Trail Triple Bag.  It was OK but not my style.

In the last week or so I had other beer adventures that I didn't have time to blog about so here is an abbreviated entry.  At TJ's in Paoli, I had a Double Jack (DIPA) from Firestone Walker.  This was my first taste of this brewer and based on Double Jack I think I am going to have many more experiences with this brewer.  At the Pickering Creek Inn in Phoenixville I had an Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout from North Coast Brewing Company.  This is a very good example of the style.  At the Flying Pig in Malvern, I had a Carneval from Lost Abbey.  This is like a dry Royal Weisse.  Very nice.  Back again to TJ's in Paoli for a cask conditioned Racer 5.  Awesome as usual.  And one day in the not so distant past I made my way to Teresa's Next Door in Wayne.  I had a Pliny the Elder from Russian River Brewing Company which is always fantastic.  I followed that with a USALive from Mikkeller.  This is a nice Belgian Strong Pale Ale with just a hint of funk from the brettanomyces.  This is a very interesting beer.

Friday Fun

Friday after work I ended up at the Drafting Room in Exton.  I had to have a cask-conditioned Racer 5.  Yeah, it was awesome.  Nothing else on the chalk board looked interesting but I noticed something called Fish Paralyzer Pale from someone called RJ Rockers Brewing Company out of Spartanburg, SC.  It is a Belgian-style pale and I didn't expect a lot as I am often disappointed by American brewers brewing Belgian-style ales.  This wasn't bad.  Not the best I ever had and definitely no Ommegang but not bad.  I'll give them another try in the future.  I had just enough time to stop in at the Sly Fox in Phoenixville and have a Saison Vos.  It was very good as always.  Also, it struck me that regardless of whether you care for a particular beer at Sly Fox (I happen to care a lot for Saison Vos) or not, one thing in certain.  The taste is consistent year over year.

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.

Best Beer Bar in Massachusetts

So I'm traveling on business to Massachusetts and I don't have high expectations on finding any great craft beers.  I do my usual internet search and find a couple of places that seem interesting but I expect to be disappointed as usual.  I have my heart set on a brewpub in Gardner, MA when a co-worker suggests a good beer bar in Hudson, MA.  It is called The Horshshoe Pub & Restaurant.  I get there at 7:00 on a Wednesday night and the parking lot is full.  Things are looking pretty good.  I walk inside and see 80 taps.  Things just got even better.  At first I go to the bar and then I realize that I would be much better at a table where I can peruse the menu at my leisure.  And so I perused.  I decided to get samples instead of pints.  Samples, it turns out are 3 oz beers at $2.55 each.  I start with 4 IPA's.  They are (1) Big Eye IPA from Ballast Point Brewing Company, (2) Racer 5 from Bear Republic Brewery, (3) Wipeout IPA from Port Brewing Company and (4) Wachusett Larry from Wachusett Brewing Company.  OK, the first 3 I've had before and I knew they were excellent but I enjoyed every one none the less.  The fourth one was taking a chance.  Let me tell you, this Wachusett Larry was a really good IPA.  Actually I think it was a double IPA.  It was right up there with the other three.  I was shocked...er...pleasantly surprised.

I had the seafood sampler for dinner which was a great choice.  Then I ordered four more beers.  They were (5) Black Fly Stout from Gritty McDuff's in Maine, a very nice Irish stout, (6) Extra Special Oak from Element Brewing Company in Massachusetts, good but not great, (7) Coffee Haus Porter from Berkshire Brewing Company in Massachusetts, excellent...taste like fresh coffee beans, and (8) Black Shack Porter from Wachusett Brewing Company in MA, pretty good, not great.

The real hero in this story is the Horshshoe Pub & Restaurant for having these 8 beers among their 80 on tap plus 2 cask conditioned beers.  I love this place.  And I didn't even have one of the many Belgian's they had on tap.  I might move to Massachusetts.

Beer, Wine and...Oh Yeah...Food

Friday after work I had some time to kill waiting for my pizza to get cooked so I stopped in at the Drafting Room in Exton.  I had a Jack D'or from Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project.  I am particularly fond of the saison style and this is a good one.  I drank it so fast I had time for a second beer.  I had to get the cask-conditioned Racer 5 from Bear Republic.  Awesome as usual.  My sister and brother-in-law watched our kids so my wife could take me out for dinner for my birthday.  We went to Daddy Mim's Creole BYOB in downtown Phoenixville.  We started with Crawfish Spring Rolls which were very good.  I then had Grouper on Jambalaya which was fantastic.  My wife had Jumbo Lump Crabmeat Cake which she enjoyed thoroughly.  Before and during dinner we managed to have 2 bottles of wine.  First was a 2006 Rutherford Cabernet Savignon Beaulieu Vinyard (courtesy of my sister for my birthday...the same sister who was watching my kids...what a great sister) and second was a 2006 Roar Syrah Gary's Vinyard.  All-in-all it was a great night out.

Nice Day for an IPA

It is the Thursday before Good Friday and that makes this a good Thursday considering I have off from work tomorrow. Also consider that it is 70 degrees and not even the hint of a cloud in the sky. Seems like a good day to stop in at TJ’s Restaurant and Drinkery for lunch. I had a cask conditioned Racer 5 IPA from Bear Republic Brewing Company and a Cajun Chicken sandwich. As it turns out this is a great combination. I like both things individually but together they made a fantastic team.  The Racer 5 I have at home in bottles is very good but it can't compare to the cask conditioned version.

Racer 5 and Tomato Pie

First thing today was the Easter Egg hunt.  Next my 4-year-old went to a party for one of the girls in her daycare class.  Then, finally it was time to hit the road.  Our goal was to visit my mother but first we would try to get the kids to sleep in the car.  Our usual drive in the country didn't produce the usual results.  All 3 kids stayed awake.  Since we traveled so far I decided to go into Union Jack's Inn on the Manatawny anyway.  Surely the kids could be good for 15 minutes while daddy is in the bar.  I ordered a Wilco Tango Foxtrot from Lagunitas Brewing Company.  Talk about a well balanced beer this is it.  Sure there was plenty of malty goodness but they must have used a massive amount of hops to make the balance.  This was a nicely bittered beer.  Back at the car the kids were getting pretty restless so it was time to get to my mothers house.  Along the way I stopped and picked up a tomato pie which I had ordered earlier in the morning.  I got the tomato pie from Corropolese in Douglassville.  This is the best tomato pie on the planet.  A short time later I was eating tomato pie and drinking Bear Republic Racer 5 out of a bottle.  Not a bad comination if I say so myself.

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.

TJ's For Lunch - Great

My wife called with a really great idea this morning.  "Take me over to pick up my car at the shop and we can have lunch together...at TJ's".  It was a great idea because I love TJ's Restaurant and Drinkery in Paoli and because she and I don't have lunch together nearly often enough.  We both had the Cajun Chicken sandwich (my usual) and it was great.  I had a Bear Republic Racer 5 from the cask.  It too was great.  In fact the only thing that kept "great" from being "excellent" was that I had to pick up the tab.  Small price to pay for a great lunch, great beer and great company.

P.S.  I just looked at TJ's website and I see that the Racer 5 has been replaced by Port Brewing Hop 15.  If you haven't had this DIPA you owe it to yourself to get one.  See list of my favorite IPAs at the top of this blog.

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.