Just Another Day

Yesterday was a beautiful sunny albeit windy day.  A perfect day to go to the Craft Ale House in Limerick and have lunch and a beer or two.  First up was a Saison Cazeau from Brasserie de Cazeau.  This is a very delicate white beer so have this one before enjoying something else.  This was a beer you could have several of on a hot Saturday afternoon.  You might say a lawnmowing beer (but a good one).  I then ordered a short rib sandwich (awesome as usual) and an Old Chub Scottish Ale from Oskar Blues to go along with it.  This was a good choice to enjoy with my sandwich.  I ended with a Maracaibo Especial from Jolly Pumpkin.  What a great ending.  This is a fine beer.  They call it a Belgian-style brown ale.  I thought it was more in the style of a Flemish Sour (only not as sour).  If you enjoy sour beers and would like to get a friend to enjoy them this would be a good starter beer.  That is nothing against this beer.  I thought this was an awesome beer.  It's just that there was a slight sourness to it (that I loved).  I had to stop at a couple of stores on the way home and get gas for the car and by that time I built up quite a thirst.  So a quick stop in at the Sly Fox in Phoenixville was in order.  I had a tall Royal Weisse.  That will cure a thirst.

Too Much Fun. No Time for Beer.

The weekend was pretty much a bust as far as beer is concerned.  Family obligations kept me out Friday night.  Saturday night I had a chance to go out but couldn't get the energy to go very far.  I went to the Sly Fox in Phoenixville.  I had a Royal Weisse, a Saison Vos and an Oatmeal Stout.  All were good but it's the same beer I've been drinking forever.  Sunday was a bust also.  Two Christmas parties and both were for the kids.  In between I did stop in for a quick one at McKenzie's in Frazer.  I had a Saison Vautour.  It was quite good with a nice dry finish.  Then I had to get back out to the car to get us to the second party which happened to be at a movie theatre.  We saw a 3-D movie called Tangled.  It has been years since I went to the movies and even longer since I saw anything in 3D.  I have 2 observations.  Some time in the past 15 years they have made great strides in making theatre seats more comfortable and technological leaps in 3D technology that allow me to believe for a second that I am about to get splashed by that water coming my way.

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.

Capone's and Sly Fox Saturday

My 5-year-old daughter was invited to a birthday party Saturday in Norristown.  So after we dropped her off it seemed like a good idea for me to go to Capone's and have a beer.  My other 2 daughters and my wife seemed very happy to wait in the car but being the kind of father/husband I am I wouldn't leave them out there long.  I had an E.S. Bam from Jolly Pumpkin.  The E.S. apparently for extra special farmhouse ale.  The only other beer I previously had from Jolly Pumpkin was the Bam Biere (not to be confused with the E.S. Bam).  I am just not a fan of these beers.  Although I love the dry finish it is the perfumey, almost chemical taste that I don't care for.  As I said before, it may just be my beer ignorance of this style but regardless, I didn't care for it.  I followed that with a Crazy Ivan IPA from Bear Republic.  They call this a "Belgo-American IPA".  As I have said before, traditional Belgian-style beers are awesome and American IPA's are awesome but it does not necessarily mean that some hybrid of each is going to produce something as good or better than the parts.  Belgian IPA's never work for me.  That is not to say this is a bad beer.  It was pretty good but I think I would have enjoyed a nice Belgian followed by a nice American IPA better (as opposed to both concurrently).  Although I saw Bear Republic's Apex on the menu and was tempted to get one to restore my faith in Bear Republic I decided to head back out to the car because that's the kind of father/husband I am.

As dinner time drew near my 4-year-old daughter shouted "Let's go to Sly Fox for dinner" which was not prompted by me in any way.  My wife didn't like the idea but she suggested I take my two oldest daughters there for dinner and she would enjoy the relative quiet of our home with the baby.  So that is what I did.  I had the Keller Pils which is quickly becoming my favorite Sly Fox beer.  I also ordered a Greek Chicken Wrap which is my favorite sandwich there.  I also took this opportunity to have a Saison Vos.  Ahhhh, now that is what I consider a nice farmhouse ale.  I ended with a Royal Weisse which never disappoints.  The kids behaved and as it turns out it was a very nice dinner.

Sly Fox Opens In Phoenixville Once Again

Yesterday without any announcement that I am aware of, the Sly Fox opened it's new brewpub in Phoenixville. My wife noticed that there were balloons and a lot of cars at the new location and surmised that they must have opened. Could they reopen without any announcement? Even their website didn't mention the opening. I had to see for myself. I went over at about 8:30 last night and sure enough they were open. A lot of people somehow learned that they were open because there was quite a crowd. Apparently they did a soft opening in anticipation of some wrinkles which almost always occur with an opening. Good move. Apparently there were wrinkles.

As I was enjoying a tall Royal Weisse I was greeted by owner Pete Giannopoulos. Pete was kind enough to give me a sneak peek into the as-yet unopened part of the dining room which can be isolated from the rest of the restaurant by closing a pair of large sliding doors. Just as the original location had the upstairs section for private parties this room will be available to serve the same purpose. I told Pete that it might have been easy for them to say "Well we have the Royersford location we really don't need a presence in Phoenixville anymore". Pete said that idea "never, never, never" was a consideration. Thanks Pete.  Just like me they call Phoenixville home.

Photos, Beers, Groceries and Various Errands

Well...we were in Exton anyway to have the kids pictures taken so if you are that close to Downingtown you might as well go to Victory Brewing Company for dinner and a beer.  I had (1) Hop Wallop cask conditioned, (2) Harvest Ale, (3) Harvest Pilsner, (4) Abbey 5, (5) Wild Devil and (6) Braumeister Pilsner.  All were excellent as you would expect from the Victory.  I also had a Dietrich sandwich apparently made from pastrami produced in-house.  It is essentially a Ruben but it is about the best Ruben I ever tasted, and that's not the beer talking.  Because I like to think I am efficient, I returned an empty keg of Yakima Twilight and picked up a fresh keg of Prima Pils since we were there anyway.

We needed milk and some other essentials so a visit to the Giant grocery store was in order.  We were about to go right past the Sly Fox in Phoenixville but I was pretty thirsty and I happened to have an empty Sly Fox keg in the trunk so I thought it would be a good time to return it.  It's great when you return a keg and not get a refill.  It feels like you are drinking for free.  In this case it was a tall Royal Weisse.  Yeah, this is a great summer beer but I ain't waiting until the summer to have one.

Happy Birthday Mom

We went to Kimberton Inn to celebrate my mother's 80th birthday tonight.  We had the Wine Cellar and pretty much filled it with family.  The food was great by all accounts.  We ordered pasta with red sauce for our kids and I ordered the duck.  My 5-year-old daughter ate as much of my duck as I did.  I had mixed emotions about the beer.  They had only 3 taps.  That's not great.  But I have to give them credit.  They could have used those 3 taps for Bud, Miller and Coors but that was not the case.  They had Yard's Pale Ale, Brooklyn Lager and Sly Fox "unfiltered wheat beer" which I assumed to be the Berliner Weisse.  Although I applaud the Kimberton Inn for using their 3 taps for 3 beers that are out of the mainstream I am not a big fan of any of the 3.  I started with the Yard's Pale Ale.  I have had mixed reaction to this beer in the past.  Some times I think it is great and sometimes it is a struggle to get through one.  I don't know if it is poor quality control at Yards or maybe the beer is just not taken care of in transportation.  Regardless, I didn't care all that much for the Yard's tonight.  I then tried the Brooklyn Lager.  I have to admit that I haven't enjoyed any beer from Brooklyn Brewery and a lager was not likely to change my mind.  As it turned out my mind was not changed.  I went back to the Yards.  What about the Sly Fox beer?  Assuming it was the Berliner Weisse...no thanks.  That is not something I want to drink.  Interestingly enough, if it happened to be the Royal Weisse from Sly Fox I would have been all over it.  How can the brewer make one really great Weisse and that Berliner Weisse?

A Cold and Snowy Saturday

Saturday afternoon and the snow was coming down.  I wasn't going to go to TJ's Restaurant and Drinkery for the anniversary celebration but the snow changed my mind.  Always the contrarian, if people are going to stay away because of the snow I am going to go.  I will have all that good beer to myself.  Boy was I wrong.  The place was packed.  But...since I was there already I made my way inside and ordered a Pliny the Elder from Russian River Brewing Company.  As I have stated before (and as evidenced by the "Favorite IPA's" at the top of this blog) this is a great DIPA.  I had to drink it standing up as I was unable to get a seat due to the crowd.  One of my beer drinking rules is that I will drink one beer standing up.  If a seat does not become available by the time that one is done I will not stand for another.  So despite the fact that they had a phenomenal lineup on, it was time to go.


Next stop was the Sly Fox in Phoenixville.  I thought it was kind of funny that on this cold and snowy night I was in the mood for a Royal Weisse but that is what I ordered.  I placed a to-go request for a couple orders of hot wings and crab dip and a Renard D'or for the wait.  This Belgian-style golden is a nice change of pace but it is not as good as their Saison Vos.

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.

Beautiful Sunday Afternoon

I got thirsty on my way to the grocery store so I stopped in at the Sly Fox.  It seemed like the kind of day when a Royal Weisse would be in order.  A fruity wheat beer kind of day.  I got a tall one (22 oz) which not only quenched my thirst but gave me the energy to do the grocery shopping. 

Friday Night at the Sly Fox

My wife was interested in me bringing dinner home last night. I suggested I bring her a nice Caesar Salad since I knew I could find one at the Sly Fox in Phoenixville. While waiting for her salad (and my wings) I was able to enjoy a Pikeland Pils, Royal Weisse and since it was taking so long for that salad I had an Ichor. She doesn't understand how the Sly Fox service is always good when we go there together but when I go there by myself it seems that the service is a little slower, and sometimes a lot slower.

Getting back to that Ichor...I don't necessarily care for it that much but that Sly Fox is sly. Ichor is only offered on the first Friday of each month. So when I see it on tap it is a rare occasion for me and I feel like I must get one. Go figure. I guess if they offered Coors Light once-a-month I would order one of those? Nah.