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.

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.

Lost Weekend

I almost forgot to post about last weekend.  On Friday night I went to Sly Fox in Phoenixville and had a Keller Pils which I love and then I had a cask-conditioned Jakes ESB which was also very nice.

On Saturday I took my Mom to Union Jack's Inn on the Manatawny for Dinner (and beers).  I had a Sculpin IPA from Ballast Point Brewing Company.  It was great as usual.  Then I had a Double Trouble from Founder's Brewing Company.  This was also great but there is a good reason they call it Double Trouble.  Finally I had a Shark Attack from Port Brewing Company.  This is a double red ale.  I like it a lot but it is time to go.  Mom had a Miller Lite (and if I'm telling the truth she had 2 of them).  It was a fun time.

Sunday I was feeling that Double Trouble.  Or maybe it was all of the Hop Wallops I drank from the kegerator in my basement.

Super IPA at the Drafting Room

I went to the Drafting Room in Exton last night after work because their on-line beer menu said they had the Sierra Nevada Bigfoot 2008 on draught.  As it turned out, they took it off tap to make room for a promotion they were doing last night.  It was lucky for me because I ordered a Bear Republic Super Rebellion instead.  They told me it was a pale ale but it sure tasted like an IPA to me.  In fact, it was an excellent beer.  I mean this one was totally fantastic.  I don't know anything about this beer other than the fact that I want more.  I followed this with a Ballast Point Sculpin.  This is also a great IPA.  Not as good as the Super Rebellion but there aren't a lot of beers that would be able to follow that one.  I am going to have to have a Sculpin as my first beer of the day one day to give it a more fair evaluation.