Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Philly Beer Week, Part II: The liver strikes back

I've learned a few things in the past couple of days attending beer week events. First, Philly has even more great beer culture than I realized. And second, I'm not as young as I once was. For that reason, tonight will be an off night.

On Monday we went to the Joe Sixpack doppelbock tasting at Dawson's Pub. The pub is no more than a 5 minute walk for us and is one of out favorites, this fabulous event solidified that. They served the following 9 doppelbocks:
Lancaster Doppelbock
Ayinger Celebrator - A classic.
Schneider Aventinus - Another classic.
Victory St. Victorious - A nice roasted flavor.
Stoudt's Smooth Hoperator - Very different style with a clear hop aroma and taste that was magnified by the abcense of hops in the other beers.
Moretti La Rossa - An Italian doppelbock?? Didn't match up with the others but still good.
Ramstein (I can't remember the name)
Troeg's Troegenator - Amazingly spot on with the traditional German style.
Weihenstephaner Korbinian

The bartender, Jake, was pouring very generous portions for each beer, its a good thing I didn't need to stumble too far to get home. Don Russell gave us a nice history of the style and the specific beers. The pub also provided lots of German food, wursts, weiner schnitzel, spaetzel, big and small pretzels, sauerbraten, and black forest cake. All very tasty, especially the sauerbraten. We also met the father of the owners who told us some fun stories of when Dawson's was a biker bar. I picked up a copy of Joe Sixpack's Philly beer book and am looking forward to reading through it later tonight.

Last night we decided to participate in some of the meet the brewer events, focusing on the art museum area. The night started at London Grill where I drank the Philadelphia Brewing Co Kenzinger, a nice German/Czech style lager with a bit of hoppiness to it. I met one of their brewers, Josh, who filled me in on some details of the new brewery. I also tried the Stoudt's Willie Sutton, an amber beer brewed specifically for London Grill and named for a former inmate of the Eastern State Pennitentiary. It was ok, but nothing too striking about it. For dinner I tried the spring rolls and the ducks wings. Both were very tasty, the wings came with some fries and a spicy mustard dipping sauce.

After London Grill we moved on to Bridgid's for Colorado beer night. First I spoke with the Boulder brewing company's brewer and tried their oak aged Never Summer. The beer was good, not overwhelming. The flavors from the bourbon oak barrels were subtle but noticeable. After that I had the Great Divide Hercules, a very hoppy IPA. I've had this beer in the past, but it had been a while. Its still great. I also spoke briefly with one of the Iron Hill (West chester) brewers (Chris?) who was not working any beer week events, just in the bar for a couple of beers.

Our last stop was the Bishop's Collar, a more laid back and slightly less beer focused bar. The Yards brewers were supposed to be there, but we were either too early or too late because I didn't see them. I did however drink their George Washington porter which is quite good. We did not spend much time here as it was a weeknight we were getting tired.

What fun and excitement await on Thursday and Friday?? Even I can't answer that question.

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