Hello, Central PA!
If you haven't sampled the beer (or the excellent food) at the Gamble Mill Inn in Bellefonte since Mike Smith took up residence, if you haven't gotten your signed copy of Pennsylvania Breweries or Going Local yet...this Sunday is your chance!
Ken Hull and I will be doing a team booksigning event there Sunday afternoon from 2 to 4:30. Ken's the author of Going Local and Going Local 2, two guide books to the best in central PA's independent eateries (and drinkeries). They're excellent, very useful, and Ken's writing style is a hoot to read: quite personal, real "looking over his shoulder" kind of stuff. I've done a book signing with him before, at Appalachian Brewing, and we had a great time.
Come on out to see us; it's Sunday afternoon, it's not like you've got anything pressing, right? I will be leaving at 4:30; got to get down to Otto's for a sold-out Pub Club bourbon and beer dinner, so come early and join us for a beer!
Showing posts with label Pennsylvania Breweries. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pennsylvania Breweries. Show all posts
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Mudhook Brewing hopes to beat The York Curse
York, Pennsylvania has had several microbreweries. There was York Brewing -- failed -- and Freedom Brewing -- failed -- and the Brick Oven brewpub -- failed -- and several breweries that were planned, discussed, and trumpeted...and never opened. York County hasn't done much better; we're still waiting on Hanover Brewing. We talk about The Curse: opening a brewery in York just doesn't seem to work.
Two days ago, on Tuesday, Jeff Lau took his shot: Mudhook Brewing opened (at 34 N Cherry Lane, York), as reported here. Sounds like opening night was a success. To officially beat The Curse (and by "officially," I mean in my eyes...), Mudhook will have to still be in operation in January of 2013. Best of luck, Jeff and company!
Two days ago, on Tuesday, Jeff Lau took his shot: Mudhook Brewing opened (at 34 N Cherry Lane, York), as reported here. Sounds like opening night was a success. To officially beat The Curse (and by "officially," I mean in my eyes...), Mudhook will have to still be in operation in January of 2013. Best of luck, Jeff and company!
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Tonight in the Lehigh Valley: Session Beer!
I'm joining Eddie Stoudt (yeah, that Eddie Stoudt) tonight at The Pickled Egg in Easton (and I gotta say: cannot think of a better name for a Pennsylvania Dutch area beer bar) for an evening of session beer. I'll be talking about this near and dear subject and signing copies of Pennsylvania Breweries, Eddie will have a fresh firkin pouring (I assume of Karnival Kölsch, but I'm not sure), and proceeds from the firkin will be donated by barowner Laz Melan to the Boys and Girls Club of Easton. Good cause, good times, good beer! Get more details here; hope to see you tonight, 7-10!
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Upstate Beer Run 2011
Scoats and I did our annual "Upstate Beer Run" yesterday, as folks who follow either of us on Twitter might already know (check #pabeerrun). This is for our event at the Grey Lodge Pub on Sunday, June 5th, 7-9 PM*, when we'll put seven kegs of rarely/never-seen Pennsylvania beers on at the Grey Lodge, and regale you with our tales of the great places to find beer in the busiest brewing area in Pennsylvania: the curve from State College to Wilke-Barre that I call The Appalachian Front in Pennsylvania Breweries 4. Things are popping along here, and two of the beers come from breweries that have been open for less than six months.
We made the run yesterday, and it was quite productive. Scoats showed up in Langhorne at 7:30, we jumped in the Jetta and took off down the Turnpike. Just about the time I was feeling the need for a bit more caffeine, I saw a sign that the totally re-built rest stop at Lawn (just east of Harrisburg) was re-opening that day! How exciting! A rest stop grand opening! We were shocked to find neither flags nor brass bands, but I did park the Jetta in one of the new low-emissions vehicle slots...how silly.
Onward! Up the river, past the Susquehanna Statue of Liberty, through the narrows, and then through State College because of a detour, and finally to Otto's. We were greeted in the parking lot by owners Charlie Schnable and Roger Garthwaite, and by my good friend (and Malt Advocate copy editor) Sam Komlenic. (Unfortunately, brewer Chris Brugger was not there...thwarting my intention to greet him with greetings from a substantial number of Philadelphians.) Charlie showed us an impressively stocked coldbox, told us of plans for expansion (a new bottling line, more tanks, actual larger building) and of how the beer's selling in State College and beyond -- well-deserved success. We picked up a sixtel of Double D and hit the road.
Next on the agenda was Elk Creek, but...we had some extra time, so we slipped up to Bellefonte to visit Mike Smith at Gamble Mill Tavern. The bar wasn't open, but the hostess cheerfully located Mike, and we were soon sampling his beers. The first, HB48 Session Ale, was a hit: light but flavorful, quite nicely done. We had the Lame Devil Farmhouse (great body, a middleweight saison, with a nice peppery note), J. Rose Pale (nice, maybe a bit on the light side), Monte Weizen (not overly-clovey, well-done), Bush House Brown (good but...I'm just not big on brown ales), and Pig Iron IPA (solid stuff, great hop flavor and aroma). All beers were clean, pretty much flawless, and the place was quite cool. Nice to have somewhere to go for beer in Bellefonte again!
We were now late (and it's clearly Mike's fault, you know...), so we scooted down to Elk Creek. Loved the run, new roads for me, and some great PA scenery. Elk Creek wasn't open, but brewer Tim Yarrington knew we were coming and we met him out back at the brewhouse. We talked about how he was seeing the same thing as Otto's: everyone in the area wants Elk Creek beer, even the Millheim Hotel four doors down, even the firehall across the street. There are places around here, he said (and for the record, "around here" is mighty damned pleasant, but definitely in the sticks), that are putting an impressive small selection of craft on tap, mostly focused on local stuff. He's even hooked up with a wholesaler to get beer into the Wyoming Valley, which blew my mind. We grabbed a sixtel of Poe Paddy Porter, had a sample of Tim's MFA Ale ("F*** style!" he told us he said when he formulated this one, and a tip for brewers: the "MF" in the name stands for what you might think, and Tim reports that beers with profanity in the name sell like...a MF'er), which was brown, hoppy, a little bit of biscuit, and kickass refreshing. ON the road again!
We zipped over the hills, remarked on the quaint beauty of Mifflinburg, crawled through Lewisburg, and slid into Danville to have lunch -- and naturally pick up a keg -- at Old Forge Brewing. I finally met long-time reader Rev. Bob Van Deusen at the bar, too: a real pleasure to meet you, Bob! We also met Tim Egan (the fellow with the awesome moustache in the picture to the left) for whom the beer we picked up -- Loadmaster ESB -- was named; similarly a pleasure, Tim was a good guy to talk beer with. So was our host, Damien, and lunch was excellent (jalapeno soft pretzel, brewer's chili, and the chicken-apple quesadilla for me, Scoats had a turkey cheese sandwich he tore into). I got alt and kölsch, and while the alt was as good as always, the kölsch was a bit sulfury and a bit sharp; Damien said he'd tried a different fermentation regime on this batch...and was going back to his old one. Thus we learn! His new production facility -- a few-score yards away -- is sitting ready for construction to begin, waiting only on -- stop me if you've heard this before -- PLCB paperwork approval. With luck, they hope to be brewing by -- I think he said -- September. More beer in this hottest of PA beer areas.
Off we went, to another brand-new place, Marley's in Bloomsburg. We sampled Mark Braunwarth's dunkelweizen and Belgian Pale, and decided that while both were good, the dunkelweizen was a style we didn't see enough of, and loaded a half into the back of the Jetta. We toured the brewery -- whew, is it hot down there in the basement! -- and got a tank-sample of his upcoming chocolate stout (real cocoa, and it tasted chocolatey indeed). Marley's is rolling, and I've heard good things from several friends about it.
We were rolling too, the short run to Berwick Brewing. Always a pleasure to stop in, but we'd screwed things up by being so late (I'd actually planned to be there about noon, but turned the trip around by starting at Otto's; it was now just before 5!), and it wasn't clear what kegs were spoken for. Tom Clark was going to be back in about 20 minutes, but...we'd hosed ourselves, and had to get moving. We made our apologies and rolled on.
Traffic was getting a little thick, but only in Shickshinny (happy 150th anniversary!), and as we crossed the bridge into Nanticoke, we were catching up to schedule a bit. Minerva, my long-suffering and well-abused GPS, was leading us to Marty's Blue Room and Benny Brew, and the more turns we took, the less-likely it seemed...but she was dead on the money. Nice small-town bar with what looked like a great menu, and the nanobrewery you see in the picture to the right. Benny -- Ben Schonfeld -- and his dad Jim ("Marty" was the former owner) showed us the brewery and we tasted the Amber Lager (juicy and malty), Wit (I'm witted-out right now, but this was still quite good), Summer Ale (light and hoppy, pretty nice too), and Hopenstein IPA (good, though a bit too sweet: Benny said it was lacking the usual dry-hopping -- there was a long, involved, and at times amusing story to go with that -- which usually balanced out that sweet, and he was planning to go back to that). Our general impression: for a one-man operation in a bar on a half-barrel system, these were pretty damned good beers, and clean as a whistle. Nice work!
Whew. One more stop, and a relaxed one: Breaker Brewing. Chris and Mark are like old buddies now, and we just rolled up, settled in, and all grabbed glasses of Lunchbucket Pale. Mighty nice, too. I'm very appreciative of a good pale ale lately. They're days away from setting on a new place, and it's a huge step up: acres of land, a solid brick production building, and...lots of parking. For the planned pub. Really. It's the former St. Joseph's Monastery -- again, really -- in nearby Georgetown (not far from Krugel's Deli). According to the guys, the Church is real touchy about breweries in churches after the Church Brew Works -- apparently, the diocese didn't take enough out of there, and it looks too...churchy, which is a source of embarrassment. They're taking out the altar, the stained glass, even requiring that the steeple be removed (or maybe just the cross on top of the steeple, they seemed unsure). Well, okay. But when the diocese is closing about 100 churches (according to Mark), it seems like they might have other things to be worried about. Anyway, they have their zoning variance, they're close to having the property, and then...well, then things get crazy. Looking forward to this, because I know I'm far from the only person who's said, over and over and over, that the Wyoming Valley needs a proper, well-run brewpub. These are the guys to do it.
We picked up our last sixtel -- Goldies Summer, their usual blonde with an addition of citrus peel and coriander, light and refreshing -- and headed down the PA TP Extension to home with a butt-load of great, small-brewery beer. See you on June 5th!
* I've got three PBW events with Scoats:
We made the run yesterday, and it was quite productive. Scoats showed up in Langhorne at 7:30, we jumped in the Jetta and took off down the Turnpike. Just about the time I was feeling the need for a bit more caffeine, I saw a sign that the totally re-built rest stop at Lawn (just east of Harrisburg) was re-opening that day! How exciting! A rest stop grand opening! We were shocked to find neither flags nor brass bands, but I did park the Jetta in one of the new low-emissions vehicle slots...how silly.
Onward! Up the river, past the Susquehanna Statue of Liberty, through the narrows, and then through State College because of a detour, and finally to Otto's. We were greeted in the parking lot by owners Charlie Schnable and Roger Garthwaite, and by my good friend (and Malt Advocate copy editor) Sam Komlenic. (Unfortunately, brewer Chris Brugger was not there...thwarting my intention to greet him with greetings from a substantial number of Philadelphians.) Charlie showed us an impressively stocked coldbox, told us of plans for expansion (a new bottling line, more tanks, actual larger building) and of how the beer's selling in State College and beyond -- well-deserved success. We picked up a sixtel of Double D and hit the road.
Next on the agenda was Elk Creek, but...we had some extra time, so we slipped up to Bellefonte to visit Mike Smith at Gamble Mill Tavern. The bar wasn't open, but the hostess cheerfully located Mike, and we were soon sampling his beers. The first, HB48 Session Ale, was a hit: light but flavorful, quite nicely done. We had the Lame Devil Farmhouse (great body, a middleweight saison, with a nice peppery note), J. Rose Pale (nice, maybe a bit on the light side), Monte Weizen (not overly-clovey, well-done), Bush House Brown (good but...I'm just not big on brown ales), and Pig Iron IPA (solid stuff, great hop flavor and aroma). All beers were clean, pretty much flawless, and the place was quite cool. Nice to have somewhere to go for beer in Bellefonte again!
We were now late (and it's clearly Mike's fault, you know...), so we scooted down to Elk Creek. Loved the run, new roads for me, and some great PA scenery. Elk Creek wasn't open, but brewer Tim Yarrington knew we were coming and we met him out back at the brewhouse. We talked about how he was seeing the same thing as Otto's: everyone in the area wants Elk Creek beer, even the Millheim Hotel four doors down, even the firehall across the street. There are places around here, he said (and for the record, "around here" is mighty damned pleasant, but definitely in the sticks), that are putting an impressive small selection of craft on tap, mostly focused on local stuff. He's even hooked up with a wholesaler to get beer into the Wyoming Valley, which blew my mind. We grabbed a sixtel of Poe Paddy Porter, had a sample of Tim's MFA Ale ("F*** style!" he told us he said when he formulated this one, and a tip for brewers: the "MF" in the name stands for what you might think, and Tim reports that beers with profanity in the name sell like...a MF'er), which was brown, hoppy, a little bit of biscuit, and kickass refreshing. ON the road again!
Off we went, to another brand-new place, Marley's in Bloomsburg. We sampled Mark Braunwarth's dunkelweizen and Belgian Pale, and decided that while both were good, the dunkelweizen was a style we didn't see enough of, and loaded a half into the back of the Jetta. We toured the brewery -- whew, is it hot down there in the basement! -- and got a tank-sample of his upcoming chocolate stout (real cocoa, and it tasted chocolatey indeed). Marley's is rolling, and I've heard good things from several friends about it.
We were rolling too, the short run to Berwick Brewing. Always a pleasure to stop in, but we'd screwed things up by being so late (I'd actually planned to be there about noon, but turned the trip around by starting at Otto's; it was now just before 5!), and it wasn't clear what kegs were spoken for. Tom Clark was going to be back in about 20 minutes, but...we'd hosed ourselves, and had to get moving. We made our apologies and rolled on.
Traffic was getting a little thick, but only in Shickshinny (happy 150th anniversary!), and as we crossed the bridge into Nanticoke, we were catching up to schedule a bit. Minerva, my long-suffering and well-abused GPS, was leading us to Marty's Blue Room and Benny Brew, and the more turns we took, the less-likely it seemed...but she was dead on the money. Nice small-town bar with what looked like a great menu, and the nanobrewery you see in the picture to the right. Benny -- Ben Schonfeld -- and his dad Jim ("Marty" was the former owner) showed us the brewery and we tasted the Amber Lager (juicy and malty), Wit (I'm witted-out right now, but this was still quite good), Summer Ale (light and hoppy, pretty nice too), and Hopenstein IPA (good, though a bit too sweet: Benny said it was lacking the usual dry-hopping -- there was a long, involved, and at times amusing story to go with that -- which usually balanced out that sweet, and he was planning to go back to that). Our general impression: for a one-man operation in a bar on a half-barrel system, these were pretty damned good beers, and clean as a whistle. Nice work!Whew. One more stop, and a relaxed one: Breaker Brewing. Chris and Mark are like old buddies now, and we just rolled up, settled in, and all grabbed glasses of Lunchbucket Pale. Mighty nice, too. I'm very appreciative of a good pale ale lately. They're days away from setting on a new place, and it's a huge step up: acres of land, a solid brick production building, and...lots of parking. For the planned pub. Really. It's the former St. Joseph's Monastery -- again, really -- in nearby Georgetown (not far from Krugel's Deli). According to the guys, the Church is real touchy about breweries in churches after the Church Brew Works -- apparently, the diocese didn't take enough out of there, and it looks too...churchy, which is a source of embarrassment. They're taking out the altar, the stained glass, even requiring that the steeple be removed (or maybe just the cross on top of the steeple, they seemed unsure). Well, okay. But when the diocese is closing about 100 churches (according to Mark), it seems like they might have other things to be worried about. Anyway, they have their zoning variance, they're close to having the property, and then...well, then things get crazy. Looking forward to this, because I know I'm far from the only person who's said, over and over and over, that the Wyoming Valley needs a proper, well-run brewpub. These are the guys to do it.
We picked up our last sixtel -- Goldies Summer, their usual blonde with an addition of citrus peel and coriander, light and refreshing -- and headed down the PA TP Extension to home with a butt-load of great, small-brewery beer. See you on June 5th!
* I've got three PBW events with Scoats:
- The Wheat Beer Brunch is at HopAngel this year, Saturday June 4th, from 10-2, supplying you with all of those wonderful breakfast beers made with wheat, and beer-soaked breakfast/brunch food.
- The Upstate Beer Run event is at the Grey Lodge, Sunday, June 5th, 7-9 PM.
- And on Tuesday, June 7th, 7-10 back at HopAngel, we're doing the Smoked Stuff Dinner, a dinner with ALL smoked beers and at least one smoked food in each course. With the great smoked stuff right across the street at Rieker's, and the great local smoked beers...how can we lose?
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
My first event in Lebanon County
Happily, this did not deter Mike McDonald at the Blue Bird Inn (not two miles away from the Quentin, in Cornwall) from reaching out to me recently about doing an event at his place (I'm pretty sure someone I met at a book signing said something to him; I vaguely remember someone saying "You should go to the Blue Bird Inn!" at a signing, and me giving them a card). We talked, I shuffled my signing schedule a bit, and we set up an event.
I'll be at the Blue Bird on May 21st, from 7 to 9, signing books and checking out their beer selection. If you're in the area, why not stop by and see what Lebanon's doing about joining the Craft Beer Revolution?!
Saturday, February 26, 2011
PA Beers A-plenty at Devil's Den tomorrow!
Here's what's on tap at tomorrow's PA Breweries signing tomorrow at Devil's Den in Philly (yes, we'll have books for sale, too!):
Draft List
· Beer Engine - Victory Uncle Teddy's Bitter - Bitter
· Philly Brewing Shackamaximum - Imperial Stout
· Lancaster Strawberry Wheat - Fruit Wheat
· Brew Works Hop'solutely - Triple IPA
· Bavarian Barbarian Square Feet Wheat - Dunkel Weisse
· Nitro - Voodoo Cowbell - Imperial Oatmeal Milk Stout
· Roy Pitz Lay Down Stay Down - Belgian Strong Ale
· Erie Brewing Railbender - Scottish Ale
· Yard's Philly Pale Ale - Pale Ale
· Troegs' Troegenator - Doppelbock
· Weyerbacher Verboten - Belgian Pale Ale
· Sly Fox Helles Golden Lager - Helles Lager
· Penn Pilsner - Vienna Lager
· Copper Crow Raspberry Meade - Fruit Meade
· Stoudt's Scarlet Lady - ESB
· Prism Bitto Honey - IPA
· Boxcar Brown - Brown Ale
These really are some of my faves. See you there, 12:30 to 3:00!
Draft List
· Beer Engine - Victory Uncle Teddy's Bitter - Bitter
· Philly Brewing Shackamaximum - Imperial Stout
· Lancaster Strawberry Wheat - Fruit Wheat
· Brew Works Hop'solutely - Triple IPA
· Bavarian Barbarian Square Feet Wheat - Dunkel Weisse
· Nitro - Voodoo Cowbell - Imperial Oatmeal Milk Stout
· Roy Pitz Lay Down Stay Down - Belgian Strong Ale
· Erie Brewing Railbender - Scottish Ale
· Yard's Philly Pale Ale - Pale Ale
· Troegs' Troegenator - Doppelbock
· Weyerbacher Verboten - Belgian Pale Ale
· Sly Fox Helles Golden Lager - Helles Lager
· Penn Pilsner - Vienna Lager
· Copper Crow Raspberry Meade - Fruit Meade
· Stoudt's Scarlet Lady - ESB
· Prism Bitto Honey - IPA
· Boxcar Brown - Brown Ale
These really are some of my faves. See you there, 12:30 to 3:00!
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Signings: Yards tomorrow, JoBoy's and Devil's Den next week
Not-so-subtle reminders: I'll be signing copies of Pennsylvania Breweries (no need to purchase ahead of time; copies will be available for sale at all events for $20, cash-only) at three events in the next 10 days.
- TOMORROW, February 18, I'm at Yards Brewing, from 5-7 in their slick tasting space. If you haven't been, or if you have, great excuse to kick off your Friday night at a brewery. Hey, I'm doing it!
- NEXT SATURDAY, February 26, I'll be at JoBoy's Brew Pub in Manheim, from 2-5 (or longer; I'll be dipped if I'm leaving without getting some of their fine, fine eats for dinner). Come on out, Lancaster, Reading, Harrisburg, Palmyra, Lebanon, Hershey...get some beer, BBQ, and books!
- AND NEXT SUNDAY, February 27, I'll be joining you for brunch at Devil's Den, from about 12:45 (I'm heading down right after singing 10:30 mass) to 3...or maybe later, just because.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Another new brewpub opens in PA's hot corridor
I've been telling people for the past three years that the hottest brewing area in PA is the arc from State College to the Wyoming Valley along the Appalachian ridges -- Otto's, Elk Creek, Bullfrog, River House, Bavarian Barbarian, Old Forge, Berwick, Breaker, and more to come, like Marley's in Bloomsburg, which opens Thursday! -- and another brewpub just opened this week: Yorkholo Brewing in Mansfield (19 N. Main St., 570-662-2920). It's pronounced "york hollow," from the name of brewer Jarrod York's grandfather's local dairy farm; according to the website, there were restrictions on the number of letters in naming a farm back in the day...well, whatever: it's not "[insert town here] Brewing Company", at least! York did the American Brewers Guild program and interned at Ithaca Brewing, so he should know what he's doing.
I'll be honest: I just found out about Yorkholo today, and they just opened Monday (and started legally selling beer today!). So I don't have much else to tell you. Just thought you'd be interested in a new brewery. I'll be visiting at my first opportunity. Congratulations to York and partner Ashley Rodgers!
I'll be honest: I just found out about Yorkholo today, and they just opened Monday (and started legally selling beer today!). So I don't have much else to tell you. Just thought you'd be interested in a new brewery. I'll be visiting at my first opportunity. Congratulations to York and partner Ashley Rodgers!
Thursday, February 3, 2011
And another thing...I'm signing books at Yards on 2/18
I haven't done many PA Breweries 4 events in Philly yet. So I'm doing one at Yards. Here's what we wrote for the event...which is really just me showing up at 5 PM on Friday the 18th, hanging out at the bar and talking beer and signing books:There are 75 breweries in Pennsylvania. One of them is in a fish market; one is in a former county morgue; two are in old barns; one is in a train station; and one is in a suburban garage. The two largest American-owned breweries both have their main breweries in Pennsylvania, and they're less than 40 miles apart. Didja know all that?
Lew Bryson does, and if you read his new book, Pennsylvania Breweries 4th edition, you will too, and a lot more. It has reviews of over 220 of the state's best bars, suggestions for stops on your beer travel in the state, and stories of the breweries and brewers* that make Pennsylvania one of the best places in the country -- the world! -- for the beer traveler.
Yards is one of those breweries. It is in Philadelphia, and they will be hosting Lew for a book signing. Stop by, say hi and get a free beer if you purchase a copy of his book. It's a must have!
*Yeah, this story is in there too. Come on out and see where it happened. Oh, and...I've got another event coming up in Philly, too: brunch at Devil's Den on February 27th, 1:00. More on that soon.
That Reading signing event next Tuesday...looking good
Got a preliminary tap list for the book signing I'm doing next week at Canal Street Pub in Reading (and it is going to be good to get back to the place; gorgeous, if you've never been). It's looking pretty damned good!
Yuengling Lord Chesterfield
Sly Fox Dunkel Lager
Troeg's Nugget Nectar (had it yet this year?)
Voodoo Cowbell Imperial Oatmeal Milk Stout (yeah, it's all in there)
Stoudt's Pumpkin Fest (really? Damn, I missed that one)
Bavarian Barbarian Headbangerz
Lancaster Baltic Porter
Weyerbacher Quad (gotta have one!)
Victory Prima Pils
Erie Ol' Red Cease and Desist 2009 (very nice)
And maybe Spring House Atomic Raygun, too, if a tap opens up in time.
How 'bout dat?! So...I'll see you next Tuesday. I'll have books.
Yuengling Lord Chesterfield
Sly Fox Dunkel Lager
Troeg's Nugget Nectar (had it yet this year?)
Voodoo Cowbell Imperial Oatmeal Milk Stout (yeah, it's all in there)
Stoudt's Pumpkin Fest (really? Damn, I missed that one)
Bavarian Barbarian Headbangerz
Lancaster Baltic Porter
Weyerbacher Quad (gotta have one!)
Victory Prima Pils
Erie Ol' Red Cease and Desist 2009 (very nice)
And maybe Spring House Atomic Raygun, too, if a tap opens up in time.
How 'bout dat?! So...I'll see you next Tuesday. I'll have books.
Monday, January 31, 2011
PA Breweries 4 heads to Reading!
After 7 PM, I'll be talking to the Berks County Homebrew Club there at the pub; it's their monthly meeting, and a great opportunity to stop in and find out more about homebrewing (and Pennsylvania brewing!).
Hope to see you in Reading next week.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Just In Time For Christmas!
My last Pennsylvania Breweries book tour of the season is set! I'm calling it the "Just In Time For Christmas" tour, and it's going to take me up the Susquehanna into the heart of central Pennsylvania, the hottest spot in Pennsylvania brewing right now. Here's some holiday shopping advice you'll appreciate: if you want to get a copy of the latest Pennsylvania Breweries for your favorite beer drinkers, put it off to the last minute, along with some of your other shopping, and take this opportunity to get a signed copy, a good beer, and some very cool local shopping.
We start on December 18th at noon to 2:15 at Elk Creek Cafe and Ale Works in Millheim. If you haven't been to Elk Creek yet, you're missing a great experience in local food and drink, in a sweet little town in the middle of the beautiful Penns Valley. Stop in for a beer, a book, and a bite to eat, check out the brewpub merch (glasses, shirts, the usual, only cooler) AND the other stuff they sell, like Tait Farms fruit shrubs (a deliciously tart fruit addition to sparkling water) and Ken Hull's book going LOCAL! Shopping? Check out Penns Valley Jewelry and Cottage Rose Interiors (both at 110 E. St.). A bit unorthodox for Christmas shopping, but...a favorite stop of mine in Millheim is Penns Valley Meat Market (112 East Main Street); not much to look at, but their house-cured meats -- jerky, smoked and fresh sausage, hams -- are delicious and reasonable (fresh-roasted peanuts, too). A little farther (and I do mean a little) is Aaronsburg Pottery where you can get some of Scot Paterson's beautiful and functional stoneware.
Next stop: Old Forge Brewing in Danville, where I'll be signing books from 3:30 to 5:30. Old Forge really takes you back to the good old days of the first brewpubs: small brewery shoehorned into the front of the bar, little kitchen cranking out great locally-sourced foods (don't miss the soft pretzels; to groan for), funky decor (check out the hand-done mugs; you'll want to move to Danville so you can join the club!), and delish beer: Damien's alt is exquisitely accurate.
And yes, there's great local shopping here, too. You'll want to get to City Girl Bakery Market (252 Mill St.) before the signing; they close at 3, and it would be a shame to miss their fresh-baked sourdough breads (they bake for Old Forge, too), croissants, and pastries; you can pick up a pound of Counter Culture fair trade coffee for your favorite java-lover's stocking, too (I stop here every time I'm in town; real nice people).
Got kids? Get them happy before stopping at the brewpub: Santa Claus and his reindeer will be downtown, next to the Boro Hall/Municipal Building, from noon to 3 pm. Right beside Old Forge is T and J Train Junction (290 Mill Street), where they have a great selection of model railroad equipment, including a small operating layout; a fun place to browse with your kids. They're part of Collectibles Unlimited, right next door, fun stuff there, too. There is a really nice gift/retail shop called Lemon A'peel (298 Mill St), and Beiter's Department Store (255 Mill St.), which is like an old five and dime but nicer. Want some clothes for your spouse or the kids? Try D's Clothier (226 Mill St) and the Kiddie Korner (335 Mill St.).
Long day, but it's not over yet: I'll be hanging out at Bavarian Barbarian in Williamsport with owner/brewer Mike Hiller from 7 to 9 Saturday night. Come on over, join us for a couple beers, get your book signed, and relax: either after a long day of shopping or before you go out for the night.
Sunday is only one stop, but it's a doozey: I'll be at the Jazz Brunch at the Bullfrog Brewery from noon to 4, a swinging good time with live jazz, great brunch chow for a lazy Sunday, and Terry Hawbaker's wild selection of beers. The shopping's a bit sparse on Sunday, but it's hardly non-existent: again, Bullfrog's got some great merch, and there's the Otto Bookstore (107 W. 4th), a family-owned independent bookstore since 1841, one of the five oldest booksellers in the country. When you're done browsing, if you still have room, check out one of my faves in town, Franco's Lounge (12 W. 4th), for an excellent dinner -- and if you don't have room, stop in for a beer and pick up some jars of their excellent house-made red sauce (I think they have other stuff as well, and their beer selection is a great excuse to find out if I'm right).
Monday, I'll be doing some reconnaissance in Bloomsburg and Lewisburg during the day; new brewpubs open and opening there! Monday evening though, I'm heading downriver to Appalachian Brewing in Harrisburg, where I'll be signing from 5 to 8 in their big, solid, beautiful brewpub (and probably sipping a glass of Broad Street Barleywine).
Tuesday means more recon, but it's also the winter solstice, and I hope you know what that means: the Selin's Grove 14th anniversary!I've been there before, and try to make it when I can; this is one of the days that should be on your Pennsylvania beer calendar every year, a real special night. I'll be there at 3 when they tap the firkin, and I'm staying till 9 PM...and that's the end of the tour. (Though I will be at Bethlehem Brew Works on December 23rd for lunch with the kids, andif you happen to catch me, I'm sure I'll have some books with me, if you really want to wait till the last minute!)
We start on December 18th at noon to 2:15 at Elk Creek Cafe and Ale Works in Millheim. If you haven't been to Elk Creek yet, you're missing a great experience in local food and drink, in a sweet little town in the middle of the beautiful Penns Valley. Stop in for a beer, a book, and a bite to eat, check out the brewpub merch (glasses, shirts, the usual, only cooler) AND the other stuff they sell, like Tait Farms fruit shrubs (a deliciously tart fruit addition to sparkling water) and Ken Hull's book going LOCAL! Shopping? Check out Penns Valley Jewelry and Cottage Rose Interiors (both at 110 E. St.). A bit unorthodox for Christmas shopping, but...a favorite stop of mine in Millheim is Penns Valley Meat Market (112 East Main Street); not much to look at, but their house-cured meats -- jerky, smoked and fresh sausage, hams -- are delicious and reasonable (fresh-roasted peanuts, too). A little farther (and I do mean a little) is Aaronsburg Pottery where you can get some of Scot Paterson's beautiful and functional stoneware.
Next stop: Old Forge Brewing in Danville, where I'll be signing books from 3:30 to 5:30. Old Forge really takes you back to the good old days of the first brewpubs: small brewery shoehorned into the front of the bar, little kitchen cranking out great locally-sourced foods (don't miss the soft pretzels; to groan for), funky decor (check out the hand-done mugs; you'll want to move to Danville so you can join the club!), and delish beer: Damien's alt is exquisitely accurate.
And yes, there's great local shopping here, too. You'll want to get to City Girl Bakery Market (252 Mill St.) before the signing; they close at 3, and it would be a shame to miss their fresh-baked sourdough breads (they bake for Old Forge, too), croissants, and pastries; you can pick up a pound of Counter Culture fair trade coffee for your favorite java-lover's stocking, too (I stop here every time I'm in town; real nice people).
Got kids? Get them happy before stopping at the brewpub: Santa Claus and his reindeer will be downtown, next to the Boro Hall/Municipal Building, from noon to 3 pm. Right beside Old Forge is T and J Train Junction (290 Mill Street), where they have a great selection of model railroad equipment, including a small operating layout; a fun place to browse with your kids. They're part of Collectibles Unlimited, right next door, fun stuff there, too. There is a really nice gift/retail shop called Lemon A'peel (298 Mill St), and Beiter's Department Store (255 Mill St.), which is like an old five and dime but nicer. Want some clothes for your spouse or the kids? Try D's Clothier (226 Mill St) and the Kiddie Korner (335 Mill St.).
Long day, but it's not over yet: I'll be hanging out at Bavarian Barbarian in Williamsport with owner/brewer Mike Hiller from 7 to 9 Saturday night. Come on over, join us for a couple beers, get your book signed, and relax: either after a long day of shopping or before you go out for the night.
Sunday is only one stop, but it's a doozey: I'll be at the Jazz Brunch at the Bullfrog Brewery from noon to 4, a swinging good time with live jazz, great brunch chow for a lazy Sunday, and Terry Hawbaker's wild selection of beers. The shopping's a bit sparse on Sunday, but it's hardly non-existent: again, Bullfrog's got some great merch, and there's the Otto Bookstore (107 W. 4th), a family-owned independent bookstore since 1841, one of the five oldest booksellers in the country. When you're done browsing, if you still have room, check out one of my faves in town, Franco's Lounge (12 W. 4th), for an excellent dinner -- and if you don't have room, stop in for a beer and pick up some jars of their excellent house-made red sauce (I think they have other stuff as well, and their beer selection is a great excuse to find out if I'm right).
Monday, I'll be doing some reconnaissance in Bloomsburg and Lewisburg during the day; new brewpubs open and opening there! Monday evening though, I'm heading downriver to Appalachian Brewing in Harrisburg, where I'll be signing from 5 to 8 in their big, solid, beautiful brewpub (and probably sipping a glass of Broad Street Barleywine).
Tuesday means more recon, but it's also the winter solstice, and I hope you know what that means: the Selin's Grove 14th anniversary!I've been there before, and try to make it when I can; this is one of the days that should be on your Pennsylvania beer calendar every year, a real special night. I'll be there at 3 when they tap the firkin, and I'm staying till 9 PM...and that's the end of the tour. (Though I will be at Bethlehem Brew Works on December 23rd for lunch with the kids, andif you happen to catch me, I'm sure I'll have some books with me, if you really want to wait till the last minute!)
Western PA, Day 2
Yes, I'm still here, just got really busy with book signing and family life.
To pick up where I left off... I got up the next day, Sunday, then went to get breakfast. Sigh. Cranberry Township is a lot of things, but there aren't a lot of independent diners around. So, oddly, despite having gone to grad school at CMU back in the 1980s, and having been back to Pittsburgh on an almost annual basis ever since, I went to an Eat'n Park for the first time ever. Hey, at least it's a locally-based chain, okay? And the blueberry pancakes were pretty good.
Back to the room, did a bit of work that was hanging fire, suited up for the day, and I headed into town. It was a gray, raw, rainy day, and when I found a spot by the loading docks at the Strip (just about across from Kaya), I was unloading books in the rain. But it was all worth it: I got into the Pittsburgh Public Market and was knocked out by the great selection of local merchants and shtuff. I hustled down to the far corner where Scott Smith has opened the truly ground-breaking East End Brewing Growler Shop, and dumped my stuff. More about the growler shop shortly -- it was lunchtime. I got a recommendation: "Go up there to Sito's, get the wrap, they put an assload of stuff in there." And they did, and it was awesomely good. I wanted to get that plug in there because it was one tasty sandwich thing.
So, the growler shop. The way Scott explained it, the inkling came from a 2006 inquiry he made with the PLCB on another topic, in which they happened to mention, unprompted, that he would have the same ability to fill and sell growlers at an off-site storage facility that he did at the brewery. Busy as hell just staying afloat at that time, he didn't really think anything of it, but three years later he started thinking about opportunities, and that came to the top. It sounded like the off-site "stores" PA wineries are allowed to have, and that would be great, to get a growler outlet in a more consumer-friendly area than his famously out-of-the-way brewery, a place with more retail traffic.
It would be, but there was a PLCB odyssey to go through first. (Stop me if you've heard that one before...) Scott started going through layers and layers of bureaucrats, all of whom seemed baffled by the idea of an interpretation of the Almighty Liquor Code that actually made things easy for the brewer. "You'll need a license for that," he kept hearing, but like Virgil in Dante's Inferno ("This has been willed where what is willed must be, and is not yours to question.") Scott brandished the letter, saying "But I have a ruling from the Board." Because it was a letter direct from the actual Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, not one of their lawyerminions, Scott won through, and has an off-site storage facility at the Pittsburgh Public Market: a lockable cooler with tap outlets next to a serving area with a ton of East End merch.
And let me tell you, they do a land office business. On a wet, cold Sunday, there were people lined up five-deep happily waiting to get growlers filled, sometimes six at a time. And quite a few of them were interested in books! It kept me pretty busy, and Scott kept me supplied with tasters (can't get enough of the Fat Gary brown ale), but all good things had to come to an end...I packed up, shook hands all round, and made for the door.
It was seriously raining now, and I had to make my to [two of the colleges in town] to pick up [four college students I happen to know]. Yeah, I'm covering up identities here, you'll soon see why. I took the kids to one of my favorite spots (and my late father's very favorite spot) in Pittsburgh: Max's Allegheny. It was hopping, the Steelers were at home that evening, and Max's runs a shuttle to the arena. They managed to stuff us into the basement, where I got me some hassenpfeffer and Kostritzer.
So, why I covered the identities: they filled me in on the Four Loko thang. Yes, everyone drank it (this was pre-ban by about two weeks); it was compact and easy to smuggle in under a jacket, and a can is four 'regular' beers. "Oh, it tastes awful," they freely admitted, but they were equally open about why they were drinking it: for effect. One of the colleges had a no-drinking policy on campus, even for students of legal age, and the effect, they told me, was that no one drank beer, because it was too bulky to smuggle in. Instead, it was 'handles' (1.75 liter bottles) of cheap liquor (rum seemed to be preferred), bags of weed, and Four Loko. Great policy! I tried to set them a good example by praising the taste and low alcohol content of my schwarzbier, but it's truly for naught, given the 21 LDA; Max's was clearly a better environment for drinking (and learning to drink) than a dorm where every drink was contraband, but what's logic in the face of dogma?
I took them back to their campuses, and considered just going to my hotel in Monroeville...but I had gotten a Facebook message from Steve Lander, a true alpha beer geek (and funny SOB to boot), that I should meet him at The Headkeeper in Greensburg. Well, I'd put Headkeeper's into the book on recommendation, so I felt duty-bound to check it out. Glad I went, though I wish I'd et a bit lighter at Max's: Steve was eating, and the food smelled fantastic. He'd been eating his way through the menu over a couple months and said it was almost all outstanding; this from a metro New York guy. The beer...well, no possible argument, the beer selection, draft and bottle, was exceptional. If I hadn't already had a couple, and had a 30 minute drive back to my room... But instead, I hung with Steve and talked geek for a while, and had a Schlenkerla Lager (always welcome), and finally did check into the Holiday Inn Express (I gotta start finding more non-chain motels...). And that was Sunday. Next day: breakfast with an old high school chum, lunch at Rivertowne, a visit to Full Pint (finally!), the Church, and Penn, and the big PA beer dinner at Bocktown... stay tuned.
(I'll get some pix up on this one as soon as my PC stops acting like Betty White; maybe I should try a Snickers...)
To pick up where I left off... I got up the next day, Sunday, then went to get breakfast. Sigh. Cranberry Township is a lot of things, but there aren't a lot of independent diners around. So, oddly, despite having gone to grad school at CMU back in the 1980s, and having been back to Pittsburgh on an almost annual basis ever since, I went to an Eat'n Park for the first time ever. Hey, at least it's a locally-based chain, okay? And the blueberry pancakes were pretty good.
Back to the room, did a bit of work that was hanging fire, suited up for the day, and I headed into town. It was a gray, raw, rainy day, and when I found a spot by the loading docks at the Strip (just about across from Kaya), I was unloading books in the rain. But it was all worth it: I got into the Pittsburgh Public Market and was knocked out by the great selection of local merchants and shtuff. I hustled down to the far corner where Scott Smith has opened the truly ground-breaking East End Brewing Growler Shop, and dumped my stuff. More about the growler shop shortly -- it was lunchtime. I got a recommendation: "Go up there to Sito's, get the wrap, they put an assload of stuff in there." And they did, and it was awesomely good. I wanted to get that plug in there because it was one tasty sandwich thing.
So, the growler shop. The way Scott explained it, the inkling came from a 2006 inquiry he made with the PLCB on another topic, in which they happened to mention, unprompted, that he would have the same ability to fill and sell growlers at an off-site storage facility that he did at the brewery. Busy as hell just staying afloat at that time, he didn't really think anything of it, but three years later he started thinking about opportunities, and that came to the top. It sounded like the off-site "stores" PA wineries are allowed to have, and that would be great, to get a growler outlet in a more consumer-friendly area than his famously out-of-the-way brewery, a place with more retail traffic.
It would be, but there was a PLCB odyssey to go through first. (Stop me if you've heard that one before...) Scott started going through layers and layers of bureaucrats, all of whom seemed baffled by the idea of an interpretation of the Almighty Liquor Code that actually made things easy for the brewer. "You'll need a license for that," he kept hearing, but like Virgil in Dante's Inferno ("This has been willed where what is willed must be, and is not yours to question.") Scott brandished the letter, saying "But I have a ruling from the Board." Because it was a letter direct from the actual Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, not one of their lawyerminions, Scott won through, and has an off-site storage facility at the Pittsburgh Public Market: a lockable cooler with tap outlets next to a serving area with a ton of East End merch.
And let me tell you, they do a land office business. On a wet, cold Sunday, there were people lined up five-deep happily waiting to get growlers filled, sometimes six at a time. And quite a few of them were interested in books! It kept me pretty busy, and Scott kept me supplied with tasters (can't get enough of the Fat Gary brown ale), but all good things had to come to an end...I packed up, shook hands all round, and made for the door.
It was seriously raining now, and I had to make my to [two of the colleges in town] to pick up [four college students I happen to know]. Yeah, I'm covering up identities here, you'll soon see why. I took the kids to one of my favorite spots (and my late father's very favorite spot) in Pittsburgh: Max's Allegheny. It was hopping, the Steelers were at home that evening, and Max's runs a shuttle to the arena. They managed to stuff us into the basement, where I got me some hassenpfeffer and Kostritzer.
So, why I covered the identities: they filled me in on the Four Loko thang. Yes, everyone drank it (this was pre-ban by about two weeks); it was compact and easy to smuggle in under a jacket, and a can is four 'regular' beers. "Oh, it tastes awful," they freely admitted, but they were equally open about why they were drinking it: for effect. One of the colleges had a no-drinking policy on campus, even for students of legal age, and the effect, they told me, was that no one drank beer, because it was too bulky to smuggle in. Instead, it was 'handles' (1.75 liter bottles) of cheap liquor (rum seemed to be preferred), bags of weed, and Four Loko. Great policy! I tried to set them a good example by praising the taste and low alcohol content of my schwarzbier, but it's truly for naught, given the 21 LDA; Max's was clearly a better environment for drinking (and learning to drink) than a dorm where every drink was contraband, but what's logic in the face of dogma?
I took them back to their campuses, and considered just going to my hotel in Monroeville...but I had gotten a Facebook message from Steve Lander, a true alpha beer geek (and funny SOB to boot), that I should meet him at The Headkeeper in Greensburg. Well, I'd put Headkeeper's into the book on recommendation, so I felt duty-bound to check it out. Glad I went, though I wish I'd et a bit lighter at Max's: Steve was eating, and the food smelled fantastic. He'd been eating his way through the menu over a couple months and said it was almost all outstanding; this from a metro New York guy. The beer...well, no possible argument, the beer selection, draft and bottle, was exceptional. If I hadn't already had a couple, and had a 30 minute drive back to my room... But instead, I hung with Steve and talked geek for a while, and had a Schlenkerla Lager (always welcome), and finally did check into the Holiday Inn Express (I gotta start finding more non-chain motels...). And that was Sunday. Next day: breakfast with an old high school chum, lunch at Rivertowne, a visit to Full Pint (finally!), the Church, and Penn, and the big PA beer dinner at Bocktown... stay tuned.
(I'll get some pix up on this one as soon as my PC stops acting like Betty White; maybe I should try a Snickers...)
Friday, November 19, 2010
Western PA just suits me fine
Just got back from a fantastic book signing, beer drinking, brewery touring, 'Burgh loving tour of western PA. It started quietly enough when I left home Friday afternoon, headed for Mechanicsburg to pick up more books at Stackpole for the trip...when I hit a pothole on an exit ramp and popped a tire. Damn! Unpack the Jetta to get at the spare, read the manual to see the jackpoints (first flat in this car), jack it, spin it, lower it, repack, wipe off hands, and get back on the road, 20 minutes behind. No worries, they're still there waiting, and I stuffed 200 copies of Pennsylvania Breweries in the back.
I was still early to meet bro-in-law Carl (in town for a conference), so I zipped over to Tröegs to pick up a quick Pale Ale while visiting hours were still open. Said hi to Chris Trogner and publicity mahoff Ed Yashinsky, and then ran off to pick up Carl. We were early for Cathy and Nora's arrival at Appalachian for dinner, so we headed to Bricco to suck up some dollar oysters (Blue Points, yummy) and some drafts ($6 for a 10 oz. Guinness? Really? (Yeah, really, I have the receipt.) You ought to warn a customer on a price like that, grumpy old bartender). Then we did go for dinner, and I got that awesome pulled pork again, and had a cask Trail Blaze Brown (not so hot, just kinda bland) and a Broad Street Barleywine (quite a different proposition: rippling-smooth strong malt beauty). Bye-bye to the girls...and I hijacked Carl to Carlisle. Seemed appropriate.
We went to Cafe Bruges, where I started with a Rochefort 8 (note the appropriate glass!) and Carl got a Bavik. The smell of Belgian waffles was about driving us crazy, one of quite a few good things about this place. The others? A very nice selection of Belgian beers for such a relatively small town, an authentic offering of Belgian foods, and the stuff actually coming out of the kitchen looked and smelled excellent. And the very enthusiastically-beer loving women at the end of the bar were kinda fun, too. After a while we went over to Market Cross, where I would have had the Excaliber imperial stout on cask (!!!), only we saw that this year's Sierra Nevada Celebration was on, so we grabbed a couple of those, chatted with the waitress (always a fun crew at Market Cross), and headed back to Harrisburg. Carl graciously had offered to let me sleep in his room to make the next morning's drive shorter.
Because I had to head out at 8:30 to make an 11 AM signing at Otto's. After a quick bowl of oatmeal, I rolled up the Susquehanna on a beautiful morning. As many folks would comment on this trip, I picked a great day to drive across the state: about 50 degrees, bright sunshine, blue skies, and the last of the fall foliage painting the ridges. I remembered there was a tire place up the hill from Otto's, and called ahead; yes, they could do me a new tire while I was signing books!
I dropped off the Jetta and co-owner Roger Garthwaite gave me the tour of the new, improved Otto's Pub and Brewery, down the hill in the old Quaker Steak building. It was fantastic (and so much nicer than the QSL set-up). The decor is largely high-rez reproductions of vintage beer art, like the Duquesne poster featured to the left, but there are many more that are just incredible. Did you know there was a brewery in Renovo, PA, for instance? (Guys, be sure to check out the F&S skater chick; she was deemed too racy for the front room!) You'll love this new place.
Beer was, unfortunately, a bit tight. I had plenty of Black Mo stout, for sure, but they had just brewed the last batches at the old site, and were going to be rigging out/in the brewhouse into the new one. There's a tightly calculated amount of beer to make the switch, and if anything hangs up, well...there will be guest beers, right? Because the NEW Otto's location comes with a full liquor license, so they can do that! (It also comes with Chris Brugger, late of Tröegs, who I unfortunately missed seeing, and he knows how to crank it out.) All will be well.
The signing got off to a bit of a slow start, but soon people were pouring in, including my main central PA man, Sam Komlenic, whiskey and beer enthusiast and copy editor for Malt Advocate. Sam brought friends, some of whom I knew by e-mail, like Bill Hiergeist, who's been feeding me info on booze goings-on in PA for years -- and it was great to finally meet you face-to-face, Bill! Eventually, it turned out to be one of my best events ever: 33 books signed, and they were literally chasing me in the parking lot to get one more book!
Finally hit the road for Slippery Rock with my new tire. More great scenery across the roof of the state along I-99 and I-80, then slid down into Slippery Rock...and couldn't find parking on the street at North Country. There were people lined up halfway up the block, waiting to get in!
They were not there for me. Duh. North Country does a slamming business, and an hour-and-a-half wait at 4:45 on a Saturday evening is standard for them. No wonder: the food and beer are great, the place is very cool, and it's pretty much the only game in town for miles around. I was just happy to get a small table in the front and sign another 11 books (especially the one for a family whose 11 year old son asked some very perceptive questions; kid's headed for journalism). 44 on the day: a top 10 day for Pennsylvania Breweries!
As you can see by the beer board, North Country doesn't follow the current craft beer trend of "bash 'em with big beers," nor do they slip under the radar with session beers. It's right at the 5-6% middle, and it sells like mad. I stuck to the cask Stonehouse Stout all night, and had a nice bowl of curried vegetable soup and a dinner salad. No, wait, I had the Simcoe Pale, also, and it was beautifully aromatic but not overly bitter: excellent pale ale.
I rang up a Priceline hotel room in Cranberry Township on the iPhone during a slow period, so when things were done, I rolled down I-79 and parked it. Got a little work done, and called it a long, successful day. Tomorrow: the East End Growler Shop, Max's Allegheny, and my vicarious encounter with Four Loko.
I was still early to meet bro-in-law Carl (in town for a conference), so I zipped over to Tröegs to pick up a quick Pale Ale while visiting hours were still open. Said hi to Chris Trogner and publicity mahoff Ed Yashinsky, and then ran off to pick up Carl. We were early for Cathy and Nora's arrival at Appalachian for dinner, so we headed to Bricco to suck up some dollar oysters (Blue Points, yummy) and some drafts ($6 for a 10 oz. Guinness? Really? (Yeah, really, I have the receipt.) You ought to warn a customer on a price like that, grumpy old bartender). Then we did go for dinner, and I got that awesome pulled pork again, and had a cask Trail Blaze Brown (not so hot, just kinda bland) and a Broad Street Barleywine (quite a different proposition: rippling-smooth strong malt beauty). Bye-bye to the girls...and I hijacked Carl to Carlisle. Seemed appropriate.
We went to Cafe Bruges, where I started with a Rochefort 8 (note the appropriate glass!) and Carl got a Bavik. The smell of Belgian waffles was about driving us crazy, one of quite a few good things about this place. The others? A very nice selection of Belgian beers for such a relatively small town, an authentic offering of Belgian foods, and the stuff actually coming out of the kitchen looked and smelled excellent. And the very enthusiastically-beer loving women at the end of the bar were kinda fun, too. After a while we went over to Market Cross, where I would have had the Excaliber imperial stout on cask (!!!), only we saw that this year's Sierra Nevada Celebration was on, so we grabbed a couple of those, chatted with the waitress (always a fun crew at Market Cross), and headed back to Harrisburg. Carl graciously had offered to let me sleep in his room to make the next morning's drive shorter.Because I had to head out at 8:30 to make an 11 AM signing at Otto's. After a quick bowl of oatmeal, I rolled up the Susquehanna on a beautiful morning. As many folks would comment on this trip, I picked a great day to drive across the state: about 50 degrees, bright sunshine, blue skies, and the last of the fall foliage painting the ridges. I remembered there was a tire place up the hill from Otto's, and called ahead; yes, they could do me a new tire while I was signing books!
Beer was, unfortunately, a bit tight. I had plenty of Black Mo stout, for sure, but they had just brewed the last batches at the old site, and were going to be rigging out/in the brewhouse into the new one. There's a tightly calculated amount of beer to make the switch, and if anything hangs up, well...there will be guest beers, right? Because the NEW Otto's location comes with a full liquor license, so they can do that! (It also comes with Chris Brugger, late of Tröegs, who I unfortunately missed seeing, and he knows how to crank it out.) All will be well.
The signing got off to a bit of a slow start, but soon people were pouring in, including my main central PA man, Sam Komlenic, whiskey and beer enthusiast and copy editor for Malt Advocate. Sam brought friends, some of whom I knew by e-mail, like Bill Hiergeist, who's been feeding me info on booze goings-on in PA for years -- and it was great to finally meet you face-to-face, Bill! Eventually, it turned out to be one of my best events ever: 33 books signed, and they were literally chasing me in the parking lot to get one more book!
Finally hit the road for Slippery Rock with my new tire. More great scenery across the roof of the state along I-99 and I-80, then slid down into Slippery Rock...and couldn't find parking on the street at North Country. There were people lined up halfway up the block, waiting to get in!
They were not there for me. Duh. North Country does a slamming business, and an hour-and-a-half wait at 4:45 on a Saturday evening is standard for them. No wonder: the food and beer are great, the place is very cool, and it's pretty much the only game in town for miles around. I was just happy to get a small table in the front and sign another 11 books (especially the one for a family whose 11 year old son asked some very perceptive questions; kid's headed for journalism). 44 on the day: a top 10 day for Pennsylvania Breweries!
As you can see by the beer board, North Country doesn't follow the current craft beer trend of "bash 'em with big beers," nor do they slip under the radar with session beers. It's right at the 5-6% middle, and it sells like mad. I stuck to the cask Stonehouse Stout all night, and had a nice bowl of curried vegetable soup and a dinner salad. No, wait, I had the Simcoe Pale, also, and it was beautifully aromatic but not overly bitter: excellent pale ale.
I rang up a Priceline hotel room in Cranberry Township on the iPhone during a slow period, so when things were done, I rolled down I-79 and parked it. Got a little work done, and called it a long, successful day. Tomorrow: the East End Growler Shop, Max's Allegheny, and my vicarious encounter with Four Loko.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Three more events...
After an amazingly successful western PA book tour, I'm back home. Here we go again...
Tonight, I'm at Dock Street Brewery from 7-9, signing Pennsylvania Breweries 4 and sampling some of their newest creation; no, not beer, it's bread...
Tomorrow, I'll be across the street from my alma mammie, Franklin & Marshall College, at Iron Hill Lancaster, offering this fine new book between the hours of 5 and 9 PM. I understand there will also be an Iron Hill Bottled Reserves Tasting (a chance to sample some of their decidedly bigger -- and excellent -- beers), raffles, and some F&M alumni stuff going on. More than just me and the book, in other words!
There's a third event on Saturday: I'll be at Classics Book Shop in Trenton, NJ (117 S. Warren St.) from noon to 2 PM. If you haven't been to this fine, independent bookstore, you should come on out. (It is also a short (<10 minutes) walk from Joe's Mill Hill Saloon. Just sayin'...)
Tonight, I'm at Dock Street Brewery from 7-9, signing Pennsylvania Breweries 4 and sampling some of their newest creation; no, not beer, it's bread...
Dock Street Brewery and Four Worlds Bakery collaborated to create a one-pound, triangular shaped potato rye bread. The bread is made with a blend of white wheat (66%), whole rye meal (33%), and potatoes. The bread is topped with a fermented batter of Dock Street Royal Bohemian Pilsner, salt, yeast and rye meal to create a soft and creamy inside and a robust grainy & hoppy crust.And you can try some during the book signing! How 'bout dat?
Tomorrow, I'll be across the street from my alma mammie, Franklin & Marshall College, at Iron Hill Lancaster, offering this fine new book between the hours of 5 and 9 PM. I understand there will also be an Iron Hill Bottled Reserves Tasting (a chance to sample some of their decidedly bigger -- and excellent -- beers), raffles, and some F&M alumni stuff going on. More than just me and the book, in other words!
There's a third event on Saturday: I'll be at Classics Book Shop in Trenton, NJ (117 S. Warren St.) from noon to 2 PM. If you haven't been to this fine, independent bookstore, you should come on out. (It is also a short (<10 minutes) walk from Joe's Mill Hill Saloon. Just sayin'...)
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Added stop in Wilkes-Barre
They just can't get enough of me in the Wyoming Valley...Krugel's Georgetown Deli just added an appearance by yours truly, this Thursday, Nov. 4th, from 3-5 PM! After strolling their beer-stuffed aisles and signing your books (come on, slip out of work an hour early!), I'll be running right over to the tasting room at The Lion brewery for our Big and Small Tasting with Breaker Brewing from 5-7; and if you still can't get enough of me and Pennsylvania Breweries, I'll be at the incredibly comfortable and down-home style Anthracite Cafe from 7:30 to 9:30...after which I'm going to get some sleep and get up the next day to hit it again!
We'll be talking all about it on Chip The Beer Guy's show on ROCK-107 Thursday morning, 8-9:30. Give a listen: Chip and I will be sampling the incredibly appropriate Philadelphia Brewing Pennsylvania Pale Ale and some brand-new samples of this year's Stegmaier Winter Warmer. Great way to start your day!
Friday, October 29, 2010
"When is this over?"
Cathy asked me that tonight when I pointed out that I had another Pennsylvania Breweries signing Sunday afternoon. I've got a lot coming up; let me get you up to date.
October 30, 4-6 PM: Sly Fox Book Signing with Andy Crouch at Sly Fox Phoenixville.
October 31 (Halloween), 1-4: I'll be at the Bulls Head (Lititz) cask ale festival.
November 3, 7-8:30 PM: We're doing a signing for the Spring City Library at the French Quarter Bistro, 213 Main St., Royersford (hey, no beer in the library, but we can have a couple at the Bistro!). Reservations suggested: 610-698-4130.
Then begins the NEPA Tour...
Thursday, November 4th
Friday, November 5th
Saturday, November 6th
Noon to 3 I'll be at Berwick Brewing, signing books in the best beer garden in NEPA!
There's another string starting November 11th, and I'll be heading for western PA on November 13th...but I'll be back to tell you about that. On the road again...
October 30, 4-6 PM: Sly Fox Book Signing with Andy Crouch at Sly Fox Phoenixville.October 31 (Halloween), 1-4: I'll be at the Bulls Head (Lititz) cask ale festival.
November 3, 7-8:30 PM: We're doing a signing for the Spring City Library at the French Quarter Bistro, 213 Main St., Royersford (hey, no beer in the library, but we can have a couple at the Bistro!). Reservations suggested: 610-698-4130.
Then begins the NEPA Tour...
Thursday, November 4th
- I'll be on Chip the Beer Guy's show on Rock 107, three times between 8:20 AM to 9:30 AM.
- Then I'll be at the Barnes & Noble at the Arena Hub in Wilkes Barre, 11 AM to 1 PM.
- I've got a couple hours to get some great NEPA grub, then I'll be hosting The Big and Small Tasting at the Lion Brewery tasting room, with beers from Lion and Breaker Brewing. Get it? Big and Small? We'll be there from 5:00 to 7:00 PM!
- Then we'll be relaxing at the Anthracite Cafe, one seriously comfy neighborhood tappie (7:30 to 9:30 PM).
Friday, November 5th- Early morning? Not likely. So the first event is Lunch with Lew, at Sabatini's Pizza, 11:30 to 1:30.
- I'll probably get some Sabatini's great take-out beer, then head for Elmer Sudds (3:00 to 5:00) to hang out in Wilkes-Barre's classic beer bar.
- After that, I'll be heading for the Berwick High football game that night, but I'll probably drop in at Krugel's Deli on the way out of town, just to say hi (and maybe sign some books).
- I'll be at Berwick Brewing after the game, but the official event is the next day...
Saturday, November 6th
Noon to 3 I'll be at Berwick Brewing, signing books in the best beer garden in NEPA!
There's another string starting November 11th, and I'll be heading for western PA on November 13th...but I'll be back to tell you about that. On the road again...
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
PA Beer Dinner at The Farmhouse TOMORROW night!
Sorry to get this out so late...I'm hosting a three-course Pennsylvania beer dinner at The Farmhouse in Emmaus, Penna. tomorrow night at 6:30. Here's the deal:
Lew Bryson brings his newest book to the Farmhouse, celebrating the beers of Pennsylvania on Thursday, October 21st. Join us at 6:30 for a three-course dinner, prepared by Chef Javan Small, expertly paired with Lew’s picks from his exploration of Pennsylvania’s finest offerings. Hosted by Lew Bryson. Books will be available for purchase and signing by the author. Make your reservation now: 610.967.6225
This is a significant evening for me, hosting an event at The Farmhouse. I participated in my first pro tasting there back in 1993, tasting a wide assortment of lambics with Ed and Carol Stoudt, Nick Funnel (then the brewer at Dock Street, now at Sweetwater Tavern in Virginia), Bill Moeller, and -- of course -- John Hansell, who I had just started working with at Malt Advocate. I would participate in a series of tastings there; they had one hell of a beer program for the early 1990s. And now...I'm back. Come join me!
Lew Bryson brings his newest book to the Farmhouse, celebrating the beers of Pennsylvania on Thursday, October 21st. Join us at 6:30 for a three-course dinner, prepared by Chef Javan Small, expertly paired with Lew’s picks from his exploration of Pennsylvania’s finest offerings. Hosted by Lew Bryson. Books will be available for purchase and signing by the author. Make your reservation now: 610.967.6225
Beer Dinner Menu
Grilled Salmon
Tomatillos, daikon relish and beurre blanc
Sly Fox Pilsner 4.9% abv
~~~~~~~
Farmhouse BLT
Painted Hills burger BLT on country white
Misery Bay IPA 6.5% abv
~~~~~~~~
Flourless Chocolate Cake
With butterscotch sauce
Weyerbacher Heresy 8.0% abv
Tomatillos, daikon relish and beurre blanc
Sly Fox Pilsner 4.9% abv
~~~~~~~
Farmhouse BLT
Painted Hills burger BLT on country white
Misery Bay IPA 6.5% abv
~~~~~~~~
Flourless Chocolate Cake
With butterscotch sauce
Weyerbacher Heresy 8.0% abv
This is a significant evening for me, hosting an event at The Farmhouse. I participated in my first pro tasting there back in 1993, tasting a wide assortment of lambics with Ed and Carol Stoudt, Nick Funnel (then the brewer at Dock Street, now at Sweetwater Tavern in Virginia), Bill Moeller, and -- of course -- John Hansell, who I had just started working with at Malt Advocate. I would participate in a series of tastings there; they had one hell of a beer program for the early 1990s. And now...I'm back. Come join me!
Monday, October 11, 2010
"...this state's very first brewery-operated Growler Shop."
Up until now...or rather, up until last Friday, when East End Brewing opened their Growler Shop at the Pittsburgh Public Market in the Strip. They're filling growlers Fridays 12-6, Saturdays 9-5, and Sundays 12-4, from four taps: three of the year-round beers -- Big Hop, Monkey Boy, Black Strap Stout, Fat Gary, or the Session series -- and a seasonal. There may be more taps coming in the future, but for now, it's just those four; no bottles, no kegs. They also have East End shtuff: caps, shirts, glasses, and yes, Black Strap cake mix (how about some more of that coffee?). (Yes, if you've seen this post before...that's a new picture, and that really is the Growler Shop; thanks to Douglas "Father Spoon" Derda of Should I Drink That? for the pic!)I like this idea. Local beer at the local market. What could be better? Well...local beer and your favorite beer writer at the local market! It looks like I'll be doing a signing at the Growler Shop on Sunday afternoon, November 14th. Hope to see you there!
Gamble Pays Off
I hate putting unopened breweries in my books. I've been burned in the past when brewers swore they were in great shape, 'Yeah, you bet, we're gonna open!", only to have the whole plan collapse in a heap, leaving a ghost entry in my nice new book. So I was apprehensive when I did up an entry for Gamble Mills, a restaurant in Bellefonte, Penn., that was adding a house brewery. I wasn't optimistic, but I did it because I have a weak spot for this beautiful little town.
My optimism is rewarded: According to the Centre Daily Times yesterday, Gamble Mills' beers are just about ready to start pouring. The only thing holding them up -- tell me if you're surprised -- is a "minor licensing issue" that they hope to have cleared up by this Friday. That's when brewer Mike Smith -- late of Dogfish Head and Ithaca Brewing -- hopes to open the taps on HB 48, a golden session-strength ale named for the bill the restaurant's owners (Dave Fonash and Paul Kendeffy) had to hire a lawyer to shepherd through the state legislature to overcome their other problem. According to the article, "An old Pennsylvania law prohibited existing restaurants from converting into breweries." News to me, but given the crap that fills The Almighty Liquor Code, I'm not surprised.
My optimism is rewarded: According to the Centre Daily Times yesterday, Gamble Mills' beers are just about ready to start pouring. The only thing holding them up -- tell me if you're surprised -- is a "minor licensing issue" that they hope to have cleared up by this Friday. That's when brewer Mike Smith -- late of Dogfish Head and Ithaca Brewing -- hopes to open the taps on HB 48, a golden session-strength ale named for the bill the restaurant's owners (Dave Fonash and Paul Kendeffy) had to hire a lawyer to shepherd through the state legislature to overcome their other problem. According to the article, "An old Pennsylvania law prohibited existing restaurants from converting into breweries." News to me, but given the crap that fills The Almighty Liquor Code, I'm not surprised.
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