Take a deep breath...

Whoever did this? Thank you. This was something that was needed. Because I suspect Tyl Eulenspiegl was a craft brewer, and his contributions were being overlooked.

Craft brewing has always been about fun, too. This brings that back.

"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

• 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...

An Idea That Doesn't Hold Water

What is the purpose of a beer glass?

First, I would submit, it is to hold beer and make it available to drink. Beer, that is, this stuff we enjoy, we write about, talk about, argue about, occasionally sing about, and make in huge lots -- even a small batch is about five gallons. A beer glass holds beer.

Second, it should be comfortable in the hand. A beer glass that is awkward to hold can lead to spilled beer, discomfort, and a subtle displeasure. It doesn't hurt if the glass also looks good, because that's more of that subtle pleasure/displeasure thing.

Third, I'd add, it should be relatively easy to clean -- glass cleanliness demonstrably makes beer taste better (or perhaps more accurately, uncleanliness demonstrably makes beer taste worse) -- reasonably sturdy -- I'd like to grip the glass and not worry about breaking it, which I have seen happen; not pretty -- and not wicked expensive.

Fourth? I hear a lot of fourth things about beer glasses. They should be "the right glass for the beer." Some beers, apparently, need a glass that opens up to release their aroma, while others need a glass that tapers in at the top to hold their more delicate aromas in. Some beers need thin walls to...well, I'm not real clear on that reason, though I do like a thin-walled glass, as long as I don't have to clean or replace them. Some beers need small glasses because they're high-alcohol -- I approve! -- and some deserve big glasses because they're lower in alcohol -- makes sense. And when I'm buying draft beer in unspecified amounts, I don't want to see "cheater" glasses with optically-deceptive thick walls and thick bottoms that look like glasses that hold more.

But...possibly the most common beer glass out there right now is the one on the left in the picture above, the ubiquitous Libbey shaker glass, known variously as a "shaker," a "shaker pint" (it's not a pint, and Libbey doesn't specify a volume), a "sleeve pint," or just a "pint glass." It's sturdy, it stacks well, it's cheap, and it leaves plenty of plain area for logo application. It cleans well, and yes, it's reasonably comfortable in the hand.

As you can probably guess, ubiquity has bred contempt*.The shaker glass is ugly, we're told, it's too thick, it 'cheats' the consumer because it's not really a pint, and beer just doesn't taste as good in it. Besides, the Belgians have different glasses for every beer, and the English have 20 oz. pints, and the Germans have...small glasses for kölsch!

'Ugly' is subjective. I find the stacked rows of shakers in my cupboard quite pretty, alternating up and down, colorful logos, and they fit. Some are thick, some are not (the thickest is a "Michelob Ales and Lagers" glass, but I'm not judging...).

The glass doesn't cheat the consumer: it's never been officially a 'pint glass,' we just call it that because we want to be like the English -- God help us -- and they have true pint glasses, with a fill line, because they actually care about what they're getting in a glass. If the bar advertises a "pint" and serves your beer in a shaker glass...well, you can either bitch about it, or you can realize that you saw the damned glasses before you ordered, and should have bitched then. (I bitched about the incredibly thick-walled/based and tapered shaker I got that you see to the right...and got nowhere. I didn't buy another, though, and haven't been back since, despite very good food.)

The beer doesn't taste as good? Please. The beer tastes at least as good, and if you're concentrating enough to think you notice a difference, you're a geek, so use any damned glass you want. We should have a different glass for every beer? Sure, and you'll pay for it when the ignoropulace starts stealing those cool-looking glasses. Shakers are so ubiquitous and cheap that they don't get stolen. Bonus.

I can be just as subjective as the next beer geeker. I love the willibecker glass (like the Harpoon IPA glass above). It's thin-walled, feels great in my hand, and the ones I have all have fill lines at either 0.5 or 0.3 liters. Good to go.

But I really love that Mönchshof mug of mine. It's stylish, it keeps the beer cold, it feels great in my hand, and makes an emphatic point when I pound it on the table. But mugs like it are rejected by so many beer cognoscenti. Too heavy, you can't see your beer, old-fashioned. To which I respond: so what? Too heavy? Give me a second, I'll make it lighter for ya. Can't see my beer? Shit, man, don't you know what it looks like by now? (Besides...it keeps the sunlight off your hops, eh?) And...old-fashioned? Damn right it is! So's beer!

Do you hate shaker glasses? Sweet. It's a big world, and your shaker-hating shows me it's a pretty good one: we've gotten past being pissed about frosted glasses, and dirty glasses, and chipped glasses, and a dearth of variety of beer to put in them, and we've progressed to getting pissy about which glass we're enjoying our beer from.That's great!

Time for a beer. Out of any damned glass you want.


*Andy, not picking on you in particular: there are plenty of shaker-haters out there. But I'm in a rush to get this finished, and yours was the first link that came up. When I get a moment, I'll add some links to Jeff Alworth and The Good Doctor Beaumont, who I know feel the same way you do. See you tomorrow.

You know how I feel about pumpkin beers...

I've made my feelings about pumpkin beers pretty damned clear:  "pumpkin beers mostly suck." But I also admitted that I liked some of them, and there are a couple I absolutely adore, like the amazing ShawneeCraft Pumpkin Saison. It's getting creative and crazy and genius..ish with pumpkin beers that I like. Which is why I'm telling you about this event at Hawthornes Beer Cafe that I'm gonna miss because I'll be in Pittsburgh signing books.

Join us for our 1st Annual Pumpkin Beer Dinner! 7-9 PM Sunday November 14th. We will be serving 4 savory courses paired beautifully with 4 different pumpkin beers. Southern Tier Pumking, Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin, River Horse Hipp-O-Lantern and Dogfish Head Punkin'.

Amuse Bouche: Pumpkin Seed Brittle w/ cranberry and mint
1st: Pan seared Pumpkin Gnocchi, shitake mushrooms, mascarpone pancetta sage butter, pumpkin seed pesto
2nd: Coconut Curry Pumpkin Bisque w/autumn pear creme fraiche
3rd: Oven Roasted Pork Tenderloin stuffed w/spinach and sharp cheddar served over sweet bourbon walnut mash and blackberry gastrique
4th: Pumpkin Mousse w/toffee gingersnap cookie crumble
Reservations are required for this event. $50 per person plus tax and gratuity.

Sounds good to me!

Just got an e-mail not a minute after I posted this: Devil's Den is doing a pumpkin event Thursday, Oct. 28th, with 7 draft gourd brews and 6 bottled pumpkineers, and a squash-based menu: Pumpkin Soup topped with toasted pumpkin seeds, Pumpkin Ravioli with a sage brown butter, Stuffed Pork Chop with Pumpkin Stuffing, and Pumpkin Mousse. Holy gastropumpkinpub!

Session beer event in Brooklyn tomorrow!

You know I love the session beers, so I want to make sure the max people know about this. There's a "session obsession" event at The Diamond in Brooklyn tomorrow, and I'm double-posting it here and at the SBP blog. Check this out:

10/23, Saturday, 3pm, Session Obsession

• 10 killer beers all under 4.5% abv
• Many beers making their NYC debut
• Stuffed cabbage, spaetzle, and pretzels
• Real Pennsylvania ring toss tourney for free bar tab (yeah!)

We’re obsessed and possessed to find fantastic beers with relatively moderate alcoholic content.  It seems an ironic thing to promote in a craft brewing world that often equates quality with strength.  But, look closely at these Diamond featured brews and you will find some of the most challenging, exciting, and rewarding beer being made.  As a matter of fact, if you are in for the long haul playing quoits in our yard all day, they might be just the ticket to keep you going!

Rockin', eh? I can't be there: hop on a train, get on over, and drink all afternoon!

The Bookstore: I can't shut up

I'm going to miss the big grand opening event at Fork and Barrel tonight -- I'm headed to Boston for Parents' Weekend -- but it brings to mind the owners' other place, The Bookstore speakeasy in Bethlehem, which I visited back in August. I've been wanting to tell you about it -- I've been telling everyone else about it in person, I mean...I can't shut up about the place. Here's why.

I was leaving the (I gotta say it) Bourbon, Beer and Bryson Festival at Allentown Brew Works, and I'd been too busy to get a drink -- it's a tough life -- so I thought, hey, I've been meaning to check out that Bookstore speakeasy place; why not stop in? I tooled on over to Bethlehem, and dropped down onto 3rd Street, parked on 4th and cut back to Adams on foot. It is, to say the least, unpromising, a totally blank streetblock, except for a hand-done sandwich sign on the sidewalk with the Bookstore's specials. Sandwich sign? For a speakeasy?

Yeah, that was one of the things I liked about the Bookstore. They do the speakeasy thing, atmosphere, cocktails, menu, period dress, and -- wait, I'll get to the other thing, which is awesome -- but they aren't stupidly precious about it, no "you have to know someone to get in" and "we're not really here" crap like you'll see in the big city. It's more about the experience once you're inside, not the view (or lack thereof) from outside.

The doorway was a few steps down, just a blank door with "The Bookstore" on the lintel. Go in, and there are a few display counters with books, a podium, and black curtains. And an attractive young woman in 1920s dress at the podium, who will either let you in or not, depending on whether there is space. It was just me, and there were seats at the bar, so she took me right in. And that's when The Bookstore dropped my jaw.

First, before she even opened the curtain, the music was amazing. Drew Nugent and The Midnight Society  were playing their hot 20s jazz: piano, sax, trumpet, tuba, banjo, and Drew singing -- no mike, a megaphone -- and it made it so damned real right from the start. They're not there every week, but when they are... wow.

Then she opened the curtain, and that other thing I mentioned hit me: fire. There are maybe four electric lights in the whole place, and they're all for the bartenders and musicians. The rest of the light in the place comes from candles and oil lamps, which was magical. And a bit scary at first -- I'm thinking, booze and oil lamps? We're all gonna die! -- until I saw that the oil lamps were new, and had thick plastic oil reservoirs. But it was so exciting, and gorgeous, and atmospheric. The band was hot, the ceiling was low, and the vibe was electric.

I sat at the bar. There's a great beer selection -- a bit of a surprise, I figured it was all-cocktail -- but I decided to get a cocktail, because the liquor selection was excellent, the bartenders were intense, and the ice was incredible. Long drinks -- collinses and such -- got long cylinders of ice, cocktails being shaken got hand-cracked ice, so cold that a fresh block that came out frosted over immediately when they unwrapped it. I ordered a Sazerac, and it was beautiful.

Time to enjoy. Great drink. Hot jazz; which is really the first time I understood that term. This was hot jazz, musicians pushing it, pounding it, transported by the joy of their music. The people in the bar were all enjoying themselves: foodies, cocktail junkies, jazz lovers.

I thought I'd push it a bit. I looked up a cocktail recipe on my iPhone, and asked the bartender if he could make me one. He looked, smiled, and started mixing. Okay, it's an easy one: the Frisco, bourbon and Benedictine, but he took it in stride and made it happen. Beautifully stirred, which is an underrated cocktail skill, IMO.

I didn't eat -- already ate at the Brew Works -- so I can't speak to that. But this was the best bar experience I've had in months, and I cannot wait to go back. The Bookstore is one cool place; get to Bethlehem and check it out.

Craft Ale House, Tuesday: I believe you have to consider this

Just got an e-mail from Gary at the Craft Ale House in Limerick about the tap line-up for our Pennsylvania Breweries event next Tuesday the 26th, and I think you ought to take a look and give serious thought to joining us. Here's what he's got so far:
 

LANCASTER MILK STOUT

STOUDT'S ABBEY TRIPLE

McKENZIE LA FAULT

APPALACHIAN  WATER GAP WHEAT

GEN LAFAYETTE PHILADELPHIA PHILSNER

ROY PITZ GOBBLER LAGER

PHILLY BREW CO. PHARMHOUSE ARREST

SPRING HOUSE 7 GATES PALE ALE

ERIE RAILBENDER

YARDS BOURBON BARREL GW PORTER

WEYERBACHER IMPERIAL PUMPKIN

VOODOO 4 SEASONS IPA

BREW WORKS HOP EXPLOSION DIPA

TROEGS FLYING MOUFLAN B-WINE

COPPER CROW THUNDER STOUT

That's what he's got lined up so far. That's beer from all over the state. That's what I like to see at a PA Breweries signing!

Next Tuesday, 7 PM, at the Craft Ale House, deep in Uncle Jack territory. See you there.

Dick Yuengling: "another rich cheapskate"

I've only ever seen Dick Yuengling wearing something besides jeans once. Last time I interviewed him, he chain-smoked Marlboros and stubbed them out in a used keg tap cover. So this doesn't surprise me at all. Buying the big ex-Coors plant in Memphis? That surprises me!

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

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

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!

Philly Brewing keeps it local with Harvest From The Hood

Philly Brewing has done it again: another batch of Harvest From The Hood is on the streets, featuring a retro cheesecake-lite label (I can see the tops of her hose!) and righteous hops aroma from locally-grown hops. Yeah, locally-grown, as in "inside Philadelphia County." This video, with its Red Army Choir soundtrack and a narrator who sounds like John Facenda after a few shots of Powers, is something I'd love to see more of. Celebrate your beer!