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:

• 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?

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!)

That Long Day, Part II

When we got to Elk Creek Cafe (see below), it was still raining, so we hustled in and grabbed two spots by the end of the bar. Owner Tim Bowser was behind the bar, and after I got Thomas set up with a root beer, Tim and I and brewer Tim Yarrington got to the interview in the back room over glasses of the new Mid State Trail Nut Brown Ale: this glass seemed to have a mineral tang to it -- "Water," Tim said, and shook his head -- but later it tasted fine: on the dry side, unlike the sweeter Brookie Brown. Might have been something in the glass.

What we talked about in the interview will have to wait for the book; mostly history and philosophy, really. Why Tim wanted to start this place (he'd been thinking about it for almost ten years, and he and I had talked it over at Selin's Grove five years ago); why he did the Equinox Cafe coffeehouse before; how very much-pro brewer Tim Yarrington wound up in Millheim (Tim was one of four GABF gold-winning brewers who put in resumes for the position); and the three legs of the Elk Creek Cafe (house-brewed beer, locally-grown and sourced food, local and regional music). It's an interesting story, and one that I think has deep meaning for the future of craft beer in America.

But I also ran the taps. I was quite a bit happier this time than before. The beers were okay before, even good, and I've always liked the Poe Paddy Porter. But this time they had a new dimension, a new life, and I could tell Tim Y. was happier with them. "I've got it dialed in now," he said. Tim doesn't do big beers very often; he does 3.5-6% beers, and he's all about balance. It's working; I'd have been happy to have a full pint of any of these, including the new Penns Valley Pilsner, a blocky, bitter pils with some real heft to it, well-built without any flab, and a strong dose of Hallertauer in the nose. This was about the time my friend Sam Komlenic showed up, and had a glass of the Pilsner. He'd had it before and was looking for more.

Thomas had a smoked turkey sandwich, and enjoyed it. I finally tried the "shrub," a set of flavored sweet vinegars, locally-made: they are mixed with seltzer and ice. I had the ginger, and it was wicked refreshing. Sam suggested it would be good with barbecue, and I think he's right. He and I walked up to the Penns Valley Meat Market and got some meat, which I always do when I visit Elk Creek. I got their very flavorful jerky, and two links of smoked kielbasa: delish.

We left, Sam following, and drove down to Otto's. We left Sam's van there, and Sam proceeded to take us on a tour of Penn State main campus. Wow. We were duly impressed by the size and beauty of the campus. Kinda made me proud to be Pennsylvanian. Then it was back to Otto's for the lunch I hadn't had time for at Elk Creek. More on that in the last installment.

A long, long day

Thomas and I got up at 4:45 this morning and left for Bucknell University for a tour. When the tour was over, I took the opportunity to interview Copper Kettle Brewery partner Harold Kerlin (who works at Bucknell; CK is a determinedly part-time operation) for Pennsylvania Breweries 4th Ed. Then we drove down to Millheim and I interviewed Tim Bowser and Tim Yarrington of Elk Creek Cafe. After that, we were guided on a tour of Penn State by STAG reader (and good friend) Sam Komlenic; then met him back at Otto's for lunch. Er, dinner. A meal.

There's a lot more to it than that, some definitely interesting stuff, but... I put on 472 miles today, and I am seriously whupped. Tomorrow.

Kegs Go Home

Philly Beer Week's last event for me happened two days ago on Saturday; the Return of the Kegs. I took the kegs from our Upstate Beer Night at the Grey Lodge back to the brewers. It was a long day.

I filled up the Passat, and dropped Thomas off at Holy Ghost for the qualifying rounds for the National Catholic Forensics League championship (he qualified, and will be competing in Albany in May!). That was about 7:50 AM, and I aimed it north from there, up the Turnpike Extension. First stop was One Guy Brewing, and although I mostly just had time to drop off the keg (Atomic Punk IPA, and it went over well) and hit the head, I did get a short progress report. Guy's still having to run hard to meet demand, and an expansion of the taproom (almost doubling in size) is about to start. He's getting Friday nights when people can't get in the door! Bravo, Berwick.

Off again, headed for Williamsport. It was a beautiful day, cold and mostly sunny, and not too much traffic on the road...except for one wing-ding on Rt. 15 North, who just would not let me pass him. I don't get that. If someone wants to pass you, why not just pull over and let them by? Why play games and whip back and forth across two lanes to keep them from passing? Are you bored?

Anyway...slid into one of the courthouse parking spots, grabbed the Bullfrog keg (Beesting Saison, might have been the hit of the night) and handed it to a waitress (the pub wasn't open yet, it was a bit before 11). Ran back to the car and drove three blocks to Bavarian Barbarian. Mike was in, and I gave him his dunkelweizen keg back (not enough dunkelweizens out there, and I hope he keeps making this one). Took a few minutes to sample his spiced winter ale, First Snow (good -- for spiced ale, I'm not a huge fan, but this had all the right pieces in the right places and didn't overwhelm in any direction), then hit the road again.

Now I headed down Rt. 220, then cut back east and south, over two ridges (that's the landscape picture above) to Millheim and Elk Creek Cafe and Aleworks, to return the last keg (strong Belgian golden, and that was nice in a small glass). I had pushed hard all morning so I could relax now: I'd never had the food at Elk Creek, and I wanted to try it. Worth the wait. I had a glass of Oatmeal Stout -- smooth, bitter, nice -- with a bowl of lamb-lentil stew, and then a Blue Heron Pale Ale -- bright and hoppy, very drinkable -- with a smoked turkey, bacon, and avocado sandwich on flatbread, which was delicious; the side of house-made potato chips were outstanding. Gotta go back for more.

Down the valley to pick up Rt. 322 down to the Susquehanna, when I realized I had about 30 minutes to kill before talking to the Harrisburg homebrew club (ReHAB) at Scotzin Brothers homebrew shop in Lemoyne. It was a Saturday afternooon; I stopped by Tröegs. Wow. First time I've been in since the remodeling of the tasting area. What a huge difference. If you haven't been, you should go, it's a great place to try the latest and greatest from the Trogners. Just don't do like I did and park in the wet spot in the parking lot; turned out to be run-off from spent grain, and my car and I both smelled horrible!

Across the river to Lemoyne, where I spent a very pleasant two hours talking beer (and whiskey) with the homebrewers, and sampled some pretty darned good homebrews. They did not make a mead-drinker out of me -- sorry, guys, others have tried, and it just ain't happening (with one exception in Oklahoma and I've never tasted the equal since) -- but there were a couple beers that were excellent.

I left there about 5:30, stopped in at my parents' on the way home for dinner, then finally -- 450 miles later -- returned home. That's when I found out that my daughter, Nora, had learned that her school robotics team, the Mount St. Joseph Academy Firebirds (Nora's a freshman member), had won the Chairman's Award at the Philadelphia Regional FIRST competition, an awesome and jaw-dropping honor indeed. We were pretty proud parents. Good day!

Lew & Scoats' Excellent Beer Run

Scoats and I did the Upstate Beer Run on Wednesday, gathering up the final beers for the Upstate PA Beer tasting we're doing at the Grey Lodge Sunday night. Scoats came out to my place early Wednesday morning, and while I was finishing my Cheerios and strawberries, Cathy made him a quick bowl of oatmeal. Sustaining. We set out, Passat rolling (I'd get 39 MPG on the day, too), and telling each other tales.

First stop was to be the Bullfrog Brewery, but we were ahead of schedule, so we went up over the mountain to see One Guy. Guy pulled in just after we did, and we met the Two Other Guys (he's hired assistants) as we went in. We sampled the hefe -- nice, tart -- the Berwick Lager -- clean, smooth -- and the IPL, a batch of Atomic Punk IPA Guy made with lager yeast. "I could sell this," Scoats said, and he's definitely right: good stuff, clean, hoppy, like Prima Pils with more body. We toured the huge place (huge place, tiny brewery), saw the pizza oven (waiting on time and money), the beer garden (waiting on time and money), and the bottling area (waiting on...).

We got out, and now, of course, we're late (sorry, Terry), and get to Bullfrog about 11:20. No problem, Terry says, and takes us downstairs to see the operation (That first picture is Terry and me down in the midst of things). Wow. Lots of barrels, "kegs gone wild," bottling tanks just for the wild ales... Terry's found a big niche market for soured beers in Williamsport; who knew? He gave us a sample of his latest: a beer brewed with wild yeasts and 100% cacao chocolate. An amazingly layered beer that punches funk and chocolate in ways that are quite appealing. We put away 2/3 of a pint in short order. Once we grabbed a sixtel of Beesting Saison, away we went.

Not far, though. We just went over a few blocks to Kimball's Pub, a place that wasn't much to look at (clean, but real plain), but had a damned nice selection of beer. We were picking up another sixtel: Bavarian Barbarian Square Feet Wheat dunkeweizen. Mike Hiller had dropped it off there for us; he was in DC on Wednesday, showing off his First Snow winter warmer at the Brickskeller. Not bad for your first year!

Off we went, down Rt. 220, then over the ridges to Millheim, where we spent some very pleasant time with Tim Bowser and the crew at Elk Creek Cafe (my man Sam Komlenic was there, too; always a pleasure, Sam: that's Tim and Sam with Elk Creek's brewhouse to the right), sampling and shooting the breeze. Elk Creek's a beautiful place and no doubt; if you haven't been, go. A sixtel of Belgian strong, and we were on our way (after a quick stop at Penns Valley Meat Market for some house-made ring bologna and jerky).

One more stop: Old Forge Brewing, in Danville. Wanted to get here for months now, and I have: worth the trip. Great, simple place, well-populated even at 4 on a Wednesday afternoon. I got the alt, and it was good: proper hop bite, not over-alcohol'd, not too much hop aroma; maybe a bit dark, maybe a bit sweet, but Damien said he was aware of that and on top of it, this was the first batch. I did get a glass of Sensessionale, and it was excellent session stuff, a definite all-day sucker.

What really put us both away, though, was the food. I'd been told the menu was simple but well-executed, and man, was that true. Best $6 quesadilla I've ever had, perfectly done, cheesey, chicken, thin-sliced apple, just great. And the soft pretzels are very German, big, soft, chewy-tasty (and made the WaWa 'soft pretzel' I had on the way to Philly Beer Geek last night taste like a hard sponge); made at a Mifflinburg bakery. Great eats.

And then we drove home. Good day, good beer.

A big thanks to Scoats for the pix: I forgot my camera!

Sam gets some Elk Creek Ale

Just got the following report on Elk Creek Cafe + Ale Works from my correspondent and friend in central PA, Sam Komlenic. Sam graciously allowed me to reproduce it verbatim.

I'm happy to report that the Elk Creek Cafe + Ale Works is officially on line. I stopped in on Saturday to find the doors locked at 3 p.m., but it turns out that they were still running on pre-beer hours. After two beers at the tavern across the street, we stopped by again to find Tim Bowser coming through the back door into the cafe. He unlocked the door and offered us a sampler while he attended to other business.

They currently offer five ales: Winkleblink ale (kolsch-ish), Great Blue Heron pale ale, Elk Creek copper ale, Brookie brown ale, and Poe Paddy porter. All good, some REALLY good (I especially liked the copper and porter). Tim gave us a tour of the place, and I was pleasantly surprised. They have a very attractive 8.5 bbl Cask
system with six fermenters and a nice cold room with bulk tanks from which the beers at the bar are served. Big, beautiful kitchen, and a menu to match using as many local foods as possible, though we were there too early to partake.

Once Guy Hagner opens, I think a trip to upstate is in order: One Guy, Elk Creek, and Bavarian Barbarian...more on that last one soon.