Two Great Reasons to Drink Craft Beer in Philly

Sometimes, if you're lucky, you get to hang out with Jennie Hatton & Suzanne Woods.

Do you need more than that? Okay...the beer's pretty great around here too!

5-course Whiskey Dinner at Percy Street, featuring me

I got talked into doing a whiskey dinner...at Percy Street Barbecue...by Jennie Hatton...and if you know me, you'll be able to guess that it took very little persuasion to get me to say "Hell yes!"

Let me tell you, though: working with chef/pit mistress Erin O'Shea has been inspiring. Here's the 5-course food/whiskey menu we put together; I think you'll agree that it goes way beyond barbecue.

• Country Ham Tasting, featuring Phillip’s from North Carolina, Father’s from Kentucky and Edward's Wigwam from Virginia, paired with a “Kentucky Tea,” 1792 Ridgemont Reserve whiskey over ice with plenty of water;  
• Sweet Potato Soup with smoked pork rillettes, paired with Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey;   
• Smoked Trout with apple, onions and fingerlings, paired with Four Roses Yellow Label
• Stuffed Quail, smoked and stuffed with cornbread and sausage, served with Brussels sprouts, paired with a Rittenhouse Rye Manhattan;  
• “Cracker Jack” corn grits with caramel and nuts, paired with Rowan's Creek Bourbon.

I'll be talking about all the whiskeys, and bourbon and rye in general, of course, but I'll also be talking about why we chose the whiskeys we did, with the courses, and why we decided to do the two cocktails. I hope you'll notice that we spread the love around, and tried to lay down some whiskeys you may not have tried before.

The dinner's on March 29th, and tickets are $50, which I honestly think is a steal for five drinks and five courses. Seats are limited -- and I know of ten that are reserved already -- so if you're interested, call today: 215-625-8510.

Saturdays at Village Whiskey

I was out last week, bourbonating, but I got a note from Jennie Hatton about a new Saturday schedule at my favorite Jose Garces spot in Philly, Village Whiskey. (If you don't know why it's my fave Garces spot...jeez, hello, the name?) They're calling the two hours between 2 and 4 PM "Five O'Clock Somewhere" and offering drink and eat specials.

What kind of drink/eat specials, you ask? Different every week, hon. There's a $7 special 2 oz. pour of whiskey, and it's not dopey, either: (ri)1, Ransom Whippersnapper, Dalmore 12, Suntory Hibiki (you know many places in Philly pouring Hibiki?). There are also $6 cocktails coming: Aviation, Brooklyn, the Martinez. They'll also have $5 wine specials and $4 draft specials (and the draft selection was good enough to get them into Pennsylvania Breweries). Check the website for this Saturday's drink reductions.


Eats? How about (in Jennie's own words) "$3 Snacks, including VW Burger Sliders, BBQ Pork Sliders and Pickle Canapes, featuring different house-made pickles each week." The house-made pickles, by the way, really are made in-house, and frickin' rock.


So...to recap: discounted booze and Garces food. Two hours. Saturdays (at least through the end of October), 2-4. My reaction? It's about time someone started having fun with whiskey in this town. (And if we could get rid of the PLCBosaurus, more folks would probably join in!)

The Naked Pint book launch dinner at Fork

November 16th will see author Christina Perozzi in town for a beer dinner at Fork (6:30 PM, $55 for all the food and beer you see below...and I have never come away from an event at Fork feeling like I'd gotten anything but full measure) to celebrate the launch of her book The Naked Pint, a beer book that opens up beer's feminine side. That's not to say this is all cliches about fruit beers and chocolate beers; far from it. Perozzi and her co-author, Hallie Beaune, are experienced beer sommeliers and presenters, and love beer deeply and fully. The book is more about proving beer is okay for women. Can I get a big "Hell yes!" (I'll be reviewing the book here soon; I got a copy a few weeks ago and I've been reading it.)

Anyway, to match this woman of beer from the west coast, Fork has invited some of the cool Philly-area women of beer: Suzy Woods, Philly Beer Week maven Jennie Hatton, Megan Maguire from Ommegang, Tracy Mulligan from Victory, Seb Buhler from Rogue, and possibly Jodi Stoudt, Whitney Thompson from Victory and Wendy Dormant from Dogfish Head. Quite a line-up, and a lot of experience. But check this menu!

Menu

Spicy tuna confit with capers on focaccia toasts · Grilled flatbread with artichokes and saffron aioli

Victory Prima Pils, Stoudt’s American Pale Ale

Chef’s selection of tapas: grilled house made chorizo with spicy white beans · salmon rillettes · grilled shrimp with grits and smoked tomato jam · vegetables à la grecque · marinated olives

Sly Fox Saison Vos

Seared sea scallops with coriander, caramelized brussels sprouts, meyer lemon jam

Ommegang Rare Vos

Lightly smoked duck breast with spiced croutons, caramelized onion, bacon, parsnips

Dogfish Head Raison d’Etre

Chocolate caramel tart with lemon-thyme chantilly cream

Rogue Chocolate Stout

Happy Birthday, Jennie Hatton!

Do you know this woman?

It's Jennie Hatton, and today's her birthday. It should be a holiday in Philadelphia beer circles so we could all go out and celebrate with her. We should all bag work, and have a big Ferris Bueller's Day Off with Jennie as the happy ringleader...now that would be a great day.

I met Jennie about 10 years ago, I think it was at Nodding Head. We were traveling in the same beer circles, and then she started working at Profile Public Relations, and she blossomed into a real genius for putting together people, venues, events, and media.

Her greatest triumph, of course, was this year's Philly Beer Week. Jennie worked this for Profile and got phenomenal press for it, put together people and venues (thanks, Jennie), and during the Week itself was, seemingly, everywhere, making sure events were attended, no problems were occurring (or getting fixed if they were), and generally ruling the world. And bless her heart, I gave her a ride home Thursday night of Beer Week, and she entrusted me with the Hammer of Glory. Wow. What a friend.

I'm very happy to call Jennie a friend, and a buddy (cuz they're not the same, and there's a very small group that I call both). She's awesome, she's great for beer and eats in Philly, she sure-hell knows how to have a good time, and it's her birthday. If you see her, buy her a beer!