Susquehanna Brewing knocks me out

Susquehanna Brewing is open and running, has been for a few months, and I always like to give a brewery a few months before trying the beer...but this was getting ridiculous: two good friends were on the brewing side -- Jaime Jurado and Guy Hagner -- and I hadn't made the time to get up the road two hours to see this operation? That I knew was amazing? Seriously, the technical side of it is off the hook...but I'm getting ahead of myself.

We went on vacation in the Poconos in late July, just about a month ago, and I contacted Jaime and Guy to see if there was any place I could try their beers as we were on our way up, then stop by the brewery or a distributor and pick up a sixtel for the cabin. Jaime graciously invited me to come tour the brewery, and said he'd get me some beer. So my mother and I went up that Saturday afternoon, and Guy gave us a tour.

Wow. First eye-opener was the mill, where the barley husks are largely separated from the grist before wetting in the mash tun, what Jaime called endosperm mashing integration. The husk is sent to a 'husk case' above the lauter tun, and dropped in "only immediately prior to...being required for its important role in refining mash." Jaime said SBC is the 7th brewery in the world to do this (they also do it at Trumer in Berkeley, which Jaime oversaw in his role with Gambrinus).

The 50 bbl. BrauKon brewhouse includes a dedicated decoction kettle (used to make the Goldencold). But the big deal is that the main brew kettle uses...well, as Guy said, you've seen a calandria, right? And the external calandria, like Victory has? This is something different. "This" is the PDX system, which circulates the wort outside of the kettle and injects live, high-pressure food-grade steam into the flow. It actually goes supersonic, which is a key part of the whole thing: the turbulence created by that gets the heat into the wort in an amazingly efficient way. The PDX saves a ton of energy (along with the cool, super-efficient smart boiler Jaime spec'd for the brewery (the same kind Flying Fish has in their new brewery, BTW, and don't you ever believe that Casey Hughes isn't a very bright boy)), and, well, it sounds really cool, too; "Like a jet plane taking off," Guy described it. Susquehanna was the first brewery in the world to have it designed into a new brewhouse from day one (Shepherd Neame in the UK were the pioneers on retrofitting it; SABMiller's using one in their big brewhouse in South Africa, Radeburger has one, and Miller is also testing one on their pilot brewery.

Truth is, Jaime put an incredible amount of energy and material-saving tweaks and equipment into this brewery. He told me that he realized that he wouldn't get too many more chances to completely design a brewery with this kind of freedom in his career, so he wanted to make this one right...and the energy savings and carbon footprint were very important to him. That's why the brewery has the short bottles, not longnecks, for instance: they weigh 1.4 oz. less, and have a 20% smaller carbon footprint. The labels are 30% recycled paper (post-consumer), will soon be 50%, and that should increase every year.

It's not all about energy, though. Guy showed us an incredibly complex Moravek BC-30 Carbonator, the thing that puts the CO2 into the beer as it's packaged, and it measures the temperature and gravity of the beer to precisely match the pressure to the job to have it consistent...but I loved what Jaime said about why he got it: "I selected the BC-30 carbonator/nitrogenator because it produces beer with superior bubbles...strange but true." Extremism in the defense of superior beer is no vice, Jaime. He also put in a massive hopjack (BrauKon's second), it looks like something from the powerplant of a nuclear sub.

Okay, so all that...how was the beer? Pretty frickin' awesome. The walkaround bottles of Goldencold that Guy gave us for the tour (yes, my mother, too, and she asked for another!) reminded me of something Travels with Barley author Ken Wells said: “One thing you can say about lagers: the good ones don't make you work very hard to like them." This was one of the best American-brewed hellesbiers I've had, which is amazing considering how new the brewery is...and not amazing, considering how much experience Jaime and Guy have between them. Yes, Guy, because Jaime gives Guy full credit for formulation on this one.

That's Guy Hagner, meself, and Jaime Jurado.

The sample of 6th Generation Stock Ale we got? Not so good, flat, a bit harsh...but that got better. After some more chatting, Guy told me to pull my car (heavy-laden with vacation crap) into the loading bay, and put three cases of Goldencold and a low-fill sixtel of Stock into it. Yeep. "You get samples, right? These are samples!" I'll be honest, I was looking at that sixtel of Stock and thinking...I'd just as soon have more lager and skip the Stock, but, okay, I'll smile. So we thanked him, and drove off to the north.

Once we got to the cabin, I stocked the fridge with a case of lager, and iced down the keg of Stock Ale...and tapped it. Much better. (Jaime told me later that the keg in the brewery was tapped for at least 3 weeks...I suspect a new regimen of beer care has since been instituted.) The stock was sweet, bitter, floral and citrusy, and had a wonderfully fresh/bready character to it. We did serious damage to it and finished it off Thursday night.

So about two weeks later, Jaime emailed me: they're having their first beer dinner at Lucky's Sportshouse...in Wilkes-Barre...would we like to come? Well, it is almost 2 hours' drive, but Cathy's been wanting to meet Jaime for years, and wanted to see Guy again, so yeah, we went. It wasn't just Susquehanna's first beer dinner, it was Lucky's, too. I wasn't optimistic.

Boy, was I wrong. Lucky's is definitely a sports bar, lots of screens and a high ceiling and open floor plan, but the food was quite a notch above sports bar: all prepared on-site, freshly-made food. But again, I'm ahead of myself: we got glasses of the new SBC Oktoberfest. Very nice, dry malt character (not the caramel sweetness you get in too many American fests), and quite enjoyable indeed. Clearly these guys know their way around a lager.

They know how to have some fun, too. That extremely red beer you see here is a blend of Ofest and Goldencold, dosed with coffee, peaches, raspberries, and orange oil. It was dry, fruity -- the orange oil really made the other fruit aromas burst out of the glass -- with notes of coffee and dry cocoa. Very nice, and startlingly red.

So, about the food. The plate you see above was the main course: two "honking big pieces of meat" (as Uncle Jack always describes the main courses of the dinners at Monk's Cafe) in the form of perfectly done pork schnitzel, with broccolini and a bed of mild sauerkraut (and a dressing of deliciously caramelized onions). The pork was done through, juicy, with a crisp, thin coating that wasn't oily/gross...very nice, especially given the number of plates -- about 50 -- that they were serving. (Two of those 50 were Chip The Beer Guy and his girl (fiance!) Diane, who Cathy also got to meet; good times as always, Chip!) That was actually one of the things we noted, and Chip said it first: the food all came out on time, simultaneously, and it was all hot and ready to go. Nice coordination for their first beer dinner!

We'd started with passed pieces: battered cod bites, some green bean tempura-kind of thing (that was real good!), coconut shrimp, and...I can't remember the fourth thing. I DO remember the breads that came afterwards, because we all devoured them, great fresh-baked stuff, and Cathy took some home. We got a beer cheese soup next, and it had little bits of ham in it, nicely done, and not too gruel-like; I hate that.

Last was the bananas foster you see above: great whipped cream with that, too. The whole dinner was excellent, easily the best food I've ever had at a sports bar. I'm hoping that Susquehanna comes to Philly soon (I know Memphis Taproom got some samples), because we're just about out of Goldencold...

Great Pig Dinner next Tuesday: join me!

I'm hosting a special pig dinner at The Farm and Fisherman next Tuesday, December 6, and  talking about beer and food pairing. The Farm and Fisherman is a BYOB, so chef/owner Josh Lawler and I are going to drive up to Lancaster the day before and pick up growlers of Spring House beer...which we will then pour for free out of the goodness of our hearts. Josh is the little brother of an old friend of mine, Tom Lawler, and we've all been doing this kind of road trip for years...we'll be sure to regale you with tales of the trip, because I doubt it's going to be as simple as drive up, get beer, drive back...

Now, when I said "pig dinner," I didn't mean it's a meal with pork. Josh opened this little place in Philly (which has the foodies peeing themselves, BTW) after serving as chef de cuisine at Blue Hill at Stone Barn,which is rewriting the book on locally-raised food for the east coast. I have to be honest with you: Tom's been telling me for years how brilliant Josh is, and I figured he was full of brotherly pride (crap, that is), but it turns out Josh really is freakin' brilliant. So, that "pig dinner?" He's making it out of a whole pig. He's getting the pig from Wyebrook Farm in Honey Brook, and then he's going to get busy, working three courses of pig (and locally-raised produce, and let me tell you...if this dude ever wanted to go vegan, he could open one of the best vegan joints in Philly immediately; he's got a way with root veggies) out of that purchase. The dessert is not pig-based, but he will be using beer to make it. 

Me? I'll be talking about how and why the beers pair with the meal, why we paired those particular beers with the courses, telling tales of Spring House and brewer Matt Keasey, telling stories about Tom and Josh, and generally keeping you entertained and enlightened. For those of you lucky enough to have been at my private tastings, you know that I always bring some surprises, too, so...this is going to be a fun night. The Farm and Fisherman may not be on your beery, boozy radar, but it's clearly on some folks'; check out this review at PhillyMag. My God, except for the inevitable cranks, they even love it on Yelp.

The pig dinner is $75, very limited space (about 36), so get on the ball and nail down your spot. This is one of the hot dining spots in Philly right now; join me for some great food and fun (and those surprises, too!). Call 'em and get it done: 267 687 1555

Here comes your Annual Deschutes Tease, Philly

Just got a notice about another Deschutes Brewery event for Philly Beer Week. Sigh. This superlative brewery only comes to PA once a year, for a few weeks, on some weird temporary "registration," and then leaves. But while they're here...you oughta grab some.

The event? It's at London Grill, Monday evening. It's $55, for a four-course meal plus reception beers, and my friends: do not be late, because the 'reception beers' are two all-too-often overlooked Deschutes beers you've heard me groan about: Twilight Summer and Red Chair Northwest Pale. Wonderful beers that don't beat you on the head. Do I have your attention? Here you go:

Deschutes Brewery Beer Dinner at London Grill

Join Oregon’s Deschutes Brewery brewmaster Larry Sidor for an evening of unbelievable beer, food and music. Deschutes is in town for Philly Beer Week, and doesn’t have regular distribution in our fair city – so this is a rare chance to sample some of their damn tasty beers. The evening begins at 5p.m. with an “ East Meets West” reception, featuring Deschutes Brewery seasonal beers Red Chair Northwest Pale Ale and Twilight Summer Ale. Also during the reception schmear of smoked salmon rillette with preserved lemon will be served to the musical sounds of the Carol Moog Trio. At 6 pm, the four-course dinner begins, pairing Deschutes ales with everything from salad to dessert. You’ll be feasting on such pairings as Mirror Pond Pale Ale with Locavore Salad; Obsidian Stout with Singapore Soft Shells; Black Butte Porter with braised goat mole; and The Abyss Imperial Stout with ginger gelato. Your palate will thank you!

The London Grill, 2301 Fairmount Avenue, Philadelphia 215-978-4545.

Sigh. Wish I could join you.

Many Beers Ago...

I was pulling out some old papers and notes today, and came across these pictures from the 1995 Christmas beer dinner at Copa, Too!, which was, I think, my first Tom Peters Christmas dinner. We were so much younger then...

Merry (Monk's Cafe) Christmas (Dinner)!

I haven't been to a Monk's Cafe dinner in a while, so when the invite came, I shuffled my schedule (more about that shortly) and said yes! I was not disappointed. I left home Tuesday night in a blowing snow shower -- I'd driven out of it within ten minutes and only had the cold wind to contend with. I stopped on the way at the Grey Lodge Pub; that was the schedule I had to shuffle. Scoats had put together a 'holiday mix,' 24 cases of Christmas/holiday/winter beers, 24 people, mixing cases so we each got one of the 24 beers (hey, it's a Pennsylvania thing!)...and I had picked up Cape Anne Navigator (a holiday doublebock) and Wachusett Winter (an ESB, this year) when I was in Massachusetts last month, so I had to drop them off to be mixed. I headed on down to Monk's from there, figuring to leave the dinner a bit early to get back for the mix.

Traffic was bloody awful -- I hate the lights on the Boulevard -- so by the time I got the beers dropped off and got parked in Center City, I was at Monk's ten minutes late. No big deal, they were just serving the warm-up beer, De Ranke Pere Noel. I saw there was bouillabaisse coming, so decided to hold off on the De Ranke, and got a glass of Tripel Karmeliet to tide me over. Saw friends and said hi to Bryan Kolesar, Jeff Linkous, and my NJ Breweries co-author Mark Haynie (congrats on upcoming retirement, and happy birthday!), then sat down with George Hummel and Nancy Rigberg at the back bar to get ready for fun.

The promised bouillabaisse was -- hey, it's Monk's -- crazy. Big shrimp hanging over the side, lots of creamy-textured fish inside, and a toasty crust with cheese jammed in there. The De Ranke was...okay. Good beer, dry, tasty, but not sure about how it worked with the feesh. The next pairing more than made up for that (and the best was yet to come): Lost Abbey Gift of the Magi and a rabbit terrine (What's the diff twixt terrine and pate, I asked George. 'The shape?' he speculated, and looking at the goopy goodness I assumed was an additional small portion of pate on my plate, I guessed he was right.) The beer, tasty and yet restrained, was the perfect foil for the rich bunny meat, easily matching and mediating the delicious fattiness.

Next up was the Mikeller Red/White Christmas. Good beer, but I'll admit: I pretty much forgot the beer when I tasted the next course: pork loin stuffed with pancetta on apple sauerkraut, with a nice knob of roquefort on the side and sweet potato straws on the top. That was delicious. Then came another Scandinavian beer: Nøgne Ø Holiday Ale. It was a seriously spiced beer, with sage and juniper, and I didn't know what they were going to pair this one with to make it sing...because honestly, it was a bit overpowering.

The pairing was genius. Butternut squash ravioli with sage brown butter, topped with fried sage leaves. This is what beer pairing is about: the two together changed each other. The ravioli came alive, and the beer mellowed into spicy richness. I exclaimed out loud (no, really, I did), and enjoyed this one terrifically. Unfortunately, I had to leave at that point to get to the Grey Lodge, and there were three courses yet to come! (Cassoulete w/Corsendonk Christmas, cheeses with T'sjeeses Reserva, and the traditional buche de noel with 2009 Port Brewing Santa's Little Helper and a jeroboam of Mad Elf). Thanks, Tom Peters: he made me up a take-home plate of the cassoulete!

Up the road to the Lodge, where I stayed till 11 PM, talking with old friends, and drinking a glass of Sly Fox Rauchbier, and a sample of this year's Philly Brewing Winter Wunder (nicely done, guys). A very nice night indeed.

Thanks to Bryan Kolesar for scanning the menu and sending it to me: I left mine on the bar!

Iron Hill meets Iron Chef

Craft beer continues to infiltrate Philadelphia's excellent restaurant scene.Next Thursday, the 18th, at 7 PM, Iron Hill Maple Shade head brewer Chris LaPierre will host an Iron Hill beer dinner at Jose Garces's Chifa (707 Chestnut Street, 215-925-5555)

The menu, from the press release:

Hopuka Ceviche with sunchoke leche de tigre, sunflower tuile, pickled fresno and sweet potato, paired with Rising Sun IPA, a spicy, citrus pale ale brewed with Sorachi Ace hops;  Peruvian Stew with root vegetables, chorizo, braised beef and rabbit loin, paired with Victoria’s Bitter, a traditional, easy-drinking English pub ale with copper color, noticeable malt flavor and floral, bitter hop finish;  Roast Pig with apple-porter glaze, spicy wilted baby black kale and pork-porter humita, paired with Pig Iron Porter, a dark beer with roasted chocolate notes and slight bitterness;  and Five-Spice Bread Pudding with ginger-pecan ice cream and malted chocolate sauce, paired with Weizenbock, a full-bodied ale with a bready malt character and banana and clove notes.

The cost will be $65 per person, excluding tax and gratuity, and reservations are required. The Craft Beer at Chifa Dinner Series will continue this winter with the brothers from Troegs Brewing Co on Thursday, December 16 and Garrett Oliver from Brooklyn Brewery on Thursday, January 20.

I knew Chef Garces liked whisky; he's looking more and more like my kinda guy.

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!

The Monk's Christmas Dinner: 16 Years and Kicking!

Tom Peters, you mad son of fun.

You know there are a lot of perks to this crazy life I lead, but one of the very best is the Christmas dinner at Monk's Cafe. I've been going since before it was at Monk's: Tom Peters started doing these crazy dinners when he was managing Copa, Too!. There's always great beer, and there's always...the Buche de Noel.

Tonight's was no exception. I was at the bar, hobnobbing with UPenn Museum's Bruce Nichols, Uncle Jack, Carolyn Smagalski, and Don "Joe Sixpack" Russell, as well as Home Sweet Homebrew's George and Nancy, and Philly beer historian Rich Wagner. I could wax enthusiastic, but to be truthful, my waxing is waning right now: I'm exhausted. I'll just list the menu.

Sly Fox Christmas Ale 2007 with mussels and chorizo steamed in more Sly Fox Christmas.

Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza with spinach salad with hearts of palm, strawberries, and toasted pine nuts (this one worked well for me, cutting the sour of the beer).

La Rulles Cuvee Meilleurs Voeux, & St. Germain Page 24 Biere de Noel with a beautiful pan seared scallop, topped with grated beet, sitting atop sauteed beet greens and a beet risotto (it could not be beat).

Abbaye de St. Martin Cuvee de Noel & de Struise Tjeeses with elk loin, brussel sprouts, and a sweet potato stoempf. Tjeeses was good, very good, but the St. Martin really grew on me.

Scaldis Prestige 2007 with three marvelous cheeses: Molierno (sheep milk from Sardinia), Balyey Hazen Bleu (crumbly blue from VT), and Quadrello di Bufala (a hard buffalo milk cheese, packed with flavor).

Troegs Mad Elf Jeroboam & Port Brewing Santa's Little Helper with the Buche de Noel. Yum. The Mad Elf was great, the SLH was big and warmingly medicinal. Nice job on both. (That 'mushroom' was delish, BTW)

Particularly poignant, because this was chef Adam Glickman's last night, after steering the kitchen for 9 years. He got a bit choked up, and it's understandable. Great run, Adam. Fantastic food, that did honor to the beer.

IPA Lunch at Isaac Newton's in Newtown

I've lived about 2 miles from Isaac Newton's in Newtown, an excellent beer bar, for over 15 years. I've been a beer writer full time since 1996, and I've hosted events at places near and far. But I've only ever done one event at Isaac's, which does seem odd.

Odd no more: I'm now doing a "Lunch with Lew" series with them, and the first one is in three weeks, on September 26th, from 12 to 1:30. The idea is to have a lunch centered on a particular 'style' of beer (for now, anyway; we may change that), sample some exceptional examples, and have an informal table-talk discussion of the type of beer, the particular beers we're tasting, and...whatever else lunch might lead us to think about. Beer is digressive in nature, as Michael Jackson often observed.

What's on the agenda for the first one? India Pale Ales, and we've got six good ones lined up: Meantime IPA, Stone IPA, Sly Fox Route 113 IPA, Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA, Yards Cape of Good Hope IPA, and Green Flash West Coast IPA. Complementing the beers will be a spicy jerk chicken sandwich served with an arugula salad topped with red onions, oven roasted tomatoes, crumbled bleu cheese, caramelized walnuts and dried fruits dressed with fresh cracked pepper oil. Plenty of jazz for your jaws, folks, an exciting lunch.

Reservations are required: the lunch, with beers, is $30. Call Isaac's at 215-860-5100 to book yours now. See you there. (Just heard from Brad at Isaac's: tickets are selling well, and this should sell out soon. Thanks, folks!)

Beer Dinners: stepping it up

I hosted a beer dinner last night, and I wanted to tell you about the menu and beer choices.

• First course: Brooklyn Winter Ale with shortbread.
• Second course: three spiced ales -- Anchor Our Special Ale 2008 (a very drinkable vintage), Sly Fox Christmas 2008, and Nogne Ø Peculiar Yule -- with an assortment of small portions of ginger shrimp, duck paté on miniature toasts, air-dried beef in puff pastry, and a blue cheese crostini with house-made onion fig jam.
• Third course: Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale with pasta with spicy pork sausage, fresh organic spinach, and three Italian cheeses.
• Palate refreshment: a Burns Day toast with Aberfeldy 12 Year Old.
• Fourth course: Corsendonk Christmas and Delirium Noel with lamb stew with dropped dumplings.
• Dessert: Samichlaus 2006 with house-made cinnamon ice cream with an amaretto raisin reduction, followed by coffee and assorted chocolates (including bacon chocolate...).

Sounds pretty good, doesn't it? Here's the surprise: this was a private, in-home tasting I did for 18 people. The woman who hosted the party contacted me with a suggested beer list; the beers you see above. I ordered them -- I liked the idea of beginning with shortbread, and of putting out all three spiced beers together so people could compare and contrast -- and made general food pairing suggestions: the shortbread; matching the spiced beers with something cheesy, something spicy, something salty, and a paté; cheese or spicy with the SNCA; a stew with the Belgians; and something with raisins for the Samichlaus. And I brought the Aberfeldy; I always like to add a little bit of lagniappe to the small in-home tastings I host. She made all the actual decisions on what particular foods to pair, and then she made all the food herself (except the shortbread and the paté). And it was very good, particularly the cinnamon ice cream and the reduction.

I post this for two reasons. First, for business: I do private tastings, in homes or for business events, and I wanted to make you aware of that. But second, for general discussion: I was very impressed by the level of sophistication and enthusiasm shown by the hostess and her guests. It was quite a menu, and a very nice beer list; one I'd have not been disappointed in at any restaurant. The bar keeps going up, and that's great!

Philly Beer Week: the "That's Not Belgian!" dinner at Chick's Cafe

Monday of Philly Beer Week saw me getting an early e-mail from Jon at Chick's Cafe: we had a beer change. The Italian chestnut beer we had scheduled for the main course (a wild boar dish on polenta) was not available, we were getting Chocarrubica instead, a chocolate/carob beer. Okay, let's put that with the dessert, and we decided to put the BB10 with the boar instead, a choice that turned out to be brilliant...wish I could say it was my decision, but I think it was Jon's. I spent the day working on my vodka story for Massachusetts Beverage Business, and left for Chick's about 4:30 for our "That's not Belgian!" dinner (which was, I'm gratified to find out, the FooBooz "Beer Week Pick of the Day" yesterday).

Traffic wasn't too bad, and about 5:20, I walked into the bar at Chick's, said hi all round, and went over the menu with Jon one last time. We made a decision to roll the cheese course before the entree; I wanted the BB10 later in the dinner. That done, I sat and awaited developments. Pretty soon Suzanne Woods developed, always a pleasant situation, but she was just stopping in to say hi to Jon and all before heading off to run the Beer Geek Trivia semi-final at Triumph. Not long after she left -- ships passing in the night -- Iron Hill West Chester brewer Chris Lapierre and his assistant showed up. For the dinner. Really? I was honored.

Eventually, closer to 7 than 6:30 (with Jon tossing out a variety of samples of really interesting Italian beers not on the menu to keep folks interested), we got started. The first beer of the night, Sesonetto from Birrificio Piccolo, was perhaps the best beer of the night. It's brewed with juniper, coriander, and chinotto fruit, an Italian bitter orange that is at the heart of many of the Italian amari, the bitter digestif/aperitif drinks that the Italians prize (because they assist in eating more delicious food). The nose was sweet orange, the flavor was dry and bitter...but still wonderfully orange. Great stuff.

The food was also excellent. After that, we had a smoked mussel tart with goat cheese and green apples (with La Bavaisienne Blonde, quite nice pairing); a selection of Spanish and French cheeses with a Spanish cider (okay, but not great) and La Choulette Framboise (excellent: not syrupy, almost a bitter raspberry; I had Jon re-fill me on this one); and a wild boar and mushroom ragout on polenta that was everything you hope for with 'wild' food: rich and earthy and bold. That was with the BB10, a 10% beer made with Sardinian grapes that was neither overpoweringly strong or more than faintly grapey: it was actually dry and hinted with cocoa. Impressive display of brewing. The chocolate truffle tart for dessert was insanely good (at $9 on the menu, this is one dessert that is perfectly priced and proportioned for sharing), and the Chocarrubica...had brettanomyces character. With chocolate and carob. Still, as I told the diners, I'm not sure if that's intentional or not, but it worked: really dried out the chocolate.

The dinner was a great success. Everyone seemed to have a very good time, we talked, we laughed, we enjoyed the food, the beer, and the pairing. Jon brought out some Haandbryggeriet Norwegian Wood afterwards, made with malt smoked with juniper, and it was striking. There are amazing things going on at microbreweries in Europe, and while I suspect some of them will pass without note, some will become established and spread.

Philly Beer Week -- Deliciousness at Chick's Cafe

"That's Not Belgian!"

People continue to refer to beers as having "a Belgian character." Now, given the enormous variety of beers in Belgium -- something I'm very much looking forward to experiencing in a couple days -- that's a questionable concept...but I know what they mean: a wildness, maybe rich, maybe spicy, maybe tart: the unexpected.

Join me at Chick's Cafe for a night of non-Belgian beers that have that same wildness, that unpredictability...but with their own slant. Here's what's on the well-paired menu; we're still making a few changes and additions (and I guarantee, it will only get better if we do!)

Opening beer: Seson from Birrificio Piccolo - made with chinoto, juniper, and coriander and matured in chardonnay barrels.

Appetizer: La Bavaisienne Blonde (a traditional biere de garde) served with a puff pastry tart with smoked mussels, goat cheese, leeks, and crisp green
apples.

Entree: Strada san Felice (amber ale brewed with chestnuts) with braised boar served over polenta with wild mushrooms.

Cheese course: El Gaitero Sidra / La Choulette Framboise (yes, that's a Spanish cider) with a northern Spanish cheese selection (Cabrales, Idiazabal, Afuega l' Pitu), possibly a French cheese with the Framboise.

Desert: BB10 from Birreria Barley (a dark rich beer brewed with the juice from the local Cannonau grape) with a chocolate truffle tart.

$55 plus tax and gratuity: tickets available from Chick's (215-625-3700; or you can e-mail directly).

Rob Tod, Allagash, and Monk's Cafe

Just a quick note about last night's Allagash dinner at Monk's Cafe. Tom invited me to come down, which I wanted to do: Rob's a great guy, and a good friend, and Heaven knows his beers are excellent, but I was meeting with another friend last night to help pick out music for her wedding. So Cathy and I left late, and got to Monk's at about 8 (after an amazingly fast run down to Philly; where was the traffic?).

Matt "Beer Yard" Guyer graciously made a place for us at the infamous "press ghetto" table in the front window, and I plonked down beside Don Russell just in time to catch a glass of Allagash Triple, which was tasting fine, better than I remember: clean, crisp, and drinkable. (Yes, I know, those are the classic adjectives for describing Budweiser; this stuff isn't Budweiser.) We also got a retrograde glass of White, which I enjoyed and should have kept to have refreshed through the night as a calibration tool.

We'd already eaten, not knowing how long the music selection would take, so we passed on Tom's gracious offer to feed us. Although...when he urged me to try a bite of the salmon with a Curieux mole, I did, and I was glad; the Curieux was tasting just a bit top-heavy on its own, and the fish and heat-kissed sauce knocked that top-hamper right off, making it a delightful mouthful.

I talked a little New Jersey Breweries business with co-author Mark Haynie, who was in for the dinner. He's making brewery visits next week, I'm going to start hitting bars -- tough work, but some poor sucker's gotta do it (You got any good NJ bar suggestions, particularly in the vicinity of a New Jersey brewery, send 'em in!).

We got Musette (Rob's take on the Belgian take on Scotch ale) and barrel-aged Four with dinner (dinner was a 'barbequed' brisket (the 'quotes' are there for the barbeque fanatic who wrote a comment recently on my post about Clem's in Port Matilda; fanatic, I didn't put the post up because it was too long and a bit too vicious, not because I want to censor anyone who disagrees with me), mashed yams, and collard greens). The Musette was nice, malty with an edge, and the Four was just huge, bourbony, and deep, lots going on once you dove deep under the bourbon layer.

We did eat dessert, a chocolate fig cake with Allagash Double. It had been quite a while since I'd had Double, and it was great, flavorful, but not huge, and good at picking up the fig notes in the cake. Pretty much general lusciousness.

After that, we hung around a while, helping Bryan Kolesar and his wife celebrate their 9th anniversary (Congratulations!), talking about the Michael Jackson toast plans with Tom, and introducing Cathy to Rob. Rob Tod's talk, by the way, was one of the most fact-filled yet engaging talks I've ever heard at Monk's: focused, but fun, in his self-deprecating way. His passion for his beers, and for the thrill of trying new techniques, has always been exciting, and it came across clearly last night.

Thanks to Tom for the invite: another great time at Monk's Cafe.

Belgian-style in Zieglerville

The last time I was at Ortino's Northside was exactly a year ago, when I stopped in for one last beer after Sly Fox brewer Brian O'Reilly's wedding (it was a cask Tröegs Nugget Nectar, and it was well worth the stop). I sat at the bar with John Ortino and talked about beer, and keeping great beers on out in Zieglerville, and some events he'd been doing. A pleasant cap for what had been a great day celebrating a friend's marriage.

As I said, exactly one year later -- to the day -- I was at Ortino's again, but this time for their third annual Belgian Beer Dinner. Cathy and I shared a table with some folks we've gotten to know at Sly Fox, Dan "The Big One" Bengel and the Foleys. The conversation was lively from the get-go -- starting with the nasty, sleety weather outside! -- and only got better as the night rolled on. (One upshot of that conversation was the likely probability of me hosting some events at Ortino's in the near future; stay tuned, because I really like the ideas we discussed, something different than the usual beer dinner.)

No blow-by-blow description; suffice it to say that the dinner was excellent. Quick descriptions follow.

Beers: Wittekerke Witte (nice to get something other than the witbier standards for a change), Bier Du Boucanier (every bit as saucy and bright as Piraat and Brigand and the other "corsair-style" strong goldens), La Divine Triple (a pleasant surprise for me to learn that Brasserie de Silly makes a triple; no surprise that it was outstanding and quite different), Petrus Winter (remarked to Dan: "I remember when Petrus was a third-tier Belgian brewer: not any more!"), Gen. Lafayette Inn Abbey Blonde Ale (Russ Czajka brought this up from the General and served as the beer host for the evening; the beer had a beautifully crisp character and an enticingly dry finish, Dan got unusually thoughtful and gave it the laurels for the evening), Gouden Carolus Classic (a full mouthful of beer, rich and spicy-sweet in 'classic' Het Anker style), and St. Louis Framboise (not as funky as I remember St. Louis, but intensely fruit-flavored without being syrupy, a good anchor for the evening). We also had tastes of LaCrosse Lager (the 'just plain beer' coming from the new owners of Latrobe, I wanted to like it, but there's some definite off-flavors there, hope it improves), and a 2004 Perkuno's Hammer that was just fantastic.

Food: Chimay Cheese Soup (smooth and tangy, with bits of red pepper and such), Belgian Endive salad with citrus witte 'vinaigrette' (very nice with the La Divine; I love pairing big rich beers with salad), Mussels in Petrus Winter (very meaty and clean, only one non-opener), Braised pork shank w/whipped sweet potatoes and brussel sprouts (Look...I hate osso bucco, I hate sweet potatoes, and I'm not nuts about sprouts, but these? I cleaned my plate. Fantastic. It didn't hurt that the sweet potatoes were made with Gouden Carolus.), Fresh berries in framboise sauce w/chocolates (quite nice with the St. Louis; the blackberries were exceptional).

Great dinner, and thanks to the greatness of the Passat (best snow car I've ever owned), no troubles getting home through the crappy weather. My thanks to John Ortino, the chef, kitchen and waitstaff of Ortino's Northside, and my table companions for an enjoyable evening of food, beer, and conversation. We'll have to do it again sometime soon!