Stephen Starr steals ideas from NYC again...his beer garden, Frankford Hall, opens today (saw it at FooBooz, so go read it there).
It's about time we got a beer garden, dammit. (Ummm...as Craig pointed out in comments, there's a beer garden at Memphis Taproom now. And I've been there, and you should go too. I feel dopey. Sorry, Brendan!)
Showing posts with label beer gardens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beer gardens. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Bad news, Good news
Bad news first: Michael Klein says the "brewpub" in negotiations at Liberty Place is a chimera.
Good news: Don "Joe Sixpack" Russell reports that Yards' tasting room opened Friday night, serving Yards beers (duh), PA wine, and a full menu of chili and grilled cheese sandwiches. Reminds me of the old days at Legend, in Richmond, when you could get chili, omelettes, or chili omelettes.
A "brewpub" coming to Liberty Place's food court? Not so. Insiders say that the only alcohol-based tenant negotiating a lease is Vintage Irving, the NYC wine bar I told you about last week.Damn. He also says that Stephen Starr's beer garden, planned to be across from Johnny Brenda's, will be outdoor-only in its first summer, and will not be named "Bier Garten," as rumored in Phoodie (I'd put the link up, but Phoodie appears to be down right now...) Which is a relief. (BTW: my insiders say that a beer hall/garden may be coming to Philly in a big way. When I get more, I'll spill, but you're gonna squeal with delight.)
Good news: Don "Joe Sixpack" Russell reports that Yards' tasting room opened Friday night, serving Yards beers (duh), PA wine, and a full menu of chili and grilled cheese sandwiches. Reminds me of the old days at Legend, in Richmond, when you could get chili, omelettes, or chili omelettes.
Friday, August 7, 2009
One Guy's Beer Garden and Pizzeria: now open!
I asked when the PLCB would relent and let Guy Hagner bring his mad pizza skills to the world at One Guy Brewing -- Guy's a great brewer, but he's an inspired and fanatic pizza maker -- after we saw what he'd done with the back lot the day of Gary Bredbenner's funeral.I'm happy to say that the answer is "Now." Guy called me this morning to confirm that they received their notice from the PLCB on Tuesday that the new area is approved, and the pizza kitchen is good to go. Guy and new partner Tom Clark immediately fired up the oven for an impromptu party and surprise opening, and Guy said it's been slamming ever since. With a view like this, can you blame the good citizens of Berwick? The garden is now open, Thursday through Sunday.
I'll tell you... Full hours on Saturday and Sunday, and both days are supposed to be gorgeous: mid-80s, plenty of sun, low humidity. The pizza's just freakin' excellent, the beer's cold, and the price is right. I won't be there tomorrow, but I'm going to be working hard at getting there Sunday. (Not happening; forgot we're taking my parents out for dinner, their 57th anniversary!)
A strange pastiche: snapshots of the beer garden, while sitting at the bar in the tasting room.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
You Can't Stop the Goat
We did get to the Sly Fox Goat Races on the 3rd. I hustled out of church (had to do 10:30 mass, I was the cantor), got home and changed (and waited around for Cathy to change...), and took off 
for Phoenixville...slowly. It was pouring rain (little did we know it was just the start of another week of the stuff), and we were wondering if the crowd would be as large or friendly as last year. "We can probably park on-site," I said optimistically. "We'll cruise by instead of going straight to the shuttle lot."
Wow. The size of the crowd in the parking lot made it clear that we were not going to be parking on-site. (But Sly Fox is organized: we took a shuttle bus from satellite parking, and didn't wait more than 3 minutes for it.) The rain had barely dampened the ardor of goat fans. The number estimated by Sly Fox was around 1500, down a bit -- okay, down a quarter -- from last year, though last year was a picnic afternoon on Olympus compared to this wet and raw rainfest (although we did have roving beer service this time). But do you get it? 1500 people came out in the rain to drink bock beer and watch goats race. Amazing.
Still, as I said, this is an important day for beer and while having all those good Sly Fox beers on hand must have helped, I believe that what really brought people out was the good times. People actually complained because they couldn't see the goat races!
The beer was pretty awesome, though. We ran into William Reed right away, and he insisted on getting us two cups of Vienna Lager (great, malty but not thick, wish they'd make more of this). I tried to return the favor with the superlative and much-welcome Charles Bridge Pilsner, but he'd wandered off into the crowd and I gave it to Richard "Victory" Ruch. The Maibock (destined to be named DAX after the winner, shown here in the center of a long shot on his victory strut) was gorgeous, beautifully drinkable, and if I hadn't been at the edge of silly at that point, I'd have had another. I did get one sip of one of the eisbocks, and it was scary good.
The cool kids were definitely in attendance -- brewers, publicans, and others of us in the biz -- but they were by far out-numbered by the general populace: I ran into my kids' elementary school music teacher (and her husband and two toddlers). There were still plenty of very well-behaved kids this year.
That's what had a somewhat blissed Brian O'Reilly and a very happy John Giannopoulis so pleased when I ran into them. The Goat Races was not only still big in the rain, it was still big with the same kind of crowd. Folks brought their families, they watched the silliness of racing goats, they ate good food (really: we had bratwurst, I got some Shellbark Farms chevre), and some of them had really good beer, too. It was a really normal kind of thing; wonderfully so.
Eventually we had to go, before things had wrapped up. We got back on the shuttle bus, went to the car, and I let Cathy drive. But we had one more wonderfully normal thing to do...and I'm going to tell you about that over here. Because it's much more appropriate.
for Phoenixville...slowly. It was pouring rain (little did we know it was just the start of another week of the stuff), and we were wondering if the crowd would be as large or friendly as last year. "We can probably park on-site," I said optimistically. "We'll cruise by instead of going straight to the shuttle lot."Wow. The size of the crowd in the parking lot made it clear that we were not going to be parking on-site. (But Sly Fox is organized: we took a shuttle bus from satellite parking, and didn't wait more than 3 minutes for it.) The rain had barely dampened the ardor of goat fans. The number estimated by Sly Fox was around 1500, down a bit -- okay, down a quarter -- from last year, though last year was a picnic afternoon on Olympus compared to this wet and raw rainfest (although we did have roving beer service this time). But do you get it? 1500 people came out in the rain to drink bock beer and watch goats race. Amazing.
Still, as I said, this is an important day for beer and while having all those good Sly Fox beers on hand must have helped, I believe that what really brought people out was the good times. People actually complained because they couldn't see the goat races!
The beer was pretty awesome, though. We ran into William Reed right away, and he insisted on getting us two cups of Vienna Lager (great, malty but not thick, wish they'd make more of this). I tried to return the favor with the superlative and much-welcome Charles Bridge Pilsner, but he'd wandered off into the crowd and I gave it to Richard "Victory" Ruch. The Maibock (destined to be named DAX after the winner, shown here in the center of a long shot on his victory strut) was gorgeous, beautifully drinkable, and if I hadn't been at the edge of silly at that point, I'd have had another. I did get one sip of one of the eisbocks, and it was scary good.The cool kids were definitely in attendance -- brewers, publicans, and others of us in the biz -- but they were by far out-numbered by the general populace: I ran into my kids' elementary school music teacher (and her husband and two toddlers). There were still plenty of very well-behaved kids this year.
That's what had a somewhat blissed Brian O'Reilly and a very happy John Giannopoulis so pleased when I ran into them. The Goat Races was not only still big in the rain, it was still big with the same kind of crowd. Folks brought their families, they watched the silliness of racing goats, they ate good food (really: we had bratwurst, I got some Shellbark Farms chevre), and some of them had really good beer, too. It was a really normal kind of thing; wonderfully so.
Eventually we had to go, before things had wrapped up. We got back on the shuttle bus, went to the car, and I let Cathy drive. But we had one more wonderfully normal thing to do...and I'm going to tell you about that over here. Because it's much more appropriate.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Why the Sly Fox Goat Races Mean a Stronger America
Not that Sly Fox and Brian O'Reilly need any help from me in making their annual event a success, but I do this for my own reasons:
Sly Fox Goat Races, this Sunday.
Okay, the Kentucky Derby is this Saturday, and that is a Big Deal. But I would submit that the Sly Fox Goat Races are an Even Bigger Deal in terms of shaping the reputation of beer and beer drinking in America. (Yes, easily so, because the Derby has nothing to do with that, but I will go beyond that!)
Go to the Goat Races because this event is one of the very best for enjoying as a family. I've said for years, in response to the New Dry whiners who say "You can have fun without beer!", that yes, you can have fun without beer, but you can also have fun with the option of beer. The Sly Fox Goat Races show that in spades. You can watch goat races -- pure, country-boy 4H-type fun, and usually generous with gut-rippingly funny moments (this picture really does show a young goat racer slipping on goat crap (on the right there; he's not break-dancing) as his own goat turns tail and runs away from the finish line -- very funny, once we ascertained that the kid was all okay), you can listen and dance to the music, eat good German food, or just have a seat and enjoy the crowd -- great people-watching at this. And if you so choose...you can have a beer.
The Goat Races put beer in its proper place: with people, as part of the fun, not as the lets-get-drunk focus, and not as the lets-get-geeky focus either. Even when I'm totally geeking out, like when I'm judging beers, the best of times is when there's good interaction with the other people. Great American Beer Festival? The best time is going out afterwards with friends.
Get beer together with a bunch of good people -- and some goats -- and it's great to watch people behave well, have fun, and keep things from getting out of hand all by themselves. It's a great kind of thing, and I'm looking forward to more of it on Sunday. See you there, but do check out the Sly Fox calendar for details: they're expecting a LOT of people, and they've got satellite lots set up to handle it.
Sly Fox Goat Races, this Sunday.
Okay, the Kentucky Derby is this Saturday, and that is a Big Deal. But I would submit that the Sly Fox Goat Races are an Even Bigger Deal in terms of shaping the reputation of beer and beer drinking in America. (Yes, easily so, because the Derby has nothing to do with that, but I will go beyond that!)
Go to the Goat Races because this event is one of the very best for enjoying as a family. I've said for years, in response to the New Dry whiners who say "You can have fun without beer!", that yes, you can have fun without beer, but you can also have fun with the option of beer. The Sly Fox Goat Races show that in spades. You can watch goat races -- pure, country-boy 4H-type fun, and usually generous with gut-rippingly funny moments (this picture really does show a young goat racer slipping on goat crap (on the right there; he's not break-dancing) as his own goat turns tail and runs away from the finish line -- very funny, once we ascertained that the kid was all okay), you can listen and dance to the music, eat good German food, or just have a seat and enjoy the crowd -- great people-watching at this. And if you so choose...you can have a beer.The Goat Races put beer in its proper place: with people, as part of the fun, not as the lets-get-drunk focus, and not as the lets-get-geeky focus either. Even when I'm totally geeking out, like when I'm judging beers, the best of times is when there's good interaction with the other people. Great American Beer Festival? The best time is going out afterwards with friends.
Get beer together with a bunch of good people -- and some goats -- and it's great to watch people behave well, have fun, and keep things from getting out of hand all by themselves. It's a great kind of thing, and I'm looking forward to more of it on Sunday. See you there, but do check out the Sly Fox calendar for details: they're expecting a LOT of people, and they've got satellite lots set up to handle it.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Return of The Blob('s Park)!
Ah, good news, my gemütlichkeit-loving friends: Blob's Park will be re-opening! Open since the 1930s, and holding an annual Oktoberfest since 1947, Blob's Park, the beloved German beerhall/garden in Jessup, Maryland, closed last New Year's Eve. It was a sad time. But now there's news that Max Blob's great-nephew, Max Eggrel, is renovating (about $250,000 worth), and hopes to be open by this New Year's Eve. That's some kind of oompah, brother.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Another opening date for the Pittsburgh Hofbräuhaus...
Saw this today at the WPXI website:
And all a friend can say is that it's about time! If you're wondering, like me, if this date is any more firm than the others, I did see actual work taking place at the site back in June. So...maybe.
Long-Delayed German Beer Garden Coming To Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh will be home to a German beer hall in January, about two-and-a-half years later than investors had planned. The Hofbrauhaus is scheduled to open Jan. 20 in the city's SouthSide Works shopping and entertainment district.
The beer garden is modeled after Munich's Hofbrauhaus which opened in the 1500s. Two other Hofbrauhaus locations have already opened in Las Vegas and in Newport, Ky., a Cincinnati suburb. The $4 million beer garden will feature bench seating for about 450 and another 600 people outside. Nearly all the beer served at the Hofbrauhaus will be brewed on the premises.
The county's new 10-percent drink tax, construction, and regulatory concerns have delayed the project.
And all a friend can say is that it's about time! If you're wondering, like me, if this date is any more firm than the others, I did see actual work taking place at the site back in June. So...maybe.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Oktoberfest is coming...
...which makes this too cool not to share. A Google map of the beer gardens of Munich (with a couple little bonus bits). I may have to get a color printer after all.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Goat Races Every Day!
Cathy and I went to the Sly Fox Goat Races yesterday. We got there late -- we had a school event in the early afternoon for Nora and had to go to Sly Fox afterwards -- and missed the actual races and the tapping, but we were still there for the experience.
What experience? A very close thing to that great German beer garden experience, but with American personality. There were kids there, there was music, there was food, there was lots of beer, there were dogs, and people strolled about, talking to each other. It was convivial, and the beer was delicious (I did Jasper Maibock, a couple sips of eisbock, some Slacker Bock, and -- inevitably -- Pikeland Pils). We'd just come from a picnic, so I can't report on the food, but it looked good.
But the best thing wasn't the beer or the food, it was the beer being there with the families and dogs and all, showing that it wasn't necessary for beer events, beer-based social gatherings, to be binge fests. All of us were being reasonable in consumption and civilized.
Well, mostly: one stupid young feller was leaving and dropped his glass -- a shame, because they were nice Sly Fox willibeckers -- laughed like a boob and just kept walking. Nice, buddy: there's only dogs and little kids running around. Within a minute, though, four of us had converged and picked up all the shards. That's beer garden, too: the participants policing themselves.
It would be great to have this kind of thing every weekend. Beer gardens used to be common in this part of the country, but now they're hard to find. Relaxed atmosphere, friendly talking, mugs of beer (maybe something other than thin-walled glass, for safety and sturdy re-use), comfort food, and play time for the kids and dogs. The kids may see or hear some things the parents maybe wouldn't want -- I heard a bit of salty language and there was one instance of dirndl-flipping -- but I think the presence of children also has a moderating effect on that -- I saw examples of that, too, and people actually apologizing for their behavior, a great sign of civilization. Do this every weekend, and a code of behavior would come into being by itself.
Do we need the goat race part? Not really, though I'd be the first to back doing that every year, and bigger! But I'd love to see this kind of beer joy every weekend. It might teach us how to drink again: mindfully, joyfully, responsibly, together.
What experience? A very close thing to that great German beer garden experience, but with American personality. There were kids there, there was music, there was food, there was lots of beer, there were dogs, and people strolled about, talking to each other. It was convivial, and the beer was delicious (I did Jasper Maibock, a couple sips of eisbock, some Slacker Bock, and -- inevitably -- Pikeland Pils). We'd just come from a picnic, so I can't report on the food, but it looked good.
But the best thing wasn't the beer or the food, it was the beer being there with the families and dogs and all, showing that it wasn't necessary for beer events, beer-based social gatherings, to be binge fests. All of us were being reasonable in consumption and civilized.
Well, mostly: one stupid young feller was leaving and dropped his glass -- a shame, because they were nice Sly Fox willibeckers -- laughed like a boob and just kept walking. Nice, buddy: there's only dogs and little kids running around. Within a minute, though, four of us had converged and picked up all the shards. That's beer garden, too: the participants policing themselves.
It would be great to have this kind of thing every weekend. Beer gardens used to be common in this part of the country, but now they're hard to find. Relaxed atmosphere, friendly talking, mugs of beer (maybe something other than thin-walled glass, for safety and sturdy re-use), comfort food, and play time for the kids and dogs. The kids may see or hear some things the parents maybe wouldn't want -- I heard a bit of salty language and there was one instance of dirndl-flipping -- but I think the presence of children also has a moderating effect on that -- I saw examples of that, too, and people actually apologizing for their behavior, a great sign of civilization. Do this every weekend, and a code of behavior would come into being by itself.
Do we need the goat race part? Not really, though I'd be the first to back doing that every year, and bigger! But I'd love to see this kind of beer joy every weekend. It might teach us how to drink again: mindfully, joyfully, responsibly, together.
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