Just heard from my man Sam Komlenic that he was privileged to drink "the first 12 oz. bottle of Red Mo from the first sixer sold at Otto’s, so production of that package is underway and will only be available in-house until they can expand production capacity. Other flavors will follow, but again, will only be sold at the restaurant."
Sam also told me that sales of Charlie's Keewaydin Cider are no longer allowed at outside outlets (like Wegmans); the LCB has apparently ruled that since he's making it in Pennsylvania with a winery license (which they require for cider), it can only be sold at Otto's and at LCB stores. What about all those ciders you see sold at beer distributors? Well, they're made out of state, so it's different rules. Thanks again, to the PLCB and their big brother, The Almighty Liquor Code.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
If You're an Über Beer Geek...better not read this: it could prove fatal
For those of you who just absolutely pee your pants when presented with amazing hyped-up beer geek news... I just got word that The Bruery and Cigar City Brewing are doing a collaboration beer, Marrón Acidifié: "An Imperial Oud Bruin developed from a mutual love of classic Belgian technique blended with modern American ingenuity. Spending over a year in barrels, both bourbon and wine, has left this dark sour ale layered with notes of cranberries, tropical fruits, leather and aged balsamic vinegar, balanced by wood tannins and roasted malt."
Now...tongue out of cheek? This is likely to rock. But I had to have some fun.
Lots more going on in Lancaster
Lancaster County already has more breweries than any other county in Pennsylvania (Lancaster, Stoudt's, Iron Hill, Union Barrel Works, Spring House, Swashbuckler, Bube's, and JoBoy's)...and they're piling on. Check out this news. Spring House is opening their taproom in the Hager Arcade (25 W. King Street) tomorrow (no brewing on-site, but a much bigger outlet for the beer, and the Conestoga tasting room will be closing...too bad!), and St. Boniface Craft Brewing has their beer on sale for the first time tonight at their nanobrewery (100 N. State St., Ephrata). Yeah, that's right: a brewery in Ephrata. Blows my mind. They'll only have growlers of their imperial stout...heh, only...but more beers are coming.
More breweries coming, too; more here shortly. GO PA!
More breweries coming, too; more here shortly. GO PA!
Get East End (Pittsburgh) beer in the White House for the Super Bowl!
Scott Smith, owner/brewer/damn near everything at East End Brewing, is a man with a mission. He's found out...well, I'll let him tell it, because he is a funny guy.
Before anyone squeals about playing favorites among the Pittsburgh breweries, I'd point out that Penn is already the "wager beer" that PA governor Tom Corbett has bet on the Steelers against the Packers with the Wisconsin governor (I have no idea what beer he bet; but Corbett's gonna be drinking it after the game!) and, well...Iron City is made in Latrobe. Church? Come on, Sean, get moving!
So...why not give Scott a hand on this, and do whatever you can to help get a Pittsburgh beer to our beer-loving President Obama (after all, the man needs something to soothe the pain of the Bears being at home in the snow...).
It seems that during a recent visit to Wisconsin, The White House placed a beer order from fellow Craft Brewer, Hinterland Brewing Company in Wisconsin, so that they could have some Green Bay beer on hand for the Superbowl. Simple enough, but maybe you can already see that this act by itself, is not exactly a "beer-partisan" move. Since Friday of last week, we're working to help correct that.
And here's where YOU come in...
HELP US GET SOME PITTSBURGH BEER TO THE WHITEHOUSE!
What can you do? Well, if you're a FaceBook user you can climb on board the movement by going to http://www.facebook.com/EastEndtoDC and hitting the LIKE button. (We're approaching the 1,000 Fan mark already!) Then, share this with your circle of friends on Facebook, and help us grow the presence there! And while you're on that Facebook page, be sure to check out the links to some of the local press we've gotten, and give a listen to my KDKA Radio interview from Friday of last week. That's all on the Facebook Page.
If you're a Twitter user, you can help spread the word there by Tweeting with the hashtag #EastEndtoDC. Or follow our progress on our Twitter feed at http://twitter.com/EastEndBrewing. That's where this whole thing got started late last week, and where most of the updates are posted.
If neither of these websites are your thing and you "don't do social networking", don't worry, no problem. You can still help. Share this with your circle of friends, and send it along to your favorite news reporter for your favorite press outlet. Any help getting the word out is still a huge help!
My hope is that someone knows somebody who thinks this story is worthy of some National press, which should get the RIGHT people's attention...and hopefully later this week, I'll be honored to load up some Black N Gold Beer to head out on the most important delivery run of this brewery's life. Thanks for all of your help and support with making this happen for us, and for Pittsburgh!
Cheers,
Scott
Before anyone squeals about playing favorites among the Pittsburgh breweries, I'd point out that Penn is already the "wager beer" that PA governor Tom Corbett has bet on the Steelers against the Packers with the Wisconsin governor (I have no idea what beer he bet; but Corbett's gonna be drinking it after the game!) and, well...Iron City is made in Latrobe. Church? Come on, Sean, get moving!
So...why not give Scott a hand on this, and do whatever you can to help get a Pittsburgh beer to our beer-loving President Obama (after all, the man needs something to soothe the pain of the Bears being at home in the snow...).
Old Breweries Need Love Too: Victory 15th coming up this month
Amidst all the fuss yesterday about Terry Hawbaker moving to a new boutique brewpub in Philly, I wouldn't want to overlook the significant local anniversary coming up this month: Victory turns 15. I was struck by this today, because it's looking like the first time I visited Victory, which was actually before it opened.
That was January 19th, 1996, the day the snow from Philly's biggest-ever snowfall -- all 30.7 inches of it -- all melted at once under the hammer of 60+ degree breezes and three inches of warm rain. I had scheduled a series of brewery visits -- including Ugly Dog, God help me -- that had me driving through lashing rainfall and deep run-off. A couple of times I drove through running water that by all rights should have killed my Jetta (the second one, the red one), but managed to keep going. Finding Victory that first time wasn't easy, particularly since the main roads to it were closed (I slipped around the back way, past Bishop Shanahan), and there was a foot of brown water running swiftly through the parking lot. Wonder what it's going to look like later today? Not nearly as much snow, and not nearly as warm; I'm still staying home.
Victory's celebrating with what I think is a more significant beer than the anniversary brews they've done in the past: Headwaters Pale Ale. It's a celebration of the Brandywine Creek, the source of their brewing water -- a lot of water at their birth, to be sure! -- and it's a drinkable pale ale, not a whack over the head. Cheers to that, Victory! I'll have to make plans to be there on February 15th to try some.
That was January 19th, 1996, the day the snow from Philly's biggest-ever snowfall -- all 30.7 inches of it -- all melted at once under the hammer of 60+ degree breezes and three inches of warm rain. I had scheduled a series of brewery visits -- including Ugly Dog, God help me -- that had me driving through lashing rainfall and deep run-off. A couple of times I drove through running water that by all rights should have killed my Jetta (the second one, the red one), but managed to keep going. Finding Victory that first time wasn't easy, particularly since the main roads to it were closed (I slipped around the back way, past Bishop Shanahan), and there was a foot of brown water running swiftly through the parking lot. Wonder what it's going to look like later today? Not nearly as much snow, and not nearly as warm; I'm still staying home.
Victory's celebrating with what I think is a more significant beer than the anniversary brews they've done in the past: Headwaters Pale Ale. It's a celebration of the Brandywine Creek, the source of their brewing water -- a lot of water at their birth, to be sure! -- and it's a drinkable pale ale, not a whack over the head. Cheers to that, Victory! I'll have to make plans to be there on February 15th to try some.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
More Terry/Grainery news
It just keeps leaking out... From PhillyBeerScene:
Its going to be located [at] 1113 Walnut St and he’s calling the place The Grainery. The highlight of the new concept has to be the arrival of former Bullfrog brewmaster Terry Hawbaker. The Grainery won’t be a brewpub but Terry will have 4 of the bar's 24+ taps for his beers that he’ll be brewing on an extremely small, artisan scale.How much would you pay for that?! But wait, there's more!
On top of having a great beer program, they are also bringing in Damon Dyer, an extremely talented mixologist from NYC, to put together a Victorian style cocktail menu....As for food, the details were brief but look for rustic fare with lots of house cured meets and game dishes.... Look for the new bar to open around April.Oh my...Victorian cocktails? Different than the speakeasy stuff, maybe more punches, raw eggs, and Old Tom? Woo woo!
Monday, January 31, 2011
Hawbaker to Philly and a Center City brewpub
Following up on the earlier post, I got this from Terry Hawbaker:
The problem I keep hearing is that it's so expensive, and we're not talking about real estate. We're talking about licenses, and inspections, and taxes, and labor costs... Hey, the city may need a government finance enema, but you know? There are still restaurants opening! Sell a brewpub to Starr, for God's sake, or to our man Garces, let's GO!
Folks: Terry's coming to town. He's gonna need competition to get his game tuned up proper.
The new place is called The Grainery. It will be located in center city Philly and is being put together by the Fork and Barrel folks. Think Fork and Barrel meets the Bookstore Speakeasy with a small artisanal brewery on premise.Very small brewery focusing on farmhouse ales, barrel-aged wild beers and all the freaky fun stuff... in addition there will be several more beers on tap and in bottle from all over the world with a bent towards the small, artisan producers from Scandinavia, Belgium, Italy, Germany and so forth.Which sounds exactly like the kind of place Philly's beer scene needs. Because like I said before, Philadelphia needs more brewpubs to truly be a great beer town. This would be one more. I know of at maybe two others that are coming. Look, I love the ones we have, truly, I do, but Portland is laughing at us. You want to put up with that? I don't. I want more brewpubs. We can support them, God knows.
The problem I keep hearing is that it's so expensive, and we're not talking about real estate. We're talking about licenses, and inspections, and taxes, and labor costs... Hey, the city may need a government finance enema, but you know? There are still restaurants opening! Sell a brewpub to Starr, for God's sake, or to our man Garces, let's GO!
Folks: Terry's coming to town. He's gonna need competition to get his game tuned up proper.
PA Breweries 4 heads to Reading!
After 7 PM, I'll be talking to the Berks County Homebrew Club there at the pub; it's their monthly meeting, and a great opportunity to stop in and find out more about homebrewing (and Pennsylvania brewing!).
Hope to see you in Reading next week.
Terry Hawbaker to leave the Bullfrog
 |
| Me and Terry in the barrel basement at Bullfrog. |
What's he have lined up? Sworn to secrecy, I'm afraid, though I believe Uncle Jack has a piece to the puzzle (and I hope I get the nod to blab when it's time!). Should be good; trust me on that.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Happy Burns Day!
Some hae meat and canna eat,
And some wad eat that want it;
But we hae meat, and we can eat,
And sae let the Lord be thankit.
Happy Burns Day, everyone! Much like they'll tell us we're all Irish on St. Patrick's Day, surely with a poet of the people like Robbie Burns we are all Scottish today. I'm taking a wee dram throughout the day and will be updating this post as I go.
The first: Tomintoul 12 Year Old Oloroso Sherry Cask Finish. Picked this up after WhiskyFest last year (we do get some 'gleanings,' cuz the whiskyfolks just love us), and I've been enjoying it. Here's why: The sherry finish adds a dark gold to this 12 year old, and a somewhat impertinent sweet edge to the nose, which sports fresh malt, spring-fresh grass, and a hint of grape. It rolls in the mouth quite nicely: balanced, joyously young and vibrant, while the sherry notes back off considerably from the nose -- which works well for me -- and there's a nice malty dryness on the very tail end of the finish.
While you're waiting on the next dram, here's a Burns song to entertain you.
Onward! It's 1 PM, and time for the next dram. Scots wha hae! (Wha hae uisge, that is...) Shocker: it's a blend. Islay Mist 8 Years Old, and it's good and peaty, so don't blow a single malt gasket. I'm not kidding about that peat, either: the reek's plenty stiff in the nose, and it's not bad on the palate, either. It runs a bit thin, maybe, but that does help make it a good afternoon-at-work whisky! There's a nice sweetness here, some fudge and honey notes, and it doesn't taste 8 years young, either; skillful blending (remember: "8 Years Old" is just the age of the youngest whisky used). Whoops -- it's all gone!
Here's some video fun to hold you to the next dram.
A quickie: I had a bottle of Laphroaig Quarter Cask that the good people at Beam Global sent me last month -- apparently just for fun at Christmas, God bless 'em -- and took it along last Friday when I headed up to speak at the MBAA New England winter meeting. I stopped at a brewpub in the boston area that will remain nameless (for legal reasons), and after shaking hands with old friends, asked if it would be okay if I opened up the whisky. Well...just a bit, and then put it away -- licensing issues, completely understandable -- so we got a few glasses and did that...and the cork broke. Huh. I poured some drams, and managed to put the stub of the cork back in; I had an idea. (The whisky, BTW, was excellent: roaring with peat smoke, but with a solid sweet malt basement that was just lip-smacking.) I carefully tucked it in my backpack and headed for the MBAA meeting. The first thing I said when it was time for my talk: "I have a problem with a bottle of Laphroaig: the cork's busted, can't take it home. Can you guys help me drink it?" No problem! Everyone got some delicious Laphroaig, and I sounded much, much better to them...
Another video: things get strange around 5:55.
More! Time for the Glenfarclas 12 Year Old malt. Wow: sherry really comes through in the nose, a big juicy shot of deep-profiled fruit. But it's just a big old boy of a malt in the mouth, curling a hint of smoke and some of that sherry wood in the finish. I do like Glenfarclas for its muscle, its body, and we're getting into bigger drams as the day gets older. What next?
A cute news item on Gung Haggis Fat Choy next...
Next dram! It's the Jura 21 Year Old. 21 years of dark amber wood, and some sherry and sweet orange notes in this big knocker of a nose. Time to sip. Hoo, that's got some dry wood to it, and some of that good sherry, and some sweet malt. It's a bit prickly, though, with more heat than I'd expect from 43% ABV. Still might go back for more.
More drams to come; till then, enjoy this one.
Last dram? Yeah, probably. I got caught up in reading a new (to me) Gettysburg book and got a wee bit sidetracked. But I saved a good one: Glenfarclas 25 Year Old. It's oaky and herbal in the nose, some hints of wine and honey. Oh. The way this flows and evolves across the tongue is beautiful. At first there's an almost bitter hit of wood that quickly blooms into toffee sweetness and a pleasingly coarse grassiness; not the sweet innocence of spring grass, but the more challenging grass of early fall; herbal, still sweet, but broader. The sweetness increases into the finish as the malt builds, but the wood returns at the end to put a finish to things. A smoothly dynamic dram. Yes, a good end to the day.
Slainte! And a good Burns Day to us all, for the man knits us up, a seamless cloth of humanity.
And some wad eat that want it;
But we hae meat, and we can eat,
And sae let the Lord be thankit.
Happy Burns Day, everyone! Much like they'll tell us we're all Irish on St. Patrick's Day, surely with a poet of the people like Robbie Burns we are all Scottish today. I'm taking a wee dram throughout the day and will be updating this post as I go.
The first: Tomintoul 12 Year Old Oloroso Sherry Cask Finish. Picked this up after WhiskyFest last year (we do get some 'gleanings,' cuz the whiskyfolks just love us), and I've been enjoying it. Here's why: The sherry finish adds a dark gold to this 12 year old, and a somewhat impertinent sweet edge to the nose, which sports fresh malt, spring-fresh grass, and a hint of grape. It rolls in the mouth quite nicely: balanced, joyously young and vibrant, while the sherry notes back off considerably from the nose -- which works well for me -- and there's a nice malty dryness on the very tail end of the finish.
While you're waiting on the next dram, here's a Burns song to entertain you.
Onward! It's 1 PM, and time for the next dram. Scots wha hae! (Wha hae uisge, that is...) Shocker: it's a blend. Islay Mist 8 Years Old, and it's good and peaty, so don't blow a single malt gasket. I'm not kidding about that peat, either: the reek's plenty stiff in the nose, and it's not bad on the palate, either. It runs a bit thin, maybe, but that does help make it a good afternoon-at-work whisky! There's a nice sweetness here, some fudge and honey notes, and it doesn't taste 8 years young, either; skillful blending (remember: "8 Years Old" is just the age of the youngest whisky used). Whoops -- it's all gone!
Here's some video fun to hold you to the next dram.
A quickie: I had a bottle of Laphroaig Quarter Cask that the good people at Beam Global sent me last month -- apparently just for fun at Christmas, God bless 'em -- and took it along last Friday when I headed up to speak at the MBAA New England winter meeting. I stopped at a brewpub in the boston area that will remain nameless (for legal reasons), and after shaking hands with old friends, asked if it would be okay if I opened up the whisky. Well...just a bit, and then put it away -- licensing issues, completely understandable -- so we got a few glasses and did that...and the cork broke. Huh. I poured some drams, and managed to put the stub of the cork back in; I had an idea. (The whisky, BTW, was excellent: roaring with peat smoke, but with a solid sweet malt basement that was just lip-smacking.) I carefully tucked it in my backpack and headed for the MBAA meeting. The first thing I said when it was time for my talk: "I have a problem with a bottle of Laphroaig: the cork's busted, can't take it home. Can you guys help me drink it?" No problem! Everyone got some delicious Laphroaig, and I sounded much, much better to them...
Another video: things get strange around 5:55.
More! Time for the Glenfarclas 12 Year Old malt. Wow: sherry really comes through in the nose, a big juicy shot of deep-profiled fruit. But it's just a big old boy of a malt in the mouth, curling a hint of smoke and some of that sherry wood in the finish. I do like Glenfarclas for its muscle, its body, and we're getting into bigger drams as the day gets older. What next?
A cute news item on Gung Haggis Fat Choy next...
Next dram! It's the Jura 21 Year Old. 21 years of dark amber wood, and some sherry and sweet orange notes in this big knocker of a nose. Time to sip. Hoo, that's got some dry wood to it, and some of that good sherry, and some sweet malt. It's a bit prickly, though, with more heat than I'd expect from 43% ABV. Still might go back for more.
More drams to come; till then, enjoy this one.
Last dram? Yeah, probably. I got caught up in reading a new (to me) Gettysburg book and got a wee bit sidetracked. But I saved a good one: Glenfarclas 25 Year Old. It's oaky and herbal in the nose, some hints of wine and honey. Oh. The way this flows and evolves across the tongue is beautiful. At first there's an almost bitter hit of wood that quickly blooms into toffee sweetness and a pleasingly coarse grassiness; not the sweet innocence of spring grass, but the more challenging grass of early fall; herbal, still sweet, but broader. The sweetness increases into the finish as the malt builds, but the wood returns at the end to put a finish to things. A smoothly dynamic dram. Yes, a good end to the day.
Slainte! And a good Burns Day to us all, for the man knits us up, a seamless cloth of humanity.
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