Do Hops Gather On a Rolling Barrel?

Terrapin Brewing So Fresh, So Green Green
Dogfish Head Sahtea
Russian River Pliny the Elder
Green Flash Brewing Co. Imperial IPA
Port Brewing Hop 15
Great Divide Fresh Hop Ale
21st Amendment Hop Crisis!
Einbecker Winter Bock
Emelisse Black and Tan
Mikkeller Red/White Christmas
Porterhouse Wrasslers XXXX Stout
Weihenstephan Doemens 1809 Berliner Style Weisse

Hops
-Boris Pasternak (1890-1960)-Moscow/Russia


Beneath the willow wound round with ivy
we take cover from the worst
of the storm, with greatcoat round
our shoulders and my hands around your waist.


I've got it wrong. That isn't ivy
entwined in the bushes round
the woods, but hops. You intoxicate me!
Lets spread the greatcoat on the ground.

On November 27th, we diverted our path from the usual Union Jacks on the Mantawny for new territory 23 miles west in Barto, PA. I live in Philly, but I find myself in the sticks once a week so that a few of us can talk shop, eat real potato fries and enjoy a mighty tasty elixir. This week we had an agenda. A trip with a special purpose. It was Hopsgiving.

Let's back up a few days before Hopsgiving. On Thanksgiving we polished off a few bottles of my favorite beer of the year, Terrapin's Side Project #13: So Fresh, So Green Green. If you love Outkast, then I'm sure that you love the name of this one. It's a wet/fresh hopped IPA that is amber in color, super clear, piney, citrusy and an overall mess of Amarillo hop greatness.

Okay, back to Hopsgiving. The tap list included:
Port High Tide
Green Flash Imperial
Stone Ruination
Port Hop 15
Dogfish Head 90 Min
Nogne O IPA
Russian River Pliny the Elder
Southern Tier Unearthly
Rogue XS IPA
Great Divide Fresh Hop Ale
Bear Republic Racer X
Avery Maharajah
Victory Hop Wallop

That is a pretty nice list. How to choose. How...to...choose. RR Blind Pig was supposed to be on as well, but 21st Amendment Hop Crisis! took its place. I've written about nearly all of these beers before. I did learn a lesson though when there is a hop menu like this. Drink Pliny last. Your palate will thank you.

By Candlelight 
-Sylvia Plath

This is winter, this is night, small love --
A sort of black horsehair,
A rough, dumb country stuff
Steeled with the sheen
Of what green stars can make it to our gate.
I hold you on my arm.
It is very late.
The dull bells tongue the hour.
The mirror floats us at one candle power.

This is the fluid in which we meet each other,
This haloey radiance that seems to breathe
And lets our shadows wither
Only to blow
Them huge again, violent giants on the wall.
One match scratch makes you real.

At first the candle will not bloom at all --
It snuffs its bud
To almost nothing, to a dull blue dud.

I hold my breath until you creak to life,
Balled hedgehog,
Small and cross. The yellow knife
Grows tall. You clutch your bars.
My singing makes you roar.
I rock you like a boat
Across the Indian carpet, the cold floor,
While the brass man
Kneels, back bent, as best he can

Hefting his white pillar with the light
That keeps the sky at bay,
The sack of black! It is everywhere, tight, tight!
He is yours, the little brassy Atlas --
Poor heirloom, all you have,
At his heels a pile of five brass cannonballs,
No child, no wife.
Five balls! Five bright brass balls!
To juggle with, my love, when the sky falls.

Part 2 of this post takes place at the most impressive bar that I may have ever been to. Who would think that would be in East Falls, Philadelphia. Fork and Barrel opened up months ago. I knew that the beer list was entirely European. I love all beer, but there are so many American Craft Brewers out there constantly brewing new madness that I let this place slide off my radar. Mistake, mistake.

Let's start with the atmosphere of F&B, inside and out. The actually building used to be home to The Pour House. It was your regular neighborhood bar, with a basic draft list that you were able to find something on, but nothing exciting and certainly nothing to go out of your way for. The outside is now painted dark two-toned, almost black on black with nothing but a cask hanging near the window. Very simple and snazzy. Inside you are engulfed in flames. Literally. There are hundreds of candles that provide the only light and warmth. Mason jars housing tea lights hang from the ceiling and candles are placed everywhere. It is quite beautiful, intimate and the most different experience that I have ever had. The draft list was a bit of a new language to me. I need to brush up on my beer knowledge from across the Atlantic. Beer styles, however, were plentiful. There were plenty of imperial stouts, bocks, doublebocks, interesting IPAs, all providing an ABV teetering at 10% +/-. If you put your back to the bar, you can gaze at a beer bottle wall that is something of a mosaic of colors and sizes. Their bottled beer list is a novel. I don't remember how many beers they have, but the staff was great at providing a bit of help once they saw a perplexed look on my face. It was so hard to choose. A few of us shared a flight, and chose a bottle. It was a great way to introduce myself to this place. I look forward to checking out the upstairs. There is an American Style Cask pub that has a few handpumps and some nice looking bottles that are all American. And for the All Americans there is a huge flag taking over the window.

I look forward to writing one more post before 2011 strikes. With the holidays approaching, that should be no problem.

Cheers for now.

May Your Glass Always Be Half Full

Prohibition ended today (Dec 5) in 1933. And I thought last week was Thanksgiving!

Look for a new post soon on my Hopsgiving at Union Jacks and local night at Fork and Barrel.

Cheers

Thankful for Dessert Beers

Dogfish Head Bitches Brew (B)

Cigar City Maduro Brown Ale (B)

North Coast Brewery Brother Thelonious (D)

Ballast Point Black Marlin Porter (D)

Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock (D)

Bells Brewery Double Cream Stout (D)
Rogue Brewing Dead Guy (D)
Yards Brewing Co. ESA (D)
Bells Brewing Co. Kalamazzo Stout (D)
Terrapin Moo Hoo Chocolate Milk Stout (D)
Copper Crow Chocolate Thunder Porter-Cask(D)
Yards Brewing Co. Love Stout (D)
Dogfish Head Chicory Stout (D)

The Son of a Gambolier

-Charles Ives (1895)

I'm a rambling rake of poverty
from Tippery town I came.
'Twas poverty compelled me first
to go out in the rain.
In all sorts of weather,
be it wet or be it dry,
I'm bound to get my livelihood
or lay me down to die.

Then combine your humble ditties
as from inn to tavern we steer
Like every honest fellow
I drinks my lager beer.
Like every jolly fellow
I takes my whiskey clear.
For I'm a rambling rake of poverty
And the son of a gambolier.

I was was tall and handsome,
and was so very neat.
They thought I was too good to live,
most good enough to eat.
But now I'm old, my coat is torn
and poverty holds me fast.
And every girl turns up her nose
as I go wandering past.

Not a Pale Ale of any sorts was in sight of making this list. My palate had malts-a-callin'. It had stouts as dark and sweet as can be making decisions for my normally hopped out appetite. These brews kind of made me feel like the song I chose to include. It sounds a bit dark, but when I hear the lyrics I think about the Dan Zane's children's version where a bunch of kids belt away the words away. Maybe they were drinking chocolate milk (stouts). When this time of year comes around I get a hankering for stouts. Some would say that I have a love interest (Yards). There is nothing like choppin' some chicory while listening to Miles Davis (DFH) to help someone forget that winter is on its way.

Most of us in Philadelphia know that The General Lafayette is no more. The beautiful historic inn off Church Rd and Germantown Ave lays empty of thirsty folk. For a while they were hosting Prism Brewing while they were getting their beehive brewhouse finished up. If you happened to find yourself at The General over the past year, even as a fair weather patron, you could feel something in the works. In a nut shell, the restaurant side of the biz was in decline. The brewing side just so happened to operate under a different name. And although I am not hip to what is going on with the food, Copper Crow Brewing Co. is what we will find ourselves drinking. The website isn't up and running yet, but stay tuned. I was at The London in Fairmount the other night and what I heard was 2011 is the year of The Crow. And by the way, The London has their chocolate porter on cask right now.

Crow Goes Hunting

-From Crow by Ted Hughes

Crow
Decided to try words. 

He imagined some words for the job, a lovely pack-
Clear-eyed, resounding, well-trained,
With strong teeth.
You could not find a better bred lot. 
He pointed out the hare and away went the words
Resounding.
Crow was Crow without fail, but what is a hare? 
It converted itself to a concrete bunker.
The words circled protesting, resounding. 
Crow turned the words into bombs-they blasted the bunker.
The bits of bunker flew up-a flock of starlings. 
Crow turned the words into shotguns, they shot down the starlings.
The falling starlings turned to a cloudburst. 
Crow turned the words into a reservoir, collecting the water.
The water turned into an earthquake, swallowing the reservoir. 
The earthquake turned into a hare and leaped for the hill
Having eaten Crow's words. 
Crow gazed after the bounding hare
Speechless with admiration. 

Cheers until December.

Beercation 2010: Part 2-Philly Meets Florida

We took a month off here at Brews of Our Lives to prepare for the long awaited Florida Beercation 2010. Although it was a short visit, we stopped by some of Tampa Bay's best beer spots. When possible, I tried to drink as many brews that Philadelphians do not often get on tap or will even see without a travel to the Sunshine State. Highlights included Pegs Cantina and Brewpub, Dunedin Brewery and, of course, Cigar City Brewery. I also had some amazing homebrews from The Greenbriar that I had been dying to try. Enjoy the list.

Highland Brewing St. Terese's Pale Ale (D)- The Refinery
Great Divide Hibernation (D)-The Refinery
Lost Coast Brewery Indica IPA (D)-Independent (St. Pete)
Lost Coast Brewery 8 Ball Stout (D)-Independent (St. Pete)
Bells Oberon (D)-Red Mesa Cantina
Terrapen Beer Hopsecutioner (D)- Rex
Pegs GOOD Day (D)-Pegs Cantina and Brew Pub
Pegs Square Dancing DIPA (D)-Pegs Cantina and Brew Pub
Cigar City Brewing Humidor Jai Alai (G)-House Beer
Greeenbriar Artisan Brews Monkey In The Night (B)-House Beer
Unibrou Ephemere Apple (D)- Old Northeast Tavern
Terrapin Beer So Fresh So Green-House Beer
Lagunitas Maximus Ale (B)- House Beer
Red Brick Pale Ale (B)- House Beer
Great Divide Titan IPA (D)- Rex
Cigar City Brewing Cubano Espresso (G)-House Beer
Greenbriar Artisan Brews Oatmeal Cookie Brown Ale (B)- House Beer
Sierra Nevada Brewing Estate 2010 (D)- Dunedin House of Beer
Florida Beer Co. Swamp Ape DIPA (D)- Dunedin House of Beer
Dunedin Brewery The Rock DIPA (D)- Dunedin Brewery
Swamp Head 10-10-10 Barrel Aged (D)- Dunedin Brewery
Blue Point Brewing Toxic Sludge (D)- World of Beer
Starr Hill Brewery Northern Lights (D)- World of Beer
Reissdorf Kolsch (D)- The Independent (Tampa)
Cigar City Brewing Ether (DF)- Cigar City Tasting Room
Cigar City Brewing Or (DF)- Cigar City Tasting Room
Cigar City Brewing Oatmeal Raisin Cookie (DF)- Cigar City Tasting Room
Cigar City Brewing Seabass (DF)- Cigar City Tasting Room

Coffee with Christ

1. Lagunitas Brewing Co. Lucky 13 (D)

2. Oskar Blues Brewery Gordon (D)

3. Avery Brewing Co. Maharaja (D)

4. Monks Ale Abbey of the Christ in the Desert (D)

5. The Bruery Orchard White (D)

6. Southern Tier Brewing Co. Pumking (D)

7. Victory Brewing Co. Hop Wallop (Handpump)

8. Belfast Bay Brewing Co. McGovern's Oatmeal Stout (B)

9. Victory Brewing Co. Victory Village (D)

10. Pauwel Kwak (D)

Five Little Pumpkins

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate,

The first one said,

"Oh my, it's getting late."

The second one said,

"But we don't care."

The third one said,

"I see witches in the air."

The fourth one said,

"Let's run, and run and run."

The fifth one said,

"Get ready for some fun."

Then whoosh went the wind,

and out went the lights,

And five little pumpkins rolled out of sight!

There is no better way to start writing an autumn beer list than with a children's poem. I love October in Philadelphia. I have never seen beer lists change so fast in any other month than when witches can roam freely. This list in particular, I was all over the place. But there were a few with which we can sit around the campfire to talk about.

Monks Ale Abbey of the Christ in the Desert. I heard about this brew on beernews.org and was quite intrigued. The article stated that Monks Ale are the only Benedictine Monastery to brew beer in the U.S., and it is the first time that it will be available out of state of New Mexico. Once I saw that it was on draft down the street at the Olde Eagle, I was at least pretty stoked to see what it was all about. This isn't a knock-your-socks-off beer. I think that I liked their tag line more.. "Made with Care and Prayer." I found it to be a pretty mild Belgian Ale if that is what you want to call it. Easy on the hops and an overall sweet mouth on it. A very noticeable honey flavor that clings to your lips. I found this article a few weeks after. It's worth a gander and worth a taste if you are able to find it.

As for a widely accessible beer to find in past 2 months, Victory Village was all over the city and suburbs. Whether you wanted a growler from Whole Foods or a 12oz glass, this beer was on every beer bar draft list. Coffee beers generally catch my attention. I'm a coffee lover. Some say that that they don't like to mix the two together; I say that there is no reason not to carry a love affair from morning to night. Victory Village is probably the best coffee beer that I laid my lips on as of recent. 150 lbs of coffee are added into the fermenter late in the game. It definitely comes out superbly in a brown ale. Village One Coffee is a roaster right outta PA. And they make damn fine coffee. Victory and Village put out a few videos for everyone to see what they were up to just before the beer hit the bars. Check one out here.

Cheers until next time.

When Two Rivers Collide: Consecration and Damnation

1. Lancaster Brewing Co. Milk Stout (D)

2. McNeill's Brewing Warlord Imperial IPA (D)
3. Russian River Consecration (D)

4. Lagunitas Brewing Co. IPA (D)

5. Southern Tier Harvest Ale (D)

6. Northcoast Brewing Co. Scrimshaw Pilsner (D)

7. Russian River Damnation (B)

"With impetuous recoil and jarring sound

Th' infernal doors, and on their hinges grate

Harsh thunder, that the lowest bottom shook

Of Erebus. She opened, but to shut

Excelled her power; the gates wide open stood.

-John Milton: Paradise Lost

Very rarely does both heaven and hell find their way into the same post for me. Surely I have been explicit enough describing the most beautiful brews served in a snifter, but to have the most damned ones served also, well, there must be a story behind that. If there was such a story, I would happily title it, "When Two Rivers Collide."

Let's talk about P.O.P.E. first. The Pub on Passayunk East has to be the darkest beer bar that I have ever been to. The only light that lit the menu came from the room next to where we were sitting. But there must have been a torch somewhere, because low and behold, what was written in pink chalk on the draft board? Russian River Consecration. It was the priciest beer on the list, but I thought back to a few months ago when I was able to indulge in RR's Pliny the Elder and Supplication, both on draft. So when the sour beast is in your face, reach your hand out and make a new friend. There is nothing but fantastic things to note about this brew. It was plum red. It had absolutely no head. It was tart in every sense of the word. There was a bit of vinegar behind it, but mostly I was just pounded by the currants.

This seems like a great place for an except from one of my favorite poems.

MORNING and evening
Maids heard the goblins cry:
"Come buy our orchard fruits,
Come buy, come buy:
Apples and quinces,
Lemons and oranges,
Plump unpecked cherries-
Melons and raspberries,
Bloom-down-cheeked peaches,
Swart-headed mulberries,
Wild free-born cranberries,
Crab-apples, dewberries,
Pine-apples, blackberries,
Apricots, strawberries--
All ripe together
In summer weather--
Morns that pass by,
Fair eves that fly;
Come buy, come buy;
Our grapes fresh from the vine,
Pomegranates full and fine,
Dates and sharp bullaces,
Rare pears and greengages,
Damsons and bilberries,
Taste them and try:
Currants and gooseberries,
Bright-fire-like barberries,
Figs to fill your mouth,
Citrons from the South,
Sweet to tongue and sound to eye,
Come buy, come buy."

-"The Goblin Market" by Christina Rossetti

Now onto how "Paradise Lost" found its way into this post and into our other river's channel. Damnation. RR Damnation is a pretty sweet Belgian Strong Ale. Lots of fruity notes, very light in color. I was able to get full view of this brew at the well lit Terrace Taproom. Served out of RR's (tion) cage-corked 375 ml bottles, they also provide you with a novel written down the side. It is a smooth operator with a dry finish.

Cheers for now friends. Happy Fall.

A Poem, A Story, Another Season upon us.

1. Sly Fox Brewing Standard Porter (D)-Handpump
2. Weyerbacher Brewing Co. Double Simco IPA (D)
3. Coronado Brewing Co. Mermaids Red (D)
4. Sixpoint Brewing Co. Righteous Ale (D)
5. Bierbrouwerij De Koningshoeven B.V. La Trappe Quadruple (D)
6. Brasserie Lefebvre Blanche de Bruxelles (D)

7. Avery Brewing Co. IPA (D)

8. Lost Abbey Brewery Avant Garde (D)

9. Ithica Beer Co. Flower Power IPA (D)

10. Victory Brewing Co. Wild Devil Ave (B)

11. Elysian Brewing Co. Avatar Jasmine IPA (B)

12. Founders Brewing Co. Dirty Bastard (B)

13. Cigar City Jai Alai

14. Green Flash Hop Head Red

"Smoke hangs like haze over harvested fields,

the gold of stubble, the brown of turned earth

and you walk under the red light of fall

The scent of fallen apples, the dust of threshed grain

The sharp, gentile chill of fall.

Here as we move into the shadows of autumn

The night that brings the morning of spring

Come to us, Lord of Harvest

Teach us to be thankful for the gifts you bring us..."

**Autumn Equinox Ritual

I love the change of seasons, but losing the summer's heat and the hours of light into the 9 o'clock hour becomes harder to do without. Whether it is through the autumn imagery that is ignited by the prose that started this blog post, or just knowing that a pumpkin ale has just been tapped, I guess that you can find bits of love any time of year.

These past two weeks had me sampling some great styles of beer. I often devote entire posts to IPAs and stouts, but, fortunately, family and friendly places offered me their harvest. Porters, Double IPAs, Reds, Ryes, Belgians and Scotch Ales all, thankfully, fell into this list.

Here's the tale of La Trappe. It's big. It's a quad and it's way too drinkable. Jules and I were at Terrace Taproom a few weeks back when this beer was on. It was a Wednesday night. We were only looking to enjoy a beer or two. But there it was. I put down my finished pint of Mermaid's Red, and through the lacing across the glass, the Trappist tap actually smiled at me. I said to myself, "No." And as I was about to order another, and the bartender says, "La Trappe is a bad motherfucker," Jules says, "I'll have one." And that was it. It poured a beautiful dark amber into a pretty sweet chalice. Toasty malts laced with sweet fruits. I figured 10%, I'll sip it for an hour. It's a ten minute walk home and it's early. It was a nice end of the night drink.

There were no dragons slayed that night. Nor were any moats to crossed.

Cheers for now.