Thursday, June 10, 2010

Philly Beer Week 2010: Day 6 Wrap-Up

Day 6 Pictures are all displayed below--yes, there are only 4 of them and yes, one of them is a picture of food and the other of glassware...promise many more people pictures tomorrow.

Link back to Day 5 ----- Link forward to Day 7

Brew Lounge activity during Philly Beer Week 2010 has been brisk, but I can see that many of you are between 1 and 3 days behind in your reading and browsing. Fortunately, last night was a light and suburban night for me, so I've got very little to share today.

With my main goal of getting home for what turned out to be the last of the Stanley Cup Finals games last night and preparing (yes, preparing) for Philly Beer Geek tonight in Manayunk, I opted away from some of the big names and big lights of the city (Lambic Summit, Brewers Pub Crawl, and Vintage Happy Hour at Nodding Head, et cetera).

Instead, I made a quick stop in to see the guys at Exton Beverage and have a taste of a few porters and stouts that they were pouring. They've had a nice stream of people tasting and hanging out at each of the tastings that they've been conducting. They even got a completed job application from one of the tasters last night. Tonight is a sampling of a half dozen or so Belgians and Friday is canned beer (think: Sly Fox, Brooklyn, 21st Amendment...and I think I may have heard Red Racer, Caldera, and one or two others). Stop by, they're fun to hang out with after work---or whatever time of the day that is for you.

Then, I made my way to The Drafting Room where Bernie from Stockertown was going to be repping Bear Republic from Healdsburg, CA. Fortunately, the beers rep themselves well enough, because Bernie got stuck in Philly and wasn't able to make it. I figure that brewers and reps would have a difficult time cover the city, let alone the city and suburbs together with the jam-packed schedule that has them so spread thin during these ten days.

No matter, Racer 5 IPA on hand-pump? If this isn't a go-to cask-conditioned American IPA for you, you should really check it out and see if you agree. The Apex (one of my best-in-show at the Double IPA Festival in Hayward, CA two years ago) and the Crazy Ivan (Belgian Strong) were real crowd pleasers.

But what else did we spy on the bottom of the chalkboard menu? Why, under the Erie Pilsner, it was Lost Abbey Angel's Share on tap, something that many people were also dabbling and delighting in.

It was a solid crowd of people enjoy a lot of Bear Republic beer and take-home pint glassware. The Drafting Room has a nice-looking Great Lakes event tonight and Brooklyn on Friday...two more great reasons to pull in off of the madness of route 100 in Exton, PA.

Remember, that no matter where you are during Philly Beer Week, it's important to support your local guys (Bucks County? Hulmeville Inn; Delaware County? Iron Hill-Media; Montgomery County? Iron Abbey or Teresa's Next Door....just to name a few suburban spots participating in Philly Beer Week). Celebrate every week of the year with them like it was Philly Beer Week.

(Exton Beverage poured out the Stouts and Porters during Happy Hour in Exton, PA--Weyerbacher Old Heathen and Yards Thomas Jefferson were crowd favorites)
(Exton Beverage poured out the Stouts and Porters during Happy Hour in Exton, PA--Weyerbacher Old Heathen and Yards Thomas Jefferson were crowd favorites)
(tasty Pastrami eggrolls have replaced the cheesesteak eggrolls at The Drafting Room)
(yes, this is really just a picture of Bear Republic glassware at The Drafting Room...that was their representation)

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