Be of Good Beer on New Year's Eve

It's "amateur night" many of you may say. But, so what? You want to go out? Find a good beer establishment and be of good cheer. And be safe along the way. Here is a rundown of places (in alphabetical order), many in the Delaware Valley but some as far away as the Pacific NW, that are doing something special for New Year's Eve 2008. I only did half a job of collecting what's listed here. Over the next several days, I'm sure to be adding to the list. If you know of something interesting going on in the world of good beer and New Year's Eve, let all of us know by dropping a note below. NEWLY ADDED (12/30): 21st Amendment; Allentown/Bethlehem Brew Works; Boston Beer Works/Fenway; CB6; Church Brew Works; Copperfield's; DBA; Duclaw; Firewaters/Glen Mills; Flying Pig; Magnolia Pub & Brewery; North Country (updated); North Third; Old Eagle Tavern; Otto's Brewpub; Publick House; Rock Bottom/King of Prussia; Toronado NEWLY ADDED (12/27): Abbey Wright; Appalachian Brewing; Birreria Paradiso; Bullfrog Brewery; Chick's Cafe; Fathead's; Half Moon Saloon; Heartland Brewery; Legend Brewing; North Country Brewing; RFD; Rivertowne Pour House; Selin's Grove Brewing; Stewart's Brewing; The Brewer's Art; The Brickskeller; The Ship Inn; Zeno's ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 21st Amendment Open for Business As Usual ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Abbey Wright Open for business as usual until 2am ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Allentown/Bethlehem Brew Works Come in and celebrate your big night out here with us, at one of our two distinct Lehigh Valley Locations! Drink specials, a great New Years Eve exclusive menu, noise makers, live TV coverage of times square, good friends and a great atmosphere all combine to make it an New Years you wont soon forget! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Appalachian Brewing/Harrisburg It’s a black and white ball at ABC in Harrisburg this New Years Eve! Join us as we celebrate the past year and toast to the new on a very special evening with Suburban Transit. $7 advance tickets gets you in the door of what’s to be one of our hottest nights of the year. Don’t forget to dress to impress in your best black, white or both. If you want to make it a REALLY memorable night with us, you may purchase our New Years Eve VIP Package which includes a three course dinner along with champagne toast and two draft beer tickets, dessert, party favors and surprises galore! Tickets are only $20 each or $35/couple and are available at ABC Harrisburg, online or by phone at 1-800-594-TIXX ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Birreria Paradiso, both locations Business as usual; Close at 11pm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Blind Tiger Ale House $150 The Menu: Cheese Beignets with Cave Age Gruyere Onion Tartlets with Sheep's Milk Ricotta & Fresh Thyme Baked Shrimp with Tomato Mustard Crab Cakes with Parsley Remoulade Filet Mignon with Caramelized Onions & Fresh Horseradish Ms. Wong's Billionaires Bacon Cheese Plate from Murray's Cheese Prosciutto Blind Tiger New Year's Eve Cake The party is all inclusive - all the food, a great draught selection, cask beers, wines, and Prosecco. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boston Beer Works/Fenway Open for Business As Usual ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bridgid's - business as usual, pay as you go ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bube's Brewery Still waffling over what to do on New Year's Eve?? Want to be where the fun and the cool people go?? Then you should know that ALL roads lead to Bube's Brewery NYE Festivities! Join us for fine dining in either the Catacombs or Alois Restaurants. Make your reservation NOW for the time you wish. Have casual fare in the Bottling Works. If you join us for dinner before the party your cover will be FREE!! After dinner, TWO parties will be happening. In the BW, dancing in style with DJ Kerry Diem and jazzy music in Alois Martini Bar with John Kunkle. Hats, noisemakers and a champagne toast complete the event. Looking forward to giving YOU a kiss at midnite! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bullfrog Brewery Band; food and beer specials; no cover ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CB6 Open for Business As Usual ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chick's Cafe Open for New Year's Eve, with normal dinner service available on the first floor, and a buffet dinner option ($45, including champagne toast) available on our second floor. Currently, on draft we have Birrifico Italiano's La Fluerette, Sly Fox Odyssey, Aecht Scherlnka Marzen Rauchbier, Ramstein Winter Wheat, Troegs Mad Elf, etc.. And the bottle list is even more interesting. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Church Brew Works We are open for New Years and taking Dinner Reservations. We are offering a three course Prix-Fixe Menu. Please call us for reservations at 412-688-8200 We will also be able to handle last minute walk-ups, as our whole pub is open for New Years specialties of Chef Jason Marrone include Elk Tenderloins served with a Black Cherry Truffle Glaze, Pan Seared Supreme breast of chicken served with a mascarpone polenta, Trio of Duck (pan seared, Sausage and Duck Confit) and Lobster Bisque cooked from scratch with 25 lbs of lobster shells as the stock. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cosimo Restaurant $50 "Resolve To Fine Dine with Wine" (ed. but they have some decent beer too!) 3 Course Dinner Begins at 5:00 PM Casual Dress $50.00 Per Person ++ Includes Wine (with Italian Dinner) Includes Glass of Champagne at Midnight Reservations Required 610-647-1233 Course 1 Lobster Bisque Arugula Salad Slow Roasted Short Rib Risotto... Robiola...Natural Jus Foie Gras (add $10, limited quantity available) Course 2 Filet Pork Tenderloin Striped Bass Maine Lobster (add $20, limited quantity available) Course 3 Dessert Sampler Osetra Caviar $175 ounce (Pre orders only. Must be received by December 26th) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ David Copperfield's Open for Business As Usual ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ D.B.A. Open for Business As Usual ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dogfish Head Downtown Rehoboth Beach!!!! We'll have two seatings for our 5-course beer dinner, so figure out which one works best for you and call to buy you tickets today! First Seating: Doors open at 5:30pm, Service begins at 6:00pm, $65 per person, gratuity included. Second Seating: Doors open at 8:00pm, Service begins at 8:15pm, $75 per person, gratuity included (second seating includes a Champagne toast and priority seating for the live music of Nate Myers and the Aces which begins at 10:00pm). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Duclaw Brewing All of our locations will be open on New Year’s Eve and we will be doing a free champagne toast at midnight to bring in the New Year. The Bel Air and Fells Point locations will celebrating with a party, while our Arundel Mills and Bowie Town Center locations will playing it a little low keyed with a more laid back atmosphere. If you are looking to see the fireworks, the Fells Point location provides a view of the incredible show. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Fathead's Open 11am-6pm; happy hour specials 4pm-6pm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Firewaters/Glen Mills VIP packages sold out; $10 cover charge still available, includes some specials, noisemakers, and champagne toast ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Flying Pig Open for Business As Usual with a live band and $5 cover charge ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ General Lafayette is open with special dinner packages, bar is standard operating procedure...open late ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Ginger Man NYC is throwing a New Year’s Eve Extravaganza. With 66 taps and over 100 bottles this is surely the place to be for hopheads to ring in the new year. The tickets are $100 and are available for sale. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Grey Lodge Pub It's time again for our gala New Year's Eve Party. With help from Mary Kay, Helene and friends, we will welcome the new year with great food, tasty beverages, a dj, hats, noisemakers, and a champagne toast. Tickets are $65 and will availabe at the door. 9:30pm to 1am. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Half Moon Saloon Food specials; maybe a band ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Heartland Brewery/Times Square 7 PM - 4 AM Cocktail / Semi-Formal Attire Why spend New Year's anywhere but in the center of all the action? Heartland Brewery, located right in Times Square, offers 12,000 square feet and multiple rooms in which to ring in 2008. The venue, featuring both The Chophouse and Spanky’s BBQ, will be one of the hottest spots in Times Square to ring in the New Year. The conjoining brew house and BBQ joint will offer a 5 hour, top-shelf open bar, an array of hors d'oeuvres and savory finger foods, two live DJs spinning all your favorite hits, and a live broadcast of the ball drop from Times Square - only a few steps away! Don’t miss this opportunity to celebrate the greatest night of the year at Times Square’s biggest and best party!! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ High Street Grill ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hop Devil Grill - Ring in the New Year with New York Beers; 4:00PM-12:00AM Every tap in the building (31) will be dedicated to beers brewed in the state of New York. Enjoy special brews from Sixpoint, Southampton, Captain Lawrence, Southern Tier and more! The beers will be tapped when we open at 4:00 without any cover charge all night. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Iron Hill Brewery, West Chester "special dinner menu" 'til 10pm; complimentary champagne toast at midnight; seasonal beers (currently Winter Warmer, nitro Bourbon Porter, cask Wee Heavy) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Legend Brewing Closes at 6pm, but is open for Discounted Mug Club Mug fill-ups for all Mug Club Members all day. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Magnolia Pub & Brewery Open for Business As Usual 'til around 10pm, depending upon number of customers ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Manayunk Brewery $90 The Cocktail Party 8pm-12am - $90/person (includes tax & gratuity) Price includes: Heavy hors d’oeuvres from 8 pm-12 am Premium 4 hour open bar 8 pm-12 am: Beer, wine, and up to premium liquor (Absolut, Stoli, Jack Daniels, Captain Morgan, VO, etc.) Champagne toast at midnight Party favors Live music downstairs by the band “52 Pickup” - A special performance by this Ultra Party Band will rock us into the New Year Lve DJ upstairs Table side magic by Dennis Fave - Our mystifying house magician, Dennis Faven, will also be on hand performing tableside magic. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ McKenzie Brew House $55; Includes Buffet, etc. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ McMenamins Crystal Ballroom McMenamins Kennedy School ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Monk's Cafe 6:30pm-9:00pm $75 Fabulous four course dinner paired with great beers (or wine, if you must). We'll hand out hats & noise makers on your way out to other parties. You'll be out of here by 8:30PM. Always sells out early, so don't delay. Get your tickets now! MENU: Amuse: a special small course paired with beer First Course: Allagash Four aged with Strawberries (Maine) (wine - Clay Station Viognier) SALADE de BRUXELLES Second Course: Stone Vertical Epic 05-05-05 (California) (wine- Laboure Roi Pouilly Fuisse) BELGIAN COUNTRY TERRINE Third Course: Wintercoat Vildmoseol draft VERY RARE (Denmark) (wine- Ramey Claret) FILET MIGNON au Champignon mushrooms sauteed in Vildmoseol (peat smoked beer) Fourth Course: Port Brewing Cuvee de Tomme (California) CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY TORTE Hats when you come in & noise makers on your way out menu subject to change DON'T DELAY - BUY YOUR TICKETS TODAY 9:30pm-12:30am $125 Kick out the jams & ring in the New Year, baby! An elegant Six Course Dinner paired with a great beer, including a couple of gems from our cellar. Hats, noise makers & a midnight Mahleur Brut taste (even you wine drinkers will love this champagne-style beer). Tickets are going fast. MENU: Amuse: a special small course paired with beer First Course: Deus Belgian Ale (Belgium) (wine- Remy Pannier Vouvray) SHRIMP BISQUE TERRINE Second Course: Brouwerij de Glazen Toren Cuvee Angelique draft VERY RARE (Belgium) (wine- Pinot Noir) VENISON MEDALLIONS over maple mashed sweet potatoes Third Course: Hanssens Strawberry Lambic (Belgium) (wine- Clay Station Viognier) SALADE de BRUXELLES Fourth Course: Russian River Top Shelf "Deification" draft VERY RARE (California) (wine- Laboure Roi Pouilly Fuisse) LOBSTER FLAN Fifth Course: Port Brewing Cuvee de Tomme VERY RARE (California) (wine- Ramey Claret) FILET MIGNON ROSSINI Sixth Course: Brasserie Des Fanches-Montagnes La Dragonne VERY RARE (warm spiced ale from Switzerland) CHOCOLATE LAVA CAKE / Hats & noise makers, too! MIDNIGHT TOAST WITH MAHLEUR BRUT menu subject to change DON'T DELAY - BUY YOUR TICKETS TODAY! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ North Country Brewing Open for Business As Usual until around Midnight, depending upon number of customers ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ North Third Open for Business As Usual ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Old Eagle Tavern Open for Business As Usual ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Otto's Brewpub Open for Business As Usual ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Publick House Open for Business As Usual ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RFD Bring in the New Years @ RFD Music, drink specials, and No Cover. Come to RFD and watch the ball drop and party 'till you drop! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rivertowne Pour House/Monroeville $40 ticket ($75/couple); buffet, DJ, champagne toast, and includes all well drinks, beer, and wine ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rock Bottom/King of Prussia Open for Business As Usual ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Selin's Grove Brewing CLOSED ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sly Fox closes at 10pm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Southampton Publick House NEW YEAR'S EVE DINNER from 5pm - 10pm. Price Fix $40 per person (plus tax and 18% gratuity). Dinner Menu available. Dinner served from 5:00pm - 10:00pm * Reservations suggested NEW YEAR'S EVE PARTY 10 pm * IN THE TAPROOM DJ DORY * PARTY FAVORS MIDNIGHT CHAMPAGNE TOAST featuring Domaine Chandon Brut Classic No Cover charge for all Diners, $10 @ the door for all others ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ South Philadelphia Tap Room - open for business as usual; opening at 8am on New Year's Day in conjunction with the Mummers Parade ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Standard Tap - Champagne Toast; hats/noisemakers; pay as you go ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Stewart's Brewing Company No cover; DJ; some special menu items during the night ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Stone Brewing can’t wait for two thousand and eight! Come celebrate the passing of yet another glorious year of beer at the Stone World Bistro & Gardens on December 31st! To close out the old year and ring in the new Chef Jeff will be serving up a dazzling array of prix fixe five-course dinners. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Teresa's Next Door is open and pouring their usual fine selection of beers; pay as you go ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TJs is closed ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Abbaye - Champagne Toast; DJ; pay as you go ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Brewer's Art Midnight Champagne Toast; some menu specials; no cover ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Brickskeller Closed ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Foodery - Pine Street location open until Midnight; 2nd Street location open until 10pm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Old Toad is hosting our annual beer dinner on New Years eve. Seating will run from 7.30 till 9.30 and you will have your table for the night. The menu consists of four courses each of which have been carefully paired with an exquisite beer that will compliment the dishes. To see a full menu check our website! Tickets are $50 per person, which does not include tax or gratuity. Come and join us for what is always a spanking good time!!! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Ship Inn TWO CELEBRATIONS 7 PM EST - New Year in the UK Join us as we count down to Midnight in England (7 PM our time) dinner, champagne, shortbread and party hats for Auld Lang Syne. 9 PM EST- New Year in New Jersey Party with BBQ Bob & The SpareRibs. We'll roll out the barrel and ring in the New Year with a late night grazing table, party hats, champagne, dancing and a rockabilly good time! $10 cover. Must be 21 and over. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Toronado Open for Business As Usual ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Triumph $100 in advance, $125 at the door; Includes: Buffet, beer, wine, and mixed drinks* until 2AM, and free coat check. (*Shots are not included- two drinks per person at a time) VIP Package: Make your evening even more memorable by upgrading to one of our premium VIP tables. You will have guaranteed seating and access to bottle service all night. Not to mention your additional hors d'oeuvres buffet featuring shrimp cocktail, seared filet, and more! Lounge VIP: $400 per table- tables seat up to 8 guests and have a 1 bottle minimum Platform VIP: $500 couch - seats up to 12 guests and has a 2 bottle minimum Media Room VIP: $500 for the table- seats up to 12 guests and has a two bottle minimum- BONUS this room has a 50" flat screen on the wall so you have a private viewing of the ball dropping at midnight! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Union Jack's On The Manatawny is closed ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Victory closes at 6pm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ White Dog Cafe Monday, December 31, 6:00 pm - 2:00 am New Year's Eve Dinner and Party Join us for an Elegant Dinner with... Strolling Violin Duo Davis & Diane Barnett, 8:30pm - 12am Sing-Along Piano with Mark Randall in the Piano Parlor 9pm - 2am Dancing to Motown and More with DJ Brian Grumble, 11pm to 2am $60 per person plus tax and gratuity for late seating (after 8:30pm). A la carte early seating (6pm - 7:45pm). Reservations required. 215-386-9224 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Zot First Seating $65 Second Seating $75 For Suggested Beer Pairings, Add $20 Welcome in the New Year with Half Price Well Drinks and Draught Beers 12:00-2:00am ------------------------ o ------------------------- Saffron Mussel Merguez Soup (Rolling Rock) or Corn Bisque smoked Salmon Rillettes (Woustyntje) or Cream of Carrot & ginger, Fire-Cured Kangaroo Brochette, Crispy Leeks (Blanche de Bruxelles) ------------------------ o ------------------------- Oysters on the Half Shell, Champagne Mignonette, American Caviar (Orval) or Black Truffled Romaine, Belgian Endive Caesar Salad (Arsenalnoe) or Timbale of Seafood Deglazed with Basil Lemongrass Broth (Lucifer) or Mussels ZoT (Scaldis) or Five-Spice Rubbed Lamb Chops, White Bean Stew, Sjallot Confit (La Chouffe) ------------------------ o ------------------------- Wild Boar Loin & Lobster Wellington Foie Gras Bordelaise (Weihenstephaaner) or Dover Sole Waterzooi (St. Bernardus) or Pepper-Crusted Roast Beef Tenderloin, Horseradish-spiked Bok Choi, Delirium Tremens, PA Goat Cheese Pommes Rissolees (Delirium Tremens Noel) or Seared Tuna Rare on Brabanconne Style Endive, Pommes Pailles, with Cherry Lambic Glace (Kasteel Rouge) or Duck Breast Oven Roasted Granny Smith Apple, Chimay Cheese Risotto, Corsendonck Noel Froth (Troeg's Mad Elf) ------------------------ o ------------------------- Artisanal cheese (AN/2 red wine) or Mini Pastries (Jean Philippe Limoux Sparkling) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Zeno's Open for business as usual until 2am

Philadelphia Brewing also ready for a New Year and New Beer

There seems to be no doubt that the Philadelphia Brewing crew (Dean, John, Bill, Nancy and the rest of the team) is ramping up and getting ready for their new brewing operations come January 1. Stay current with their blog for some up-to-date news of what's going on behind the scenes to get ready for their debut.

Flying Dog looking to the New Year and New Beer

Off the wire from Flying Dog.....the Biere de Garde sure peaks my interest...we'll see! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In February, we are releasing "Cerberus" Tripel, giving us four Canis Major beers, the perfect number of high-gravity brews for our new Canis Major Variety 4-pack. We will also be releasing a mixed eight-pack of 7oz. bottles, which will include two offerings of each Canis Major style. "Garde Dog" Biere De Garde, our new spring seasonal, will be released in March - giving us our strongest seasonal line-up yet. Finally, we will continue our Wild Dog specialty series with our 6th release, due out in the fall.

Beer Dates In History: January Anniversaries

120 years FX Matt/Saranac Co. 115 years Grand Rapids Brewing 20 years Tied House/Redwood Coast 10 years Black Horse Pub & Brewery

Highlights of 2007, look out from inside The Brew Lounge

I've got a decent number of dependable readers/subscribers here at The Brew Lounge. Doubling, sometimes even tripling, those visitors is the number that come in from Google/Yahoo/etc. searches.

I'm big into analysis as many of you know. With The Brew Lounge comes my need to understand who's reading, why, where they're coming from, and where they're going. With these stats, I can gain a pretty good understanding of what exactly I'm contributing to this wonderful world of beer and get an understanding of what information people are looking for. Then, of course, some findings just leave me a bit confounded!

Read on for a different sort of look back on 2007...through the eyes of The Brew Lounge and what people are looking for, what they're commenting on, and how they click in to and out from The Brew Lounge.

Search Words

• Perhaps no surprise is the amount of traffic that I get from people looking for more information on new establishments, especially those with no website of their own.
  
  
  
  • This, not surprisingly, during 2007 included places like Union Barrel Works, Teresa's Next Door, Dock Street, The Belgian Cafe, Freehouse, Iron Hill Phoenixville, Blind Tiger Ale House, Triumph Old City, McKenzie Brew House Malvern, and the Flying Pig.
    
  • It surprises me how still months after the new places have opened that people are still looking for information about them, especially once their own websites have been setup and updated with current information for each of them.
    
  • Though, while Teresa's Next Door and the Flying Pig don't have websites of their own, I expect to generate quite a bit of traffic related to them, especially for their up-to-date draft selections.

• On a related note of search referrals, I've been interested in how many people spell Teresa's with an 'h', like Theresa's. They still found me nonetheless.

• Of late, after Chris Leonard's marathon and my reference to a certain t-shirt, many people more than I would've ever thought are Googling something along the lines of "My Indian Name Is Runs With Beer T-Shirt" and finding The Brew Lounge.

• Then there's the subject of growing hops, particularly at home. This has always been a hot topic at The Brew Lounge, considering my and Adam's backyard experiment. But, with the growing concern about availability and price of hops in the market, more folks seem interested in the idea of growing their own. Makes sense, eh?

• As one of the Jet Rock locations in PHL airport closed, I was more than a bit surprised to find just how many people need more information about the Chickie's & Pete's that was due to open in place of the Jet Rock. I guess....ah, I won't even try to guess just what information they were looking for.

• The closing of Independence Brew Pub also drew quite a bit of interest from people looking for more information on the head-scratching saga.

• Then, my friends, there are the searches from the great wide open hinterlands of the Internet that just leave me speechless. Somehow, given the technological prowess of those at Google, Yahoo, and other search engines, people searching for some of the most bizarre topics somehow have found their way to The Brew Lounge. My marketing department is still determining how, if at all, this can be used to benefit and further the cause here at TBL headquarters.
  • Take, for example, searches like "Oktoberfest Sexy" (hm, those dirndls, I suppose); "Phoenixville Nightlife" (really?!); "Choose A Beer To Drink Smoke Next To Me" (uh, if you insist); "Dan Bengel Blog" (isn't the blog actually the first search result?); "I Don't Need My Dog" (maybe you do)

• And just when you thought things couldn't get worse, you run into search referrals to The Brew Lounge like the following. It's really difficult to add any editorial comment to some of these.
  • "Beer Bar Strippers" (surprised it hasn't caught on yet?); "Beer Strip Game" (what's with the strip-related searches?); "Beer xxxxxxx" (now this is getting racy); "Cigarette Ash Beer Carbonation" (hope I helped with that); "Dance Of Culture In The Westerly"; "Death By Hops"; "Do Not Store Fresh Beer In Saddle Of White Donkey" (note to self); "Drinking Beer During Marathon" (someone after my own heart!); "Evil Plans With Beer" (a neo-prohibitionist?!); "Girls Gone Wild Exton" (where else?); "Happy Ending Madison WI" (I mean, I've been to Wisconsin and all, but...); "Jackie's Job A Pepperidge Farm"; "Just Enough Lounge" (can never have enough); "Manual Post Hole Digger" -Operator -Clamshell -Power" (ah, is that what a PhD gets you?!); "Miss Pittsburgh 07" (congratulations); "Missouri Clawfoot Tub Illegal" (why was that?); "San Juan Puerto Rico Escorts" (that's like a designated driver thing, right?); "Soft Dart" (but someone could still lose an eye); "Tuck-em-in Motel" (a Poconos classic); "Voila Wala" (bing bang)

• So, I suppose that by listing them here, I've only further guaranteed more traffic to The Brew Lounge by way of future similar searches. Wacky the way the Web works, eh?!

• That's it for my review of search words that have led people to The Brew Lounge in 2007, from "A & E The American Brew" to "Zymurgy Stirplate." the longest search string, by the way, was "American Brew: The Rich And Surprising History Of Beer In America A&E Sherman Burns" (guess that person figured you can't get specific enough for Google).

What Are You Talking About?

• By way of counting number of comments, the most talked about topic this year at The Brew Lounge was the leaving of Adam from the show. Well, except for the one guy who wanted to jump in and discuss North East Tap Room...by the way their phone's been disconnected so make of that what you will. In a virtual tie, was the discussion of smoking laws and how they impact the enjoyment of our favorite beverage...who knew it'd be such a debatable topic, heheh ;-)

• The squawk box was also active around the topic of my first homebrew experiment. Went well, I did another, and I had wonderful support from all of you.

• The Tap List project that I undertook in November was extremely popular and discussed likewise. Look for the project to come back 'round again.

• The occasional Monk's dinner, like this Holiday Gathering, always generates some interest.

• I could go on, and I'm sure you're all screaming for more at this point (!), but I'll wrap up this section with a reference to the Southern Tier Pumking which certainly caught my, and many others, fascination this year.

Where Are You Going?

After you've spent enough time at The Brew Lounge, where do you go next? Now, don't worry, I don't know what website you went to next unless you leave by clicking on a link within my site. Getting past all of the obvious "out clicks" to related articles by Don, Jack, Jay, Lew, Stan and others like Beer Advocate, Beer Yard, Real Beer, and Rate Beer, there was quite a bit of interest in the following areas

• The future-looking tap lists that I published on 11/16 generated a whole lot of interest; so much so that we'll likely do it again

• Philadelphia regional establishments like Monk's, General Lafayette, The Drafting Room, McKenzie Brew House, Victory, Iron Hill, Stoudt's, Union Barrel Works, Dogfish Head, TJs, Grey Lodge, The Foodery, Triumph, Tria Cafe, For Pete's Sake, Troegs, Yards Brewing, Which Brew, Nodding Head, Ortino's Northside, Bethlehem/Allentown Brew Works, Weyerbacher, and South Philadelphia Tap Room all generated enough interest that many of you went to check out their respective websites.

• Fellow writers/bloggers who were part of the 2007 landscape at The Brew Lounge included Adam, Alan, Al, Eli, Nate, and Suzanne.

• And, some out-of-towners from Ommegang, Sierra Nevada, Dave Alexander's RFD & Brickskeller, Blind Tiger Ale House, East End Brewing, Old Harbor Brewery, Gingerman Pub, and Russian River.

• And, who could forget everyone's friend who continues to make news even after his passing...Michael Jackson. Not only did his site create a lot of linking away from The Brew Lounge, but the picture of he, Adam, and I was one of the most clicked pictures at The Brew Lounge in 2007 and one that I will always treasure. Like Jack said in a recent column, "who knew it would be the last time?" RIP, Michael and, for the rest of us, onward with 2008.

Is this just one big linkfest here at year-end? Perhaps. But, it's also a rundown of what I've been a part of here at The Brew Lounge in 2007 and those that have helped to make it what it is that I enjoy so much. And, you've all been a part of it too. Without the readers, there's really nothing, right? If you made it through this entire posting, congratulations; I hope you enjoyed the reminiscing. I'll buy you a beer this weekend!

Belgium is Coming Back to West Chester, PA at Iron Hill on 1/26/08

I can't seem to recall one person having anything less than a good ol' fashioned good time last year at Iron Hill's Belgian-inspired event that pulls together brewers from across the region...each bringing something special to wow the crowd. And, the serving sizes (and prices) are just right for sampling most or all of them. I'll get back to you with a report after it happens...or you should just make a note to get your own self there. You shouldn't be disappointed. Here's some excerpts from the Iron Hill press release. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "...On Saturday, January 26, at 4 pm, head brewer Chris LaPierre will bring together the East Coast’s finest craft brewers at Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant, located at 3 West Gay Street, for his annual event that celebrates Belgium beers. Guests will meet the brewers, discover new Belgium styles and can enjoy a three-course menu paired with a variety of Belgian beers selected by LaPierre..." "...LaPierre will be pouring his Heywood, Quadfather, and the award-winning Cannibal..." "...Each brewer from Iron Hill’s six other area locations will bring a Belgian style beer including: Barrel Aged Imperial Wit; Flemish Red; Cannibal Nocturnum; Fe10 and more. Beer drinkers will also enjoy Belgians from visiting breweries including: Dubbel by Stoudt’s Brewing Company; Stumbling Monk by Stewart’s Brewing Company; Saison by Sly Fox Brewery; Wild Ale and Belgian Brown Ale by Boston based Harpoon Brewery; Abbey Blonde Ale by General Lafayette Inn & Brewery; Bourbon Abbey Dubbel by Flying Fish Brewing Company; Mad Elf by Tröegs Brewing Company; Otay by Nodding Head Brewery and Restaurant; Abbey 6 from Victory Brewing Company; Imperial Wit by Dock Street Brewery and more. In the main dining room, a three-course menu Belgian beer dinner paired with a selection of the featured Belgian beers, will be available for $40 per person, not including tax and gratuity..."

Beer Calendar: What To Do In January 2008

As we get away from the big, bad commercial holidays, January has in store some nice looking events that will help you put the craziness of the last month behind you. Fri. 12/28 - Cask Ale Night (Yards) @General Sutter Inn, Lititz, PA (4:30pm-6:30pm; pay as you go) Sat. 1/5 - One Final VICTORY for HEAVYWEIGHT! (yes, sshhh, this is the Baltic Thunder release, no shouting please) @The Drafting Room, Exton, PA (12:00pm-?????; pay as you go) Sat. 1/5 - Dr. Dremos Last Call (Beer Advocate Gathering on 1/5; but the Farewell Party really lasts all month) @Dr. Dremo's Taphouse, Arlington, VA (5pm-11pm; pay as you go) Wed. 1/9 - Chef’s Table @Iron Hill Brewery, West Chester, PA (7pm; $40) Thu. 1/10 - Rogue Ale Dinner @The Yardley Inn, Yardley, PA (7pm; $90) Fri. 1/11 - Robert Burns Supper & Gala Celtic Celebration @Mt. Holly Public Library, Mount Holly, NJ (7pm-10pm; $85) Fri. 1/11 - Stoudt's Winter Firkin @Union Jack's on the Manatawny, Boyertown, PA (8pm-?????; pay as you go) Fri. 1/11 - Five-Year Old Ichor Tapping @Sly Fox Brewery, Phoenixville, PA (12pm-?????; pay as you go) Tue. 1/15 - Seafood Beer Dinner @Union Barrel Works, Reamstown, PA (6:30pm; $40) Wed. 1/16 - The Hoppy Belgian (Tom Peters) @Tria Cafe, Philadelphia, PA (6:30pm-8:00pm; $50) Fri. 1/18-Sat. 1/19 - The Great Alaska Beer & Barley Wine Festival @Egan Convention Center, Anchorage, AK (Fri 5pm-10pm; Sat 2pm-5pm; Sat 6pm-10pm; $30/$40) Sat. 1/19-Sun. 1/20 - Daze of the Devil, Part 2 @Hop Devil Grill, New York, NY (12pm-6pm; pay as you go) Sat. 1/19 - Brew Master's Beer Dinner @Allentown Brew Works, Allentown, PA (7pm; $60) Sat. 1/19 - The Belgian Beer Lunch (Unibroue) @High Street Grill, Mount Holly, NJ (12pm; $50) Sun. 1/20 - Dogfish Fancy Brew Dinner-Tale of 2 Cities @Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats, Rehobeth Beach, DE (6:30pm; $47) Tue. 1/22 - Food & Fashion (incl. Legacy) @VF Outlet Village Designer Place, Reading, PA (5pm-8pm; $20/$25/$30) Fri. 1/25 - Friday Night Tasting (Tröegs) @Beer Yard, Wayne, PA (5pm-7pm; free) Fri. 1/25 - Cask Ale Night (Tröegs & Ridgeway) @General Sutter Inn, Lititz, PA (4:30pm-6:30pm; pay as you go) Fri. 1/25 - Robbie Burns Birthday Bash @Sly Fox Brewery, Phoenixville, PA (5pm-?????; pay as you go) Sat. 1/26 - Rich Wagner's presentation, "Philadelphia’s Breweries on the Schuylkill" @Manayunk Brewery, Philadelphia, PA (2pm; free to attend; pay as you go) Sat. 1/26 - Belgium Comes (Back) to West Chester @Iron Hill Brewery, West Chester, PA (4pm-?????; pay as you go) Fourth Annual Atlanta Cask Ale Tasting Sat. 1/26 - Atlanta Cask Ale Tasting @Sweetwater Brewing, Atlanta, GA (4pm-7pm; donations accepted) Sat. 1/26 - Beer Summit Winter Jubilee @The Castle at the Park Plaza Hotel, Boston, MA (12:30-4:00pm; 5:30pm-9:00pm; $35/$40) Sat. 1/26 - Voodoo Brew & Chew (& You) @Grey Lodge Pub, Philadelphia, PA (TBA) Mon. 1/28 - Stout Dinner @Birreria Paradiso, Washington, DC (seatings at 6:30pm & 9:30pm) Tue. 1/29 - Firestone Walker Beer Dinner @JJ Brewsky's, Camarillo, CA (7pm; $50) Wed. 1/30 - This One Tastes Like Wine (Tom Baker) @Tria Cafe, Philadelphia, PA (6:30pm-8:00pm; $45) Thu. 1/31 - Thursday Night Tasting (Boulder Brewing) @Isaac Newton's, Newtown, PA (7pm-9pm; free)

The Drafting Room & Patrick Mullin

Even when head beer guy, Patrick Mullin, announces that he's leaving The Drafting Room, the story still manages to involve Baltic Thunder. As Jack points out, the Baltic Thunder is the story that keeps on giving. While the unveiling of the Perkuno's Hammer remake was Patrick's baby, he won't be around on the big day. With all that Patrick has done for better beer in the region, and specifically northern Chester County, he should quickly become a valuable part of the Sierra Nevada team. It will be different, with The Drafting Room being one of the best and closest beer bars to my house, to walk in there and not see Patrick come out from the back or down the stairs with his trademark greeting. But, on the other hand, we will be seeing him during more "typical" waking hours and be sitting on this side of the bar with him. I'm sure that I speak for most of us when I wish him and Tracy all the best in this next chapter of their life.

What's On Tap at The Drafting Room in Exton, PA - 12/26/07

The Drafting Room in Exton, PA has a decent web presence and quite a huge reputation preceding them. Their beer turns over quite quickly. So, in the spirit of service, whenever I get to The Drafting Room, I'll post the current tap list.

What's on line as of 12/26/2007?

Atwater Block Vanilla Java Porter
Brouwerij De Proef Cuvee Angelique
Brouwerij De Ranke XX Bitter
Dock Street Rye IPA
Harpoon Winter Warmer
Oskar Blues Old Chub
Peak Organic Nut Brown Ale
Southern Tier Gemini
Tröegs Mad Elf
Tröegs Nugget Nectar (cask)...oops, we kicked this one!
Victory Hop Devil
Sly Fox O'Reilly's Stout
Legacy Midnight Wit
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
Lindemans Pêche
Amstel Light

---

---

New Year's Eve 2008

Now that Christmas is behind us, thoughts turn automatically to New Year's Eve plans. I've updated the list of events that I put out there for you last week, putting them in a bit more readable format.....okay, I only alphabetized them, but hopefully that helps make them a bit more readable. Plus, a few more locations were added on 12/21 and 12/26. I'll be adding more over the next few days. If you know of anything specific, feel free to add it in the comments section below.

Twas the Afternoon Before Christmas at Victory

And, oh what a sight it was. The crew at Victory probably didn't expect the bar seats would all be filled and the takeout line would extend to the door when they decided to open for a few short hours on Christmas Eve. No matter the reason, be it celebrating the completion of shopping, having the day off from work, procrastinating family visits or chores, or whatever, the bar scene at Victory yesterday afternoon sure oozed with good suds and good cheer. One by one came all of The Usual Suspects* ('two by two' is a different biblical reference!) to stop for a quick respite before going about the remainder of their day. It was almost like a timed event. Almost like it was the release of Baltic Thunder! I'm not sure that I saw one person without a growler or sixpack in hand. Obviously, many had a similar thought as a mine. Why wouldn't it make sense when planning Christmas Eve or Christmas Day dinner to have some fresh brew from our local brewery? And while having the growler filled, why wouldn't I have a full tasty glass of Storm King from the hand pump? When finishing the Hop Wallop from the growler today, it will be difficult not to think about all of the holiday cheer at Victory yesterday and calculating how long it will take for me to go back and get another Storm King. Granted, the '03 Storm King cask is gone, but the current one they have on now is downright delish. Happy Holidays to all of you. Hope your week is filled with happy times....and at least one good beer! * I'll just refer to everyone collectively as The Usual Suspects, in case any of them were expected to be somewhere else and not "supposed to be at Victory" ;-)

Bittersweet 2007

In a year filled with many happy success stories revolving around the continued success of craft beer, we also took the time to remember those related to "this little passion" of ours whose families and friends have mourned their losses in 2007. I'm sure that I've missed some and encourage you to add those to the list in the comments below. Cheers to your life's contributions and R.I.P. friends.

• Steve Harrison, Sierra Nevada pioneer
• Steve Hindy's, of Brooklyn Brewery, son
• Michael Jackson, no introduction necessary
~ National Toast ~ National Toast at The Drafting Room
• Virginia MacLean, of Pete's Wicked legacy
~ see updated Reunion Beer '08 information
• John White, another traveling beer hunter & writer

The Bear Republic is Alive in Pennsylvania

Can you say that you had Bear Republic legally on draft in Pennsylvania before 8:30pm tonight? I can...and it was at TJs in Paoli. Here's one more brewery that I don't have to lug home with me from trips to California or New York. There's a full half barrel of the Red Rocket (minus a couple of pints); get it while you can. There were lots of other beer lovers there tonight, so it may not last long. Remember that they're closed on 12/24 and 12/25. But, if you're looking for bottles, you can always swing by the Beer Yard in Wayne. This has been a public service announcement :)

Holiday Doings in Western Europe

Greg has a lot of great things to say (and pictures to show) about their time spent in Belgium and Luxembourg during this holiday season. Check out recent postings over at his blog and drop him a note of good cheer. It must not be easy being away from friends and family at this time of year, but it looks like they're making the best of it :) Happy Holidays everyone!

Busy Second Half 2007 in Philadelphia Region

As 2007 draws to a close, I can fill just this one page with some of what has happened here in the Philadelphia region in the second half of this year alone. And, I'll only be scraping the surface. Follow the links here for a look back; for what I've missed, follow Jack's link below to see some more. Add to that the bigger picture issues of malt and hop shortages, it certainly adds up to anything but a boring year. ~ Dock Street Opens ~ Monk's Outpost Opens (but still haven't visited) ~ Benneluxx Opens ~ New Tria Location Opens ~ Independence Closes ~ Yards Split Up ~ PBW gears up ~ Dock Street brewer shuffle (icky, lido, east street?) ~ New Home for Yards ~ John Harvard's closes Wayne, PA location ~ New Iron Hill Location Opens ~ Other random 2007 thoughts And, for what I haven't covered, Jack has it covered nicely in the Oct/Nov 2007 issue of Celebrator.

See Beer, Seafood coming soon to Union Barrel Works in Reamstown, PA

I can't help but think this will be a decent beer dinner to check out if you haven't been to one of Union Barrel Works' previous beer dinners. Check out some highlights of the Inaugural Dinner and the follow-up Wild Game Dinner. This next one is on Tuesday January 15, 2007 and reservations are required by calling 717-335-7837. ~ Appetizer ~ Honey Scallops Wrapped in wild boar bacon and served over artichoke Risotto ~Paired with Mai Bock~ ~ Soup ~ Catfish Etouffe Served with white rice ~Paired with Pale Ale~ ~ Interim ~ Coffee Stout Sorbet ~ Paired with Round Boy Stout~ ~ Pre Entrée ~ Beer Batter Calamari Served with a plum tomato dipping sauce ~Paired with Lager~ ~ Entrée ~ Lobster Tail Stuffed with spinach and crab and topped with a truffle Beurre Blanc sauce And potato herb pancake ~Paired with Kolsch~ ~ Pre Dessert ~ Lemon Raspberry Mousse ~Paired with Octoberfest~ ~ Dessert ~ Barrel Bananas Foster UBW’s version ~Paired with Wobbly Bob~ Price per person ~ $40.00 + tax and gratuity

The I's Have It....Iron Hill & Ithaca

I'm looking forward to some high heat on the upper inside corner next spring. No, not Spring Training. Rather, Iron Hill's and Ithaca's attempts to age some beer in Tabasco barrels. Ithaca says that they'll attend Beer Advocate's Extreme Beer Festival...need to check if Iron Hill plans to as well. Recent news from Ithaca & My notes about Iron Hill's endeavor

Yards is easier to pronounce than Ybor

I knew that when I read in the latest Mid Atlantic Brewing News about the 50-bbl brewhouse being installed at the soon-to-be-new-again Yards, that Ybor sounded familiar from somewhere in The Brew Lounge archives. Always fun to watch how brewing systems make their way around the industry.

Tap List at Teresa's Next Door in Wayne, PA - 12/20/07

For those who have not made their way to Teresa's Next Door, here's the tap list as of 12/20/07 and it's fairly typical of the quality and diversity that can be found there. Keep in mind, that these are the drafts. The bottle selection is just as good, but ten fold. Did I mention just how much I hate living in this region?

Allagash Fluxus
Anchor Christmas Ale
Brasserie Cantillon Broucsella (1900) Grand Cru
Brasserie Dupont Saison Dupont
Brouwerij Corsendonk Brown
Brouwerij De Ranke Pere Noël
Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat Maredsous 10
Brouwerij Straffe Hendrik/De Halve Maan Brugse Zot
Brouwerij Van Eecke Poperings Hommel Bier
Brouwerij Van Honsebrouck St. Louis Framboise
Brouwerij Van Steenberge Gulden Draak
Chimay White
Coniston Bluebird Bitter
Dock Street Rye IPA
Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti
Hoegaarden
Penn St. Nikolaus Bock
Privatbrauerei Gaffel Becker Gaffel Kölsch
River Horse Hop Hazard
Rogue Mocha Porter
Sly Fox O'Reilly Stout
Sly Fox Gold Rush
Thomas Hooker Munich Helles Lager
Victory Hop Wallop
Legacy Hedonism (hand)
Yards ESA (hand)

---

---

Tickets, who needs tickets?

Tickets are now on sale for the 2008 Philly Craft Beer Fest... ...and will soon (Feb. 4th) be on sale for Savor in Washington, D.C. ...and tickets will soon be gone for General Lafayette's Winterfest

What's On Tap at The Drafting Room in Exton, PA - 12/18/07

The Drafting Room in Exton, PA has a decent web presence and quite a huge reputation preceding them. Their beer turns over quite quickly. So, in the spirit of service, whenever I get to The Drafting Room, I'll post the current tap list.

What's on line as of 12/18/2007?

Anchor Christmas Ale
Anderson Valley Winter Solstice
Brouwerij De Ranke XX Bitter
Left Hand Snowbound Ale
Oskar Blues Old Chub
Rogue Santa's Private Reserve
Rogue Imperial Porter
Smuttynose Winter Ale
St. Feuillien Cuvée De Noël
Tröegs Mad Elf
Sly Fox O'Reilly's Stout
Legacy Midnight Wit
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
Lindemans Framboise
Amstel Light

---

---

A Little Birdie Told Me....

...that there's only one place to be on January 5th. The birdie told someone else first (would you expect anything less). Doesn't matter...we've all pleaded, complained, even maybe cried a little to think that maybe the Baltic Thunder (see: the history) was all just a cruel hoax. But, alas, no more. Put Exton, PA in your crosshairs and get the New Year started right.

To Collins at Earth, Bread, & Brewery?

Admittedly, that was a weak lead-in, but...

Friend of Rich seems to be a pretty good thing.

Excerpted from a missive of his today, I found this to be one of the more interesting tidbits that he passed along.

He, also a Victory squire, will now be occupying two barstools something like 35 miles apart.

Thanks to him for dropping me these details; he must know of my fondness for the Blind Tiger crew.

Sadly, The Collins Bar is now part of a "redeveloped block" on the edge of the gentrified Times Square.

---

There will be a bar, a small seating area, kitchen area, including a hearth oven on the first floor and a second bar and seating area on the second floor. The total seating area should accommodate about 100+ people. Tom has acquired a lot of the furniture that will be used in the dining areas from estate auctions. In addition, it is my understanding that Tom was able to obtain the old bar from the Collins Bar that was in midtown NYC from David Brodrick, the owner of Blind Tiger and former owner of the Collins Bar.

---

---

Tap List at Flying Pig Saloon in Malvern, PA - 12/16/07

On an attempted regular basis, I'll post the tap list here to the Flying Pig Saloon in Malvern, PA. I have no affiliation with the establishment other than living within 2 miles of it and appreciating the usual quality tap and bottle list. If you like this idea, please drop me a note.

On Draft as of 12/16/07
Arcadia HopMouth
Avery Hog Heaven
Avery The Czar
Bell's Java Stout
Brasserie d'Achoufee N'ice Chouffe [2006]
Brouwerij Oud Beersel Lambic
Cisco Whale's Tale
Nick Stafford's Hamberton Nightmare English Porter (cask)
Sly Fox Christmas Ale
Southern Tier Raspberry Porter
St. Feuillien Cuvée De Noël
Victory Hop Wallop
Yards Love Stout

And the usual suspects...

Blanche De Bruxelles Witbier
Chimay White
Coors Light
Guinness Stout
Harp Lager
Plzensky Prazdroj Pilsner Urquell
Smithwick's Ale
Stella Artois Belgian Pale Ale
Victory HopDevil
Yuengling Traditional Lager

---

---

The Dog is Flying East

Some news out of the Flying Dog crew in Colorado that continues to add to the ongoing saga of hops, malt, and growth in the craft beer industry. I've cut back on some of the text to make it a quicker read. You can find the whole letter at their website. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Message From Flying Dog President Eric Warner To the People’s Republic of Flying Dog "As some of you may have heard, Flying Dog Brewery announced on Tuesday that we are embarking on the next step in our illustrious, 17 year history of crafting remarkable beer by concentrating all of our brewing and production to the brewery in Frederick, MD, where 70% of Flying Dog Beer is already being brewed. This move will take place in January and we are working to ensure that our entire production team will be able to make this move over to Maryland. Accounting, sales, marketing and other administrative functions will remain largely unaffected by this change and our HQ will remain in Denver." ".... We are facing unprecedented cost pressures due in large part to the tremendous hop and malt cost increases. We have also lost some of the contract brewing business we had, thereby decreasing capacity utilization at both breweries ...." ".... Concentrating our brewing operations to one facility will help us become more efficient while maintaining our exceptionally high brewing standards. This is a smart, proactive move for our growing company and will allow us to most efficiently use our resources. This idea was conceived in late summer, and once we understood the magnitude of the price increases we are facing it became apparent that this was a necessary step to remain strong. Like most other craft breweries our costs are going up at least 25%, and we are only going to be passing on a 15-20% price increase. We expect some relief on raw materials costs in 2009 ...." ".... The Frederick facility is a state-of-the-art brewery that has already been producing great beer for Flying Dog and we look forward to ramping up production and growing our business even more than the +20% trends we are experiencing in 2007. The bottling line in Frederick has lower oxygen uptake at filling than the one in Denver, which translates to better flavor stability and longer shelf life. It also kicks out bottles at twice the pace of the line in Denver. The brewhouse in Maryland is also capable of brewing a wider range of recipes than the one in Denver. Finally, the brewery in MD plans on substantial capital expenditures and plant upgrades (close to a million bucks in 2008 alone) to continue to brew better beer in an efficient and environmentally friendly way ...." ".... Everyone in production was offered an opportunity to make the move to the brewery in Maryland. I’m proud to say that almost half of the brewing and bottling line staff is interested and we will be taking a group trip out to MD in early January so they can see if Frederick is a place they would like to relocate to. For those that don’t make the move, we will be offering a severance package and outplacement assistance ...." ".... There is truly never a good time for such news ...." "We are a family here at Flying Dog and as such it’s been a rollercoaster of emotions the last couple of days. Although no one, myself included, would have chosen to write the script quite this way, everyone understands this chapter, why it makes sense and why it’s good for the future of the brewery. The good news for the People’s Republic is that the Flying Dog beers will still be available wherever you are used to purchasing them. Cheers, Eric Warner"

No Hop Shortage at Boston Beer Co.

So, heheh, sorry that I abused your trust this morning by passing along non-beer related content...actually kinda spam-like, eh? Hope you enjoyed it! Promise this will happen no more than a couple of times a year

Let's now get back to the topic at hand......

Apparently, Jim and company are rolling in this stuff. So much so, that they're packaging Hallertau (Mittelfrueh, at that) into cute little marketing bags for beer distributors who can hang them around bottlenecks. Sort of reminds me of those little caches that you can hang in your closet, slip into your clothing drawers or pillow cases. You know, you find them at those cutesy stores...I mean, not that I've ever done that. I've heard. I'm just saying is all ;-)

I Really Don't Know What To Do With This Stuff

No, I'm not talking about all this beer in various rooms and refrigerators in my house. It's these odds and ends on the Web that I've come across lately. While they're not exactly beer related (actually more like fodder for a certain person's e-mail habit), they do make you stop and say [insert exclamation of amazement or curiosity here!] (mad libs-style). So, maybe that makes them beer-related? At least beer entertainment...okay, I'll stop now... Exhibit #1 - Would beer taste as good the second time around? Uh... Exhibit #2 - Hm, thoughts of how to make this Christmas Season the best ever! Uh... Exhibit #3 - Do I really want one of these? Could the marketing folks at BMC sell make these the next hot thing? Uh...

Holiday Beer Dinner at Monk's Cafe 12/11/07

Click Here For All Beer Event Reviews

2007. It was a very good year for Monk's. In addition to the opening of sister restaurant, The Belgian Cafe, Tom, Fergie, and crew at 16th/Spruce hosted no less than 14 events. The all-star lineup of beer events/dinners to celebrate Monk's 10th anniversary included Vinnie & Natalie (Russian River), Tomme (Port/Lost Abbey/Pizza Port), MJ, Garrett (Brooklyn), Eric & Lauren (New Belgium), Stephen, Lucy, Ed & Carol (Stoudt's), Rob (Allagash), and Sam (Dogfish Head). How many of these did you know by first name alone? That's what kind of lineup it has been this year at Monk's.

Last night, Tom & Fergie hosted their always-anticipated Holiday Beer Dinner. The gems that Tom pulls out for this event are usually only rivaled by what he finds for New Year's Eve. I don't believe I've ever had a beer thrust in my hand any faster than last night when I walked through the front door. The "Welcome Beer" was a ten year old Anchor Christmas Ale. While the usual holiday spices found in Anchor's annual spice treat have become muted after ten years, it was still a smooth sipping beer, with dark fruit and prune flavors dominating.

To tell the truth, I don't feel much like writing about the nuances of the remainder of the evening. After all, it's already passed and there's nothing you can do about it if you weren't also there. And, really, it's not like I need to mention yet once again how spectacular of an evening most of these Monk's dinners turn out to be.

So, instead of waxing poetic once again (or at least attempting to!) I'll simply leave you with a copy of the menu below and the reminder that if you haven't yet been to a Monk's dinner, you should put it on your list of New Year's Resolutions for 2008. It is that time, isn't it?

Oh, maybe I will add just one little extra tidbit that I learned from Mr. Bryson's mistake. Don't ever leave your writer's notebook sitting unattended while you take your, ahem, "bio break" (is that what you call it Jack?)...you'll never know what phantom notes show up that you'll scratch your head over the next morning!






Welcome Beer
Anchor Christmas Ale [1997]

1st Course
de Regenboog t'Smisje Kerst
- Amuse Buche

2nd Course
La Moneuse Special Winter Ale & La Binchoise Speciale Noel [1994]
- Pickled Mackerel with Watercress Chiffonade & Szechuan Oil Drizzle

3rd Course
Gouden Carolus Noel (draft)
- Pheasant "Fruit Cake"

4th Course
Dupont Avec Les Bon Veoux
- Grilled Smelt with Fried Red Onion & Citrus Marinade

5th Course
Val Dieu Grand Cru (draft) & St. Bernardus Christmas
- Duck Ragout topped with Smoked Duck Breast

6th Course
Gales Christmas Ale [2001] & Port Santa's Little Helper
- Cheese Selection (Jasper Hill Bayley Hazen Bleu; Munster Gerome; Buche Boucheron de Chevre)

7th Course
Samichlaus [1995] & Samichlaus [2006]
- Buche de Noel

Click Here For All Beer Event Reviews

Santa thinks we've been good...very good!

All I need to do is get to Isaac Newton's in Newtown, PA to collect my goodies. Current Tap List Corsendonk X-mas Anchor X-mas Stells Artois Lindeman's Framboise Red Seal Ale La Chouffe Blanche de Bruxelles Wit Sierra Celebration Young's Oatmeal Stout Avery IPA Stone Pale Ale Victory Hop Wallop Paulaner Hefe Left Hand ESB Gaffel Kölsch Anderson Valley ESB Bell's Cherry Stout Rogue Imperial Porter Yuengling Light Holiday Bottles Tröegs Mad Elf Rogue Santa's Private Reserve Samuel Smith Winter Welcome Scaldis Noël Delirium Tremens Nice Chouffe St. Bernardus X-mas Fort Collins Big Shot La Binchoise Noel St. Bernardus 60th Anniversary Corsendonk X-mas Upcoming Draughts (All dates are approx. depending on how fast you drink the kegs) Delirium Noël (week of Dec 17th) Smuttynose Really Old Brown Dog (Jan) North Coast Brother Thelonious (Jan) North Coast Le Merle (Jan) Samichlaus (week of x-mas) Bells Java Stout (Jan) Rogue Santa's Private Reserve (week of x-mas) Troeg's Mad Elf (week of x-mas) Left Hand Snowbound XXXmas (week of Dec 17th) St. Feuillien Noel (week of Dec 17th) Chouffe Nice (week of x-mas) Lost Coast Double Trouble IPA (week of Dec 17th) Gouden X-mas (week of New Years) St. Bernardus III (throughout Dec) Stone Ruination (week of Dec 17th) Anderson Winter Solstice (week of Dec 17th) Boulder Mojo IPA (week of Dec 17th) La Rulles Avec Les Bon Voeux (week of New Years)

Philly Drinks (and Eats)

I've had my peripheral vision on Foobooz now for the better part of a year or so. Now, it's part of my critical path. People have asked me how I keep up with writings/postings at The Brew Lounge for the past 2 1/2 years. I've got the same wonderment for what Art is doing over at Foobooz. He's got quite a collection of food and drink morsels over at his site. When it comes to drinking and dining in the Philadelphia region, put it on your list of sites to stay current with what's happening. Here's the "About Foobooz" text Food and drink are keys to happiness, and there are few places better to indulge in either than Philadelphia. So whether you are a gourmet or a gourmand, Foobooz is your guide to eating and drinking in Philadelphia. Foobooz will keep you up to date on the latest restaurant and bar openings as well as culinary events. Equal parts events calendar and weblog, Foobooz aims to be your favorite place for Philadelphia, food, drink, and deals. Foobooz also appears in print. Every Wednesday Foobooz editor Arthur Etchells contributes The Bite to Metro Philadelphia.

Bringin' the Fat, Bringin' the Love

Continuing the incorporation of holiday songs from last night, New Belgium is Fa, la, la, la, la-ing its way with folly into the Guinness Book of World Records. Fun stuff as well as good beer, as usual from the folks in Colorado.

Thank You Sir, May I Have Another Stone?

I never get tired of passing along the mouthwatering details of the next great thing at Blind Tiger Ale House in New York, NY. So, without further delay, here's the next great thing coming this Wednesday on Bleecker Street. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A long time ago, there was a little event to introduce a little brewery that made some very modest beers. As the years went by the little beer bar, the little beer event and even the little brewery grew, and grew, and - well, you know. Then finally, this little sweet gathering to celebrate this small lovable brewery came to a crossroad. As they were trying to decide which way to go on their magical adventure - the Blind Tiger's Stone Brewery Event ripped their heads off, stepped on them, grounded them in to paste and put them on a cracker for a light low fat snack (also, low carbs - since The Tiger and Stone like to maintain their figures for the "beaching" months). It was tasty, simple and made us laugh evilly (just go with it, okay? Please?). This Wednesday Dec. 12 @ 12:00PM, The Blind Tiger and Stone Brewing Company will join forces to kick your craft-beer appreciating butts. The List Stone 10th Anniversary IPA Stone 11th Anniversary Ale 2005 Double Bastard Ale 2006 Double Bastard Ale 2007 Stone Imperial Russian Stout 2004 Stone Old Guardian Barleywine 2007 Stone Old Guardian Barleywine Stone Double Dry Hopped IPA (Columbus and Amarillo ..let the salivating begin) Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale Stone Arrogant Bastard Stone IPA Stone Smoked Porter Stone Ruination IPA Stone Pale Ale and to make it an "Epic" event........ Stone 070707 Vertical Epic Ale! Oh - on an important note - even though this was an "evil" e-mail, there will be some good... The Blind Tiger and Stone Brewing Company will be donating a percentage of the night's total to Toys for Tots. So please come enjoy yourselves and help some under-privileged children have a very special holiday.

Whole Foods Beer Room in New York, NY

Here I went, proud of myself for exercising reasonable restraint at New Beer Distributors (only buying 5 bottles), ready to head off to Blind Tiger. As I was walking and phoning home, what to my wondering eyes should appear?...but the word "beer" in a store window and eight tiny Christmas beers. (hey, this is the adult version ;-) Why, is that a Whole Foods Market that I see? Yup. And, is that really a beer store integrated into Whole Foods? Hm, must investigate. The Whole Foods Market Beer Room has been open for roughly four months and one of the managers, Foster, gave me a run down of the operations. Basically, I spied most of the same beer that is also available down the street at New Beer. Big difference is atmosphere (temperature controlled and more "polished," i.e. you'll pay for a portion of said atmosphere) and the growler filling stations. Yes, growler filling stations. Consumption is not permitted on site, but bring your own growler or buy one of theirs and they'll fill it up with one of the frequently changing draft beer selections. As of last Thursday, they were pouring local faves like Brooklyn, Sixpoint, Bluepoint, Kelso, Chelsea, as well as Harviestoun. Next up was "8 Days of Wheat," specially-brewed for Whole Foods by Sixpoint. I'd recommend calling ahead if you're in NYC and are looking to take a growler full home with you. Pair the beer with the quality and selection of food stuffs that the Market offers and they've got a winning combination on their hands. Now dash away, dash away, dash away all of you...

What's On Tap at The Drafting Room in Exton, PA - 12/8/07

The Drafting Room in Exton, PA has a decent web presence and quite a huge reputation preceding them. Their beer turns over quite quickly. So, in the spirit of service, whenever I get to The Drafting Room, I'll post the current tap list.

What's on line as of 12/8/2007?

Sly Fox Christmas Ale
Victory Hop Wallop
Pyramid Snow Cap
Rogue Hop Heaven
Anderson Valley Winter Solstice
Corsendonk Christmas
Clipper City/Heavy Seas Winter Storm Category 5 Ale
Wild Goose Snow Goose
Scaldis/Bush Noël
Brouwerij De Ranke XX Bitter
Sly Fox O'Reilly's Stout
Legacy Midnight Wit
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
Lindemans Framboise
Amstel Light

---

---

New Beer Distributors in New York, NY

This isn't so much of a review, but just a quick reference for New Beer Distributors at Rivington & Chrystie streets in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan. Easily reachable by several subway lines, there's no excuse for visiting NYC and not taking home some of the fine beer from New Beer that's available in the state of New York.

I exercised a fair amount of restraint and came home with just 5 bottles. I'm not sure which bottle I'm most happy to have found. Probably could be the Sprecher, a Wisconsin brewery to which I was introduced for only the first time almost exactly a year ago at The Collins Bar (sadly now part of a razed city block making way for more of those "much-needed" condos). You may recall me writing about the wonderful day trip to NYC. Though, the Okocim Porter, Sierra Nevada 2007 Harvest, Scaldis/Bush De Noël, and the Goose Island Bourbon County are nothing to overlook either.

New Beer has much, much more beer available, plus a few kegs for draft beer that they'll serve up for you too. There's always next time.

How Geek Are You?

Unleash your inner geek and be proud! How many classes of geek do you fall into? I count around 8 full geeks (and a few half-geeks) for me. The 56 Geeks

Celebrate Earth with Tom Baker

Here are some more words, direct from Tom Baker himself, on the future of his brewing plans in Mt. Airy. Looks like 2008 is shaping up to be another great beer year in the Philadelphia region.

Don't Turn A Blind Eye Of The Tiger Is Watching

I may not have been the first......or the second....to report this.

Tom & Peggy are opening their latest beer venture in Northwest Philly....Mt. Airy to be exact. Right near North by Northwest and McMenamin's to be even more exact.

I go away for a day on business and this major news breaks. If you're not from the Philly region, trust me, this is major for the Philly Beer Market.

So, what new do I have to add to the story? Funny you should ask. Oblivious to what's going on back in the Fertile Crescent, I order an Old Salty (barrel aged, circa 2005-ish) at the Blind Tiger. Did you remember last night's event? Weeeelll, let's just say there were more than enough goodies to still go around tonight. Including the Old Salty.

Oh, and remember Kate? Yes, she was there again. She thanked you all for your support last time around. And, she served up the Old Salty with a wink as Tom Baker turned around and said (something like) "that beer sure got beat up!" And on went the conversation about the new lease he just signed in the morning....and the 10-12 guest taps that he'll eventually have flowing (because he can't, and doesn't want to, brew every style...e.g. Prima Pils)....and the estimated, stress estimated, March 2008 opening (hm, why did I even print that?!)....and the eagerness to work in a solid (editorial comment: not fly-by-night trendy) neighborhood....and the not-so-eagerness to work through the same-as-it's-ever-been Philadelphia red tape bureaucracy.

While I didn't break any news today, do I get points for getting it firsthand..in person, in the flesh...from the man himself? I kid, of course!

By the way, wanna know the special VSKs from last night that are still on tap? Quick: Smuttynose Bourbon Brown; Stone Double Bastard; Boon Lambeek #17; Dogfish Head World Wide Stout; Cuvee Angelique; Brookly Monster 1998; Hitachino XH; Stoudt's Fat Dog; Stoudt's Double IPA; Sixpoint Porter (cask); Sierra Nevada Celebration (cask); Rogue 10,000; La Rulles Cuvée Meilleurs Voeux; He'brew Rye on Rye; Lagunitas Hop Stoopid; Allagash Grand Cru; Blue Point Cherry Imperial Stout; and on and on, as well as new ones to replace the ones, like Dogfish Head Theobroma , that had kicked last night.

That's all for now...I'm tired....on Amtrak....not moving very quickly...about to tap into my takeaways from New Beer....did I mention tired? Did I mention typing on the train sucks?

Score a couple more points today for better beer!

Talk to you tomorrow.

---

---

Union Barrel Works Wild Game Beer Dinner - 11/13/07

Click Here For All Beer Event Reviews

Talk about procrastination (like I did a couple of weeks ago)! I swore I wouldn't go to another beer dinner until I wrote about the last one at Union Barrel Works. There was nothing wrong with it, so why has it taken me so long...dunno? I guess I sorta made a fibber out of myself going to and writing about the Shelton Biere de Garde Tasting at Chick's last week. But, it wasn't really dinner, so maybe I'm off the hook?

Here's the quick-and-dirty rundown on UBW's second attempt at hosting a full-fledged beer dinner.

Dennis and I attended again, but this time with two other guests. Adam came out of The Brew Lounge retirement for a reunion tour of sorts. (He's still eligible for his pension.) And a co-worker, intrigued by the wild game and beer concept, joined us as well. Like last time, we used the extra half hour on the front end for a whistle-whetter at Stoudt's. Also repeating history, we arrived as Matson and company were bellying up to the bar after a day shift of brewing. We polished off a tasty winter ale (porter) and moved on down the road to UBW.

The dinner event got started a bit late, and that created some mistiming of the first beer pairing with the food...in other words, I had but a few drops left to drink when the first course of food arrived. But, the staff got back into the smooth swing of things as we experienced back at October's dinner. All of the staff, that is, but Tom. That guy, I tell ya. After I finagled a picture of he and family at October's dinner, I think he was steering clear of me this time around. Well, okay, to be fair he really did stop by several times to ask how dinner was going, but boy did he keep an eye on the camera sitting on the table and the movement of my hands toward said camera :-D

Nods this time around, from my taste and perspective, must go to the soup course where the chunky duck meat and broth matched up nicely with the roasty, medium-bodied stout. The sorbet was a nice sweet intermezzo clearing away the gumbo spices to make way for the jambalaya. Though, I couldn't really pick up on the maibock in the sorbet, there was full glass it sitting just off to the side. What a great maibock that is, indeed. And, the dessert...what can I say about the dessert? All good beer dinners that I've attended end with a triumphant finale and this was no exception. Of course, requisite picture is posted here as proof.

Letting me down a bit, though, was what I was anticipating as the highlight of the meal. The ostrich, for my taste, came out a bit too overcooked. My experience with ostrich has been that the better prepared ones can be practically cut with a fork, with flavor oozing out of every morsel. Meanwhile, its companion, the Double Barrel, described as a vienna lager, seemed a bit high on the alcohol...once again, for my taste. Coming in at close to 8% ABV, it overwhelmed the grain a bit too much for me.

So, while the one course did not live up to my expectation, the dinner on a whole did again this time. Tom, Amy, David, and the entire staff has pulled off two well done dinners in back-to-back months and I'm looking forward to their next one in January.

Now I've got closure on this one and can finally move on :)


Appetizer
Kölsch
> Paired with Wild Boar Cranberry Sausage with Braised Red Cabbage and a Sage Cranberry Balsamic Reduction

Soup
Round Boy Stout
> Paired with Duck & Wild Mushroom Gumbo, served with White Rice

Interim
Mai Bock
> Paired with Blackberry Maibock Sorbet

Pre-Entree
Lager
> Paired with Alligator Jambalaya

Entree
Double Barrel (Vienna Lager)
> Paired with Grilled Ostrich Strip with Potato Puree, Oven Roasted Tomatoes, and Asparagus

Pre-Dessert
> Pale Ale Beer Bloody Mary

Dessert
Fest Märzen
> Paired with Pumpkin Creme Brûlée topped with Cinnamon Nutmeg Whipped Cream

Click Here For All Beer Event Reviews