PBW 2008 - Day 2 Wrap-Up

PHILLY BEER WEEK INDEX @ THE BREW LOUNGE

Day 2 Report

Background: More cats, dogs, and cows falling from the sky. Postponed the 5 Mile Run through the city to Dock Street to next Saturday, March 15th.

Where to: Patty and I trained on in to Tir Na Nog to meetup with friends for a 30th birthday pub crawl celebration. Not necessarily PBW related, since they started at Flannery's, afterward heading to Tir Na Nog, then to Fado. Patty and I ducked out and went to Good Dog's tapping of a Yards firkin of ESA. Tried to get them stop in with us, but they chose not to.

Why: Figured things couldn't be all that bad starting with Tir Na Nog. Afterall, they have a couple of events scheduled during PBW. When we spotted Sly Fox Saison Vos bottles on the menu, well we knew things were gonna be alright afterall.

Took the opportunity to introduce my friend's sister-in-law to the V-12. She's a Miller Lite girl through and through. But, this was the first time I'd given her a beer that she said she actually liked. Some of the residual malty sweetness made it more palatable for her. Helped to fulfill my quota for the day of introducing craft beer to newbies. Also, talked about Sly Fox with a Budweiser/Black Sambuca drinking Irishman. Went over okay, but didn't seem overly convinced.

What to drink: The Saison and a bottle of Victory V-12 at Tir Na Nog wet our whistle just fine, but the most satisfying thirst-quenching delight of the night was the cask-conditioned ESA from Yards. It's been a few months since I last had a freshly poured ESA so this simple gathering at Good Dog over a firkin was quite a happy treat for me.

Also had the chance to dip into the newly brewed Kenzinger from Philadelphia Brewing. This now makes two days in a row with Yards and PBC sightings at the same bar. From a consumer's point-of-view I must say we should all be delighted. Oh, by the way, the Kenzinger seemed to be a decent beer and I'm looking forward to trying it again soon, but it's a lighter crafted beer that got lost a bit in the middle of my few ESAs. Uh-oh, that sounded like an unintentional stoking of the fires. No, not today. But, I will stoke the fire with Flying Fish. 44 minutes 'til empty firkin. Casey, your response?

Who to share a drink with: The entire fun bunch crew from Yards was holding court at the far side of the bar. Andrew Horne, Yards cellarman, was pumping 'em out left and right behind the bar. In fact, at one point down the bar all I could see (after the goofballs with the PBR and Miller High Lifes left...they must've come from the Erin Express) were freshly poured pints of ESA.

Speaking of Flying Fish, Casey showed up. Suzy came in after a long day with the out-of-town Beer Journalists. And, the Iron Hill lads (Chris and Jean) were mingling as well. I'm feeling like I'm missing someone else, but I think you get the picture.

After missing the 8:45pm train, we vowed to catch the 9:45pm and headed out with Tim Roberts (now with Yards, formerly of Independence and Dock Street) and had an enjoyable ride back to Paoli with him, where we parted ways...at least for 20 hours or so.

Reaction: Two for two! The Yards meet 'n' greet was exactly what I was expecting and the ESA went down oh so nicely. The Saison and V-12 at Tir Na Nog and hanging out with friends old and new made it all the better. We took care to take it easy, since we didn't want anything to get in the way of our enjoyment of The Brewer's Plate on Sunday night.