Last night we had a Smuttynose promo at Earth and it was great. We were pretty damn busy most of the night, which is good, and they brought some fantastic beers. Here's a quick rundown of what I thought.
Schmutzig Hopfen Weisse - A very delicious hoppy wheat beer that's insanely drinkable. It's not often I enjoy drinking a wheat, especially a German style one, but this was great. Could drink this all night.
Star Island Single - A simple, well balanced sessionable Belgian. What more could you ask for? Not overly estery but still pretty complex. A real single! Another one I could drink all night..
Shoals Pale Ale - Nothing too special, but an easy drinking pale. Nicely balanced and not over-hopped. Another killer session brew.
Robust Porter - I've had this plenty of times in the past and can honestly say that this is my favorite porter. Creamy and rich and chocolatey and roasty and perfect. So perfect.
Scotch Ale - Great! Nice amount of caramel with that great, smooth, clean mouthfeel that a Scotch Ale should have. Dangerously drinkable at 8.2%.
Imperial Stout - An interesting take on the style. The way the hops blend with the roasty notes is unusual. It's not a bad thing, but I wouldn't want to have more than one in a sitting.
I didn't get to try the IPA but I'm not sweating it. Thanks to Smuttynose for bringing 6 absolutely awesome brews. I love good beer and this some of the best!!
5/22/09
The Kite and Key
The Kite and Key
1836 Callowhill St., Philadelphia
Went here on Tuesday night after reading some good things online. Set in a peaceful section of Fairmount, from the outside the place has a bit of a modern, almost sterile feel, but once you step in it is much more comfortable. Everything is very shiny and new still, but I was a big fan of the atmosphere and decor. The draft list was good, not great, but good. (Only in Philadelphia could a draft list like that be considered only "good".) A very nice well rounded amount of local brews on but nothing all that interesting. Had some Chouffe, Hennepin, and Smuttynose Robust Porter, all served in nice clean glasses at the right temperature. Our server was good but a bit spacey.. The food was ok but nothing to right home about. The calamari is delicious, the fish tacos alright, and the pulled pork kinda crappy. Everything was very reasonably priced which is a big plus since we're poor as hell.
I'll be back at some point. Fairmount is becoming a great place for a pub crawl. Here, Brigid's, Belgian Cafe, St. Stephen's Green, Urban Saloon, London Grill. The list goes on and on. I love this city's beer. I love beer.
1836 Callowhill St., Philadelphia
Went here on Tuesday night after reading some good things online. Set in a peaceful section of Fairmount, from the outside the place has a bit of a modern, almost sterile feel, but once you step in it is much more comfortable. Everything is very shiny and new still, but I was a big fan of the atmosphere and decor. The draft list was good, not great, but good. (Only in Philadelphia could a draft list like that be considered only "good".) A very nice well rounded amount of local brews on but nothing all that interesting. Had some Chouffe, Hennepin, and Smuttynose Robust Porter, all served in nice clean glasses at the right temperature. Our server was good but a bit spacey.. The food was ok but nothing to right home about. The calamari is delicious, the fish tacos alright, and the pulled pork kinda crappy. Everything was very reasonably priced which is a big plus since we're poor as hell.
I'll be back at some point. Fairmount is becoming a great place for a pub crawl. Here, Brigid's, Belgian Cafe, St. Stephen's Green, Urban Saloon, London Grill. The list goes on and on. I love this city's beer. I love beer.
5/17/09
An Old School Stoning
We had a Stone promo at Earth the other night and I busted out some old Stone brews from the cellar. First up was the 2006 Double Bastard, which has aged pretty gracefully so far but may be a bit past its prime. The caramel and raisin notes were sublime but it definitely had a decent amount of oxidation going on. I'd say 2 years is prime for this brew in the bottle. Next up was the 07.07.07 Vertical Epic, which is a Belgian Golden/Saison with cardamom and some other random spices. This one showed no oxidation and, while delicious now, I think has a few more years before its perfect. The spiciness is a bit strong still. Finally we cracked the 05.05.05 Vertical Epic which, sadly, was very oxidized. Lots of wet cardboard, but still some nice dark fruit notes. If you have any of this, drink it up now.
Overall it was another fun promo. Cheers to Lee from Stone!!
Overall it was another fun promo. Cheers to Lee from Stone!!
5/15/09
PNC Bank can bite my ballsack.
That's right. Bite it. I never thought I would be so passionate about personal banking. Long story short - I'm poor and PNC fucked me. They have this fantastic, intricate, downright genius system set up with the way they post their transactions in order to maximize the amount of overdraft fees and it cost me $200 in overdraft fees. They instated the new policy in September 2008. Bastards. Do not, I repeat, do not do business with PNC bank in any fashion. They are not out to help the little guy, only to grow the wallets of the fat cats on top. They are a bunch of theives. Look here. And here. And here. It is unbelievable to me that a major corporation should be allowed to practice such unethical and greedy business practices.
5/14/09
Earth gets Stoned
Tonight come to Earth and get Stoned with the dudes from Stone. Big promo. They're bringing beers, I'm gonna bring a few old Stone bottles, should be a good time. Stop out if for some reason you are in Mt. Airy and haven't had Stone's brews a million times.
5/12/09
Local 44
Local 44
44th & Spruce, Philadelphia
I've heard some good things about this spot and had to check it out. Went late on a Wednesday and the joint was jam packed with college kids and hipsters talking very loudly. I know you can't judge a place by its customers (as so many people do at Earth) but it was kinda annoying. The place is simple and small inside, but the draft list is the opposite - HUGE! Nicely focused on the locals without sacrificing quality imports. Kostrizer Shwarzbier, Petrus Oud Bruin, Blue Bird Bitter, and Fuller's London Porter on the pump - what more needs said? They only have one bottle, which is Orval, which is awesome. I had an Ommegang Abbey that was absolutely sublime. I gotta say though the food wasn't so great. So, go somewhere else to eat, then come here to get sloshed. I recommend it.
Philly is pretty fucking awesome huh?
44th & Spruce, Philadelphia
I've heard some good things about this spot and had to check it out. Went late on a Wednesday and the joint was jam packed with college kids and hipsters talking very loudly. I know you can't judge a place by its customers (as so many people do at Earth) but it was kinda annoying. The place is simple and small inside, but the draft list is the opposite - HUGE! Nicely focused on the locals without sacrificing quality imports. Kostrizer Shwarzbier, Petrus Oud Bruin, Blue Bird Bitter, and Fuller's London Porter on the pump - what more needs said? They only have one bottle, which is Orval, which is awesome. I had an Ommegang Abbey that was absolutely sublime. I gotta say though the food wasn't so great. So, go somewhere else to eat, then come here to get sloshed. I recommend it.
Philly is pretty fucking awesome huh?
What in the crap?
So I brewed a quad like 9 months ago, let it chill for like 3 months then bottled it up. But, of course, since I'm an amateur and don't know what I'm doing really, I didn't re-yeast it. So now I have a flat quad, or so it would seem. I'm going to attempt to re-carbonate it eventually, but the other night, when popping one for a steak marinade, I heard a nice healthy hiss when opened. What in the crap? I've opened probably a dozen of these bastards and this is the only one that carbonated. Maybe all the priming sugar wound up in this one - who knows.. It didn't foam out the top at all. Regular carbonation but the taste did seem super cloying and sticky sweet. Weird.
5/8/09
The Institute
The Institute
12th & Green, Philadelphia
I haven't heard a lot about this place but I was very impressed. I met my friend Mike there for a drink thinking it would be your regular old bar with your regular old tap list and I was blown away!! I immediately got an Ommegang Rouge (get it while you can right?) which was served in a nice clean glass at the perfect temperature. The place itself is hip but not too hip, and quite comfortable with an interesting mix of tunes. The second floor holds a whiskey bar which seemed pretty alright as well. After I drained the Rouge, which is so damn good it goes down like water, I ordered a New Holland Golden Cap Saison which was good but had a bit too much wheat for my taste. Aside from our little group, there was absolutely no one there. That bothered me. This is a great bar and I hope people go down and check it out. The beer list is absolutely stellar. I didn't even notice they had bottles when I was there!
So hats off to The Institute for proving once again that Philly has the best beer bars anywhere. I will be back here no doubt and I hope other people check it out too.
12th & Green, Philadelphia
I haven't heard a lot about this place but I was very impressed. I met my friend Mike there for a drink thinking it would be your regular old bar with your regular old tap list and I was blown away!! I immediately got an Ommegang Rouge (get it while you can right?) which was served in a nice clean glass at the perfect temperature. The place itself is hip but not too hip, and quite comfortable with an interesting mix of tunes. The second floor holds a whiskey bar which seemed pretty alright as well. After I drained the Rouge, which is so damn good it goes down like water, I ordered a New Holland Golden Cap Saison which was good but had a bit too much wheat for my taste. Aside from our little group, there was absolutely no one there. That bothered me. This is a great bar and I hope people go down and check it out. The beer list is absolutely stellar. I didn't even notice they had bottles when I was there!
So hats off to The Institute for proving once again that Philly has the best beer bars anywhere. I will be back here no doubt and I hope other people check it out too.
I Love Malt!!
I really do. I love the way it looks and feels and tastes and smells, and more importantly I love the delicious beverage it aids in creating known as beer. This blog isn't going to focus on any one thing in particular. It's all about anything relating to really really good beer, how it's made, the people who make it, and the places that serve it (plus other random crap I feel like posting). That's about as specific as I can be. But most importantly, this blog is all about the love.
What inspired this change? The same thing that always inspires change in my life - a pub crawl. I was out and about in this great city known as Philly and came to the conclusion that I am in the best beer city in the world. All this time I've been advocating the hate but now it's time to shine light on the positive. I will probably go back to my hater ways sooner or later but for now, as I said, it's all about the love, baby!!
What inspired this change? The same thing that always inspires change in my life - a pub crawl. I was out and about in this great city known as Philly and came to the conclusion that I am in the best beer city in the world. All this time I've been advocating the hate but now it's time to shine light on the positive. I will probably go back to my hater ways sooner or later but for now, as I said, it's all about the love, baby!!
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