Big Earn McCracken

Today's beer post will shine some light on our less fortunate beers. The 2 or 3 followers that I have know that I am a complete beer snob. I hate miller light, I hate bud light, I can't stand the stupid commercials and all the bullshit that sometimes can ruin a football game for me. Although, on certain occasions, I will dumb down my palette and drink crap. Ladies and Gentlemen, let me introduce you to PBR. PBR comes to us from your local bowling alley, biker bar, and beer pong table. For some reason, PBR is nostalgia in a can. When I go bowling, I will drink nothing else. They could be giving away Dom Perignon and bottles of Chateau Margeux and I will still choose the white and blue can. PBR was Clint Eastwood's beer of choice in Gran Torino. His character was an ex war veteran who didn't take shit from anybody. They wouldn't have him drinking miller or bud, that would make him look like a pussy. PBR evokes toughness.

Fall in a Bottle

Lately, I have been trying to get my hands on a few beers that I have heard great things about in the beer community. The Bruery in Placentia, California brews what they call Autumn Maple. From the name, I am sure you can conjure up what this beer is all about, but it's soo much more. Patrick Rue, the owner and brewmaster of The Bruery, wanted to do a pumpkin beer, but didn't want to follow the norm. This seems to be the motto at The Bruery. They typically take classic styles and modernize them. I love innovation! Instead of using pumpkin, he took another classic fall treat, sweet potato pie and through that shit right into the brew kettle. Yams, Molasses, Maple Syrup, Vanilla and fall spices! The beer pours a deep brownish amber color with a very unique, almost caramel colored head. Tilt the glass and sniff. One of the most floral drinks I have ever smelled in my life. The first smell I picked up was the molasses and spice. Yams don't have much of a smell to begin with, but this beer really has a faint sweet potato pie smell. It's far and away the best fall beer I have ever had. At 10% alcohol, I was expecting much more kick, but that is the difference between a great brewer and a place like Iron Hill. The alcohol is present, but great brewers find a way to mask it. Think Grey Goose vs. Popov Vodka. I picked this up at Landis Market in Wayne, PA. It's a shithole, but they have great beer. Tune in next time beer cronies

MECCA AND THE OC

Located on the Corner just South of Standard Tap lies The Foodery. It's a beer geeks mecca, heaven, call it whatever the hell you want, the place is the cats pajama's. With a selection inching towards 1,000 different varieties, you really can't go wrong with a visit to this place. I have recently been intrigued by a brewery out west called....The Bruery. They are out of Placentia, California and were started by two brothers who dropped out of law school because they couldn't ignore a passion for beer. Patrick Rue, the owner, said he only brews what he likes to drink. In this case, it's Belgium style brew. I recently watched a youtube video of Mr. Rue going over a few of his ale's and giving a behind the scenes look at the inner workings of his brew house. The Bruery likes to take classic Belgium style beer and add there own personal touch. The Foodery is one of the few places on the east coast lucky enough to carry this west coast offering. I decided that my first foray into The Bruery would be by the way of the there Orchard White. Orchard White isn't your classic WitBier. It's brewed with oats that give it a smooth mouthfeel and lavender that really adds a nice touch to the nose.It poured a hazy straw color with minimal lacing. They stick to some tradition by adding orange peel and coriander, but incorporate a wild Belgian yeast strain that gives the beer a slight champagne taste that is quite pleasing. At 5.7% BV, it's definitely a session beer if you have the wallet. A 25 oz. bottle was $13. First impression's last a lifetime and The Bruery left me wanting more.

Autumn

I am sure most of you have noticed a dip in temperature the last couple days and waking up early in the morning with 55 degree temps makes you think of fall. I wandered into the beer joint last night and was in the mood for a fall beer. A bright orange six pack of Dogfish Head Punkin Ale was my beer of choice. Dogfish Head is a local brewery out of Delaware famous for it's "minute" IPA's. Sam Calagione, head brewer and owner of Dogfish Head wanted to create a unique Pumpkin Ale that was different from the rest. The bottle label states that it's "A full bodied brown ale brewed with real pumpkin, brown sugar, allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg. It pours a brownish red with minimal lacing. Scents of all of the above are very prevalent, but meld nicely on the palette. I get a slight gingerbread smell too, very mulling spice. I want to throw a wick in this beer and burn it like a candle. I bet yankee candle is all over that shit already. It goes down smooth with a small touch of alcohol, just enough to keep you honest. This is going in the books as one of my favorite fall beers and or Pumpkin Ales. Nice job Sam

Hundred Acre Wood

"If you have no honey in your pot, have some in your mouth" Benjamin Franklin

This blog is called PhilaBeer and what better way to start it off then with an ode to our boy Bennie Franklin. See even Big Ben knows that the best way to consume honey is to drink it! Anyway, let's focus on the beer. I was at Theresa's in Wayne a few weeks ago for my friend Eleni's Birthday (she's great) and her bass playing boyfriend who can't be mentioned because of legal purposes, and he told me that I have to try Biere de Miel. BDM comes to us from Brasserie DuPont in Belgium. It's simply classified as an ale flavored with honey. It pours a hazy orange hue with nice foam that slowly dissipates as you consume. Given it's rich character and alcohol content, this beer is quite smooth. The honey is far from prominent but does just enough to balance out this beer. If I were a marketing executive for Miller or Bud, I would classify this beer as having "supreme drinkability". I would highly recommend all beer geeks to get there light beer drinking friends to give this one a shot, it might turn some of them over from the dark side.

Man Law: Fruit and Beer can make sense

Confucius, Plato, Aristotle, Ommegang Brewery. What do these four have in common??? Nothing at all. The first three spent decades preaching bullshit and the fourth decided to honor them by creating a fantastic libation. Ommegang Three Philosophers is classified as a Belgian Quadruple ale brewed with cherries. Pours a dark mahogany brown with decent lacing that slowly dissipates. At 9.8 ABV one would think this would put you on your ass, but the hints of cherry and molasses have a calming effect that keeps this beer drinkable. A spicy Belgian yeast smell is pretty evident and this is followed by a bready malt aroma. I am thoroughly impressed with this beer. It's one of those beers that makes you understand how important balance is and that fruit and beer can co-exist.

Hopped Nostalgia

Beer can be nostalgic. Every so often I will enter a Blog that introduces the lighter side of beer. I was thinking about some of the great times I have had over the last couple years and I can always remember everybody slinging brew. If you're a beer lover, you automatically get excited around Easter when the weather gets warm and bars start to carry Hefeweizens and Belgian Wits. From that first sip, I begin to think about baseball and backyard BBQ's. Everytime I have a Stout or Winter Ale, I think about holiday parties and going snowboarding with my friends. It's funny how a simple drink of barley, hops, yeast and water can evoke so many memories. For some people, it can evoke periods when they were fighting, partying the living shit out of themselves, or having emotionless sex (you guys know who you are). If I show you a beer, you can tell me about a memory. So if you read this, and you better, think of all the good times you've had with our good friend beer and tune in until next time.........

Hanz, Booby, Baby, I'm your white knight!

Schneider Weisse. Ladies and Gents here is a true Hefeweizen. I say that because when you see this beer, it doesn't look like your typical American Hefeweizen. It pours a cloudy brown with a big boisterous head. Scents of banana and mild clove. Flavors are very complex for a hefe, and one could argue that this is really a dunkel disguised as a hefe. It's incredibly smooth and very easy to drink. Easily one of the three of four best hefeweizen's in the world. At 5.4% ABV this is a mild one and with all that flavor, it would be easy to down a couple. This offering comes to us from G. Schneider & Sohn......a Bavarian brewery company founded in 1872.

Brooklyn's in da House

After spending a few hours with my nephew Lucas Jeffrey Whittle and my sister's pitbull Hank Ricardo Whittle, I decided to venture down to Wegmans to pick up a nice brew. Fortunately for us who live in the Wegmans area, we are able to pick up world class beer at a great price. Garrett Oliver, the owner of Brooklyn Brewery, has been a vocal and public figure in the beer scene for quite some time. Mr. Oliver believes beer pairs better with food then wine and has spent the last couple years trying to prove it. One of Brooklyn's Big Bottle offering's is the BROOKLYN LOCAL #1. LOCAL #1 can be classified as a Belgian Strong Pale Ale brewed with German malts and hops, and first-pressing Demerara cane sugar from Mauritius. Garrett Oliver calls this beer "A strong Saison". Pours a slightly cloudy yellow color with a tall head that hangs around for a while and leaves plenty of lacing on the glass. The aroma reminds me of a witbier - banana, clove, spice, and citrus. The flavor is very nice. Has a very nice spice character to go along with the citrus and clove flavors. Yeasty flavors are nice. The body is medium and it is quite refreshing at 9% ABV. Nice brew! I think this beer would be an excellent beer to serve to all your wine drinking friends. In fact I think it's very similar to a dry white wine. Until next time......

Mmmmm Malt..

Today we are going to discuss one of Ayinger's best brews. Continue to read this Blog and I am sure you will hear much more about Ayinger and the magic they create in bavaria. I went to Theresa's in Wayne and decided I wanted something that I could sink my teeth into. I decided to take a swing at the Celebrator Doppelbock, Ayinger's Doppelbock offering. Doppelbock's generally have a very full-bodied flavor and are darker than their little Bock brothers and sisters and a higher level of alcohol too. They range in color from dark amber to nearly black, and dark versions often have slight chocolate or roasted characters. Dark and intense looking of a mahogany colour, a big frothy tan head lays on top that literally sticks around as long as the beer is there. Malt, Malt, and more Malt!! I feel like I should be wearing some Lederhosen and eating pretzels. Right away you get hints of chocolate and smoke and this beer is smooth! I suggest eating some red meat and gouda with this brew. It also comes with a plastic goat toy which is always nice!

From Russia With Love

Russian River. If you're a beer geek then those two words speak volumes. I was invited to a bonfire at my buddies house and decided I wanted to bring something special. I stopped at the Foodery in NoLibs and to my surprise they had Russian River!! For you people who don't know what this beer is all about, let me educate you. Russian River is a small brew pub in Santa Rosa, California who only releases a small amount of beers outside of the brewery each year. Philadelphia is the only city on the east coast who recieves bottles of this beer! Big ups to Philly! They have been around for about 10 years and continue to walk the fine line when it comes to experimenting with the possibilities of beer. I have read countless articles about Russian River's "Barrel Aged" beers and wanted to give it a shot. When I say barrel aged, well, the damn beer is aged in a barrel!! Similar to wine, whiskey or bourbon, these beers are aged for a certain period of time to achieve maximum flavor. Back to my experience.....seeing this beer in the case was like Indiana Jones finding the Holy Grail. I picked up three bottles and went to my buddies crib to see Cliff Lee throw some scoreless innings. The three I chose were Temptation and 2 bottles of Damnation. Let's start with Temptation......A blonde ale fermented with a special strain of yeast, then aged in French oak chardonnay barrels. Flavors of wine and oak absorb into the brew throughout twelve months of aging. During this aging process, a secondary fermentation occurs using a yeast strain disliked by most brewers and winemakers called Brettanomyces. I have to say that I wasn't a fan. I'm not really a fan of chardonnay and this beer really tasted like chardonnay!! I am glad I decided to try this one though, it was too intriguing to pass up. Next up to bat was Damnation. Damnation is classified as a Belgian Strong Pale Ale. I tend to like Pale Ale's, so I was excited to pop this one open. It's a bit of a paradox, as it's crisp and creamier all in the same bout. I had a lot of floral taste, with a nice helping of the Belgian yeast's spicy nature and definitely a lot of fruit in there, like plum, pear, apple, and orange rind. The taste is sort-of like an apple juice, in a weird way. Ummm, again, not a big fan. I thought it was much to sweet and at 7.75 ABV, I was expecting a little more bite. This blog should serve as a lesson and in the words of Flava Flav...don't believe the hype!!

Ms. Saison

This past weekend I cooked some Indian Food for a bunch of friends and needed a beer that could stand up to some of the spice of the food we would be eating. A couple different beers came to mind, but I eventually decided on a Saison Style. Saisons are sturdy farmhouse ales that are traditionally brewed in the winter, to be consumed throughout the summer months. I decided on one of my favorites, Hennepin. The beer comes to us from Ommegang Brewery in Cooperstown, NY. Although they are located in New York, Ommegang produces some of the best Belgian ales this side of the Atlantic. Pours a golden color with an off white head that fades but leaves nice lacing. The smell is complex, some nice sweet fruit notes, some malt and spice notes as well. The taste starts somewhat sweet with the spice and fruit upfront, followed by a somewhat tart taste finishing with a malty taste. The mouthfeel is very smooth, some alcohol content detected in the aftertaste, but overall a silky beer with nice balance. This is a great drinker, not overpowering flavor, but lots of flavor is packed into this beer. I believe that Hennepin is a great beer for non beer drinkers to start off with. It gives a lot of flavor, but isn't going to scare you away. Wegmans in Downingtown carries Hennepin for about 9 bucks a bottle. Check it out next you are eating spicy food!

MACHINE PISS

I figured that my first post in the blogging world should be dedicated to the downfall of american beer. Walk into any popular bar on a friday night and you will most likely notice more then a few douche bags with a Miller Lite grasped between the pointer and the thumb. Coors light, Miller light, Michelob, Bud light. What's the difference? Aside from some decent commercials, these beers aren't worth the 2 bucks they cost at the local watering hole. Typically a high amount of cereal adjuncts like rice or corn are used to help lighten the beer as much as possible. Rice and Corn??? Whether it's the Triple Hops Brewed or the Vent Can, these companies know there market and they go after it hard. I still can't understand why people drink these beers, but just like my good friend Don King said "Only in America!!!!"