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......