Funky Buddha at Monk's

This picture sums up the Funky Buddha event...crowded, hot, annoying and every other synonym of crowded, hot and annoying.  The "line" was coming out of the back room when we arrived and at no point did it even seem possible to get anywhere near the bar.  By "line" I mean, EVERY person spread across the room was trying to get served.  Oh well, Monk's is a small place and the demand for these beers is clearly very high.  Nobody's fault, just the way these things tend to go at times. 

While I didn't have my own full glass, GIANT thanks to Eric, Craig and the others from BA for sharing their beers with me.  In the end, I got to try the Key Lime Berliner Weisse, Passion Fruit Berliner Weisse, Peach Berliner Weisse and Nib Smuggler (chocolate porter). These beers were excellent, especially the Key Lime and Passion Fruit Berliners...the fruit flavors smelled and tasted so naturally fresh, tart and delicious.  While I wish the scene would've been more bearable, I'm just happy that I got to try this assortment of great brews from Funky Buddha!   

Cirque Du Saison at Tapestry

The weather was beautiful this past weekend and going to Tapestry for Cirque Du Saison was the perfect place to be.  An outdoor family-friendly event with a live band, face painting (my son got a cool robot), juggling, balloon animals, BBQ and approximately 30 amazing saisons!  I had such a great time on Saturday that I went back on Sunday with a different group of friends.  Good times had by all!

It was hard to decide what to drink, but here's what I went with:
- St. Somewhere/ Funky Buddha Citron Partie
- Stillwater/ Hof Ten Bronze Age
- Bridge Road/ Nogne O India Saison
- Evil Twin Ron And The Beast Ryan
- Stillwater As Follows
- Professor Fritz Briem 1809 Berliner Weisse

Shared with friends (thanks guys):
- Stillwater Bri-Witter
- Piccolo Birrificio Seson
- Del Ducato Nuovo Mattina

All of these beers were really good with some being more enjoyable than others.  My favorites were Evil Twin RATBR and Bridge Road/ Nogne O India Saison. 

Thanks again to Tapestry for making this happen!  I hope Cirque Du Saison becomes an annual event associated with Philly Beer Week. 

http://www.tapestryphilly.com/

Fourth Annual Bella Vista Beer Bash

Philly Beer Week has officially begun! As expected, the selection of brews last night at Devil's Den was incredible.  It was a mix of rare beers that will probably never be seen again together at one location.  Here is what I drank last night (descriptions taken from Draft List):

Williamsburg AleWerks Chaka Latte (limited firkin) - Coffeehouse Stout aged in Virginia Gentleman reserve bourbon barrels with Dutch chocolate and vanilla beans added to the firkin. 8% 10.5 oz

Cigar City Marshal Zhukov's Imperial Stout (aged in apple brandy barrel) - limited - Rich roasted malt body notes of espresso, chocolate, toffee, molasses, with notes of apples, boozy, vanilla & oak. 11% 10.5 oz

Fifty Fifty B.A.R.T. - limited - (Barrel Aged Really Tasty) A one-off beer that was made on the brewer's whim, this is a blend of Old Conundrum Barleywine & Eclipse Imperial Stout. 7% 10.5 oz

Central Waters Exodus - only keg in Eastern USA - Belgian blonde ale, aged in oak with Door County cherries & brett. Sour wild funky fruit ale. 5% 10.5 oz

Myth of Saison - limited collab between Hill Farmstead & Tired Hands - saison brewed with Citra & Amarillo hops, 120 lbs. of Vermont wildflower honey & 120 lbs. of Basswood Pennsylvania honey. 7% 10.5 oz

I started off with a flight of stouts because I thought they would be the first kegs to kick.  Next I ordered the Myth of Saison and ended with Exodus.  Great, refreshing way to top off this awesome event.  Everything I had last night was excellent but the true highlight for me was the Chaka Latte.  The initial taste of bourbon and dark chocolate was met with notes of vanilla and oak...just absolutely delicious!  This beer was creamy, smooth and perfectly balanced without any one flavor dominating throughout the glass.  

The Fourth Annual Bella Vista Beer Bash at Devil's Den was a truly special event. If you missed out last night it's time to start planning for next year NOW.

From L to R: Chaka Latte, Marshal Zhukov, B.A.R.T.

Philly Beer Week 2012

My first event for PBW 2012 (June 1 - 10) will be the Fourth Annual Bella Vista Beer Bash at Devil's Den on Friday, June 1st.  The lineup looks insanely amazing and I'm not sure if any other event can top this incredible list.  Needless to say, I'm already excited and can't wait for PBW to begin! 

http://www.devilsdenphilly.com/

http://www.phillytapfinder.com/#bar-devils-den-bella-vista-6-1-7pm

Dock Street Johnny Berliner

I went to see Cold Specks perform at Johnny Brenda's last night and was happy to see Dock St. Johnny Berliner on tap (a collaboration between Dock St. Brewery and Johnny Brenda's for Philly Beer Week).  This was a great brew and quite possibly the best offering I've had from Dock St. aside from their delicious RyePA.  Light, crisp, lemony and tart, Johnny Berliner is a great, refreshing summer beer and I want to have a steady supply of it at every BBQ I attend this year.  I really hope that Berliner Weisse becomes the next trend in brewing because I'd love to see this style more widely available. 

http://www.johnnybrendas.com/

http://www.dockstreetbeer.com/


PS- Check out Cold Specks!  Beautifully raw and honest music...get on board now before they blow up!

http://coldspecks.com/videos/ 

Stillwater Artisanal Ales Cellar Door

This past Sunday was Mother's Day and I split a bottle of Cellar Door with my mom during dinner.  The weather outside was beautiful and this beer totally complemented the day.  Cellar Door is a saison that is brewed with white sage.  The appearance of the fluffy white head paired very well with the funky, citrus scent.  Along with all other Stillwater brews, this beer has lots of complexity...Earthy, wheat tones combined with some floral grassiness ending in a dry, citrus finish.  This beer offered a great mix of light sweetness and a bit of spice.

Stillwater makes such delicious beers and everything I've tried from them has been excellent.  I met the head brewer, Brian Strumke, a few years ago at a Stillwater event in Philly.  He was extremely approachable and truly seemed to enjoy talking about beer and the brewing process. Stillwater Artisanal Ales is known as a gypsy brewery.  While Strumke is based out of Maryland, he told me that he brews all over the place.  Collaborating with other breweries and making frequent trips to Belgium seems like a pretty amazing life to me!  Cheers to Brian and Stillwater for putting out another great brew.

http://stillwaterales.blogspot.com/
   

Hawthorne's 3rd Annual IPA Block Party

IPA Block Party??!  I get to sit outside and enjoy from a variety of 24 different IPA's on tap??  Yes, I love springtime in Philly!

I was getting over a cold so I didn't feel great, but there was NO way I planned to miss this event.  Joined by my family (wife, 2 year old son, Mom and Dad), this was the perfect way for me to spend a Saturday afternoon.  We luckily secured a table upon entry where we proceeded to enjoy our food and drinks.  At one end of the block was a live band that provided an upbeat soundtrack for me to inhale a grilled sausuage and pepper sandwich. 

There was a nice turnout when we arrived and it never got too overcrowded.  The longest I ever had to wait in line for a beer was less than a minute.  Since I wasn't feeling 100% and had to rest up for the Broad St. 10-mile run the following day, I took it easy and only sampled a few beers.

AleSmith IPA
Russian River Blind Pig IPA
Captain Lawrence Captain's Reserve Imperial IPA
Port Brewing Mongo IPA

I've had all of these brews before expect for the Captain Lawrence, which was my favorite of the day.  All of the beers were delicious and it was a truly special event to have this impressive selection of IPA's served fresh on tap. 

We all had at great time and I look forward to making this block party an annual event for the whole family to attend. 

http://hawthornecafe.com/