Sunday May 13th was my trip back to the Philly area. I had high hopes of getting around to see some of the old stomping grounds and friends. Sadly, some of the old places, ie Boathouse, Restaurant and Bar, Maddy’s were not there any longer & replaced with new. I wasn’t out there for pleasure unfortunately so I had to really focus on my day job. I took every opportunity I could to find time here and there to fit my beers of the day in. I'm not going to go into this but I’ve never had education like I did this past week. I felt more like I was in Elementary school again where the teachers had all power and knowledge and experience and I was green. Not because the content was so NEW and earth shattering; no - simply because of the delivery of the messages. That said, I did learn a lot from last week and am actually cautiously optimistic about the future… there are good changes that could be beneficial to all coming. I just hope its not what it has been in the past - promises and pipe dreams.
5/13 – Yuengling - Lager – I’ve been on many brewery tours around the country but some how this one has escaped me. The oldest brewery in America; I have never visited. I feel bad about this and really want to fix this terrible flaw. When I lived out there it was "too close" and now I’ve not made time to make it out that way. This is a beer I “grew up” on. I would venture to say I drank more of this beer collectively than I’ve drank of any other. The only exception may be Miller Lite as I have not drank much Yuengling in the 2000’s. I loved this beer in the 90’s. It was great, refreshing, smooth and had down right drinkability. It is a light brown color with a clean smooth head. Personally, it was one of my favorites. It was so good in fact that in the 90’s you could go into any bar in Easter PA and ask for “A lager” and you would get this one! They just knew you meant the best!
Then the masses caught on, word got out on the street… people would travel to OC Maryland and take cases! Bars had to have this! People pushed… the brewery knew they had to answer. They ramped up production and increased lines. They even had to travel far and wide to find new facilities which they did so in South Florida. This beer made it big… it shipped far and wide, you couldn’t ask for it by name any more (this probably had more to do with how many varieties and popularity of craft beer exploded). But, I think this beer lost something. It started tasting a bit cheap to me. It tasted metallic and started giving me head-aches. I don’t know if they started adding corn adjuncts to the recipe (or it was always there – to me something had happened). Anyway, I lost interest and even in the last 2-3 years when I try it I am not impressed. I’m not sure if because of being in Philly again, no kids so a lack of responsibility or what – but this draft drank extremely nice. I may start to give it another try and see if maybe they are working out the recipe and straightening things out. This beer will score nicely for me tonight as the beer in Philly Tasted SO GOOD.
Then the masses caught on, word got out on the street… people would travel to OC Maryland and take cases! Bars had to have this! People pushed… the brewery knew they had to answer. They ramped up production and increased lines. They even had to travel far and wide to find new facilities which they did so in South Florida. This beer made it big… it shipped far and wide, you couldn’t ask for it by name any more (this probably had more to do with how many varieties and popularity of craft beer exploded). But, I think this beer lost something. It started tasting a bit cheap to me. It tasted metallic and started giving me head-aches. I don’t know if they started adding corn adjuncts to the recipe (or it was always there – to me something had happened). Anyway, I lost interest and even in the last 2-3 years when I try it I am not impressed. I’m not sure if because of being in Philly again, no kids so a lack of responsibility or what – but this draft drank extremely nice. I may start to give it another try and see if maybe they are working out the recipe and straightening things out. This beer will score nicely for me tonight as the beer in Philly Tasted SO GOOD.
5/14 – Iron Hill – Maibock – I believe I’ve posted this before but the German Beer Institute website defines this beer as:
Maibock (literally: May Bock) is the Bavarians' strong, golden lager favored during the brief transation between the severe winters along the northern edge of the Alps, when people hunker down indoors, and the hot summers, when people flock to the beer gardens.
This is one of my favorite styles of beer. I really wish this beer was able to be found more regularly through the year. When I find this style I enjoy! I went to Iron Hill with some work friends and ordered a sampler; this was the beer I chose to order a 12 oz of in the restaurant. Iron Hill has tuned in nicely to this beer and style and I really liked their recipe. It poured a malty light caramel in the glass with a light head on top. The beer was medium to heavy body with just enough hops to balance the sweetness nicely. This beer paired real nice with my Burger I ordered that night. It got me so excited I actually picked up a bottle of 2009 Old Ale they had in the cellar – I look forward to drinking this later in the year. Thanks for the great beer!
Maibock (literally: May Bock) is the Bavarians' strong, golden lager favored during the brief transation between the severe winters along the northern edge of the Alps, when people hunker down indoors, and the hot summers, when people flock to the beer gardens.
This is one of my favorite styles of beer. I really wish this beer was able to be found more regularly through the year. When I find this style I enjoy! I went to Iron Hill with some work friends and ordered a sampler; this was the beer I chose to order a 12 oz of in the restaurant. Iron Hill has tuned in nicely to this beer and style and I really liked their recipe. It poured a malty light caramel in the glass with a light head on top. The beer was medium to heavy body with just enough hops to balance the sweetness nicely. This beer paired real nice with my Burger I ordered that night. It got me so excited I actually picked up a bottle of 2009 Old Ale they had in the cellar – I look forward to drinking this later in the year. Thanks for the great beer!
5/15 – Philadelphia Brewery - Kensinger Lager – Being in Philly area (Wayne, PA is where my hotel was) last week, I drank a good amount of beer in the lobby of the hotel. The bartender Bill at the Embassy Suites was a great guy! We hung out and talked beer. He told me they work on keeping a nice selection of local brews on tap at all times. This beer was a nice little surprise I found one night when they switched out the kegs. Unfortunately, I didn’t take many notes on this beer so I’ll “cheat” a bit and use some of the descriptions The brewery themselves use online; in their words: “This crisp, light bodied, golden beer is the very definition of refreshment. The combination of premium German pilsner malts and American Noble hops aim to please your taste buds and satisfy your thirst.” It did all that and more. I came back for a few more of these as the week went on. I may even try to find a case of this out this way as it was enjoyable and refreshing through and through. Thanks Bill for putting this one on tap.
Thanks again for stopping by and
Thanks again for stopping by and
