Under the Weather and Drinking

We had the weekend of January 19 blocked off in our calendar for a possible Team D(r)INK outing to Richmond, VA. When that fell through, Brewslut and I seized the opportunity to make a return visit to the greater Philadelphia area. I found a great hotel deal on Priceline for Mt. Pleasant, NJ (right across the river) for two nights, so we were set.

Then I got sick.

Let me tell you, there aren't many things that prevent me from partaking in a good ol' beer romp through one of my favorite beer cities... but a wicked cold on the verge of flu-like symptoms is one of them. Indeed, I felt like a bag of assholes pretty much all weekend. I was chasing Dayquil with IPAs almost all weekend. I'll give myself credit, though. I wanted to bail multiple times on Saturday and just head back to the hotel for some much-needed rest. Through perseverance, however, we made it to five breweries on Saturday and another five on Sunday.

But first, let's start the weekend where it belongs: Friday evening.

We rolled out of Annville a bit earlier than usual to get a head start on weekend traffic. I decided to schedule a stop in Phoenixville to hit two new-to-us breweries on the way. Seemed like a good half-way point to me. First up was Stable 12, located right on Bridge Street, which is essentially the main drag. The beer menu looked promising and they served food; a good thing, as I knew we'd be hungry after the 75-minute drive.

When we arrived, some musicians were setting up in the corner of the small tasting room. There was also about 40 minutes left of Happy Hour, so pints were $1 off. We found a table on the opposite side of the room and shortly a server appeared to take our order. I almost went with the whimsically named Sugar Coated Pony Kisses, an IPA brewed with lactose, based solely on the name. Turns out Brewslut had the same idea, so I opted for Fresh Pick'd, a guava IPA with slightly higher ABV. Turns out I made the right decision, as it was more enjoyable than my companion's selection. Of course, we shared the beers, so I had about as much of it as she.

We decided to share a pour of a beer called Pucker Up Buttercup. I knew I'd heard this phrase before somewhere. I quick memory jog revealed it to be a quote from Ferris Bueller's Day Off (spoken by principal Edward Rooney to Cameron, who is playing the role of Sloane Peterson's dad). I'm usually pretty good to pick up on pop culture references (provided said reference isn't from pop culture of the last, say, twenty years). Unfortunately, the beer itself - a barrel-aged saison - was lackluster. It sounded great on paper, though: We aged this beer in oak Chardonnay barrels for 6 months and then blended it with red sour cherry puree from Oregon. 

Food-wise, we were pleased with our selections. I got a pulled smoked chicken sandwich with white Alabama BBQ sauce and a side of fries. The bun was great and appeared to be home-made. Brewslut enjoyed a plate of chicken nachos, which I helped her eat because the portion was pretty hefty. All in all, not a bad first experience. I enjoyed the Fresh Pick'd quite a bit and I look forward to revisiting Stable 12 in a few months to see how things are shaping up.

Time to move on, though.

What do you get when you combine craft beer with 90's hip hop, graffiti, and cheesy vintage kung fu movies? A pretty dope-ass brewery, yo! Root Down, situated a mere two blocks away from Stable 12, is housed in an old Hires root beer factory. (There's even a vintage sign adorning the tasting room wall to prove it.) Upon finding out this fun fact, Brewslut and I couldn't help but get the Hires jingle from the late 70s/early 80s stuck in our heads. (I tried to find a YouTube link, but sorry... no luck).

First impressions are key, and my initial selection - Flying Guillotine - definitely made the grade. Described as an unfiltered IPA, this one was definitely an above-average interpretation of the style. My condition was starting to improve once I got my hands on this delicious beer. However, the whole weekend would prove to be a see-saw ride of feeling OK to back to the bag of assholes. Brewslut wasn't completely sold on her selection, Cosmic Smooth, a nitro-dispensed milk stout. I thought it was fine; perhaps a bit too roasty for a milk stout, but tasty nonetheless.

Our server was super friendly, as were the surrounding patrons at the bar, which made for a pleasant evening. Since the beer menu was lengthy and quite varied, I asked for recommendations. The Keller Pils came up, so who am I to argue? I like me a well-crafted Keller Pils, which is basically an unfiltered North German pilsner. This was a fine representation of the style, and according to our server, it had one some awards. Brewslut went with the cleverly named Salty By Nature, a Gose that proved not quite tart enough for us in the long run. I personally feel like the style is played out. I'd rather a nice, tart Berliner Weisse in its place.

Up next was Flux, a single-hopped unfiltered IPA with Mosaic. Bine, its flagship IPA, followed soon thereafter. This was a bit more spicy, resinous and malty compared to the softer, more citrus-forward Flying Guillotine, which in our minds took the cake. Before we left, I was sure to grab a 4-pack of Flying Guillotine to enjoy at home.

Beer aside, this was one of the only times I've ever enjoyed a TV at a brewery. This kung fu movie was so hilariously bad it was enjoyable to the point that we couldn't take our eyes off the screen. From what I understand, Root Down purchased the rights to a handful of these cheesy kung fu movies and just show them exclusively in the tasting room, one after another, without pause. What an awesome concept!

Kung fu. Like watching a train wreck with subtitles.

After an enjoyable first-time visit to Root Down, it was time to ship off to more familiar territory. I really wanted to stop in at Tired Hands Brew Café, as we hadn't been there in almost a year. Brewslut, on the other hand, preferred to stop at the Fermentaria just down the street. So we decided to do both. I was jonesin' for some bread and butter!

Inside, it was pretty hoppin', and we were about to snag the tiny table near the window at the front of the downstairs room when a few bar seats became freshly vacant. We always prefer to sit at the bar when we visit breweries (usually because we only order drinks at one of every five we visit).

First up was a half pour of Ornate Window, a plum saison. You can seldom go wrong with a Tired Hands saison. I've never been crazy about beers brewed with plums because I find the flavor doesn't really come across well compared to other fruits. However, I was pleasantly surprised with this offering, which seemed to capture the fleshy, slightly sweet yet faintly tart flavor of the plum. It wasn't too heavy on the dark fruit, which made it all the more enjoyable for me. This one was delicate with nuanced flavors of sweet fruit jam and tea leaves.

Brewslut opted for Forests of the Sea Bottom, a blood orange and oyster IPA. Yes, you read correctly. Oyster. I've known oysters to be a prime ingredient in stouts over the years, but never in an IPA. While she enjoyed it quite a bit, I was taken aback by the slightly briny, salty finish of this one.

While we were enjoying our beers, a group of youngsters hovered toward the bar area. One of them, a female, was slightly annoyed (and simultaneously annoying) in her quest to find a suitable beer. I had to laugh when the entire lot of them (eight perhaps) were carded by the manager. Turns out one of them hadn't turned twenty-one yet. They were immediately bounced from the premises. I had to chuckle. (I know, I know... grumpy old man syndrome.)

Selfie recreation of one of our favorite pics.

We ended our visit with Wayward Tiramisu, a cask-conditioned version of Wayward Canoe, an English Mild, conditioned atop Ladyfingers, coffee beans, cacao nibs, dark chocolate, and brown sugar. This served as a great dessert beer after a long evening of drinking.

Brewslut really wanted to swing by Tired Hands Fermentaria, so she twisted my arm and we made the short drive over for one final beer of the evening. The crowd had already winded down for the night when we arrived, so we were able to have our pick of two bar seats. We shared a pour of the returning favorite We Are All Infinite Energy Vibrating At The Same Frequency, a hazy IPA that first hit the scene a few years back, well ahead of the current hazy NE-style IPA craze. Brewed with wheat and hopped with Centennial and Simcoe, this is a damn fine IPA in all its simplicity. By this time, I'd had enough, so we decided to head to the hotel for the remainder of the evening. I definitely needed some rest if I was going to maintain our typical drinking schedule. I apologized to my liver in advance, especially since I'd been taking plenty of medicine with acetaminophen, which doesn't agree with alcohol. So... off to bed.

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

I knew I was going to be in for a long day on Saturday, because I slept terribly on Friday night. Flu symptoms aside, one of the unfortunate side effects is muscle soreness. At one point, I was waking up every 15 to 20 minutes simply to readjust my sleeping position. That was neither fun nor funny. Still, I had to get up and face the day with a smile on my face and a beer in my hand. (Remember... we're professionals.)

I was pretty excited to get to our first stop of the day: Spellbound. Last time, our itinerary was so ambitious that we were barely at Spellbound for an hour. Given the lackluster experience we encountered at a few breweries that day, we were able to weed out the undesirables and stick to our favorites. Spellbound might be our absolute favorite in this region. Rather than opt for a flight, we stuck with short pours of some favorites.

But first, something new. Apparently, Spellbound likes to tap firkins on Saturdays. Last time we were there, they had three if I'm not mistaken. This time around, they had two, one of which was an IPA aged on Spanish cedar. This sounded tasty, so I ordered a pour. Brewslut started light with It's Not yours, It's Mayan, 3rd anniversary imperial stout brewed with all of the various "Mexican" mole ingredients that have become all the rage (think Abraxas or Mexican Cake but not as mind-blowing). The cedar-aged IPA on cask was quite tasty, and definitely not as dry or as heavy on the cedar as, say, Cigar City's cedar-aged Jai Ali. It was a good way to begin the day, and I already was starting to feel better now that I had a beer in my hand and was sitting at the bar of a great brewery with my favorite lady friend.

Up next, it was time to revisit an old favorite: the Palo Santo Porter. This delicious beer is Spellbound's year-round porter aged on Palo Santo wood.  Palo Santo is a mystical tree that grows on the coast of South America and is related to Frankincense, Myrrh and Copal. This wood brings out an exquisite chocolate flavor with hints of vanilla, anise, and mint. I was happy to learn that Spellbound scored a gold medal for this beer at the 2017 GABF in the Wood Aged Beer category. Congrats! This is one of those beers that I have to get each time we visit. Brewslut grabbed a pour of Vices, a coffee porter. She opted for a nitro pour versus CO2 based on the endorsement of the brewer. Again, the porter serves as the base beer, which is then aged on Small World Coffee's Crispy Hippie coffee beans. This one was quite enjoyable as well!

By this point, I was pretty sure I was done and ready to move on. Then I realized that I probably shouldn't leave without having a pour of the Peach IPA, which is one of our very favorite beers from Spellbound. Unfortunately, my palate was firing on all cylinders due to my unfortunate illness, so the flavor was kind of muted. Damn you, flu! Damn you to hell!

On the way to our next stop, Double Nickel, my condition began to go south again. This snapshot of Pleeps captures how I was feeling during our visit:

Last time we visited, we really enjoyed the barrel-aged beers that were available, especially the Buffalo Trace BA stout. It was a standout of the trip. This time around, we decided to go another route and tried some experimental small-batch offerings. These were primarily hoppy ales but one was a Berliner Weisse, which Brewslut was excited about. Here's the low-down: 

• Lawn Surfer - "juicy" IPA (perhaps an attempt at a NE-style IPA?)
• DNA Brew Series Test Batch #1 - boysenberry Berliner Weisse
• DNA Brew Series Test Batch #2 - wet hop IPA
• DNA Brew Series Test Batch #3 - cascara IPA (brewed with "cascara" i.e. the “husk" or dried skins of coffee cherries)

Unfortunately, we were not as wowed as we were last year. The Wet Hop ale was kind of non-descript, and the Berliner Weisse, despite having a very pleasant boysenberry aroma, had a wretched cardboard finish. The Cascara IPA was probably my favorite of the bunch, as it featured a nice floral and fruity note amid the hop character. After being somewhat underwhelmed with our flight, Brewslut felt it necessary to end on a positive note and ordered a small pour of the Buffalo Nickel (the aforementioned Buffalo Trace barrel-aged imperial stout). We enjoyed this immensely during our visit last year. Our opinion hadn't changed. I had a small nick off her pour but by this time I was ready to throw up the white flag. I contemplated heading back to the hotel for some rest, but decided to soldier on so at least she could have an enjoyable weekend. "In sickness and in health," right? 

Up next was our single "new" brewery visit of the day. While we were at Double Nickel, I struck up a pleasant conversation with a woman around my age who was celebrating her birthday. She mentioned that she really enjoyed Eclipse Brewing, which was only about 6 miles or so away. She also informed me that the brewery was owned and operated by a retired couple that decided to open a small brewery in their home "for fun." Sounded cool to me. I'd seen this brewery on the beer map, but for whatever reason decided to leave it off our itinerary. Since we were nearby, we decided to drop by for a sampler flight. 

Photo courtesy of Google images.

Eclipse is tiny; the true embodiment of a nano brewery. The tasting room is literally set up in the front room of the owners' home. When we arrived, it was cramped inside but we managed to snag two vacant barstools when two partons happened to be leaving at the same time. I was surprised to see over a dozen beers on tap. Based on its size, I anticipated about 4 or 5 offerings. After looking things over, here's what we decided on for our flight:

• Coconut Cream Ale - light cream ale with a hint of coconut
• Haaze - hazy NE-style IPA
• Citra Promised - IPA with Citra hops
• Cranberry Kettle Sour - tart kettle-soured ale

OK, so these aren't the most clever beer names. While nothing blew us away, everything was pretty solid and enjoyable. The Coconut Cream Ale could use a bit more coconut character, but otherwise these beers were commendable and the brewery definitely shows promise. Plus the servers here were genuinely nice people, which made our visit that much more enjoyable. As we sat at the bar, I noticed a few Tröegs tackers adorning the walls. I commented on this to one of the servers, and he asked if I worked there (I was wearing my hoodie too, so that was another tell-tale sign). I confirmed, and he said that Tröegs was one of the owner's favorites, and also mentioned that he bought a bottle of Mad Elf Grand Cru for each of his employees as a gift for the holidays. Now that's a generous boss! They were also nice enough to comp our sampler flight.

It was off to Tonewood, and again I was starting to feel a little better. I was also pretty hungry by now, so I knew getting some grub in my gut would provide some additional fuel. Before we hit Tonewood, we stopped in to The Square Meal, a tiny restaurant a few doors down from the brewery, for dinner. We stopped in last year and really enjoyed our meal, which includes a lot of vegetarian and local farm-to-table options. The woman who owns the place is a school teacher by day but still manages to find the time to run the restaurant on the side. We each got a sandwich called "The McFadden." Comprised of organic turkey meatloaf, pepper jack cheese, a fried egg and local greens on sourdough, this sandwich was a home run! Since Tonewood doesn't serve food, I can't imagine ever visiting Oaklyn without stopping here for food. She will even deliver food directly to the brewery. However, once we got to Tonewood, we're glad we decided to eat in the restaurant.

Here's a pic from last year's blog to break up some reading.

As expected, Tonewood was elbow to asshole. The place was booming and it was insanely loud. Voices yelping with laughter darted into my aching head and only worsened my condition. Since it was still pretty mild outside, we decided to grab our beers and sit outside. It was still a little chilly with only a hoodie, plus I'd been battling with cold shakes off and on for most of the day. After a nice conversation with an older local customer (who had his cool dog in tow) outside, we decided to go back inside and stand on the ramp up to the bathroom, because there was nowhere else to go. We weren't there for more than two minutes when a group of "woo girls" came in screeching and acting like the 23-year-olds they were. Of course, they wanted a picture of their group in front of the logo mural on the wall we happened to be standing against, so we politely moved out of the way but managed to get a syncopated eye roll in. I tried to photo bomb them, but I'm not sure if I was successful. They ended up taking an assload of photos. They ended up annoying me so much that I just finished my beer and walked away.

By the way, the beers we ordered were Fuego, one of Tonewood's trendy IPAs, and mono.tone.citra, a Citra-hopped IPA from its single hop "monotone" series. I didn't enjoy these as much as Chief - the delicious pale ale I imbibed - from last year. Perhaps it was my compromised health, perhaps it was the annoying throng of "woo girls," or perhaps it was just the noisy clusterfuck of the space in general, but I just said, "Fuck this noise!" and decided to leave. 

Things over at Forgotten Boardwalk were much more manageable. My favorite bartender from last time was working, and the crowd was healthy but not overcrowded like Tonewood. We grabbed a pair of beers and found a small table in the back of the tasting room. Morrow Castle, a smoked porter, was in the cards for me this evening, and it was enjoyable. We also opted for a pour of the intriguingly named Mr. Watson Come Here I Want to See You, a white IPA brewed and dry-hopped with Ekuanot lupulin powder and Hallertau Blanc. This beer is also fermented with a Belgian yeast strain to impart a touch of spice and fruit. A quick Google search revealed the impetus of the name: "Mr. Watson, come here... I want to see you" were apparently the first intelligible words spoken over some newfangled invention called the telephone. Now there's some great useless trivia for all you readers!

Considering my weakened condition, I was surprised I'd made it as long as I did on this particular day. However, I was definitely ready to head back to the hotel for some much-needed rest. After all, we had five more breweries to hit on Sunday. I'd better rest up. No excuses, right?

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

On Sunday morning, we enjoyed our complimentary breakfast buffet at the hotel, then packed up and checked out. Today's agenda? Philadelphia. For years, the City of Brotherly Suds has been known more for its eclectic variety of corner bars and (in more recent years) world-class beer bars like Monks, Standard Tap, the P.O.P.E., Memphis Taproom, and many more. In the last two years, Philly finally has upped its game and entered the craft brewery ring in earnest. Several new breweries have opened in and around the city over the last few years, and it's our job to visit as many of them as we can.

Enter Urban Village. Located right around the corner from Philly's newest music venue, The Fillmore, Urban Village pairs fresh, small-batch beers with brick oven pizza. Pizza and beer... what a concept! I checked out the tap menu in advance, and the beers sounded great. The place seemed legit, so it made the cut.

We settled on a flight for each of us. Here's mine:

• Sofa King - juicy grapefruit and tropical-forward IPA brewed with oats 
• Huntingdon Drive - house IPA hopped with a blend of Simcoe, Citra and Amarillo 
• All In - black DIPA heavy on roasted chocolate flavor and piney, resinous hops 
• Cool Beanz - coffee stout brewed with an excessive amount of chocolate malt then rested on coffee beans from Reanimator Roasters for a week

Pleeps was eyeing up my Cool Beanz!

Not sure if I could pick a favorite, but if I had to it'd probably be the All In. I love me a good black IPA and this one was thick and chewy with plenty of roasted goodness and sticky, resinous hop flavor. Cool Beanz, while tasty, was a little too heavy on the booze and had a slight syrupy texture, which lost a few points for me if we were keeping score. The IPAs were both fresh and well executed with pleasant, balanced hop character.

All in all, this place has a similar vibe to Bar Hygge, so no complaints there. There were only a handful of other patrons there during the time of our visit, but I'd wager that this place gets mobbed before (and after) shows at the Fillmore. The beers were all on-point, and I'd love to try some of the brick oven pizza next time.

Up next was a trip to the brand spankin' new Yards facility, located on Spring Garden (familiar territory for us; a good friend lived on the 1100 block of Spring Garden for many years, just down the street from the new brewery). We try to visit Yards each time we head to Philly, but I was more excited this time, if only to check out the new digs. It's so new, in fact, that the packaging lines (including a canning line!) and brewing equipment aren't even on-line yet. How do I know this? Ron.

Outside and across the street from the new Yards facility.

Ron (the guy with the super-long dreads) from Yards was sitting at the end of the bar when we arrived, so we ended up sitting with him and catching up. How do I know him? Good question! Ron's the drummer for the Yard's house metal band, Yeast Factory, who took home the gold at the first annual Band of Brewers event, a Battle-of-the-Bands-style event organized by Philly Beer Scene magazine. It had been quite a while since I'd last talked with him, but he remembered my name. Since my memory remembers faces better than names, I immediately knew he was the drummer from the band.

From our vantage point at the bar.

After perusing the beer list, I was feeling like a barleywine. Old Bartholomew, which I'd never had before, was on tap. I believe Ron mentioned it was a 2014 or 2015 vintage, but it wasn't designated on the beer menu. This sipper of a beer really helped warm me up. I still wasn't feeling 100%, but I was definitely on the upswing. Since I was sick all weekend, Brewslut and I weren't sharing many of our beers (because germs). This resulted in less beer check-ins for each of us. I'm sure she could have handled it; she's got the most efficient immune system I've ever encountered. Hasn't been sick in probably 7 years, and she's around little grubby germ merchants all day at school.

At any rate, it was cool to catch up with Ron and check out the new digs. Cheers to Yards for the sweet facility. I look forward to a return visit where we can check out the rest of the facility once everything is operational. Philly Pale Ale in cans should be a home run for the locals, too!

Take-out beer and merch shop at Yards.

Another place we were stoked to visit again was Bar Hygge, which I'd recently named in my Top 10 New Breweries Visited in 2017 blog. This place has it all: great beer, killer food, perfect ambiance, skilled staff, and convenient location. We sat at the corner of the bar a few seats away from where we sat during our inaugural visit. Since we weren't eating, it would be a fairly short visit, so I made it count.

Scenes from Bar Hygge.

After careful consideration, I decided on a pour of Notorious F.I.G., a sour ale brewed with fig concentrate. I don't recall if I'd ever come across a fig beer in our travels, plus the name of the beer was pretty dope so I had to get it. I used to love Fig Newtons as a kid, so I enjoy the flavor of figs. Actually, I'm quite partial to any stone fruit or dried dried variation: raisins, prunes, apricots, dates, and, yes, figs. Despite being slightly outside my wheelhouse, this beer didn't disappoint. Brewslut enjoyed a pour of Lemon Meringue IPA, a zesty, citrus-forward IPA with a soft finish. I can't say enough good things about this place, and don't imagine we'd ever visit Philly without stopping here for a beer or two.

I was looking forward to our next stop, Crime & Punishment, but not before a quick visit to Brewerytown Beats, the sweet record store right across the street. Last time, I had snagged original pressings of Metallica's Ride the Lightning and State of Euphoria by Anthrax. For some reason I never bought either of these as a kid. FAIL! Brewslut was more than happy to get a head start at C&P rather than join me for some digging. Coincidentally, I picked up (among a few other titles) an original Megaforce pressing of Spreading the Disease, another old Anthrax album and one of my favorites. Horns up! \m/

After about half an hour, I made my way back across the street for a beer. Enter Ladyzhino Landscape. I had no clue what the name of the beer implied, and neither did our server. (Google tells me its a geographical area of Russia, which makes sense to me. Crime and Punishment is a novel by Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky. (I never read it. Too long.) Connection made. Yay internet. Anyway, back to the beer. This particular beer, a pale ale hopped with Amarillo, Citra, and Ekuanot, was pretty tasty. However, it was our next shared selection, Space Race, that won me over. Hopped and dry-hopped with Citra, Mosaic, and Simcoe, this IPA wasn't much to look at. It was murkier than most unfiltered IPAs I've come across, and it was more of a sludgy tan color rather than anything resembling orange or amber. See?

Thanks for the pic, anonymous Untappd user.

The taste, however, was another story. Think tropical fruit, citrus rind and peach and you get a pretty good painting of this beer's flavor. This one was quite enjoyable. And with that, it was off to our final destination of this haze-induced weekend.

Wissahickon Brewing Company was a brand new brewery for us. As a matter of fact, it's new to most folks, as it just opened its doors back in June 2017. By this time, the Eagles-Vikings game had begun, and all of the employees at the brewery were decked out in their favorite green and white apparel in support of the underdogs. Upon perusing the chalkboard, I had an idea of what I wanted but needed more info. I happened to ask if they had a beer menu with details, and the brewer just happened to be walking by and heard me, so he gave me the low-down on each beer I asked about (the IPAs).

On tap at Wissahickon.

I started off light with Wig Wam, a 5% ABV unfiltered pale ale kettle hopped with Citra and double dry-hopped with Citra and Mosaic. Not a bad first impression for a new brewery. Brewslut went heavy, with the 9% ABV Devil's Pool DIPA. According to the brewer, this was the first beer he brewed and, as a result, serves as its flagship offering. The body was nice and think (as it should be) with slight viscosity. It was quite piney and citrusy with hints of tropical fruit, but well-balanced with a heft malt presence. It didn't strike me as a beer weighing in at 98 IBUs, that's for sure. But both of these were solid offerings and all-around good first impressions.

We closed out our visit with a shared pour of Hail Mary, an IPA hopped with Warrior, Citra and Simcoe, then dry hopped with Citra and Mosaic. Plenty of good hop varieties in there! It also served as a fitting beer to drink during the football game, and I couldn't help but think of Doug Flutie's iconic throw in the Cotton Bowl back in 1984. (Wikipedia even has a page dedicated to this pass.)

Inside Wissahickon Brewing Company's tasting room.

All in all, this new brewery shows some promise, and we'll definitely be back when we're in the area and time permits. For now, I was itching to get home, chow down on some Chinese food and get some much-needed couch time. Until next time...