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.

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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?

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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...

Springtime in February: Day 2

We awoke in our hotel room on Sunday, February 26 to the sound of intense wind echoing across Cherry Hill. I checked my weather app and the current temperature was 29 degrees, a far cry from the mid-70s temperatures we enjoyed the previous day. I didn't even bring my hoodie into the hotel room because it was so warm on Saturday. Nevertheless, it was time to continue our little weekend jaunt and head back across the river into more familiar territory - Philadelphia.

My vantage point from the bar at Bar Hygge.

First up was a brand new place called Bar Hygge (pronounced huu-guh). This place, along with its brewing counterpart, Brewery Techné, first hit my radar a few months ago when I was reading an article about the influx of new tiny breweries in the Philadelphia region. Bar Hygge was one of the places I was most excited about, just from the types of beer they were brewing and some photos I saw. They also open at 10:30 a.m. on Sundays and serve a special brunch menu. At this time, I'd like to encourage other establishments to follow suit and open earlier on weekends. It's never too early for a beer! (If you're interested in the name, you can read about its origins HERE.

Located at 1720 Fairmount Avenue in the Spring Garden section of Philly (in close proximity to both the Art Museum and Franklin Institute), Bar Hygge is co-owned by Tom Baker, who you might know from Earth Bread + Brewery (EB+B) in the Mt. Airy section of NW Philly. Tom's also the brewer at Bar Hygge/Brewery Techné. FUN FACT: Brewslut jokingly refers to EB+B as "Earth Bread and Daycare" because both times we visited, there was an inordinate amount of children romping around. I actually didn't have the connection until I was doing a bit of post-visit research.

Slightly to the right of my barstool.

Inside, Bar Hygge is clean, sophisticated, and offers a variety of seating including tables, a comfortable bar, and small lounge area. It reminded me of a place we visited in Charleston, SC a few years earlier on our annual "Drinksgiving" excursion called Closed for Business. Perhaps Bar Hygge wasn't as eclectic, but the space and atmosphere definitely felt in sync. We'd perused the brunch menu in advance to ensure they had a few "Ffejetarian" options (we don't eat red meat or pork, and Brewslut is allergic to shellfish) and they did. The food sounded promising and the beer list appealed to us. While they don't have a ton of taps, they offer a well-curated list of rotating house beers ranging from an IPA to a Baltic Porter (the latter snagged a gold medal at the 2014 GABF for EB+B).

Onto the beer. With eight offerings, we decided to get half pours of four of the most interesting sounding beers on the menu. I started with House of Bitterness, an IPA brewed with Amarillo and Citra hops. Brewslut opted for a more morning-appropriate beer in Imperial Java, a coffee-infused double stout served via nitrogen. Both beers definitely delivered. I was pretty floored, to tell the truth. The IPA boasted everything I love about the style - a zesty, pungent aroma, soft texture, balanced bitterness, and tons of flavor. This was gold in a glass! The Imperial Java hit well about the mark as well, touting a smooth, creamy mouthfeel, huge coffee aromatics, dense nitro head, and balanced malt character with plenty of roast, chocolate, coffee and vanilla notes. "Sweet," I thought. "Two for two!" It was a great way to kick off the day.

For my next selection, I decided to go off the beaten path and try the aforementioned GABF-winning Baltic Porter, named Perkuno's Hammer. From its Untappd description: "Perkuno's Hammer was brewed to the original Heavyweight Brewing recipe, a gold medal winner at GABF. It contains 50lbs of Roman beans in a grist of Munich and pale chocolate malts and is fermented with a prestigious German lager yeast." Not many Baltic Porters have left a lasting impression on me over the years (Danzig from Devil's Backbone comes to mind immediately as one that has), but this one was definitely memorable and worthy of its gold medal status. Intense flavors of dark stone fruit, bold coffee, roasted malt, cocoa, molasses and caramel all washed across my palate. Brewslut was equally as bowled over as me with her second selection, a blood orange sour saison named Low Hanging Fruit. The name of this beer prompted me to strike up a conversation with the bartender about Tenacious D (they have a song on their last album by the same name), and turns out he was a fan and actually was at the concert at Festival Pier we saw a few years ago. Brewslut deemed it "the shit" and listed it as a standout beer of the trip. Four for four. In my best Austin Powers impersonation, "Yeaaaah, baby!"

Brunch was equally impressive. Upon reviewing the brunch menu ahead of time, I knew Brewslut would opt for the tuna melt (which I must admit sounded delicious). However, I went with a fritatta made with roasted poblano peppers, avocado crema, and fried onion straws, plus a side of Hygge home fries. One word: BANGIN'! This place has got it's shit together, man! Atmosphere? Check. Service? Fantastic. Beer? Outstanding! Brunch? Delish! Hell, even the coffee was great, and it came served in a custom logo mug. And the icing on the cake was there were no little rugrats crawling around or making a ruckus. Yeah, I think we'll be back.

I'm in the mug club.

Our next stop, Crime & Punishment, was in contention for brunch this morning. I was eyeing up a house-made pretzel bagel with beet-cured salmon, farmers cheese, and pickled veggies, but ultimately we decided on Bar Hygge since they opened half an hour earlier. However, we decided that we were both still hungry, so we decided to share the aforementioned bagel and salmon plate. It was very well done and gave us a bit of additional fuel to continue onward. This place had a definite Philly vibe, with its exposed, weathered brick walls, high ceiling, and an eclectic gathering of customers congregated at the bar and adjacent mix-and-match tables.

Find yourself a (secret) city to live in.

Beer-wise, the tap list looked extremely interesting, with a few off-the-wall selections such as a sour ale brewed with beets and a "Sugar Cookie" IPA. OK, we were game. Brewslut jumped right in and ordered the sour, which carried the intriguing name Disturbing the Beets. Kettle-soured and fermented with Brettanomyces and 50 pounds of juiced beets, this lovely pinkish ale combined the earthy sweetness of beets with a tart yeast character. I opted to begin with a shorty of Secret Cities, a Citra and Mosaic-hopped Pale Ale with notes of grapefruit and fresh-cut grass. This is also unique in that it's the first beer where the guys at C&P experimented with hop additions. For this particular beer, they added all of the pre-fermentation hops during the whirlpool process. This provides a lower temperature of flavor extraction, producing a "tea bag" or steeping effect. Overall, this was a solid effort. It was hazy, pale and lacked a frothy head, but the aroma was fresh and the flavor was balanced and not overly bitter. It was definitely a "soft" pale ale, if that makes sense.

For our next selections, I was intrigued by Magic Lantern, the "sugar cookie" IPA I mentioned earlier, so I chose that. Brewed with oats and dry-hopped with Lemon Drop and Citra, this was definitely an IPA, albeit a strange one. Strange in a good way, though, because they conditioned the beer on 50lbs. of homemade vegan sugar cookies and Madagascar vanilla beans. This conditioning lent a sweet, supple finish, which played nicely with the citrus and lemongrass notes of the hops. The vanilla was definitely apparent and softened it just a bit. I love when breweries experiment with unusual, non-traditional ingredients, and this little experiment seemed to gel quite nicely. The other beer we chose immediately grabbed me just by reading its stream-of-consciousness description:

It’s the juicy fruit gum thing. A menagerie. Dad’s peach tree. The amount of Citra hops in this beer, it’s a huge amount. THE MOST. Like drinking from Pooh Bear’s sweet funny reserve; honeysuckle. The gentle juice. Just be careful, it’s offensively easy to finish and repeat.

Love it! This beer was called Repeat Offender, a single-hopped DIPA brewed with (as the description reveals) Citra hops. You can't really go wrong with Citra. Since "citrus" is pretty much my favorite IPA flavor profile, naturally I enjoyed this one quite a bit.

My vantage point from the bar at C&P.

For our last beer, we opted to share a Russian Imperial Stout called Gulag Uprising. We seldom skip over a RIS when traveling (despite the style's high ABV content), although that's more of Brewslut's doing than mine. This dark beast was aged for two months on cacao nibs and vanilla beans, then finished with local One Village coffee. I let her have the lion's share because I had ulterior motives, as you will learn in a few seconds. The bartender was nice enough to also give us a complimentary sample-size pour of the Behemoth, a straight-up Oatmeal Stout, for comparison. The Behemoth definitely wasn't as intense, but it was pretty full-bodied with plenty of chocolate flavor and hints of coffee, dark fruit, and raw earth.

When we parked the car outside C&P, I noticed a little record store right across the street. I could feel Brewslut's eyes roll as I mentioned stopping in for a "quick look" after our beers. She loves digging through crates of vinyl about as much as I enjoy shows like Cake Wars, Bridezilla, or Chopped. As she was finishing up our pour of Gulag Uprising, I decided to take a quick stroll over to check out the store, coincidentally called Brewerytown Beats. I'm glad I did... not just because I found original copies of Metallica's Ride the Lightning and Anthrax's State of Euphoria, but also because I'd discovered that I was missing not one, but TWO of my three credit cards. It was a distressing "WTF?!" moment. My wallet is pretty old and the card slots are stretched and blown out like a 60-year-old prostitute's woman parts, so I thought perhaps they slid out at some point when I paid a tab. Hitting so many breweries in a single day results in the wallet going in and out of my back pocket quite frequently. In uncharacteristic fashion, I actually remained calm and thought about it for a second. When we travel, we typically bring along cash, which serves as a "soft" budget (meaning we each try to spend less or equal to that amount, thus avoiding the use of credit cards). However, many bars and breweries ask for credit cards in order to open a tab in your name. I suppose this stems from one too many drunk patrons forgetting to pay their bar tab over the years. Although we use our cards as a "marker," I always tag on the following phrase when opening a tab: "...but we'll probably pay cash." After mulling it over for about a minute, I realized that I'd used two different cards and two different breweries. My instincts were correct, and I was relieved to learn that both Forgotten Boardwalk and Tonewood were keeping my cards safely behind the bar.

Of course, this threw a wrench into our Philly plans, as we had to traverse back into NJ and pay the dreaded toll to drive across the bridge. (You don't have to pay to get into NJ, but you have to pay to get back into PA... makes sense, right?) Fortunately, we were only about 20 minutes away from Forgotten Boardwalk. We decided to stop in at Tonewood for a one-and-done, and I revisited the Terminal DIPA, while Brewslut opted for a full pour of Chief since I'd enjoyed it so much the previous evening.

Ashland... tastes like the 
Pioneer Tunnel Coal Mine.

After our little detour back into NJ, we changed gears and called an audible. I'd planned on making our last stop at the newish Stable 12 in Phoenixville, but we decided to hit a brand new place in Philly on Passyunk Avenue (home of the infamous P.O.P.E.) called Brewery ARS. This place is the latest "garage brewery" in the city, and that's a fitting description of the place. Terry (Hawbaker, Pizza Boy's head brewer) also mentioned that he was really interested in visiting this place, and he'd heard good things and was familiar with the brewers' work (twin brothers, apparently). Inside the tiny tasting room, tables were crammed closely together, while a tiny standing bar occupied the right side of the wall as you entered. Toward the back of the room was a counter where patrons can order beer. There was also a serving hole in the right wall, where a local BBQ vendor was serving a variety of items. We opted for a snack in the form of guacamole and chips (can't go wrong with that combo)!

Beer-wise, we shared a sampler of all five beers available during our visit. Here's the run-down:

• Wayne's Pale Ale - American-style Pale Ale with lots of citrus character.
• Antique'n - saison brewed with copious amounts of Simcoe hops.
• Ashland - robust porter with coffee and chocolate notes. 
• Living Saints - ale dry-hopped with El Dorado and infused with local Ethiopian Guji Sidamo coffee from Green Street Coffee.
• Old Stoop City Rye - rye saison with a blend of German hops.

All in all, solid beers across the board. Nothing jaw-dropping, mind you, but I appreciate both the craft and the experimental nature of the beers. One thing I must point out is the simplicity and charm of their beer label artwork. Each whimsical drawing looks like it'd been torn from a child's coloring book. The handwritten fonts and brewery logo add to the appeal as well. 

To cap off the weekend, no stop to the greater Philadelphia area is complete without a visit to Tired Hands. I was in the mood for their bread and butter (so simple yet so delicious), so we opted for the Brew Cafe rather than the newer Fermentaria. It wasn't packed when we arrived, so we were able to procure bar seats on the first floor. There's always plenty of interesting-sounding beers on tap, including hazy, hoppy creations and more sophisticated saisons, two styles I feel are Jean's forte. I settled on a half pour of Space Canoe, a new rye IPA hopped with Simcoe and a new variety with which I was unfamiliar - Huell Melon, a fruity aroma hop that lends hints of honeydew and strawberry. Brewslut selected Unimpressive View, a saison brewed with pink peppercorns and lemon zest. I like the flavor note of "lemon verbena" and "Claey's watermelon hard candy drops" for this one (on Tired Hands' web site), which I thought fit the bill perfectly. Space Canoe was solid but not a favorite in the grand scheme of Tired Hands' hoppy beers, although the rye spiciness complemented the bread and fennel pollen accoutrement nicely. up next, we enjoyed half pours of On Tap, an IPA brewed with oats and Citra and Amarillo hops, then dry-hopped with Galaxy and more Citra. Yum! Thick Ambient was up next, and I'm glad Brewslut chose this one, because I really wanted to try it based on the description. The beer, a dark saison brewed with rye, midnight wheat and Tired Hands' house yeast culture, as well as 100lbs. of local sweet and tart cherries. This may have been my favorite of the four beers we sampled. 

After our beer and bread break at Tired Hands, it was time to head home. All in all, it was a productive beer trip, with 8 new breweries visited over just two days. We also got to return to two new favorites - Spellbound and Forgotten Boardwalk - and check in at Tired Hands. Thanks for following us on our journey to "beervana." Until next time...

Springtime in February: Day 1

More often than not, my various musical endeavors have a tendency to thwart the frequency with which Brewslut and I can embark on beer adventures. These days, I rarely have a full weekend off from playing music, let alone two weekends. It's a self-imposed schedule that can be quite hectic at times, not to mention inconvenient when something comes up that we want to do. But the extra scratch certainly comes in handy when the opportunity of back-to-back weekend beer jaunts presents itself.

Case in point, the winter doldrums of February. I try to keep this typically cold and frigid month sparse with band activity, as the chance for snow in PA can rear its ugly head at any given moment. (I'm reminded of a joke my PA friends can appreciate: "Say, how's the weather there in Pennsylvania?" "I don't know, ask me again in ten minutes.") As luck would have it, the forecast was taunting us with promises of temperatures in the seventies for this particular weekend in late February. Never one to argue climate change (that's global warming for all the cave dwellers and naysayers), I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to spend some time in nature. And by "in nature," of course I mean in my own natural habitat (i.e. my ass firmly planted on a bar stool somewhere).

So on the morning of Saturday, February 25, Brewslut and I headed out on our second consecutive weekend beer trek. This time, we were off to The Garden State - New Jersey, the land of Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen, and Snooki (now there's a supergroup I'd avoid like the plague). To be honest, I've never been much of a fan of Jersey, but one can't help notice the influx of small craft breweries spreading across the state. Jersey first hit my beer destination map when Team D(r)INK visited Kane and Carton - two small craft breweries churning out some impressive beers - for my birthday a few years ago. I was so impressed that in the summer of 2015, Brewslut and I decided to venture across the river from Philly to Jersey and check out a few new places. This resulted in us discovering Spellbound and Forgotten Boardwalk, both of which you'll read about in a bit.

All of the breweries we'd planned on visiting didn't open until 12:00 noon or later, so we had plenty of time to get up from bed, make our customary big weekend breakfast, and pack the car. Sadly, by the time we got near the turnpike exit, we'd realized we'd forgotten to pack one of our most valued possessions when traveling for beer - Pleeps! Since we were already about twenty minutes tardy, I decided not to turn around to retrieve our beloved, happy-go-lucky travel companion. I felt bad, but ultimately decided that Pleeps needed a rest after last weekend's adventures in NEPA and upstate NY.

Entrance to Spellbound's courtyard.

About one hundred and eleven miles and two hours later, we arrived in Mt. Holly, NJ at our first destination. As I'd mentioned before, we first visited Spellbound back in the summer of 2015 during a weekend trip to Philadelphia to attend the second of three Rush shows we saw on the band's amazing R40 tour. On that first visit, I was pretty amazed at what this new brewery was cranking out, so I was glad to see some of the same beers on tap this time, most notably the Peach IPA and Palo Santo Porter. Our first stop of the day usually yields a variety of sample-sized beers, and this time was no different. In addition to about sixteen house beers on tap, Spellbound was also pouring two variations of its delicious Cherry Tripel on firkin, one infused with coconut and the other with vanilla beans. Gotta try both of them, right? Of course we do.

We settled on "dual flights," a term I'll now come to use when each of us order separate sampler flights. This happens when a brewery has a proven track record and too many beers we want to try. Here's the run-down:

• Major Anthony Nelson - juicy Pale Ale with Nelson Sauvin hops (one of my favorites) and a few other varieties.
• Peach Citra Pale Ale - really pleasant peach character; I preferred this over the Peach IPA.
• Vanilla Bean Cherry Tripel (firkin) - cherry, honey and soft vanilla notes.
• Coconut Cherry Tripel (firkin) - dominant tropical coconut flavor with sweet edges.
• Saison w/ ginger, lemongrass & white sage - self-explanatory, right?
• Living the Dream  - second anniversary Russian Imperial Stout.
• Peach IPA - citrus-forward IPA with peach sweetness
• Palo Santo Porter - Porter aged on Palo Santo wood to introduce notes of chocolate, anise, and mint. This was a favorite of mine during our inaugural visit.

While none of its beers are cleverly named, all of them are artfully crafted and delicious. Standouts for me included the Peach Citra Pale Ale, Palo Santo Porter, and both firkin variations of the Tripel (though my preference leaned toward the vanilla if I had to pick). I was glad to notice that Spellbound has enjoyed apparent growth since our last visit, as their cellar had expanded to included more fermentation tanks, a brite tank, and some other fancy brewing implements. I tend to geek out more on the actual beers rather than the assorted equipment, vessels, and paraphernalia of it all.

Inside Spellbound's tasting room.

While we enjoyed our brief visit to one of my favorite NJ breweries, in hindsight I wished we would have stayed longer. I really wanted to try the Bourbon Barrel-Aged Cherry Tripel, but I knew we had to pace ourselves. These brewery trips can prove to be long and arduous, you know? I'm still kicking myself for not even getting a sample size pour of it, especially since the two firkin variations were so enjoyable. What can I say? Sometimes you err. (Did I err, Rufferto?) Ten bonus points if you get that reference. So it was off to stop number two. 

Until next time, Spellbound...

One thing I forgot about beer traveling in NJ is that tours are a requirement of the state when visiting production breweries. And people think PA has weird liquor laws? I find this to be a strange, unnecessary bit of red tape that only seems to delay a patron’s drinking time. I guess lawmakers in NJ think that customers should first know how beer is made before they imbibe it. Thankfully they don’t require tours of fast food chains to see how that stuff is made. So after our quick ten-cent tour, we moseyed up to the bar and perused the beer menu. Unlike Spellbound, Nale House (situated in nearby Medford, NJ) seemed to have the witty beer names dialed in. Beers boasting monikers such as Yoga Pants, Tea Bag, and Hit It & Quit It all made me chuckle. The beer, though? That's a different story. The place itself seemed inviting, and the tasting room was pretty busy. The brewer and bartender were friendly and willing to converse to customers. We read online that they allowed BYOF, so we grabbed some snacks at a nearby Wawa to enjoy with our beers. So, onto the beers. Here's the low-down on what we sampled in our dual flights:

• Yoga Pants - straight-up Blonde Ale.
• Peacock's Nightmare - hazy double dry hopped IPA with lots of Amarillo. My favorite of the bunch. 
• Hit It & Quit It - Double Chocolate Imperial Stout. 
• Tea Bag - milk stout blended with an oak "tea bag" to infuse vanilla and woody notes. Served on nitro for a smooth mouthfeel. Cool concept. 
• Yellow Haze of the Sun - Pale Ale brewed with Mosaic hops. 
• Out Cold - Oat IPA hopped with Warrior and Cascade.
• Snitches Get Stitches - Mosaic and Citra Pale Ale.

I wanted to like this place, but unfortunately more than a few of the beers suffered from either line contamination or poor equipment sanitation. That's not to say all of the beers were tainted. I thought Peacock's Nightmare was a pretty solid IPA, and Brewslut enjoyed the Snitches Get Stitches. The Hit It & Quit It (my favorite name) wasn't too bad either. My constructive criticism would be this: "Cleanliness is next to godliness." Enough said.

My view from the bar at Lower Forge.

Just down the street from Nale House (walking distance), things got a bit more promising at Lower Forge. From what I've seen of Jersey towns, Medford seems to be a diamond in the rough. On our short walk down what I assumed was the "main street," I was reminded me of a small town like Lititz, PA, with its abundance of small shops, historical-looking buildings, and clean, well-kept walkways and landscape. Plus, it was nice to walk a few short blocks since the weather was so unseasonably warm. 

Inside, Lower Forge was warm and inviting with lots of rustic wood, tin tiles, fun lighting, and an unfinished stone floor. The place was sparsely populated with a few customers here and there, so we had no problem securing bar seats. The head brewer was a friendly guy who I later learned is a volunteer firefighter on the side. After our brief tour, we made our way to the bar and settled on a shared flight of four offerings. 

Interior of Lower Forge.

Uncharacteristically, I opted for a hefeweizen called Healthy, Wealthy & Weizen, because the brewer mentioned Tröegs DreamWeaver was a favorite of his and an inspiration for this particular beer. Naturally, I felt obliged to try it. We rounded out our shared sampler with these other three selections:

• Catch Me If You Can - Gingerbread cookie brown ale with notes of cinnamon, ginger and brown sugar. 
• Jabberhoppy - Double IPA brewed with six hop varieties.
• BBA Vertically Challenged - Imperial porter aged in bourbon barrels.

While I wasn't blown away by anything, all of the beers were solid, with my favorite being Catch Me If You Can. I felt the BA Porter could have benefited from a longer slumber in the barrels. The presentation of the flight was nice, too.

Sampler flight at Lower Forge.

Next up was more familiar territory. Forgotten Boardwalk, plain and simple, is just a fun place. Growing up in Central PA, a popular vacation destination for middle-class families was always "the shore." This meant Ocean City or Wildwood, NJ, because both are a relatively short drive from PA. Anyone who has visited "the shore" as a kid can appreciate this place. Think of the boardwalk back in the 40s or 50s, or even Coney Island, and you get an idea of the vibe of this place. Complete with fun-house mirrors, skee-ball, and general carnival-esque ambiance, Forgotten Boardwalk makes great, forward-thinking beers in the midst of a fun atmosphere.

Beer and skee-ball... what else do you need?

This was one of the other places we enjoyed during our little R40 side excursion a few summers ago. We opted for a few “half pours,” or 8-ounce glasses, of the following beers:

• Mr. Watson – White IPA aged in French Sauvignon Blanc wine barrels.
• Ginger Snap Cookie – Who doesn’t like ginger snaps? They taste good in liquid form, too!
• Morro Castle - smoked porter with notes of charred wood, smoked meat, peat, and tobacco.
• Funnel Cake – this is FB’s sweet, tasty flagship cream ale served on nitro. I liked this beer so much last time that we bought a 6-pack to go. I’d love to see them do a stout version of this!

The Big Wheel at Forgotten Boardwalk.

The employees here are pleasant and laid-back. They can also geek out over beer, so I decided to share the wealth and offer a few choice Tröegs selections from my cooler. When traveling locally via automobile, I usually throw in a few treats to give as presents to breweries I really like. More often than not, they reciprocate with some equally tasty treats for Brewslut and me.

Cat tail tap handles at Forgotten Boardwalk.

Despite having way too many brewery shirts, I couldn’t resist getting a "souvenir." I'm a fan of their creative, retro artwork, and one of their T-shirt designs caught my eye, so add another one to the collection. I also couldn't resist snapping a selfie of my reflection in one of the fun-house mirrors.  

I look like Jacob the twiggy alien man!

While en route to our next stop, Double Nickel, we experienced an unexpected torrential downpour of severe rain. This, coupled with the fact that our GPS wasn’t cooperating, put me in an agitated state. Pleeps wasn’t there to calm me down, and I almost abandoned our plans to visit the brewery. In a last ditch effort, I ducked into a nearby Wawa and asked for directions. Luckily, a customer pointed us in the right direction, and soon we were dry and inside sipping some intensely flavorful barrel-aged creations and noshing on a pile of salty Goldfish crackers. Scratch that. Multiple piles. The carb junkie in me kicked into high gear and there was no turning back!

Today's catch.

I was surprised by the size of not only the tasting room, but also the building in general and the amount of fermentation tanks visible from the bar area. Seems like Double Nickel is a fairly large operation despite being open a relatively short period of time. Or at least that's how they appeared to me. We perused the extensive beer list, which included close to twenty different beers, including several barrel-aged releases. Since I’m quite partial to barrel-aged beers, I chose the following flight of four wood-aged treats:

• Mother's Barrel - Brown ale aged in Buffalo Trace bourbon barrels for 6 months.
• Father's Barrel - Rye porter aged in Buffalo Trace bourbon barrels for 6 months.
• Marbled Buffalo - Marbled Rye (a rye ale) aged in Buffalo Trace bourbon barrels for 6 months.
• Buffalo Nickel - stout aged in Buffalo Trace bourbon barrels for 6 months.

Darkness, imprisoning me!

Notice a trend? Seems like Double Nickel prefers Buffalo Trace bourbon. Fine with me, because these were all enjoyable. I feel that 6 months is the perfect length of time to age beer in bourbon barrels. All of these beers were drinkable and smooth without being too boozy or hot, yet the bourbon presence was pronounced in the flavor profile. The texture of all these beers was rich and silky, another attribute I appreciate in barrel-aged beers. I've had plenty that have tasted fine, but have been thin and watery or over-carbonated. These all straddled the line well, offering a pleasant viscous mouthfeel. Lastly, I always commend balance in these types of beers. Anyone can throw a shitty beer into a barrel for a few months and create a bourbon bomb to mask any flaws a particular beer might have. I would have liked to have sampled the base beers side by side with the barrel-aged versions, but alas it was late in the game and we still had a pair of places to visit before 10 p.m. I couldn't help but think of my poor, absent pal Pleeps, who would have loved these beers. Sorry buddy! 

Lots of taps to be had at Double Nickel.

We ended with a small pour of Deborah, a sour ale aged in Malbec wine barrels for 13 months. This was tasty but my least favorite of the bunch, as I typically favor the more robust beers aged in bourbon barrels over thinner sour ales aged in wine barrels. All in all, this is a place I'd definitely like to revisit, as they had an extensive, diverse tap list, which included everything from a Vienna Lager to an Imperial IPA.  

Them's some big tanks at Double Nickel.

As we headed into Oaklyn for our next stop on the itinerary, we felt the pangs of hunger strike. Luckily, we noticed a little place nestled just downwind of Tonewood Brewing (next on the list) called The Square Meal. We decided to give it a shot. Turns out they’d only been open for a few weeks. This little eatery focuses on fresh food made with organic and locally-sourced ingredients. 

Fresh organic food at The Square Meal in Oaklyn.

The organic turkey meatloaf sandwich immediately struck a chord, and we each ordered one with a side of sweet potato cuts and an apple crisp square to share for dessert. This really hit the spot, and the prices were reasonable as well. We'll always favor a small "mom and pop" operation over a restaurant chain any day of the week. The people here were friendly and there was just a great positive energy about this place, like crunchy granola and hula hoops. 

Interior shot of The Square Meal.

A few doors down from The Square Meal on the same side of the street, Tonewood was bumping with a healthy crowd of what appeared to be locals supporting their home brewery. Turns out The Square Meal has an agreement with Tonewood allowing them to serve as its "kitchen" of sorts. Folks can order food in the tasting room and someone from The Square Meal will deliver it. One of my long-time friends from high school, Spade, had just moved to Oaklyn with his wife into a new home just a few blocks down the street from Tonewood, and he’d already given them the “thumbs up.” We snagged seats at the end of the bar just inside the main entrance, and I decided I needed a full pour of something to wash down my delicious, nutritious meal. I tell you, it was the right choice.  

All just bricks in the wall at Tonewood.

Enter Chief, a hazy, soft-colored pale ale that just hit the spot brilliantly! It turned out to be one of the stand-out beers of the trip in all its simplicity and deliciousness. After about two sips, I was congratulating myself for ordering a full pour of this flavorful ale. It also brought back snippets of a Dane Cook bit about an experience at the “B.K. Lounge.” Fans will get it. Editor’s note: Sorry readers, but those two first Dane Cook CDs are hilarious. #noshame. 

Chief, buddy, gaylord... whatever! 

Brewslut went with the Revolution Porter, an English-style porter brewed in collaboration with Revolution Coffee Roasters. This sucker is doused with a blend of beans from Malawi and Ethiopia for a coffee-forward aroma and dry, roasty finish. Yum! I like coffee beers so much that you could probably steep toilet water with fresh, local coffee and I'd drink it. OK, maybe not. I guess it would depend on the severity of my thirst. If I hadn't had my first cup of morning coffee... look out! 

View from my barstool at Tonewood.

We ended our visit with a goblet of Terminal DIPA, a somewhat earthy offering with an abundance of dry, charred malt notes. Brewslut doesn't remember drinking this one. This one didn't feature one of my favorite flavor profiles for a DIPA, but it was still enjoyable. I was surprised that this was brewed primarily with Simcoe, as it's one of my favorite hop varieties. 

After visiting Tonewood, we swung by Spade’s new homestead for a quick visit. Situated in a nice, quiet suburban area, it’s in stark contrast from South Central Philly, where he had resided for the better part of the last 25 years. Plus it’s a hop, skip and jump away from Tonewood, so he’s got that going for him as well.

People gettin' down at Devil's Creek.

We capped off our day with a visit to Devil's Creek. We thought we had just enough time for a quick beer, as they advertised closing at 10 p.m. However, it turns out that they get quite busy on weekends, and they just stay open until “whenever.” Grabbing seats at the bar (we lucked out on this trip), we struck up a pleasant conversation with a couple and started talking about music. This mutated into me regaling her with stories of high school marching band and how Brewslut and I met. The woman, only a few years older than me, was surprised by how “young” I looked. Hey, I’m almost 43, so I’ll take what I can get. We opted for more "short pours" here, with the Black Eye being a sampler-sized pour. Here's the gist:

• Pecan Swirl - Oatmeal stout infused with the flavors of pecan pie. Served on nitro.
• Cordially Yours - Stout brewed with dark chocolate and cherries. 
• RetrIBUtion - Belgian IPA brewed with Trappist yeast. See what they did there?
• Toasted Rye - Ale brewed with 50% rye for notes of toasted bread and smoky cherrywood. 
• Black Eye - Black IPA with roasty malt and an earthy, piney bite. 

My view from the bar at Devil's Creek.

Overall, the beers here were satisfying, although by the end of the day we our palates were feeling pretty frazzled. By 11 p.m., we were obviously exhausted from a full day's "work," so we decided to head back to the hotel and get an early start in the morning. Stay tuned for Day 2, when we visit a few new, up-and-coming breweries in Philly and return unexpectedly to Jersey after I spend too much money in a record store. Until next time...

Miss you, Pleeps.