TO THE roll call of venerable U.S. foreign diplomats, we can now add this signature name: Joe Sixpack, beer emissary.
I’ve just returned from my first mission on behalf of the U.S. State Department, a beer-soaked education and cultural exchange tour of Lithuania.
I’m happy to report that I did not ignite any international incidents.
In fact, judging from my … Read the rest
Reach for a beer that calls itself Summersomethingorother, and you really don’t know what you’re going to come up with.
Victory Summer Love? It’s a blond ale.
Samuel Adams Summer Ale? It’s a spiced wheat beer.
Brooklyn Summer Ale? It’s an English-style pale ale.
Sierra Nevada Summerfest? A Bohemian pilsner.
Harpoon Summer Beer is a German-style … Read the rest
THERE’S a new style of watering hole in town, and I’m really not sure what to call it.
It’s essentially a sixpack store, with a row of coolers filled to the brim with all types of beer – American craft, imports, locals, you name it, and maybe a shelf or two of BudMillerCoors – which you can take home and … Read the rest
GOT A BEER mule in the family?
You know, someone traveling out of town this summer who’s willing to lug back a few bottles?
Then, I have a list for you. These are the gems you can’t buy in the Philadelphia area – top-rated brews that you might’ve read about but never tasted because they’re simply not shipped our way.… Read the rest
WE PAUSE now to raise a beer in commemoration of Belgium’s independence from the Evil Empire of the Netherlands.
‘Twas 182 years ago this Sunday that a ragtag band of Belgies dressed like Indians clambered aboard Dutch ships and dumped barrels of Hollandaise sauce in the Harbor of Brussels.
This heroic act of rebellion ignited the infamous Battle of the … Read the rest
THIS IS a great week to be a beer geek in Philadelphia.
Yeah, I know, we’re still licking our wounds after Philly Beer Week earlier this month. But starting today, the city hosts the geekiest of beer lovers: People who not only know that the IPA you’re sipping was dry-hopped with Simcoe hops, they likely know the farm where those … Read the rest
ROB ZARKO’S two-story brick home, on a lazy shaded road in suburban Wallingford, Delaware County, looks much like every other home in the neighborhood.
Well-tended lawn, check.
Couple of bikes in the grass, check.
Portable basketball hoop in the driveway, check.
Thirty-gallon mash tun in the garage.
Uh, check?
Welcome to Ship Bottom Brewing, the area’s newest and tiniest new … Read the rest
MY FAVORITE BEER of Philly Beer Week 2013?
I’ll get to that in a few lines, but first, I asked my fellow elbow-benders, and their responses underscore two important features of Beer Week:
1. It’s still all about bold, diverse flavor, with an emphasis on new brands.
2. All the naysayers who believe that no one will drink “big” (high-alcohol) … Read the rest
EVEN a year later, former game-show host Marc Summers can’t explain the manic excitement that exploded over three wild nights during Philly Beer Week 2012.
It was the return of his 1980s children’s game show, “Double Dare.” Only, in the spirit of the festive week, the live show was called “Dunkel Dare.”
The contestants were brewers, and the trivia questions … Read the rest
OPENING TAP . . . the Philly Beer Week Garden . . . the International Great Beer Expo . . . Craft Beer Day on East Passyunk . . . the Haddon Pub Fest . . . the Varga Pin Up Block Party . . . Throwdown in Franklintown . . . the London Grill Dunk Tank . . . … Read the rest