Beer Radar

From last night’s kick-off to the 150th anniversary of McGillin’s Old Ale House. (Photo by Bobbi Lee Hitchon for the Courier-Post.)

Going into last night’s party, I had been a little worried that this crew might’ve breached the keg of the tavern’s new 1860 IPA (brewed by Stoudt’s) before Honest Abe and I could have our way with it. But the firkin we tapped last night was still virgin and spectacular.

This firkin was actually oak-aged, and it gave me an appreciation for the ale that old Pa McGillin must’ve been pouring back in the 1800s. It showed mellow woodsy notes which complemented the earthy Amarillo hops, then it finished with a soft, creamy vanilla caress.

And, yes, that’s a bottle of  the IPA that Abe is holding. Owner Chris Mullins, who was strangely absent from the event, advises that bottles will be available for sale at local distributors this fall, pending label approval.

Here’s more photos from the Courier Post of last night’s fun. There are many more events coming as part of the anniversary, including book readings by local authors who’ve written about McGillin’s. The full lineup is here

And if you missed last week’s column, here’s my ode to McGillin’s and its wonderful history as an authentic Philadelphia original.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 5th, 2009 at 8:36 am and is filed under Beer etc., Events. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.