To start things off, the newly promoted Director of Brewing Operations for BJ’s, David (Puffy) Mathis’ crew poured generous portions of their 2008 Grand Cru (a beer I’ve written about previously). This was, in his words, our calibration beer and at 10.4% ABV you could also call it a social lubricant useful for those sitting near strangers, feeling awkward in their own skin (there weren’t many of these folk, but there’s one in every crowd). The Grand Cru has aged well, even though Puffy seemed annoyed at the cloudy appearance. It wasn’t overpowering, had well-rounded flavors and was generally appreciated by those around me.

Our first course of the day was Sweet Onion Strings paired with North Coast Old Stock. While many at the table found it to be a great combination, the beer was just a little too big for my liking at that point. Yes, the flavors worked well with the breaded caramelized onions, but after a few sips the young nature of this years Old Stock begun to take hold – this is a beer that ages so well.

Second Course, their Sesame Chicken Salad paired with New Belgium’s 2 Below. I was a lone ranger back in our Winter Beer Tasting (for PBN), as I really enjoyed the dry-hopped goodness found in the beer, floral and a little sticky. In fact, I think there is more hop flavors in the beer from late hop additions and dry-hopping than there was bitterness. Whatever the case, this worked well at bringing out the bright citrus flavors of the salad.

Course Three consisted of BJ’s very own Barrel Aged Juniper Rye served along side their Shrimp Pasta. As far as courses go, this was my favorite pairing – hands down. The pasta wasn’t too heavy in the cream sauce, and the rye aged in a red wine barrel, on top of the lees from the wine, was a real treat. The beer was slightly soured, and seemed like a spicy version of a Flanders Red.

Time for the palate cleanser? How about Sierra Nevada’s Celebration? To help introduce the beer was one of Sierra Nevada’s brewers, and for the life of me I can’t remember his name right now. This was a nice touch for the meal, a classy nod to the guys at SN (only 90 miles away). This beer is as you probably know it is – fantastic.

Onto the Fourth Course, their Spinach and Artichoke Pizza with Allagash’s Grand Cru. At this point in the meal, I was losing interest in food. Yes, it was good, but I was getting full. I picked at the pizza enough to know it was good, but found it in me to really appreciate the entire portion of Allagash’s beer. Surprised? Me neither.

Course Five? You gotta be kidding! BJ’s California Burger with Pyramid’s Snow Cap. I was shocked to find I really enjoyed both the burger and beer at this point. The burger was a tad spicy for some at the table, but that spiciness combined with avocado really played nice with the Snow Cap – a beer I quite enjoy in the winter. At this point the audience was in full talking mode and many missed that Puffy worked for the fine folks of Pyramid for a spell.

Final Course, BJ’s Old Fashioned Apple Crisp topped with Vanilla Ice Cream, paired with BJ’s Lasto’s Oatmeal Stout. I was done eating at this point, really. I had one bite, found it to be good and a very good match with the stout. Lasto’s is apparently a result of blending their porter and stout and uses a small percentage of sour mash (grain allowed to mash for several hours, going slightly lactic). This beer just worked, all on its own. Wonderfully creamy in body, but not pushed with nitrogen (as their house stout is), the beer went down quite easily.

After this, conversations convened as folks mingled with other tables. We finished the night with several rounds of applause for our great wait staff, the brewers and cooks. The dinner was not as well attended as the first, but I think this must have to with their lack of communicating the event to their customers. At 30 bucks a person, the night was well-worth the price of admission, and it seemed everyone there was already looking forward to the next event.

Other Notes

Talking with the brewers at the Roseville location, I discovered they’re no longer free to make a seasonal beer! I think that has to be one of the cruelest and demoralizing things to do to a brewer. Yes, they make good beer, and a lot of it, but you could just see it in their eyes – the longing for a chance to do something different at least every once in a while. I don’t know why they’d pulled this from the brewers here, as one of this locations greatest strengths in the past was their ability to make a single batch of something unique and pleasing on the palate.

In the crowd was the owners of Madrona Winery, who supplied the wine barrels used to age the beers served that night. Good people.

A little bit of the Barrel Aged Jeremiah Red made its way around following the meal. Oh my goodness! This beer is nothing short of wonderful, with more acidity than the Juniper Rye in the barrel, and a much deeper complexity overall. The malt forward nature of this beer just worked on wood – it’s only too bad they don’t have enough to put on at the bar.

If Portland is Munich on the Willamette, then Philly is Brussels on the Schuylkill.

Perhaps that isn’t the most thought provoking statement on its own, but as it bounces around in my head it leads to more thoughts.

1. Is the “best beer town” title really down to these to cities? I haven’t been to all of the city’s in the country, but from what I’ve seen, I think it must be. I don’t think there’s any doubt that Portland rules when it comes to breweries, boasting more than any city. After this week, I am confident Philly must be atop the list for beer bars – and this town has more going on than it’s much-touted Belgian obsession. Somewhere in here I can’t help but think San Diego has it going on when it comes to balancing the two, with their celebrated breweries and bars.
2. Something both Portland and Philly have in common – it’s easy to get around without having to drive. Portland has a great transit system and Philly is very walkable given how flat it is. Not only that, cabs in Philly are pretty cheap if you’re not staying in the heart of the city.
3. Another common thing for Philly and Portland, the city’s are proud of their beer cultures. Both areas have regular beer story’s, or columns, in their local papers, giving the culture a positive appearance. Alternatively, most cities seem to only print the word ‘beer’ when covering the idiots that give beer drinkers a bad rap. I can’t help but think this seemingly small thing plays a bigger role than we might think.

There are more thoughts on this, but for now it seems time to pack my bags and fly back to California. I’ve been impressed beyond measure this week with the people and places I’ve seen. If you’ve not been here, find a way to fix that. Next week starts their “Philly Beer Week“, with more events than I care to list, that should get you on the right foot.

My disappointment continued with a later Manhattan stop at Ginger Man, which really just looked like an upscale dive mix, had a few good beers mixed in with more mediocre beers and way too many people for a lazy Thursday night.

Luckily the company I kept seemed equally unimpressed with the scene, thus finding it necessary to take me to a place with a bit more character. Sam Merritt, president of Civilization of Beer, was with us and suggested we stop in at Keens Steakhouse, an old bar dripping with history – a place I fell in love with instantly. Kraig Beaudoin was with us too, he’s part of the DRAFT team on the east coast and is a marketing guru with a keen beer sense due to stints with Brooklyn Brewery and other beer marketing opportunities. Among the cool things to see at the bar, a displayed collection of 45,000 clay tobacco pipes, several of which belonging to ex-presidents and American icons, hanging from the ceiling.

I got choked up when I found an original hand-written letter Abe Lincoln had written to a mother who had lost all five of her children in the Civil War. Wow! The letter was personal, hand written and as full of pride as it was with remorse. Reading every word of the letter, I moved on to find a couple more items worth mentioning. Next there was the playbill Lincoln was holding when he was assassinated. Hanging on the wall was also his copy of the declaration of independence, stained with blood, found in the inner pocket of his jacket that night. It seemed perverse, being so fascinated by a piece of our nation’s gory history, but there I was, transfixed with it all.

There was a final stop for the day, a quick beer at Stouts NYC, a very nice bar with good taps and food (the artichoke dip being particularly good). This place was only three years old, but clearly popular for the home crowd, which was lively and mostly entertained by the company they were keeping.

I’d be remiss to neglect my lunch stop of the day, at Queen’s Sunswick 35/35. On the outside this place didn’t look like much, but walking inside you couldn’t help but appreciate the taps and ambiance of this seemingly family bar. I had a chicken club sandwich, a pint of Legacy’s Hoptimus Prime and enjoyed watching as locals streamed in for their lunch break – one lady had picked up more lunch that she should have been expected to carry, clearly running the lunch-time errands for whatever office she worked for.

So, to recap. I’m quite enjoying my time here, just could do without the mega-touristy stops that today has little more to offer than a history richer than present.

Today’s Stops (if all goes well):

• Barcade
• Spuyten Duyvil
• Clem’s
• Spikehill
• Mug’s Ale House
• Brooklyn Ale House
• Brooklyn Brewery

Philadelphia is a better beer town than I would have ever guessed – and I still haven’t been to Monk’s or Standard Tap!

My morning started way too early, as the cabs and city folk began making their noise at 6:30 this morning, waking me from a poor night’s sleep at what felt like 3:30! I tried to go back to sleep, I really did, but after 20 minutes of looking out the window I sprang up, showered and hit the town. My first lesson: Philly is colder at 7am than Sacramento.

I walked around and played tourist for a bit, seeing buildings and statues erected for people I’m sure I should have known; sadly, I didn’t. After a few quick hours, it was back to the hotel and time to start my day in beer. I’d love to give you a detailed account, but at this point I think I’ll just pass on a few notes about the places I went to today.

1. Nodding Head Brewery: Was there an hour before they opened, spoke with Gordon and Enrique for a bit (head and asst brewers) and sampled their Berliner Weisse and Saison; both of which were excellent. Most notable item? A masher that is unlike any I’ve seen before! May be more on that in days to come.
2. Good Dog: A beautiful little place with great service, great beer and great locals. I spoke with a couple patrons there, had a great time as their lunch crowd shuffled in. Notable? My very first Yuengling, which wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. In fact, I didn’t really mind it at all, just a tad corny for me.
3. McGlinchy’s Pub: Smoky little dive bar with one good tap, a fun bar keep and free WiFi.
4. Jose Pistoles: Incredible place! Only open six months, the place is operated by a former Monk’s guy, people who know beer and do a wonderful job getting great beer in.
5. A cool little bottleshop next door – they had He’Brew Jewbelation 8!
6. McGillans Tavern: Oldest in the city, they do a wonderful job at bringing in good beer and not being ashamed to serve what they want to. Owner Chris was a great man to hang out with a bit.
7. Tria Cafe: Great appetizers, amazing beers for only six taps, appropriately priced. There’s a whole story in here, just not tonight.
8. Johnny Brenda’s: Joe Sixpack took me here, and it rocked! Great dive bar, good clams and wonderful upstairs area!
9. Grey Lodge: Also with JSP, this was tops in the trip along with Jose Pistoles!

I loved the day, the city is spectacular! Tomorrow I continue with a few more stops before heading west a bit. If you haven’t been here yet, and you like beer, then you really have no idea what you’re missing! Cask ales galore, an obscene number of Belgian imports, folks who know beer and a lot of great food.

Thanks to Don and Lew for the tips. With their help, I will try to hit all these places up in Philly over the next few days.

- McGillin’s Old Ale House
- Bottle shop: Foodery @ Northern Liberties
- Dinner at Standard Tap
- Nodding Head Brewery
- Khyber
- Triumph Brewery
- Lunch at Tria Café
- Beneluxx
- Tria

More to come on this, I’m sure, I just don’t know when. We’re wrapping up our next issue of DRAFT, hopefully explaining my lack of input here. I do want to say thanks for those who’ve emailed me this week, as well as those I just met over the last two weekends.

I have known for some time that Washington was a brewer and general beer enthusiast, at the time is seemed the norm for families to make beer at home for their own consumption. In addition, small breweries were popping up and their beers being served in local taverns. I have an assumption that the beers made locally must have been ‘better’ in flavor if only because the long journey barrels of beer had to take from Europe to get here. At a time when we, as a country, were setting to make our own identity, one apart from the places we came from, there was more than a fair share of pride taken in consuming products made here.

“We have already been too long subject to British prejudices. I use no porter or cheese in my family, but such as is made in America; both these articles may now be purchased of an excellent quality.” – George Washington

I love that quote. In fact, my good friend Mark, the Beer Geek, could just have easily said this on his own yesterday, with more than a ring of truth.

So, perhaps today, in honor of the man we love to celebrate, we should take his words to heart and enjoy a great American made artisan cheese and craft beer. Sure, we can appreciate the history of the product, it’s roots from across the pond, but it’s also a good time to reflect on just how freaking good we have it today – we, being the lovers of great food, wine and beer.

Speaking of ‘seeing it all’, I’ll be making my first trip to Philadelphia next week, then heading throughout central PA before heading east for New York. I can’t tell you how excited I am to get there and see some of the places I’ve been reading about all this time. Oddly, my second-ever trip to Philadelphia will be four days after returning to California. Yep, I’ll be there for Philly Beer Week too.