I Heart

I've made my way to New York, for the first time, and like so many before me have found myself impressed at the enormity of it all. Yesterday found me at the iconic Time Square for a couple hours, and that was more than enough if you ask me. Yes, it was shiny and big, bustling with tourists, but with the mass of national brands vying for my attention, it really just seemed like an outdoor version of my local mall. Sad really. I had hoped to find an old shop run by third generation family members, cooking up something entirely different from that which I'm used to. A few blocks away was a bit better, but overall this place just wasn't for me.

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

Philly Rocks

I won't go on too much about the great time I'm having here in Philadelphia, but do want to state that this town does indeed rock. Yesterday I started out by checking out the Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell and other historic icons of the city. Pretty incredible stuff really, worth the trip on its own. Of course, I'm here to discover beer, so after a few hours in history, it was time to move on to a few places.

• Triumph Brewing: This is a beautiful brewery, and the beer's great too. They'd just tapped their Belgian Quad while I was there, which was a wonderful treat.
• Khyber: The city seems full of great dive bars and this really felt great to be in. Their beer selection was good, they've got a new food menu and is clearly appreciated by the folks in the community.
• Fooderie: 830 bottles of different beers in their last inventory! If you're looking to buy great beer, I don't think you can beat this place.
• Standard Tap: DRAFT featured this place in the Jan/Feb issue for their gastropub piece, and it was easy to see why. I had liver mousse and striped bass, each were made to perfection. They were offering 11 beers on tap and two hand pulls, all beers brewed within an hour of so of the pub. I'll be back here, I'm sure.
• 700 Club: Another great local funky dive bar with great beer on tap, along with their the economy beers some of the regulars enjoy.
• The Abbaye: An upscale community bar, again with the good beer! You'd think this would get old eventually. It doesn't.
• Edgar Allen Poe's house: Nope, it is not a bar, but where one of my favorite writers lived for four years. How cool is that?
• Jose Pistolas: Back here again to meet a couple folks that I was more than happy to meet; Joe, who is an owner; Suzy, who is too many things to list here - but they're all cool.
• Monk's Cafe: Now, this was a place I told myself I wasn't going to go to on this trip, but that changed when Joe got a call from Monk's saying they'd just tapped 1998 Bigfoot. Well now, if Joe's going, who am I to stay behind? This is everything you've read it to be, incredible all around.

A bit about Suzy... I left a business card at Khybers when I was there, apparently it wasn't long at all before she walked in and learned I'd been there. She called and left a voice mail, I left a voice mail and then the text messages began. Eventually we met up at Jose P's for a couple drinks where I learned a bit about her. She works for Sly Fox, a great regional brewer out here, as well as tending bar a couple nights week at Jose P's (I've mentioned how cool that place is), and also organizes/leads a lady's beer enthusiast club called IPA, or In Pursuit of Ale. As if this weren't enough, she also hosts the website www.beerlass.com. I don't know about you, but all that adds up to a pretty hard-core beer enthusiast.

Of course, just about everyone I've met along the way has been incredibly nice to me, sharing stories, beers and the occasional meal. I'm off to New York tomorrow, and there's clearly more happening than I'll ever get around to putting on the blog.

Pictures! If you'd like to see a bunch of pictures from Philly, click here.

Philly Day One: Summary

Let me just say this right now.

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.

DRAFT: March/April

Speaking of finishing touches, I just saw this on the DRAFT website, the cover for our next issue that should hit the stands and mailboxes early next week (the first I've seen it!). I won't give too much away, but there are a couple thought provoking reads in here; a great city focus and a '10 places to drink' that will make you scratch your head, and Charlie's piece is always a good time. I'm proud to work for DRAFT, forgive me if do a bit of promotion here.

On The Road Again

As far as travel goes, I've pretty much been a slacker. Sure, I've been pretty much everywhere on the west coast, from Mexico to Canada, and a lot of places around the Rockies, but I've never really traveled along the east coast. Well, it's time to fix that, and tomorrow I'll arrive in Philadelphia for the first time, taking only a few days in the city to see the great beer spots, as well as some of our nation's landmarks. On Weds I'll head to some well known joints, Victory and Troegg's, before making my way to New York on Thursday. I'll return home on Sunday, a week after flying out. Then, through coincidence and chance, I'll be making my second trip ever to Philly three days later.

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.

George Washington: Supporting Local Brewers

As we've heard on our radios since President's Day, today is George Washington's birthday (thanks NPR). I'm not a great student of my own country's history, and I'm actually a bit ashamed of that fact, but I'm trying. I do love biographies and with the help of the vast array of tubes on our internets, I get to pretend often like I know more than I really do. Take for example my thought for the day.

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.

I Haven't Seen It All

I had a light dinner tonight at a nearby chain place, Claim Jumper, which actually has a decent salad and acceptable potato cheese soup. While sitting at the bar enjoying my meal, I spot a goblet walk by, full of a pale beer. Curious, I ask the barkeep what they're serving in the goblet. "Anything you want" was her reply, apparently the one I spotted was full of Bud Light. Bud Light, in a goblet... At least it looks better.

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.