Happy Anniversary, Drink Philly

It's been a god year for Drink Philly founder, Adam Schmidt. Not only did he get married to his lovely bride, Amanda, but Drink Philly is celebrating one awesome year. See you all at First Friday this week for some Alex's Lemonade Moonshine and Khyber sliders.

And definitely check out Adam on CBS Talk Philly

Making new beer friends and staying dry

I'm about a month and a half late on this, but here's what writing a Beer-off between Rude Elf and Mad Elf eventually led to. Randy LoBasso of Philadelphia Weekly wrote up a nice article about his visit to Des and my place a few months ago, after using some hilarious quotes from one of my DrinkPhilly articles last December. Hey Randy - don't bail on next month's DrinkPhilly First Friday!

By the way, check out his article about how the 'Statewide Ethanol Nightmare' may soon be coming to an end, and be sure to read how the Statewide Ethyl Alcohol Nightmare may soon be coming to an end.

By the way, I've been beer-free for almost a week, for no really good reason, although this Insanity workout my wife is making me do (just kidding, baby, I'm having tons o fun) probably has something to do with it. But I see a really nice light at the end of the tunnel with TJs Scraps party this Saturday. They'll be packed with beer geeks for this event (I'm looking at you, Slap-E!) They have a keg of Parabola that's not on the taplist, so I'll be keeping my eye on their Tweets for that one!

Rude Elf vs. Mad Elf

Troegs recently filed action against Fegley's BrewWorks for trademark violation, contending that the use of the name 'Rude Elf's Reserve' infringes upon their 'Mad Elf.' Drink Philly provides some details here.

Could this be the inevitable backlash for my December side-by-side review of the two, in which Rude Elf's Reserve took the narrow advantage?

They might not say it explicitly, but Philadelphia Weekly seems to think so. As PW describes my article, "How could anyone be that into beer? We feel we know too much now."

Beer tasting celebration

My mother-in-law, Penny, asked me to host a beer tasting to celebrate her husband's achievement of full teacher certification. It was a heck of a time, and I succeeded in my task of getting through the whole tasting and then beginning to slur immediately afterward. Here's what we had, with notes and apologies to the websites that I lifted some verbiage from:

1.     Lindemans Gueuze Cuvee Rene

Gueuze – 5% abv – Brussels, Belgium

A traditional Belgian blend of young and old Lambics (spontaneously fermented), which are then bottled after blending, then aged for 2-3 years to produce a dryer, fruitier and more intense style of Lambic. There is no hop character. It is a golden turbid wine-like beer that balances a malty fruit and a complex yeasty acidity.

2.     Kira Wit

Witbier – 4.7% abv, Melle Belgium

A Belgian Style ale that's very pale and cloudy in appearance due to it being unfiltered and the high level of wheat used in the mash. Kira is brewed using barley malt and raw wheat and spiced with coriander and Curacao bitter orange peel. Sometimes served with a lemon, but if you truly want to enjoy the untainted subtleties of this style you'll ask for yours without one. Often referred to as "white beers" (witbieren) due to the cloudiness / yeast in suspension.

3. Bavarian Barbarian Square feet Wheat

Dunkelweizen – 5.5% abv, Williamsport, Pennsylvania

Similar to a Hefeweizen, these southern Germany wheat beers are brewed as darker versions (Dunkel means "dark") with deliciously complex malts and a low balancing bitterness. Fermented with a weizen yeast strain from the Andechs Brewery in Germany, Square Feet Wheat Dunkelweizen bears a taste of clove along with some fruity esters that include apples and pears.

4. Sierra Nevada Glissade

Bock – 6.4% abv, Chico, California

The Maibock style (or helles bock) of beer tends to be lighter in color than other Bock beers and often has a significant hop character with a noticeable alcohol around the same as a traditional Bock (German strong lager). Maibocks are customarily served in the spring and are oftentimes interrelated with spring festivals and celebrations more often in the month of May.

5. New Holland Imperial Hatter

DIPA – 9.40% abv, Holland, Michican

Take an India Pale Ale and feed it steroids, ergo the term Double IPA. Robust, malty, alcoholic and with a hop profile that might rip your tongue out, look for spots of citrus, pine resin, grass, and maybe even a little bit of onion, all of which come from the different varieties of hops added during the boil and fermentation. This Hatter came from a firkin – a non-force carbonated quarter-keg. 

6. Left Hand Fade to Black

Export Stout – 8.5% abv, Colorado
A special style of stout that is brewed bigger than normal for a long journey, the more traditional Foreign / Export Stouts will be found in the tropical regions of the world. Higher in alcohol with a very pronounced roasted character. Fade to Black shows some very aggressive coffee, chocolate, roasty, and even nutty notes. But not as nutty as Phil Mest.

7. De Struise Pannepot Reserva 2008

Quadrupel – 10.0%, Oostvleteren, Belgium

Inspired by the Trappist brewers of Belgium, a Quadrupel is a Belgian style ale of great strength with bolder flavor compared to its Dubbel and Tripel sister styles. De Struise Brouwers take on the style is every bit as complex and deep as the true Trappists. Look for overtones of dark ripe fruits and some vanilla from aging in oak barrels. 

Winter Blues

Short days, crappy weather, minimal exercise...all that adds up to the winter blues. On top of that, I've been seriously busy lately between house hunting (settlement is February 25) and organizing 1400 volunteers for MLK Days of Service. So I'm a little beat...lucky for me, I have a wife who knows exactly how to treat this ailment.

This was waiting for me when I got home one night last week. A few of my favorite winter seasonals, pretty much concentrated hop juice. And suddenly, it's the most wonderful time of the year.

Other awesome things going on right now:

Anne Hathaway cast as Catwoman in next Batman movie

Drink Philly's Adam Schmitt on Preston and Steve

Cheers!