On
the road back to Philly for the 26th Edition of Friday the
Firkinteenth, the 3rd this year, at the Grey Lodge Pub. My sisters were up from NC with the kids so
Jacob road shock gun to visit with his cousins.
He had the GPS, so he helped me find a new beer stop, the Shepherd and
the Knucklehead (http://www.theshepnj.com)
in Haledon, NJ. The Shepherd is
relatively new on the beer scene, with about 50 taps and a really eclectic food
menu. The staff was great, friendly, and
set Jacob up with water and a snack offer.
I tried several different beers, concentrating on some new micros from
North Jersey; Kane Head High (an IPA from Ocean) and the Carton Boat (a Pale
Ale from Atlantic Heights). Both were
delicious and reaffirmed the industry’s thought that NJ brewing is on an
upswing. I would have loved to try the
food, but they didn’t have a kids menu so Jacob found a nearby Fuddrucker’s (the
best Jacob had ever visited by the way) to meet our needs.
Friday
was the big day, and I chose to not stress about getting to the Grey Lodge (http://www.greylodge.com/) for the initial
tapping (Jenn had pointed out that I had eight identical pictures from previous
Firkinteenths). That’s right, this was
my 9th Firkinteenth, attending all but one (timing didn’t work out
Feb 09 for our trip to AZ) since 2007. The
problem with getting there too early is that you end up trying drafts BEFORE
the first tapping, and then you are done sampling around 1PM and either have to
wait until 4 for some other bars to open or the next round at the Grey Lodge. So I got there at 1PM and the initial rush
had died and all the beers were available.
It was a beautiful day, so I got my 6oz beers and went outside to
socialize. This event focused on IPAs
(fine by me) and again headlined local brewers who brought new or varieties of
their beers. My favorites were the Flying
Fish Dry Hopped with Simcoe hops, Philadelphia Newbold IPA, Prism Summer of
’69, and Manayunk Philadelphia Porter brewed w/coffee (it was nice to get at
least one non-IPA). It was a nice event,
and it was fun to talk to folks.
I
chose not to hang out and instead drove over to check out Philadelphia brewing
(http://www.philadelphiabrewing.com/),
which is not in the best area of town.
Tastings were only on Saturday (missed those), but I was able to get some
bottles to go, including Shakamaximum Imperial Stout and the Kilty Pleasure
Scottish Ale. So I headed over to Yards
brewing (http://www.yardsbrewing.com/)
for a snack (gazpacho soup, delightful) to go along with a bourbon barrel aged
version of their Old Bart Barleywine, killing a bit of time. I also went to a nice bottle shop to get
rehydrated (Gatorade and Philly pretzels), The Foodery (http://www.fooderybeer.com/). The place is over-priced, but the selection
is great and is located next to one of my other favorite Philly bars (more on
this later) and the parking is free). My
two favorites were a couple of specialty beers from the Bruery in CA; White Oak
which is a Wheatwine with 50% of the beer being barrel aged and Fruet, their
XII Anniversary Old Ale that is 100% bourbon barrel aged. I also got a few moments to take a cat nap in
the car waiting for the Standard Tap to open.
The
Standard Tap describes itself as one of the original Philly gastropubs, and their beer
selection is always great. I enjoyed the
Johnny Berliner, a collaborative Berliner Weisse from Dock Street brewing in
honor of Johnny Brendas, that was both light and refreshing on a warm summer
afternoon (it got warm in that car). I
next walked down to The 700 (http://www.the700.org/)
which is a local soccer bar with a decent beer selection. I enjoyed a nice chat with the bartender with
a Clown Shoes Supa Hero, a double IPA from MA.
It was a good day, but it was also time to get home.
I
took Saturday off to play with the kids and visit with the cousins (good to see
you Dick, Jen, Erica, Brian and Angie), and Jacob and I went home the next
day. I stopped at another beer store for
bottles and lunch, Capone’s in Norristown (they’ve apparently given up on their
website). I went low key on the bottles
getting some local seasonals and was disappointed to find out that their lunch room
(and draft selection) was unavailable for lunch on Sundays in the summer. The owner was a true gem, and offered to
serve me a sampler back in the bottle shop.
That worked for me (and for Jacob since there was a Sonic across the
street), so I got to try some beers from Hill Farmstead (available outside of
Philly but not in Albany). I had the
Myth of Saison (a collaboration with Tired Hands), Nor (a collaboration with
Cigar City) Double IPA, and Double Citra IPA all on draft. Capones is still worth the trip. Our final stop was Prism brewing (http://prismbeer.com/) which had a tasting
room next to the railroad tracks (Jacob loved it). Great new brewery that is just starting to
bottle, I particularly enjoyed their Shady Blond, a summer blonde ale brewed
with blood oranges that was to die for.
The barmaid shared their upcoming fall lineup and I decided then and
there that I would need to go back.
Overall
it was a great weekend, both time with the family and some really good
beer. I’ll now have to wait until
September 2013 for the next Firkinteenth (mark your calendars), but I’m sure I
can find a beer or two in the mean time. – 6074/12549
“There can be nothing more frequent than an occasional drink.” - Oscar Wilde
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