FRIDAY THE FIRKINTEENTH, 8/13/04

[Rich Pawlak]

Just TWO WEEKS from today, those of us in the Philly area (as well as truly dedicated beer trekkers from literally all across the country this year) will get to enjoy Philly's best beer event, this year's second FRIDAY THE FIRKINTEENTH on Friday Aug 13, at the GREY LODGE (www.greylodge.com).

I will attempt to get the beer list for this go-around (or hope that owner Mike Scotese will post it here), but if it is anything like previous FTFs over the years, expect some awesome firkins of gravity-poured brew, 15 in all. Don't know when they'll open the doors this time around, but I'll try to get that info as well.

If you want to experience a truly great, unpretentious night of carefully selected (and often rare, one-off) beers, this is the place to be in Philly on August 13. For me, these are the beer highlights of the year in Philly.

And the next one isn't until May 2005!

[beergirl]

A preliminary beer list has been posted at The Beeryard. It's the fifth item in the events list: August Events

[Rich Pawlak]

I can do one better. I just got the official list from Scoats (Mike Scotese) hisownself:

Brewers Art Saison , Baltimore, MD

General Lafayette Sunset Red Ale, Lafayette Hill, PA

Heavyweight Black Ocean, Ocean Twp., NJ

Lancaster Saison, Lancaster, PA

Sly Fox Pete's Peerless Ale, Phoenixville, PA

Troegs Hopback Amber, Harrisburg, PA

Victory Hop Devil , Downingtown, PA

Weyerbacher Autumnfest , Easton, PA

as well as soon-to-be-announced beers from:

Yards

Dogfish Head

Iron Hill

Legacy

Nodding Head

Updates when posted, or when we can beg for them.

[Rich Pawlak]

An updated Friday The Firkinteenth Beer List!

Brewers Art Saison , Baltimore, MD

General Lafayette Sunset Red Ale, Lafayette Hill, PA

Heavyweight Black Ocean, Ocean Twp., NJ

Lancaster Saison, Lancaster, PA

Sly Fox Pete's Peerless Ale, Phoenixville, PA

Troegs Hopback Amber, Harrisburg, PA

Victory Hop Devil , Downingtown, PA

Weyerbacher Autumnfest , Easton, PA

Nodding Head 700 Level, Philadelphia, PA

as well as soon-to-be-announced beers from:

Yards

Dogfish Head

Iron Hill

Legacy

[Rich Pawlak]

Another brewery has been added to the FTF lineup. Just 3 days away!

Brewers Art Saison , Baltimore, MD

General Lafayette Sunset Red Ale, Lafayette Hill, PA

Heavyweight Black Ocean, Ocean Twp., NJ

Lancaster Saison, Lancaster, PA

Sly Fox Pete's Peerless Ale, Phoenixville, PA

Troegs Hopback Amber, Harrisburg, PA

Victory Hop Devil , Downingtown, PA

Weyerbacher Autumnfest , Easton, PA

Nodding Head 700 Level, Philadelphia, PA

as well as soon-to-be-announced beers from:

Yards

Dogfish Head

Iron Hill

Legacy

Flying Fish!

[Susan in FL]

This is just too exciting! How can one be expected to go to work and focus after reading this...

[john b]

Nodding Head 700 Level, Philadelphia, PA

Cheap, gets you drunk quickly and makes you want to beat up Cowboy fans??

[Rich Pawlak]

Nodding Head 700 Level, Philadelphia, PA

Cheap, gets you drunk quickly and makes you want to beat up Cowboy fans??

Well, ya gotta hope.

John, will you be making your annual appearance at FTF??

[john b]

Nodding Head 700 Level, Philadelphia, PA

Cheap, gets you drunk quickly and makes you want to beat up Cowboy fans??

Well, ya gotta hope.

John, will you be making your annual appearance at FTF??

I think so, even if only for an hour or two. If I could just find a designated driver I'd stay longer, but hanging out being surrounded by so much good beer is too tempting.

[Okbrewer]

RP! Hoist one or two or six for me on Friday! Sorry I can't be there! I was looking forward to it. Maybe I can make it in May next year! But I WILL be there in October!

[Susan in FL]

RP!  Hoist one or two or six for me on Friday!  Sorry I can't be there!  I was looking forward to it.  Maybe I can make it in May next year!  But I WILL be there in October!

Sadness is upon my heart... will miss seeing you.

[Scoats]

Here is the latest and most likely finalized line-up:

# Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA (maybe)

# Flying Fish Coffee Porter

# General Lafayette Sunset Red Ale

# Heavyweight Black Ocean

# Iron Hill 2003 Oud Bruin

# Lancaster Saison

# Nodding Head 700 Level

# Sly Fox Pete's Peerless Ale

# Troegs Hopback Amber

# Victory Hop Devil

# Weyerbacher Autumnfest

# Yards ESA

# a superhopped Yards Philadelphia Pale Ale

If you go http://www.greylodge.com, and then to the This Week page, you can print out your own up-to-date F13 handout, which will be more up to date than the 250 I printed out on Wednesday.

[cdh]

mmmm... can't wait.

[Rich Pawlak]

Man, what a powerful lineup.

Best damn beer event in Philly, year after year.

[gbredben]

The waiting alone is killing me!

[Scoats]

8:20am We're back up to 13, we have a full 15.5 gallon cask conditioned barrel of Dogfish 90 Minute IPA which will be served via handpump after the Nodding Head kicks.

11:30am Now up to 14! Otto's Pub and Brewery from State College is bring their Black Mo Stout.

Handout and Website updated yet again. :-)

Edited August 13, 2004 by Scoats (log)

[cdh]

And what a high quality evening it was. Rich took lots of pictures, so photographic documentation will certainly follow.

Highlights amongst the offerings were:

Otto's Black Mo Stout, which struck me by its resemblance to the Italian burnt licorice candies. A really interestingly flavored stout.

Flying Fish Coffee Porter, which was a beautifully balanced coffee flavored treat.

Nodding Head 700 Level, which was rich and creamy and smooth.

General Lafayette's Sunset Red, which had great citrusy hop aromas and that wonderful candied grapefruit flavor.

I'm sure others will chime in as well. Excellent event, and well attended, though less claustrophobic with the additional outdoor space that wasn't there in February.

[Rich Pawlak]

It was a more comfortable FTF this time around, owing to the fact that many of the beer revelers chose to hang out on the sidewalk outside the Grey Lodge instead of sardine-like around the bar. Made for a much more pleasant experience, and the beers were, as always, top notch. Big highlights for me were the General Lafayette Sunset Red, absolutely hopalicious, as well as the Flying Fish Coffee Porter, a jolt of espresso goodness, and the Nodding Head 700 Level, creamy yet refreshing, a really quaffable brew. The only weird beer to me was the year-old Iron Hill Oude Bruin, a brown ale aged in a whiskey barrel; some friends really dug it, but I thought it tasted sour, and not in a good way.

We did also have some fun with Gary Bredbenner's concoction of a custom-made Black & Tan, his mix of FF Coffee Porter and Yards ESA, dubbed (by Mike Gates, I think) a YardFish Cappucino. That actually may have been my favorite beer of the night.

Pics:

The burgeoning crowd at the start of Friday the Firkinteenth

(from l. to r.) Chris "cdh" Holst, Susan "Susan in FL" Burgess, friend of cdh (I forget his name!), Mike Gates

Lew Bryson rudely blowing his nose all over Iron Hill brewer Larry Horowitz, and afterwards attempting an apology

Beer writer Jack Curtin (foreground), with Nodding Head brewpub co-owner Curt Decker behind him, chatting up a fan

Gary Bredbenner and Sue Burgess surveying the quickly kicked firkins, posted for convenient updating around the bar

The slowly growing crowd enjoying a warm summer night on the sidewalk outside the Grey Lodge

Bryson and friend, Les Moore, attempting convesation with a female beer aficionado

Flying Fish brewer Jim Brennan

More sidewalk scene with Chris Holst

John (l.) and Dan (r.) from the Dan & John beer website (or is it Dan and John, I can never get those two guys right....)

[KatieLoeb]

Wow! Great pics, Rich! Looks like y'all had a great time. I love the Yardfish Cappuccino idea. Brilliiant!

And Susan picked a good weekend to escape from FL.

[beergirl]

Great pictures and commentary. It looks like much fun was had by all.

[gbredben]

Great pictures and commentary Rich. Only proves inspiration can strike anywhere.

[Susan in FL]

I am here to say that Friday the Firkinteenths certainly are all they're cracked up to be! It was my long-awaited first and I hope not the last. Hopefully next time I can drag my husband with me. Scoats has a wonderful thing going, and not just these events, but all the time... I would recommend that anybody who hasn't been to the Grey Lodge, go if you have the opportunity. The beer selections can't be beat, and the place is looking good, including the ladies restroom which was redecorated since I was there last (an important thing, you know). I understand that there are even more beer-home improvement plans in the future.

It was a pleasure to meet the new, and see the old beer friends like Lew, Mike, and of course my good friend and personal Philly tour guide for the weekend, RP. It had been four years since RP and I drank beer together in "real time," and even longer since seeing the others. Chris and RP summed up what were my favorite beers at the event as well.

It was fun. I would have enjoyed it even more if my thoughts were not so much back in Florida... As you can see from my forlorn expressions in RP's pictures, I was worried sick. Actually I was worried, but thankfully cheered up by fellow beer lovers. I did wimp out early and went back to my hotel after we took a dinner break. It was pretty scary watching the coverage on TV.

So anyway, we had only minor damage at our home, mostly trees down. Thanks for the notes asking if we were OK from Charley, and thanks to everybody in Philly for a great time!

[Rich Pawlak]

Susan, you do forlorn very well, then. I cant imagine what you look like when you're happy!

It was great to have you up here for FTF, despite the bad situation at home. But your hubby wasnt washed out to sea, and your house is intact, so the beer gods were looking out for you, too.

[Rich Pawlak]

Great pictures and commentary Rich. Only proves inspiration can strike anywhere.

And I gotta just say again for the record: we in Philly are lucky to have a Grey Lodge (soon to open a restaurant upstairs with an impressive menu!) in town, that can orchestrate an utterly unpretentious beer festival, with a wide variety of offerings and always some surprises, and then go right back to its everyday operation with even more stunning beers on tap. Case in point last night at the GL:

Sly Fox Pete's Black Raspberry Wheat, an actually delicious fruit beer, and yet a discernable wheat prescence;

Lancaster Alt, rich and malty and with some hops in there !

Heavyweight Pegalina Pale, a hoppy knockout of a pale ale;

Brewers Art Resurrection Ale, a damn fine Belgian strong

Weyerbacher Hefeweizen, crisp and light as a summer morning

Never a letdown at this place; that's why I'm there every week, religiously.