A 10th Anniversary Beer!

[Rich Pawlak]

In the next 2 weeks the 10th Anniversary Golden Age of Beer in Philadelphia Tours will be taking place, and today I got the word that Yards Brewing Co. will be making a beer to celebrate our anniversary! The Golden Age of Beer 10th Anniversary Ale will be a Simcoe-hopped pale ale, full of grapefruit and tangerine and floral notes and aromas, with a big hop bite and a silken finish, according to Tom Kehoe, founder/brewmaster.

The beer, for those in the Philadelphia area, will be served at stops along the Tours, from March 18 through March 25, the two dates of the Golden Age of Beer tours. The pubs pouring our special beer are scheduled to be:

Monk's Cafe

McGillin's Olde Ale House

McMenamin's Tavern

The Standard Tap

The Grey Lodge

and the Yards Brewery, when we visit.

I'd like to say that I'm speechless, but I just wrote the above. But it still feels pretty cool.

[Susan in FL]

Richie, that rocks! So, so, so awesome! The Golden Age of Beer Tour is your baby. What a great and well-deserved tribute. Congratulations to you!

[Rich Pawlak]

Richie, that rocks!  So, so, so awesome!  The Golden Age of Beer Tour is your baby.  What a great and well-deserved tribute.  Congratulations to you!

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And you and Russ were there when it all began, at the very first Tour, on that bitter cold day, as the press release link details.

[Susan in FL]

And you and Russ were there when it all began, at the very first Tour, on that bitter cold day, as the press release link details.

Really?? ...our name in print in a press release about the beer tours? Please direct me!

[Rich Pawlak]

And you and Russ were there when it all began, at the very first Tour, on that bitter cold day, as the press release link details.

Really?? ...our name in print in a press release about the beer tours? Please direct me!

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Well, not quite. See links above.

[TongoRad]

Congratulations on your success as well as the special brew, Rich! I hope it is a great event.

Edited March 11, 2006 by TongoRad (log)

[Susan in FL]

Oh well, I thought we were going to have a claim to fame. But we were two of the twenty mentioned!

The year was 1996 and 20 internet beer geeks ventured out on a bitterly cold Saturday to inaugurate the very first GOLDEN AGE OF BEER IN PHILADELPHIA TOUR.

At any rate, we enjoyed every one we attended, and truly wish there was a way for us to attend this very special anniversary tour.

[Rich Pawlak]

Oh well, I thought we were going to have a claim to fame.    But we were two of the twenty mentioned!

The year was 1996 and 20 internet beer geeks ventured out on a bitterly cold Saturday to inaugurate the very first GOLDEN AGE OF BEER IN PHILADELPHIA TOUR.

At any rate, we enjoyed every one we attended, and truly wish there was a way for us to attend this very special anniversary tour.

←

Always seats saved for you two; hop a plane!!!

[Rich Pawlak]

Beer writer Lew Bryson, our John Madden for the Golden Age of Beer in Philadelphia Tours, did a quick interview with Yards founder/brewmaster Tom Kehoe to further hype the special, one-off beer they are making for us:

Read the hype here

Now I can't wait to taste this beer!

[Rich Pawlak]

I did get to sample a small glass of the Anniversary Ale at the outset of my first Beer Tour on March 18, and it was very floral and grapefruity in the nose, and the mouthfeel as silken as , welll....something silken (I used a more graphic clothing-related description while sipping it)! Possibly the smoothest hop monster I've ever had; the considerable talent of Yards brewers was most evident. Getting me a few growlers at Tour's end this Saturday!!!

[cdh]

It was, indeed, a fine beer to start out the tour with. And the tour itself was great as well.

I particularly enjoyed the chance to try Flying Fish's Puckerfish on cask at the Grey Lodge. A beer with an interesting backstory... once upon a time there was a cask of DFH's belgian dubbel that went out into the world. A long time later somebody discovered it and sent it back to the brewery unopened, but with a few years of aging on it. It had turned from a dubbel into a oud bruin, so they blended it out to level off the sourness, and Puckerfish was born. Yummy, though lacking in the real sour complexity of some of the belgian aged sours... no wood involved in the aging of this one.

Anyway, all of the stops on the tour were great... Good job Rich!

Edited to correctly identify the brewer of Puckerfish.

Edited March 22, 2006 by cdh (log)

[Rich Pawlak]

I did get to sample a small glass of the Anniversary Ale at the outset of my first Beer Tour on March 18, and it was very floral and grapefruity in the nose, and the mouthfeel as silken as , welll....something silken (I used a more graphic clothing-related description while sipping it)!  Possibly the smoothest hop monster I've ever had; the considerable talent of Yards brewers was most evident.  Getting me a few growlers at Tour's end this Saturday!!!

←

Puckerfish came from Flying Fish, not DFH.

[Rich Pawlak]

This weekend (Sat-Sun) is the last chance to taste this ballsy, big, floral and grapefruit-nosed beer, as it will be served during the second of this year's Tours. It can be found at:

Monk's Cafe

McGillin's Olde Ale House

McMenamin's Tavern

The Standard Tap

The Grey Lodge

and the Yards Brewery,on Saturday, 3/25

[Rich Pawlak]

All in all, I think that our 10th Anniversary Tours went well, but I do think that we were a LITTLE too ambitious in plotting out 10 stops in one day. No one compalined (at least to me), but I think it was a much more tiring day than usual Tours have been. Very very nice people on both Tours, travelling from as far away as Portland, OR, Michigan, Illinois, Rhode Island, Massachucetts, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New York and...London, England!

I'll let others weigh in on the relative merits and highlights of this year's editions of the Tours, but it's safe to say that the highlight for me was sampling the special 10th Anniversary Ale, especially when it was served on the beer engine at McMenamin's Tavern, God bless PJ McMenamin's heart. I was even able to snag a couple of growlers of the stuff at the Grey Lodge on my way home on Saturday. A beautiful beer, period.

[gbredben]

Just wanted to say thanks to Rich for another great beer tour. Here’s some of my observations of the event from last Saturday. Monk’s: The mussel quiche and side salad was delicious. Ended up getting Monk’s Flemish Sour Ale because the St. Bernardus and Lucifer lines kicked. Still a great beer choice. Ludwig’s: Great spread of food and a lot of great German beer on tap. Had a Spaten Octoberfest that tasted great. Next stop McGillin’s and a Sam Adams White Ale. Real nice Belgian, lots of floral hints and gold color. Great wings as well. On to Manayunk Brewing. Chose an IPA to go with their great pizza. Next stop McMenamin’s and two beer selections: Monty Python’s Holy Grail Ale on draft and the Yards 10th Anniversary Philly Pale Ale on the hand pump served with their famous Guinness Irish stew. On to General Lafayette and a Grim Reaper, a great Imperial Stout, served with great bruschettas. Next, Standard Tap and smelts. Beer selection for me was the fantastic Victory Dark Lager. On to Yards and for some of their great porter. Next up was The Grey Lodge and a Russian River Damnation. I also brought along my growler for a fill of the Stegmaier Brewhouse Bock. Finally, on to Independence Brewpub for a feast. The Oatmeal Stout was the standout served with a fudge covered chocolate bundt cake topped with vanilla ice cream and caramel topping. Yumm!!! Also, a nice 10th Anniversary Glass was a nice highlight. My congrats to Rich for another great beer tour. Can’t wait till next year!