Ramblings of Beer Travelers
“2008 Beer Drinker of the Year” is the latest episode of One Pint at a Time.
Just to show you that it not always about us… Our friend, Matt Venzke, won the coveted ‘Beer Drinker of the Year’ title and we were on hand to witness his triumph. This video is highlights his masterful performance.
For all the episodes of One Pint at a Time go to beergeekTV.
The plan for St. Patrick’s Day was to head down to the Black Rose for breakfast and then pretty much see what happened. Our only other commitment for the day was to see a punk show, headlined by the Larkin Brigade, at 8pm so we had more or less the whole day to hang – and that is exactly what we did.
It wasn’t without worries though. All weekend the Black Rose was packed with long lines of people waiting to get in. The last thing we wanted to do was queue to get in, especially with the cold wind blowing. By the way, it’s my theory that Boston wasn’t this crowded for Paddy’s Day until we started plugging it…
But as we rounded the corner, there was the sight we were hoping for… no line, just a bunch of smokers outside. And better yet, we ended up with a prime booth upstairs that overlooked all the action.
As tradition dictates, breakfast is of the full Irish variety, sans the black and white pudding, with a pint of Guinness.
After we ate, we were somewhat undecided about what to do. We thought about abandoning our prime spot and hanging out downstairs – we even offered our seat to a group of Torontonians – Mike, Kate, Dave and Christa. In the end, we started talking to them and decided to share our spot. Plus, our friend Brad Ruppert and his crew showed up, so we had quite a group.
As you would guess, the people watching at an event like this is second to none. People always sport their best Irish t-shirt (“Irish today – hungover tomorrow”, “Kiss me if you’re Irish”, “Everyone loves a drunken Irish girl”), so t-shirt reading is a big activity.
I knew the party had really started when I saw a couple come out of a stall in the men’s room. Nothing like a drunken shag in the bathroom at the Black Rose on Paddy’s Day.
We ended up staying for seven hours at the Black Rose, talking with old and new friends, listening to music and enjoying the day. We were actually kind of sad to leave – we were having so much fun – but we had a long night ahead and needed to rest.
Our tip for celebrating St. Pat’s Day in Boston is to arrive at your pub of choice relatively early, then plan to stay. This way you can secure a good spot (close to the bar, prime people watching, etc) and you don’t pay the outrageous cover charges that every bar extorts from you.
The Candadians proved this point when they told us that the day before they were enjoying a good time at a pub. But, then they decided to go look for a new, fun pub to hang out in. Well, they were out of luck, as every other pub had a line and charged a cover. They learned their lesson and had no plans to leave the Black Rose until they were ready to retire for the night.
How did we hang out for seven hours, you might be wondering? First of all, we were drinking mostly Guinness, which despite it’s reputation of being thick and heavy is relatively low in alcohol. More importantly, we drank glass after glass of water to help with the pacing. I thought our waitress was going to be annoyed by our non-stop requests for water but she actually appreciated having a group of relatively sober drinkers.
Thanks to our friends and all the people we met for making it a great Paddy’s Day.
If you want to look at all our pictures, click here.
As I have said many times, Merideth and I are creatures of habit, so when we go to Boston we usually end up at the same places year in and year out. It is not really a bad thing because we hang out at some pretty cool places and drink great beer. Also, in our defense, we kind of had to go to all the old haunts for our episode of One Pint at a Time.
Mother nature is a creature of habit too. So, when we woke up Saturday morning in Portsmouth, NH and it was snowing, we were back on familiar ground. It has snowed almost every time we have been here for Paddy’s Day.
Since St. Patrick’s Day is on Monday (and Saturday, too, if you are good Catholic), I think people are treating this as a three day party weekend and places are going to be jam packed.
Boston is such a sports crazy town and we recommend to anyone who visits to take in some sporting event.
Our particular passion is hockey so we had the Bruins v. Flyers as the first event of our day. Since this is not hockeygeek.com, I won’t bore you with the details of the game. The Bruins won 3-2 in overtime after tying the game with 15 seconds left.
But beers were needed prior to the game so we stopped at Boston Beer Works which is conveniently a block from the TD Banknorth Boston Garden (or whatever it is called now). Beer Works also has a location next to Fenway Park. And one in Salem, MA as well if you are into the witch thing.
Beer Works is one of those breweries that maybe does a few too many beers – I am not saying any are bad – but there some really gems in their lineup that I think get lost in the sheer number of beers. I particularly enjoy their Curley’s Irish Stout, Fenway Pale Ale and Beanpot Brown.
After the game, we were off to the Harpoon Brewery to pick up some beer for our tasting and to meet up with our friend Brad Ruppert. Oh, we also tasted some of the free beer they pour.
A 15 minute walk from central Boston, Harpoon is a must stop on a tour of Boston. In case you missed it in the previous paragraph – free beer. All you have to do is listen to a short talk about the beer and the staff keeps on pouring. But be a good beer citizen and please buy something.
Our visit to Harpoon was the first evidence – well second if you count the long lines to get in the Black Rose at 4pm on Saturday – that things are going to be crazy this weekend. We walked upstairs to a packed tasting room; something we have never seen on the past 4 visits.
Once we finished at Harpoon, the next stop was of course the Barking Crab. Seafood shacks are pretty famous in these parts and the Barking Crab is no exception. It doesn’t look like it from the outside (hence “shack”) but there you will get some of the best seafood in Boston and a good beer selection too. I chased down some wonderful fried clams and oysters with a few Harpoon IPAs. Merideth had some Ipswitch Ale with her lobster roll.
Last night’s excitement at the Barking Crab was that there was a Paramount Pictures private party where Ben Kingsley and Leonardo DiCaprio were going to be in attendance. We tried to crash the party but our beer credentials weren’t enough to get us entrance.
Then it was on to Cambridge Brewing for a nightcap. I think they brew the best beer in Boston and the though it is not the easiest brewpub to get to, it is worth the trek. We only know how to get their by landmarks: Get off the Red Line at Kendall Square, walk down to the Legal Seafood and hang a right. Go left at the Residence Inn, cross the street and then go off to the right after the billboard. It’s a little way down on the right.
As I said, I think they brew the best beer in Boston and the IPA, porter and stout didn’t change my mind. Merideth tried a 9.4% Belgian golden ale called Om and actually liked it. Merideth is really starting to branch out.
Cambridge was a great last stop to finish a good beer day.
Philadelphia has a long and rich brewing tradition going back 300 years and is rightly proud of their beer heritage. And that pride showed in the enthusiasm and level of participation for the first ever Philly Beer Week. It was truly exceptional for a first time event.
Over 100 events were scheduled for the ‘week’ and while we were here for only the beginning, we managed to pack in quite a bit of beer drinking.
Our schedule was pretty packed for Friday and Saturday so rather than going over it beer by beer, here are the highlights of the two days.
Our Friday began with a bit of sightseeing. Richard Wagner, a local beer historian, took us on a walk around the old city, not only showing us famous landmarks such as the Liberty Bell, but also the sites of historic taverns and breweries that long have disappeared from the landscape of the city.
The highlight of the our tour was a visit to City Tavern, a historic recreation of a 18th century colonial tavern that was frequented by many a founding father.
In a partnership with Yards Brewing, the City Tavern serves three beers from 18th century recipes;
Kudos to Yards and City Tavern for researching these recipes and bringing back a piece of brewing history.
Lunch was four-course meal paired with beer at Tria, Philadelphia’s wine, cheese and beer cafe. I mention Tria not just because of the amazing beer-food pairings but also to plug their ‘fermentation school’ where some of the best beer minds in the world come and share their passion.
We were able to visit two breweries on Friday; Triumph Brewery, a new addition to the Philly brewpub scene and the first brewpub that we have been to with coed bathrooms. Odd facilities aside, I was excited that they had a kellerbier that I enjoyed. I don’t think I have ever seen a kellerbier made in the States.
Philadelphia Brewing, a brewery so new that they had just shipped their first product two days prior, is the new venture of former owners of Yards. The brewery building, built in 1885, was part of the Weisbrod & Hess Oriental Brewing Company. When they finish the remodeling, the brewery tasting room is going to be something to behold.
Friday evening was the first event for Philly Beer Week; a beer tasting with 20 regional breweries at the Marketplace at East Falls. Here, the mayor of Philadelphia, Michael Nutter tapped the official first keg; Extra Special Ale from Yards. It was good to see a big city mayor so supportive of the beer community.
The only problem was that this was the big chance to try a lot of the regional beers but because of our busy schedule, I was only able to try a small fraction of the beers available. The highlights were Hoptimus Prime from Legacy, ESA from Yards and the porter from General Lafayette Inn and Brewery.
The plans for Saturday included visiting two brewpubs in the Philadelphia suburbs, but the first task Saturday morning was to go to the Philadelphia Art Museum – not for the Frida Kahlo exhibit – rather to draw some strength and inspiration from the Rocky statue. We wanted to run up the stairs too but unfortunately, it really started to rain.
The first brewery was Sly Fox Brewery and Eatery in Royersford, one of the breweries in the canning movement. But there is more to Sly Fox than the fact that they can their beer. The Sly Fox lineup includes a GABF gold medal winning Pils. I also enjoyed the Helles, IPA, and their dry Irish Stout. Sly Fox and Yards were probably my two favorite breweries on the trip.
After Sly Fox, it was back on the bus to the short ride to Phoenixville and to Iron Hill Brewery.
Iron Hill had an impressive spread of 12 beers. My highlight list for Iron Hill would have to include Pig Iron Porter, Ironbound Ale and the ESB.
Saturday evening included a trip to the Foodery, a bottle shop that rivals any that I have ever been to. It was another case of a kid in a candy store. They had an impressive selection of not only regional beers, but beers from all over the United States and Europe. The awesome thing about the Foodery is that you can buy mixed six-packs…
Though I am not going to get into the “best beer-drinking city” debate, Philadelphia definitely deserves to be mentioned with cities such as Portland, Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, and [insert your beer drinking city here so I don’t piss anyone off]. Their beer culture ranks up with the best and is worthy of your beer travel dollar.
I really have to give credit to the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation for seeing that there is a whole community of beer travelers they could tap into. Many cities take us for granted and Philadelphia should be commended. To make your Philly plans go to gophila.com.
I speak for both Merideth and myself in thanking Cara and Morgan for putting on a great tour. And thanks to all the Philly beer people who took time out of their busy schedules to entertain us.
Final thanks go out to our little group… Rick, Tracey, Dan, Kevin, Jay, Lisa, Mark and Fausto. It was fun hanging out with old friends and new ones alike.
To see all the images from the trip, click here. We should have the video up in a few weeks.
“Where It All Started” is the latest episode of One Pint at a Time. For the “Year in Beer”, we returned to our beer roots in February when we visited the San Francisco Bay Area. Back in the late 1980s, this is where is all started for us and it was good seeing old friends… and some new ones too.
For all the episodes of One Pint at a Time go to beergeekTV.