I took the second half of Philadelphia Beer Week away from the brewery to participate in the festivities. I spent part of my time representing Iron Hill and part of my time just enjoying everyone else’s events. One of my favorite things about Philadelphia and it’s beer culture is how non-competitive the brewers are. Even the production brewers who are technically competing for tap handles and shelf space are friends. Let’s face it, we have about 5% of the beer market. We all know we’re better off banding together to educate and convert the mass-produced-drinking 95% than we are beating each other up over our 5. That’s what Philly Beer Week is about. It’s about celebrating craft beer in many forms.
The range of events ran the gamut. You could attend events as refined as the 6 course beer dinner at the Four Seasons or as base as the local brewer’s pub crawl. You could do something as healthy as a 60 mile bike ride or brewer’s center city run, or as heart-stopping as a Pierogi and Kielbasa eating contest. There was a burlesque show, a fiction slam, a spelling bee and a tour of Philadelphia’s murals. It wasn’t all about drinking beer, but great beer was the common thread that ran throughout.
One of my favorites was the Real Ale Invitational, a very well run event organized by Yard’s Brewery and Triumph Brewpub. Another highlight was meeting the Head Brewer from Rodenbach and drinking my first Grand Cru in several years. It was only fitting that I got to meet Rudy in Brigid’s, where I tasted my very first Rodenbach 16 years ago. I also loved the Joes vs. Pros event hosted by Jose Pistola’s and Home Sweet Homebrew. It was great to taste some adventurous home brews and remember why and how I started brewing in the first place.
If you missed out this year, I’d strongly suggest putting time aside for it next year. Get a hotel or a Regional Rail pass and enjoy as many events as you can. This beer week was the second of many to come and I’m confident it will continue to get better every year. For those of you that I saw out, it was great to see you. I look forward to raising a pint with you next year too!
Cheers,
Chris
Why are other beers green on St. Patrick’s day?????? Envy.
Tomorrow we’ll have two beers on tap that haven’t been shipped halfway around the world and that don’t have any artificial food coloring in them! Oh, and they’re also really good. As always we’re featuring our Irish Red Ale and Irish Dry Stout during the week surrounding St. Pat’s. I also have a little tradition here that a lot of you may not know about. Every year on March 17th I tap a keg of Wee Heavy that’s at least one year old. We brew a batch of it every winter and I always save one keg or firken of it for St. Patrick’s day of the second following spring. The one I’ve saved for tomorrow is over 15 months old. The one that was on tap this past December will be tapped next St. Patrick’s day. Etc.
This beer is one of my favorite styles to age. It’s not big on esters (which fade over time), its doesn’t have much hop character (which gets stale and cheesy over time) and it’s high in alcohol. The alcohol protects the beer from staling and the time mellows the alcohol and takes away the “heat”. Also malt tends to get richer and sweeter with time. Yum.
It’s on tonight. I don’t have the signs up for it yet, but if you ask for it you’ll get it. If you don’t want to fight the St. Patrick’s Day crowds, stop in tonight for a goblet.
Otherwise, see you tomorrow,
Slainte!
Chris
We have a little tradition here at the Iron Hill in West Chester. Once a year we make a special, unique and tiny batch of beer just for our staff. Usually we give it out around the holidays, but this year the beer was stubborn and it took a little longer to ferment. Sometime’s you are on the beer’s schedule and not the other way around. The beer is called Appreciation and that’s what it’s all about; showing the rest of our restaurant how much we appreciate all of the hard work they’ve given us over the past year.
I always say that the staff is what makes Iron Hill what it is. We make great beer here, don’t get me wrong. But we live and work in a part of the country that is just teeming with excellent local beer. I have a lot of very talented contemporaries that keep me humble. When it comes to what happens outside of the brewery though, I don’t feel the need to be humble. I can’t think of another brewery restaurant operation that can boast a staff that knows as much about beer as ours. They’re passionate and knowlegable and you don’t find that everywhere. I’ve drank in a lot of brewpubs all over the country and I have to say that our crew is what really sets us apart.
The Appreciation is different every year. It’s made in a 1/2 barrel batch on the same homebrew system that the owners used as homebrewers before Iron Hill existed. It’s usually designed by the assistant brewer and it uses some crazy ingredients or processes that might be too daring or expensive to make a whole batch of. Most importantly its only for the staff. Appreciation can’t be bought anywhere.
There’s a picture of it here but you can’t really read the text on it. Here’s what it says.
“What a great year! The World Series, 6 medals at the GABF, a historic new president and we still love our job!!! There aren’t many people that make a living doing what some choose to do as a hobby. We know that we wouldn’t have this job if it weren’t for the person holding this bottle. You sell the beer we make, craft the food it pairs with or otherwise make this place work. The ber in this bottle is a small token of our APPRECIATION. Appreciation was brewed and hand bottled by us for you, the staff of Iron Hill, West Chester. This year’s appreciation was brewed with maple syrup, dried mission figs, Belgian yeast and of course lots of love. We hope ou enjoy it because you deserve to. We also hope you enjoy whatever holiday you celebrate this season. Just make sure you celebrate something. Thanks again and enjoy life.
Chris and Jean
Jean and I will be handing these out starting on Wednesday.
Cheers,
Chris
