So Bob, Kevin, and I were in Ithaca over the weekend to brew Dark Humor all brett Imperial Porter. Check out the highlights! (Warning…it’s PG-13)

So this Saturday Bobby Barrar and Kevin Walter from Iron Hill Brewery Media and I are going to Ithaca Beer Company to make a Bob / Chief collaboration beer called Dark Humor!  Jeff O’neil and Bob Barrar are going to brew a 45 barrel batch of 100% brettanomyces fermented Imperial Porter. The beer will be released in early may and will be for sale on draft at Iron Hill Brewery Media and as a very limited seasonal at select locations in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, (maybe) Connecticit, Rhode Island, New Jersey, and Ohio. Chief and jeffFormulation done in collaboration. Brewed together in the Ithaca facility in NY.  Bob may brew it again in Media!

In any case, I’ve managed to get myself in the program by offering to drive and take video/photos for the guys.  ROAD TRIP TO ITHACA!!! Here’s the logo to get us started:

I hopped on over to Victory Brewing Company last night to have a beer with My lovely wife Whit and a bunch of the Iron Holligans from my place. I was quickly reminded that is was Victory’s 15th Birthday! Whit is the Quality manager over there, but since she is a superstar (and not just in my book) she was also on beer patrol with a some of their sales specialists and a group of cool ladies from The Winking Lizard and Heidelberg Distributing in OHIO! That’s my home state!  The Lizard is one of the first Real-Live-Beer-Bars I ever visited. They’ve been serving craft beer in Ohio since the mid 1980s. Way to go.

Back to the Birthday celebrations: 15 years is quite a feat and it was great to have a beer with Bill and Ron and Whit et.al. and listen to them talk about the old days. Pretty much anyone who is anyone in beer was there (suprise) and they had their super fresh new Headwaters Pale Ale on tap. I have a feeling  that beer will end up at the house as a pretty regular drinker right next to my very own Ironboud Ale. Man they know how to brew up in that place!

We stayed longer than we should have cause’ we were drinking Maibock straight from the cellar tanks. Life is tough here in beerworld these days. Congrats to Bill, Ron, and the whole Victory crew! Great work guys, and I hope you get at least another 15 great years of great beers. Cheers!

Red alert! We have a 2010 keg of Super Secret Mathra on tap RIGHT NOW!!! It’s amazing how much a year changes a beer. The edges are softer and the beer is filled with aromas of toffee and sherry. Yeah baby! Only 15 gallons so get here quickly if you’d like to sample it.

That’s right gang. The eagle may fly on Friday…but it’d better not get too close to the Malthra American Barley wine we plan on tapping or it might get et’! Super strong, super hoppy, super ready for your mug club mug starting around 5:00p.m. I’ll be there for a round and then I’m off to Iron Hill Media for Bob Barrar’s Famous Firkin Friday / February.

I case you were considering NOT coming in for some of this killer beer…check out the uber full hop back there in the photo. That is a tank full of yum right there. nice.

So I finally got all of the hardware from BCWC put away. Whew! what a job. This year was the bestest year year IMHO. A really great review is up on the Philly Food and Beer site. We started extra early and blasted through the beer even quicker than I could have possibly imagined. Super secret beers in the brewery and great eats from the kitchen really rounded out the day. Thanks again to everyone who participated and to all of you who came by to enjoy one of those MONSTER samplers. As usual the north east beer scene did not dissapoint. Highlights this year included the killer Ithaca Brut (kicked in 20 minutes!) and Garrett’s very special gift of Sorachi Ace and Local one in bottles. Chief from Ithaca kept sending me text photos of his speedometer starting around 12:00pm..you know, the time he was supposed to be there! He was late, but it was worth the wait. I’ll have to have him bring TWO sixers next year. Everyone’s beers were awesome and I just wish I had had more time to talk to everyone! Lappy did have time to talk to everyone and has a few words about it over here. While you’re there check out the sweet snowball video he shot. Brewer’s meetings are VERY important. Well, it’s in the can until next year.

That’s right…the sweet, sweet, love that is Cherry Dubbel is now on tap! Just in time for Valentine’s day!

Cherry Dubbel

2008 Silver Medal Winner GABF Wood and barrel aged sour beers

This beer is a great example of how repeated re-fermentation can add complexity and character. It undergoes four different unique fermentations. It starts out life as our award winning Abbey Dubbel. This base is an Amber Trappist inspired beer that is rich, raisiny, and Burgundian. After primary fermentation it gets a second with one pound per gallon of dark sweet Oregon cherries. The cherry adds obvious fruit character, increases the alcohol content and begins creating natural acidy.  Next the beer is racked with the wild yeast Brettanomyces bruxellensis into second use medium toast French oak Pinot Noir barrels where it ages for over 6 months. When the beer has just the right blend of wood flavors we remove it from the barrels and it gets a final fermentation in the package of dispense. Strong and explosively fruity with aromas of cherry pie, a touch of wood, vanilla, fresh grass, raisin and other dark fruits.

 19°P, 28IBUs, 8.1% ABV

Hey Gang! 

Join me this Friday as I host a good friend of mine John Haggerty of New Holland Brewing Company for a ‘Meet the Brewer’ event here at Iron Hill West Chester. John and I are both ‘Old School’ upper Midwest craft brewers. We both got into brewing at about the same time and have the same type of experience. He’s moved all over the country to follow his passion for brewing and seems to have landed in a great place making world class beers. We always joke about how small the beer world is, and here’s a great example of what we mean. John worked at the Great Dane Brewery in Madison Wisconson, where my Brother in law worked and currently resides. He moved west to Seattle for beer, I moved east to Philadelphia for beer. I went to brewing school and married a woman who studied brewing in Germany. He’s got a diploma from VLB in Berlin (that’s a BFD in the brewing world). Oh, and we all LOVE to eat like it’s our last meal. Yeah baby! New Holland is now in the Philly market so I am totally stoked that he has an excuse to come out here for beers!  We will be pouring New Holland’s winter seasonal release Cabin Fever American Brown Ale (6.25%) this Friday from 5:00 to 7:00p.m. Come by for a pint and chat. Oh, and you’ll get to meet New Holland’s Philadelphia area sales rep / D.J., ‘Dr.’ Joel Armato. He’s great, and looks like a young Fidel Castro!

 If you can’t meet up with the New Holland Crew, here’s their entire Philly promo schedule.

• Feburary 3rd – Meet N Eat @ Tria (Washington Square West – Philadelphia, PA) – w/ Brewmaster John Haggerty from 5pm – 7pm
• February 3rd - New Holland Night @ Varga Bar (Philadelphia, PA) – Firkin of Night Tripper Imperial Stout plus 7 drafts – 8pm – ?
• February 4th – Meet The Brewer @ Iron Hill Brewery (West Chester, PA) – Pouring Cabin Fever Brown Ale – 5pm – 7pm
• February 5th – Soul & Suds @ Kraftwork (Philadelphia, PA) – New Holland Tap Takeover w/ Fred & John from the brewery, Adam (Sidecar), Dennis (The P.O.P.E.) & Dr. Joel (New Holland Brewery) DJ’ing @ 9pm – - – 16 New Holland Drafts!
• February 6th – New Holland Pre-Super Bowl Beer Brunch @ South Philly Taproom (Philadelphia, PA) from 12pm – 3pm

More soon, but here are the photos from the 2011 BCTWC event. thanks to W.C. Dish!