What: Holiday Beers for your drinking pleasure
Where: Iron Hill Brewery and Restaurant West Chester
When: Saturday December 11th 2:00pm-5:00pm (or until the beer is finished!)

During this joyous time of the year we may all celebrate different holidays, but we can drink great beer together! Iron Hill Brewery and Restaurant will be hosting a holiday beer celebration on Saturday December 11^th 2010 from 2:00p.m. to 5:00p.m. (or until the beer runs out) with our friends from He’brew, Southampton Public House,  and Sly Fox Brewing.  Come by and try holiday beers from each brewery and meet their representatives. We will have Klezmer Christmas music, festive holiday decorations, and lots of seasonally appropriate food and beverage. Iron Hill Brewery Mug Club Members can  vote for their favorite beer, and a chance at 1000 mug club points (winner will be drawn at random from all ballots). Remember, you don’t have to celebrate our holiday, just make sure you celebrate something. Here’s ‘The List’ of beers and brewers. Can’t wait!!!!

Here’s the list

He’ Brew
Jeremy Cowan
Jewbilation

At age 14, is Shmaltz Brewing still the throes of adolescence?   As with many 14 year olds, this year’s Jewbelation is all about Hands, Hearts and Farts.  14 is the numerical value of the Hebrew word for “hand.”  The human hand contains 14 digital bones and 14 joints.  14 items to fill the Passover seder plate, narrating the Exodus of the Hebrews – “and with a might hand did the Revolution bring us out of Egypt.” Jacob labored 14 years to earn marriage to Leah and Rachel.  Over a lifetime, the average American spends 14 days kissing.  Valentine’s day, Feb. 14, dates to a pagan festival for the she-wolf who suckled mythical founders of Rome, Romulus, and Remus.  14 lines structure a sonnet.  Romeo and Juliet unfolds 14 days before Juliet’s  14th birthday.  Carbon 14 dating proves the age of organic materials.  Woody Allen, now married to his once not-daughter and not a spokesman for American Apparel, received 14 Oscar nominations for best screenplay and directed 14 other actors in nominated performances.  14 Jews serve in the senate.  The current Dalai Lama is the 14th leader of the Tibetan people.  A hummingbird’s heart flutters about 1400 beats per minute.  Dr. Oz reported on Oprah that humans fart on average of 14 times a day.  At age 41 and in our 14th year of brewing, the numerical sychronicity will happen only once in my lifetime.  Here’s to being here now… L’Chaim

Southampton Public House
Southampton Christmas Ale
Spencer Niebuhr

A French-style “Country Ale”. Awarded the Gold Medal at the 2002 Real Ale Festival, Chicago. This smooth but deceptively strong amber ale is one of our most popular brews. This version is true-to-style compared to imported versions of the classic “Biere de Garde” style. “Biere de Garde” means “beer for storing” – a reference to it’s alcohol strength of 6.5%. This type of ale is produced in the Pas-De-Calais region of northern France by small, traditional farmhouse breweries.  Flavor Description: a complex spicy malt flavor accented by a mild herbal character of imported French “Strisslespalt” hops. 6.5% ABV

Sly Fox Brewing Company
Christmas Ale
Brian O’reilly

This malty, full-bodied red ale is made with traditional mulling spices: Ginger, Clove, All Spice, Cinnamon & Nutmeg. If this one doesn’t get you into the Christmas spirit, you truly are a Scrooge
16.5 OG | 16 IBUs | 6

Iron Hill Brewery and Restaurant
Hopalicious holiday ale
Larry Horwitz

American style double IPA, full-bodied malt flavor supports a ridiculous amount of hops, giving it pronounced bitterness and overwhelming hop flavor and aroma. Made with 8 pounds of hops per barrel OG: 1.080   Color: 10   IBU: 90   Alc by Vol: 7.2%

Our Wheat Wine-oh was chosen Beer of the Week at Slashfood. check it out! I am totally stoked about that. This beer turned out exactly as we had planned and it is soooooo good. Thanks Slashfood!

We’ve just begun our Holiday Reserve Bottle season. Check out what we have available, and the special packages for the season.

Man, what a week! My liver hurts. The weekend Bob Barrar from Iron Hill Media, Bob’s brother Ed (full time trouble) and I headed to Columbus Ohio to watch the Bucks kill Penn State. OSU is my college alma mater and my brewing alma matter as well. I got my start as a commercial brewer at the now defunct Hoster Brewing Company of 550 South High Street. The Bucks KILLED, Sorry Bob. Monday night I was back east for Master Brewer’s at Brooklyn Brewery with our friend Garrett Oliver. Here’s a video of him talking about their new brewhouse.  Tuesday night was a killer beer dinner withVince D. of Iron Hill North Wales, and we were out again last night at McGillin’s Old Ale House for the first Philly Beer Week fundraiser. The idea was that beer drinkers would get together and ‘vote’ for their favorite local brewer to win a free trip to Belgium with their brewer to participate in a collaboration beer for the upcoming Philly Beer Week. I wanted in on the action for sure so I headed in to buy my tickets. More details about the actual event here but suffice to say I was there to vote for Bob. He didn’t win, but hey, it was a great event. Brian O from Sly Fox Brewing did win, so I might go anyway. nice.

After the drawing the wife and I hotfooted it around the corner to a new restaurant called Barbuzzo on the advice of our good friend Jenny Hatton. Great local beer selection, killer food and a desert I would sell my mom for….and I love my mom! Craig Leban sat right behind us…so i’m feeling pretty good about our choice for dinner. Do it, you won’t be sad. mmmmm.

Check out the cool new Iron Hill Brewery clothing we are carrying! Yeah!

It’s all here, and ready to go. I can’t wait!!!! Ichabod and regular pumpkin ale are already on tap and there will be pumpkin firkin for this evening. Just a little preview of the carnage we expect for Gathering of the Gourds tomorrow. Tip off is at 2:00p.m. and we will have samplers and pumpkin beer until we are finished. Chef just brought me some pumpkin curry sauce too..!! Not sure what he is doing with that, but I’m excited to eat it whatever it turns out to be.

See you all tomorrow

What: 2010 Gathering of the Gourds Pumpkin ale tasting

Where: Iron Hill West Chester back bar

When: Saturday October 30th 2010 from 2:00pm until it’s gone

Drumroll please! I know you have all been waiting patiently for THE LIST and here it is! We’ve been totally getting psyched for this event and I can’t wait to drink my way through all of these great fall offerings. We kick off at 2:00 p.m. and I am sure the rare and special beers will go very quickly, so come early if you want the cool stuff! Pumpkin samplers will be available again for those of you who would like to drink ‘em all. Giddyup! Pumpkin Firkin tapping at 4:30 with free tasters of pumpkin aged Ichabod Imperial Pumpkin ale. Check out the cool Video of Doug M. tapping the 2008 firkin. Yeah Pumpkin!

I’m happy to announce that the judging is all wrapped up for our 2010 Gathering of the Gourds pumpkin homebrew competition called The Great Artisnal Autumnal Homebrew Competition. We had 25 entries of fall and pumpkin themed homebrew which were judged in a best of style style by our special guests: Adam Beck of the Blog the NonconFERMist, Sean McGedigan of the Station Taproom, along with Iron Hill Assistnat Brewer Jean Broillet, and yours truley. Right out of the gate I have to say, “nice work gang!” I relly enjoyed drinking through a flight of beers that taste like fall. 

Just to recap, we asked homebrewers to create an inspired interpretation of a seasonally strange fall beer. We chose the top TWO beers (chosen by virtue of not just their superiority, but their DISSIMILARITY from one another). These beers will be poured Saturday October 30th at this year’s Gathering of the Gourds event alongside some of the nation’s most exceptionally spooky pumpkin-esque beers.

Congrats to everyone who entered and now, drumroll please…..here are the

Winners:

($50 Iron Hill Brewery GC, $50 Artisan GC)

Joe Dunleavy

Swetzel’s Spiced Wafer Ale

Ale Mashed, Boiled and Secondary with Swetzel Spiced Wafers

Joe Marshaleck

Pumpkin Bread Ale

Brewed with local organic candy pumpkins, Brown Honey Rum soaked flame raisins, Vanilla Beans, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice, then ‘dry hopped’ with roasted walnuts

First Runner Up

($20 Iron Hill Brewery GC, $20 Artisan GC)

Matt Tarlecki

Paradigm Shift

Dark Raspberry chocolate ale made with butternut squash and spice

Second Runner Up

(Iron Hill Brewery Bottled Reserve, $10 Artisan GC)

Mike Rissell

BOO!tay Pale Ale

Pale Ale brewed with Ginger and Spice, with Cranberries

If the topic of Women and Beer is of interest to you, check out my Mrs., Whitney Thompson over at a very cool web spot dedicated to women, beer, and adult bevs called Thirsty Girl. Whit is a Quality Manager at Victory Brewing Company. Great spot.

That’s right! Mark the date on your calendar: Saturday October 30 2010 2:00pm is this year’s date for the Gathering of the Gourds. We’ve got a TON of different pumpkin beers for everyone including all of our usual suspects, the pumpkin firkin (yes, a pumpkin filled with beer), pumpkin Berliner Weisse, beer from Elysian and Cambridge Brewing, Ichabod Imperal Belgian Pumpkin ale, and vintages of Barrel Aged Bruce Campale. Samplers as usual so you’ll be able to try all  of the beer…if you get there early enough.  More details to come. Can’t wait!