Lew Bryson, for those who don’t know, is prolific beer scribe whose work can be found quoted or printed in many if not all of the beer publications and articles posted in the East Coast. Lew touched this week on a point that many here at Consortium have spoke about for sometime….beer snobbery. When you sit a bar, especially beer geek hangouts like Monk’s, the Foodery, or TJ’s, you sometimes come across the guy who says “I had X and you can’t get it cause I know the guy who gets me a case on the third Thursday of every other month when there Mercury and Venus align.” Lew’s article denounces this absolute snootiness, read it here.
October 8th, 2008
Since moving to West Chester, about four years ago, I have not traveled much in the Brandywine Valley portion of PA and DE. Our friends Jackie and Mary-Ellis suggested we meet them at one of their haunts, Buckley’s. Buckley’s looks like the Cedar Hollow Inn or Four Dogs, basically a old farm house converted to a restaurant. The staff and decor were welcoming and the crowd eclectic - Sunday Harley riders, old Chester County folks, 30-somethings, etc… The beer list was great - Brooklyner Weisse, Chimay, Dogfish Pumpkin Ale, Smutty Pale Ale, etc…And the food was surprising. The wings are some of the best I have ever tasted in Chester County - their Buffalo Sauce is GOOD! The ribs, gaucho steak, and sweet potato fries are tasty as well.
Highly recommended - straight down 52 from West Chester.
http://www.buckleystavern.org/
October 6th, 2008
I would be lying if I told you that there were no other places in Chester County to buy good takeout beer than Lionnes in Downingtown. However, since it is less than a 7 minute bike ride from my front porch to the sweet, cascading delight of a six-pack of Leffe, I am giving them a glowing endorsement as Downingtown’s true “Other Beer” takeout location.
As many of you WCBC T-shirt owners may or may not be aware of, the OBFUG initials stand for “Other Beer for Uplifting Gormandizers”, borrowed admirably from CBGB’s Other Music for Uplifting Gourmandizers (OMFUG). Well, whatever the hell a gourmandizer is, just go with me. Uplifting is the verb, and BEER is the subject, and a GOURMANDIZER - YOU - is the direct object. Any English majors out there who may disagree - grab a phillips head and go screw yourself. Lionnes is my pick of September ‘08 as the Chester County merchant of the month, going above and beyond the call of duty to bring more than delicious pizza (yes, the food is good too).
September 14th, 2008
Run, don’t crawl, to VICTORY! Yes, there are new beers as a result of some stellar alignment in the heavens above, or perhaps more likely, somebody dumped 7 million bucks into a facility capable of making more beer. You need to get your lazy tuckus up and head on down to Acorn Lane and belly up to the bar and do some sampling.
What they got, Aub? Well, I’ll tell you, drinker.
Right now, their website sucks, and no descriptions accompany the same PDF that ends up in the leaflets of their bar menus. However, what I can tell you from personal experience (albeit, my memory is not completely lucid) is that there are names I didn’t recognize when last I was there. They are:
Gold Rush, Idyll Ale, Almost Anton’s Lager, Braumeister Hellertau, Braumeister Saphire, 132 Cents IPA, and all of the usual suspects from this time of year. Of these, I was shocked, SHOCKED, I say, that Victory released another IPA. I mean, the flagship IPA of Victory (Hopdevil to you dummies), always stood out to me as a special boy, the golden child of a very special brewery right under our noses that would never be compromised by a middle child. I mean, Hop Wallop, for what it is, (to me) is not an IPA. It is more like a dopple-PA, and I never thought it was anything in the same ballpark as hopdevil. WildDevil, well, is a blend. Not another IPA if you ask me. Good, but not comparable or a threat to Hop Devil. 132 does what Sly Fox attempts to do every year with several IPAs released to the public to sort of say, “Look at chitty-chitty-bang-bang #1456, isn’t it marvelous?” NO. After you create 1456 different caricatures of the same damn beer (113 - an awesome IPA), it isn’t funny or creative anymore. You’re just being an idiot (not that I will turn down #1456). What I mean is, I’m just saying - put that energy into something useful.
Anyhoo, Victory’s 132 cents IPA is different from HopDevil, but it does not make HopDevil want to take the hot chick to the prom in order to look cool. Instead, it is a nice reminder that our D-town brewmasters aren’t going to sully the genetic hop pool with attempts at a new “best thing”, but will provide something refreshing, spicy, nutty, and altogether balanced the same way as HopDevil, but is a completely different beer.
Yikes, look at all the verbal diarrhea. I didn’t even get to talk about how much I adore Idyll Ale! Go now - take a peanut butter jar or a ziplock bag and bring some of this fluid home. It is different and GREAT. Anton’s is also good - for a lager (not a fan in general). I actually believe it should replace the Victory Lager. Shoot me. Whatevs. The Braumeister beers are based on the Braumeister Pils, with slightly different recipes, and in all honestly, I didn’t have them, but I do enjoy me some BP when it is hot outside. As for the gold rush - ok beer - fun to try, and better than lots of crap that’s being bottled these days.
Ladies, I do have to admit, there’s not a lot for you who aren’t into hops. I mean, Victory is not Iron Hill, and that’s a good thing to beer lovers like myself. I mean, why make something alcoholic that tastes like banana and pineapple in it that doesn’t use vodka? If you ask me, Victory would be smart to make ciders or Lambics for their female customers. I am a sexist pig - I will not attempt to guide you astray - however, women like lambics - they do not like hops. Some of my guy friends are the same, and to them, I recommend water or Zima. Typically, they’ll opt for hard liquor, but I’m not into being drunk (like my staggeringly obnoxious friends), just happy. Beer provides liquid food happiness, a happiness enjoyed by my wife, who LOVES dry stouts. But, it would be nice for her friends to want to hang out with us and have something cider-y to drink.
Well, go to Victory and admire the new (much needed) chalkboards, filled with new beers. Eat the pretzels and laugh with the waitstaff. Great people there on Acorn lane. Try everything, and post to let us know what you think.
AUB
September 14th, 2008
Victory has cloned Anchor Steam! The beautiful blend of lager smoothness and ale complexity, if you like Anchor Steam - ’nuff said….. Available right now at Victory in Downingtown, PA.
August 26th, 2008
