January, 2007
The Best of 2006
Here are my bests and worsts of 2006. Happy New Year to all of
you! I'm still working on the list and will be filling this in
over the next five days. See you then.
(No New York awards this year: I didn't spend enough time with New York
beer to make those awards fair. But...I may be seeing a lot more
of New York breweries in 2007...more on that soon.)
Best beer I had in 2006: Sly
Fox O'Reilly's Stout. I'll take some crap for this -- even from
O'Reilly himself -- but this beer has been my go-to this past year of
weight loss. Dry stout, as I've explained elsewhere, has the same Weight
Watchers' "points value" as light beer, and O'Reilly's Stout
has one hell of a lot more going for it than light beer. I once
said I thought this beer was "too dry." Either Brian tweaked
it, or I wised up, because I find I just can't get enough of it. I'm
seeing it a lot of places locally, and that's a great thing. Dry stout
has taken some hits in this area as a style, but this one gives that the
lie: this is an all-day, all-smiles beer. Classic session stuff.
Best New Beer: Stegmaier
Summer Stock Lager. I spent a very pleasant afternoon drinking
this clear, fresh, wonderfully drinkable beer in July, and I bought up
more to last me into the fall. Summer Stock Lager fell right into
the helles-Export-pilsner continuum in a great sweet spot: hoppier than
helles, drier than Export, lighter than pilsner, and just as drinkable
as hell, liter-mug drinkable. This is a beer The Lion could not
have brewed five years ago: the improvements in their plant and their
processes made it possible, the improvements in the market made it
feasible. I really hope we see it again this summer.
Best Penn. beer: Weyerbacher
Double Simcoe IPA. Yeah, this is the year of session beers, I
know, I'm saying that myself. But wow, Dan really hit it with this big
green monster. It's big, but it's sharp as a razor. Get some, and don't,
for God's sake, let it get one day older. Honorable mention:
Belgian Pale Ale at Iron Hill North Wales. If I'd had a chance to
get more of this little beauty, Dan Weirback might not be so happy
tonight. This was a beaut, the classic "not big, but huge in
flavor" Belgian session beer. I could have easily sat and enjoyed
two more pints, but I had to go. If you see it again, don't make my
mistake: get a growler and enjoy this one thoroughly.
Best Mid-Atlantic beer: Blue
& Gray Brewing's line of great session beers. Boy, talk about
not getting any love. Blue & Gray is so far under the radar
in Fredericksburg that most geeks don't know they exist. That's a shame,
but it's okay with them: Jeff Fitzpatrick and his crew of brewers and
cheerful retired military guys are cranking out beer for the local area,
and that's the way they want it. I don't know anyone who lives within 60
miles of Blue & Gray, and I don't know any stores that carry it
regularly, but I've had kegs of their beer at more parties this year
than any other. Part of that's because I get off I-95 and go get it,
part of it's the kind of customer service that I got today, New Year's
Day. While everyone else was watching football and eating one more big
holiday meal, one of the Blue & Gray guys met me at the brewery so I
could drop off my empty keg and tap (Stonewall Stout, and not
only did this dry Irish/export stout hybrid rock, it made a fantastic
addition to my pork and sauerkraut; we poured a quart and a half right
in the roasting pan) on the way home to Philly. The Fred Red is
excellent, the Lager is clean and balanced, the Oktoberfest
makes a great festival. Well-deserved, this award.
Best Penn. brewpub: Penn
Brewing. You know I love lagers, and session drinking is my new
crusade. That makes Penn Brewing an easy choice for best
Pennsylvania brewpub. I lean more and more to the German beergarden
model of drinking -- simple food, clean space, good session beers -- and
Penn's dead-on the beam. I wish there was a place like this -- just
like this -- in Philly, in Harrisburg, in Lancaster, in Reading, in
Wilkes-Barre... I think it would revolutionize beer drinking in the
Keystone State.
Best Mid-Atlantic brewpub: Calhoun's.
I've seen so many isolated brewpubs lose their way; the beer
may wander way off beam and develop weird house yeast character or leave
the stylistic space-time continuum. When there are no other breweries or
good beer bars in the area, people have no benchmarks, no means to
compare. Calhoun's is seriously isolated in Harrisonburg,
Virginia; any other brewpub is miles away over a geographic or cultural
barrier, and with Eastern Mennonite University in town, well...there's
not a booming craft beer scene. But thanks to Eric Plowman's rock-steady
technical skills, Calhoun's beer has been a beautiful joy every
single time I've been in, including the most recent visit, just a month
ago: clean, delicious, straight-on stylistically. The service and food
is top-notch as well. There's a great little beer selection at the
little wine shop down the hall now, too: maybe the isolation is easing a
bit.
Most impressive change in a brewery: The
Lion. I've been watching this take place over the past five
years, and things are coming to fruition. 2006 saw the release of four
delicious seasonals under the Stegmaier brand name: Brewhouse Bock,
Summer Stock Lager (my Best New Beer above), the Oktoberfest, and
the excellent Winter beer, with its deftly handled dry-hopping. Leo
Orlandini and Bob Kleintob are pushing as hard as they can, and the
response has been solid. Do I wish they'd charge more? Yeah, because
under $20 a case for this stuff is just ridiculous. I'd much rather they
were making a bit more money on these beers, which would encourage them
to do more. Get some for yourselves.
Best Event I attended: Great American Beer
Festival. Well, shucks, what do you want? This was
my first GABF in ten years, and I'm going to be returning as
often as I can. The GABF draws a ton of jackasses -- scary-looking folks
in all the bizarre excess of costume that beer geekdom has encouraged --
but it also attracts brewers and their best beers, a panoply of
excellent side events, and some wonderful private parties. It's crazy
and excessive and way too respectful of over-sized beers...but I love
it.
Best Bourbon I had in 2006: William
Larue Weller. Buffalo Trace just knocked me out this year with a
variety of whiskeys, and with their dogged devotion to whiskey when easy
sales of easy-to-make booze (like vodka and gin) beckoned. But the stuff
that tasted best was this big, fat, rich member of their Antique
Collection, William Larue Weller, an unfiltered, barrel-strength,
12 year old wheated bourbon. This is like eating a glass of bourbon
custard, luxurious and stunning. Get you some.
Best Bourbon for the money: Evan Williams
Single Barrel Vintage I do not understand how this delightful
whiskey gets on the shelves for under $25 a bottle, but it's really easy
to understand how it gets this award once you open it up and have a sip
of this classic corn likker. This isn't just plain old bourbon, it's great
bourbon, notable stand-out-from-the-crowd bourbon...and Heaven Hill
makes it real affordable, something they're very, very good at.
Best non-whiskey spirit: Berentzen
Apfelkorn. "Schnapps" is perhaps the most
degraded term in booze, an unfortunate catch-all for a sad variety of
artificially-flavored, sugar-drenched cordial-strength gut-bombs in
garish packages that are the paint-by-number bases for fumble-fingered
"cocktails" at nightclubs. Reclaim the category with this
noble rendition: Berentzen is made from 100% wheat spirit, real
apples, and a minimum of sugar, and has a delicious tart edge that makes
it an excellent fill for my Dalvey flask. I've opened a lot of eyes
sharing this one from my hip; get a bottle and make some friends.
Why I'm proud to be part of this business: Tom
Baker. Tom Baker and Heavyweight Brewing
brought an impressive run to a very classy close this year. Tom opened
Heavyweight to make big beers, but when alcohol levels started to climb
in the craft brewing market, he quickly re-focused on big flavored
beers. Wise choice, as were most of the decisions Tom made, beer-wise.
Tom's Heavyweight beers lent credibility to things other folks were
doing and would try, they pushed the envelope further than most folks would
try...and they did it successfully, for the most part. Tom tried to keep
things interesting, and exciting, but after a while, even brewing great
beers like Lunacy and Perkuno's Hammer too often got to be a drag. He
decided to go out on top, and called it quits with a beautiful series of
events and plans to open a brewpub/beer bar that will feature true
"one-time, one-place" beers of his own along with great beers
from other breweries. It's a novel idea -- what else? -- that sounds
like a winner. Looking forward to your return, Tom.
Local stuff: the best and worst
in my corner of Pennsylvania
Best local brewery: Tröegs Brewing. What
did Tröegs do this year that earned them best local brewery
status? Nothing special. Just the same old excellent, consistent,
perfectionist job that they've done since the day they opened their
doors. They remain obsessed with consistency, an obsession I heartily
applaud. They try to do one-off specials, but it seems like every one
they make -- Nugget Nectar, Dreamweaver, Rugged Trail -- is
so damned popular that they wind up adding it to their line-up. I can't
get enough Sunshine Pils over the summer, Troegenator is
ready to hand when I want big lager action. They're firing up a new
expansion that will see them up to about 30,000 bbls., and they're not
sure they want to get bigger. Keep it real, guys.
Best food in a bar: the bar
menu at the Speckled Hen.
I stopped at this Reading snuggery with some friends recently and was
just wowed by the place. Great beer, expertly served, in a truly cozy,
warmly comfortable setting; a restored 1700s era log home in the heart
of Reading. And the bar menu was delish. We got the "Phenomenal
Fries" with a pesto dipping sauce and the waffle fries with roasted
garlic sauce, and they were both awesome. I'm thinking up new excuses to
go to Reading.
Worst example of Pennsylvania’s gutless, worthless
government: The I figured the case law would be in
this slot till people finally rioted in the streets over it. But Ed
Rendell's cozy little pat on the back for former state senator Joe Conti
(who decided not to run again after happily grasping the infamous
midnight pay raise the legislature voted itself), a brand-new $150,000
job as "CEO" of the state liquor store system -- apparently
awarded on a no-compete basis -- is simply disgusting. If this doesn't
show people what's wrong with state control of booze sales, I just don't
know what will. The state liquor "control" system is a farce,
and it should be broken up immediately.
Best brewpub that you people just don't get:
Bethlehem Brew Works. To be fair, the folks
in the Lehigh Valley do get it: Bethlehem Brew Works is a
great place to go, to hang out, to drink delicious beer. But I just
don't hear anyone else talking about it. New brewer Beau Baden is an
accomplished craftsman (and a fun guy, as well), the food at a recent
beer dinner I attended was first-rate. Bethlehem is a very cool town,
with some excellent shops within five minutes' walk of BBW. They're
finally moving on the new Brew Works in Allentown, after a few years of
false starts (hey, let's talk Triumph Red Bank...). Get on this, folks:
Bethlehem Brew Works is happening!
Worst area brewpub: Not Crabby Larry's.
And I think that's almost all that needs to be said. Okay, almost.
See, I went to Crabby Larry's yesterday, and ordered up a beer. I got
the IPA, and while it didn't knock my socks off, it was better than
okay; it was good. Hats off to new brewer John Stecker,
who's honed his brewing skills while working at Keystone
Homebrew; he's finally coaxed good beer out of this system. But
the real news is: with this development, there are no bad
brewpubs in the area. And that is damned good news.
(Note: I got a number of e-mails urging me to name McKenzie
Brewhouse in this category, as some kind of punishment for Scott
Morrison's termination. I appreciate the fervor, folks, but that's not
fair to his former assistant Ryan (who's now brewing) and it's not
really fair to Scott, either. But mostly, it's not what this is
about: it's not about politics. These notices are about the beer,
and the place.)
Best beer that you people just don’t get: Everything
at Stewart's. Okay, yes, this is just another award
for "best brewpub you people just don't get." Stewart's
rocks, Ric Hoffman brews excellent beers -- from his session strength
dry Irish stout to the awesome bourbon barrel beers he's been doing --
and the food's great, whether it's the excellent pub grub (no, really,
it's just burgers 'n' stuff, but it's outstanding burgers 'n'
stuff) or the dinners where things get crazy. Bear's not that far
away. Go. Drink.
Survivor Award: Union Barrel Works.
Who the hell ever thought Tom Rupp would actually open
a brewery, after years of looking for the right backers and the right
location? Well, he's days away from opening Union Barrel Works in
Reamstown. I can't wait to see what happens, but this is truly one of
those cases where just opening the doors constitutes a win. Welcome
back, Tom.
Best Local Beer Event: The
Michael Jackson mass tasting at The Book and The Cook. Yeah,
yeah, I know: it's loud, hell, it's raucous, there are a ton of
folks there who know nothing about beer, Michael's often behind the
beers on his comments, and sometimes he drinks a lot at the first of
three tastings and the third one gets a little weird, the open tasting
in the rotunda can be a zoo... Folks, this thing is great, it's
unique. This beer tasting is the biggest event at The Book
and The Cook, it has been for years, over a thousand people every
year for over 15 years. I met Jackson at my first one (in the men's
room...don't ask), thousands of people have first encountered the
variety of beer at these events, and the open tasting is tremendous: beer
in respectable surroundings, malt among the ruins. Amid disturbing
news about the health of both Michael and The Book and The Cook, I have
to worry about the future of this event. Hope it all comes right.
Worst local beer coverage: www.LewBryson.com.
Man, did I ever fall down on the job this year. I didn't get much wrong,
but only because I didn't get much out there at all. I'm sure the folks
at PhillyMag were disappointed not to win this one four years
running (like they noticed), but their beer coverage was sharply
improved this year: congratulations.
New Year's Resolution: I'll get more local news, interviews, and stuff
up here on a timely basis.
Best local beer coverage: Jack
Curtin. Jack scooped a number of stories on his own
Liquid Diet website and
did solid news reporting at the Beer
Yard site he writes for Matt Guyer.
Best beer scene: The
Drafting Room, Exton. If only this place were closer. We had a
long discussion among a variety of geeks about where the best place to
go for American craft beers is in Philadelphia. The near-simultaneous
conclusion was this year's winner. I've written about the beer here
numerous times this year, I've enjoyed myself on numerous occasions
(though not enough), and I've marveled at what they've managed to bring
in. Patrick Mullin is the Tom Peters of the Burbs. And believe
me, Tom should feel good about that comparison, too.
Best local brewer: Tom
Baker. Look, put aside all the stuff I said up above about Tom's
classy behavior, and the impact he had on the area brewing scene. The
guy simply brews amazing beer. The semi-official "last Heavyweight
day" at the Drafting Room back in August, when I debuted my
seersucker suit to a stunned beer geek crowd, featured a display of
brewing prowess that has not been equaled in the Delaware Valley. Tom
Baker's beers put all the "extreme beer" ballyhoo in a very
small can and toss it in the Schuylkill. Tom's beers are unique, they
are well-made, they are well-balanced, and they are wildly flavorful.
Genius. I cannot wait for him to settle on a spot and start brewing
again.
Most surprising Philly area bar I was in this year:
Eulogy. After giving Eulogy the shit for
years -- and from my experiences, they deserved it -- I had a great time
there this year, on three different occasions. Good beer selection,
reasonable prices, great service, and yes, excellent frites.
Impressive. With Triumph opening across the street in early spring, and
a local constellation of beer spots that includes the Khyber, Brownie's,
Race Street Cafe, City Tavern, and the Society Hill Hotel...it might
even be worth parking in Old City. Cheers, Michael!
