Coming Soon...Mid-Atlantic Wine + Food (+ Craft Beer + Spirits!) Festival

We remember hearing about last year's Mid-Atlantic Wine + Food Festival and thought it sounded pretty cool. But as it primarily featured wine-focused events, we passed (as obviously beer is more our thing!) This year, they're switching it up a little bit. Wait, they're switching it up A LOT! 

Mark you calendars! Save the dates! Because this festival, benefiting the Mid-Atlantic Food and Wine Feast Charitable Fund at the Delaware Community Foundation, will be showcasing some of the area's best, not just in wine and food, but spirits and craft beer. If you're a supporter of the Christina Cultural Arts Center, Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, Delaware Art Museum, Delaware Theatre Company, The Grand Opera House, Delaware Symphony Orchestra, Kent County Fund for the Arts, OperaDelaware, or the Rehoboth Beach Film Society, then here's one more great way to show your love! 

The 30+ page invitation!
The Mid-Atlantic Wine + Food Festival will be 4-days of chefs, winemakers, brewers and distillers from not only our region, but around the world. Events will be hosted throughout the Brandywine Valley, Kent County and along Delaware's "Culinary Coast." 

The epicenter of the Festival will be The Festival Village, the 8,000-square-foot tent on Rodney Square. The tent will be the home to such events as "In the Mix: Mixologist and DJs," a "South African Braai," "The MasterChef Tasting Experience," other sampling events, and the Mid-Atlantic Wine + Food Festival Bottle Shop, where you'll be able to purchase several of the wines, beers and other items featured throughout the festival. 

 Here's a look at The Festival Village schedule:
Friday, March 8th
11:30am - 2:30pm
Cost: $25

3:30pm - 7pm
Cost: $30

 Saturday, March 9th
9am - 1pm
Cost: $30
2pm - 5pm
Cost: $30

 Sunday, March 10th
Noon - 3pm
Cost: $25

 Admission into the Festival Village will include access to:
  • Food Vendors
  • Complimentary Wine, Beer and Spirits Samples
  • Chef Demonstrations
  • Music
  • Visiting Winemakers
Want to purchase a weekend pass, which will cover all village times (except ticketed events)? You can purchase that for $100. 

Here's a run-down of the great Festival events that will feature a few of the things we love in life...

THURSDAY, MARCH 7th
This event, being held at OperaDelaware, will celebrate the Mid-Atlantic's role in the craft beer revolution! So far they have Evolution Craft Brewing Company, 16 Mile Brewing Company, Dogfish Head, Eastern Shore Brewing, Fordham Brewing Company, Old Dominion Brewing Company, Heavy Seas Beer, Sly Fox Beer, Troegs Brewing Company, Twin Lakes Brewing Company, Weyerbacher Brewing Company and Yards Brewing Company lined up. More breweries may still be announced! We can't wait to attend this event - it's going to be a fantastic way to kick off a very awesome weekend in Wilmington!

 Ticket price: $50 per person

 To purchase tickets: http://www.midatlanticwineandfood.com/readmore_events.php?id=119
Are you like us and have another favorite "B" word? As in Bourbon? Then the Bourbon & Bacon Tasting, hosted by Chelsea Tavern, is the event for you! 

Amazing small-batch bourbons will be paired with bacon-inspired culinary creations of the Columbus Inn!

Ticket price: $50 per person

 To purchase tickets: http://www.midatlanticwineandfood.com/readmore_events.php?id=120

 Scotch & Cigars - SOLD OUT
Join Bill Sullivan, the General Manager of the Courtyard by Marriott at the University of Delaware, to talk Scotch and Cigars. The event, being held at Oberod, one of the area's finest estates, is the perfect after-dinner event. 

 Ticket price: $50 per person

 To purchase tickets: http://www.midatlanticwineandfood.com/readmore_events.php?id=112

 FRIDAY, MARCH 8th
Bourbon + Bacon South
Being held at Nage in Rehoboth, this event has been so popular the Festival decided to add on every county! You'll enjoy the perfect pairing of that thing we all love, paired with some of America's finest bourbons.

 Ticket price: $50 per person

 To purchase tickets: http://www.midatlanticwineandfood.com/readmore_events.php?id=140

 He Said Beer, She Said Wine - SOLD OUT

This fun event, being held at The Grand Opera House, features Delaware's own, Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head Brewery and wine sommelier, Marnie Old, as the two discuss the book they co-authored, "He Said Beer, She Said Wine!" It's a debate over which is better, beer or wine. This multi-course dinner, prepared by Chelsea Tavern, will be served on the main stage of the Grand Opera House. 

Ticket price: $125 per person

 To purchase tickets: http://www.midatlanticwineandfood.com/readmore_events.php?id=92
Side note: We went to a "He Said Beer, She Said Wine" dinner at World Cafe Live at The Queen a few years back and had a BLAST! Sam and Marnie both have so much knowledge about both beer and wine. Their fun, friendly competition and banter was great, it was hard not to have an awesome time. As two people that typically only dabble in wine, attending this event really opened our eyes back up to the similarities of wine and beer and how both could very equally pair with some of the same dishes. Having the wine lovers pitted against the beer lovers was a fun, light-hearted way to spend an evening learning so much more about both sides of the spectrum. Our advice: don't miss out on this event this time around!

 SATURDAY, MARCH 9th
Scrapplegasm - SOLD OUT
Okay, so it might not exactly be a craft beer-related event, but, c'mon, it's SCRAPPLE! 

Hosted at the Green Room at the Hotel du Pont, you'll dine on pheasant scrapple, bison scrapple and who knows what else the Green Room's Executive Chef, Keith Miller, and University & Whist Club's Executive Chef, Robert Lhulier, will create for this crazy breakfast!

 Price: $40 per person

 To purchase tickets: http://www.midatlanticwineandfood.com/readmore_events.php?id=101

 Wine + Chocolate Tasting
The Christina Cultural Arts Center will host this event, featuring artisanal chocolates paired with fine wines. 

 Price: $50

 To purchase tickets: http://www.midatlanticwineandfood.com/readmore_events.php?id=107

 Bacon + Bourbon: Kent County
Are you located in Kent County? No worries, Mid-Atlantic Wine + Food Festival has you covered! The Bacon + Bourbon: Central Delaware event will be held at Triad Farm, and hosted by Mr. and Mrs. LD Shank. You'll enjoy small-batch bourbons poured and paired with bacon-centrics foods. Net proceeds from this particular event will benefit the Kent County Fund for the Arts! 

 Price: $50 per person

 To purchase tickets: http://www.midatlanticwineandfood.com/readmore_events.php?id=135
SUNDAY, MARCH 10th
Brunch + Bloody Mary Throwdown
Whether you like your Bloody Mary spicy or tame, you'll get to vote on what you think is the perfect Bloody Mary in both the amateur and the professional category at this event held at Noble's Pond in Dover. The winners from each category will then face off for the final challenge! Who will win?! Area restaurants will provide various brunch foods, plus you'll get a little Prosecco as well! Net proceeds for this event will benefit the Kent County Funds for the Arts.

 Price: $50 per person

 To purchase tickets: http://www.midatlanticwineandfood.com/readmore_events.php?id=137
The MasterChef Tasting Experience
Hosted by Delaware's own, and MasterChef Season 2 winner, Jennifer Behm will host The MasterChef Tasting Experience, held at the Festival Village. Seven contestants from all three season's of Chef Gordon Ramsey's "MasterChef" will be featured at this event: Christian Collions, Suzy Singh, Dave Miller, Tracy Kontos, Becky Reams, Derrick Prince, and Jennifer, who will all show off their culinary skills while sharing stories from the show! Keep in mind, only 200 tickets will be sold for this event! Photos and autograph opportunities will be available at the end of the event. 

 Price: $75 per person

Looking for a hotel to stay at during the Festival? They have you covered. The Homewood Suites in Wilmington, Hotel du Pont, and the Sheraton Wilmington South are all offering special rates for those attending the Festival. 

Our region never ceases to amaze me. Going through the 30+ page invitation for the 2013 Mid-Atlantic Wine + Food Festival proves that over and over again! This is definitely something we are super excited about!

What Your Doing New Year's Eve?


As I sing 'What Are You Doing New Year's Eve,' in my head, I'm now wondering, what are you doing New Year's Eve?
You know there are so many awesome things going on around our state all night long New Years' Eve. Here's a quick run down of what we know of so far (and keep checking back for updates as we find them out!)

Dogfish Head will be hosting another fun New Year's Eve at the Brewpub in Rehoboth. This year they're switching it up a little and serving their regular menu along with some great food and drink specials. They are taking a limited number of no-charge, nonticketed reservation for seating upstairs (although I do believe they are already booked up). The downstairs dining room and bar will be on a first-come, first-serve basis. They're going to have the very cool, very rockin' Nate Meyers and the Aces jamming on the stage! If you're interested in trying to get a reservation, email matt@dogfish.com!

The Pickled Pig Pub will be open their regular hours for New Year's Eve. They're putting together pretty awesome dinner specials*:
  • Lobster Mac-N-Cheese Appetizer
  • Pear & Walnut Salad -arugula, frisee, radicchio, drunken pears, candied walnuts, goat cheese & honey vanilla dressing
  • Surf & Turf - New York strip & sautéed shrimp with twice baked potato medley, chef’s vegetables & orange bourbon demi glace
  • Broiled Crab Cake - herb roasted potatoes, garlic spinach & lemon-old bay aioli
  • Pan Seared Halibut- baby bok choy, daikon, carrots, scallions, five spice & miso broth
And for brunch...
  • Crab & Spinach Quiche
  • Sausage & Egg Sandwich
  • Scrapple Tacos (whoa!) 
  • BBQ Shrimp & Grits
  • Open Face Rueban
  • and more Chef-inspired lunch specials
Plus they'll have Bottle and Draft Specials both days! 

Argilla's Brewing Company at Pietro's Pizza is keeping it low key on New Year's Eve. They are planning on doing a midnight toast with their new Belgian Quad and will have a few dinner specials that night. Once we find out what the specials are going to be, we'll update this post with them! 

Two Stones Pub will be offering a 4-course, prix fixe menu for $49.95 at both locations. They're going to have an option to add beer pairings for each course for an extra $10. Reservations are highly recommended. They're going to have two seatings for the 4-course meal, one at 6pm and one at 9pm. The cocktail areas of both locations will be open with the normal menu, as well as the menu items from the prix fix meal will be available a la carte. 

Here's what Newark will be serving:

1st Course (choice of one): 
  • Drunken Arugula Salad with poached pears, red onions, toasted sunflower seeds and vanilla champagne vinaigrette, paired with Brooklyn Sorachi Ace
  • Lobster Bisque with roasted sweet potatoes and poblano peppers, paired with Rodenbach Classic
2nd Course (choice of one): 
  • Jumbo Lump Crab Salad with cornmeal-crusted fried green tomatoes, whole grain mustard vinaigrette, paired with Allagash White
  • Duck Confit Arancinis with wild mushrooms, English peas, and truffled demi-glace, paired with Ommegang Rare Vos
  • Fried Chicken Livers with brussel sprouts smoked bacon slaw and red beet ketchup, paired with Stone Levitation
3rd Course (choice of one):
  • Pan-seared Chilean Sea Bass with butter poached fingerling potatoes, roasted red peppers, sauteed spinach, fennel onion soubise, paired with Saison DuPont
  • Char-Grilled Filet Mignon with goat cheese-lobster mashed potatoes, braised broccolini, and port-shallot demi glace, paired with Brooklyn The Companion
4th Course (choice of one): Any of the evening's featured desserts, paired with Evolution Rise Up
Two Stones Pub Wilmington will have the following on their prix fix menu:
  • Heirloom Spinach Salad with golden beets, blue cheese crumbles, pine nuts and horseradish vinaigrette, paired with Rodenbach Classic
2nd Course (choice of one): 
  • Mushroom Crostini with roasted chanterelle mushrooms, soft herb polenta and shaved parmigiano regiano, paired with Saison DuPont
  • Nicoise Stack with yellowfin tuna, baby arugula, vine-ripened tomatoes, olives, eggs and an anchovy-garlic aioli, paired with Allagah White
3rd Course (choice of one):
  • Black Garlic Roasted Chicken with tri-color new potatoes, sauteed hericots verts, and baby fennel puree, paired with Green Flash Friendship
  • Prosciutto Wrapped Salmon with sweet potato mash, broccoli rabe and toasted walnut oil, paired with Ommegang Rare Vos 
4th Course: Any of the evening's featured desserts, paired with Evolution Rise Up Stout

 Ulysses American Gastro Pub has released what beers will be flowing on New Years's Eve. Check out this list!!!
Looking for something to do in the Georgetown area for New Year's Eve? Then head to 16 Mile Brewing Company! May be you can call it 'Brew Year's Eve?' How about 'New Beers Eve?' Whatever 16 Mile calls it, they're planning quite a New Year's Eve celebration in their tavern! 

$25 will get you in the door where you'll enjoy food, live music and $3.00 beers all night long, including collaborations and infusions. Catcher's Catering will be providing the food, which sounds pretty awesome!
  • Cheddar Harvest Ale Soup 
  • Mini Maryland Crab Cakes
  • Amber Battered Coconut Shrimp
  • Blues Golden Fried Asparagus Spears
  • Responders Mac & Cheese Squares
  • Shaved Prime Rib in Puff Pastry with Torched Horseradish
Drink local with 16 Mile on New Year's Eve!

Chelsea Tavern is hosting the New Year's Eve Market Street Bash! They are offering three different packages...

The Chelsea Package
$75 per person, or $65 per person for groups of 6 or more. Reservations are required as they're going to have limited seating. The package will include:
  • 4-Course Dinner
  • Open bar from 8pm until 1am
  • Cockatil hour with heavy hors d'Oeuvres
  • Dance Party with DJ SuperDan
  • Champagne toast at Midnight
The Tavern Package
$30 per person, or $25 per person for groups of 6 or more. This package includes:
  • Open bar from 10pm until 1am
  • Dance Party with DJ SuperDan
  • Champagne toast at Midnight
The Everyday Package includes:
  • Cash bar from 11:30am until 1am on New Year's Eve
  • Ala Carte Menu all day and night
  • Dance Party with DJ SuperDan
Going to Chelsea for New Year's Eve and want to stay in town, the Doubletree Hotel, a block away, has special discounted room rates. Just mention Chelsea Tavern when you make your reservation! 

Frank's Wine is hosting a New Year's Eve Beer Dinner at World Cafe Live at The Queen.  They're also going to have a Wine Pairing option, but who wants that?! 

World Cafe Live's culinary team has prepared a special four-course menu to compliment the craft beer that Frank's has selected. Background dinner music will be provided by Schuylkill Rhythm Section, made up of three award-winning musicians. Take a peek at the dinner menu for the night.

1st Course:
Braised pork belly with cannelloni bean puree with a drizzled sherry honey. This will be paired with Rogue Santa's Private Reserve.

2nd Course:
Grilled lobster drizzled with vanilla bean vinaigrette served on butternut squash risotto with crispy sage and whipped cinnamon-sugar mascarpone and paired with Samichlaus Helles.

3rd Course: 
Grilled dry-aged strip steak served with caramelized shallot demi-glace and parmesan cannoli shell with whipped purple Peruvian potatoes and paired with Allagash Interlude. 

4th Course: 
Malted chocolate cake coated with ganache and salted toffee chips, served with Elysian Valhalla Red IPA. 


Once dinner is over you can call it a night, or stay for the Rusted Root show downstairs at The Queen (tickets sold separately). 

Iron Hill Brewery and Restaurant Newark is hosting a 2013 New Year's Eve Celebration from 5pm until 10pm. Take a look at the menu they'll be featuring (all a la carte): 
  • Lobster-Saffron Bisque
  • Baby Arugula Salad
  • Colossal Crab Lettuce Wraps
  • Grilled Jumbo Shrimp
  • Braised Veal Cheeks
  • Char-Grilled NY Strip Steak
  • Pan Seared North Atlantic Salmon
  • Pan Roasted Striped Bass
  • Chocolate Molten Cake
The Wilmington location is having a special, a la carte menu as well:
  • Sweet Corn and Crab Soup
  • Endive Salad
  • Ahi Tuna Appetizer
  • Seafood Linguine
  • Char-Grilled Beef Tenderloin Medallions
  • Pan Roasted Striped Bass
  • Mustard Crusted North Atlantic Salmon
  • Belgian Chocolate Terrine
  • Strawberry Cheesecake Bombe
Reservations are strongly suggested at both locations. 

 Stewart's Brewing Company will have a New Year's Eve buffet from 6pm until 11pm for $35 person. Reservations are strongly recommended. The buffet will feature:

  • Fresh baked artisan breads
  • Lobster Bisque
  • Tri-colored rotini pasta salad with jalapeno ranch
  • Caesar salad with creamy garlic dressing
  • Winter berry salad with herb vinaigrette
  • Saffron rice
  • Roasted red bliss potatoes
  • Roasted medley of winter vegetables
  • Beef tender medallions with a shiitake and portobello mushroom demi-glace
  • Baked salmon topped with crab imperial
  • Grilled pineapple jerk chicken
  • A carving station featuring roasted cajun turkey breast & spinach and parmesan stuffed pork loin
  • Warm apple cobbler 
  • Stout cupcakes with Irish cream mousse
  • New York Style Cheesecake with Melba sauce
The DJ Countdown party starts at 9pm, with no cover charge. You must be 21 to enter after 11pm. 

Stewart's will also have a New Year's Day brunch, starting at 11am. They will have a limited quantity $1 Stumblin' Monks (get there early!) The brunch will feature stuffed French Toast, smoked salmon benedict, steak & eggs and more! 

 Update: 
33 West Ale House and Grill will serve their regular menu, plus a few extra specials they're in the process of creating. Toney Robinson will be providing entertainment, starting at 9pm. 33 West will also be doing a champagne toast at midnight! 

 For other area New Year's Eve parties, check out Ryan Cormier's News Journal article, All About (New Year's Eve).

 Update: 
Ernest & Scott is hosting a 5 hour open bar on New Year's Eve for $39. This price includes all 21 beers on draft, as well as house wines, rail liquor and 12-ounce bottles. They will be a free champagne toast, party favors, prize giveaways, free hors d'oeuvres and music all night long! 

Here's one of my favorite versions of "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve." Take it away, Ella...



Holiday Shopping at Our Delaware Breweries!

I'm all about buying local. And drinking local (of course!) Putting the two together is the perfect combination for the perfect holiday gift for those craft beer loving folks on your shopping list!

Think about it - we have 8 breweries in our state - where you can purchase beer drinking goodies such as pint glasses, t-shirts, hats, growlers and  gift certificates. I thought it would be fun to give you a quick rundown of some of my favorite things from each brewery. Check them out...

 16 Mile Brewing Company
My 16 Mile hat that I rock often!
I'm a sucker for a good hat, and the maroon 16 Mile baseball hat we picked up over the summer at the brewery is one of them! In addition to my favorite baseball hat, 16 Mile has some new merchandise in for the holiday, including a new Promo T, an update to the Responders Tshirt, a new hoodie, and a new long sleeve shirt for women. Not sure what to get that craft beer loving person on your list? A 16 Mile Gift Card is always a great alternative to your lame ol' generic gift card! I mean, you can buy beer (or cool 16 Mile gear!) with it! 

3rd Wave Brewing Co.
Source: 3rd Wave Facebook page
You have your pick of goodies at 3rd Wave Brewing Co.! Short- and long-sleeved t-shirts, hats, growlers, sweatshirts, and pint glasses - 3rd Wave has your gift giving covered! If you're going to make the trip to 3rd Wave, you can't leave there without chatting with Lori and John, and of course, without trying at least one of the brews. Even better, we suggest you try the sampler so you get a little of everything! And with SEVEN beers on tap now, that's a lot of samplin'!
Source: http://www.argillabrewing.com/
So maybe you weren't one of the lucky 50 people to get first dibs on their upcoming growlers! Why not get that craft brew loving person on your holiday list a gift certificate to use on one when they become available? Or just to use on Argilla's amazing craft brew and grub?! And now is the perfect time to purchase that gift card from Argilla! Now until December 31st, when you purchase a $50 gift card, you receive an added $15 gift card. ($15 gift card will be valid from January 1, 2013 through March 1, 2013). You can't beat a deal like that! Especially when there's good beer involved! 
Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Ales
Source: http://www.dogfish.com/
It's easy to find something for just about everyone (including your pup!) when you hop on the Dogfish Head online store! Have a hiker, a biker or outdoor activity loving beer drinker on your holiday shopping list? The DFH Emergency Info Bracelet is a pretty cool gift for them! (I'm thinking this is going to be in someone's gift pile on Christmas day!) A cool stocking stuffer for the avid beer taster is the DFH Beer Tasting Journal (I just got mine!) Pretty much one of my favorite purchases from an Analog-a-Go-Go a few years ago (no pun intended) is the Heidi Lowe DFH Vinyl Record Necklace. Seriously, how cool is this? (Heidi's gallery is the yellow house next door to the Brewpub in Rehoboth). I'm so excited to see that they're carrying her necklaces now! DFH has tons of tees, sweatshirts, Patagonia gear, hats, glassware and so much other cool off-centered good stuff. 
Fordham Brewing Company / Old Dominion Brewing Company
Source: Fordham Facebook Page
These two breweries make it easy for us to show you a few of our favorite things that we wouldn't mind finding under our Christmas tree - or in our stocking (check out the picture!) Seriously though, one of our favorite t-shirts comes from Fordham - it's the 'Fordham Unisex T-Shirt.' It's one of those super worn in looking, super comfy tees. Old Dominion has some pretty cool goodies too. Have an art collecting, beer-loving someone on your holiday list? How about give them a collection of the Limited Edition Bomber Girls Posters? They're available in GiGi's Farmhouse, Double D, and Morning Glory! I could easily see these great prints framed and hanging in someone's kitchen or bar area. They rock! 
Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant
Source: ironhillbrewery.com
Remember the westchesterdish.com post about the Iron Hill Holiday Bottled Reserves Gift Pack? It features Iron Hill's Bottled Reserve seasonal beers, brewed in small batches. You even get a complimentary beer tote gift packaging when you purchase the gift pack! With beers like Senor Chocolatoro and Winter Wheat Wine Ale, you can't go wrong. If you're thinking about purchasing a gift card or two for the holiday gift giving season, don't forget, for every $75.00 of gift cards you purchase, you get a $20 gift for yourself! You can always give someone a gift certificate for a King of the Hill Loyalty Program too!

 Stewart's Brewing Company
Source: stewartsbrewingcompany.com
There are a few things in life that I know for sure. One of them is that the purchase of a growler from Stewart's Brewing Company is definitely a good holiday present! Pair it with a gift card from the brew pub and I'm pretty sure any beer lover on your holiday list will be thrilled. Bonus: right now Stewart's has a gift card special - buy a $50 gift card, get a $5 gift card for free; or purchase a $100 gift card and get a $20 gift card for free. Plus, your gift recipient can use that gift cards towards Stewart's Mug Club or towards Stewart's New Year's Eve dinner!
Twin Lake's Brewing Company
Source: twinlakesbrewingcompany.com
When talking to someone about Twin Lakes, I can't tell you how many times I've heard the response, "I've never done the tour at Twin Lakes before." Well, that, my dear friends, is suggested gift #1 from Twin Lakes! The tours, held Wednesdays at 5pm and Saturday at 1pm, are $22 per person and include a pint glass, a fantastic tour of the brewery and tastings of the beers. A Twin Lakes growler (filled of course) is also a great gift idea! You can go crazy and purchase one of the uber-cool one-gallon ceramic growlers ($250) or a glass growler, which will set you back $12, $17 filled. We're a little partial to the very cool Twin Lakes Bike Jersey. We love seeing all the craft beer jerseys along the road when we're out for a small supply of the 225th Delaware Day Commemorative Mugs left too! 

 The best Delaware craft beer related gift ever? Something from each and every one of the awesome, kick a*s, crazy cool breweries in our state. Or a road trip weekend filled with visits and tours to each of the 8 breweries! Buying local and supporting our local breweries is about as cool as a Christmas gift can get! Cheers! And Happy Holidays! 













BIB - Buckley's is BACK!

Let's face it, there are some pretty awesome tavrens, pubs, bars and restaurants in our area. We're pretty lucky. But when one of them closes, it's a pretty big bummer. That's pretty much how I felt when Buckley's Tavern, located in Centreville, shut down on January 15th. Here it is, nearly 11 months later, and the Tavern is back and under new management!
I've been riding by Buckley's for months wondering when their doors were going to reopen. The sign said summer, but then summer came and went. And then, on October 30th, the Buckley's Tavern sign was once again hung, the doors were back open for business!
A few Sundays back we finally had a chance to stop in - for their Sunday Pajama Brunch no less! (Although, in full disclosure, we had several errands to run and totally ditched the PJ idea. It's already on the schedule for another Sunday when we go in full PJ gear - robes and all!)

I'm sure many of your know this, but Buckley's has a long standing Pajama Brunch tradition - wear your PJs in, and get 50% off your bill! The best part is seeing what others will show up in! This trip back to Buckley's, I was partial to the girl who donned the Pale Pink and White Polka Dots one piece number, and the man with the fluffy animal print robe!
For brunch, Buckley's offers a Family Style Prix Fixe menu for $18 per person (half price for children and those in PJs!)
All entrees come with an non-alcoholic beverage, homefries, a plate of bacon, sausage, scrapple and ham, plus a basket of their breakfast bakery items (which were very hard to stop eating!)

The brunch choices include: 
  • Big Stack of Griddle Cakes  - Plain or Blueberry and Maple Syrup
  • Cinnamon Swirl Brioche French Toast
  • Belgian Waffles with Maple Syrup
  • Sweet Potato Pancakes with Pecan Butter and Maple Syrup
  • 3 Egg Omelette with your choice of the following: Bacon, Cheddar, Crab, Ham, Mushrooms, Onions, Peppers, Spinach, Tomato)
  • 3 Eggs your way - scrambled, fried, poached
  • Classic Eggs Benedict with Canadian Bacon and Hollandaise
For a surcharge you could upgrade to one of the following options:
  • Crab Eggs Benedict - Old Bay spiced Lump Crab and Hollandaise ($3 surcharge)
  • Smoke Salmon Benedict - Smoked Salmon and Hollandaise ($3 surchage)
  • Shrimp and Grits - Cheddar Grits with Cajun Shrimp ($3 surchage)
  • Chicken Imperial - Chicken breast stuffed with Crab Imperial ($5 surchage)
One of my favorite things on the old Buckley's menu was back - Shrimp and Grits. When I saw it on the brunch menu, I didn't even have to think about what I was getting. Eric had a little bit of a tougher time since everything sounded so good. He landed on the Crab Eggs Benedict. It was all amazing. One bite into my dish and I knew there were going to be no leftovers! Same went for Eric's dish! I even liked the scrapple (which I can very safefly say is a statement that has never come out of my mouth!)
My nephews are coming into town next weekend and I have told them that we are taking them to brunch (which for a 6 and 11 year old know way too much about already!) When I mentioned that all they had to do was roll out of bed and put on shoes and socks (and brush their teeth of course!) their eyes got pretty big. I think we just gained some major cool points in their books!

It was so great to see TWENTY FOUR beers on tap at Buckley's! They're not all of the craft beer persuasion, but what they did have was pretty impressive. The Sunday we were there, the beers that fell under the category, "Fresh & Local" were Yards Brawler, Twin Lakes Pale Ale, Twin Lakes Tweeds Stout, Dogfish Head 60 Minute, Victory Golden Monkey, Victory Hop Devil and 16 Mile Blues Golden Ale.Post-brunch we had a quick beer before heading out to run our errands. Although we typically go for the local beers on tap, Eric was immediately drawn to the Hacker-Pschorr Maibock and I went with a gluten free beer I have been encouraging myself to try the next time I saw it, Estrella Damm.  
Since our Sunday brunch excursion, I've been back to Buckley's for a girls night dinner and had the Buckley's Crab Cobb Salad and a Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale. It was a pretty awesome way to spend a Monday night! 
If you haven't had a chance to stop into Buckley's - tomorrow night is a great excuse to! They're taking part in the Delaware Day, "the celebration to Honor the 225th Anniversary of this special date, which commemorates the date in 1787 when Delaware became the first state to ratify the Federal Constitution, making us the first state in the New Nation!"

Buckley's is one of the locations to purchase one of the 1,000 Limited Edition Commemorative Beer Mugs. They are going to be selling the mugs for $15, which will include a fill of a Twin Lakes beer! Proceeds from the purchase of the mug will benefit the Delaware Historical Society. While they're at it, Buckley's will also be tapping Twin Lakes Jubilicious tomorrow night. Jubilicious is Twin Lakes awesome, awesome, aweome limited production holiday beer! Tapping happens at 5pm!

A Gorgeous Sunday Afternoon at the 3rd Annual Delaware Wine & Beer Festival

Got our commemorative glass...and Argilla Hopicana!

After attending last year's Delaware Wine & Beer Festival we knew this was going to be an annual event for us! As soon as we found out this year's date, we secured our tickets so that we got one of the 500 commemorative souvenir beer glasses (or wine glass, if that's your thing!) At $25 a ticket, which include 10 1oz samples throughout the day, you can't beat it. 

This year's Delaware Wine & Beer Festival was held at a new location, the Delaware Agriculture Museum, in Dover. Having never been there, wow were we impressed! The grounds are gorgeous, especially on such a beautiful fall day! 

A view of the festival from the back bridge - so pretty!
How can you beat a Sunday afternoon strolling around the Museum grounds, sampling beers from different breweries around the state (and one from Pennsylvania), taking in the aromas from the food vendors, while checking out the various vendors?

According to Kent County & Greater Dover  Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director, Cindy Small, before they opened the doors for the Third Annual Delaware Wine & Beer Festival on Sunday, they had sold 1,120 tickets. They're estimating between 2,200 and 2,400 in total attendance! 

Take a look at the awesome list of breweries that joined in the fun...
In addition to wanting to stop by each of the brewery's tents (at least once anyway!) I also was also intrigued by what Great Shoals Winery, from Princess Anne, Maryland, were bringing to the Festival - Black Twig Hard Apple, made from cider apples from T.S. Smith's in Bridgeville. It was like a super bubbly champagne. Quite different than most hard ciders I've had in the past, but really good! They also had a pear version which I wouldn't mind trying at some point.  

It was great to see so many familiar faces througout the day - Lori and John from 3rd Wave, Claus from 16 Mile, Lauren from Fordham and Old Dominion, and Steve from Argilla! Of course we didn't want to take up too much of their time chatting with them - the lines at all of their tents were quite long all afternoon long! That was so awesome to see, but of course, definitely expected! 

 The breweries poured some great beers throughout the Festival...
16 Mile Brewery
Harvest Ale

Old Court Ale

Blues Golden Ale


Argilla
Hopicana Black IPA

ESB


Dogfish Head
My Antonia

Palo Santo

Indian Brown Ale


Fordham
Helles Lager

Copperhead Ale


Old Dominion
Oktoberfest (which was brought out later in the day!)

Hop Mountain

Oak Barrel Stout


3rd Wave Brewing
!st Wave IPA

Big Reef Porter

Shorebreak Pale Ale

Pumpkin


Twin Lakes
Taylor’s Grog

Greenville Pale Ale

Black & Tan

Tweeds Tavern Stout


Yards Brewing
Yards Brawler

Philadelphia Pale Ale

Between the two of us, we had a chance to try just about all the beers we wanted, and a few we normally wouldn't (Eric went for Palo Santo over his usual My Antonia at the DFH tent - so out of the ordinary for him!) 

 Once you use up your ten 1 ounce pour tickets, you had the option of either purchasing more 1 ounce pour tickets, or for $5 per ticket, purchase a full pour of the beer of your choice. Not a bad deal! 
The Pizza Wagon guys hard at work - all day long!

The food offerings around the Festival were rather tempting! Our friends split a pizza from The Pizza Wagon. It looked SO good! Eric and I stopped by Abbott's Grill tent and sampled the Lobster Knodel - a German-style dumpling - and the Cheddar Beer Soup - both were yummy! 

To top it off, the four of us split two cupcakes from Icing On the Cupcake. They had five different cupcakes baked with local beers, so of course we had to try them! 

Here's a list of the flavors Icing on the Cupcake offered on Sunday:
  
  • Touch of Honey - made with Dogfish Head Midas Touch
  • Chocolate Coffee Bean - made with 16 Mile Harvest Ale
  • Triple Chocolate - made with Old Dominion Oak Barrel Stout
  • Orange Marmelade - made with Yards Brawler
  • Cranberry Apple - made with Fordham Helles Lager
Icing on the Cupcake Beer Cupcakes-yum!
Now you can see why we had such a hard time deciding on just two! We landed on the Triple Chocolate and the Cranberry Apple. The Triple Chocolate, was well, it was chocolate - how can you ever go wrong with that?! The Cranberry Apple was really awesome too! Cranberry and Apple are such great flavors together. The balance between the cranberry and the apple, in combination with the Helles Lager was perfect! We don't know what was in the icing, but it was delicious  (I think we better find out!) 

Here's what else was offered by the different local restaurants during the Festival:

- Abbott's Grill also had Fennel sausage with braised red cabbage, apples and bacon

- Chops Grille offered pan seared scallops with Parmesan and corn risotto, finished with fresh cilantro mango chutney as well as filet mignon sliders topped with horseradish aioli

- Maple Dale Country Club had a carved balsamic vinaigrette and molasses marinated beef tenderloin sandwich, served on ciabatta bread, topped with horseradish cream as well as an Italian marinated chicken breast sandwich on ciabatta bread.

- McGlynn's Pub & Restaurant offered pulled pork sandwiches and bratwurst with sauerkraut.

- The Pizza Wagon served Italian wood fired brick oven pizzas including baby bella and Gorgonzola, savory Italian sausage, zesty pepperoni, three cheese and traditional.

Smryna Breads, was there selling locally-made breads, and shared a tent with Cabot Creamery, who had their Hot Habanero (whew it have a kick!) and their Horseradish Cheddar on hand to try! 

There was so much to see and do throughout the day. Live music, a keg tossing competition, cornhole tournament, and Wine & Beer Seminars! Oh, and shopping, lots of shopping with so many vendors! We got chatting with one particular vendor Jay Douthit, a ManCave Guide. Have you heard of ManCave? Jay will come to your home where he will help you will host a MEATing. You'll basically invite a bunch of guys over (although I know of a lot of chicks who would be all about this!) then Jay will bring over a bunch of exclusive, award-wining meats and Leinenkugel's beer. He'll grill the meat, you just need to sit back and enjoy the tournament of "manly" games like Hammelschlagen, which Eric and our friend played, with the winners taking home prizes. The dudes that attend your MEATing can also order awesome products likes Left Hand Coozie Glove (pictured the the right) or the Pop Off Bottle Opener! 

We were excited that we got to see the unveiling of the new Delaware Wine and Beer Festival logo! After receiving 30 entries, Cindy announced the winner near the end of the Festival! And here it is!
The new Delaware Wine & Beer Festival Logo!
Congratulations to Brad Tillingast of Wilmington for creating the winning the logo contest! 


We couldn't have picked a better way to spend a beautiful fall Sunday afternoon. Great beer, food, music and friends. Cindy  is thrilled that sponsors have already recommitted for next year, as have many of the vendors! You can count us in too, Cindy - we wouldn't miss a day celebrating the great beers in our state! 

See you next year! 




We Live in One Hulluva Craft Beer State - Brew At The Zoo, Art is Social, Kennett Brewfest, Dogfish Dash and DFH Mug Club Party!

Two weekends ago was about as crazy, yet some how as relaxed, as it could have been! We were going to be kicking off our weekend with Brews at the Zoo and Art is Social in Wilmington on Friday night, the Connoisseur Tasting at Kennett Brewfest in Kennett Square, PA on Saturday, and Dogfish Dash in Milton on Sunday?! Oh, and then the Dogfish Head Mug Club Party back in Milton on Monday night?! Where do we begin?!
A map of Friday night's adventure
Last year the annual Dogfish Dash, benefiting the Delaware Chapter of the Nature Conservancy , was the same weekend as Bike to the Bay. After riding 75+ miles, there wasn't much dash left in us, but we still had a blast...although it could have been slight delirium setting in! You get a 5K and a beer in before 9am on a Sunday morning, some great swag and a yummy breakfast. Totally worth the price of admission (as long as the lines aren't too killer long for that beer!) 

Saturday and Sunday's adventures
In the middle of March, we found out that registration for the Dash would open the beginning of April. When it did, we signed up right away, knowing it would fill up, and quick. Registration opened on April 2nd, and by the 3rd we had a room reserved for the night, and were all set.  We thought to ourselves, "awesome, another great excuse to spend the weekend at the beach, and at our favorite place down at the beach - which just happens to be 2 doors down from the Dogfish Head Brewpub - Crosswinds Motel!" Little did we know that weekend was about to get way busier!

 Go figure, 2 months later, we found out that the Kennett Brewfest was going to be the same weekend! Doh! We were faced with a dilemma - do we just do the dash, and skip one of our favorite brewfests? Or do we give up our spot in the sold-out dash, one of our favorite DFH events of the year, and just do the brewfest? We knew we would regret skipping one, so we figured, let's just do both! Why not?!  

 The great thing about the Dash this year is that you could pick up your run packets Friday, Saturday or Sunday - so this worked out almost perfect! We purchased tickets to the Connoisseur Tasting at the Brewfest, which runs from Noon until 1:30 (with the general session of the Brewfest starting at noon) and the Dash wasn't until 8am Sunday morning, and we could pick up our packets until 8pm on Saturday or bright and early Sunday morning before the dash. Yes, we are a little crazy running from one end of the world to the other in such a short time, but we knew it was SO going to be worth it! 

 But wait, it actually gets a little crazier! The end of July we then found out that the latest Art is Social was going to be Friday night, and then we got offered tickets to Brandywine Zoo Brew at the Zoo - holy crazy weekend was about to ensue!
Love this view from Brandywine Park

When we found out that Ulysses American Gastropub wanted to offer us two tickets to give away for Brandywine Zoo's Brew at the Zoo, we were so excited! But we weren't going to just give them away, we were going to make people work for it! I suggested we do some sort of trivia. Maybe zoo related? Eric immediately said, no, let's have them tell us the name of Ulysses' smoker (it's Bertha for those of you who don't know!) We were psyched by the number of responses we received, but there could only be one winner. We randomly drew a name, and the winner was one of our followers, Scott! (Congrats again, Scott! We're so glad you had such a great time at Brew at the Zoo!) 
 Animal print & beer! 
We were also lucky enough to be attending Brew at the Zoo. You get to wander around the zoo, with the zoo staff showing off some of their "residents," all while drinking great beer, and munching on some tasty food! 

Ulysses had a super yummy pork sandwich topped with a kick butt homemade pickle; BBC Grill & Tavern had a great grilled chicken wrap, we had a way awesome pork belly taco from Washington Street Ale House, and then proceeded to have way too much fun with our(ceviche!) nacho creation from the nacho bar that Kid Sheeleen's had set up! 

 There was beer too, of course! We had a little Dogfish Head 60 Minute, Otter Creek Brewing Black IPA, which was SO good, as well as Tiger Lager, an appropriately served beer from Asia Pacific Breweries Ltd., of Singapore. They also had Victory Golden Monkey (again, quite appropriate for the zoo!) and Big Bison Ale, a Dubbel, from Crown Valley Brewing in Missouri. The weather couldn't have been more perfect for such a fun event. And check out the glass we got for attending - seriously, I thought it was so cool!

With Brew at the Zoo starting at 5:30, that gave us plenty of time to go to Delaware Art Museum's Art is Social event later that night (and stop by our friend Kathleen's house in between!) If you haven't been to one of the Art is Social events, you're really missing out! 

 The event starts after the museum has closed, and with it being such a gorgeous night out, we not only got to walk through the galleries of the museum, it was a great night to take advantage of the tent they had set up outside and to wander through the Copeland Sculpture Garden and the Labyrinth. As if drinking craft beer in such an awesome setting wasn't enough, they also had two DJ's and the very cool, very funky Dr. Sketchy's Anti-Art School of Philly back for this Art is Social. Dr. Sketchy's school is quite cool and quite unique. This time they invited artists to sketch Victoria-era costumed models in a a series of quick poses. It's pretty cool to watch - or get involved in, if you want!

Frank's Union Wine Mart provides the beer selections and the beer samples (various beers from Atlantic Brewing Company this time around!) for the event. Available for purchase were Flying Fish Oktober Fish, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and Southampton Publick House Pumpkin Ale (plus some other, not-so-craft beers!)
They have several Art is Social events throughout the year (that we always mention on our Facebook page!) Our friend Heather is the brainchild behind this awesome event, and they are always a great way to spend a Friday night! Next time one is happening - don't miss it! 

Saturday was going to be a hectic day, and we couldn't wait to get it started! The Connoisseur Tasting for the Kennett Brewfest kicked off at Noon, and we knew we wanted to get there and in line ready to go as early as possible. I mean, with a list like this, how could we not?!

Brewery Beer
Allagash Curieux 
Boulder Wine Barrel Saison
Clown Shoes Chocolate Sombrero
Dark Horse Fore Smoked Stout
Dock Street Thiriez collaboration
Dogfish Head Namaste
Evil Genius Trick or Treat Chocolate Pumpkin Porter
Fegleys Brew works Arctic Alchemy
Flying Fish Exit 4 American Triple
Forest and Main Solaire and Dukes Pale
Goose Island Belgian series
Hill Farmstead Vera Mae
Jester King Petite Prince and Noble King
Leinenkugels Big Eddy series Wee Heavy, IPA, Baltic Porter
Maine Beer Co. Peeper Pale Ale
McKenzies Dark and Stormy Night Quad
Neshaminy Creek "Leon"  Russian Imperial Smores Stout 
Ommegang Scythe and Sickle Harvest Ale
Otter Creek/Long trail 20th Anniversary/ Triple Bag
Prism Felony IPA
Round Guys Old Grumplestilskin
Sierra Nevada Ovila Golden
SlyFox Hefeweizen Dopplebock
Starr Hill Northern Lights IPA, Pumpkin Porter
Stillwater Artisinal Ales As Follows
Stone 16th Anniversary
Stoudt's Brewmaster Reserve Pumpkinfest
Tired Hands FarmHands, Hophands
Troegs Scratch Series Special HOPS IPA
Twin Lakes Tweeds Tavern Stout Firkin
Victory Baltic Thunder
Yards Bourbon Barrel aged Old Bart
Magic hat Burn Pile





There were definitely some beers that stood out from the others. The ones highlighted in red were at the top of our list to try - and man were they worth seeking them out! Our preference is usually a great IPA, and we have so many of them during the Connoisseur Tasting! We could wax poetic for hours on all of the great brews we had, but figured highlighting them just might be easier! If you are visiting any of these breweries and they have these beers available, try them!!
A few local-ish brews really stuck out with us from the Connoisseur Tasting.  Prism's Felony IPA, a hybrid double IPA. It was one of our favorites of the day actually. The hops were prominent, and the beer went down smooth, which is just how we like our IPAs. Another one of our top favorites was Troeges Special HOPS IPA, an Imperial Red Ale they brewed for the HydroWorx Underwater Marathon, benefiting the Wounded Warriors organization. Very cool.

 As many samples as we had during the Connoisseur Tasting, there were still a few breweries we wanted to stop by before calling it a day at the Brewfest and heading down state. 

 We had to stop by Argilla Brewing Co. at Pietro's Pizza and say hi to Steve, and of course try out his Hopicana, a Black IPA brewed with orange peels! We also hit Anchor Brewing where they were pouring Brekle's Brown (which we really liked last year as well!) We couldn't leave without stopping by the Lagunita's tent, where they were pouring the IPA and the Pils. Still loving Harpoon after our trip to Boston earlier this year, we stopped and had one of their Octoberfest brews. Last year we discovered Crispin, a great gluten free alternative for me, and recently I've been drinking Omission Beers, in particular, the Pale Ale. It's by far one of the best gluten free beers I've had in my almost 2 year long search! We couldn't leave the Brewfest without a stop by their tent either! One of the only other stops we made during the general session was at Woodchuck, again, because of my attempt to try this whole gluten free drinking thing (I'm really not very good at it!) Woodchuck Hard Ciders had both their Fall and their Pumpkin Ciders. Both were pretty good. 
Cheers! It's Lagunitas time!

 We would be silly not to mention the awesome food that was present at the Brewfest! One of the best parts about the purchase of the Connoisseur Tasting ticket is the Talula's Table lunch that comes with it. We l.o.ve. Talulu's and love everything they make. This year it was a pulled pork mac and cheese and the yummiest peas and of course, a little slice of cake that was delightful. I only took a few bites of the cake because I was saving room for one of Dia Doce's cupcakes. This little cupcake truck rocks - and they have a Cupcake Wars win under their belt to prove it! Take a look at the flavors they had going on at the Brewfest: 
How can you pick just one flavor?

  • Bacon maple
  • jalapeno popper
  • Salted caramel stout 
  • Whiskey sour
  • Pumpkin chocolate chip
  • Cookie Dough
  • Apple crisp
  • Black magic
We had the Bacon Maple last year and it was beyond. There's not a single doubt in my mind why they won Cupcake Wars! This year, as much as we wanted one of each, we settled on the Salted Caramel Stout...which I think we ate in 30 seconds flat! Her cupcakes are just fantastic!

The one thing that we've seen at Brewfests past is Hockessin's Two Fat Guys stand offering bacon on a stick. Now obviously we're not typically one to shy away from bacon (as you can tell by the bacon lollipops we had in Dallas and the bacon maple cupcake we had last year) but we just had to admire from afar this year. I will say, you see a ton of that stuff wandering around the Brewfest! I mean, it makes sense - what goes better with bacon than beer!

Time to get dashing!
After nearly 3 1/2 hours at the Kennett Brewfest, we called it a day, and made our way down to the beach where we headed to the Dogfish Head Brewpub to pick up our Dogfish Dash packets. You get so much fun stuff when you pick up your packet for the Dash. We got a great resuable bag, a kick a*s t-shirt and some other goodies. Man, had I wished I was thinking far enough ahead as one Dasher did - she actual accented and bedazzled her t-shirt - it was pretty impressive! But even without the unnecessary bedazzling (Eric's thoughts, not mine!) it is still a pretty cool T! 

Once we picked up our goodies we met our friend Stacey, who was also doing the Dash, and headed into Dewey on the J-Train (or as some like to call it, the Jolly Trolly) to have dinner at Gary's Dewey Beach Grill. We tried going to Gary's the night before Bike to the Bay, but they were closed for a private event. Boo. But we made it there this past weekend! We love going to Gary's when we're at the beach. The food is so good. There are so many healthier options on their menu - and they serve great beer! I mean, how can they not with "Don't Worry, Be Hoppy" on their sign outside?! They had Long Trail Harvest on tap, so I went with that. Eric went with Dogfish Head 60 Minute on tap, and Stacey was having a pumpkin craving, so she had the DFH Punkin bottle. The three of us split an appetizer of hummus, and then Eric and I split a cup of the of turkey chili and seafood etouffee. It was all SO good! 
"Training" for the Dash!
After dinner and a couple beers later, we made our way back to Rehoboth and stopped into Dogfish for one last drink and dessert. Oh boy was that a good idea! I don't normally sway away from my beloved beer, but if there's one place I'm okay with switching to something other than beer, Dogfish Head, where they distill their own spirits, would probably be the place to do that! As much as I couldn't wait to try the Wet Hop American Summer After Dark, I decided on the Nutty Caucasin, made with homemade coffee liqueur  my absolute favorite vodka of their's, the peanut butter vodka, and milk from Lewes Dairy. Eric had the Wet Hop, thank goodness so I could try some, and Stacey had the Punkin Pie Martini: Fifer Orchards roasted pumpkins with pumpkin pie spices and vanilla vodka. Hello fall in a glass! 
There's nothing average about these!

Now here's the crazy part. We picked two desserts to split between the three of us. We could have picked just one and had more than enough to take care of that sweet tooth! We had the White Chocolate Chicory Stout Bread Pudding, that I kid you not, was the size of a small bowling ball (okay, maybe not that big, but it was huge!!) and the Chicory Stout Bacon Chocolate Cheesecake (we were finally going to let ourselves try this one!) Oh my heaven were these desserts divine! We felt guilty leaving way too much behind on both of these awesome desserts, but we may have had to sleep at DFH if we had! Holy food coma!

 Sunday morning came, and we were on the road to Milton by 7am! Dogfish has been hosting the Dogfish Dash since 2007. This year they had 1,547 runners, which tops out at the most they've ever had! A total of $38,500 was raised for the Delaware chapter of The Nature Conservancy. On top of that, Blue Hen Organics and the Delaware Chaper of the Surfrider Foundation helped Dogfish recyle 94.7% of the waste produced that day - which just happened to be one of the highest recycling rates for an event in the entire country for the organization! Check this out - the winner of the Dash, Jeff Powers, did the 10K in 33:14! Whoa!!! 

If you have three minute, you've gotta watch this video from the Dash!  


If you're a runner, and you're a craft beer drinker, you should be doing the Dogfish Dash! But beware - it sells out. Fast. You get to start a Sunday off with a little exercise, a little breakfast, a little beer (if you don't mind waiting in a long line...), and a little brewery tour!
Wet Hop American Summer After Dark
We decided to stop by the Brewpub one last time on our way out of town (as we always do) so that I could grab a pint of Wet Hop American Summer After Dark (and Eric a My Antonia). We needed a little something to eat, so we tried the "snack" listed under the Weekly Specials. I am so glad we got this! It came with Red Dragon Cheese (English cheddar with ale and mustard seeds), as well as Hop-Pickles from Brooklyn Brine, which are made with 60 Min IPA and Hop Oil, along with 90 Minute IPA marinated olives! It was just what we needed!
 
Pickles, cheese and olives. Yes, please!
We have a jar of the Hop Pickles at home, and initially really liked them. Now that they've been marinating a bit more, we really like them! They are a must try if you haven't already! And if you're feeling really adventurous the next time you visit the Brewpub, try their Pickle Vodka Bloody Mary made with their homemade Bloody Mary mix and their Blue Hen Vodka infused with spicy 60 Minute IPA Hop Pickle Brine! After a bad Bloody Mary experience (which of course translates to, "I drank waaayyy too many one time!") I wasn't too anxious to try it out, but the bartender said they're a pretty awesome way to start your day! 

 We called it an early day in Rehoboth and made our way back up Route 1 because it was back to reality the next day. Except that we were going to be right back on that very same highway Monday afternoon at 4pm as we would make our way back down to Milton for the Dogfish Head Mug Club Party! Yes, we're nuts, and we love it!
'07 Raison D'Etra. '08 Fort. Whoa.
The Mug Club Party is worth the price of admission (admission being the cost associated with joining the club!) You get various discounts throughout the year on food and drink at the Brewpub, and on merchandise. You also get first notice of different events going on in the Dogfish World, such as Analog A-Go-Go and beer dinners. But the party was the best part! So it was on a Monday. So we both had to work the next day (after 45 (mine) and hour (Eric's) long commutes!) It was totally worth it! When we arrived, we were greeted with the smell of some serious grilling going on, and beer. Lots of beer! They had Punkin, Festina Peche, Indian Brown, 60 Minute and Burton Baton available for us to drink (and drink, and drink, and drink...) when we first got there. The surprise of the night was the DFH crew quietly putting out Two Blind Myces, a beer-wine hybrid fermented in red wine barrels near the end of the night. An even bigger surprise and delight was the 2007 Raison D'Etra and 2008 Fort they had in the tasting room! Of all the times I've had Fort, there has never been such a pronounced raspberry flavor. Man, it was like drinking the freshest liquid raspberries, but with a serious kick! 

On top of the awesome brew the had for us throughout the night, the Dogfish team put together a crazy good spread of food! Everything from chorizo and aged Gouda on the charcuterie, to crab dip, and the freshest, sweetest corn on the cob I've ever had, to go with the wild boar and venison jalapeno cheddar sausages! Our sweet tooth was met with Palo Santo brownies with homemade whipped cream. Holy moly!  

A little photo recap of the Mug Club Party
Sam attends the party, as does Matt, the Brewpubs Assistant Manager and keeper of all things Mug Club. There are tours of the brewery throughout the night too. On this night Sam didn't lead a tour inside the brewery, he led us on a brewery tour outside to talk about the construction and expansions they're currently going through! One of the things we were most impressed to hear, besides the tremendous amount of awesomeness that is going on with the brewery and storage facility expansions going on, is how much Sam and DFH are taking the town of Milton into major consideration when designing various aspects of the new spaces, including having their trucks travel on the lesser inhabited road as to not to disturb as many local folks.

Sam also talked about the brewery's latest collaboration with Sierra Nevada. This time they're working on a East Coast meets West Coast Imperial IPA Rhizing Bines. The brew will go through DFH's continual-hopping process and will dry hopped with an experimental varietal hop, Hop 644. Sierra Nevada is also sending DFH one of their Torpedo system (from their new brewery location in North Carolina) for dry-hopping. Crazy. And we can't wait to try it! 

 The gentleman wearing the hat in the above pictures is local artist, Eddie Gross. In addition to some pretty cool artwork, Eddie is the mastermind behind some pretty awesome pieces of Dogfish Art. You have to check out his site, Yay Artwork! He did a few pieces just for the Mug Club Party, including two specifically for Sam and Matt. He provided everyone that attended a chance to take answer questions about Dogfish and their history (and their future) and a few lucky peeps took home some of his artwork. I wanted to kick myself for not answering the questions! We got so excited to take the tour with Sam, that we lost track of time and didn't get them answered in time. And of course I knew all but one! You can see Eddie asking Sam the questions in the black and white pic. As you can probably guess, he knew all the answers! You may see Eddie sitting at the bar at the Brewpub working on his next piece! 
When a weekend includes this much craft beer and craft beer fun, we can't help but feel pretty darn lucky to live in such a great area, and with such awesome craft beer loving to help keep this industry kicking! As the next weekend approaches, I'm already starting to day dream about the fun we're going to have...
It's finally time to call it a night...

Pescatore's Autumn Craft Beer Dinner - After This We Are SO Ready For Fall!


When we first received the email from Dennis at Pescatore's Italian Restaurant, in Glen Mills, about their Autumn Craft Beer Dinner, we were immediately intrigued. And then we were giddy, as it was the first time someone was doing a 'Delaware Hop Scene' specific discount! Yes, we know, this is somewhat dorky to get that excited about something like that, but hey, we couldn't help it, it was pretty awesome in our book!
Anyway, the more we learned about the beer dinner, we started looking forward to it more and more! Then Dennis posted the menu for the dinner online, October 4th couldn't come soon enough!

Our friends Erika and Shawn were joining us for the beer dinner. We all had a little time to kill before the dinner started, so we met at one of our favorite places for Happy Hour - Whole Foods in Glen Mills! As we've posted in the past, Whole Foods has 8 taps of local craft beers rocking all the time, and during happy hour the already reasonable prices are $1 off! Before the dinner we figured, why not get the autumn craft beer theme kicked off, and had a pint of Old Forge Brewery Smashing Pumpkin and a pint of Lavery Brewing Company Stingy Jack. Our bill for the two pints? $4. Total. For real.

If you aren't already following Whole Foods on Facebook, do make sure you 'Like' them - they post their tap list pretty frequently!

We finished our pints, and headed across the street to Pescatore's where we realized this beer dinner was going to be no joke - they close the restaurant to the public for this event! This was, by far, going to be the biggest beer dinner we've been to! And we've been to quite a few beer dinners!

Dennis, the general manager and fellow craft beer lover, arranged for folks from Long Trail Brewing Company, Prism Brewing Company, and Troegs Brewing Company to join the fun of the beer dinner. It was great chatting with the reps from each of the breweries. You really can't beat a night that includes awesome beer, awesome food and talking beer for hours on end! They were really involved with introducing the beers that were being served throughout the night, which is something we love seeing at the beer dinners we attend. It's also very cool when it's not just a rep from the brewery, but the brewer or owner themselves! We loved that!

We also loved hearing how one guest won his tickets for the event through West Chester Dish - you have to read the poem he wrote!
Tis the season
For a great Autumn meal
Pescatore’s won’t disappoint
As the menu is unreal
From the first course’s tasty salad
Through devouring the delectable cheese cake
I better wear my sweatpants
Because my belt would sure break
I am a craft beer enthusiast
For beers far and near
It would be an honor to dine with these fine brewers
To talk off their ear
Choosing one favorite brewery from the guest list
Is no easy task
I better do some hard thinking
While pouring a frothy pint from the cask
But long ago the geniuses of Troegs
Have delighted my palate
With their delicious taste and bold flavors
I’ve always been an advocate
So bring on Troegs and the other fine brews
To enjoy during this grand affair
Great food, great beer, great company
I can’t wait to pull up a chair
Cheers!
After we were seated, we were encouraged to visit the bar for the to try out the "Introductory Beers" - Long Trail Pumpkin Ale, which was debuted this year, and Magic Hat Brewing Company Hex. The Pumpkin Ale was a tasty pumpkin brew, where Hex is Magic Hat's Oktoberfest. I haven't had Hex in a few years, and forgot how good it is! 

Now take a look at what we indulged in last night - and boy did we indulge!

First Course
Mango Arugula Salad with Cherry Tomatoes, Feta Cheese and Red Onion, topped with a Raspberry Vinagigrette and paired with Finch's Beer Co. Golden Wing Blond Ale. Finch's is from Chicago and served in a 16 ounce can! Having never had Finch's we were both looking forward to trying the ale, which was really smooth and paired perfectly with the salad.
1st, 2nd and 3rd course!
Second Course
Sauteed Calamari Stuffed with Spinach and Crab Meat in a Zesty Marinara Sauce, paired with Goose Island Harvest Ale. Looking at the plate was awesomely overwhelming. There was a lot going on, and it was all so god! The zesty-ness of the marinara sauce and the lightness of the crab meet went so well with the Harvest Ale.  

Third Course

Pumpkin Ravioli Topped with a Fresh Mushroom Cream Sauce, paired with Uinta Punk'n Harvest Pumpkin Ale. I don't typically like to play favorites in life, but at this beer dinner, I didn't have a choice - the third course was outstanding! The pumpkin raviolis had an amazing sweet and fall spiced balance that it could have almost passed for dessert! All four of us wanted seconds! Paired with the Punk'n was perfect. This may take the lead for one of my top pumpkin ales! 

Fourth Course
4th and 5th course!
Veal Short Ribs with Maple and Cinnamon Basted Baby Carrots and Garlic Mashed Potatoes, paired with Prism Brewing Red Zone Spiced Ale - or as our friend Erika called it, apple pie in a pint glass! The spiciness of this brew went so well with everything on the plate in front of us! It also further proved how much we need to visit Prism and try even more of their beers!

Fifth Course

Pumpkin Cheesecake (yes!) paired with Troegs Java Head Stout (perfect!) I could very easily count how many times I've seen not only drink a stout, but actually finish it. It's probably his least favorite style of beer. But when it's pair the right way at these beer dinners, as it was tonight, he will finish each and every drop! Pairing Troegs Java Head Stout was perfection with the pumpkin cheesecake!

The food was outstanding! Each course just seemed to get better and better, and the pairings were perfect. Our usual sweet tooth was quite pleased with the meal ending with the light-as-air pumpkin cheesecake too!

Dennis did a fantastic job on this beer dinner! The vibe was energetic and fun! The food and beer were awesome and extremely plentiful! Dennis had tons of giveaways to keep everyone on their toes to see if they were going home with something fun! Erika won tickets to a Union game and we (well, Eric) won a gift certificate to JAX Clothing in Wilmington!


You can tell Dennis took a tremendous amount of time preparing for this night, from the menu and the pairings, to the decor and the menu books we recieved at our seat. Thank you for including us Dennis - we can't wait til the next dinner! 

Record Breaking Heat in Dallas? No Problem, the Beer is Nice and Cold!

When I found out that one of my best friends was getting married to a fantastic girl, I was so excited! When they told us that they would be getting married in Dallas, I got excited not only planning on being there for the wedding, but planning out where we were going to (eat and) drink while we were there!

I visited the two of them in Dallas about two years ago when the University of Delaware football team made it to the football championships in Frisco, and loved the area. January is a great time to visit Dallas. Of course we were really there for all things wedding related, but managed to squeeze in some time at some very cool places, including a few suggestions that Bill from Victory had told us about!

With record breaking heat happening during our visit, there wasn't much to do other than stay inside, and drink of course! And that's pretty much what we did! 

 When we arrived to Dallas we needed to do two things, grab lunch and find a place to get some good beers to stock our hotel room's fridge with! Our first stop was lunch. We found a great counter service place called Bottlecap Alley Icehouse Grill. You have to love a place where you basically check off what you want, turn in the sheet, and your order is placed.  Bottlecap Alley is your basic burger and hot dog place, and reminded me a little of Fuddruckers. I went with their so-good Black Bean Burger, topped with Avocado and Chipotle Mayo.  Eric had the Avocado Burger, which had avocado, pepper jack cheese, diced onions and chipotle mayo on it. Everything was really good, service was quick, and it was pretty inexpensive as well! Their tap list was a little shy of a good number of craft beers, so we both went with a Ziegenbock Amber, which ultimately is owned by Anheuser-Busch, cleverly disguised as ABinBev. (As soon as we saw the other drafts and the relatively inexpensive price for such a large beer, we had a feeling it was one of the big guys trying to pass as a little guy!) We were happy with it though, as we'd been up and on a plane for most of the day already, and it was barely 11:30am (and already like 100 degrees that day mind you!) The beer was cold, the beer was big, and it was 3 bucks - we were happy!

 As we left Bottlecap Alley, I saw, out of the corner of my eye, a World Market. There used to be a World Market in North Wilmington, but it closed several years ago. This was a major bummer for me, as I used to shop there often. As soon as I saw it, not only did it trigger all the fun stuff I've purchased there, but also the fact that stores in other parts of the country carry BEER! And do they ever! 
It was a GOOD trip back to World Market!
Thankfully our room in the first hotel we were staying in had a nice size fridge, and we planned on using that to our advantage to ensure we had some great beer choices during our stay! Check out the list of beers we managed to find during out trip to World Market:
Our beer supply in Dallas!

Much of the next day and a half was all about the wedding - and it was a blast! I couldn't have been more honored and more excited to be be a part of the such a special day for our friends!  It didn't hurt that we got enjoy a few Shiner Bocks during the reception!
Shiner Bock at the wedding!

Now a little side note about the wedding gift we gave. I'm not a very traditional present giver. I think that drives some people nuts, but I just want them to have something personal and something that is a little more significant than a more traditional gift...and it's more fun for me! Last year, during University of Delaware Alumni Weekend, we sat in on a Dogfish Head tasting. We were pretty familiar with the beers they presented, but not all of the fun stories behind them. One that stuck with me was the story behind Midas Touch. I couldn't wait for one of my craft beer drinking friends to get married so I could include this as part of their wedding gift!

My favorite wedding gift to give!
Because my friend had moved to Dallas from our great little state, I wanted to give their gift a local Delaware feel. I included not only a 4-pack of DFH Midas Touch, but also two Dogfish Head Shaped Pint Glasses and some wines from vineyards in the area.

Here's the little tidbit of information on Midas Touch that was included in their gift: "Midas Touch, a cross between wine and mead, is part of Dogfish Head’s Ancient Ales series. It is a sweet yet dry beer made with ingredients found in a 2,700-year-old drinking vessel from the tomb of King Midas. The story of King Midas makes this beer perfect for a newlywed couple. Mead has been associated with many magical (and not so magical) powers. It has been called an aphrodisiac, giving drinkers wisdom, strength, and courage. It many cultures it has been associated with mythical properties. Bees are considered sacred messengers of the gods because they produce honey, a key ingredient in mead. Even the word honeymoon is thought to have been derived from the custom of giving the newly wed couple mead as a gift before they went on their moon, or month of seclusion. As you embark on your honeymoon, start it off with a Midas Touch! P.S., Midas Touch boasts as 9.0% ABV, you’ll want to sip and enjoy this beer!"

I hope they loved their gift as much as I loved putting it together for them. I'm thinking if they follow this little poem about the wines and bubbly, they will! 
The Newlywed's Guide to Wine 
W e d d i n g N i g h t
The night you have dreamed of is finally here
The future surrounds you with hope and yet fear You’ve wanted so long to find your perfect mate Sip 
this wine and toast this perfect date
The night is meant for you to share
Enjoy each other – a perfect pair!

F i r s t F i g h t
When fights occur and tempers get hot
Pour a glass and be thankful for what you’ve got
If you always agreed it would certainly be a bore
And by asking for Betty’s hand Mike is surely in for more!

F i r s t A n n i v e r s a r y
Been married a year, where did the time go?
No longer newlyweds, now you are pros
Hope the days found you in good health and good spirit Keep saying I love you – one always needs to 
hear it! Now toast this first date, it’s certainly not the last
And as you build your future don’t ever forget the past!

F i r s t D i n n e r P a r t y
Open your home to entertain and eat
Catch up with old friends and new ones to meet When the night is over share this bottle of wine But 
don’t sit down yet – it’s clean up time!!

C h r i s t m a s E v e
A wise man said wine is better than beer
And now is the season for lots of holiday cheer
So pop the cork and relax a bit, and when the night is through, Kiss goodnight, close your eyes and 
Santa will be good to you!



I was psyched when I found out that our friends weren't leaving for their honeymoon until Monday, and that they wanted to go out Sunday afternoon for drinks and then dinner. With all the wedding fun going on, we didn't really get a chance to spend too much time with them, so this was awesome! The plan was to grab a few beers at the Flying Saucer Draught Emporium. This place rocked! There were 14 Flying Saucer locations around the country between Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kansas and North and South Carolina. They have A LOT of taps - over forty of them! We managed to try 4 different brews - and since it was Texas Pints Sunday, we thought it was a great excuse to try a few local beers! We went with (512) Brewing Company IPA and Deep Ellum Brewing Co. IPA. After that we switched to Oskar Blues Mama's Lil Yella Pils and Sierra Nevada Torpedo. If you're in a town where there is a Flying Saucer, and you're craving a good ol' craft brew, Flying Saucer is the place to go!

On Monday, we went to grab an early lunch at Ketchup Burger Bar, located in a great neighborhood in Downtown Dallas. We split the Brie Burger - topped with Brie (obviously!), baby spinach, tomato and house made apple butter Dijon - and the Turkey Burger - topped with white cheddar, jalapeno-corn salsa, arugula and spiced aioli. We also went with the Fry Trio - sweet potato fries, white truffle Parmesan fries and garlic chive fries. Of course they had all sorts of fun ketchups too. We were partial to the Green Tomato Ketchup and the Chipotle Ketchup. The House Ketchup and the Spicy Ketchup were pretty much right up there with the other two as well! My mouth is watering just thinking about that lunch. It makes my yogurt I'm having for lunch seem pretty darn pitiful! 

Once we finished up lunch, we took in a few touristy sites around Dallas, including The Sixth Floor (even on my second trip to this museum, I would go back again and again - it's just amazing). By dinner time, we decided it was time to grab a beer! We went to The Foundry, one of Bill's suggestions, and it was, by far, one of the coolest places we've ever been too! We pulled up, and thought, oh yeah, this place is going to be interesting. It looks like an old run down trailer-like building. When you walk through the door into this awesome. chill courtyard, with a stage and seating sections built out of reclaimed pallets, you just know you're in for a good time. 

 The Foundry shares this space with Chicken Scratch, where their way of life is 'slow food fast.' The Foundry doesn't serve food, and Chicken Scratch doesn't serve beer, so you just order from one and go to the other, or sit outside in the awesome courtyard area! Sounds good to us! 

The Foundry + Chicken Scratch, Dallas
We had one of the best beers ever at The Foundry, Peticolas Brewing Company, Velvet Hammer, brewed right in Dallas. This Imperial Red Ale is like no other that we've ever tasted. It was just awesome. Velvet Hammer had caramel and brown sugar notes, yet with a great hop balance. We were both just sort of stunned when we took that first taste, so much that I pretty much called the bartender a genius for suggesting it! Before leaving, we wanted to get a bite to eat, so we went with a small side of the Green Chile Mac & Cheese (heaven on a fork!) and  the Quinoa Salad with the suggested rotisserie chicken on top. I had no idea a salad could be so good, but oh it was! We had one more beer before we left, Southern Star Pine Belt Pale Ale. It was another great Texan beer, this one from Conroe. It was awesome to see (and taste!) so many fantastic breweries from Texas heavily represented at so many local places!

After leaving The Foundry, we decided to stop by one more ridiculously awesome looking place I had read about, the Meddlesome Moth. I seriously didn't think we could find a place to even come close to being as cool as The Foundry and Chicken Scratch, but some how we did. 

As laid back, chill and just relaxing as The Foundry and Chicken Scratch was, Meddlesome Moth is situated in a trendy neighborhood and is pretty much as opposite as you can get to TF +CS. But they share two great things in common - an amazing craft beer selection, and totally creative, unique, mouth-watering menus!

The Meddlesome Moth, Dallas
The Meddlesome Moth was packed for a Monday night! We were lucky enough to find two spots at the bar, then just had to decide what we were going to try from their 34 taps! We went with Breckenridge Brewing 417 IPA, a small batch, limited edition Double IPA created by the Breckenridge Brewmaster. This was a great brew, with a little bit of a sweet taste to it, but with some serious hoppiness going on (which to me equals happiness!) We also had the Green Flash Brewing Company West Coast IPA, and noticed that they had Dogfish Head Festina Peche and Victory Golden Monkey on tap (which was also on tap at The Foundry!) In bottles they offered Dogfish Head 90 Minute, Indian Brown Ale, Raison D'Etre and Midas Touch. Very cool to see such a good number of our local beers on the menu all the way in Dallas!

Breckenridge Brewing 417 IPA
Admittedly, we were doing some pretty bad eating on this trip (which equated to us working out as much as we could), but what we ate at the Moth was pretty much the epitome of that! Since we ate a little at The Foundry, we thought we'd just split an appetizer and call it a day. As we flipped through the menu, we noticed that they suggested what style of beer would pair with several items on the menu. That's always a pretty cool thing to see. Anyway, back to the food. They had a Roasted Summer Beet Salad that sounded awesome. Mussels that sounded just as great. They had things as simple and delicious sounding as Prosciutto and Peach, located on their Shared Plates section of the menu. Then we got to the section on the menu titled 'Stick Meats.' Uh oh, this is where it all went seriously downhill, especially when we read these three words: Nueske's Bacon Lollipops. Served with mini funnel cakes and a maple hollandaise no less. 
Nueske's Bacon Lollipops. O.M.G.

 And yes, we ordered them. And yes, they were as ridiculous and salivating as they sound! As you can imagine, we felt like we had to work out for 6 hours Tuesday morning. But oh how it was worth it! 



After checking out hotel #2, the NYLO Las Colinas, on Tuesday, we figured we'd be tourist once more, and visit the Ft. Worth Stockyards.

Having dinner at Tim Love's The Lonesome Dove Western Bistro was on the top of our list of things we were hoping to do while in Dallas, but we just never had a chance with all the other great things we were doing. I'm pretty sure we would both agree, one of the best parts about our visit to the Stockyards was that this crazy cool chef has a little counter service joint called Love Shack. When we finally came upon it, I, of course, break into the B-52's song, not only because it seemed appropriate, but because I was giddy that we were still going to be able to sample some of Chef Love's goodies for lunch! We split the Heated Dog - one of the best hot dogs we've ever had – topped with Lonesome Dove Pork Green Chili, cheddar cheese and onions – and the chile parmesan chips, washing it all down with fresh, homemade root beer! Man, was this place worth the stop! It’s totally rustic, casual, and well, awesome.

We hung around the Stockyards for a few hours, and then made our way to our final stop before heading back to the airport, The Gingerman. The first Gingerman opened in Dallas in 1992, followed by the Ft. Worth location in 1994, and yes, then the awesome NYC location in Murray Hill, in 1996 (a must stop the next time you're in NYC!) The Gingerman Ft. Worth has over FIFTY taps! It's crazy! 


I think Eric was missing his East Coast brews, as he ordered Victory Summer Love without hesitation! I went with a beer I love to get when I can, North Coast Brewing Company Acme IPA. They also had a Rahr & Sons Brewing Company beer on tap that I was dying for one of us to get - Pecker Wrecker - I mean, the name alone completely cracked me up! This Imperial Pilsner Lager is brewed right in Forth Worth, and was as awesome as it's name! My second brew was a little different than the normal style I prefer. I went with the (512) Brewing Company Pecan Porter, and man, was it good! 

If you ever have a chance to make it to Dallas, you have to stop by these places, and check out the great breweries in the area as well! When we travel, we love trying to include as many craft beer bars and breweries as we can. The more we do, the more we notice how much craft beer is becoming a staple in so many big (and not so big) cities! The industry is growing by leaps and bounds and we love it. 

Everything You Need to Know About the Kennett Brewfest!


                    Looking for the printable Brewfest Map?

How about the Connoisseur Tasting Map?

Take a look at who will be attending!
General Session Attending Breweries:
Alesmith New Planet
Argilla brewing Co. Neshaminy Creek Brewing Co
Allagash Old Dominion
Anchor Old Forge Brewing Co
Arcadia Ommegang
Ballast Point Otter Creek
Belekus  Timmermans, Blanche de Brussels Palm/ Steenbrugge
Bellegems Philadelphia brewing
Bethlehem/Fegleys Brew Works Port City Brewing
Blue Moon Prism beer Co.
BottleTree Brewery/ Cotrell Redbridge/Omission
Boulder Redhook/Widmer/Kona
Boxcar Riverhorse
Burley Oak Rogue
Central Waters Round Guys Brewing
Clown Shoes Rumspringa brewing
Corsendonk Sam Adams
Crispin Cider/ Pilsner Urquell Saranac
Darkhorse Shocktop/ Wild Blue, Red, Black
Dock Street Sierra Nevada
Doc's Cider Sixpoint
Dogfish Head Sly Fox
Elysian/ 21st Amendment Smuttynose
Evil Genius Brewing Spaten/ Staropramen
Flying Dog Spring House
Flying Fish St Boniface
Forest and Main Brewing Starr Hill
Frankenmuth Stone Brewing
Fullers/Bass/Boddington Stoudt's
Goose island Susquehanna Brewing
Great Lakes Swashbuckler Brewing
Guinness/Smithwicks Tailgate Brewery
Half Acre/ Ace Cider Thomas Creek Brewery
Harpoon Troegs
House of Shandy Twin Lakes
Hoegaarden,Stella, Leffe Uinta Brewing
Ithaca Union Barrel Works
Leinenkugels Victory
Lancaster Voodoo
Lagunitas Weyerbacher
Left Hand Wild Onion Brewing
Long trail Williamsburg Aleworks
Magic Hat Wolavers
Manayunk Woodchuck
McKenzies Yards
Yuengling






Connoisseur Session Attending Breweries:

Allagash Neshaminy Creek
Boulder Ommegang
Clown Shoes Otter Creek/Long trail
Dark Horse Prism
Dock Street Round Guys
Dogfish Head Sierra Nevada
Evil Genius SlyFox
Fegleys Brew works Starr Hill
Flying Fish Stillwater Artisinal Ales
Forest and Main Stone
Goose Island Stoudt's
Hill Farmstead Tired Hands
Jester King Troegs
Leinenkugels Twin Lakes
Maine Beer Co. Victory
McKenzies Yards
Magic hat


Here's who else will be there!
Historic Kennett Square Info booth
Historic Kennett Square T Shirts
Starbucks Coffee
ING
Dia Dolce Cupcakes
Two Fat Guys
Pizza Wagon
Righteous Pretzel
Dutch Valley Confections
Talula's Table
Firewater's
Beer Connoisseur Magazine


Thanks to Mary at Historic Downtown Kennett Square and Kennett Brewfest for sending us all this awesome info! Can't wait til Saturday!

Wilmington Beer Week 2012 and a Little Birthday Celebrating

It's hard to believe year two of Wilmington Beer Week came and went so quickly! Last year we were lucky to attend a handful of events, including the opening toast featuring Evolution beers at Piccolina Toscana, the Sam Adams Beer Dinner at Union City Grill, the Dogfish Head tasting with DFH founder Sam Calagione at the Washington Street Ale House (by far, one of our favorite events!), and a brunch hosted by Sam at Columbus Inn. As many events as we went to last year, we really only had time for one this year, as we were off to Dallas for one of my best-est friend's wedding, so we figured we'd make it count!

 The start of Wilmington Beer Week was also the start of my birthday celebration, which I have a tendency to turn into a week long celebration each year! We had tickets for Chelsea Tavern's Victorious Tap Take Over, featuring Victory brews and Bill! Before we went to Victory, Eric had a little birthday fun planned for me in Philly! 

 We had been talking about going to Stephen Starr's Frankford Hall since the day it opened. I mean, how could we NOT talk about going to this totally-right-up-our-alley sounding kind of place! It's a pretty simple concept - it's styled as a German biergarten with seating both inside and outside. The outdoor area is awesome. In addition to having amazing German or German-inspired brews on tap, the food is so good.  They even have game like  ping pong and jenga to keep you entertained as you enjoy your German goodness! It really was the perfect way to spend a slightly rainy Saturday afternoon in July! 
We got there and grabbed a spot at the bar and proceeded to 'trinken,' or drink in German, Bitburger Pils and Hoffbrau Summer. Yay for my birthday! Considering we failed to grab breakfast earlier that morning, and the beers we were drinking were BIG, we grabbed a few snacks.  

 Once we got our first round of beers, we then had to decide what to snack on. It was way too hard to decide between all the German favorites they offer! I encouraged Eric to order the warm Bavarian pretzel with cheese dip as well as the spatzle with bacon and mushrooms, since I really wanted them! We also ordered the potato pancakes which were served with applesauce. Everything was spot on. I don't know that I could say much more without either making myself drool or just really hungry! It was all good. Really good.

The vibe at Frankford Hall is just cool. It's very industrial, yet not. According to one of our bartenders, there is a rumor that the building used to be an old brewery. Now that would be cool, even if it isn't true!

 I really can't say enough great things about this place. The service was fantastic. A manager stopped by the bar to see how we were doing. For a Saturday afternoon, the place was pretty busy! I couldn't have asked for a better way to kick off my birthday celebration - even if my birthday was still two days way!

 Once we finished up at Frankford Hall, we made our way back down 95 to our beloved Delaware so that we could kick off Wilmington Beer Week at Chelsea Tavern's awesome Victory event! I mean, with this kind of menu, how could we miss it!

Summer Love Ale paired with Mexi pork tenderloin sliders, queso fresco, pickled onions, and chili lime aoili

Headwaters Pale Ale paired with Duck breast satay, house made Summer Love Ale BBQ sauce

Sunrise Weiss - Unfiltered Bavarian-Style Ale paired with prosciutto wrapped local peach with pecorino dolce

Cask-conditioned Hop Devil IPA paired with citrus and beer brined chicken wings with a coriander peppercorn dipping sauce

Braumeister Pils paired with Scallop ceviche shooter, topped with caviar

Ranch Double IPA paired with bacon wrapped asaparagus, topped with a hollandaise sauce

Helios Ale - Belgain-style saison paired with a lemon tartlete topped with fresh raspberries, blueberries and whipped cream


 Chelsea did an amazing job with the pairings. I will say this time and time again, I love seeing how perfectly two things can come together when it comes to beer and food pairings. Sometimes the food might not be my favorite thing in the world, but when paired with the right food, I totally change my tune. And vice versa. We loved that Chelsea went with smaller portions set up buffett style. It worked perfectly for this event and really encouraged a relaxed, chill atmosphere.

In addition to the crazy good range of brews and food pairings, Victory's co-founder and head brewer, Bill Covaleski also shared a little V-12 during the event and did some serious meeting and greeting throughout the night.

Bill is a super nice guy who we've been lucky enough to speak with quite a few times. One of Eric's closest friend lives about 2 minutes from Victory, so the two of them seem to gravitate to meeting there whenever they get together. As the story goes, they've been going to Victory well before the building is what it is now. They went there the last weekend they were open before their first big expansion and they are both excited for the newest expansion that Victory is going through. We saw him earlier in the summer at Dogfish Head's Analog A Go Go and had a great conversation with him then as well. On top of just having an all-out great conversation with Bill, we also managed to somehow get on the topic of our upcoming trip to Dallas later that week, with Bill recommending some seriously awesome places that we did indeed check out. But we'll save those stories for another blog, because where Bill sent us are seriously blog worthy!

My birthday was two short days later and we headed to Caffe Gelato on Main Street in Newark. As someone who is supposed to have little gluten, my go-to Italian birthday dinner has become increasingly difficult these last couple years. Except that Caffe Gelato offers a gluten free pasta that you can substitute in any of their pasta dishes. Awesome.Many of you may be familiar with Caffe Gelato as a local restaurant that has, in the past, and will again in November, hosted several Dogfish Head beer dinners. November's beer dinner is titled, 'The Marriage of Good Beer and Good Music with Sam Calagione.' It will be held on Sunday, November 4th at 6pm. Unfortunately, we've never had the opportunity to attend one of the beer dinners here - the dates always conflict with something else - but have heard they are really great.

Caffe Gelato's tap list is a small, but mighty, typically having a few local on draught we can't complain! For my birthday I was lucky enough to have a Dogfish Head 60 Minute to go along with my gluten free pasta (oh the contradictions of that meal!) and Eric went with 16 Mile Old Court Ale. Service was awesome, food was even better, and I even got to have a little craft beer on my birthday. Happy Birthday to me!

 Before we headed to Dallas a few days later, we had one more event to check out. As soon as we heard about the Dogfish Head Happy Hour event that Ulysses American Gastropub was planning, we knew we had to make that our last night out in Delaware before we left for Dallas, especially since Sam Calagione was going to be 'hosting' it.

We saw Sam a few weekends before Wilmington Beer Week at the Delaware Brewers Guild Brews by the Bay. He mentioned that he was wearing a back brace and not doing so hot. Turns out, by the time Wilmington Beer Week rolled around, Sam was on bed rest, and was unable to make it up for any of the area events going on, including the Heavy Hitters. 

 So what did the man do to make up for that? He did something amazing - he sent up some seriously awesome vintage Dogfish Head - 2006 Immort Ale. And glasses for it to be served in. We all wished Sam was feeling well enough to make the trip up North, but were easily consoled with this vintage brew.
Let me tell you, I'm an Immort fan. I get excited when it's back around and back on tap. But this 2006 has completely and horribly spoiled me. And I love it! It had such an intense flavor, it was just awesome. Immort is one of the brewery's beers that is unique and is really tied to Sam and his family. The maple syrup, which you can seriously taste in the vintage we were drinking, comes from his family's farm in Western Massachusettes. The additional flavors - peat smoked barley, juniper berries and vanilla all compliment each other perfectly, not one flavor competing to be the forefront of flavor. They just work together.

For the Happy Hour, the guys at Ulysses busted out quite the list:

-Hellhound on My Ale (which will probably always be our favorite DFH brew!)
-Bitches Brew
-Faithful Ale
-Positive Contact
-75 Minute
-Olde School
and of course
-Immort Ale

In addition to the spoiling Immort, we split a bottle of Hellhound with our friends, and went with a Burton Baton and 120 Minute. Talk about a good start to our 6 days in Dallas!

What More Could We Need In Life? Palm Trees, Visiting an Old Friend and Great Craft Beers!

Eric came home a few months ago and said that he had to go to Orlando for a conference. My first thought? Sweet, I'm tagging along! 

The conference started on Sunday, so we flew down on Thursday night to visit with one of my dearest friends, Patrick, who moved to Tampa at the end of last year. 

We were in Florida last year for Memorial Day weekend, and spent a day in the Clearwater and Tampa area (before Patrick lived in the area) and visited a couple pretty cool places including Datz (which gets a repeat visit this trip) and Mr. Dunderbaks, a very cool German  Biergartten and restaurant. On our way out of town that trip, we knew we wanted to go back and do more exploring. And exploring we did! 

Beer #1 of our trip - Full Sail Pale Ale
We flew in Thursday night after work, and unfortunately, since we landed so late, not much was open. By the time we made it to my family's house, and got all settled in, we both were in need of a drink! Thankfully we keep a few beers stashed in the fridge, and opted for a Full Sail Pale Ale. Not a bad way to kick off our longest vacation we've taken in a while (although Eric was technically "working" 2 1/2 of those days! Yuck!)


After riding bikes around the grounds of Disney's Wilderness Lodge (my favorite resort on property) and Disney's Fort Wilderness Friday morning, we got ready and made our way to Tampa, where we met Patrick at the first of many spots we would visit throughout the weekend, Tampa Bay Brewing Company. 


Eric and I originally saw Tampa Bay Brewing Company on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, and loved everything the place stands for. Check out this clip from the episode the Brewing Company was featured on!



Located in Ybor City, it is run by a very cool mother and son team. The mother is originally from England and is fanatical about serving the freshest, cleanest beer possible. Their chef ensures that they use the brewery's beer in each and every recipe. Can't complain about that!

Tampa Bay Brewing Company
The brewery has an outdoor area steps from their front door, which is where we decided to sit. This place offers a ton of beers. So many, it was a little tricky to pick what we wanted to start with! Over the course of our time there, the three of us had the Noxious Smoked Scotch Ale, Old Elephant Foot IPA, One Night Stand Pale Ale (which I had to order simply because of the name!) and Moosekiller Barley Wine. To snack on, we had the Cheese & Ale Dip, made with the brewery's Red Eye Ale, as well as an order of the Brew House Pretzels, which came with Moosekiller Barleywine Mustard and Wild Warthog Weizen Pepper Jack Fondue. Our second introduction to Tampa was a pretty awesome one!

The bad news was, it started to pour as we were sitting there enjoying our beers, so the rest of the night we took it easier. Later on, we went to a great burger place called Burger21. Their first location outside of Florida is opening in Voorhees, NJ in the spring. You can guarantee we'll be making the drive up to have another one of these burgers! Especially because they even have a gluten free menu, including a gluten free bun! At Burger 21 I had the black bean veggie burger, and Eric had the Cinco Burger, topped with guacamole, salsa, jalepenos, Monteray Jack cheese and cilantro cream. We split a basket of fries, both regular and sweet potato, with Patrick, and went to town with the fun ketchups and dipping sauces this place offers. - like toasted marshmallow, apple cider and curry mayo. Oh yeah, and they had regular ol' ketchup, but who wants to eat that when you can have crazy concoctions to put on your fries! They serve (bottles of) beer, and even had a few craft beers to pick from. We went with Stone IPA.  After a day like that, we were happy to be back in Tampa, and even happier to get to spending the time with Patrick!

Boat (and Dock!) Drinks!


As rainy and crazy as the weather was on Friday night, Saturday was a fantastic day in Tampa. After a relaxing morning of coffee, a walk along the water, and not much else, we hopped on Patrick's boat and took it out to the bay -what a fantastic way to get from point A to point B -all the while drinking a little Samuel Adams Summer Ale (Patrick is a Boston boy, so of course that's what we were drinking on the boat!)

Our destination was the Yacht Club and Hula Bay Club, where we proceeded to dock the boat, and make our way in for some bayside drinks and a late lunch. They had a pretty decent tap list available, including Kona Brewing Company Fire Rock Pale Ale. It was seriously refreshing and the perfect beer for the perfect kind of afternoon we had!

On Sunday we had to head back to Orlando for Eric's conference. Before we did, we got every last bit of Tampa (and Patrick) awesomeness in! Although note to self: you can't order alcohol in Tampa until after 11am on Sundays...which totally ruined our plan for the bacon bloody Mary we were going to have during our 9:30am brunch reservations at Datz! Of course it wasn't really the end of the world, especially since their cold brew coffee is addictive!

After brunch Patrick took us to one of the coolest places I think I've ever been to, ThePub. The Pub is fashioned as an English Pub, but with a very cool, very technologically updated twist. 


We've been to a few wine bars that give you a reloadable card that you can use in their wine machines, only pouring how much you want of what wines you'd like to try. The Pub has self-serve draughts that are controlled by the same type of card, but using an iPad screen. It's very cool. You simply wave the card in front of the screen. Once it registers the card, you pick what you'd like to drink and pour. The screen display tells you how many ounces you're pouring. It was way too much fun!


The Pub! And Patrick showing us how it's done!
With it being a British pub, the tap choices were quite heavy on the British brews, which was fine by us! I went with the Belhaven Twisted Thistle IPA and Eric went with Magners, as it reminded him of his time in London, when pretty much all he did was drink. Oh, and watch 'football'!

It really couldn't have been much better of an afternoon. Hanging in a British pub, sipping on some British brews dispensed from an iPad controlled tap, with two of my favorite guys, all while watching the Euro Cup on TV. 

As quick as I thought that, we then made plans for one last stop before leaving the Tampa Bay area - we decided to head over to Cigar CityBrewing for a tasting. What a way to end our time in Tampa! 

Cigar City is tucked away in a an area of industrial looking buildings. And beyond lucky for Patrick, the brewery is only about 5 minutes from his place!

Final Stop in Tampa - Cigar City Brewing!
For $6, you get a pretty awesome tasting of 4 of Cigar City's beers. Between the three of us, we covered a good amount of the brews Cigar City had on tap, including Snack Attack, Hotter than Helles, Jai Alai IPA, Florida Cracker, a Belgium Wit, and Maiden Voyage IPA. The beers were all outstanding! I'd hop on a plane just to get another taste of it!

The IPAs were awesome. I think the Jai Alai edged the Maiden Voyage, which was still pretty awesome! The Helles was fantastic! I think we could have easily sat there all day and just hung out. It was a really cool, laid back place! 


Snack Attack, an Imperial/Double Porter,  was seriously one of the most interestingly, intriguing beers I've ever had! It's a collaboration with Cigar City, Funky Buddha and Bluejacket Brewery, which isn't opening until next year. On a side note, we're totally going to have to check out Bluejacket when we go to visit friends and family in DC. And after checking out the details on Funky Buddha, I totally want to get back to Boca and go there! 
Cigar City Brewing, Tampa
Anyway, back to the beer. Snack Attack is a a movie theater food inspired brew. Seriously. It's brewed with Florida sea salt, cacao nibs, vanilla beans and dry-roasted peanuts. The flavor of the peanuts comes through but isn't overpowering, as it seems to be mellowed by the cacao nibs and vanilla beans. It was like having a chocolate covered pretzel beer, but that wasn't as gross as that might sound! I can still taste the distinct flavors! 

So off to Orlando at this point. After checking in, Eric had to almost immediately get into his conference, but not before he made a pit-stop with me at the hotel's bar, where we had an Orlando Brewing Company OrlandoPale Ale. I have to admit, in all the years I've been going to Orlando, I've never really had an opportunity to seek out any of the local breweries as we spend most of our time at theme parks (although thankfully they're all starting to step up their craft beer selections!) It was a pretty nice way to kick off the next couple of days. 

Most of the indulging we did over the next couple days was the conference Eric was attending, including a private party at the Orlando location of Cuba Libre. Which, bonus, guess what was located right next door - The Pub Orlando's location! 

After the sweetness of Cuba Libre's delightful mojitos got to be too much, we headed next door to play a little more with the magic beer dispensing iPads! This time around we were thrilled to see a little Delaware love with Dogfish Head on tap! And 90 Minute no less! I really liked the Twisted Thistle IPA when I had it in Tampa, so I went for that again, plus a DFH 90 Minute and a SamAdams Angry Orchard Cider. I'm always drawn to brews by Left Hand Brewing Company, since I myself, am a lefty. They had their Milk Stout on tap, so I also got a tiny bit of that! Wanting a little taste of home, Eric also went with the 90 Minute and the Twisted Thistle. As you can imagine, it was time to call it a night and think about our trip back to reality. That's never fun! 

Our time in Florida, as it always is, was fantastic. Spending time with one of the best friends a girl could ask for, drinking great brews, hanging on the water for a bit, and just relaxing - I couldn't ask for anything else! Well, except to do it all over again! And something tells me we will! Cheers!




Brews and Boston



Ah Boston. Bean Town. The place where you can get a killer bowl of chow-da. And "pahk the cah in Hahvahd Yahd!"

Boston has always been one of my favorite cities to visit, and Eric has never been! So, when the opportunity presented itself to head up to Hartford, CT for a Dave Matthews Band show, I thought to myself, we have two options here. We could either head to Rhode Island and stop in Newport or Providence, or we can keep heading north, and visit Boston. Boston won out!

Before we go any further, we have to talk about our lunch stop on the drive up to Hartford. It's totally not beer related, but equally as awesome. 

Someone (ahem, not me!) wasn't really paying attention to the whole let's do anything possible to avoid NYC and 95 in Connecticut. Well, the bonus of the misguided, we ended up at Super Duper Weenie for lunch. If you're ever driving up 95 in Fairfield, STOP and grab one of these super weenies! 

Super Duper Weenie has tons of options for toppings, but I just went plain and old school, just a simple addition of ketchup. Eric went with their homemade relish which took him back to childhood as it had a hint of applesauce (don't ask!) Their fries are awesome too. It was a great stop as we took the long way around to Hartford!

Now, you might think there wouldn't be much to report until we got to Boston, but oh how wrong that would be! We stayed in Hartford the night of the show. After some Beer Advocate and a little other research, I came across a small family of restaurants called Max Restaurant Group. Within the group there are some pretty awesome sounding places. One in particular jumped out at me - MaxBurger, located in West Hartford, CT.

West Hartford has a great downtown area, which includes Max Burger. If you’re in the area, check this place out. Even if you’re kind of close to West Hartford, go!

We were starving by the time we got to Max Burger, so we decided to start with an appetizer – Spicy Tuna Salsa Cruda. It was like a spicy tuna tartar type dish, and it was SO good. I went with The Grateful Veg house made quinoa-sunflower seed burger. With the cheddar cheese, red onion, roasted tomatoes, baby arugula, green goddess dressing and avocado, it's damn good. They also offered THE BEST gluten free, dairy free bun I’ve had. Ever. Every other restaurant, take note!

Eric went for the real deal burger and had the Blackjack, a blackened burger with jalapeño jack cheese, roasted green chills, guacamole, and honey-chipotle onions, served on an artesian roll. I stole a bite of it, and it was so tasty!

Another oh-happy-day moment for the two of us? I could get edamame as my side instead of fries, and Eric went with Sweet Potato Fries instead of the standard potato fries. We were both quite thrilled with our choices!

We washed down our meals with a couple Brewtus Maximus draughts, brewed by Thomas Hooker Brewing Co. of Bloomfield, CT.  This pale ale is a collaboration between Max Restaurant Group and the brewery, and is only available at Max Restaurant Group joints. Oh, and $1 from the sale of every beer benefits the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. Nice.
Max Burger was such a great way to kick off our concert going night! We headed over to the show, not sure what to expect. We figured it would be something like the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden, and it totally was. The downside, much like when we’re in Camden for a show, is that we struggled to find a decent beer. After wandering around for nearly 20 minutes, just as we were about to give up, we turned the corner and saw Harpoon IPA on draught. Sweet baby Jesus, we were happy. I’m pretty sure the girl that waited on us thought I was already drunk, I got that excited! Not a bad beer to drink as the sounds of Dave Matthews Band filled the air.

Although our stay was brief, the time in the Hartford area was fantastic. And then we were officially Boston bound!

I've visited Boston at least a dozen times, if not more, during my college years. During college I was part of the Walt Disney World College Program where I met some of the greatest people I know, who just happen to live in the New England area. Going to visit them was always an adventure, and often included a trip to Boston! My list of things I hoped we could do was seriously a mile long. Poor Eric was probably overwhelmed with all of my options! We got checked into our hotel (thanks to my fantastically awesome friend, David), and we were on our way to start touring the city! It was pretty stinking hot up there over Memorial Day weekend. As we wandered around Faneuil Hall, we decided to escape the heat and hop into Durgin Park for a cold beer. Their craft beer bottle and can list was a lot more impressive than we thought it would be. The beers on tap weren’t too bad. We decided to grad a traditional Boston brew, Samuel Adams Summer Ale. After that, we had another Harpoon IPA. It was a nice way to break up our afternoon. 

For dinner that night we headed over to LTK Bar and Kitchen, where we had one of the best servers we’d had in a long time. We, of course, had to get Legal’s Famous Clam Chowder to start our dinner off.  We followed that up with the Tortilla, Apple and Goat Cheese Salad that also had avocado and roasted red peppers, tossed in a chipotle orange dressing. For dinner we split the Lobster Wrap – local lobster, avocado, bacon and chipotle mayo on grilled flatbread – and the Tuna Burger with chili sambai and roasted pepper aioli. We couldn’t have asked for a better meal in Boston. Bonus: they serve pretty awesome beer too! That night, we went with the Cambridge Brewing Company Big Man IPA, which is one of CBC’s seasonal brews. The hops were definitely prominent in this brew. It went so well with our meal. Dinner here was the perfect way to end our first night in Boston!

On Sunday the only thing we really had planned was heading to see the Red Sox take on the Royals. Thanks to my awesome friend, David, we had a gift card to check out The Baseball Tavern, located right outside of the entrance to Fenway. While we were there, we grabbed a couple pints of Wachusett Brewing Company Green Monsta IPA – quite fitting for what the rest of the day was all about! Once we got into Fenway, we proceeded to grab another Green Monsta IPA. Friends were in Boston the same weekend we were there, so we caught up with them and had a few more beers during the game – we went with Harpoon IPA and a Sam Adams Summer (do you see a pattern in our beer choices while in Boston?!) 

Fortunately, I hadn’t been carded at this point in the day (and it was well into our day!)  After the game, we all decided to head across the street to Cask ‘n Flagon for a bite to eat and a couple more beers with our friends. This is when I realized that my ID was back at the hotel. So, after a quick taxi ride back to the room (and the awesome taxi driver waiting for me outside of the hotel) I left the game a little early so I could grab it. When I got back to Fenway, I the game was still going on, so I stopped into Boston Beer Works to kill some time before the game was over. My beer of choice at BBW was their Watermelon Ale, complete with a wedge of watermelon and all. It was a really great beer –totally reminiscent of 21st Amendment Hell or High Watermelon. 

Once the game was over, we headed to Cask ‘n Flagon, where we proceeded to drink the go-to beer of the holiday weekend – Harpoon! We stayed there for a bit with the friends, and then made our way to Cambridge and Harvard Square. While in Cambridge, we went to LordHobo, a funky cool place will a diverse tap list. We had a High & MightyBeer Co. Beer of the Gods, as well as Green Flash West Coast IPA. Not too shabby.

We also popped in flat top johnny’s  while in Cambridge. There are tons of pool tables to keep you occupied when visiting this laidback joint.This time around, we thought we’d have a little something from our home state, and went with a Dogfish Head 60 Minute. Before we headed out of flat top johnny’s, we tried another Cambridge Brewing Company brew, Tall Tale Pale Ale. As we later learned, flat top johnny’s has a great relationship with CBC and feature several of their brews year round.

Our original plan was to check out both Harpoon Brewery and Sam Adams while we were in town, but as it usually happens, we ran out of time to do both, so we decided to check out Sam Adams. The original brewery isn’t downtown, it’s located in Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston. We took a taxi over, which is probably the easiest way to get there. More on how we got back in a sec.

The tour is free, they ask for a $2 donation which goes to a local charity. Can’t beat that. During the tour you receive three samples of Sam Adams brews. For our tour we tried their Boston Lager, Summer Ale, and Boston 26.2 Brew, the brewery’s own version of gose, a rare type of beer associated with the German city of Leipzig.

Once the tour was complete, and we picked up a few goodies in the giftshop, we hopped on a trolley that takes you from the brewery (and back) to Doyle’s Cafe, the first spot in Boston to serve Samual Adams.  Back in 1986 Doyle’s Café and Sam Adams Jim Koch, partnered up making Doyles the first purveyor of Sam Adams beer, making them the first bar to put them on tap. The trolley ride alone is worth heading over there! Our driver was extremely entertaining and provided us a sneak peak of what Doyle’s would have on tap once we got there. The bummer, he thought their Red Brick Irish Red Ale, which is typically only found in Boston, would be on tap. Once we got there we found out that they didn’t. But they did have the Summer Ale, which is what we went with. Note to anyone that’s going to visit the brewery and Doyle’s afterwards. If you’re thinking about purchasing one of the Boston Lager glasses, hold off until you go to Doyle’s. You get a glass with the purchase of the beer! Not a bad deal!

Because we were going to be getting on the road and heading back to Delaware once we finished up the tour, we decided to grab a bite to eat at Doyle’s while we were there. The food was great! We went with the chowda (of course – when in Rome…) and totally splurged on an order of Onion Rings. They were fantastic – and supposedly made with Sam Adams Lager beer batter.


On our way back to the brewery, the trolley driver, seriously the most entertaining man in Boston, asked if anyone needed to be dropped off at the T station. We did, which was awesome! It made our trip back to the hotel way easier! 


What started out as a good excuse to go see Dave Matthews Band one more time (thank goodness Eric is such a good sport!) ended with a trip around one of my favorite areas and favorite cities. We're looking forward to finding another excuse to get up there again soon!

Stanley's Tavern and Their ACBW Dogfish Head Beer Dinner

American Craft Beer Week was over just as quick as it started, and if you were like us, you tried to get out to check out a couple of the awesome events going on around Delaware. The hard part was picking which events to go to - although really, what a problem to have! 

One event we didn't want to miss was the Dogfish Head Beer Dinner hosted by Stanley's Tavern! This was Stanley's first dive into a beer dinner, and if Mike Torpey, the Beverage Manager there, hadn't told us this was their first beer dinner, we definitely wouldn't have ever guessed that - everything ran super smooth and it was so, so good! Judging by the increase in volume as the night progressed (and as the ABV got stronger) - all that attended had a blast!


Dogfish Head's Delmarva Regional Sales Manager, another Mike (Contreras) attended the dinner and along with the Mike T., the two kept us entertained with the stories behind the beers and how and why they paired the beers with each course. 

It was all good too, let me tell you!

Stanley's Dogfish Head Beer Dinner was five courses, plus a palette cleanser (or sorbet intermezzo as we called it during my days in HRIM at UD). 


Here's what we were lucky enough to try:
Exotic Oyster Shooter - Served with My Antonia
Oyster with fresh heirloom tomato juice, celery puree, served in an Old Bay rimmed glass.

Burton Baton Glazed Wings - Served with Burton Baton
Chicken wings marinated for 24 hours in spices and Burton Baton, then glazed and roasted with a Burton Baton reduction. This course proved what we already knew - you can NEVER have too much Burton Baton!

Namaste Sorbet Palette Cleanser
This isn't one of Eric's favorite DFH beer, but he loved this sorbet! I love the beer, and loved Stanley's take on the sorbet even more!


Wild Boar Baby Back Ribs - Served with Raison d'Etre
Slow roasted ribs with a Raison d'etre babeque sauce, served with barley and greens risotto

Oatmeal Smores Bar  - Served with VINTAGE! 2009 World Wide Stout
Classic s'mores made with an oatmeal cookie layered with chocolate and carmelized homemade marshmallows

Exotic Fruit Kabob - Served with Midas Touch

I will freely admit that in the past, I've been known to be a somewhat picky eater. Okay, somewhat is an extremely understatement. I was pretty much a pain in the a*s everywhere we went growing up. One time a mushroom touched a shrimp I was eating and I threw a hissy. Seriously, I was such a freak! This picky manner has nearly been eliminated, thanks in part to the beer dinners that we've attend. There always seems to be something a little out of my normal realm of comfort, but I always try it. No matter what it is. And Stanley's dinner was no exception. Their wild boar ribs had me a little intimidated, that was until I tried them. I didn't care if they were boar, pork, meat substitute, whatever. They were awesome! The Raison d'Etre barbeque sauce rocked! And the risotto - what a fantastic combination of flavors and cool use of barley! Washing it all down with Raison d'Etre was perfect. 

Each course was so, so, so good. Of course my sweet tooth favored the Oatmeal S'mores Bar, almost as much as the fruit kabob that was served with the Midas Touch (talk about simple, yet perfect pairings!) I think the Oatmeal S'Mores Bar won out as it was paired with a little VINTAGE World Wide Stout. Please, and thank you, may I have another?! Everything, from start to finish throughout the night just worked. You can't beat a meal when everything just flows the way the Dogfish Head Beer Dinner did that wonderful Thursday night at Stanley's. 

Expect to see Stanley's hosting another beer dinner before the end of the year. If it's anything like this one, it will sell out!

In the meantime, get over to Stanley's and check out their ever-changing, craft beer action! The night we went to pick up the beer dinner tickets I was really looking forward to trying 21st Amendment Monk's Blood, which I knew they had on draught since Stanley's is great about updating their Facebook and keeping their followers in the loop of what they're pouring. That totally rocks with the inner marketing geek in me!

Just last week Mike T. emailed us to let us know they had just tapped Victory Summer Love and Saranac Kolsch - perfect timing for the warm weather we've been having! You can also hop on their website to check out what they're pouring, and what's coming up. 


Don't forget Stanley's has a package store - and it's open til 1am Monday through Saturday and until 8pm on Sunday. Always good to know when you're looking for a little something good to go!
Let's talk about another very cool thing that Stanley's is involved in - Yavi! Yavi stands for You Are Very Important. I was introduced to Yavi by a awesome friend of mine who frequents Stanely's often. (Thanks, Kathy!)

Yavi is an app that allows you to avoid waiting for a table in casual dining restaurants, providing you with a more "VIP"-like experience. You can also earn rewards while you dine, view the wait time, get on the wait list from your phone, mention any special requests you may have, and tell the host you've arrived at the restaurant. How fantastic is that?!


Stanley's is Yavi's initial restaurant partner. It's such a great app to take advantage of! 

There's a reason that Stanley's has been around as long as they have been (and we're talking 1935!!) They've stuck by their mission to provide quality food and great service in a "casual friendly atmosphere." They're doing just that, night after night. And with their craft beer selection continuing as it is, it can only get better!



Over the Rivers (on Five Different Bridges) Through The Five Boros We Go!


On May 6th we were lucky enough to take part in Bike New York's Five Boro Bike Tour. It. Was. Awesome. At times, awesomely congested (there are 30,000 + riders) but nonetheless, one of the coolest rides I think we'll ever do! A ride that includes 40 miles through each of the five boroughs, five bridges with amazing views of the surroundings, all while riding through closed-off streets of NYC is pretty much beyond okay in my book. Oh, and I did I mention, it was a really good excuse to spend a long weekend in NYC?! Cause that's exactly what we did!

Friday Night
We trained it on up to NYC on Friday. We got a little bit of a late start, but hey, who cares? It's New York City and everything (bars) stay open late (until 4am! Sweet!) 

We weren't staying very far from Eataly and Birreria, and since we hadn't had a chance to eat dinner yet, we decided to stroll on over there to kick things off. I've been there before, where Eric has not, so I was super excited to show him all the nooks and crannies of this "market." There is so much to take in, it can be a bit overwhelming, but in a really good way!

We love our craft beer. We are also self-proclaimed foodies, and for someone (Lindsey) who l.o.v.e.s. Italian food (though that pesky little gluten free thing doesn't allow me to really enjoy it as much anymore) this place is like a damn mecca. Forget a deli counter, they have a fresh pasta counter. That is pretty much all I need in life. Especially since it's strategically placed right next the bread bakery. We wanted to grab a bite to eat and a drink at Birreria, which as you may know has quite the Delaware connection. Birreria is Eataly's rooftop restaurant and brewery that is a collaboration between Dogfish Head, Baladin and Del Borgo.  They brew unfiltered, unpasteurized and naturally carbonated Cask Ales literally 30 feet from where you can sit and drink them! Birreria is open year round, and features a retractable roof so you can sit up there rain/snow or shine. It's an awesome spot with some really great views!

But here's where our little hope of starting our stint in NYC at Birreria - duh, it was Friday night, so they were a little busy and there was a wait. Although we were bummed we couldn't get right in, we did like the way they let you know when a table/spot is available. They take you name and cell phone number and text you when something opens up. Unfortunately, we were too hungry (and let's face it, thirsty) to wait, so we moved on to plan B. They did in fact text us about 25 minutes or so later to let us know a spot at the bar had opened up. Not a bad little system. It's also amazing how quickly 25 minutes passed in a place like Eataly!

Anyway, we wandered around (and around, and around) Eataly until we settled on a cheese, nuts and fruit plate and a gorgeous little miniature (gluten free!) dessert to snack on. Oh, and a bottle of the imported Birra Del Borgo Re Ale Extra.

Seriously though, if you are in NYC, make a stop there. You won't be disappointed. It's awesome. 

Wanting to get our night rocking and rolling, we opted to hop across the street to Madison Square Park and enjoy our snack and our beer...out of an empty water bottle. Classy, I know.
Instead of starting out weekend off at Birreria that night, we decided to hike on down to the West Village so we could stop at one of Eric's favorite bars in NYC, the Blind Tiger. This place is small and quirky, but has a killer draught list. We were lucky enough to find seats at the bar, so we can't complain on a busy Friday night! 


You have to love a place that has Dogfish Head and Victory on tap on a regular basis, (The Dogfish Head sign was hanging above the bar at Blind Tiger.) especially when you're not in the our area. It's pretty cool to see. Eric started off with Lagunitas Undercover Shut Down, and then moved on to Clown Shoes Brewery Hoppy Feet. I was opposite. I started with the Hoppy Feet and ended with Undercover Shut Down. Both were great choices either way we had them! You really can't beat their draught list. If you're in NYC, be sure to make this one of your stops. It really has a small, neighborhood feel to it, yet, it's smack dab right on Bleeker Street. On top of that, you have to love bars being open til 4am...us heading home at 2:30 almost seemed a waste! 

Saturday
Saturday was a bit of a rest day for us since we were going to be riding 40 miles the next day. We had to take it easy both in what we did, and sadly, what we drank. Not too much to report in regards to beer from this day - but we do have a couple suggestions by the way of food that were too good not to share.


We met one of my oldest, dearest friend and her husband for brunch in the West Village at a great place called Market Table. It had such a cool atmosphere. The Bacon, Spinach & Fontina Scramble, the Poached Organic Eggs Benedict, the Mushroom, Asparagus & Fontina Quiche and the Burger were all awesome and our ridiculously clean plates showed that. They had a small craft beer menu, which would have been great if we were drinking. And that was not an easy fete on our part! 


For dinner, we checked out a restaurant on my parents' recommendation. They head up to NYC often, and recently ate at Lure Fish Bar in SoHo. They said their dinner at Lure was one of the best meals they've ever had, so of course we had to try it! Let me tell you, I think we have to agree with my parents on this one! We were trying to keep dinner on the lighter side since it was the night before our ride, so we ordered a handful of different appetizers to share and try. And we ordered our one cocktail we were allowing ourselves, a blood orange margarita (thank goodness it was Cinco de Mayo!) The cocktail was awesome. Keep in mind, they have a pretty decent, although somewhat small craft beer draught list. We stuck to the margaritas since we both knew if we had beer, there wouldn't be just one beer had, there would have been several! We were trying really hard to avoid that! Now, back to dinner... We had the Spicy Big Eye Tuna sushi roll, the Lure House roll (shrimp tempura topped with spicy tuna), the Roasted Beet Salad with goat cheese, hazelnuts and arugula, the Shrimp and Watermelon Ceviche, and to top it off, since we were going to be burning some serious calories in the morning, the the Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie with peanut brittle ice cream & chocolate covered pretzels. Seriously. Amazing. We left there ready to take on the next morning. Which also meant we were back in our hotel by about 9pm on a Saturday night in New York City...the city may never sleep, but we had to. That 5:15am wake up call was coming early...


On a side note - if you ever check out Lure or are just in SoHo, and don't have to be in bed early on a Saturday night in NYC like we did, be sure to hop across the street to The Mercer Kitchen at the Mercer Hotel. It's a great place to grab an after-dinner drink or dessert. It's a very cool, NYC vibe.


This is what it's like to ride with 30,000 (plus) bikers!
Sunday
Fast forward to Sunday and through 40 miles of awesomeness in each of New York City's five boroughs, plus another 4 miles to the Staten Island Ferry to get us back to Manhattan, and you have an awesome excuse to stop at Whole Foods (conveniently located a block from our hotel) to try to regain some of the ridiculous amount of calories we lost - which of course included a couple good beers! We had a small feast in our room, including  a Founders Centennial IPA and a Porkslap Farmhouse Pale Ale. There are several Whole Foods all around the city (something like 7 of them!) and they have some pretty awesome craft beer choices. We love that we could walk right into Whole Foods and grab two singles (or six packs or cases if our little hearts desired!) They always seem to have a good selection of local brews, which we really like to see. Although if I lived in NYC, and close to a Whole Foods, I would probably be tempted to brown bag it more often than not!  


We probably could have slept the remainder of Sunday away, except we were in New York, and my parents got us the hook up for a very cool event at Marcus Samuelson's Red Rooster in Harlem that night. Marcus made it to the season finale of Chopped All-Stars on the Food Network and was pitted against some of my favorite chefs - Michael Symon, Penny Davidi and Jeffery Saad. In the super club of Red Rooster, Ginny's, the folks from Mastercard were holding a watch party in honor of the season finale (sort of giving away who won the competition in my opinion!) Marcus did indeed win the title, as well as $50,000 for C-CAP, his charity of choice. 

A little bit of our Red Rooster fun!
There were Food Network personalities everywhere. And me and Eric! It was surreal - and so very, very awesome. We enjoyed three amazing courses prepared by Marcus' super impressive kitchen, and bonus, there was an open bar.

Red Rooster is quite the awesome place, and we were psyched to see the beer menu. Let me correct that, the CRAFT beer menu. On draught. Nice. The bottle list has a few of the typical more generic crowd pleasing beers, but I overlooked that with what they were pouring on tap! Downstairs at Ginny's they only have three taps, but we were totally okay with that. Mind you, we're pretty sure we were the only two people in the room drinking beer, but hey, that's our thing. We had Brooklyn Lager, Ommegang Abbey Ale and Keegan's Mother's Milk to pick from. We both stuck with Ommegang that night.

The whole event was just such a neat night. I cannot begin to tell you what it was like for me to be in the presence of such neat Food Network peeps, have an amazing meal, drink great beer, all after I had ridden 40 miles throughout such a cool city as New York City! Life doesn't get much better than this! Happy Sunday ya'll. Thanks, Mom and Dad, for this awesome gift! We were calling it a night!


Monday
Knowing we wouldn't be much good at work the day after the ride, we stayed in NYC until Monday. We really wanted to head into Brooklyn for the day, but unfortunately, most of the places we were hoping to go to (Brooklyn Brewery, d.b.a., Radegast Hall, Brooklyn Bowl...) were either closed since it was Monday or weren't opening until 4pm or later. Boo. But it's Brooklyn, so of course there were still  still found some awesome places to hang out.
Brooklyn

After wandering around the streets of Williamsburg, we decided to get lunch and stumbled upon a really great place, Two Door Tavern. We grabbed a seat at the bar where we were taken care of by the greatest bartender (who had just been to Philly the previous weekend and loved the craft beer scene there!) The atmosphere at this place was exactly what we were looking for. There are lots of reclaimed bits and pieces throughout, giving the tavern a really warm feel to it. The beer list had some great options, and food was so good.

I stuck with Ithaca Beer Co. Apricot Wheat throughout lunch, Eric had Brooklyn Brewery Lager. The food here, as I mentioned, was really good. They have Happy Hour throughout the week during the day, so we decided to take advantage of that and order the Devils on Horseback (Bacon Wrapped Herbed Blue Cheese Stuffed Dates), Goat Cheese, Grilled Chicken and Spinach Quesadillas, and Homemade Pigs in a Blanket. They were smaller portions and perfect for us to share for lunch. Sometimes the best places you wind up on the ones you just happen to just stumble upon. Two Door Tavern is definitely one of those finds! 


We didn't want to leave Brooklyn without stopped in Mugs Ale House, another one of Eric's go-to spots in New York City. This place is great. Mugs has that neighborhood corner bar feeling to it (probably because that's exactly what it is!) It's a no frills kind of joint, and that's why I think we both like it there so much - and their tap list is fantastic. On our way over there, we checked out the tap list online, and it said they had Lagunitas WTF on cask. I was stoked. Unfortunately, the list was a little out of date and they only had Lagunitas IPA on cask. Oh darn, whatever were we going to do? Drink that instead! Since it was a Monday afternoon it wasn't too crowned, which made for a great relaxing way to end our time in Brooklyn. 


We may have been too relaxed by the time we left Mugs, as we needed to stop into Konditori, a Swedish coffee shop, before we hopped back on the subway! This was the perfect spot to grab a little caffeinated beverage that we so needed. The Swedish coffee was awesome, as were the cookies (especially since they had a couple gluten free options!) 


But our time in NYC wasn't quite over. I really didn't want to leave without a stop into Birreria, so as soon as we made it back to Chelsea, that's where we headed!


Birreria goodness!
As we waited for the elevator to take us up to this rooftop bar, we spotted a sign that said, "Dante Alighieri put the gluttonous in the third circle of hell.  At EATALY NEW YORK we put the gluttonous on the 15th floor rooftop, in heaven." After reading this, I knew we were in for a treat. Since our trip was winding down, we just wanted to enjoy one beer each. Again, that was just hard...so we had two! I went with the the cask-conditioned Nigella, an English-style Session IPA that is brewed with Maris Otter Hops, and bittered with both Fuggles and East Kent Goldings Hops. This beer was amazing. Eric went with the Del Borgo 25Dodici, a strong ale brewed with orange peel. Such a refreshing beer. Thanks to Birreria's Twitter update, we knew that they had also just taped Dogfish Head My Antonia. We figured since we started the trip off with Del Borgo's My Antonia, ending it with Dogfish Head's My Antonia was perfect. 

On a side note, if you don't know the back story on My Antonia and want to see a really great video of Sam and his "93 years young" grandmother, Jesse, sneak a sip of My Antonia in discreet white cups (so that the "geriatric po-po" aren't the wiser!) click on the video below. It'll be the most entertaining 3 minutes and 46 seconds of your day!




Anyway, back to our trip...
Sitting under the retractable roof on a gorgeous New York City afternoon was hard to leave. We could have easily sat there for a couple of hours. Probably not the best thing since we did indeed have to get back to reality sooner rather than later! Next time we want to head back up to Bierria to check the rooftop out at night. I can only imagine how pretty it is up there then!


It was just about dinner time when we left Birreria, and we decided to head across the street to the Shake Shack in Madison Square Park to grab a quick bite before heading back to the train station. What a way to end our trip - with a good ol' meal of with a cheeseburger, fries and a peanut butter milkshake. (We split the fries and shake - definitely big enough for two!) Even as it started to rain the tiniest bit at we ate our dinner, it was still a great place to be. 
Shake Shack Awesomeness!

The cool thing about Shake Shake is that in addition to the super yummy milkshakes (and bottled water and sodas) you can also get beer, including one that is brewed for Shake Shack, the ShakeMeister Ale, by Brooklyn Brewery. Can't beat that. And bonus - the Philly Shake Shack is opening soon in Philly at 20th and Sansom! We're hoping they'll have ShakeMeister Ale on tap there as well!










So here's a list of our favorite spots around New York City that we visited. We can't wait to get back up there and add a few more to this list!


Eataly and the rooftop Birreria
200 5th Avenue
New York, NY 
Eataly - 212.229.2560
Bierria - 212.937.8910

Blind Tiger
281 Bleeker Street
West Village
212.462.4682

Market Table
54 Carmine Street
West Village
212.255.2100

Lure Fish Bar
142 Mercer Street
SoHo
212.431.7676

The Mercer Kitchen
99 Prince Street
SoHo
212.966.5454

Red Rooster and Ginny's Supper Club
310 Malcolm X Boulevard
Harlem
212.792.9001

Two Door Tavern
116 North 5th Street
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
718.599.0222

Mugs Ale House
125 Bedford Avenue
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
718.486.8232

Konditori 
186 5th Avenue
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
718.622.5072

Shake Shack
Madison Square Park
Southeast Corner of the park, near Madison Avenue and East 23rd Street
212.889.6600


All Things Ulysses American Gastropub

I've lived in Pike Creek for the last 6 years, and love it. There are only a handful of pretty concrete places to grab a great bite to eat and beer to go along with it. Six Paupers has always been one of those places. When we heard the team behind Six Paupers was going to be opening a tap heavy gastropub in North Wilmington, we were immediately intrigued. As more and more buzz grew about the opening of Ulysses American Gastropub, we couldn't wait for it to open. The menu was posted online and we couldn't help but drool. The beer list started to get posted, we were giddy.
Since the opening, Ulysses has been putting out great food, serving up awesome brews, and hosting tons of fun, craft beer events! From the moment we walked in the door, we were impressed. The visual aspect of Ulysses is awesome!

Located in the Shoppes of Graylyn, on the corner of Marsh Road and Silverside Road, in North Wilmington, Ulysses is always giving us a reason to stop in - they have special events a few times a month and we've had a chance to attend a few of them. They've hosted everything from a night featuring Dogfish Head "Heavy Hitters," to a halfway to Oktoberfest celebration and a beer dinner, leaving all ends of the craft beer loving spectrum covered!

We've tried to stop in to a few of these events since they've opened. We went in for the Dogfish Head Heavy Hitters - Nothing Under 8%. That was a fun night! Between the two of us, we made a pretty good dent in the list. Ok, that was partially because Ulysses was offering a smaller and a larger pour that night. Otherwise we may have had to sleep in our car that night!

Here's a list of what they tapped the night of the Heavy Hitters event...
  • 120 Minute
  • 90 Minute
  • World Wide Stout - 2011 Vintage
  • Immort Ale - 2011 Vintage
  • Noble Rot
  • Black & Red
  • Red & White
  • Black & Blue
  • Burton Baton
  • Midas Touch
  • Sah'Tea
  • Chateau Jiahu
  • Urkontinent
Our bartender that night helped me make my decision on my last beer of the night. He threw me a serious curveball after placing a "Heaven and Hell" in front of me. To be honest, this was the first time either of us had a chance to try this combination of Dogfish Head 120 Minute and World Wide Stout. Not sure why "hell" is in the name, because this combination is heavenly. When you're pouring two beers with an 18% ABV, how can it not be? Thank goodness I finished my night off like this. Had I started it off that way, there could have been some trouble! 

Another awesome event Ulysses hosted was the "Halfway to Oktoberfest aka Das Boot Kicked My Arsch," celebrating with traditional German brews and traditional German pub grub. That night we went with a Paulaner Original Munchner Helles, and then we switched to Paulaner Salvator. Fantastic German beers, kicking off our night perfectly - and got us pumped for Oktoberfest, even if it was half a year away! Hopefully Ulysses will be doing another great night like this once Oktoberfest rolls around. Not to mention, they unveiled the Ulysses Das Boot that night. They need to have another excuse to break that bad boy out!

(Bonus, we were in a few days later and the German beers were still rocking and rolling on tap, so Eric enjoyed another Salvator - or two!)
Ulysses’ dance card is filled with some seriously great upcoming events – check them out!

  • Fordham Brewing Co. / Old Dominion Brewing Co. Beer Dinner - July 17th
  • Dogfish Head Beer Happy Hour with 2006 Vintage Immort Ale - July 19th
  • Evolution Craft Brewing Company Beer Dinner - July 19th
  • Feestag - aka Belgian Independence Day - July 21st
  • First Annual Delaware Beer Brunch - July 22nd
  • Christmas in July - July 26th
And that's just in the next couple weeks - don't think there won't be even more events posted soon!

Now let's talk about how we kicked off our 4-day Memorial Day weekend this year - by attending Ulyssess' Yards Beer Dinner (their first beer dinner!) Here's the kicker - Tom Kehoe, Yards Co-Founder and seriously awesome guy – not only attended the dinner, he sat with us at our table! Having him at our table was a blast! Tom is exactly how you hope all craft brewers would be - super funny, super passionate, and super creative (which you learn more about in a sec!) 

Here's what was on the menu for the beer dinner that night:
Seared Sea Scallop Baby Mustard Greens Salad, Strawberry Salsa
Cask Conditioned Saison

Baby Back Ribs, Coffee BBQ, Soy Bean Corn Succotash
Love Stout

Mini Foie Gras Stuffed Lamb Burger Topped with Aged Gouda, Sweet Potato Fries, Fiery Papaya Ketchup
Poor Richards Tavern Spruce

Mortadella Mousse, Toasted Pistachios, Balsamic Reduction, Fresh Pulled Mozzarella , Grilled Focaccia
Thomas Jeffersons Tavern Ale

Cup o’ Joe, Side o’ Dough! Chocolate Espresso Sabayon, Fresh Fried Beignets
George Washington’s Tavern Porter

Ulysses’ Executive Chef, Sean McNeice is something else in the kitchen. Each course got better and better! The best compliment I heard from one of the guests at our table was that he’s never been a fan of scallops before the night of the beer dinner. That all changed as he said the scallop was cooked perfectly. You have to love a statement like that. The strawberry salsa it was paired with was so perfect with the scallop.
I’ve come to the conclusion that you just can’t go wrong with ribs and beer. Especially when they’re smoked in Ulysses’ big ass smoker, Bertha. The story behind Bertha is almost as good as the amazing things that are smoked in that sweet lady!

Patty Talorico’s Second Helpings story gives the best history of how Bertha, who’s name came from a Grateful Dead song, came to be! Sean spent about 50 hours building Bertha after he received “The Art of Living According to Joe Beef,” as a Christmas gift. Thank you to whoever gifted him this book! She can fit eight trays of food to smoke til perfection. The first thing Sean smoked in Bertha? A pan of ribs. Something else they tried in Bertha? A whole pig for April’s Evening with the Master’s!

When dining at Ulysses, you can sample the pork butt, wings, ribs and beef brisket that Bertha smokes. Smoked salmon may be added to that list.

Now back to the beer dinner! Eric loved the mini foie gras stuffed lamb burger. I loved the sweet potato fries and fiery papaya ketchup with was served with! I loved that Eric took my burger and I took his fries!

The mortadella mouse – or meat mousse as I so affectionately called it throughout this course – was awesome! The fresh pulled mozzarella was a-maz-ing. I could have chowed down on 5 pounds of it! The pistachios and balsamic reduction were the best compliments. I can’t imagine anything else pairing as well with Yards Thomas Jefferson Tavern Ale!

I think my favorite course, for so many reasons, was the dessert course! (Have you noticed a theme when it’s me and the dessert course?!) Everything about this course was SO good! Once we finished the beignets, there was still way too much of the yummy sabayon left, and we sat there trying to figure out what to do with it. That was until Tom dumped his George Washington’s Tavern Porter into the sabayon and drank it! Perfection!!

Beer dinner #1 should definitely be considered a success for Ulysses!
Ulysses has a great happy hour Monday through Friday, from 3:30pm until 7pm. When we’ve stopped in for a little HH action, it usually gets pretty crowded. They offer $1 off all drafts, and a small plates menu at the bar, that is pretty awesome. Between the wings, and the fresh baked pretzels served with beer & smoked cheddar fondue or horseradish mustard (how do you choose?!), to the ‘Phils Game,” two soft pretzels stuffed with cheesesteak meat, caramelized onions and peppers and the same smoked cheddar fondue sauce. Holla.

We stopped in on Sunday to meet up with some friends, grabbing a few beers and some food. We checked out Leinenkugel Big Eddy Imperial IPA, Dogfish Head Positive Contact, and I got lucky enough to have their take on the Dark & Stormy! If they have Yards Love Stout on tap, do yourself a favor, and try this drink! I became obsessed with these drinks when we were in Bermuda over Labor Day weekend last year. I may never look at a D&S the same way after having Ulysses!

The servers are awesome, the managers rock (shout out to Chris who has kept us in the loop of what’s going on there all the time!) It makes our visits to Ulysses even better than they already are. We never have to ask for another of anything, we’re always asked first. And we love that!

What We Learned at Two Stones Pub's 1st Birthday Bash...



We'vedecided that every other week or so we're going to to throw a little spotlighton one of the awesome craft beer bars/pubs/restaurants in this great state ofours! We're kicking it off with Two Stones Pub, located in the ChesmarPlaza, on the corner of Route 4/Chestnut Hill Road and Marrows Road, in Newark,DE. Check it out...


Eric and I love hearing and reading about what's going on in the craft beerscene in Delaware. I should probably mention, as much as we love beer, we would definitely consider ourselves foodies as well. We love it when we are able to find a placethat caters to both of these things. When we read about Two Stone's in PatriciaTalorico's Second Helpings blogon delawareonline.com, we decided to take the advice first posted in herarticle - “Oh, man! You HAVE to go to this place.” So we did.

Before our fist visit, I hopped on their website to check out the menu and see what was up. The first thing that caught my eye was a quote from Buddha...
I immediately thought to myself, we are so going to dig this place. They're all spiritual and super cool. And they have 24 taps and over 100 bottled beers (including some larger format type bottles like DFH 750ml bottles). I think I found my zen garden, my happy place.

We've been going to 2SP pretty much ever since. We probably go more often than we should, but we just can't help it. It's one of those places where you know you're guaranteed not only a fantastic local craft beer selection but you're going to get really awesome food to boot!

We have tried, well, a lot of things on the menu. The cool thing is, they've caught onto the whole Gluten Free thing too. As someone who technically shouldn't have gluten, it makes me feel not as guilty about having a beer when I can counter-balance it with gluten free food! (That works, right?!) For those of you who don't have to worry about that nonsense, there are some seriously awesome choices for you at Two Stones! 

When we go to a place like Two Stones, our first choice  is to sit at the bar, have a beer or two, and snack on a couple appetizers. Being able to do that at a place like Two Stones rocks since their menu is full of creative and unique options. A couple of our favorite appetizers are the Mini Corn Dogs - served with beer mustard, honey mustard and Dijon-horseradish cream) and the Pub Nachos (get the pulled pork on these bad boys!) The burgers and pulled pork look pretty stinkin' good too! Oh, and don't forget to try the fry piles. The Skinny Truffled Fries might rank as our favorite, but don't be fooled by the word "skinny." There's not a thing skinny about this little plate of goodness!

We stopped into Two Stones this past Friday, and um, again on Sunday (post bike ride). On Friday we tried the pierogie and brat appetizer, and on Sunday we had a small order of the Sweet Buddha Fry Pile (sweet potato fries covered in curry cream, cilantro and mango salsa). Yeah, they were both really good, as expected!
(For a little clearer version of the menu: http://www.twostonespub.com/dinnermenu.pdf)

A couple weeks back Two Stone's celebrated their 1st birthday, and of course we wanted to join in the fun! Little did we know all the good stuff we were going to learn during out visit. 

While I was in the ladies room (obviously, this is Lindsey writing this!) I noticed a flyer titled, "MORE Things You NEED to Know About TWO STONES PUB." Yup, I took a picture of it. Totally normal, right?! Right. 

So here's what we learned from said flyer. 
Pretty good stuff, isn't it?! Now let's break it down...

1. The awesome news of a second location. We had heard rumblings of this for a while, and we're stoked that they are definitely opening a second location on Naamans Road in North Wilmington. The new location will be in the Valley View Shopping Center. Stigz gave us a little insight to the new location. There's no set opening date yet, but they're shooting for late summer. Think late August, early September-ish. That'll be a pretty awesome way to deal with summer coming to an end! Get excited about the possibility of THIRTY TWO taps! And how about 2 casks?!
To our friends in North Wilmington: you're welcome, and enjoy!

2.  Two Stones posted a little teaser on their Facebook page with some of the details for tomorrow night's...all wheat beers, all night! They're calling it "Warm Weather Wheat Night!" There will be 16 (plus) taps dedicated to wheat beers. They've already mentioned having Goose Island 312, Twin Lakes Brewing Company Winterthur, Victory Beer Whirlwind, Dogfish Head Red and White, Jolly Pumpkin Weizen Bam and Ommegang Hennepin. Knowing these guys, they'll probably have a few surprised up their sleeve!

3. As I mentioned, we've been to Two Stones a few times. Ok, actually, we've been to Two Stones quite a few times. Whatever, it's not like it's a problem or anything! That being said, as many times as we've been there, somehow we managed to never make it there on a Tuesday night. When my friend Terry found that out, I got the, "What?! You've never been to Taco Night at Two Stones?!" That's when I realized we had to go. And quick. 

We finally made it in not only for Taco Night, but for Taco Night during day #3 of Delaware Beer Week. Sweet. 

That night's taco choices were:
  • BBQ pit beef, charred peppers and onions, fried jalapeno, and chipotle ranch
  • Fried chicken, mashed potato, corn leek gravy, bacon and scallion 
  • Crispy fried pork shoulder, shaved cabbage, red onion, smoked tomato coulis, and cilantro
  • Veggie bites: spinach, mushroom corn salad, and Chimay grad cru cheese
That night, Two Stones was pouring 16 Mile Amber Sun, Responders, Delaware Oyster, Blues Golden, Harvest, Old Court and Inlet. It was a seriously kick a*s night.

We're kind of excited to see Taco Night get even crazier. Bring it.

By the way, if you're planning on going on Tuesday for Taco Night, don't try to go too late into the night - they've been selling out lately. Selling out of 400! tacos! Whoa. 

4. Graduating, having a bridal shower, bachelor/bachelorette party? Definitely keep 2SP in mind. I mean, duh, what could be better than good beer and good food for any special occasion? 

5. Two Stones is one of those places that is just awesome about updating their Facebook page. From the menu for Taco Night or Brunch, to what they're Randalling on a Wednesday, to info about beer dinners (as well as everything in between), these guys have you covered and never leave you guessing on what's going on there or what they've just tapped. That is so major in my book. It also makes me want to go there. Every. Single. Day. Maybe I can rent a bed in the back?

6. Let's talk about their brunch. Holy crap, Gumbo and B Cal's Smokehouse Brunch, along with the entire brunch menu, very well might be the perfect cure for life, and most definitely the cure for your hangover!

We tend to do our longer bike rides on Sundays. That also means we are usually STARVING by the time we finish up (that's what happens when you burn a couple 1,000 calories in a morning!) The thing is, we pretty much have to ride by 2SP on our way home, so we have a tendency to end up there for Sunday brunch. Oh darn. One of the last times we stopped in for brunch it just happen to be the start of Delaware Beer Week (it was Iron Hill day). Double oh darn. Here's what their menu was looking like that day:
Yup, it was as good as it looks! The Little Italy Wrap was Eric's choice that morning, I on the other hand went with the Shakshuka (but deep down my former gluten tolerant self really wanted the Mexican Mac and Cheese). 
7. We had to make a phone call to see who Vince is! Eric gave Stigz a buzz and found out that Vince, a local artist, is one of Two Stone's regulars. Those that know Vince, know who I'm talking about. If you have no idea who Vince is, you have no clue what I'm talking about! But, according to Stigz, know that the man is quite the talented artist.
8. We don't like to play favorites (because we love all the craft beer places in Delaware the same, just like a parent loves each of their children the same...) bu we have to agree that Two Stones does indeed have one of the best beer lists in the state. We love that about that place.
Here's what they had on tap on a random Monday. Nothing special going on that day/night, it was just a Monday. 
Check out how many local brews they have on tap - Dogfish Head, 16 Mile, Fordham and Old Dominion are all there! We're big fans of that!
The tap list is always extensive with a good amount of variety. I've yet to walk in there and think to myself, man, I have better beer at home. That's just not happening here. And I don't think we'll ever encounter that at Two Stones. Eric and I usually have the opposite problem. I solve that problem by ordering a couple of the smaller 8 ounce pours of the ones I couldn't decide on, versus one larger pour. This makes me happy. And a happy Lindsey is a good thing. Just ask Eric!


While I'm talking about their beer menu, I can't move on without giving Randall the Enamal Animal, one of the greastest inventions ever, and all that Two Stones creates from it, a little love. Randall brings a whole new flavor intensity to craft brews. Two of my favorite Randalls Two Stones has come up with has been Dogfish Head 120 through bourbon-soaked cherries and vanilla beans. I dig 120, a lot, and consider it pretty much perfect just the way it is - like Mark Darcy felt towards Bridget Jones in Bridget Jones's Diary. Anyway, I thought it was near perfect, until I had it Randalled that night. In the words of Giuliana Rancic, it was amaze balls. At their birthday bash, they Randalled Red and White through fresh strawberries, vanilla bean and chocolate covered Oreos. Oh yes they did! Are you trying to imagine how ridiculously amazing that tasted? Well, it did.  
Randall the Enamel Animal making the 120 even more ridiculous!  
The finished product! 
Red & White through fresh strawberries, vanilla beans AND chocolate-covered Oreos!
I'm not kidding!
Stigz laid out their philosophy on the beer. They're not just a bar, they're not just a restaurant. But, they're all about the beer - quality beer. And taking care of that beer. They're not spending a ton of money to have a huge food inventory (which to me also means things are fresher), they're spending that money on a killer beer inventory. Some of that inventory is beer that you might not see for a while. But rest assured, you will see it someday, when the time is right. When Two Stones is ready to know you off your feet! 


9.  Now about Monday lunch Nikki. Something tells me we'll never make it there for lunch on a Monday either. Stupid work. Oh wait, we need to work so we can afford to drink good beer! Nevermind. Sorry, Nikki! 


10. Two Stones Pub LOVES Beer Dinners, and they host one each month. Here's what you've missed so far this year...
January - BBQ
February - Victory
March - Indian
April - Asian
September 26th - Dogfish Head - ALREADY SOLD OUT!

Here's what you can still check out this year...

May 16th - Mexican 
June 20th - Allagash
July 25th - Luau
August 15 - Tropic ales
October 17th - Fall Harvest
November 14th - Pig Roast
December 12th - Cajun

Now I could never talk about Two Stones without talking about one of my favorite things there- it's the big ol' Buddha that sits on the bar. This thing rocks. 


I'm also thrilled to hear that the new location will also have a Buddha. Stigz doesn't know where it's going to go or how big it's going to be, but there will be a Buddha. Sweet. 


I like to think it's a good idea to rub the Buddha for good beer. Seems to be working every time we go to Two Stones...
I try to sit as close to the Buddha as I can when we go to Two Stones -
it's good beer karma!







This is Why We Love Weekends...

Friday:
A little Troegs Nugget Nectar action.
Let's face it, when Friday hits, a collective sigh can be heard around the world. What makes some weekends better than other is what kind of beer goodness we can get into, this past weekend being no exception! Eric gets to work from home from time to time, and this past Friday was one of those days. I feel as though it is my duty to take full advantage of him not having to deal with his hour long commute home, and encourage us partaking in the Friday afternoon ritual of happy hour. Our bar of choice this time around: Ulysses American Gastropub in North Wilmington. This place has exceeded our expectations from visit number one. The bartenders are awesome, the food is always spot on, and the beer selection rocks. Friday night's visit was no exception.
They had just tapped Troegs Nugget Nectar earlier in the day on Friday, and that's exactly what I decided on for my first beer. There are some serious hops going on in this beer, and I like it! Eric's went with my suggestion (quite possibly a first!), 21st Amendment Brewery's barleywine, Lower da Boom. Side note: The more I try barleywines, the more I like them. Some are smoother than others, some have a little more bite to them. Lower da Boom definitely falls into the smoother of the two categories. 

In addition to their extensive beer list, the pub also has a great menu, as well as some pretty awesome happy hour food options. We went with the "Phils Game," two warm soft pretzel stuffed with cheesesteak meat, caramelized onions and peppers and smoked cheddar fondue sauce. Holy crap, it's awesome. Like, really awesome. And it was only 5 bucks! We also got our go-to appetizer at Ulysses, the Butternut Squash Hummus, which is served with veggies and grilled pita points. Seriously, this hummus is like fall in a bowl. It's so, so, so good. The only problem we found was that we ran out of veggies and pita before we ran out of hummus! Not a bad problem to have if you ask me!

Round two, I went with 16 Mile's Old Court Ale. I couldn't have agreed more with our bartender - Old Court Ale is a great go-to beer, especially for this time of year. The citrus hops come through on this beer, making it really refreshing. For beer #2 of our happy hour excursion,  Eric opted for Harpoon Leviathan Imperial IPA, which is part of Harpoon's Leviathan series. The Leviathan Imperial IPA, unlike some of the other beers in this series, is available year round. After drinking the Leviathan, Eric said he's really looking forward to touring Harpoon during our trip to Boston in May!

All in all, I don't think either of us could have asked for a better way to kick start what was going to be a very, very awesome weekend! Especially considering our Saturday was going to be starting rather early....  


Saturday:
Saturday's are often our day to catch up on things around the house, heading to a Philadelphia Union game, or to get a good bike ride or hike in. Not this Saturday. This Saturday revolved around beer and a very cool event we heard about - a rare tapping of Russian River Brewing Company's Pliny the Younger at the Iron Abbey Gastropub in Horsham, PA. This was, as good ol' Delaware native Vice President Joe Biden put it so eloquently, a B.F.D.!

At the end of last week, Philly Beer Scene shared the info about this tapping on their Facebook page (thank you!!!) The Iron Abbey was only selling SIXTY tickets, and then reserving 20 additional pours on a first come, first serve basis. Thankfully we were able to still the $10 tickets (good for one 8 ounce serving!)   Russian River's Pliny the Elder and Pliny the Younger are beers we've only read about here in Delaware, since they aren't distributed to our state. Here's a little background on both beers in case you don't know much about them. Pliny the Elder is an 8% ABV Double IPA with a balanced taste of malt, hops and alcohol. I loved the taste we got from the hops - it's a great combination of citrus, floral and pine. This beer is LIMITED, so we took in every drop in our glass! Pliny the Younger is a Triple IPA, which Russian River considers almost a true Triple IPA, as it has triple the amount of hops as a regular IPA does. The hops are alive in this beer, and we like it! It's balanced and smooth - making it hard to have just one! It boasts a 10.5% ABV, so sticking to just one so early in the AM is probably a good thing. The Younger is also very limited, available for just two weeks a year. Whoa.
   
Waiting on Pliny the Younger to be tapped - so we enjoyed Pliny the Elder and Supplication.
Here it is, ladies and gentleman, the reason we drove a little over an hour - Pliny the Younger.
So worth every minute in the car!

You would think having Pliny The Elder and The Younger on tap would be enough, Iron Abbey also had Blinded Pig IPA and Supplication on for this event. So cool. Wanting to try something different, we went with Supplication, Russian River's 7.0% Sour Brown Ale Aged in Pinot Noir Barrels with Sour Cherries. Boy could you taste those cherries! It was a different, welcomed changed from what we normally drink. It also went well with the breakfast we were having. Speaking of breakfast, with all the exciting over all the amazing Russian River beers we had a chance to try, I almost forgot to mention the awesome breakfast we had! Iron Abbey opens early on Saturdays and Sundays for soccer with a breakfast and beer menu available. Eric and I both went with the create your own omelette choosing spinach, tomatoes and bacon (plus cheese on Eric's). They omelettes were so good, and were served with home fries and what seemed like homemade bread - all for $6. For 3 bucks more, you can add on a beer from a selected list during the soccer matches. Nice. Did I mention as we were finishing up our breakfast I figured it couldn't hurt to ask our server if there was any Pliny the Younger left. Turns out there was, and I got the last of it. It was a pretty awesome way to end what was already turning out to be a way awesome Saturday. And it was barely 12:30pm!

Sunday:
Sometimes our best days are ones that we just don't plan. And this past Sunday was one of them. We got up early and headed down to Lum's Pond to get a good bike ride in (10 miles and 1,000+ calories later, I'd say mission accomplished!) Now the problem with some of our longer, more grueling rides is that we are star-ving by the end of it, and Sunday was no exception. The second problem is our route home from Lums Pond takes us way too close to one of our other favorite places, Two Stones Pub.  The thing with Two Stones is, not only do they have a great craft beer selection, with a ton of it coming from Delaware, they have great food, in particular, great Sunday brunch. Oh, and it was also the start of Delaware Beer Week at Two Stones. We didn't fight it, we just went there, and enjoyed every minute of it! 
Two Stones' DE Beer Week Brunch

The great trend that we're seeing at so many craft beer pubs that are popping up throughout the state is that not only are they serving us great beer, the food is pretty outstanding too. Two Stones is right up there in that statement (as Ulysses was on Friday night). We've been to Two Stones for brunch before, and really enjoyed it. This time around we decided to split a bowl of gumbo (a menu staple) and the Little Italy Wrap, which consisted of garlic-herb chicken, roasted red bell peppers, balsamic-marinated portabella, basil pesto, Parmesan crusted eggs and tucked into an herb wrap. It was awesome. Just the refueling we needed after our ride. 
As I mentioned, Sunday was the start of Delaware Beer Week at the pub, and they were featuring Iron Hill Brewery. It's pretty cool that they were able to bring in a few brews that you can only get at Iron Hill (this also holds true for Twin Lake's Taylor's Grog that they specifically brew for McGlynns throughout the state, The Deer Park in Newark, and the newly opened Cantwell's Tavern in Odessa). I decided to go with a Delaware Beer Week feature, and try the Iron Hill Riverfront IPA, and Eric went with one of his top Delaware beer's, Evolution Lot #3. The Riverfront IPA has a fruity, citrus background, that paired well with the hops. It was a lighter beer, which totally worked post-workout! Eric always goes back liking Lot #3 because it's such an easy drinking beer, without compromising flavor. 
One thing I love is when pubs offer two pour sizes. On a day like Sunday, when there were a few things I was really looking forward to trying, I like getting the small 5 oz pours so I can get more of them, which is exactly what I did. In addition to the Riverfront IPA, I also had Dogfish Head Saison du Buff and Dogfish Head 75 Minute IPA on cask.
Eric, on the other hand, sticks with the big boy pours, and went with Old Dominion's Hop Mountain for his next beer. That was one of the beers I contemplated getting, so I was glad he went with Hop Mountain. The simplicity of this American Pale Ale is what makes it so good.
Although I'm not typically a Saison lover, I like trying this particular beer because it is a collaboration between Dogfish Head, Stone Brewing Co. and Victory Brewing Company.  Dogfish does a lot of collaborations, but this one may be my favorite. You also have to love how they came up with the name - the three guys from each of the breweries - Sam from Dogfish, Greg from Stone and Bill from Victory, formed the BUFF alliance - Brewers United for Freedom of Flavor. I mean really, how can you not love it?! The result is the 6.8% Saison that was brewed with parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. The cool part? This beer is brewed three times, once at each of the collaborating breweries while using the same recipe. The flavors are amazing how they meld together.
Dogfish 75 Minute IPA is pretty awesome. Combine 60 Minute with 90 Minute, and add maple syrup, and you get a pretty amazing tasting beer. This year marks the first year that they're bottling it (with a pretty humorous label I might add!) It was the perfect way to end our time at Two Stones...until the next time we're there, which we know won't be very long - especially with Delaware Beer Week going on through Saturday! 


Bet you thought our weekend o' beer ended there, didn't you?! It didn't. After chatting with a fellow bar patron while still at Two Stones, somehow Lagunitas came up in conversation (oh wait, I probably brought it up!) This reminded me that we were only about 5 minutes from State Line Liquors in Elkton, who just so happens to carry Lagunitas. And I knew for a fact that Wilco Tango Foxtrot (or more comically known as WTF!) was out and possibly there for us to buy. After scouring the shelves, we didn't see any. But we didn't give up - after asking if they had any in stock (or if they would be getting it in) we were told they had it in the back. Oh, happy day! This is how my already awesome Sunday and already awesome weekend was made even better. We secured four bottles of WTF, and all was right with the world. 


If you happen to stumble upon WTF, do yourself a favor, and try it! You can currently find it at a handful of bars in Philly (check out Philly Tap Finder to see where it can be found) or of course,  you can hop over to State Line and grab a bomber of it. It's just awesome. It's even better when you're listening to a little Wilco in the background! If you need a suggested tune, try something off of Wilco's album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. I'd start off with "Heavy Metal Drummer." Check it out:




Now if only all weekends could be as awesome and craft beer related as this one - life would be good, life would be real good!

The Awesome-ness That Is Xfinity Live! (...and Victory Beer Hall!)

Friday was the official opening of Xfinity Live! - the all new entertainment complex they built where my beloved Spectrum once stood. I was lucky enough to be invited to a Pre-Grand Opening Party last Thursday (thanks again Stef!) I was so psyched to check out the entire complex, but more importantly, the new Victory Beer Hall.

I have to say, from the moment we walked into Xfinity Live!, even with the construction still going on around us (which was part of this party's charm), I was immediately impressed. From the building, to the staff that greeted us non-stop, to the THIRTY TWO FOOT TV in the NBC Sports Arena, to the food and drink.

This place is impressive. When walking into Xfinity Live!, you enter the Philly Marketplace, which has offerings including Chickie's & Pete's, Goodnoe's Ice Cream, Old Original Nick's Roast Beer, and Original Philadelphia Cheesesteak Company. In addition, there will also be a Phillip's Raw Bar, and one of the best thing I've ever seen, custom draft tables! This area also includes the first ever NBC Sports Arena that boasts that crazy 32 foot TV screen I mentioned - this thing is massive!

Now let's get to the real reason I was so excited about this place. Xfinity Live! is comprised of four main anchor restaurants (pubs/bars/beer hall type places): Spectrum Grill (a steakhouse), Broad Street Bullies Pub (the most family friendly place, complete with video game consoles and all), and PBR Bar & Grill (the party place - think Hooters meets Coyote Ugly!) And then there's Victory Beer Hall. The second I set foot into that place I thought to myself, oh, Eric and I could sit here for hours and just hang out. And that seems to be exactly what they want you to do! The hall is stacked with long, beer hall type tables and a 2,000 square foot patio area with a fire pit - and best of all,  a great view of the Philadelphia skyline. There will be live music several nights a week, with fun bands that will play songs you can relate to, and easily sing along to during your time there! The base of the bar is lined with giant Victory beer labels - it was fun spotting all the different brews that we have come to love over the 16 years Victory has been around.

Last Thursday's visit was a great was to get introduced to this new building and all that it has to offer. It was a small group so we were really able to take advantage of seeing what great potential this building is going to have. Now, fast-forward to this past Wednesday night, before the Springsteen show...and oh, what a different scene it was...

About a week before the Springsteen show at the Wells Fargo Center, I I received an email inviting anyone that purchased tickets to either show to come in for a sneak preview of Xfinity Live! This time, everything was going to be open for business. Sweet!  Doors would open at 4...concert wasn't until 7:30...this could be a recipe for danger - in a really good way!

When we got to Xfinity Live! on Wednesday afternoon, we made a beeline for Victory Beer Hall. Taking full advantage of being two of the first people in the beer hall, we were able to easily get a table, and proceeded to have stellar service from our server and her fellow food runners. They were all over-the-top awesome and made our first experience at the beer hall well beyond our expectations. Especially for Day 1 of operations.

During my tour of the building on Thursday, I thought I heard mention that more or less all but a few of the taps at the beer hall were going to be dedicated to Victory, which sounded pretty awesome. Turns out, it was more of a 50/50 split between Victory and other (primarily) local brews. Check out what we got to choose from during our visit (OH MY, this is a list!):

Victory Seasonal Drafts
Other Drafts
Donnybrook Stout
Baltic Thunder
Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA
Golden Monkey
Helios Ale
Yards Brawler
Headwaters Pale Ale
Helles Fire
Troegs Dreamweaver
Hop Devil Ale
St. Boisterous
Weyerbacher Merry Monks
Hop Wallop
Whirlwind Witbier
Dock Street Wye IPA
Mad King's Weiss

Flying Fish XPA
Prima Pils


Storm King Stout


Victory Lager





Other Seasonal Drafts
750 ml Bottles
Seasonal 750ml Bottles
Weyerbacher Hops Infusion
Weyerbacher Bressler
Dogfish 75 Minute IPA
Stoudt's Heifer in Wheat
Victory Golden Monkey
Dogfish My Antonia
Troegs Nugget Nectar
Weyerbacher Merry Monk Me
Dogfish Namaste
Manayunk Schuylkill Punch
Weyerbacher Tiny
Victory Otto Ale
Dock Street Man Full of Trouble Porter
Victory V-12
Stoudt's Karnival Kolsch


Sly Fox Pikeland Pils


Blue Moon Honey Wheat


Jacob Leinenkugel Summer Shandy


Jacob Leinenkugel Summer Shandy





Now, from my hospitality background, I know you're not supposed to create a menu that's too overwhelming for customers, but I'm pretty sure that only refers to food menus, not beer menus, cause this list is a beaut! We had a terrible time trying decide what to drink (we'll take one of everything, please!) I ended up with Victory's St. Boisterous, and Eric with another one of his favorite Victory Brews, Headwaters Pale Ale.  Oh, I was happy with my decision. St. Boisterous, a German Maibock, is hoppy, malty and almost sweet that goes down so nice! Headwaters has a crisp flavor and a great balance between the hops and malt. We stuck to these beers for the most part during our time at the beer hall, with me straying for one curve ball, Victory's Helles Fire, a smoked beer that was quite interesting.

One of the things we like about Victory's Brewpub in Downingtown is not only are we guaranteed to have some great beer, the food that is always just as good. The new venture at the beer hall easily compares to the food at the original Brewpub and didn't disappoint one bit. We sampled a few things throughout our time at the Beer Hall, including the Brat Bites (served with sauerkraut & spicy mustard) the Poached Pear Salad (spring mix, cinnamon poached pears, toasted almonds, sun-dried cranberries, crumbled bleu cheese & honey vinaigrette), Chicken Bratwurst (chicken sausage, paprika, onion & garlic with sauerkraut, served on a fresh steak roll with a side of homemade BBQ chips) and the Bavarian Pretzels (accompanied by a delightful cheese sauce - possibly with a hint of beer? - and grain mustard). FYI to all your gluten free folks (which I technically am...but have coerced my body into understanding it must still let me have beer and desserts!) - the Beer Hall acknowledges that eight different items throughout the menu are gluten free. This, in itself, is one more reason the Beer Hall is just awesome!

Sounds like it can't get any better, right? Ok, let's talk about the fact that with the beer and food menus they give you when seating you, you're also given a card of "GAMES" you can play at your table, and  a card, filled front and back, of some really entertaining "TOASTS" you will no doubt be saying throughout the night. Now, when you think game, you might be thinking board games like Monopoly or maybe a deck of cards. Not here at the Beer Hall! Try Up the River, Down the River; Quarters or Flip Cup. Seriously. And your server can play with you as time permits. This is going to be such a great place for a large group! The Toasts are so great too. How about this one:

"Of all my favorite things to do, the utmost is to have a brew. My love grows for my foamy friend, with each thirst-quenching elbow bend. Beer's so frosty, smooth and cold - It's paradise - Pure liquid gold. Yes, beer means many things to me...That's all for now, I gotta Pee..."


Worried about parking? If you're down there on a day when there is a game going on, be prepared to pay whatever the parking fee is. If you wait til one hour after the start o the final event of the day, parking is free. It's also free on non-event days. Valet parking will also be available.

This place is just FUN! As much as I miss the Spectrum, this is a great addition to the Sports Complex. If you're down there for game day of any of our awesome Philly sports teams. If Wednesday is any indication of how busy this building is going to be during the peak times, get down there early. Or wait until one of their off days if you're looking for a quieter experience. Either way, this place seems like it's just going to force you to have a good time! Zicke, zacke, zicke, zacke, hoi, hoi, hoi!!


View of the Beer Hall


Mega Victory Labels Line the Bar

The beers. St. Boisterous and Headwaters Ale (with the Games Menu)

Brat Bites served with sauerkraut & spicy mustard

Poached Pear Salad - spring mix, cinnamon poached pears, toasted almonds, sun-dried cranberries, crumbled bleu cheese & honey vinaigrette

Oh Whole Foods Market (with a pub!) How I Love Thee...

I (Lindsey) L.O.V.E. love to cook and bake. And, according to Eric, I'm pretty good at both (thanks for the ego boost honey!) It's a stress reliever for me, and I just really enjoy it. Places like Trader Joes, Wegmans and Whole Foods are my mecca. I get giddy going into one of them, and even more giddy as I find new and different products that I've never seen before. Throw in a pub and awesome beer selection to a place like this, and I'm pretty sure I've found my equivalent to heaven on Earth. The new Whole Foods has done just that. Introducing: Brew & Brau. My latest happy place.

Let me give you a little background. On our first trip up to visit Eric's parents a few years back, we were about to get on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, when out of the corner of my eye, I spotted something so wonderful - the Whole Foods Market at the Plymouth Meeting Mall.  The closest Whole Foods at this point was about an hour away, so anytime I'm near one, I tend to stop in, if only to pick up a few of my usual staples from there. But this Whole Foods was special, because ohmygoodness, this is THE Whole Foods. This is the Whole Foods WITH A PUB! Cold Point Pub to be exact. Stopping on our way up? Probably not a good idea. But stopping on our way home - excellent idea! It's the best of both worlds. You can go in, pick up some of the Whole Foods awesomeness, then sit down and grab a pint of a local beer, and some yummy Whole Foods snacks while you sitting there. And now, we can enjoy this same atmosphere right over the DE line, at the Whole Foods Glen Mills in the Glen Eagle Square. Yes, yes, YES!

Our newest addition to grocery store coolness in our area opened on March 14th. I finally got a chance to make my way over there last Friday. Boy, was it awesome. I picked up all the goodies that I wanted (like truffled sea salt and fresh shrimp), and then made my way into the pub, Brew & Brau. I love the set up. They have a few high top tables, and some stools around the bar. The pub does share the space with the coffee bar within Whole Foods, so it can get pretty crowded in there, but if you have a seat, life is good. They'll always have eight local beers on tap, which isn't too shabby! Here's what I had to choose from on this particular visit:

Yards German Altbier - which is specially brewed for Whole Foods by Yards
Dock Street Rye IPA
Victory Hop Devil
Manayunk Brewery Krook's Mill American Pale Ale
Flying Dog Garde Dog
Flying Dog Lucky SOB
Dogfish Head Midas Touch
Philadelphia Brewing Company Joe Coffee Porter

With the Altbier being something unique to Whole Foods, I decided to try it. Besides, I'm a sucker for a good German style beer! The Altbier was smooth, and had a great aroma, and at $4 a pint, you can't beat it.

In addition to purchasing beer by the glass, you can also purchase a 32 or 64 ounce growler and fill it up with your favorite of the 8 beers. I did just that with the Altbier so that Eric could have a taste of it. They also have a pretty awesome selection of cold beers from both around the area and around the country (which to me translates to LAGUNITAS! One of my favorites!) They have a small snacks menu with items such as wings, hummus, sandwiches, salads, pizza, and even a cheese plate (which is $1!) As inexpensive as the cheese plate is, the rest of the food is also pretty nicely priced, ranging between $4 and $8. To me, this is the perfect little treat after navigating the aisles of the busy market!

Now, as awesome as my trip to the new Whole Foods was, I felt a little guilty about going there without Eric, so after a Sunday of brunch, art and a little window shopping, we made our way there. The draft menu was same, with the exception of a little Dogfish switch-er-roo. Midas Touch was kicked, and was was replaced with this year's batch of Aprihop. Eric went with his old faithful, Hop Devil, and this time around I went with an Aprihop, since I've really only had tastes of it at different Dogfish events over the last month or so.

Let's face it, you can't go wrong with Hop Devil. This American IPA is rich and hoppy at the same time. It's super smooth and just tasty from start to finish. On the other end of the American IPA spectrum is Dogfish Head's Aprihop. Eric's more of a purist when it comes to what he favors drinking, I on the other hand tend to be more open to twists on old classics. Aprihop still has the awesome hopiness of an American IPAthat I'm a huge fan of, with with hints of apricot throughout. The further I got into the pint of this perfect-for-spring beer, the more I got the notes of apricot. I really liked that about it.

After finishing our beers, we ventured into the beer cooler and found a lone Lagunitas Hop Stoopid Ale. I'll mention my love for beers like Lagunitas often throughout this blog. We can't get it here in Delaware (yet) but can find it in PA and MD, so when we do see it, I tend to do a little jump for joy. It's probably embarrassing to Eric, but I don't care. It's perfectly ok to be that happy when finding a beer you love!

Moral of the story: we love Whole Foods. We love Whole Foods even more when they serve beer. Just don't make the mistake of visiting the pub first, then doing your shopping. You may come home with some very interesting purchases. Trust me, you will!

Check out the pictures from our trips to Whole Foods...

Brew & Brau, inside the all new Whole Foods Market Glen Mills, in Glen Eagle Square



What's On Tap? During my fist visit to this little gem...


Trip Number 1's beer...Yards' German Altbier, specially brewed just for Whole Foods.


Trip Number 2's beer...Dogfish Head Aprihop. Perfect spring beer.


A little peak into what they have in their beer cooler....


...and what they have in "storage" down their hall. As we were standing there, I thought to myself, "that's a HALL lot of beer..."
Yeah, I'll stick to keeping tabs on beer, and not so much on the joke making!