Beer Glasses: June 2010

On Saturday June 5th I headed down to the city of brotherly love for the annual beer festivities. I checked out a couple of establishments that were hosting brewers. The first thing I checked out was Grace Tavern which was hosting Troegs Brewery. John Trogner, the brewer, was there but I didn't get a chance to talk to him. He was being monopolized by this couple and I was in a rush anyway. I did have time to drink a Sunshine Pils though. It was quite delicious.

From Grace Tavern I headed to my friend Jake's place where I met up with him, my friend Keith and their friend Karla. We hit up a pretty dope coffee shop/beer store called Ultimo. They were hosting a brewer who described himself as a "gypsy". Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project basically jumps around from brewery to brewery making their Belgian styled ales. We sampled their flagship American Saison beer which was pretty dees. Then we downed some iced coffees in preparation for the main event of the evening, the International Great Beer Expo.

This was the first beer fest I have been to. I must say, I had a great time. The expo took place at the Philly Navy Yard. There were some really tasty beers and a lot of thirsty people at this event, myself included. The setup was basically that if the brewery actually sent people, you got a nice space to display your stuff. There was a good showing by Yards, Innes and Gunns, Blue Point, Ithaca, and several others. Then there was a stretch of tables where employees of distributors were pouring various beers. Last, there was a separate tent for the major beer companies that had shown up. This area was noticeably sparse. That brought a pretentious smirk to my face. We all drank quite a bit. For me, I started with mostly pale ales and IPA's, but later branched out to some different stuff. Here is my drunken recap of the evenings beer offerings:

A brief only slightly inebriated review:
1. Ithaca Ground Break - Tasty Tasty American style saison. Spicy with definite American Hop character
2. Prism Tea Party Pale Ale - An American Pale Ale brewed with Sorachi Hops and whole tea leaves. Very interesting subtle tea and lemon flavor.
3. I can't recall which beer this was. I thought it was the Bear Republic Red Rocket, but it was served out of a can. It tasted like an American IPA with big big hops in the nose and finish.
4. Innes and Gunn Oak Aged Beer - A nice oaky English ale, which is, unfortunately, sold in a clear bottle.
5. River Horse Hopalotamus Unfiltered Double IPA - a stand out among too many IPAs

Overall a great experience. I was kinda bummed that there weren't that many people from the actual breweries. The ones that did show were gracious and eager to discuss their brews. I was happy to see that people actually do yell out in unison when someone drops there beer, which happened quite often. I look forward to the NJ beer fest at the end of this month. Until then, enjoy some pix.