All that said, I almost rationalized not going.

I had just seen Rob Tod on Thursday.  Beer Week was kicking my ass (again).  I could’ve recovered on my couch with The Deadliest Catch on Demand. But, this is tradition.  So, I put on my pencil skirt and headed on down to Belgian.  Lucked out with a seat again & was surprised to see a very different beer list: Confluence, Interlude, Victoria, White & Les Deux Brasseurs.  Only the White and Confluence overlapped with Bishop’s Collar, which had Curieux, Odyssey, Vrienden and the Triple on.

I started with Les Deux Brasseurs (8.5% ABV), a collaboration ale with de Proef (I won’t bother with the blurry photo. It’s a golden color is all that’s discernible from it, really).  Then Confluence (7.4% ABV).  I was trying to behave / didn’t have a beer in front of me, knowing Unibroue would be there soon, but then Patrick set me up with a tulip of something.  When I inquired what it was, he said, “you tell me.”  I like games in which you get the prize first.  They are much more fun.  In any case, I guessed correctly:  Confluence.

Allagash Confluence

AK & I shared sips and I must say I had a hard time telling the beers apart.  The Victoria, which is made with Chardonnay grapes, was clearly distinctive, but Les Deux Brasseurs, Confluence and Interlude were a bit close.  Perhaps the Brettanomyces yeast gives them overlapping flavors?

Rob Tod was one of the first brewers I met during Beer Week a few years ago.  He has since spoiled my expectations for all other brewers.  He’s unfailingly friendly and says hello to everyone.  He does the approaching, you don’t have to work up the nerve to say hello.  Of all things, I wish he would remember the gloves from two years ago.  I only regret not mentioning them this year.

New Holland Taps at Khyber

Spicy food, chocolate and coffee are three of my favorite things.  So, the New Holland El Mole Ocho (8% ABV), which is brewed with dried chilies, cocoa and coffee, was a natural choice from the tap take over list at Khyber. I’ve enjoyed their Dragon’s Milk before, but was trying to stay out of trouble.  If we had stuck around, I would’ve tried the Poet, which is an oatmeal stout, next.

New Holland El Mole Ocho

I dig this trend toward spicy beers.  Put this or the Dogfish Head Theobroma in a chili… or batter for soft crabs… I’m scheming a good, spicy time.

On to the better things! Another pleasant surprise of the day: T from darts and his dad as soon as I walked in the door.  They were also closing their tab, so hello two free seats, too.  JA & I piled into the bar area instead and I admired the number of taps:

Avery Taps at Kraftwork

More than double those at Belgian.  In the interest of sticking with sours, I tried Dihos Dactylion, a wild ale (10.3% ABV):

Avery Dihos Dactylion

It had been a long and giddy day up to this point. Though I barely remember the beer, I must have enjoyed it; I finished it.   JA shared his samples with me and I suspect that tall, dark pint was mine…

Avery Line-up at Kraftwork

But don’t ask me what it was.  I know it was not the Meph Addict.  I alternated between watching the pouring damn rain and the freaky circus show going on up front.  Knives up his nose?  No thanks.   The place was packed to the gills and eventually we retreated outdoors.  Talk evolved to drinking at The Khyber.  So, again, on we went.

Allagash Curieux

As this was a week for trying new beers, I moved onto the Vrienden (9.2% ABC), which is a collaboration with New Belgium Brewing out in CO.  It was brewed with Belgian endive & hibiscus (on the NBB end) dandelion greens & elderberries (by Allagash) and a proprietary yeast strain from each brewer (all together now).  I called it a “soft sour” as it was easy on the palate.  I’m glad I ordered this and Curieux, as neither were on the draft list at Belgian Cafe on Friday.

Allgash Vrienden

Rob Tod asked if I would be joining them at St. Stephen’s, but I had other plans in the works.  Kraftwork, if you will.

J & J were also pleasant Beer Week surprises that day, as was JBC’s covering of my tab at Bishop’s!

With grand plans of 750mL bottles in the near future, we had a few tastes and I ultimately committed to the Avery Karma (5.2% ABV).  The Rumpkin (13.2% ABV) caught my eye – a pumpkin beer in June?  Yes, yes, please.  Being aged in rum barrels, however, gave it a bit of a sour finish.  I also tasted the Maharaja Imperial IPA (10.54% ABV).  It was a bit too hoppy for the afternoon.  The Karma was smooth and clean.

Avery Karma

We were happy in our seats at Belgian and pushed off heading out into the heat and onto Septa with another glass of beer.  We went for it:

Avery Mephistopheles

At 16.83% ABV, I took my sweet time with this one.  Quite possibly the smallest sips I’ve taken of a beer.  It had a familiar aroma.  Wood chips, an old fireplace, memories of my backyard in Delaware, cigars.  I swirled every sip in my mouth.  I would not have pegged this at more than 16% simply because I’ve never had a beer that strong, I wouldn’t think they existed.  

Last year around this time, I had a hell of a fun day with Duvel.  So, I was pleasantly surprised to see the two reps come in.  I said hello, inquired about their Beer Week plans.  They have scaled back to two events per day this year… Considering they were supposed to be on to another event when we were hanging at Belgian last year, I applaud this change.  Especially because thie Beer Weekness is getting non-sustainable. Apparently, the photo of me and three friends enjoying Duvel was passed on to the higher ups. Just a pleasant Beer Week mini-reunion.

About three quarters of the way through the glass of Mephistopheles, I finally loosened up enough to go talk to Mr. Avery himself.  I made my way to the awkward corner and we talked beer, the heat and Beer Week.  I talked 9%ers while they (Avery & his friendly team) were drinking a 3.2%.  Ever since meeting Voodoo, I’ve been curious about scale; Avery has under 50 employees apparently.  The Avery beer event was wrapping up and they wanted to head to Bishop’s Collar to meet up with Rob Tod.  And so on we went.

Dark Horse Double Crooked Tree

On Tuesday, AK & I agreed to meet S at Hawthorne’s around 5 on Wed.  I fully intended to bail, but he called to make sure we were coming.  AK asked if we were still on, I replied, “I am going to die.”  Taking a cab seemed to be the solution to this problem.  So we headed across town. I started with a Raspberry Icee Black (9% ABV), which was a chewy stout with hints of raspberry.  I’ve never had a stout this thick before, this cling-y in the mouth.  

I then ordered the Sapient Triple, but was served a Double Crooked Tree.  It was also in a different sized glass than listed on the menu.  I easily could’ve walked the 20 feet to the counter and complained, but I didn’t.  S instead inquired what was up to our server, who replied that the pourer was just using whatever glasses were available.  There were some other wack things going on at this place in terms of customer service and staff care, but I don’t wanna get anyone in trouble since they actually may want to keep their jobs.

AK & I headed to an amazing dinner with delightful plans to meet up with S the next day, but then… Beer Week magic took over.

From left to right: Deschutes, Russian River, Stoudt's, Sierra Nevada, Dogfish Head

 AK & I grabbed some pizza at Soho before the event. The guy was not amused by my inability to make a decision and request that he just pick something for me.  There was a line out the door for the event, but fortunately there were a few high seats open.  

The Line-Up

 AK guarded our seats with the instructions to pick out something delicious for her.  I picked out the Deschutes Obsidian Stout for her and went with the relatively rare Bitches’ Brew (9% ABV) by Dogfish Head for me.  I wasn’t sure what to expect due to the use of honey, but it was surprisingly sweet and delicious.  In fact, I used my third ticket for another 5 oz. pour.  AK gasped when I mentioned that Deschutes had another imperial stout on – “The Abyss??” – and so my second ticket was designated to:

Deschutes Abyss

The event started at 3; the brewers set up on stage at 3:30.  The moderator took us on a brief walk through brewing history in Philadelphia then asked the panel a few questions.  They chatted for an hour about operations, brand loyalty, which beer they wish they’d brewed, the fate of “Brewmasters,” the last commercial/”non-craft” beer they’d consumed, followed by opening up the floor to questions.  

I was a little struck by Carol Stoudt’s comment about women who had been “dragged” to beer events by their boyfriends (I toasted AK at this point because of our independent beer appreciation).  She talked about how they didn’t like beer, but she’d change their perception of what beer could be.  I then tried to talk to her after the event, but all she did was compliment my earrings and ask advice for where to shop in Philly… So, my interest in talking about brand loyalty and how these brewers had built reliable brands felt inappropriate.  I retreated to some friends, accidentally running into Mr. Sierra Nevada and only sputtering out that he “looked familiar.”  I was definitely more proactive last year about meeting brewers, getting photos with them, talking beer and their personal recommendations.  This year?  It doesn’t seem necessary.  

For my fourth beer, I tried the Dogfish Head Theobroma (9% ABV).

Dogfish Head Theobroma

It was the right change of pace from the stouts I’d been enjoying.  Not as spicy as I’d expected, but almost like a palate cleanser because of the use of chile.   The fifth ticket was specifically designated for Russian River’s CBC Sour Brown Ale (unknown ABV).

Russian River CBC

 I deliberately saved this one for last.  Sours are the new IPAs to me.  A few years back, I didn’t appreciate the hoppiness of IPAs, just like the tart mouthpuckering appeal of sours. These days, perhaps my palate is evolving, perhaps I’m just interested in something new/different to try.

Sierra Nevada Juniper Black Ale

In general, I find Sierra Nevada’s beers to be more carbonated than most.  The finish doesn’t tend to be firm.  I wanted to experiment and this was a nice beer for some outdoor catching up and lazing.

Next was Stoudt’s Gold Lager, a good local go-to beer in place of an actual imported German one.  Easy outdoor drinking, but with a layer of interest that let’s me nurture my inner beer snobbery/geekery.

Stoudt's Gold Lager

 I feel the need to say that those are not my cigarette butts. I would like to claim credit for the plants; however, I can’ts.

Stoudt's Fat Dog

I had spied a few taps leftover from the afternoon Stoudt’s event, which I regret skipping.  J wasn’t entirely sure which beers were still on, so he poured me a sample.  As soon as I saw how dark it was, I knew it was my lucky day.  I didn’t even have to sip it to order it.  I’ve been drinking this beer for years – the occasional treat in West Philly, an office beer fridge restock, a go-to at Belgian Cafe when I couldn’t make a decision.  At the Forum of the Gods with Carol Stoudt, there was a question about brand loyalty.  While this can be open to interpretation, I do think that the Stoudts have built a reliable, quality product line.  Whether trying a new style or looking for an old standby, I’d go with Stoudt’s.