Philly Beer Scene

Our First Round of Beer

Boston Beer Works Website: http://www.beerworks.net

First off, this weekend on Saturday, November 12 there's a GSE On-Campus Information Session from 10-12 in Bodek Lounge of Houston Hall RSVP Click Here.

Before I moved to Philly, I lived in Boston.  My plan for the year I spent there was to work as an EMT to prepare myself for medical school.  Unfortunately, the state of Massachusetts had other plans for me.  Getting my license proved to by more challenging than expected and took almost six months.  In the meanwhile I got a job waiting tables and beer-tending at a bar next to the stadium for the Bruins and Celtics.  The bar was associated with a brewery, and did not serve commercial beer, only that brewed by its brewers.  In order to actually wait tables you first had to go to brew school and then take a brew test...thus my interest in beer was born.  I learned the differences between different beers, the types I liked and those that I didn't. 

So this blog posting is about the Philly Beer Scene.  It's inspired by a trip I took to Monk's, one of my favorite Belgian Beer Establishments.  Monk's has a number of beers on tap, as well as one of the most extensive collections of bottled beers I've seen.  True to form, each beer comes in the appropriate style glass to fully appreciate its flavor to the fullest.

Kash's Stout

 Kash's first beer was a stout (Guinness is also a stout style beer).  Stouts are some of the darkest beers around, but contrary to popular belief, not at all heavy.  They're given their color because of the type of malts used to brew the beer.  They can be infused with coffee, chocolate, and caramel flavors in the brewing process.

Dave's Lager

Dave, on the other hand is a hoppy beer fan.  He enjoys pale ales, ESB's (english style bitters or extra special bitter), and IPA's (india pale ale).  The hops are spicing added to the beer during the fermentation process to add flavor.  The fermentation time is when flavorings such as fruit get added to beers.  IPA's especially tend to be high in alcohol content because of the amount of sugars available during fermentation.  This time however, he threw a curveball and went with Mahr's Ungespundets Keller, an unpasteurized, unfiltered lager.

My Amber Ale

I went with an amber ale for my first round which was a bit sweeter than I expected.  I'm not a hoppy beer fan, and tend to really like the seasonal offerings.  In the summer, I appreciate a good wheat beer or summer ale.  In the fall I like both the Ocktoberfest Lagers as well as the pumpkin beers and amber ales.  In the winter I'll go with a heartier beer such as a Belgian Trippel or a Dunkel.  The difference between lagers and ales is one of the key differences in beers.  Lagers are more simple crisp beers.  They are brewed with a bottom fermenting yeast at colder temperatures.  This is in contrast to ales which have a wide array of flavors depending on the blend of malts, hops and other flavoring.  They're brewed with a top fermenting yeast and brewed at room temperature.

My second beer, a Kolsch

While Kash didn't go for round 2, and Dave went with a repeat of his first, I decided to try something different.  After the overly sweet first beer, I decided I was more in the mood for something a little more crisp and refreshing, so I went with a Kolsch.

Philly actually has some great beer bars in addition to Monk's.  Local 44 in West Philly is known for having one of the widest selection of beers on tap.  Nodding Head is a brewery/restaurant in Center City that serves its own brews (and has a great Quizzo on Sunday evenings).  Tria, predominantly known as a wine bar (and a great date spot) has a great selection of craft beers on tap as well.  Perhaps most importantly though is Philly Beer Week, which happens every year in the spring/summer (It's the first week in June 2012) in which various bars all around philly have events dedicated to beer.  They bring in brewers from all over the world, have elaborate dinners pairing beers with food, among many other events.