Pub Crawl

My brother called me yesterday afternoon to let me know that he will be working in Bala all week and would be available to hang out, so we decided to get together last night for what was certainly a beer geek's nirvana.

I picked Mike up around 6pm and we headed into town. Our plan of action was to go to Zot, Eulogy, and Monk's and we figured the best way to go about it was for each of us to enjoy a beer at each establishment while noshing an appetizer or something. So, first up was Zot.

ZOT - Zot is a new tavern located on Lombard between 2^nd and Front. Their official opening was last week and according to the bartender it has been a weak one so far. I can see why. It seems to me that Zot has an image problem. Their main dining room says 'this is a quaint and romantic Philadelphia row-home restaurant.' But the beer bar in the back says, 'this is a wannabe Rittenhouse Square yuppie swank-fest.'

Their selection is ok I guess. It looks like they have around 200 bottles now and are working their way to 500. Mike had the Bruges Zot, which was enjoyable despite the poor RB rating. It's style is simply Belgian Ale although both of us thought it had attributes of a triple. I forget what I had - Bornhem Dubbel maybe? It was fairly unremarkable.

Overall, Zot is fair at best. They really need to focus on gaining an identity.

On to Eulogy.....

EULOGY - Eulogy is only 4 blocks away so we decided to walk. The night air was surprisingly warm. Upon arrival, we went upstairs due to the hipster crowd downstairs. In an effort to only drink new beers, I got a Atomium Grand Cru. Yum. Technically, the Atomium is a Belgian Strong Pale Ale but it definitely had the spicy characteristics of a Grand Cru. Almost no head to speak of.

At my behest Mike had a De Dolle Stille Nacht. Stille Nacht has been one of my favorites for quite awhile. Mike wasn't disappointed. Complex maltiness followed up by cinnamon and earthy spices. Oh yeah.

On to Monks......

MONKS - If nothing else, the night of pub crawling confirmed that Monks is the king of all beer bars. In fact, Eulogy and Zot can't come close to touching it. We couldn't really put our finger on the distinguishing characteristic (aside for the selection of course) that sets Monks apart. Is it the slight hole in the wall quality? The knowledgeable waitstaff? Nope. After a night's rest, it all became clear. Monks is the best because everyone there is there for the beer. Eulogy is filled with Olde City yuppie swine who swill drinks before heading to 32 degrees to hit on 18-year olds. Zot is not too dissimilar. Not to mention some chick at the bar drinking a Yuengling. Excuse me?

Monks is the haven for the beer geek. The food is great for sure, but the love of beer fills the place. We were very much in our element.

Ok, so most of you know that I freaked out about the Achel Extra during a recent Beer Vlogger episode. We decided to split a 750ml bottle. Oh so good. This is one of those beers that sticks to the back of your throat to give you continually evolving flavor long after the swallow. We took our time and enjoyed. The second pour of the Achel came about 30 minutes after the first so I estimated the beer warmed by 5 to 10 degrees. As expected the beer was completely different. The carbonation bite was gone and replaced by a bubblegum finish that had us arguing over what magic went into making this slice of heaven.

Order of frites. Monks clearly makes the best belgian mayo. To my surprise Mike had never had a Struis Pannepot. No problem. Monk's has it. Now the Pannepot is even more confusing than the Achel. Is it a dubbel? No, the tartness takes that out of the equation. Is it a sour ale? Nah. Too much earthiness. Grand Cru? Maybe, but only because Grand Cru can mean almost anything. In the end we realized categorizing it didn't matter. This is one amazing beer.

I went away from the belgians and tried a Nogne Brown Ale. Nogne is a brewery out of Norway that has received high praise in many publications recently. The Brown Ale is in the style of an English Ale so they say. I say it's closer to a thin porter than anything. Perfect smokiness, almost no carbonation, beautiful black color, somewhat thin mouthfeel. I loved it. Those Scandanavians seem to know what they're doing. The Narke Kaggen Stormaktsporter has just overtaken Westvleteren as the best beer in the world. Legitimate? I don't know but every Scandanavian beer I've had has been wonderful.

Beer Beer and More Beer

The missus joined me last night on my weekly State Line run. I was after a coveted gift that State Line just stocked and I needed to buy a few ESB's for the next Beer Vlogger series. The trip was a success on all counts. The coveted gift shall remain nameless for now, but I will most likely share my opinions once consumed.

The Extra Special Bitter is a beer style I'm only vaguely familiar with. To my knowledge I've only ever had one - the Fuller's ESB. Apparently this is a fine example of the style, so I decided to buy another one, along with Rogue's Brutal Bitter, Stoudt's Scarlet Lady, Anderson Valley's Belk ESB, and Otter Creek's ESB.

Additional purchases included Dogfish Head's new Burton Baton and a 90-minute IPA. While browsing I realized I hadn't enjoyed a 90-minute in a long time so why not? It's always steady, faithful, and cheap.

Oh, I forgot to gloat after participating in last weekend's Best of 2006 Blowout held at The Drafting Room, Exton. The Drafting Room had over 500 different beers on tap in 2006 and they decided to save extra kegs of what they thought represented the best of the best. There were about 15 different beers to choose from and they allowed you to purchase 5 oz. servings which gave you the ability to try most of the beers without a) getting hammered, and b) going home broke.

To be honest, the only reason I went was to sample Pliny the Younger, Russian River's highly touted IPA. Russian River does not distribute outside of CA and OR for whatever reason so it was a treat to sample this brew. LOVELY! Best IPA I've ever had? I don't know, but it beats out Three Floyd's Dreadnaught for sure.

I ordered a pint of Pliny the Younger so I could enjoy it throughout the 5 oz. flight of 6 other beers, including Stone's 10th Anniv. IPA, Cantillon Lou Pepe Framboise, Brooklyn Cuvee d'Achouffe, Bell's Hopslam Ale, Drafting Room's 12th Anniv Ale (brewed by Troegs), and Victory's 10 Years Alt which again reminded me how I am largely ignoring great beers brewed only 10 minutes away from home. Victory really produces quality stuff.

Weekend plans: Tomorrow's the big brew day for Mike and I. We're also going to bottle our Demara Belgian Ale. I don't recall, but I think it needs to bottle-condition for a couple months so we'll have to be patient. I guess Sunday will be a lazy day around the house. Maybe I'll do something productive but chances are better that it'll turn into an all-day-soccer-a-thon.