Instead of fighting the traffic into center city Philly on Thursday evening, we decided to hit up some of the beer spots in the Philly ‘Burbs. Philly Beer Week events take place all over eastern PA, so you don’t have to be in Philly to enjoy PBW.
We started our evening at TJ’s Restaurant and Drinkery in Paoli, PA. Named one of the top 25 places to have a pint by BeerAdvocate and one of the top 50 beer restaurants in the world by RateBeer, TJ’s is one of our favorite spots in Chester County to grab dinner and a pint. The food is delicious and satisfying, and the beer menu is always tempting.
Happy Hour was in full swing when we go there, which included “Kick the Keg” beer specials. Malhuer 10 (a strong Belgian Pale Ale) was $6, Blue Mountain Rockfish Wheat (a German style wheat) was $5, and both Southern Tier 2XOne (a Mosaic hopped DIPA) and Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold (a German lager) were only $4.
Our next stop was the Mile Post Pub at the Whole Foods Market in Devon, PA. The pub offers over 300 bottles and 6 beers on tap, including growler fills and occasional casks. Mile Post Pub is even listed on BeerAdvocate with a rating of 92 – Outstanding!
Hal from Stockertown Beverage was on hand serving up samples of Jolly Pumpkin including Calabaza Blanca (Belgian Biere Blanche spiced with orange peel and coriander), Bam Bière (a dry hopped artisan farmhouse ale – their flagship beer), Luciérnaga (a pale ale brewed in the Grand Cru tradition), and Baudelaire Beer iO Saison (a farmhouse ale brewed with rose hips, rose petals, and hibiscus). All Jolly Pumpkin beers are farmhouse style ales that are barrel aged.
In addition to the samples, three other Jolly Pumpkin brews were available on tap including Weizen Bam (a wild wheat ale), Oro de Calabaza (a Biere de Garde), and La Parcela (a wild pumpkin ale). These beers were available in 5-ounce pours or a snifter/tulip. They could also be purchased to go in 32-ounce or 64-ounce growlers.
While perusing the beer fridge, I happened to notice a keg of Russian River Consecration. I asked Ian, who was pouring beers at the pub, and he shared with me that there will be a sour event this Sunday, June 8th, at the Mile Post Pub.
Sour Power, which will run from noon to 7PM on Sunday, will feature 6 taps (plus extras) and 70 bottles of various sour beers. Patrons will purchase Pub Bucks to purchase 2 5-ounce pours at a time at 4 different tasting stations. This is an annual event for the pub, which always takes place during Philly Beer Week.
In addition to this awesome event, a Bella Vista tap takeover toke place on Friday, June 6 from noon to 9PM with beers like Bruery Sour in the Rye, Duclaw Divine Retribution, Stillwater Nenicjadmezzar, and Off Color Troublesome.
Today, June 7, from noon to 4PM local celebrity chefs will be facing off in Whole Food’s annual (c)Hopped competition, which will involve creating an entree using a secret ingredient and a Yards brew in just 90 minutes. The event will feature appearances from Patrick Feury of Nectar, David Walti of Harvest, Theo Charitos of Red Cedar Grille, and Jonathan Amann of Amani’s BYOB. Beers on tap will include Bourbon Barrel Aged George Washington Porter, Saison, Maibock, ESA, plus a cask of PBW IPA.
The final stop for the evening was Teresa’s Next Door in Wayne, PA for the Whiskey Thursday event. This, however, was not a regular Whiskey Thursday. This special Thursday featured beer based spirits paired with the beer they were distilled from. The spirits could be purchased for $11 or $16 for the spirit and beer pairing. The list of pairings included:
- Schneider Aventinus and Edelster Aventius
- Reisdorff Kolsch and Edelster Reissdorf
- Hitachino White Ale and Kiuchi No Shizuku
- Etienne DuPont Cider and Esprit de Pomme
- Bear Republic Racer 5 and Charbay R5
- Drie Fontinien Oude Gueuze and Super Secret Armand Spirit
I enjoyed two of the pairings including…
- Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier and Schlenkerla Smokemalt Rauchbier Spirit
The spirit has the same barbecue flavor as the beer. The beer is distilled then aged over the same smoked malt they use to make the beer. The spirit is like a light bodied Peaty Scotch. This pairing was seriously amazing. - Uerige Doppelsticke and Uerige Stickum
This beer is Germany’s interpretation of a barley wine. The spirit is distilled and aged in German Pinot Noir (Spatbürgunder) barrels creating notes of autumn spices, red fruit, and a touch of chocolate.
The beer and spirit pairings were quite enjoyable. I only wish they would have offered smaller servings, perhaps flights, so I could have tried more than two of the pairings!
On Friday, June 6, Teresa’s tapped Russian River Damnation and Pliny the Elder. Nick Johnson from Tröegs Brewing Company will be in the house today for Tröegs Jazzfest with 14 Tröegs beers on tap, including 7 rare scratch beers.
Overall, Philly Beer Week can still be a kick ass time away from Center City. There are several top notch beer spots in the Philly ‘Burbs offering some rare and quite tasty brews. Check out Philly Beer Week’s event page to see what events are still going on this weekend!
