Beer Week Super Blog Pt 8

Day Ten


Local 44

It was the last day of the Beer Week. We returned to Local 44 for a special occasion with seven beers from Russian River Brewery on tap. It was billed as the largest gathering of Russian River beers on the East Coast, and it was probably true. Personally, I had hardly seen any of its beers outside of the West Coast and I definitely had not seen seven of them on draft in Philadelphia at the same place at the same time.

We arrived sometime around 1:30PM and the place was quite crowded. Two of the seven beers had kicked already! We were surprised and impressed to find out that people started lining up outside the bar at 10:30 in the morning for the 11:30AM opening!

While Tourist Tree was deciding which beer to get first after squeezing herself up to the bar, the guy sitting next to her gave her a quick run down on all the beers. He had all seven of them already!


I really wanted to try the Consecration since it is aged in cabernet barrels. Unfortunately, it along with Pliny the Younger were gone already. We started with the Domination and the Rejection. I liked the Belgium style Domination (7% ABV) a lot. It’s creamy and buttery with bits of malt. The Rejection (6.1%) was a Belgium style black beer that was a bit on the bitter side. I was told that it was brewed for the Valentine’s Day. Nice!

We had the Blind Pig (6%) next. It’s hoppy and Toutist Tree liked it. I enjoyed the Salvation very much. It was sweet and very easy tasting. It reminded me of a mild porter even though it was made in Belgium style. I guess you would be saved if you did drink enough of this 9% beer.

The last we had was the double IPA, Pliny the Elder (8%) which was very nice too with its hoppy but sweeter taste. (Picture above: Notice the two Fullers on casks. Yes! )

The crowd thinned out a bit as the afternoon moved on. We managed to get a few seats by the bar so we could relaxingly enjoy our beers and have……


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The Breakfast BLT


It’s so simple yet it’s so good. A basic BLT sandwich with the addition of an egg and some seasoned mayo. When you bite into the sandwich, the egg yoke breaks and oozes all over it. The crunchiness of the toasted bread, the crispiness and the salt from the bacon, the refreshing tomato and lettuce, plus the egg yoke…need I say more? This was the perfect item for a late brunch with a beer! The added bonus is the never-too-greasy chips made in-house which are good to have at anytime. I only wish that they would use a more upscale bacon, like thick pieces of applewood smoked bacon, instead of run of the mill variety.

We met Derrick and Erin at the Memphis Tap Room the week before. They are regulars there since they live just around the corner. They are also serious marathon runners. Should I dare to guess that beer is part of their training regimen? Besides being fellow Fat Tire Beer fans with Tourist Tree, we discovered that they are also PTs!

When the conversion turned to Fat Tire Ale again, we found another fan sitting on the other side of us. He was on the way to the sold-out Zythos America Beer Fest at the University of Pennsylvania Museum. He was having a warm-up beer before heading into some serious Belgium beer tasting.

While Aiiyah had a Fuller’s London Pride for his brunch dessert; Tourist Tree needed something a bit more substantial: A truffled chocolate-covered pretzel from Naked Chocolate.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The talented Doctor Professor multi-tasking by walking and enjoying her delight from Naked Chocolate.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Capogiro
 

It would only be appropriate to end the Beer Week with an afternoon snack at Capogiro with one of the beer flavored gelatos. We continued our experimentation pairing the beer gelato with other flavors: Rogue Chocolate Stout with Straccitella, and Rogue Chocolate Stout with Café Mocha. We liked both combinations very much, with each having its own distant taste.

 

 

Mémé

Cured Foie Gras, Dates, Bacon, “Monte Cristo”

We celebrated the Foie Gras Week with this $5.00 special offered just for the occasion. A piece of cured foie gras on top of an ensemble of bread, bacon, and dates, fried Monte Cristo style; topped with balsamic vinegar and with a sprinkle of sea salt. Absolutely delicious with the smoothness of the foie gras, crispiness of the bread and the bacon, sweetness from the dates, saltiness of the bacon and the sea salt, plus the added dimension of the balsamic.

Watercress, Red Cabbage, Grapefruit, Leek

The salad was very nice with the mixture of the fruitiness of the grapefruit and crunchiness of the vegetables. The dressing was very nice and not overwhelming. We particularly liked the crunchy fried leeks in the mix.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Chicken, Roasted Mushroom, Sweet Onion Grits, Maderia


This chicken dish is listed under the “Plate for Two” section of the menu. The chicken was brined overnight (I think). Then the breasts were slow cooked sous-vide while the legs were cooked in duck fat. It was finished off in the oven just before leaving the kitchen.

 
 
 

For somebody who is usually not a chicken eater unless it is fried beyond recognition, I have to say that this chicken was very tasty! The meat was juicy, tender, and full of flavor. I do not like white meat but I even tried a little bit of Tourist Tree’s and agreed that it was very well done and full of the natural taste. We liked the roasted shiitake mushrooms a lot. They were not big but meaty and done with great flavoring with the natural Madeira chicken jus.
 
 
 
 

The sweet onion grits were served on the side. They were very thick in consistency. The sweetness of the onion was a nice counter-balance to the seasoning on the chicken.


The chicken itself was on the small side for me, even as an organic bird. If I were very hungry, I would have no problem eating the whole plate by myself. I am not a big fan of restaurants who promote “for two” or “for sharing” dishes. Just be honest with what is on the plate and leave me, the diner, to decide whether it is for one person for two. Regardless, this particular chicken was a solid dish and these two diners enjoyed it very much.


Day Ten Beer Tally: Russian River Domination, Rejection, Blind Pig, Salvation, Pliny the Elder; Fuller’s London Pride.

The Keg is Kicked


The Philly Beer Week came and went in a blink of an eye. Although we could only do a fraction of the organized activities, we did manage to enjoy a lot of different beers, most of which we never had before, plus some of our old favorites; and even some beer flavored gelatos, cheese, and food. We enjoyed all ten days of this week very much. We had a wonderful time going to different places, tasting new beers, participating in activities (silly or not), eating interesting food, and spending quality time with each other. However, what we treasured most was the experiences we had with all the people we met and the fun we had with them over a beer or two. That was unexpected and a nice surprise to us. We met people from all walks of life, backgrounds, ages, sexes…. Some highly educated, some very artistic, some a bit unique, but they were all super friendly and down to earth with no problems striking up a conversation on topics that sometimes even bewildered us. We might have been all different before we walked through the door but once we were inside, everybody shared the common love of good beer.

For everything we had spent during this Beer Week, we could have had a wonderful dinner at an upscale French restaurant with a bottle of Ch. Margaux or Rothschild, or both. But it would never equal the experiences that we had during those 10 days of Beer Week, particularly those interesting interactions with all the wonderful people we had met. That was priceless!

“Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.”

Benjamin Franklin

Aiiyah finally drinking something healthy: Water

Beer Week plus one day: Off to detox!!!