Yelp Philly’s Freedom to Party

December 7, 2012December 7, 2012 / foodsweatandbeers / 16 Comments

Sickness, school, and sleep have really gotten in the way of me writing this post (doesn’t my life sound fabulous?), so it’s about a week late. But that comes with the territory, right? The grad school territory, the cold season territory, the winter in Philly territory… I feel like a hibernating bear. But I did manage to come out of my lady cave for a few choice hours last week to head over to Revolution House in Old City for Yelp Philly’s Freedom to Party!!

Yelp goes hard in the paint.

I brought my pal Martha after her demonstration of being an excellent +1 at the Confections and Cocktails party at Williams-Sonoma and, moments after we hopped off the El, we rolled into Revolution House. Once inside, we were treated like VIPs (VIY[elpers]?) as we enjoyed some of the finest food and drink that Revolution House had to offer.

Rev Dog – beef hot dog, guacamole
sweet & sour peppers, cheddar cheese, carmelized onions

Pizza and Beer – My kind of joint

Sexy Sangria

Other than just a-MAH-zing food and drink (seriously, those Rev Dog bites were decadent), this event had it all. Feats of strength (watching Chef Luca lift trays full of salmon), excitement (As the sandwich chalk-board tumbles towards us all, imminent doom looming, will we be saved?!), laughing, crying (don’t worry, it was just from laughing), chills (from icy cold beers), heat (from the dreamiest heat lamps known to mankind), and, of course, the gorgeous movers and shakers of Philadelphia’s chosen ones: The Yelp Elite. I’ll admit, before this event, I’d only ogled Revolution House as I walked to various bars in Old City, assuming it was just some restaurant. How wrong I was….

You know what you can’t see from walking past Revolution House? THE HEATED ROOF DECK!!

Is there anything better than a nice warm deck on a chilly Autumn night?

I submit that there is not.

Don’t mind the bushy brows, I’m channeling my inner Frida.

From a champagne toast to start the night to a decadent Winter warmer of boozy cider, Revolution House brought out the heavy hitters. The tiny ladies pouring the wines and beers downstairs were an ABSOLUTE JOY, and started my night off the right way. But, as things started dying down in the bottom of Revolution House, I wondered what mysteries awaited me upstairs. I followed a tray of crab canolis (the only dish that I tried which didn’t excite my palate and awaken all of my other senses like a rapturous alarm clock inviting everyone to the party) up the stairs and was excited to see even more treats.

Gimme that fishy!!

And, despite Martha spilling and making a GIANT MESS (tsk tsik), we both left full of the holiday spirit (or holiday spirits? Jeez, there were a lot of bevvies….) It was a glorious way to celebrate the end of my FIRST HALF of final projects. But don’t worry, there’s plenty more finals where those came from…. guess I’ll have to head back to Revolution House for their Mad Elf/Mad Dreams party next Friday. Shucks….

Tiniest tenders ever.

Thank you, Revolution House and Yelp Philly. You sure know how to show a girl a good time.

Off to study. Or nurse this cup of Theraflu…

What’s your favorite type of bar to hit up during those chilly winter nights?!

Six Pack Sunday: Living Socially

December 2, 2012December 2, 2012 / foodsweatandbeers / 5 Comments

Wait a minute, wait a minute.

I know a lot of big things happened this week.

Movember/No Shave November ended. I mourned the lost of beardy men all over. I had the best grilled cheese of my life. MTV’s Buckwild trailer premiered. News of Girl Meets World swept the internet. But, for me, there was something even more momentous that went down.

I Lived SO Socially. In fact, I lived socially TWICE this weekend. Winter Winery Tour followed by a Brewery, Distillery, and Winery tour. Too cool, right?

There were highlights from both.

1. A Match Made in Heaven

Cheese and Chocolate: Wine’s best friends!!

2. Road Wine

Ever think that you’d like wine a lot more if it tasted and smelled like apple pie and Christmas?

Both ALPINEY andddd Spicy!

Alpine Spice, from Sand Castle Winery in Bucks County. Serve warm in the winter. Consider yourself educated. Get this wine.

3. New Friends

I made a few, but I don’t wanna start blogging about them without clearing the air. However, I did meet this one stud…. He was the strong, silent type, but I think he liked me.

Cute hat, right?

4. Pasta Salad

Yeah, that doesn’t always sound like a highlight. In fact, at most silly picnics and potlucks, I don’t really get excited over pasta salad at all. But, if it’s oriental pasta salad…. all bets are off.

Feast your eyes on THIS!

Making this, POST-HASTE!!

5. Whiskey Wednesday (or Sunday. Or every day.)

I don’t even like whiskey. 90% of the time, the sound of the word “whiskey” makes me feel like running away in fear. But what about when the words BEFORE whiskey are “Salted” and “Caramel”?

Yup, taking you home with me.

Here’s hoping there’s a boozy cider night in my VERY near future. Because I brought a bottle of this bad boy home with me. Courtesy of Philadelphia Distilling… CRAFT LIQUOR, Y’ALL!!

6. THE BEARD LIVES ON!!

So, for some fancy beer guys, No Shave November is more than a fundraiser. It’s a lifestyle.

Here’s to one of the best beer beards I’ve seen in Philly, a la Yards Brewery.

Sweet, brah.

Love it.

And, with the end of the semester looming quite menacingly on the horizon, it’s back to reality.

Oh goodness, it was just so nice to not be in a library for a weekend…..

Sharing is Caring: Philly Bottle Share

November 11, 2012November 12, 2012 / foodsweatandbeers / 4 Comments

Wanna find ~~all~~ most of the cool beer people in your city at one event? Might I suggest throwing a bottle share event? Not only will everyone FLOCK to the opportunity to enjoy each others’ company, but I guarantee that they’ve all been holding onto something special. A bottle, big or small, that they’ve been itching to show off and share in the company of fellow beer geeks.

Let your Geek Flag fly, y’all!

And, in Philly, despite being tardy for the party (err…. the RSVP), I managed to secure a coveted spot to one of these events, Bottle Share #2 hosted by Philly Tap Finder and Philly Beer Scene. I grabbed my Prickly Passion Saison from my beloved New Belgium, which I’d been saving for something (though I didn’t know what until last Sunday) and was dropped off, bottle in hand, inches away from Soup Kitchen Cafe, our hosts for the afternoon/evening. And, shortly after the rare beauties hit the table, the bottles started popping.

Some of them were corked, so there were literal bottles popped.

There were some incredible brews brought to the table (literally). And I fell in love with a few. Highlights?

Cigar City’s Cucumber Saison
Terra Incognita, the collaboration that Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. and Boulevard Brewing Co (made specifically for the Savor beer and food festival, which I’d love to attend in 2013 when it moves to NYC! Fingers crossed things work out…)
Prickly Passion Saison
Beautiful bottle!
Flemish Primitive Wild Ale and Crooked Stave’s Pure Guava Petite Sour (the only other time I had Crooked Stave was at the Sour Beer Tasting Class!)
The Mac and Cheese helped

There were so many other beers that I tried/enjoyed, but I think I was itching for some sour brews. And, though that picture washes out the mac & cheese, I promise, it was creamy, cheesey, and heavenly.

To let my inner vegetarian out, I requested the veggie-friendly dish first (there were lots of meaty sammies too, I’ll get to them next).

Just beet it.

Goat cheese, arugula, beets!! Totally enamored. However, since it was a small portion and I needed something to soak up all that beer, I tried a few of the other offerings….

Sorry for the lousy framing of this picture, I was hungrier than I was interested in snapping the perfect shot

Meatloaf sammy, pulled pork on a perfect little roll (my favorite!), and short rib sloppy joe. True story: I tried them all. Just call me quality control….

The rare and exotic beers flowed freely, the conversation and geeking out was incredibly pleasant, and I felt like I was among my people. That also resulted in very few shots OF those people, as I was trying to chat and enjoy and not get drunk all at once. This inevitably resulted in a glass of water or a handshake occupying my hands much more than the camera. But man, we did some work.

Just a fraction of the bottles consumed.

Big thanks to Jared from PhillyTapFinder and Mat from Philly Beer Scene for putting it together AND for letting me know I snuck in off the wait-list. Because this was an event NOT to be missed.

What would you bring to a bottle share?

HOW ABOUT what would you bring to a potluck dinner with all of your classmates on a Friday night? (because I have one, but have to travel a bit with my dish… on public transportation….)

I wonder if I could host one of these of my own…. potluck bottle share at Chez Jordan? That sounds too cool…

The Great American Beer Festival 2012

November 6, 2012November 8, 2012 / foodsweatandbeers / 10 Comments

In all the hooplah of writing about pre-fest hot dogs, my pre-festival sours class, and my post-festival New Belgium tour, I forgot one very important part of my trip to Denver.

The ACTUAL Great American Beer Festival itself!!

I promise, it was more beautiful than this when I walked inside.

Thanks to BeerGram’s generosity, I had tickets to the festival and was able to bring my tiny buddy, Melissa. We also had a girlfriend, Imee, to round out the crew. We were ready for anything the brewers had to bring.

I’m a gentle giant.

The brewers…. they were ready for us as well. There was literally something for every possible tastebud and beer lover.

Goose Island’s Gingerbread Dream? Come to mama.

Prima Pils + Snyder’s Sourdough: Basic Math

One of the very best parts was the beer and pretzel pairing featuring Great Divide, Flying Dog, and hometown hero, Victory Brewing Company! And that’s just the beer…. My long-time love, Snyders of Hanover, provided honey twists, classic Sourdough pretzels, and YUMMY flavored pretzel pieces!

There was the GABF Brewpub Pavilion, complete with samples of snacks to pair with beer. One of my favorites? Barely Buzzed Beehive CHEESE!

Cheese, please.

Utah, you do good on the cheese front.

I met some fantastic folks. Namely?

Pennsylvania Pals!

Bill Covaleski, President and Brewmaster from Victory Brewing Company. He’s still working on figuring out the perfect pairing for a Philly soft pretzel….

Another little beer lady!

Andrea Sanchez-Reyes, the founder and CEO of Beergram (and my benefactor!)

And, don’t worry, I repped my friends/family of #NCBeer to the best of my ability. At one point, dissatisfied with their lack of knowledge about Sexual Chocolate, I actually ended up behind the Foothills Brewing booth, lecturing newbs to the benefits of my favorite Winston-Salem brewery.

Sorry for the phone pic, but we were in the zone. the fun, Foothills zone.

Movember even made a little appearance, a few weeks early.

No Shave November? No shave NEVER!

It was, without question, the most fun I’ve ever had at a beer festival.

It was the first time that I went in with the mindset:

HEY! If you don’t like this beer, just pour it out. Don’t force yourself to drink every sample. When they overpour for you, don’t feel bad pouring some out. You’re not offending ANYONE. Bonus? No blacking out or feeling ill the next day.

The result? I left the festival just as excited and happy as when I came. I was happy as a clown, but (slightly) less silly than one.

There were pieces that weren’t great. I REFUSED to wait in the lines for Cigar City and Dogfish, as they were running anywhere from 30-45 minutes, and that just seemed a little outrageous. I figure I can always take a road trip to DE (and a much longer one to Florida) if I REALLY need to try those beers.

One of the MAJOR highlights? The line for the ladies’ room was like, 1/3 the length of the one for the men’s room. Seriously, this event was a sausage fest.

Hee hee

(at one point, quite literally, thanks to New Holland’s salami samples!)

After getting my fill of all the wild flavors some breweries were offering (gingerbread, green chili, peanut butter cup, strawberry, sage, keffir lime!! WHOAH!) I ended my night the way the only way that made sense; parked in front of the Bear Republic booth, sipping Racer 5 IPA until last call. Couldn’t have been more perfect.

My buddies at Bear Republic let me pose with their sweet ride….

After hot dogs, beer education, and 3.5 hours at the festival, I think it’s no surprise I slept like a baby. I’m already scheming how I’ll get back next year…. If you can do it, I think GABF is NOT to be missed if you’re interested in craft beer.

What’s the wackiest flavor of beer you’ve ever tried?

I gotta say the Sage Saison from Epic Brewing was pretty wild….

If you’re not a beer person, ever try any of those wackadoo flavored vodkas?

::shudder::

Scenes from New Belgium

October 25, 2012 / foodsweatandbeers / 13 Comments

The Saturday after we went to GABF, we got the chance to do one of the things I’d been looking forward to more than anything. Yes, I was excited to head to the festival. Yes, I was excited to try Biker Jim’s. Yes, I was stoked to see Denver.

But there’s a little spot about an hour and some change away from Denver called Ft. Collins, CO. And Ft. Collins is the home of this not-so-little brewery called New Belgium. This brewery consistently puts out some of my favorite beers including, but not limited to:

Shift
Tart Lychee
Ranger IPA
Somersault
La Folie
Cocoa Mole (OOoh baby)
Kick
Vrienden
Valentine’s Day Beer (does this have another name I’m unaware of? Either way, it’s DELICIOUS!)

Unfortunately, New Belgium doesn’t (yet!) distribute to PA/NJ/DE. I’ve been itching to get my fix. What better way than to go straight to the source?

We had a brief (2 hour) wait in the tasting room since we missed our scheduled tour time…. but that was okay, there was plenty to do drink.

I’ll take one of everything.

Just a sample of the samples…

Can this be my bedroom wall?

Two hours of enjoying some delicious NB Brews, and we managed to squeeze into a tour. YES!! The luckiest of ducks.

I’ve been on a number of brewery tours in my day but there are few that truly stand out as both educational and fun. Yuengling had the title before this…. Now, I’m not so sure.

Our AMAZING tour guide, Lauren (who I mistakenly called Kate maybe 3x)

Our tour guide was incredible. She taught us to romance our beer, warming it with our hands (and our hearts).

Getting pretty intimate

We tried a number of delicious beers as we traveled through the brewery, getting up close and personal with the inner workings of New Belgium.

Gotta catch em all.

Mmmm it smelled like oatmeal.

We even got to check out some of the barrels they use for whipping up those tasty barrel-aged beers (one of which we got to try later).

Beautiful Barrel

Oooh la la, Leopold?! (Which we tried later that night!)

True Love

At the end of the tour, full of beer and overflowing with happiness, I couldn’t resist nabbing a sweatshirt (that I’m currently wearing). AND a chance to model that shirt in front of their sign.

Sorta Sorority Squat

This tour was whimsical, educational, and DELICIOUS! If you’re ever ANYWHERE near Ft. Collins, please, do yourself a solid, and book the tour! For the low cost of $Free.99, you, too, can enjoy the heck out of a magical Willy Wonka-esque beer factory.

Just make sure you are careful when you slide your way back to the real world.

Too fun.

What would be your ideal factory/brewery to tour?

Rackhouse Beer School: Sours 101

October 24, 2012 / foodsweatandbeers / 7 Comments

Has anyone else noticed how trendy sour beers are lately? Well, maybe not “lately” but as a relative noob to the craft beer community, I had my hop-head phase, and am now full on riding the sour-beer train. Luckily, despite the trend being a few years old, I’m not too late to get in on the action. Some establishments are more than happy to continue the trend and perfect it to the best of their ability. And I am more than happy to consume their attempts in the meantime.

Enter: Rackhouse Beer School’s Sours 101 class!

(pulled from their website)

Talk about edu-tainment.

We showed up at Rackhouse Pub armed with an unquenchable thirst (~~it was GABF weekend and I hadn’t even had a SIP of beer.~~ Ok, maybe a sip of a Coors Light on the plane, but only because I had a drink ticket that was about to expire and I knew I wouldn’t enjoy any of Colorado’s not-so-crafty brewery any other time over the weekend) ready to learn. And man, were they ready to teach.

Admit it…

The gold on Avery bottles reminds you of The Golden Ticket…. No? Just me?

Chad Yakobson of Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project, Andy Parker of Avery Brewing Company and Troy Casey of AC Golden hosted a guided talk and tasting of a selection of delicious sours to pucker the lips and pique the interest of all drinkers.

Fact: bottles look better with red wax covering them.

Wild Wild Brett Blue from Crooked Stave

And, the thing is, sometimes when dreamy men talk about beer with authority, I listen… but maybe I don’t always hear. It’s easy to be distracted by their blonde hair and knowledge of wild yeast strains.

The following is a picture I took of him which doesn’t do him an ounce of justice.

Be still, my heart.

I know I chuckled before at Greg Koch’s fan boys, but seriously, I don’t think I would’ve been able to speak if Andy had said a word to me. Luckily, I had my notes to distract me.

So studious

Things that I learned:

Just calling a beer a “sour” isn’t enough. The style is so unique to each beer, that the blanket statement can confuse drinkers.
It can take a LONG time to make a good sour (we’re talking 2-3 years).
A good sour beer makes you “gleek all over” (that’s a direct quote from Mr. Parker.)
There’s a high attrition rate for sours, and they can go from good to bad very easily.
“At some point, you gotta embrace the chaos…. some of that beer is gonna suck.”
Brettanomyces alone does not a sour beer make.
Sometimes, sour beers are super low in ABV…. other times (in the case of Avery’s Dihos Dactylion) it’s boozy as hell (10.3%, what a way to start!)

The class definitely focused a lot on HOW to make the sour beers and, though lots of the questions were over my head as a) I’m not a homebrewer and b) I was a little distracted, the experience was a great one.

Dihos Dactylion, Immitis, and Oud Floris

I think that the Oud Floris was my favorite of the bunch, tasting complex, tart, but a little smoother than the Dihos. Turns out it is a blend of 4 different beers (67% aged in Cab Sauv Barrels, 17% aged in Bourbon Barrels, 8% aged in Rum Barrels, and 8% aged in Chardonnay Barrels).

Chad from Crooked Stave probably knows enough about sour beers and yeast to school all potential brewers.

It was definitely the Chad.

His offerings, to me, received mixed reviews. I felt like the Wild Wild Brett Blue (WWBB) was dark and hoppy but almost a little too oat-y…. like cereal. He mentioned that oats and blueberries go together naturally, but it was a little chewy tasting for me.

Batch One (or Wild Wild Brett Rouge), on the other hand, was a delicious adventure for my tongue. Bright, sharp, and intense, the raspberry flavor was like a sassy slap to my tastebuds.

The final section of the class probably would’ve been better off going first. Troy from AC Golden, while knowledgeable and entertaining, offered beers much weaker in flavor and depth than the previous two fellows, and I think he maybe lost the crowd a little bit on that account. I know he lost me. So I had Melissa take a snapshot of my beer school experience.

Getting tipsy in class = win in my book

That’s Troy in the back, flailing around explaining how gross old apricots are…. Yeah, I basically mentally checked out.

Maybe that’s because, in a few short minutes, I was headed to my first ever GABF!

(or maybe I was just staring at Andy.)

Either way, great class, incredible prelude to the festival. I guess I’ll have to share that one next….

GABF Teaser

October 16, 2012October 16, 2012 / foodsweatandbeers / 4 Comments

Just in case y’all were wondering, I made it back from Denver in one piece (though my three pieces of luggage on the flight home may have suggested otherwise). And, though I’m cranking out a paper right now, I couldn’t resist posting a few pictures as a taste of the trip. That, and procrastination is the best way to recover post-GABF. I read that somewhere. In a book.

The Welcome Wagon was ALL over Denver! This was pre-tasty hot dogs at Biker Jim’s.

Who’s that peeking out of the corkscrew slide?

Making sure I fit in some learning with all that drinking

Beer and pretzels? My heart melts.

Recognize that phrase, anyone?

Ultimate in Craft Beer Couture

I was rocking on the haute hops attire courtesy of my buddy, Robin, who is the QUEEN of beer fashion (THANKS, ROBIN!!)

Ok, ok, ok.

I GUESS this whole graduate program is a LITTLE more important than gushing over GABF some more.

But only a little.

Six Pack Sunday: Blessed with BEER!!

September 30, 2012 / foodsweatandbeers / 7 Comments

It’s been FAR too long. Six Pack Sunday posts are some of my favorite things to write but, as of late, I’ve been swamped with working, learning, and a little bit of playing. One of my buddies from school asked me in class this week,

How on EARTH do you have time to write a blog?

Good question. I regularly wonder, when reading some of my favorite blogs, how they manage to go out and run 7 miles, food prep for the week, work their jobs, get their education, and look gorgeous while socializing AND blogging. It’s a mystery, but I guess folks make it work. Bravo to all those overachievers in the blog world.

I’ve been feeling pretty fantastic, primarily because I’ve been achieving a bit, at least in the beer world… Yes, I had a GREAT TIME with my new beer babes of Philly Girls’ Pint Out on Monday, but there’s been some other stuff….

1. FREE BEER!! Thanks, Yuengling!

Tastes like home

Sometimes, the stars align, and something wonderful happens. When that wonderful thing involves free beer… that’s even more wonderful. On Friday night, Yuengling treated the folks of Philly to a free Lager to thank them for helping make Yuengling the largest American-owned brewery. The Philly-wide Toast was a great way to start the weekend off on a solid, free note!

I have to give props to Neiman for what I think was a unique and very popular campaign. That’s the kind of advertising I’m into…

2. Midterms are Coming

AHHHHHH!!!!!!

That’s all.

3. Worth It.

I’ll admit, I was a little hesitant about shelling out $4 for an order of sweet potato fries.

Well, consider my doubts swept RIGHT under the rug!

Shut the FRONT DOOR!

Hip City Veg is DANGEROUSLY close to Athleta. Like… when you have a 15 minute break, you can get there and back in time to eat an entire order of sweet potato fries. Add a side of black bean cilantro dip (which I now FULLY intend to recreate, ASAP) and you have the most decadent treat I can imagine. Salty, sweet, creamy dip AND a decent sized portion. I don’t know if this is a blessing or a curse.

My tastebuds say blessing.

4. Drink Your Paycheck, Much?

Ever since Monday’s glass of Consecration, I’ve been JONESING for a sour beer. And then, last night, I got paid.

Sure, the check was a fraction of what I used to get working full time in research.

Sure, I’m also attending grad school and shelling out dollars for that.

But it was an itch that only a good beer could scratch.

Sexy, right?

Hey, Russian River… You make one heck of a sour beer, blonde or otherwise. And in your tartness, you have won me over completely…. It was ALSO totally worth it to enjoy a lone peer that harbored on perfect to end a LONG Saturday full of work and Zumba. I slept like a baby (if babies could drink sour ales).

5. Freezing Fashion

The weather was in the 60s this week. And, since my body, accustomed to North Carolina temperatures, panics at the sight of 7s and 6s leading the numbers on the thermometers, I did what any sane employee of Athleta would do…

The coziest.

The Reversible Training Headband by Smartwool screamed out to me since we got our winter shipment at the store. And, last night, the crisp air DEMANDED the purchase of my very own headband. I also have barely taken it off since then.

6. The Luckiest

Remember that time that I booked a flight, mid-summer, to Denver, Colorado for the weekend of October 11-13 for $7.50 since I had so many points for flying back and forth to Philly from RDU for the past two years?

And I chose that weekend specifically so that I could go to the Great American Beer Festival.

Then… the tickets when on sale.

Four minutes later, I sat at my computer, shell-shocked by the fact that I didn’t score a single ticket. The sell-out was nearly instant, and I REFUSED to drop hundreds of dollars on a scalped ticket.

My buddy Melissa and I then promised each other we would enter any and every contest to get our tickets, hoping for luck to be on our side.

Enter: BeerGram

I signed up to receive their emails, crossed my fingers, and said that, without question, I’d send my first “BeerGram” to my beer babe, Melissa.

And then I was told that I won tickets to GABF.

I not only won one ticket, but two tickets for EVERY session.

Oh, we’re GOING THERE!

My heart skipped a few beats, and then I immediately wrote back YES YES A MILLION TIMES YES!!

This is the most exciting Six Pack Sunday of ALLLLLL Six Pack Sundays.

I’m scoping out survival guides, I’m making my plan of attack, and I’m getting thirsty.

Anyone else going?! HOORAYYYYY!!

What’s the most exciting thing that’s happened to you lately, my friends?

Philly Girls’ Pint Out Takes Flight at City Tap House

September 26, 2012June 17, 2014 / foodsweatandbeers / 8 Comments

When people ask me what I miss most about North Carolina, sometimes I think about the stunning UNC campus. Other times, I think about the hip, welcoming town of Durham, complete with giant bull statue and delicious eats and my favorite minor league baseball team. And there’s always Cheerwine, Bojangles, and all the beauty of Honeysuckle Sorbet… But then I remember what I REALLY miss most of all.

MISS YOU SO!!

It’s my NC Beer Family, of course! This amazing group of men and women were some of my best friends, and they always welcomed me with open arms and open bottles!! They gave me a community, a place to be myself and geek out over my favorite things in the world (craft beer…. cheese…. chocolate…. friends.) And, though it’s still in the early phases, I think I’m finding that community in Philly.

You know what helped?

Well, that logo looks familiar!!

Philly’s very own Girls’ Pint Out!!

Though this was my second event with the ladies of PAGPO, it was definitely the first where I really got to meet and know some of the women. And they’re fantastic!

We all got together on Monday night at City Tap House for a DIY Flight-Night personalized for each gal. For $10, we each got 4-5 oz pours of different beers. And, since… tis the season and all, I just WENT FOR IT!

Fueled by Luna!! All pumpkin, all the time!

As you can see on the bottom there, I claimed the name “Pumqueen” for the night since every beer I was enjoying featured a Pumpkin spin. Lavery’s Stingy Jack, Old Forge Smashing Pumpkin, Long Trail’s Imperial Pumpkin, and Fegley’s Brew Works’ Devious Imperial Pumpkin!!

So much pumpkin on one paddle.

Unfortunately, there was some confusion at City Tap House which beer was which on the paddle. However, through careful deduction and detective-like skills (and some discussion with other ladies) I figured out my beers and their order (maybe). Either way, I’m PRETTY sure that my favorite was Long Trail’s Imperial Pumpkin. Smashing Pumpkin was a little low on carbonation, and the Brew Works’ Devious Imperial Pumpkin had a little sharpness to it that I didn’t love, and not enough pumpkin.

Unfortunately, one of the beers had a little extra something and, while I was chatting with my new lady friends over how we all got into craft beer (Brothers! Working at a brewery! boyfriends! Buddies! so many routes to the inevitable destination of beer love!) Into my mouth went….

A SHARD OF GLASS!!

Eeek.

I told one of the servers and, don’t worry, no one got hurt (no one = my mouth). They comped my paddle and, though I’m not sure if it was because he felt bad OR because this had been planned long before, Andy decided to treat all my new lady beer buddies to some special bottles!!

Andy, you the m-ANDY!

Sorry about my lousy iPhone shots, but I didn’t even consider bringing my fancy camera.

TREATS!!

My favorite was HANDS DOWN the Russian River Consecration Ale. Sour dark ale aged in Cabernet Sauvignon Barrels with CURRANTS!

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!@#?!$!?#

Glory, thy name is Consecration and I’d like to drink you ALWAYS.

Despite the glass-y shard, the night was fantastic and had me smiling the whole time.

Happiest camper.

And the best thing of all?

NEW BEER FRIENDS!!

Do you think the pink tint was to go with the GPO colors??

No one could replace my NCBeer family, but I’m SO STOKED to be starting a new bunch of beer loving pals!

Thanks to City Tap House for handling a problem with grace and courtesy, thanks to Andy for spoiling us (and introducing me to Consecration, my new love), AND thanks to my new buddies for sharing your Monday night craft beer loving with me!!

I wonder what tasty beer event is next on the horizon….

Megabus or BUST!

September 17, 2012September 24, 2012 / foodsweatandbeers / 7 Comments

When I decided on an impromptu journey to NYC for the weekend on Friday morning, I never thought I’d be waking up Sunday and Monday mornings to this ugly mug:

Hello, you fool. DON’T LOVE YOU!

But, other than a furry alarm clock that woke me up a few hours too early each morning with a scratchy tongue and a desperate Meeyooooowwwwww, this was just the most pleasant little surprise trip to visit my buddy Claire.

Goals of the weekend?

Eat good foods
Avoid any/all football games (televised, IRL, college, NFL, Fantasy, foosball…)
Don’t spend too much money
Get outside

Mission: accomplished.

Scenes from the Megabus Experience

After my first actual floor shift at Athleta (my new employer, in case you missed this post), I hauled booty over to Philly’s infamous 30th Street Station to hunt down the Megabus stop. After walking around like a sleepwalker for a bit, unsure of what I was doing, I spotted a Bolt Bus and figured it couldn’t be too far… And, after chasing a bus turned fruitful, and the Megabus was about 20 minutes late, I hopped on and secured a window seat.

If you follow me on Twitter, you might also know that I secured my own row on the bus. This was achieved by looking generally surly and standoffish and pulling my hood up over my eyes. I’m pretty sure no one on that bus wanted to be my friend. That’s fine, I didn’t wanna be their buddy either and about 2.5 hours later, I pulled up to the stop in Chelsea to meet Claire!

After a long week for both of us (first full week of school, first few shifts of work for me; she’s apartment hunting and working full-time), any pipe dreams of GOING OUT!! TO THE DISCO!! MAKING MOVES FOR A NYC PARTY WEEKEND!! were kicked to the side as we both looked at each other, then down at the container of pimiento cheese in my hand. Cheese party for two? Bring it on.

Gorgeous, much?

The next morning, we slept in, but the sun did not, and it was a PERFECT day to head to Brooklyn for one of my favorite parts of the city, Smorgasburg! I was introduced to Smorgasburg last November, and basically dream about it every weekend. And, after reading all about the Vendy Awards this weekend, I was itching for some goodies. Sunday Smorgasburg delivered.

Lunch of Champions

Lunch was a Coconut Chicken Curry bun from Bite Size Kitchen and a Baja Asada (grilled fish!) taco from Choncho’s. I FINALLY tried a direct squirt of Sriracha, and I’m chomping at the bit to get to the store and get a bottle (or four) of my own.

And dessert, of course.

Dessert was sweet and refreshing. Miniature maple butter tart from Cutie Pies NYC and, my favorite new treat, Kelvin Natural Slush!! Arnold Palmer flavored with a bit of Raspberry added in, and ideal on a sunny afternoon laying out on the grass.

Since we were (sort of) in the neighborhood, we headed over to Brooklyn Brewery for a little Sunday Funday.

Beautiful

This might be my favorite brewery scene I’ve ever been to (this was my second visit) and we enjoyed tasty beers and fantastic company.

MANY tasty beers.

Rainbow of beers! Rain-beer?

After galavanting about Brooklyn a little longer, the sun had sucked out the last of our energy. The night was spent eating more (what else?) CHEESE!

Tallegio, goat cheese x 3, and fig jam? We fancy.

I secured another entire row for myself this morning on my bright and early Megabus back and I’m basically FLOORED by the ease of getting to/from NYC. I’ve had more trouble getting to South Philly….

Megabus goes from Philly to Boston, Baltimore, State College, DC, and Toronto. I wonder where I’ll go next.

Any suggestions?

What’s your favorite method of long-distance transportation?

How about your favorite food to eat in NYC? Mine is everything

Food, Sweat, and Beers

That's what this girl's made of…

Craft Beer