Last week, I decided I wanted to watch the gold medal match for women's soccer in the Olympics. Sure it started in the middle of the day, but whatever, my job is cool with me leaving at 2:30. After putting out some feelers on twitter and asking PhillyTapFinder if he had any opinions, I settled on Philadelphia Bar & Restaurant. While they didn't have the sound available on the tvs, the beer list was strong and the food there is pretty good. Plus it's convenient to get to since it's just off the blue line.
I started with a beer I've wanted to try for a while, Stoudts Old Abominable, a barleywine.
Inviting cherry apple nose, very nice. The main flavor was a delicious caramel sweetness with some light fruitiness and it finished with a mild bitter finish. This was definitely a top barleywine, just very smooth and it hid the alcohol really well. Never mind the fact that I was drinking a barleywine in July. I don't believe in seasonal drinking plus air conditioning!
After that I ordered a Left Hand Widdershins, but unfortunately it had kicked so I was given a Wake Up Dead, an imperial stout, instead. So ended my attempt to only drink barleywines.
Not as impressed with this one. It had a roasty nose, but the body was really light with only a little roast and a tiny bit of chocolate. Considering how many imperial stouts exist in the world, this is a pass as there are many better ones available. Sorry Left Hand!
Since my goal of only drinking barleywines had failed, I ordered a Stone Chipotle Porter along with some mac & cheese to finish up the day. Oh and by this point the US was up 2-0 so that was exciting.
Doesn't that mac look tasty? It totally was! The Chipotle Porter was lightly smoky and roasty in the nose. Roast started the body and then more of the peppery smokiness finished things up. The pepper wasn't strong but it's definitely present. Makes a nice mix with the roast of the porter. I have a bottle of the vanilla bean version of this and I'm looking forward to see how that compares to this.
Happy with my decision to head to Philadelphia Bar & Restaurant to watch the soccer game. The beer list was great, the food was quite good, and the picture on the tvs was good even if there wasn't sound. And hanging out with PhillyTapFinder, his wife, and little TapFinder was great fun, too. Helped that the US won 2-1 too in a pretty exciting game. Always fun.
Just read the post to "little TapFinder." He said that it's your best work. He feels like a celebrity.
ReplyDeleteHe should feel like one.
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