Philly Beer Week Day 9: Nodding Head & Hawthornes

Finally, the last day of Philly Beer Week. Well, my last day at least. Others went out Sunday too. I was really excited for this Saturday from the beginning of beer week as the Dark Horse event at Hawthornes last year was one of my favorites. Adding the Nodding Head Second Saturday event on top of it just increased my excitement.

Starting off the day was the Second Saturday event at Nodding Head. This event was named Weird, Wacky, and Wonderful and consisted of a couple sours and couple variations of Crosby Tears. I started with a glass of Phreddie, a sour tripel.

Dark Horse Double Crooked Tree

I've had regular Crooked Tree before, which is a 6% or so regular IPA, and Super Juice, which is a 16% monster, but I haven't had a chance to try Double Crooked Tree yet. So, it was nice to finally pick up a few bottles and be able to try it in the comfort of my own home.

Sweet fruity nose with a decent amount of pine bitterness in it. Whiff of alcohol but not too strong and not unexpected. Shockingly enough, no sweetness at all in the first sip. Instead, it was quite bitter with some hoppy resin flavor. Finished pretty dry with more bitterness. No real hint of the 13% ABV. Kind of an amazing beer especially if you like that resiny hops. I'm amazed they fit all that bitterness into it without much sweetness being apparent especially as Super Juice, it's bigger brother, was pretty sweet when I had it last year. Really well done though I shouldn't be surprised as Dark Horse is quite good at these high ABV beers.

Dark Horse Plead the 5th Pseudo-Vertical

I had planned this pseudo-vertical ever since I picked up a bottle of 2009 Plead the 5th from Capone's. I call it a pseudo-vertical since a real one would have had a 2010 version as well but drinking three would have been too much for me so it works out I didn't have it.

Second Annual Beer Geek BBQ at the Hulmeville

With Natalie DeChico winning the Philly Beer Geek contest representing the Hulmeville Inn, it meant there was going to be a second BBQ party being held this year. If you remember, the last one had a barrel of bourbon Plead the Fifth (I had forgotten I got a full pint, awesome) so I had high hopes for this year. Luckily, Jeff delivered and then some. The US women's quarterfinal game was on, too, which was great.

I started with a glass of Central Water Bourbon Barrel Barleywine. (Shocking that I started with a barleywine, I know.)

Dark Horse at Hawthorne's Plus some Time

Wednesday of Philly Beer Week was pretty busy for me. I needed to fit in a visit to Hawthorne's cafe to drink a bunch of rare Dark Horse beers and then meet my wife for dinner. All without getting wasted since, well, it was Wednesday and I'm not an alcoholic. Tough, I know, but I figured I could manage it.

I arrived at Hawthorne's around 4:30 and it was still basically empty which was nice. I figured it would fill up at some point but all I needed was one seat so success! It was really difficult deciding what beer to order first, but I decided on the one sour on the list, Lambeak Wants Raspberry.

Dark Horse Three Guy Off the Scale Barleywine

I recently opened a barlyewine from Dark Horse named Three Guy Off the Scale.  This clocks in at 15% and, while not harsh, the alcohol has a heavy presence.

Smells a little like rocket fuel mixed with sugar, caramel and toffee.  Mmm, rocket fuel.  The first sip followed with tons of caramel, toffee and dark fruit with a slow alcohol burn in the finish.  As I drank more and it warmed a little, the alcohol burn in the finish subsided a bit and I was left with delicious caramel and plum.  It actually reminded me quite a bit of Samichlaus and, while super strong, was still tasty.  I wouldn't drink more than one in a night for obvious reasons but one was great.

Beer Schooled at the Hulmeville

This past Tuesday I drove up to the Hulmeville Inn for a home brewing class offered by Beer Schooled.  When I first found out about the class, I figured it would be an interesting way to solidify my random knowledge of home brewing and I was pretty much correct.  It also turned out to be a good way to hang out with Kevin and Greg and have a couple good beers.

I started with a small glass of Stone Double Bastard, an American Strong ale aka a strong, hoppy beer.

Visit to Hulmeville Inn

I had a free afternoon and hadn't seen my friend in a while so we decided to meet up at the Hulmeville Inn.  Great beer, decent food, and an awesome owner, what's not to like?  I was excited to try a couple of the things on draft (the owner, Jeff, lists all of their current drafts on the website and I check it entirely too often) plus my friend let me know that they had some new Cigar City stuff in bottles.

The main thing I wanted to try was the Dark Horse One Oatmeal Stout as I loved the Plead the Fifth and wanted to try another of their stouts.  This was the dead man walking, the oldest keg on draft, so it was also heavily discounted (although Hulmeville's prices are ridiculously low anyway.)

It had a mild roasted aroma but not much else.  No strong oatmeal smell on this one.  First sip had a little oatmeal, some malt and a small finish of alcohol bitterness.  As I worked through it, the oatmeal started to dominate the other flavors which was pleasant.  Good stout, but nothing compared to the Plead the Fifth.

After that, we were offered a small taste of Sam Adams Utopias which pretends to be an American Strong Ale.  Really it's a liquor aged for a number of years in all sorts of different barrels and ends up at a whopping 27%.

Considering its ABV, it wasn't surprising that it smelled and tasted like a liqueur.  I thought it was sweet and syrupy and tasted a little like some bourbon stouts taste.  I'm incredibly glad to have been able to try it since it's expensive ($175 a bottle) but seeing as how I'm not a big liqueur fan, I don't know if I'd get it again.

After that, my friend and I ordered bottles of Cigar City Either and Or so we could check them out side by side.

While they are both Black IPAs and made with similar recipes, the differences shine through quite clearly.  The two beers are a result of a collaboration between Cigar City and two breweries; Hill Farmstead, located in Vermont, and Grassroots, located in Denmark.  You can read all about the specifics here but the gist (as far as I could tell) is that Either is Cigar City's version and Or is the collaboration of the other two breweries.

The Either smelled delicious.  Hints of alcohol, some hops but not too much, and some malt. Flavor was very smooth with some hops but no bitterness to it.  I thought it tasted similar to Jack & Ken's, Sierra Nevada's 30th Anniversary Black Barleywine which I talked about in this post.  On the opposite side of the coin, the Or smelled much, much hoppier without the delicious malt smell from the Either.  First sip just punches you with hops and bitterness and it never relents.  I called Hop'solutely a Hopwine in the previous post and Or is in exactly the same category except I guess it would be a Dark Hopwine.  It wasn't bad, but compared to the Either, I didn't feel it competed.  Of course my friend who likes IPAs more than me enjoyed the Or a lot more than the Either.  So, if you like hops a lot, drink the Or.  If you like maltier beers with some warming alcohol, get the Either.  You win either way but you win more if you choose wisely.

Then, the owner Jeff happened to be drinking a bottle of Jubel 2010.  Notice in my "beer cellar" list I currently have a bottle of that on my shelf.  I was curious where he picked it up and while chatting he offered me and my friend a sample of it since they weren't going to finish the bottle and because he's awesome.

It poured a dark brown color with minimal head, but the bottle had been opened for a bit so the carbonation may have been higher in the beginning.  It tasted of caramel, toffee, and some spices.  Super delicious and now I cannot wait to open my bottle.

Finished up with a glass of Boaks Wooden Beanie, a Dubbel aged in oak.  Actually, forgot to get a picture of this, but think of a glass filled with a brown liquid and very little head.  Smell was very Belgian, bananas and sugar.  Taste followed with some caramel, bananas, and sort of a biscuit flavor.  I also got some apple as I drank more.  Good dubbel and I'd order it again.  Plus Boaks is in Pompton Lakes, NJ near where I grew up.

Once again, a great trip to the Hulmeville Inn.  Everyone is always really nice there and Jeff, the owner, is always willing to chat with me which is awesome.  His beer knowledge is really thorough and it shines through in the draft lists at the Inn.  Plus, the prices there are always the lowest in the area.  The bottles of Either and Or were only $8, the same as my friend found them in Florida.  Just crazy good.  So, if you're in the area, definitely stop in for a drink.

Lucky 7 and the Phillies

Jo and I decided to catch the Wednesday Phillies game at Lucky 7.  Not Taco Tuesday, unfortunately, but you can't win 'em all.  Food was pretty good again and we really like the feel of the bar so it worked out.  It never got too crowded, but it was full which is pretty much perfect for watching a baseball game.

For my first beer, I got a draft of Dark Horse Crooked Tree IPA.

Poured an orange color which is pretty normal for an IPA.  Nice floral, citrusy smell from all the hops.  The smell is one of the best parts of a good IPA.  First bit was hoppy but backed up nicely with a bit of sweetness.  Keeps it from being overbearingly bitter.  Good touch.  Decent body on it, a little bit of thickness.  Nothing crazy, but it makes drinking it more interesting.  On top of that, only a mildly bitter aftertaste to it.  I'm not a huge fan of IPAs in general, but maybe I'm getting more used to them.  This was quite good and another good offering from Dark Horse Brewing.

The last beer I had was Paulaner Salvator.

This is a Doppel Bock, the same style as Troegenator from Troegs.  The smell of this Salvator was super sweet and malty and smelled really inviting.  Tasted of caramel, toffee and malt.  Just incredibly smooth and sweet.  As expected, the after taste was sweet too.  Nice thick body on it.  Some of the sweetness and smoothness may be because this bottle was apparently from June '08.  (As long as the bottled on date of 06/08 means June '08 that is.)  I don't know how the bar has a 2+ year old bottle but hey it tasted amazing.  I've never had a beer with such a smooth, sweet flavor.

Good time at Lucky 7 even if the Phillies are kind of sucking right now.

It's a Bourbon (Beer) Afternoon

Hulmeville Inn hosted their second annual Beer Geek BBQ on Sunday and had a really great tap list to go along with it.  While I had quite a few awesome beers, the stand outs for me were the three bourbon barrel aged beers: Dark Horse Bourbon Aged Plead the Fifth, Allagash Bourbon Black, and Port Older Viscosity.  The first is a barrel aged Russian Imperial Stout, the Allagash is a barrel aged Belgian Strong Ale and the Older Viscosity is a barrel aged Imperial Stout.  Hulmeville had them all in different sizes and availability which was pretty nice considering their strength.

Pre-Concert Hulmeville

Before going to the Black Diamond Skye show, I met up with a buddy at Hulmeville Inn to kill some time.

I started with the Brew Dog Tokyo* as I've been wanting to try it since they put it on draft two weeks ago.

Pours an almost black color with a surprising amount of light brown head.  I was expecting zero head on this considering the strength, but as can be seen there was quite a bit of it.  Smells mostly of alcohol which isn't terribly surprising considering it's 18%.  I expected it to taste like jet fuel, but it ended up amazingly drinkable.  I would almost say it was dangerously drinkable if you aren't careful because it's so hard to tell its strength.  I thought it tasted like alcoholic chocolate.  I really enjoyed this and thought it was remarkable considering its strength.

After that, I tried a series of coffee beers which were both great in different ways.  The first was Brooklyn's Intensified Coffee Stout.

It poured a nice brown color with head up to the top of the glass that quickly dissipated.  Close to no smell on it which surprised me since I thought it would smell strongly of coffee.  Turns out, all of the coffee was in the taste.  For a stout, it had a thinner mouth feel, but it was very close to drinking a cup of black coffee.  Kind of crazy but delicious if you like coffee.  The end had a nice, mild sweetness as well which was very nice.

Following that was Dark Horse Perkulator.

It was a brown color with basically no head on it.  As it's a coffee doppelbock, the beer poured very similar to the Troegenator from the other day.  Surprisingly enough this also had very little smell.  Maybe some slight coffee notes, but basically the same as the Brooklyn.  The initial taste had a much more subdued level of coffee in it but the beer as a whole was bit more flavorful.  Notes of caramel and malts come through the coffee really nicely.  I liked this a little bit more than the Brooklyn as it felt like the beer was more balanced around the coffee which made for a better drinking experience.  I'd get both again, but I'd get the Perkulator first.

I finished up with the Dock Street Great Pumpkin just because it's fall and why not.  Plus Dock Street is in Philadelphia and it's always good to support a local brewery.

Poured a near orange with a little bit of head that created some nice lacing on the glass.  It smelled faintly of cinnamon but that was all of the spices that are usually found in pumpkin beers.  The first taste had a lot of the same.  Hops quickly took the fore and the beer, at least to me, became really bitter and disappointing.  Considering most pumpkins are either spicy or sweet, this is possibly a pumpkin for hop heads but it didn't feel like the cinnamon and bitterness blended very well.  Not a terribly great way to end the night but you can't win 'em all.

Dark Horse Raspberry Ale

Had a Dark Horse Raspberry Ale today.

The beer was a mild brown color and poured with a small amount of head that dissipated quickly.  It's kind of funny having this raspberry ale after the Great Divide one.  The Great Divide had a huge raspberry smell with a tiny raspberry taste while this one had a faint raspberry smell but tasted strongly of raspberries.  In the end, I prefer the Dark Horse because the beer was more flavorful than the Great Divide.  The raspberry flavor tasted very natural, blended with the beer really well, and all the flavors were very complimentary.  For people who don't like bitter beers, this would be perfect as there wasn't a trace of hop flavor in it, just sweet malts.  Very good beer.

Lunch at Jose Pistolas

Grabbed lunch at Jose Pistola's which is becoming one of my favorite lunch places in the city right now.  Their draft list is always different and interesting and their food, mostly Mexican so burritos, nachos, tacos, is really good. On multiple visits, I've had a couple different types of burritos, a sandwich, and my wife has had the nachos and they have been tasty every time.  Honestly though the real reason I like going there is that during the day the bartender, Adam, is also the guy who orders their beer.  He's always been willing to talk to me about different styles, offer suggestions of things to try, and really just listen to me blather on about beer.  If I can find someone that is willing to listen to me talk, then I'm going to be happy.

Today I had two different beers.  The first beer I had was the Dark Horse Tripel.

As you can see, the color of it was honestly quite odd.  It basically looked like Apple Cider.  The taste, however, was pure tripel and really good.  The flavor had hints of banana and spices, basically what you'd expect from a tripel.  At 9%, it's pretty damn strong too.

The last beer I had was the Left Hand Imperial Stout.

This beer was really freaking amazing.  It was probably one of the best Imperial Stouts I've had in a long time.  At 10%, it was ridiculously, some would say dangerously, smooth and drinkable.  There was absolutely no hint of the strength in the beer.  It was just a smooth, creamy, chocolaty stout and I'm really glad I took Adam's suggestion and had it.  Left Hand makes really good beers so it's not that surprising but I'll definitely be on the look out to try this one again.

On Sunday I'm going back to Jose Pistola's for their 3 year anniversary party.  They are supposed to have a 4 year old barleywine plus Russian River's Supplication and possibly some other cool stuff.  I'll arrive around 1:30, 2 and stay for at least a couple hours.  Look for me at the front bar if you come by.  The address for those too lazy to use google is 263 South 15th Street.  It's between Locust and Spruce, closer to Spruce.