Brewniversal

I’ve been battling a mean cold for about a week and a half now, but that didn’t stop me from attending the “Zoo With Friends” event at Iron Hill North Wales two nights ago. It was a fun little event where three bloggers from the hilarious Phillies blog Zoo With Roy teamed up with Iron Hill Brewer Vince Des to create three distinct beers and they asked us imbibers to vote on which one we liked the best whilst mingling with the bloggers and brewer.

I pulled into the brewpub around 6:30, squeezed myself into one of the few empty seats at the bar and ordered the 1^st of the three beers, Aka-Oni (5.1% ABV). Aka-Oni is a red ale brewed solely with Sorachi Ace hops. The beer poured a dark, clear amber with an off-white head that quickly dissipated leaving a little suds on top. I have not had very many beers solely brewed with Sorachi Ace. The hops imparted a really nice lemony, earthy flavor that I really appreciated. I came to the conclusion that it tasted like a bitterer version of Sierra Nevada’s Tumbler. I specifically wrote down “great Fall beer.”

I put in an order for some of Iron Hill’s Oktoberfest Egg Rolls (order these) and settled into the next brew – the @Petzrawr Pilsner (4.3% ABV). (FYI, @Petzrawr is the twitter handle of one of the ZWR bloggers) The Pilsner poured a beautiful straw color with an excellent one inch billowy white head. As soon as I stuck my nose in the beer, I noticed something was different. I turned back to the menu and realized that this was a Czech Pilsner. Lots of sweet, light flavors on the nose and those staple Saaz hops added just a touch of earthiness to the brew. The Pils was sweeter than I generally like my Pilsners which kind of bummed me out but it was definitely not a bad beer.

Now, in the past, I have had a problem with the service at this particular Iron Hill. The staff always seemed either way too bored or angry all of the time. My eggrolls hadn’t arrived by this time (only about 20 minutes after I ordered them) and the bartender, who’s name I didn’t get, noticed that they hadn’t arrived and quickly informed the hostess who brought over some complimentary bread and apologized (a lot) that they hadn’t arrived yet. I’m not really used to that kind of service and, while I really didn’t mind that they hadn’t arrived yet, I appreciated the friendliness. My eggrolls then arrived promptly and were as delicious as usual. Props to Iron Hill for the great service.

Once my eggrolls did arrive, I ordered the last of the three beers – Reardon the Instigator (6.5% ABV) – a traditional German lager full of those wonderfully sweet bready notes with just a hint of spice on the finish. It was a beautiful beer as well – deep amber in color with a great head that stuck around for the entire ride. Reardon paired perfectly with my Oktoberfest eggrolls and I left very satisfied.

Each of the three beers was well brewed but the Aka-Oni stood out the most to me. The unique flavors imparted by the Sorachi Ace hops really made it distinctive. I spoke with Vince for a short time and he informed me that he had never brewed anything like it before and had kind of invented the recipe on a whim. I mentioned that it was my favorite of the evening and he gave me a knowing look as he agreed.

If you were in the area, I’d definitely make a stop at the Iron Hill North Wales location sometime soon (if only for those Oktoberfest Egg Rolls) to try some of the other excellent brews Vince puts on. I know I’ll be back soon.

This past weekend the folks over at Forest & Main located in Ambler, Pennsylvania opened their doors to the general public. After a long week at work, I ambled over highly anticipating their opening. As I turned the corner on Main Street (it is literally named for the cross section of Forest and Main streets) I could hear jovial laughter and general merriment. The house came into sight and saw people holding dimpled mugs and tulip glasses filled with delectable-looking liquids just hanging out on the front lawn.

I was already hooked.

Forest & Main is a really unique venture by Daniel Endicott and Gerard Olson set in a 120+ year-old Victorian-style house right smack-dab in the middle of downtown Ambler. When you walk into the place, you are struck by the impression that it already feels like it has been there for centuries. The bar area is small and quaint with firkins atop the bar, exposed hardwood floors, rustic artwork on the walls, and candles set at off angles in sconces all around the house. The remodeling work must have been painstaking (and expensive) but it has the feel.  Another nice thing about the intimate venue is that it basically forces you to make conversation with fellow imbibers (which something I love to do anyway).

As expected, it was quite busy that opening night and a few of us jokingly remarked that it felt like an upscale house party with good beer. I was only able to sample one beer, Vera. Vera is a 7% abv Belgian-style dark ale. It was quite good – excellent dark fruits on the nose and palate but with a dry finish.

The next day I decided that I would take a quick trip back out there to hopefully sample more of their offerings. I got there just as they opened at 4 PM and sat right in the middle of the bar where I ordered a Lunaire, a Belgian-style Saison that was aged in wine barrels. I didn’t get a whole lot of flavors from the barrels and it was explained to me that

Photo Credit to Allison Wolf

they hope to pull more complex flavors and aromas from those barrels (from Chaddsford Winery) with the warmer weather.

After having enjoyed two of their Belgian-style offerings, I decided to then venture into their English styles. Frankly, these beers are why I am so enamored with F&M. They make traditionally brewed English-style bitters, pale ales, milds and the like, serve them all on cask and at the proper temperature. NOBODY MAKES THIS STUFF.

I started with what I believe will be one of F&M’s flagship beers, Tiny Tim– a 3.5% bitter that still brings a TON of flavor to the table. I literally could have sat there all day drinking just this one beer and would have been perfectly happy.

My pour of Tiny Tim.

Alas, I was here to sample and wasn’t going to let their Spring Bitter –a 3.5% abv pale ordinary bitter on cask – go to the wayside. Excellent bright flavors and yet extremely balanced. A quaffer for sure.

I ended my session at Forest & Main with their Palomino – a 5% abv Belgian-style Saison brewed with local honey. The honey was very obvious on the nose but did not make the beer sweet. It was crisply refreshing and dry.

I was able to taste their other two current English-style offerings previously: the Poor Yorick – a 4.5% English-style dark beer (maybe a mild?) and their Kinch IPA.

You don’t have to take my word for it, but Forest & Main is awesome. If you have a hankering for true English-style ales served correctly or meticulously brewed Belgian styles set in an atmosphere reminiscent of 300-year-old pubs in Britain, then you should check it out. I will definitely be back, most likely on a fairly regular basis.

Funny side note: I was chatting with Gerard at the bar, and I asked him if anyone had tried to order a Coors Lite yet. He said “no,” but literally 2 minutes after our conversation a patron asked for a “lager.” It was priceless.

Freaking awesome poster advertisement jawn eh? Anyway, yeah, come out to probably the billionth Split Thy Skull now at Tattooed Mom on South Street this Saturday starting at 1 PM. Actually, it will be the 17th year for this event… kinda crazy eh?

Split Thy Skull is a barleywine festival that was held annually at Sugar Mom’s in Olde City but for reasons still hazy (as details usually are for this event — the tap list is kept secret until the day of) it was flipped over to Tattooed Mom. This will actually be my first time attending so I’ll be a total newb.

Whatever, I know how to drink a barleywine with the best of ‘em.

Oh also: ironically, this event occurs on the same day as Session Beer Day. Go figure.