Philly Beer Week Quad

Sunday began at the Stone Brunch at Teresa’s with a 12th Anniversary Chocolate Oatmeal Stout and a plate of Huevos Piccante to fill my stomach before catching the train to Philly. I attended the VIP session at Zythos with Chris Bauweraerts from Brasserie d’Achouffe, which promised some very special beers including rare lambic casks from Hannsens. Not quite- we sampled Duvel Classic, Maredsous 10, Ommegang Abbaye 12 and Chocolate Indulgence (paired with a melt in my mouth Belgian chocolate truffle), and Houblon Chouffe. These aren’t disappointing beers my any means, but not exactly rare.

However, Chris was a great historian providing insight into then when and how these beers came about although he had to remind some loud mouth kindergartners in the back to shut up so the rest of us could hear what he was saying. The Zythos fest itself was jam-packed before we finished the VIP session. Patience is not one of my virtues and having to limbo under the conga line that formed across the line of brewers’ tables just to see what was being served was a little annoying. Would a sign be too difficult? And drinkers throwing back shots of beer before passing to the next brewer, not affording themselves any opportunity to appreciate the beer, didn’t help my mood much. I was also confused by a few ladies that dressed as if they expected their pictures taken with one hand holding a beer and the other wrapped around a Mummy for the society pages. There were a few standouts such as Brooklyn Brewery’s 2001 Saison, Southhampton’s Biere de Mars (which kicked while I was in line for it at the Pickering Creek during the Phoenixville Bar Crawl), Yards Pynk, Unibroue’s 15, and De Proef Flemish Primitive Surly Bird.

We “hopped” by Local 44 to see what Russian River leftovers were still on (Rejection, Pliny the Elder, and Blind Pig) and finish the night with some pulled pork tacos and mahi mahi tacos before catching the train. Not willing to decompress too quickly, PBW went out with a bang at our Monday night tasting with an amazing 21 beer salute. Our group seemed to survive with just a few bloodshot eyes and some pores seeping beer.