By Pat Smith, Matt Goldstein & Sommelier Tom Pittakas
For Philly Beer Week, our staff hit eight events and about 30 different bars overall in celebration of craft beer in one of the best beer cities in the world, Philadelphia. From IPA’s to imperial Stouts, dopplebocks and fruit beers, Philly Beer Week had a profusion of many styles by the best breweries in the world. Below is our top 10 beers of the 2011 Philly Beer Week. Pick up a few these beautiful brews and let us know your thoughts.
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1. Ballast Point Victory at Sea Barrel Aged Espresso Vanilla Imperial Porter:
An American Porter with 10.0% ABV, the Ballast Point Victory at Sea is a deep dark beer with notes of mocha, chocolate, vanilla and complex full bodied smooth porter. This is simply one of the best porters in the world and Ballast Point continues to prove it’s one of the best breweries in the world. This is an absolute must for dark beer lovers. Served at the Khyber Pass Pub.
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2. Hitachino Espresso Imperial Stout
From the Kiuchi Brewery in Japan, the Hitachino Espresso Stout stands at 7.50% ABV with great malts and crisp finish. It’s rare finding a stout this flavorful and crisp at the same time. Dark black in color with dark head, the Hitachino is a classic imperial stout and proves that the Japanese can brew a hell of a beer. Served at the Side Car Bar.
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3. Dogfish Head Festina PecheBerlinerWeisse
The Festina Peche is fermented with peaches that hints of a sour beer. Not made like traditional sour beers, this fruit beer is crafted with very ripe peaches to get it’s sour flavor. Very crisp and refreshing, the Dogfish Head Festina Peche is the perfect summer beer. Not too sour without many hops at all, the Festina Peche is about 4.5% ABV. Purchased at Whole Foods in Plymouth Meeting.
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4. Fegley’s Hopsulutely Triple IPA
The Fegley’s Brewery is getting a lot of buzz in the Philadelphia area and proving to be one of the best brewers in the city area. Considering this is one of the best craft beer cities in the U.S., Fegley’s is of course creating some great crafts. The Hopsolutely Triple IPA is made with Cascade, CTZ, Summit, Amarillo and Chinook hops, then dry hopped with Chinook and Amarillo. At 100 IBU’s, this triple IPA is still balanced enough to challenge the best IPA’s in the country. We challenge you to try it out. Allentown and Bethlehem are making a real name for themselves and deservedly so. 11.0% ABV. Purchased at Whole Foods in Plymouth meeting.
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5. Nebraska Samarican Brown Ale
At 5.3% ABV, this American Brown Ale is slightly sweet, slightly malty, crisp and well balanced. Overall one of the best brown ales you will find. The Nebraska Brewing “cornhusker juice” was in major demand throughout Philly Beer week, especially the oak aged Black Betty Imperial Stout. Colorado isn’t the only Midwest state making excellent craft beer. Served at the Sidecar Bar.
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6. Russian River’s Pliney the Elder
8.0% ABV. American Double IPA. Purchased in a growler from the Hulmeville Inn.
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7. Port Ole Viscosity Whiskey Barrel Aged
12% ABV by Port Brewing. Served at the Resurrection Ale House.
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8. Ayinger Altbairisch Dunkel
5.0% ABV Ayinger Brewing from Germany. Served at Eulogy Belgian Tavern.
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9. Ballast Point Navigator Dopplebock
8.9% ABV barrel aged by Ballast Point. Served at the Khyber Pass Pub.
After four rounds of all out beer competitions, beer trials, and taste testing, the Goldmine Team has selected our Final Four: Founders Breakfast Stout, Pliny the Elder, Stone IPA and Ayinger Celebrator. The crazy thing is that we thought two of these beers might actually go down in the first round, but hey, that’s just March Madness. Over the next few days we’ll feature each of the Final Four Beers and hype up the biggest showdown in beer bracket and beer competition in history. Yup, I said it. Do you really think the Washington Post and the Great American Beer Fest are more important than us? Of course they are, let’s not get crazy now. Thanks for the compliment though. Click the link to see the March Madness Beer Championship Bracket.
There are a few certainties in life: death, taxes, major upsets in the NCAA Basketball tournament, and a lot of beer drinking at the Whiskey Goldmine. In the March Madness Beer Championship Tournament at Whiskey Goldmine, we have painstakingly drank beer after beer after beer to get down to the Elite 8 beers of the world. It was very difficult to consume this insane amount of beer but we’ve done it just for you; just so you can listen to us tell you what the best beers in the world are. We would write a longer article and tell you the Sweet 16 results but we’re pretty hungover from the utter debauchery running amuck in Atlantic City right now; fight weigh ins, deep stacked poker tables, throwing hot rocks at the craps table and open bar and free buffets with Macallan 12, prime rib, shrimp cocktail, Heinekens and pecan pie. It’s completely out of control and we’re just getting started. Click the link below to download the March Madness Bracket to see the Sweet 16 results and Elite 8 matchups. This is the road to the final four.
Click the link below for the March Madness Bracket!
There were some major upsets in round 2 of the March Madness Beer Championships as there is only two #1 seeds, two #2 seeds, two #3 seeds and two #4 seeds remaining in the tournament. Much like the NCAA Basketball tournament, there are Cinderella teams and major upsets in every round. Click the link below to see the March Madness round 2 results and the sweet 16 matchups! Check back for the Sweet 16 results, Elite 8 matchups, the Final Four and the eventual Beer champions. Results will roll out and coincide with the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament.
Round 2 March Madness Matchups: 32 Beers Advance in the Bracket
By Matt Goldstein, Tim Rodgers, Pat Smith, Don Corino & Mike Magowan
In our first annual March Madness Beer Championship, the first round results are in. 32 Beers have advanced to round 2 and 32 beers were sent home with their bags packing. All styles of Ales, Lagers, Crafts, IPA’s, Stouts, Belgians and Pilsners are banging it out one taste test at a time. The round 2 matchups pit some big dogs against each other in an all out March Madness Bracket beer battle royal. Click the link below to see if your favorite beer made it through to the next round! Stay tuned for round 2 results to see out Sweet 16.
Click the Link Below to Download Your 2011 March Madness Tournament Bracket Now…
By Team Goldmine
Introducing the inaugural Whiskey Goldmine March Madness Beer Tournament Bracket Championship! 64 of the world’s best beers have been chosen and will go head to head in our March Madness Bracket Style tournament. It’s win or go home in one of the greatest all style all flavor taste tests ever created. In order to advance, the beers will have to win multiple taste tests in each round, sometimes blind and double blind taste tests. From the first two rounds, to the Sweet Sixteen, the Elite Eight, the Final Four and to the Championship Game, the March Madness Tournament winner will be declared the 2011 Beer of Champion! Download your 2011 Tournament Bracket now!
Click the link below to view the bracket. (Don’t be afraid to zoom in.)
The Aventinus German Wheat Doppelbock is made by the award winning “wheat beer specialists” of the Schneider brewing. The Aventinus is the oldest wheat doppelbock of Bavaria, sold with the original recipe dating back to since 1907. This doppelbock, or double bock is dark brown in color, with reserved carbonation. The flavor is slightly sweet, smooth, dry and bitter with tastes of yeasts and essence of malts. It’s the perfect beer for the fall season.
Aventinus Wheat Doppelbock 8.2% ABV, original gravity: 18.5%, Germany
From the Scheider Weisse web site:
Enjoying Schneider Weisse: Wheat beer is a very sensual type of beer, as it has special qualities of its own. Among the fixed rituals are pouring it and clinking glasses. Both differ very much from other types of beer.
Pouring: Rinse a clean original 0.5 l wheat beer glass with cold water, hold it at a slight angle and pour the well-refrigerated Schneider Weisse in the glass. Important: the neck of the bottle mustn’t be “washed”. To get the full yeasty taste you leave a swallow of beer (in Bavarian: “Noagerl”) in the bottle, roll the bottle between your hands before pouring out this last bit.
Clinking glasses You clink glasses with their lower part: the foot. There are some reasons for doing so. The glasses are stable enough; it has been a tradition in Bavaria, and it sounds well. In addition, the carbon dioxide “gathers new speed” by the clinking. You did it. Now you can move the glass to your lips and enjoy the beer; slowly and thoroughly. Cheers!
The Paulaner Salvator Doppel Bock is hands down one of the best beers in the world and might be the best doppel bock on planet earth. The Salvator has a light and sweet flavor with caramel, rich malts a great bite. Slightly bitter and a hint of hops, The Salvator is just and all around pound for pound beer. The complexity of its finish sets the standard for the entire double bock style. Dark, amber brown in color, with a heavy body, the finish, although sweet, is also slightly dry. The Paulaner Salvator Doppel Bock is the perfect beer!
The name of the Paulaner brewery refers to the order of friars that resided in Neuhauser Straße in Munich who were part of the order of Saint Francis of Paola. The monks had brewed beer for their own use since 1634. The beer that was permitted to be sold on holidays was a Bock style which gained local fame. After the abolition of the Neudeck Cloister in 1799, the building was converted into a penitentiary. Franz Xaver Zacherl, the brewer, purchased the former cloister brewery and continued the “Starkbier” tradition with the product Salvator, which is Latin for “Saviour”. In 1861 the “Salvatorkeller” (Salvator cellar) was opened upon Nockherberg. In 1928 the brewery merged with the Gebrüder Thomas brewery creating Paulaner Salvator Thomas Bräu. 1994 saw the acquisition into the Kulmbacher brewery group with the affiliated producers Plauen and Chemnitz. A daughter company is the Auer Bräu AG Rosenheim. Paulaner belongs to the BHI (Brau Holding International AG), a joint venture between Schörghuber Ventures (50.1%) and with the Netherlands’ Heineken N.V. (49.9%).
The Best Craft Beer from the Best Craft Beer City
2. Hitachino Espresso Imperial Stout
4. Fegley’s Hopsulutely Triple IPA
6. Russian River’s Pliney the Elder
9. Ballast Point Navigator Dopplebock
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