4 Steps to Geting Hooked on Craft Beer

Source: http://www.flatironsteakhouse.com/

Since I'm not doing any new U.S. Beer Trail posts this month (in September I'll be back with Virginia), I thought I would do a quick one about ways that anyone can get involved in the world of craft beer. Craft beer is growing at a double digit pace while sales of the mass produced beer that this country has been force fed for years declines year after year. There are thousands of high quality beers out there, produced by independently owned craft breweries all over the country. Each brewery has it's own style and character that is not based on million dollar advertising campaigns. If you do these four things, I can almost assure you that you will have a good appreciation for what they do and you won't ever order a beer the same again.


1. Start a beer club:
This is how I got involved in craft beer. Grab a few friends, colleagues, or family members. Then, at a specified interval (every month, every other month, or ever quarter) have everyone buy a case of whatever craft beer they would like. Split up the cases equally amongst the group members. Any number of club members works, but try to get at least 4, and probably no more than 8. You want a good balance between number of different beers, and quantity of each beer. Try not to repeat your selections from month to month and try to branch out to different styles of beer. One month get an IPA then next month get a Hefeweizen. Set a target case price range within $10 so that no one feels like they are getting ripped off. Some people may go under or over in certain months because they see something really intriguing, but over time it evens out. And anyhow you are going to try a bunch of new beer, so stop complaining. I've been in my club for almost two years and so I've tried about 150 new beers over that time. It's helped me figure out what I like (most everything), and it's helped me hone in on my favorite breweries.

2. Variety Packs:
If you don't want to commit to the club idea, figure out what the closest brewery is to you, and then pick up their variety case at the distributor. In case you haven't been introduced to them before, this is a great way to figure out if you like them. You might get something like an IPA, an Amber, a Pale Ale, and a heavier beer, but it will vary based on which brewery you are getting it from. This is also another method of determining which styles of beer you enjoy. Plus, since they are the local brewery, you might find a new go-to beer. It will always be available at your local distributor and most likely will be on tap at most of the bars in town. So, when you aren't in the mood to search for a brand new undiscovered beer at your distributor or the bar you'll default to your local brewery's best and not to the cheapest, most watered down, option available.

3. Substitute Craft Beer for Big Beer at the bar:
Instead of getting 2 or 3 Big Beers at the bar next weekend, get 1 or 2 good craft beers. It will cost you about the same, and since Big Beers are about 4.4% ABV max, one or two 6-7% beers will do the same damage. Don't get me wrong, there is definitely a time and a place for cheap, light beer. I'll admit it. I drink it. Tailgating, drinking games, when it's later on in the night. However, it's never the first beer of the night, or the third for that matter. Any farther than that, and I'll consider it. Unless I'm at an awesome bar with a million brews. If you substitute at the beginning of the night you'll remember the beers better too. I sometimes use the beers I get out at a bar as a way of getting ideas for my next case for beer swap club.

4. Take a Brewery Tour:
The people that work at independently breweries are almost always entertaining just by nature. Plus you'll get to see how beer is really made. Every small craft brewery I've been to makes their beer by hand, (i.e., mixes the ingredients by hand, has actual people determine when they are ready, and has actual people working the bottling lines.) So it's really cool to see people putting a bunch of effort into making the highest quality product they can. And every one I've ever been to will give you free beer either during or after the tour.

If you do all four of these things and you're still not interested in trying new, great tasting craft beers, then you clearly like your liquor. Cheers.

Craft Beer Experience

There is a pretty interesting craft beer event coming up in Philadelphia on September 25th. I'm sure there have been others, but it's the first beer event that I've noticed that is being used as a fundraiser for a worthy charitable cause. 

The Craft Beer Experience is taking place on Sept. 25th at the City Tap House in University City at 39th and Walnut. It is sponsored by Philly Magazine and it is billed as an "upscale tasting event." They will have beers from 26 breweries, including many from here in the Philadelphia region. There is not too much information available online, but it seems like the plan is for the event to be a more educational beer tasting than most straight up "drink a lot" beerfests, with brewers available to speak with and food pairings. It's slightly pricey at $80, but proceeds benefit SafeHome Philadelphia, which is a program run by the Philadelphia Committee to End Homelessness that helps families find affordable housing and starts them off by paying two months rent up front. Their website is http://pceh.org/.

You can also go to the City Tap House website for a little bit more info. http://www.citytaphouse.com/events.php 

Or check out the Philly magazine website for the breweries that will be attending. 

http://www.phillymag.com/craftbeer/index.html

If you go, let me know what your favorite beer was. 

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Flat Rock Saloon - Manayunk

I've been living in Manayunk for three years now, making it my default drinking hang out. Center City has the majority of Philly's beer-centered establishments, but Manayunk has plenty of places to belly up to the bar and navigate through the craft beer world. My favorite is Flat Rock Saloon. It's cash only, and it's on the corner of Main Street and Roxborough Ave.

The first time my wife and I went there was a couple years ago. We had been out for a few hours before hand so she wanted an easy drinking light beer, which led to this exchange with the bartender.

Wife: Can I have a Bud Light?

Bartender: We don't have Bud Light.

Wife: Do you have anything like it?

Bartender: Water.

I, meanwhile, was laughing and slowly backing away, putting some distance between the beer novice and myself.

My wife thought it was a little bit harsh of him, but that's the kind of dedication to good beer that you'll find at Flat Rock. The bartenders are usually the same three middle aged guys and they are generally more than willing to help you figure out which beer to try off of their extensive list. Just don't ask for Bud Light, they don't have any of the typical domestics. 


The large rotating selection of craft/micro brews ensures that you can always have something that's new to you. There are usually one or two beers on tap along with bottles of domestic craft beers from all over the country, a pretty good selection of high quality imports, and usually a few high ABV drinks that they tout as "drinks for men" on their chalk boards. If you are there for dinner, they have good sandwiches and some pretty tasty mussels. 

On most weekend nights they have acoustic cover music and the crowd is clearly a hang out crowd, rather than the club-type crowd of the more college friendly places in Manayunk. It's really a great place to go grab one beer at happy hour or to grab a spot for the long haul and try out a bunch of quality beers.

And I'm happy to say that my wife would now rather have a case of Yards Brawler in the fridge than Bud Light.

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Intro

A great beer is not just something to drink and pass the time with. A great beer is something you experience.

Having just become truly aware of great craft beer in the last year, I now realize it really is like any other artistic endeavor. Be it music, painting, or photography; the people who are really good at it think differently than the rest of us. You can learn to be pretty good at anything, and brewing is no different, but in the end, the ones who have inherent talent make the rest of us look like a five year old drawing in crayon on the walls.

That being said, there are millions of normal people who can still recognize a great painting, song, or beer. That's the category I fall into. And so I will be trying to cater to people who are out looking for great beer to discuss and learn about, but at the same time don't want to be hit over the head with beer-snobbiness.

I think that the majority of my posts will be about bars in Philadelphia that serve craft beers. But I will also be talking about specific beers that have been in my fridge lately, breweries that are worth a trip to visit, and really anything else beer related. The ultimate goal is to provide some basic 101 level info about beer to those who are novices, throw out some ideas of great places to hang and drink, and to hopefully expand the community of beer lovers in Philadelphia.

Hope you enjoy.