Philly Beer Week 2014 Thread (w/ area debuts, highlights, etc)

Surly Abrasive is better than Heady and Elder IMO, it's fanfuckingtastic

Hardywood is tits, their gingerbread stout is so good as a milk/sweet stout, the Hoplar is an imperial IPA aged in new VA poplar barrels, the great return is a good west coast ipa as well

 

Me too...there's plenty for everyone. Wasn't serious.

 

I'm taking the day off for the Resurrection event. BA Huna and BA Sump both on tap sounds like a good way to spend an afternoon.

I was surprised last year at how certain events weren't as packed as I assumed they would be. The Bell's event at POPE with BA 9K and Raspberry Wild One was surprisingly not packed at all.

 

Anyone know if New Belgium are in Philly just for the week or will we start seeing the core brands in stores after?

 

Cali Brandy Hunahpu isn't even that great.

 

Ooookaaay.....whatever you say.

 

I see Surly is selling cans at the pope event but are they doing the same for the event at Iron Abbey? I can't find any information to saying yes or no.

 

Yes

 

You're speaking with a self-admitted truck chasing hoarder who buys beers for trade bait, and proudly says so.

 

Is anyone going down to Monk's today to get tickets for any of the limited events... and if so any of you willing to get me a ticket for the June 8 event if you aren't getting 4 tickets? I will total paypal you for it and throw you a 12oz of this year's Black Note.

 

You gotta love him. Getting two parabolas in a trade that he hasn't received yet and already offering them up for other trades.

 

A note for anyone planning on driving to the Surly event at the POPE: Do not park in the Acme's lot. They are again towing people.

 

I actually got 2 glasses of what I really wanted to drink, and nothing kicked all that quickly. It was a shitshow in that the bar staff was completely overwhelmed, not so much that everything kicked right away, but they had 6 cornies sitting on the floor behind a bar that is already a cramped space for 2 people, and one of the 2 bartenders spent all his time filling orders for the wait staff. Getting a beer meant competing with a dozen other people for the lone bartender's attention, usually after standing in the bar area for 10 or 15 minutes. Also, the place was packed and really hot, as is usually the case at crowded beer week events. They tried pouring pitchers ahead of time to speed up service time, but it didn't really help. They should have set up a separate service area dedicated to pouring the Lost Abbey stuff and had more staff.

CBS at PoPE was worse, people ordering 3 and 4 glasses at a time before several people got 1, people sitting at the bar got served multiple times before some of us standing got served once (and handing orders back to other people who also already had a glass), and of course the thing kicked in about 10 minutes. And again, not nearly enough bar staff to keep up. I realize it's very difficult to predict crowds for these things and the requisite staffing, but when the bar staff gets overwhelmed, I always wonder why a manager never steps in behind the bar to help blow through customers. It would make the experience better for the customers and probably get better tips for the staff.

In any case, the ideal way to do it is to go 45 minutes or an hour early, and eat. Have the whole table time it so they finish a round right when the stuff goes on tap. Wait staff always gets priority, and it's the best way to ensure you get a taste of what you came to drink. The wait staff knows it, and will want to make certain all of their tables get the best beers, so they'll be looking out for you. If the beer is in really high demand, and you have the time, you can always show up a couple hours early and try to get a spot at the bar. The bartender is going to make more in tips off you than the dozens who show up just to tick the rarest beer on the list, so he'll look your way first if you've been sitting there a while.

 

Call them, I called about ten to twelve and got a pair of tickets for the Sunday event.

 

Some per-BeerWeek stuff: HFS now on tap.

http://www.phillytapfinder.com/brewery/hill-farmstead/

 

As it happens I'll be back in town again this year for part of Beer Week. I have Sunday 6/1 to myself. I thought of going to Tired Hands. Pluses, minuses? Any alternative suggestions?

Thanks

 

Expect to wait in line for a while to get in, and wait quite a long time for pours. It gets crazy packed.If you're claustrophobic I don't recommend it.

 

What about the Half Acre / Tired Hands event Saturday? Probably won't make it unte around 3-330 hoping for Double Daisy Cutter.

 

I'll be heading there as well. Its not just double daisy too. Its Galactic Double Daisy. Which is awesome.

 

Looking forward to trying some of this year's collaborations and special releases for Philly Beer Week.

Also want to check out some of the places I have never been to like: BRU, Strangeloves, Tria Tap Room