The RD Bar Crawl - Beer Week Edition

Every once and a while Harry and Jim will embark on a more epic sized night out, hitting up three or more bars in one evening and detailing their adventure in a rambling post that will surely be more entertaining than analytical.

This also concludes the Responsible Drunk's coverage of Philly Beer Week.

What does one do after spending the better part of the day slowly getting wasted on delicious microbrews from the world over? One hops on the Broad Street Line and pilgrimages to Pat's Steaks, thats what. After that, one goes on a bar crawl, because why not?

Your intrepid responsible drunkards set out from Pat's Steaks to the newish South Philly spot Devil's Den (11th and Ellsworth) for what was deemed to be one of the Beer Fest after-parties. There, we partook in some tasty flights from Bells as well some other area brews. They were all tasty, though my memory of the night is pretty spotty. The DD is a happening little spot, if a little small for what seems like a great beer drinking venue and what at least sounded like good food.

From there it was a trip up Broad Street to the newly expanded Good Dog bar and restaurant (15th and Locust) for a purported Yards Firkin. For those who don't know what a firkin is, its a special quantity of ale stored in a cask (roughly equivalent to a quarter barrel). Yards brought their Porter and it was delightful. The Good Dog is the tall-skinny variety of bar, with three cramped rooms with two bars all on top of one another. If you need some space to breath, its best to trek up to the third floor. Ultimately, its a great reasonably priced place to descend into drunkenness with some good friends over a game of darts (but presumably if you don't care for darts or drinking, the food is not bad either).

To cap off our epic day of beer, we sauntered down the block to what is perhaps my favorite place in the city, Monk's Cafe (16th and Spruce). As a Belgianophile, capping a day of epic drinking with some epic ales, a pot of mussels and some frites is about all a boy could ask for. Be warned though, Monk's is popular and won't take your reservations. Get there early or plan for a covert take over of the barstools. Otherwise you will look like a jackass, and a sober jackass at that. To mark the occaision Monks had this year's first tapping of Duvel's Groen (Green Label). In many ways this is a Belgian white that owes a lot to German sensibilities. It's bright complexion refreshing quality are maintained through a solid malt complex, no small feat. From there, the final nail in the coffin was a bottle of Rochefort Trappistes No. 10. If you ever need a knockout punch, this is it, it literally sent Harry home. We'll probably review this in the future, so I'm going to withold my thoughts on it 'till then, but really this was the perfect nightcap to an epic day of beer.

The RD Night Out - Brooklyn Event at London Bar and Grille

In our continuing coverage of beer week, the Responsible Drunk headed out to the London Bar and Grill in the Art Museum district of Philadelphia on Monday night to sample some brand new Brooklyn brews and chat with Head Brewmaster Garret Oliver (pictured on left).


Brooklyn Brewery has been admired on this site for its consistency and stylistic discipline. This concept of a devotion towards a German style reinheitsgebot rigidity must not be overstated, however. More accurate would be to say Brooklyn attempts to blend that sort of consistency and discipline with truly American flavors, and the best argument it has presented so far was on display in two new beers premiered this week for Philly Beer Week.

BLAST! is a new double IPA that showcases Brooklyn venturing into Dogfish Head territory. The dry hopped Imperial Pale Ale has a super foamy head, a bright complexion and features a blend of 8 different hop varieties, including the vaunted and popular new SIMCOE(r). In the opinion of Mr. Oliver, its a powerful beer (8%), and judging by his brewing selection, I'd say that is a reasonable assessment. Surly there are more potent IIPA's out there, but this is pretty much what you would expect from Brooklyn in that department.

Local 2 is the second in a new series of 100% bottle conditioned Belgian style ale from Brooklyn. Last year they released a smooth, citrusy Belgian white which was more or less by the book (as Brooklyn is wont...). This year, however, Mr. Oliver has taken it up a notch. This dark Belgian ale blends honey grown in a local apiary with dark roasted caramel and other Belgian malts with a Belgian yeast that lends a special spicyness to a beer that is otherwise rich in fruit and chocolate. Pulling this brew off with typical Brooklyn consistency is truly a feat. When I asked Mr. Oliver about his inspirations for this beer, he said, "definitely Chimay Grand Reserve, like it used to be in the 80's" as well as Achel Extra, but he stressed the importance of adding an American flavor, hence the locally grown honey and the dry chocolate malt.

I'm sure we will be getting around to full reviews of these beers, as well as the solid Blunderbuss Old Ale which was also on tap, as soon as they are more widely available. Stay tuned for more updates on Philly Beer Week activities!