Philly - A Few Weeks Late..

So about 5 weeks ago, I ventured to Philadelphia, PA just for the hell of it.  Hopped a bus, managed to weasel my way into a hostel.. travel and accommodations cost me under $100 for 3 days, 2 nights.. beat that Travelocity gnome!  I needed a personal, solo getaway to clear my head, as we all do from time to time; as an added bonus - Philly is a killer beer town!

There was far too much for me to go into detail about each beer I had, and factor in that I had all these beers in 2 nights.. I got a bit too drunk each time to remember the last beer or two of each night!  Oops!  And let me just tell you, Boston has a KILLER local scene - brewpubs, micros, craft stores, but Philly, now Philly has Boston flat-out BEAT in terms of bars - almost every bar had an amazing imported selection.  Belgian and other European beers made up the bulk of it with tons of French and Scandinavian as well.  INSANE.  Step it up, Boston.  Step. it. up.

( and yes, of course I ran the Museum of Art stairs - aka the Rocky Stairs! )

9.17 - Throwback Monday

So back in July I was up at Hampton Beach with some friends, and I had heard about this microbrewery at a beer fest that is located in North Hampton.. sooo  umm, yeah, of course I went!

I tried everything on tap and was blown away by 2 brews, which I got in growlettes to go!

Friday 9.14 - Summer's Not Over

Yeah, sure.. it's getting chillier out.  But you know what, I have an abnormally high body temp, so I still need fans and/or A/C at night..  so it's still summer for me!  Suck it.

¡Es Magnífico!

For ya'll unedjamacated folk.. that's 'it's magnificent!' in Espanish!  It's also the name of a lovely little seasonal offering by Pretty Things Beer & Ale Project.

A 3.45% ABV, 40 IBU session pale, this guy rears his head in the summertime when a tasty, light beer is most needed.  A gorgeous golden straw pour with a huge fluffy, perfect white head..  reserved nose, hints of pale malts, light bready malts with faint grassy and floral hops... touches of citrus and wild honey.  Incredibly light and bright taste.  For a non-crap beer (ie craft), this would be the definition of crisp.  Everything is mild and mellow, but in perfect harmony with the hops just eeking out a win.  Cracker-y and mildly buttery malts, nice dose of floral hops with the slightest drying bitter bite on the finish.  For anyone who's been into craft beer more than the mass-produced swill, the light body of this will take a few sips to get used to.  But once you do, the flavor really, unexpectedly, opens up.  I'd much rather take a case of these to the face than have to drink even 1 can from a 30rack....  total win by Pretty Things!

Summer in a Can - From a Can

Yeah, so what.. it's Sept 10.  Shut ya mouth, summah ain't ovah til I say it's ovah, got it!?  And I can stand to wear short well into October, so get used to it!

So I moved a few weeks ago and compiled all my various caches of beer, and DAMN do I have a lot of beer.  So I pulled two summer cans from the hoard and this is what you get...