3/13/08
One of the craziest events we attended
during Philly Beer Week was a tasting event with Adam Avery at Monk's.
I had met and talked at length with Adam several years ago at Iron Hill-Wilmington
and found him to be a very personable, if not a little crazy, person, but
such are the artists. His artistry lies in brewing and an outstanding job
he does attested to by his products.
Before the event, we figured we better
eat something as Adam's creations are known for their WOW factor. We stopped
at Tria for some paninis and a beer which were excellent.
We took a leisurely walk back to
Monk's and went to the back bar where the event was to occur. Much to our
surprise/chagrin, we found that the tasting was to consist of 3 oz. pours
of 15 of AA's beers!!! 15!!! I thought, well we're in trouble here knowing
we had an hour+ drive home afterwards. Tom Peters seeing that it was going
to be a long afternoon, brought out lots of food...meats, cheeses, salads,
etc.. to help the attendees deal with all the alcohol. I felt bad for the
guy who already had a St. Bernardus 12 and an Old Rasputin prior to the
tasting! Good thing he only lives 3 blocks away.
Well, the star of the show arrived
ready to rock and roll. He gave us an overview of the company and what
we were to expect today. He had the fifteen beers divided up into 5 groups
of 3:
Avery Big Beers: Ellie's Brown, White
Rascal Belgian Wheat, IPA
Bigger Beers: New World Porter, Collaboration
Not Litigation Ale, 14 Anniversary Ale
The Holy Trinity: Salvation Golden
Ale, The Reverend Quadrupel, Hog Heaven Barleywine
The Dictators Series: The Maharaja
Imperial IPA, The Kaiser Imperial Oktoberfest, The Czar Imperial Stout
The Demons of Ale:The Beast Grand
Cru '07, Samael's Oak-aged '07, Mephistopheles Stout '07
What a lineup! Our livers were going
to be aching in the morning! I was taking Friday off from drinking anyway
and was to catch up on some work around the house!
We were joined in our quest by Cornelia
and Ray two former Beerdrinkers of the Year. They were up from Carolina
for PBW and attended quite a few events during their brief stay.
Needless to say, we had a great time
as did everyone. We still had one stop to make before we left for NJ. Around
the corner at the Good Dog Cafe, Iron Hill Brewer, Chris LaPierre was to
bring a firkin of Pale Ale, but upon arrival, we found that he had had
some problems and showed up empty-handed. He was gracious enough to buy
me a beer, however, which allowed us to get caught up on the latest news.
Thanks, Chris!!!
Across the street, Don Russell had
done a dinner at Jose Pistola's, so we stopped in on our way to the car.
There we found Don, George Hummel and Nancy Rigberg just finishing up their
dessert. Don's new book, The Philly Beer Guide, was for sale, so I bought
one and got him to sign it.
Enough was enough, so we headed home
anticipating our last event @Monk's on Sunday...3 Fonteinen.
Cheers!