Back to Long Beach

I’m back in Long Beach again…the good news is there was no glass in my glass at the Yard House and the Congregation Ale House is as good as ever.

I checked out the Observation Bar on the Queen Mary. Very cool art deco but the beer list is unimpressive.

Also had a chance to check out the Beachwood BBQ and Brewery. Great bbq with your choice of sauces. The prices are good considering the portion sizes. I had their Foam Top Cream Ale, the Tart Simpson and Knucklehead Red. Good brews that went with their food.

Not much else to report.

Philadelphia Beer Scene or how I found some cool beer places

Oh Philadelphia how I love your beer scene…you have now become my one of my favorite beer places.

I had to head up to Philly for training and an exercise with one of my co-workers. As I do for any trip I planned ahead and scoped out what others have recommended.

As with any trip where I’ll be somewhere for more than a few days I had to stock up. Our first stop was the Craft Beer Outlet. I love places I can get single bottles from and the Craft Beer Outlet did not disappoint. Add to that the fact that you can consume on premises and you have a recipe for success. After having a a Fegley’s Always Sunny Pale Ale and a Great Lakes Brewing Dopplerock we headed to the hotel.

Dinner for the evening was at Coaches Sports Bar. The food was ok but the bartender and the hockey game made up for it. A few Yard’s Brewing Philadelphia Pale Ales didn’t hurt either.

The next day I hit the Market Street area in Philly and the Triumph Brewery. Let me say I had no plans to stop in but I was cold and decided I needed to warm up. The food here was amazing, so good that I came back a second night with friends. I recommend starting with the pretzels.

The beer was great too. Any place that puts a nine beer sampler in front of me is starting off on the right foot. The lineup:

Feral Wheat
Amber Ale
Cream Ale - really tastes like a cream soda
Biz Journ Ale - I was disappointed that they had just changed out their kegs to this from a Rauch Bier but it was still good.
Bengal Gold IPA
Schwarzbier
Kellerbier
Belgian Something Else
Jewish Rye (cask) - tastes great if you like rye bread…I mean it really tastes like rye bread.

One stop at the Eulogy Belgian Tavern for dinner and a Eulogy Busty Blonde Ale and I headed home for the evening. Eulogy was good, loved the sausage plate I got and the Busty Blonde was a good Belgian.

Day three saw us checking out one of the Dinners, Drive-Ins and Dives recommended restaurants The Memphis Taproom. With a great food menu and a beer menu to match this place is a must stop if you are ever in Philly. You have my heart if you make good pierogies and polish sausage…thank you. And I’m sorry that the people I was with were a little rowdy.

We also made a brief stop at Kraftwork for one beer and I had a nice Duchess de Bourgogne to round out the evening.

Two last places to mention. We had one at the National Mechanics Bar and Restaurant. Great looking bar and cool environment make this place a staple. My only regret is that I didn’t go to the Irish Pol Bar. This Irish/Polish Bar had a great draft list and looked really cool.

Catching up & more travel: Silver Springs, Md., Beer Scene

It’s been a while but I’ve been on the road. I know, no excuse but I’m sorry. Coming soon will be a read on some great bars and places in Philadelphia, a revisit to Long Beach, Calif., and the Seattle/Port Angeles, Wash., area. But first I need to catch up.

I drove up to Silver Springs for a week-long class on April 8. Being Easter and the fact that it was Maryland where you can’t get a beer in a grocery store I was at a loss. I needed to stock the fridge in the hotel room for the week and didn’t have any options. I decided to wander and see if I could find a store that was open.

Thank the gods for Adega Wine Cellars & Cafe. Not only were they open on Easter Sunday but they had some great beer. After grabbing an Oliver Breweries 19 Anniversary Stout (which was awesome by the way) to sip on and buying some Port City Brewing Essential Pale Ale, a Leffe Blonde and few others that I have not yet consumed, I headed off to get dinner.

My choice for the evening was the Fire Station 1 Restaurant and Brewing Co. The food here is ok, typical bar food and the beer was the same as I remember from the first time I was there. I had:

Daily Crisis IPA
Avenue Golden Ale
Something Red
Stoney’s Stout

I was not a huge fan of their beers…sorry.

A brief stop at McGinty’s Public House for a Port City Porter and I was back to my hotel.
The week didn’t go well since my class was canceled as I walked in the door so I headed home.

A quick shout-out and honorable mention goes out to Whole Foods in Alexandria, Va., for having a great beer selection and a growler filling station…very cool.