Tue, 10 Mar 2010

Draft Beer Update
Furthermore Three Feet Deep replaced Flying Dog Raging Bitch. Three Feet Deep is a smoked dry Irish style stout. Mmmm I can't wait to try this one. No growlers of this one until after our Quoth the Raven: Furthermore! event is over on Friday night. For Quoth the Raven: Furthermore!, we will have all the beers Furthermore sends into Pennslyvania, with three on draft and three in bottle. Furthermore's head brewer will be here too. That's this Friday from 5 to 7pm. Furthermore makes some very innovative beers.

We tapped our fourth Microstar Mystery Keg. We only have one left. I haven't had a chance to try this one yet; I'll report back on it later. It is hoped that one of the 5 is an Ithaca chocolate beer (and first three haven't been).


Food Special
The Catfish Sandwich has been on the specials board since Ash Wednesday. I do not know what circumstances prevented me from having one until now. Jeez Louise, it's a winner. Reminds me of being back in New Orleans. I'd have called this one Catfish Po'Boy if anyone had asked me. But they didn't, and things have been working great without the kitchen not asking me stuff, so we'll call it Catfish Sandwich. I'm sure, you'll call it great.

Sun, 07 Mar 2010

Draft Beer Update
My dog! That 13.2gal barrel of Sixpoint Bengali Tiger only lasted about 24 hours (and we were closed for 8 of them). Zowie. Replacing it is Dock Street West of Center Pale Ale, another new one from Dock Street.

The one everyone was waiting for, Brooklyn Cookie Jar Porter, was tapped last night as predicted. We have moon pies to pair with it. Cookie Jar replaced Brooklyn Backbreaker.

7pm Update: Stoudts Pils replaced Stoudts American Pale Ale. We in Pennsylvania are blessed many great local pilsners, Sly Fox Pikeland, Victory Prima, Troegs Sunshine and this one, Stoudts Pils, which is the original Pennsylvania pilsner for over 20 years now (oddly Penn Pilsner is a Vienna lager and not a pilsner). To be honest, it has been a long time since I've had this one from Stoudts. I've had gallons and gallons of the other three, and I've had gallons and gallons of Stoudts beers over the years. I can't wait to try it and find out what I've been missing.

Sat, 06 Mar 2010

Draft Beer Update
Our third Microstar Mystery Keg replaced the second one. My guess is that this one is Magic Hat No. 9. It's a clear golden beer. It smells of apricots but doesn't necesarily taste of apricots. Very nice. Well worth $3.

Microstar Mystery Kegs First a little background about Microstar. Microstar is a nationwide company that rents kegs to microbreweries. The advantage to breweries is that they can send their beer all over and not worry about getting the kegs back. About half of nationally distributing breweries seem to use Microstar. Somehow one local wholesaler wound up with 5 untagged Microstar kegs. So not only do they not know what beer is in the keg, they not sure what brewery made it. Though the wholesaler is pretty sure these are mix of Ithaca and Magic Hat. We got a deal on these and we are passing along the savings. Mystery beer is just $3 a pint. Growler fills are only $8.

On our handpump, cask conditioned Victory Pursuit Pale Ale - Nugget replaced Victory Yakima Twilight. Pursuit Pale Ale is a new changing single-hop series from Victory. This first one uses only Nugget hops.

Manayunk Old Quaker City Oatmeal Stout replaced Flying Fish Grand Cru, which was only for about a day. As usual it was a regular 1/2 barrel keg. Jeff gave Chris and me a taste of this oatmeal stout last week. It's another winner from Manayunk.

Flying Dog Raging Bitch replaced Harpoon Celtic Ale. I heard some good chatter about Raging Bitch, so we got a keg. Then today around the bar I heard some good chatter about Raging Bitch.

I predict Brooklyn Cookie Jar Porter will be on tap by 9pm this evening. And we have moon pies to pair with it.

Fri, 05 Mar 2010

Draft Beer Update
Lots of changes since Wednesday. I updated the Beer Page yesterday, but didn't get around updating the News Page here.

An old favorite, Yards ESA, replaced Sam Adams Nobel Pils.

Lancaster Winter Warmer replaced Wolavers Alta Gracia Coffee Porter. I think this will be the first beer I have tonight when I get over to the better side of the bar.

Harpoon Celtic Ale, which is really good American Irish Red, replaced Sly Fox Seamus Irish Red, which also was a really good American Irish Red.

Flying Fish Grand Cru replaced Flying Fish Hopfish. Flying Fish has been making this winter seasonal forever, and it has always been great.

Stoudts American Pale Ale replaced Prism Bitto Honey IPA. Stoudts APA is one fantastic little beer. I enjoyed it so much last night during darts that I stuck with it instead of switching up like I usually do. Slightly amusing story, a customer sees Jimmy Jazz asking me what beer he should get last night. I do some pointing at the board and recommend Stoudts APA, which as I said I was really digging on last night. A nice, friendly patron, not knowing who I am (and why should he), comes up to us and says that he saw us discussing the beers and wanted to suggest Stoudts APA. He liked it so much, he wanted to make sure we knew about it. It's times like that when I know we are doing something right.

7:50pm Update: The sixtel of Dogfish Head World Wide Stout kicked. Replacing it is Yuengling Bock Beer.

Erie Fallenbock fell. Replacing it is Sixpoint Bengali Tiger, which will make Tony Scanga happy. Stout Season 2010 shirts will be maroon or red, which will make Kelly happy. Stout Season opens April 3rd.


Food Specials (Lotta Lenten Eatin)
In preparation for Brooklyn Cookie Jar Porter, which should get tapped any day now, Chef Jason has Moon Pies on the specials board. These moon pies are vanilla ice cream between two freshly baked oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Jason just brought me down a cookie (guess I've been a good boy); they're wonderful; I can't wait to try them with ice cream and a Brooklyn Cookie Jar Porter.

We also have Beer Battered Tuna Bites on the special board, as well as a Codfish Sandwich, a Catfish Sandwich, Fried Shrimp, Beer Mussels, and Seafood Chowder.

For those who aren't following Lenten rules or are coming in after midnight (our kitchen is open til 1am on Fri and Sat), we have a Buttermilk Chicken Sandwich, which I am told is great.

7:50pm Update: I finally get a chance to try our Seafood Chowder. Good golly Miss Molly! Wow!.. as great as any I had in County Clare, Ireland.

Wed, 03 Mar 2010

Last night's Pliny the Younger mini-event was a very pleasant time for all. Thanks to everyone who helped it below the radar. Everyone got a glass, some folks got two. The sixtel kicked in about 20 minutes.

TONIGHT! NEast Meetup/Northeast Philly Quizzo
How well do you know Northeast Philly? Come test your knowledge at NEast Philly's (NEastPhilly.com) first event, which will be a Northeast Philly themed Quizzo here at the Grey Lodge Pub.

Today, Wednesday, March 3 is the big day. Quizzo lasts from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., and you'll also get the chance to meet the NEast Philly staff (most of them don't bite). Prizes range from bar tabs, to free rounds, to NEast Philly merchandise. What better way to break up an otherwise boring week? As usual Quizmaster Barry will be your capable and charismatic host.


Draft Beer Update
Yup, Younger is done. Replacing it is a sixtel of Dogfish Head World Wide Stout. World Wide is an 18% imperial stout.


Cider, Cider, Cider
Cider fans, the drought is over. We can't get Ciderjack anymore for some reason. At least not from who we used to; maybe it will reappear. The lack of Ciderjack caused the draft Woodchuck to kick much quicker than we are used to, so for a bit last week, were ciderless.

Replacing Ciderjack bottles is Hard Core. On the upside, Hard Core is a buck cheaper. Woodchuck Dark and Dry 802 Cider is now on tap too. So we gots cider! We apologize for any inconvenience.


Beer Season Shirts Have Arrived
Give us tonight to get them organized. They will be ready for pick-up tomorrow.

Tue, 02 Mar 2010

Draft Beer Update
The quarter barrel of High and Mighty Two Headed Beast kicked. That was one nice chocolate stout. Chocolate stout fans fear not, we have Heavy Seas Siren Noire due in next week.

At 7pm we will tap a sixtel of Russian River Pliny the Younger. We don't expect that to last too long, so we are going to pull another special sixtel out of our cellar, Dogfish Head World Wide Stout, to replace Younger when it inevitably kicks tonight. So if you don't get a Younger, you'll definitely get some World Wide.

Ramstein Winter Wheat kicked real quick. Replacing it is Duck Rabbit Baltic Porter, which I hear is really tasty.

Mon, 01 Mar 2010

Diaper Drive Part Two: Electric Doo-Doo
Thanks to everyone who brought diapers with them on Groundhog Day for Accuweather.com's Jim Kosek's Diaper Drive. We are going to do a 2nd collection. From now til Sunday March 14th, for every dozen donated, we'll add you into a drawing for a $50 Grey Lodge Gift Card. The drawing will be on Monday the 15th. Drop them off anytime. Steve Hawk and Scoats will drive the diapers up to State College PA later in the month.


Draft Beer Update
Prism Bitto Honey IPA replaced Philadelphia Newbold IPA. Prism is our area's newest microbrewery. Bitto was a big hit when we tapped one back in January.

We tapped the second of five Microstar Mystery Kegs, which replaced the first Microstar Mystery Keg. These five unlabeled kegs are believed to be from Magic Hat and Ithaca. We got a deal on them and are passing along the savings. Pints are only $3. Growler fills are only $8. I just tasted #2.

I just tried a sample of No. 2. My notes: filtered, reddish brown, very balanced - neither yeast, malts, and nor hops dominate, very fresh, most likely an ale. A nice drinking "beer" beer. Looking at Ithaca's Website, none of the beer listed seem to match up. I gave up on Magic Hat's pain in the ass, can't find a dogdamn thing Website. It's probably a Magic Hat beer. Which one? Who knows. Who cares. If they want to make their Website impossible to navigate, fine, they win; I give up. It's nice a beer tough.

Sun, 28 Feb 2010

Draft Beer Update
Sly Fox Seamus Irish Red replaced Great Lakes Conways Irish Ale. Seamus is a wonderful American style Irish Red, malty, roasty, and a little hoppy.

Sam Adams Nobel Pils replaced Sierra Nevada Glissade Golden Bock. Nobel Pils is a new one from Sam Adams, and people around the US have been buzzing about it. We in Pennsylvania are spoiled with loads of truly outstanding pilsners (Sly Fox, Stoudts, Troegs, Victory). It will be interesting to see how Nobel Pils stacks up to such strong competition.

Sat, 27 Feb 2010

Draft Beer Update
Yowsa. Founders Centennial IPA kicked in about a day and half. And that's a 1/2 barrel. Unless otherwise noted, we only tap 1/2 barrels. Sixtels are for babies. Replacing Founders Centennial is the first of 5 Microstar Mystery Kegs. We think the first one is Magic Hat No. 9.

Microstar Mystery Kegs: First a little background about Microstar. Microstar is a nationwide company that rents kegs to microbreweries. The advantage to breweries is that they can send their beer all over and not worry about getting the kegs back. About half of nationally distributing breweries seem to use Microstar. Somehow one local wholesaler wound up with 5 untagged Microstar kegs. So not only do they not know what beer is in the keg, they not sure what brewery made it. Though the wholesaler is pretty sure these are mix of Ithaca and Magic Hat. We got a deal on these and we’re passing along the savings. Mystery beer is just $3 a pint. Growler fills are only $8.

Brooklyn BackBreaker replaced Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout. The deal with BackBreaker is that our Facebook friend Garrett Oliver, who is also Brooklyn's head brewer, went to England to see how the malt used to make beer was/is created the old school way. Turns out it's back breaking work. Garrett took the malt back with him to Brooklyn and they made this beer. And we got a keg. Ain't that cool?

A quarter barrel of High and Mighty Two Headed Beast replaced Roy Pitz Old Jail, which kicked pretty quickly. Two Headed Beast is a hoppy chocolate stout. Dang doesn't that sound wonderful? If we had known it is only a quarter barrel, we wound have ordered two to keep our 1/2 barrel only policy. But some things you don't learn until the keg is the basement. This one won't last long.


Food Specials
As usual, we have several food specials up on the blackboard. One that I've had twice this week is Chicken Salad Wrap. Let me say, "yeah!" The subtle bit of apple pushes it over the top.

Wed, 24 Feb 2010

Draft Beer Update
Great Lakes Conways Irish Ale replaced Sly Fox Schwarz Bier. This is the first of in a nice run of Irish Reds to be tapped in anticipation of St. Patrick's Day. With really great Irish Reds, there is a roasted malt character which is really quite tasty. American Irish Reds tend to have the right amount of hops to perfectly balance out the malt. Irish Red is one of my favorite style of beer; I can't wait to try the Great Lakes version.

Our beer engine is no longer dry. Cask conditioned Victory Yakima Twilight is ready for pumping.

6:30pm update: We try to only have one high octane beer on at a time. Now that Otter Creek QVS kicked, we can tap Ramstein Winter Wheat. This 9%ABV dark wiezen is a super tasty beer. It's been on deck for a while and now its time has finally come.

Blizzard Update
It is supposed to start snowing late tonight and keep right on going until Thursday night. Our kitchen and bars will be open regular hours.

Tue, 23 Feb 2010

Draft Beer Update
Sierra Nevada Glissade Golden Bock replaced Yards Brawler. This is a new spring seasonal from Sierra, or at least new around these parts. This a bock, which is a darker than usual German lager, with a slightly higher than usual ABV. This one weighs in at 6.5%

Erie Fallenbock replaced Abita Mardi Gras Bock. Ah another bock, but a left over fall seasonal. A little higher than usual ABV for a bock (7.8%), but a tasty beer nonetheless.

8:40pm update: Philadelphia Newbold IPA replaced Philadelphia Kilty Pleasure.

Sun, 21 Feb 2010

Draft Beer Update
Stone Levitation replaced Weyerbacher Winter. Levitation is the big little beer. Lots of taste and only 4.3% ABV.

Founders Centennial IPA replaced Stoudts Quad. I'm pretty sure that this one is a single-hopper, using only centennial hops. I tried googling it, but I couldn't find any evidence either way. One thing that is in agreement though is that this beer tastes great.

Sat, 20 Feb 2010

Draft Beer Update
Wow. 7 changes in about 1/2 a day.

And it was just only yesterday that the blog had that nice image of Ommegang Witte. I guess it worked, since it's kicked. Replacing it is Yards Brawler. Brawler is a great session beer.

Stoudts Quad returned, replacing Dock Street Bubbly Wit. Quad is NOT a session beer, weighing in at 11%.

Our first barrel of the latest batch of Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout replaced Dock Street Sexual Chocolate. Chocolate for a chocolate. That sounds like a fair trade.

Ironically speaking of fair trade (as that segue honestly wasn't planned), Wolavers Alta Gracia Coffee Porter is now tapped, replacing Kira Wit.

Roy Pitz Old Jail Ale, making it's G-Lodge debut, replaced Manayunk St. Alpha Belgian IPA. This one is a session beer as well.

Our last quater barrel of Philadelphia Kilty Pleasure replaced Philly Walt Wit.

Lagunitas Cappucino Stout kicked. We were hoping to get some Bear Racer 5 for the beer engine but that didn't work out. We'll have something back on the beer engine early next week.


Tomorrow Night: Comedy Night at the Grey Lodge
Phatdog Productions Presents Sunday Night Comedy at The Grey Lodge Pub. Hosted by Matt Reiss with, Dan Mcdowell, Erin Mulville, and Simply Dee. Phatdog Productions wants to make this a monthly event so come out for a great show. Tickets are $10 at the second floor entrance.

Fri, 19 Feb 2010

Draft Beer Update
Sly Fox Schwarz Bier replaced Sly Fox Oatmeal Stout. Schwarzbiers are black lagers. The dark depths of a stout combined with the mellowness of lager yeast often results in a very pleasing beer. Seeing as this is from Sly Fox, how can it not be wonderful?

Ommegang Witte replaced the sixtel of Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence.


Lenten Specials
Tonight and every Friday during Lent we'll have special specials

• Mahi fillet with mango pineapple salsa. $16
• Catfish Sandwich. $7
• Beer-batterAhi Tuna Bites. $8

Link of the Day
A History of President Obama Feigning Interest in Mundane Things.