Session Beer discussion panel at PBW, June 5

Just got news of a Session Beer panel seminar to be hosted by The Farmer's Cabinet here in Philly on June 5, from 8 to 10 (and it's probably going to run to 11, because it's) hosted by Dan Shelton, of Shelton Brothers importers. Panelists are the folks in the trenches who have to sell the stuff, and we'll hear from them what people actually want, and what people actually buy. This is a great chance to meet some of the foremost beer bar owners/managers on the East Coast and get a peek at their beer philosophy.

You'll meet:

Joe Carroll, of Spuyten Duyvil

Dave Brodrick, of Blind Tiger Alehouse

Greg Engert, of Churchkey

Casey Hard, Max's on Broadway

Daniel Lanigan, of Alewife (Baltimore), and Massachusetts landmarks Moan & Dove (Amherst), Dirty Truth (Northampton), and Lord Hobo (Cambridge)

Chris Lively, of Ebenezer's Pub

and there are others who may show as well. 

I'll be joining the panel around 9:30 -- I have a 'booze karaoke' event at the Grey Lodge from 7-9 -- by which time things should be well under way, if I know Dan and these guys. Please, if you're in Philly, try to stop by for this. It may be at another location, depending on what Matt can pull together: I'll keep you updated here. But there is guaranteed to be a lively discussion -- as any of you who made it to my appearance at the discussion of Pennsylvania beer laws hosted by Philly Beer Scene at Yards in February can attest! -- and there will be plenty of session-strength beers!

The Tiedhouse: details on the Session Beer Project event

The Tiedhouse, the Philly outpost of the General Lafayette Inn brewpub (20th and Hamilton), has invited me to host a session beer event Monday night, March 9th (tomorrow...). I first mentioned that here, and now I have more details from Chris Leonard.

It all starts at 6 PM. There's a $5 cover, and the session beers will then be available by the flight or full pint. I'll be there with Chris's brewer, Russ Czajka for an exploration of these full-flavored, low alcohol beers. We will discuss history, styles, brewing techniques and nuances that make these beers so appealing.

Beers we have on-line so far include:

• General Lafayette’s The Economizer (a new, very hoppy 3.5%er from the General)
• Earth Bread + Brewery Stout (part of 'Philly Weak Beer' at EB+B)
• Philadelphia Brewing Company Kenzinger (crisp, refreshing)
• Yards Brawler (the surprise hit from the new Yards)
• Sly Fox Seamus Irish Red (rolling with fruity esters)
• Conniston Bluebird Bitter (a classic)

With more to be added! Possibly the largest selection of session beers Philly has ever seen, all at The Tiedhouse tomorrow. Hope to see you there.

(Double-posted from my regular blog, Seen Through A Glass.)

More press for Session Beer

I just got interviewed for a piece on High-ABV vs. Session Beer for the Philadelphia Weekly, part of their Philly Beer Week coverage. Like I keep saying, this is the Year of Session Beer. No way this story would have even been thought of two years ago. We need to keep talking it up. Thanks to the Philly-area brewers who are backing SBP up with great beers!

Philly Beer Week gets Sessional

We have a (soon-to-be) official Philly Beer Week/Session Beer Project event! Chris Leonard is still working out the details, but we'll be doing an all-session beer event at The Tiedhouse (Chris's new place in Philly: 2031 Hamilton St., 215-561-1002) on

Monday March 9th, at 6 pm.

Still to come: price, menu, beer list, and all that jazz, but we'll have that soon, and I'll just post it here as it comes in. I'll be talking about what session beer is and why it's getting popular, and I hope to get Chris to talk about how brewing session beers is different from brewing big beers. (Chris won't actually be there; he's got an event at the General the same night, but his brewer, the beloved Russ Czajka, will be there, and can get down and geeky with you. I'm trying to talk Chris into writing us a treatise on session beer, to be posted here.)

If you can't wait that long, Chris also told me that he's got a new session beer coming on next week: "Our new low-alcohol offering -- a dry-hopped, hop infuser-poured APA (Columbus and Cascade hops) at 3.5%, called The Economizer -- will be ready to go next week." Looking forward to that.

Philly Weak Beer!

As Uncle Jack has reported (and used as a springboard for yet more regrettably personal abuse of my own sweet self), Earth Bread + Brewery has scheduled an session beer 'event' during Philly Beer Week. They're going to expand their session-strength taps to run all session beers all week, house-brewed or local, from March 6 through the 15th, an idea they're calling Philly Weak Beer.

Ordinarily, I'd say this was a good thing. However, I've been sampling Tom Baker's session-strength beers at EB+B since he opened, so I'm going to have to say that this is a totally brilliant thing.

What's even better...I'm putting together another all-session event for Philly Beer Week, and if we can pull it off, I'll make an announcement about that later this week.