Posts Tagged ‘McKenzie Brewhouse’

New Beers

Saturday, October 17th, 2009

In case you missed it, we are now pouring the Philadelphia Philsner.  This “red pilsner” is a crisp, hoppy brew with a moderate malt balance.  It goes really well with spicy food and is just $3 AT ALL TIMES – while the Phillies are still in the playoffs.

Also, we are proud to pour the delicious Saison Vatour from McKenzie Brewhouse.  It recently won GABF Gold!  Come in a try some.  You won’t be disappointed.

Bad news/good news.  Scheduling issues and the release of the Philsner have precluded production of Oktoberfest and our Sly Fox collaborative brew.  The Philsner is not far from what Brian O’Reilly and I had planned to brew, though (a hoppy session beer with German roots brewed with German and English ingredients, fermented at ale temperature).  Some good news is that our Harvest Ale is sort of a hoppy festbier that is tasting fine and Novemberfest is in the fermenter (another hoppy-ish fest-like brew with more bready, biscuit flavors than the Harvest Ale – higher ABV and lower IBU’s).  We are also going to be tapping another Prism Beer Company prototype next week – a spiced Amber Ale.  But, the really good news is that a grain shipment should be delivered Monday or Tuesday that includes ingredients to brew The Emperor’s New Clothes (Tripel), The Loch Ness Monster (strong Scotch Ale) and, after much too long a delay, Raspberry Mead Ale.  We’ve been experimenting with the low alcohol beers for a while, but it’s clear that many of our fans miss the stronger beers that had become our forte over the years.  I expect to keep the ABV’s up for a while, following through the winter with East Coast IPA, Holiday Cheer, Winterfest, an , if things go as planned, a 2009 Barleywine.  Also, I’d like to brew Double Thunder, the Grim Reaper, the Weizenheimer and a Belgian Quad in 2010.  Feel free to post a comment with any suggestions for long, lost GLI specialty brews (Olde Curmudgeon, XSB, Hopeweizen, Malted Oat Stout, for example).

Cheers!

McKenzie Brewhouse and Sly Fox Brew

Tuesday, September 29th, 2009

Later this week, The McKenzie Brewhouse joins us as the third Brewer in Residence at the General Lafayette Inn.  Our friend and McKenzie Head Brewer Ryan Michaels is a regular fixture at the GLI bar. I’m not sure if he likes our beer or it’s just convenient – we’re on his way home to Mt. Airy from Malvern.  Either way, we’re always happy to have him.  (I’ll share a story or two about Ryan before his “stay” is over).  We’re excited to welcome his beer and sample some of his fine Belgian-inspired creations (and anything else he’s willing to share with us).  McKenzie’s will be the first brewpub we’ve had the pleasure of hosting.  Both Phila. Brewing Company and Sly Fox we’re kind enough to provide us with some of their less mainstream offerings (Fleur de Lehigh from PBC; Grisette and Dunklewiezen from SF), which fit in well with our beer program.  It should be interesting to see what type of collaborative beer we develop with Ryan, and what specialties of his we get to sample.

Speaking of collaborations, we haven’t forgotten about our Sly Fox beer.  Scheduling delays have pushed the target brew date to the second week of October.  However, the beer Brian O’Reilly and I developed is a “beer for all seasons”, so the delay is simply a complication trying the patience of our eager patrons.  Look for our hybrid English/German pale ale/lager sometime around Halloween.  This is appropriate, as it’ll be something of a “Franken-brew”.  There is still some SLy Fox Pilsner on tap, so come in and polish it off.

Cheers!