The Christmas Mix

First let me say God Bless Scoats, right off the bat, for keeping a beloved holiday tradition alive. Mike "Scoats" Scotese, owner of the Grey Lodge Pub and Hop Angel Brauhaus, orchestrated the return of any beer lover's holiday fantasy: a variety case of winter seasonal, Christmas and otherwise big beers for 24 lucky beer geeks, including yours truly. Last night we descended upon the Grey Lodge to pick up our most special of Christmas presents.

It was a wintry December night in 1998, bitterly cold and sleeting, and Scoats, my (now dearly departed) friend Gary Bredbenner and I, were hurtling through slush and ice on the Pennsylvania Turnpike toward Downingtown in an old and battered Chevy Suburban that I had borrowed from a housemate. We had been invited to participate in one of beer writer Lew Bryson's early experiments in beer cameraderie, the Bryson Christmas Mix. Bryson had selected 24 winter/Christmas/holiday/big beers and scheduled the assembly of these 24 variety cases for 24 lucky folks at the Victory Brewery and brewpub in Downingtown, on the same night that the brewery would be holding its annual Christmas party, a nifty beer segue of sorts.

I had known Scoats about a year or so by that time, and had become a Wednesday night regular at the Grey Lodge. We had decided to carpool to Downingtown, and Gary, who rarely drove anywhere, asked for a lift as well. It was a scary 90 minute drive in miserable weather.

But we got there, met the group of Christmas Mix participants, and Lew directed traffic as we assembled our variety cases on the loading docks of the brewery. It was a little bit Keystone Cops, but a lot of fun, and the selection of beers for the Mix were, for the most part, new to me, and that made it an extra special adventure.

The Christmas Mix plugged along over the next few years, but began to sputter a few years ago, as schedules got busier, lives more complicated, a lot of different reasons. So that why I heap praise upon Scoats for bringing our little beery tradition back. He, like many of us, can get sentimental that way.

He also worked hard to make this year's Mix really interesting, with classic winter beers that have always been a part of the Mix, and new beers that many of us haven't tried or even seen before.

Here are the beer treasures he assembled for the 2010 Christmas Mix:

21st Amendment Fireside Chat (the first can in the Mix!)

Abbey of Christ in the Dessert Monk's Ale

Anchor Our Special Ale

Breckenridge Christmas Ale

Brooklyn Winter Ale

Cape Anne Navigator Double Bock

Great Divide Hibernation

Great Lakes Christmas Ale

Gritty McDuff Christmas Ale

Kumbacher Eisbock

Lancaster Winter Warmer

Samuel Smith Winter Welcome

Saranac Season's Best

Scaldis Noel

Sierra Nevada Celebration

Summit Imperial Pumpkin Porter

Troegs Mad Elf

Victory Storm King

Wachusett Winter Ale

Weyerbacher Quad

Weyerbacher Winter Ale

Yards Poor Richard's Tavern Spruce

Geants Bier de Noelier

Stegmaier Winter Warmer


I can't wait to start sampling.

The Correct Gift for a 13th Anniversary? BEER!

Well, there ain't no party like a Grey Lodge party, 'cause a Grey Lodge party never stops!

Scoats pulled out ALL the stops to celebrate the seminal anniversary of the place, its 13th. With 12 "events" in 13 straight hours. I made it for the tail end of the Victory-Phillies event, with perky Tracy from Victory calling out raffle winners. Then it was on to the Grey Lodge's Bar Mitzvah, with a "Pin The Yarmulke On The Boy's Head" game outside on the sidewalk, cake for everyone (and it was GOOD cake too!), and a decent reading from a fine young man.

Sixpoint beers from Brooklyn appeared at the 6PM hour, I enjoyed a quick pint of their pale ale and I was gone, back to Lawrenceville to rescue my kids from the swim club.

But I did get to catch up with so many folks I just don't get to see enough: the Smithsons, Eric Louden, John Denver Pat, Chaz, Doozer, Lew Bryson, Frank the Tank behind the bar, and so many more. All that was missing was Gary. We all said that.

Congrats Scoats, Pat, Maureen, your hard-working staff, and all your loyal followers (that includes me!). Nobody works harder to make a place more unpredictably fun than you do.