Over My Shoulder, A Quick Look Back

First, right off the bat, HAPPY NEW YEAR! May 2010 be a much, much better year for all of us!

Not that all of 2009 was bad; it just seemed like it for some of us. I went to a lot of funerals in 2009. Funerals for folks whose time, after endless infirmities, had come. Funerals for friends who died too young. Heartbreaking stuff no matter how you look at it.

I watched, and experienced personally, downturns in business that make you shake your head in numbing frustration. I've also watched several friends' businesses succeed nicely, and grow beautifully, which keeps me ever optimstic.

On the very cusp of this new year, beer writer-philosopher-friend Jack Curtin said it most suscinctly on his blog, Jack Curtin's Liquid Diet:

"Has there been a better year, in more than half a century, in which to dream dreams, revitalize hope and commit ourselves to a better tomorrow?"

I think you're right, Jack, so thanks.




So there have been some good things to look back on too. Not that many, but here are my 2009 highlights:



Ben and Sophie's Pre-School Adventure: I've never seen two kids more excited to go to school in my life. Though their enthusasm has waned a bit, especially when it's time to wake up in the morning, they're having more fun than I ever remember having in school. And their school and teacher are the perfect match for their endess curiosity and gifted intellect. And their teacher provided me with....




My Favorite Quote of the Year: "Your kids don't speak like any 4 year olds I've ever taught; they speak in complete sentences and they have an amazng vocabulary." Ms. Poli, Ben and Sophie's preschool teacher, parent-teacher conference, November




Pizza of the Year: It could have been the two pizzas I sampled at Steven Starr's new Pizzeria Stella, a classic Margherita and a prosciutto-topped number, and it surely could have been any of the half dozen pizzas we sampled this summer at One Guy Brewing in Berwick, PA. That is, until the twins and I decided one dreary Friday afternoon to make our own. They helped punch down the dough as it rose, and spread the sauce and grated cheeses, and were very precise about how they placed their pepperoni, and those 3 pies we made were 3 of the best pies I've had in a long time.



Beers of the Year: God, it was a good year for beer, and even though I haven't been out and about anywhere as much as I used to, I've managed to drink some really exceptional stuff. I really can't pick one, so I'm just going to let fly with an unranked six-pack or so: Guy Hagner's One Guy Brewing's Atomic Punk IPA, which blew me away at a Philly Beer Week dinner at the Grey Lodge; Triumph Old City's Pils Jay's Way, their tribute to Jay Mission, former head brewer at Triumph, who passed away months before the Philly Beer Week event that honored him with a night full of pilsners at their brewpub; Sierra Nevada Torpedo, their "Extra IPA," which plows a ton of hops into your mouth, all green and herby-spicy, and then slips over your tongue like mist through your fingers; Yards Brawler, roasty, malty silky, an amazing session beer, served up at the newly re-born Oyster House in Center City Philly, alongside the only-in-Philly lunch platter of fried oysters and chicken salad (best lunch I've had all year,too); Victory Yakima Twilight, served up at the third and most recent Friday the Firkinteenth at the Grey Lodge, teeth-chatteringly hoppy, with a nice tart finish; and Dogfish Head 75 Minute IPA, a blend of DFH's 60 and 120 Minute IPAs, made especially for that same Friday the Firkinteenth, bursting with sweet-herby hops and ending with an unexpectedly sweet, soft finish; and McGillin's 1860 Anniversary Ale, made for McGillin's Olde Ale House, Philly's oldest continually operated tavern, by Stoudt's Brewing Co., on the occasion (2010!) of the tavern's 150th anniversary, it's another agressively hopped brew, but like DFH's 75 Min. IPA, its begins sweetly and then ends with its own unique twist: a, crisp, bright, snappy pilsner finish that makes this one of the most dangerously drinkable beers in the country.



Pub Visits of the Year: These have been few and far between for me this year, but there were a small handful of great visits: a quiet lunch on a rainy day at Memphis Taproom, the Port Richmond platter of pierogis, kielbasa, potato pancakes and sauerkraut (delicious, but a little too greasy maybe...), some fried pickles (sorry, but just too big and unappetizing to me) and some Edmund Fitzgerald Porter; a mini-Philly beer tour with friend Scott Hibberd and his visiting brother, Josh: 1860 Anniversary Ale and then nachos and pumpkin beers at McGillin's, with owner Chris Muillins' son, Chris (we made him a believer of that terrific beer-food pairing!), fresh hot pretzels and Oktoberfests at Brauhaus Schmitz, Yards ESA on handpump and some fried smelts at Standard Tap, and a bunch of beers, including Philadelphia Brewing's JOE, at the Grey Lodge.

And speaking of the Grey Lodge, that's where my other 4 memorable pub visits took place, at all three of the pub's Friday The Firkinteenths in 2009 (yes there were THREE!), and at the GL's hilarious 13th Anniversary celebration, which, of course was celebrated on the 15th, and featured 13 different "events" and beer menus for 13 straight hours. I caught 4 of those hours and they were wacky.

TV Moments of the Year: Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens) singing on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, wherein the show showed its chops, made its credibility and held anyone watching spellbound; and just a week ago, The Muppets and Fallon singing the 12 Days of Christmas, wherein Fozzy Bear stole ths show. The entire season of Rescue Me, on FX, as well as the season finale of Dexter, on Showtime, elevated TV beyond what it usually, and sadly, is.

So all in all, not a bad year. But here's to hoping for a MUCH better year in 2010!

Our Goodbye to Gary

I was going to write something about Gary Bredbenner's funeral yesterday, his obituary in the Daily News, skillfully penned by John Morrison, and our small wake for him at One Guy Brewing after the burial, but Lew Bryson wrote a poignant piece on his blog, Seen Through a Glass, and quite frankly, I couldn't have said it better if I wrote for a month. This is why I admire Lew Bryson and his writing so much.

We're planning a Philly memorial service for Gary at the Grey Lodge Pub in August, so stayed tuned for the details.

Godspeed, Gary.

PUNK'D!!!

There is little hope that I'll be able to make it to more than a few events during Philly Beer Week, but this was one I was not going to miss: Upstate PA Beers with Lew Bryson at the Grey Lodge in NE Philly. And as always, the food and beer did not disappoint; the food specials made for the night were spectacular: an earthy, herb-flecked, half-pound bison burger, rich and moist and cooked perfectly medium, and a sensational basket of Atomic Punk Sweet N Sour glazed wings, bursting with sweet tingles of citrus and bitter hops. These wings could easily convert even a die-hard hot wing fan, and I hope Grey Lodge owner Scoats makes them a part of his regular menu. They were that good, crispy, greaseless and expertly glazed.


Which brings me to the beer I have been looking forward to for almost a year; One Guy Brewing's Atomic Punk IPA, hands down one of the best beers I've had in the last 5 years. Big, ballsy, with an herby, citrusy nose, an explosion of hops in the mouth upon first sip, and a clean, almost silky finish. Guy Hagner, owner/brewer at One Guy is already one hell of a brewer, and Atomic Punk is a magnificent beer, worth the drive to Berwick, PA just to drink it. But not everyone can get to Berwick. Those of us gathered around a big table upstairs at the Grey Lodge (Bryson, Scoats, his friend Marty, good beer buddy and uber-beer geek Gary Bredbenner and his angel-of-mercy designated driver, Traci) were in unanimous agreement: Atomic Punk would rock Philly. Are you reading this, Guy? The other beers served laste evening were also quite good, but the AP blew them all away.

Stegmaier's Oak Aged Spiced Winter Warmer from Wilkes-Barre, was a boozy dessert in a glass, like a bourbon bread pudding with chocolate and attitude; Bavarian Barbarian from Williamsport contributed their Square Feet Wheat Dunkelweizen to this event, and it was a sweet and sour, kind heavy version of the style, but it was a killer match for those wings; Bullfrog's Beesting, a honeyed saison style ale from Williamsport, was nice, though neither Gary nor I could detect much honey in the glass; Elk Creek's Belgian Strong was not to my liking, due more to inexperience with that syle than anything else, but it was a tad too alcoholic for me to enjoy; and Yuengling's brand new Bock was a delight, tasting to me like a roasty version of their fllagship Lager, which, to my palate, is a good thing.

But here and now, let me start my campaign for Atomic Punk in Philly: (repeat after me) BRING ATOMIC PUNK TO PHILLY , GUY! WE WANT ATOMIC PUNK!!!

One Guy Brewing..er..Baking!

Our beer buddy Guy Hagner, one of the core group of regulars in our Friday night beer chats on starchat.net (11:30PM EST, the No Bull Inn chat room, you know the drill by now...) started up a really small brewery last year in Berwick, PA (328 West Front St., Berwick, 18603); so small is this brewery that he cleverly christened it One Guy Brewing.

For a long time it's just been him, brewing great beers (some of which you can even find in beer-centric bars in nearby Wilkes-Barre and even in Philly, at places like Earth, Bread and Brewery and the Grey Lodge Pub!) and serving up drafts and hot dogs in the brewery's small tap room on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. It's BYOF otherwise at One Guy, and he has a bunch of menus from nearby places if you get hungry. But a lot of us are hoping that Guy will succumb to one of his passions (no, not the Amish women one) and expand the menu at One Guy a bit.

One thing you need to know about Guy: not only is he one serious, finicky and talented brewer, he is a man after my own heart; he is a pizza fanatic. Not only has he traveled far and wide to try any and all of the great and famous pizzas up and down the East coast, but he is an equally serious home pizzaiolo. He's sourced San Marzanos and extra virgin olive oils from obscure importers to make his tomato sauce and he's experimented with various flours, playing and tweaking in his home kitchen in search of that perfect pie. Well, not too long ago, after a few NBI beers one Friday night, he let it slip that he snatched up a Blodgett commercial pizza oven on Ebay (see above), so that someday....

Well, knowing Guy, we all urged him to get that oven hooked up and to start making pizza at One Guy. We all know it's an itch he needs to scratch.

Last night Guy sent out a 3-part e-mail teaser , with pictures, to let us know that, perhaps, maybe, who knows....Guy is testing the waters, er pizza stones:

Guy's finished product speaks for itself:
Business is good, apparently, at One Guy Brewing; he actually has an assistant helping him in the brewery to keep up with the demand for his beer, and here's hoping he'll be adding some kitchen help to help make what should surely be some damn fine pizza.