PA Pilsners Rule in the Times!

Just finished reading Eric Asimov's Beers of the Times article in today's NY Times, and for this article he and his hand-selected panel (no Lew Bryson this time? He LOVES the pilsner!) sampled 18 pilsners. And Pennsylvania brands really dominated: Victory Prima Pils garnered their top rating, following closely by Penn Kaiser, Troegs Sunshine, and few slots down, Sly Fox Pikeland Pils and Stoudt's Pils. Congrats to all!

I generally enjoy Asimov's Wines of The Times articles in the Thursday Dining section of the Times, but for this article, the reader has to endure 6 paragraphs of bitching about the beers offered at the new Citi Field (Mets) and the new Yankee Stadium. And like any comparison between those teams and the Phillies, the stadiums also fall WAY short in what they serve suds-wise. $9 for a PBR?!?!?!

Fuggedaboutit.

The $10 Growler

I was very fortunate on Tuesday night to get a "Get Out Of Jail Free" card and join 15 other foodies for an outrageous dinner of mostly Sechuan food at the new Han Dynasty restaurant in Royersford, PA (70 Buckwalter Rd., just off the Royersford exit of Rte 422 W). Now I've never been to the Royersford outpost of Sly Fox Brewery, so I thought it would be an especially good night for some outstanding beer to go with some outstanding Chinese food. Called SFR to inquire on directions and costs of a growler. The sweet voice on the other end of the phone informed me that on Tuesdays growlers are "just $10, $4 for the bottle and $6 for the beer." Woo-hoo!






Scored three growlers for our Sechuan dinner: Pikeland Pils, of course (my favorite beer style with Asian food), the Route 113 IPA and Dunkel Lager. Each one matched up perfectly during the dinner, consumed in pretty much that order, too. Pairing the Pils with Han Dynasty's Fish and Pickled Vegetable Soup and the Wontons in Chile Oil was just as tasty as it gets, until some of us opened up the Rte 113 IPA with the incendiary Spicy Hot Pot, Fish in Dry Pot, and Tea Smoked Duck in Beer Sauce. The killer pairing for me was the Dunkel Lager with the Taiwanese Sausage and Snow Peas and especially the Braised Bacon with Scallion. Transcendant. We went through 24 dishes on Tuesday night, and the dinner was so great on so many levels, I'm gonna deal with it in a seperate post.

But f'real: a growler of SLY FOX BEER for $10 on Tuesdays! Holey Shamoley!