Farewell

To those who took the time to check out my blog, thank you. I hope you learned something new about craft beer and will experiment with some new brews in the future. Though it took me quite a while to figure out how to complete some aspects of our assignments, the multimedia elements in particular, I’m proud to say I managed to get the job done. Learning the hard way, I think, will benefit me in the future should I need to reuse any of these skills.

I’m not sure if I’ll keep up with this blog. Like I said in class, I’m at a time in my life when I’m trying to drink less. Alcohol, when consumed responsibly can make for some good times; yet it has the power to burn bridges as well. Respect it.

It’s been a pleasure getting to know some of you, read your blogs (many of which put mine to shame) and learn a thing or two about online jounrnalism. I wish you all the best.

-Mathew Fitzgerald

5 Excellent Craft Beer Bars in South Jersey

There are a plethora of great local bars for fans of craft beer in South Jersey. Ironically, if you want to check out some of the best, you don’t have to travel far…heck, you can hit all in one day! Why? Three of them line the same street: Haddon Avenue in Westmont, NJ. Another is only a few blocks away.

“There’s a reason I live a few just off Haddon Avenue,” says Matt Geiser, sales representative for Long Trial Brewing Company. “I never have to find a designated driver when I want to go out for some great beer.”

Haddon Avenue is home to the Pour House, the Irish Mile and the Keg & Kitchen. Each of these bars provides a different atmosphere; each provides similar strong tap lists.

The Pour House, as I wrote earlier in the semester is among my favorites. The trick is getting there early; the place is no secret. Not only is the craft list extensive but so too is the food. Their menu’s are online here.

As an American of Irish decent (I’m a Fitz, not a Mick!) it’s embarrassing to admit I only discovered the Irish Mile in recent weeks. My cousin Dan and I stopped in for a visit and were pleasantly surprised. They have a happy hour special with Leffe Blonde and Hoegaarden for just 3 bucks! That blows away the bar I was at the night before, where I paid 2.50 for a Bud Light.

There was a curious lack of potatoes on their menu however…puzzling for an “Irish” bar.

I have not visited the Keg & Kitchen; that will change shortly. The tap list is mind-boggling. Mind bottling? Not too many places around here with Ithaca Flower Power on tap.

I suppose it’s not too significant but another bonus I notice: their menu tells you where each beer is from…answering one of the most popular questions asked by people trying craft beer. If I had a nickel…

The Tap Room is another must-visit for local craft beer fans. Where do I begin? Last week I enjoyed 3 Troegs Mad Elfs from the tap for…wait for it… just 5 bucks a piece! Yea. 5 bucks. Mad Elf is pretty hard to find, and almost impossible to get for such a low price.

They too have a strong tap list and pretty good food. But, for me, what really sets the Tap Room apart is the atmosphere. In the summer, there is a large open patio with two outdoor bars, plenty of tv’s and usually, a young, calm crowd.

In the winter, the scene moves inside where you can enjoy some good local bands next to the fire. As a bit of a pyro, the fireplace there makes the Tap Room a winner in my book…especially if you’re looking for some date night ambiance…dinner by the fire? A no-brainer.

Last, but not least, Iron Hill Brewery and Restaurant makes the cut for top tier watering holes in the area. It’s a bit further away from the others but Iron Hill is certainly worth the drive.

“If we’re talking top craft bars in the area Iron Hill has to be on the list,” says home brewer Stewart Ricker. “In fact, it’s been too long since I’ve been there.”

Located in Maple Shade, Iron Hill serves their own, freshly made house beers: A pale lager, an amber lager, a Belgian, a porter and a wheat beer. Yet they have an excellent bottle list too, including some beers they brewed in conjunction with other popular brewing companies. Dark Humor, for example, is a sour chocolate porter they made with Ithaca Brewing Company.

As Jay Rose explained earlier this semester, the craft scene here in South Jersey is booming because of our location. These 5 local bars exhibit the benefits of living so close to Philadelphia and New York—brewing companies know there a market for their product here in our backyard. Let’s get out and start taking advantage of our good fortune.

How to Brew with your Buds

I don’t know about you guys but I’m a visual learner: monkey see, monkey do. So for this video post, I wanted to show the nuts and bolts of how beer is made. As you’ll see, it’s a relatively simple process– all you need are the proper ingredients, the proper tools and time…having good friends helps too. Enjoy…

Music: Ten Cent Pistol by the Black Keys

Black Friday: Beer Holiday

For most people, black Friday means rising early for deals on boots, purses, televisions, clothing and other material things…for others, it’s a beer holiday. Why? Because at Joe Canals, we decided to make it one. How? By releasing a whole bunch of exclusive beers at one time.

For weeks, we’ve been holding onto some gems like Dogfish Head Bitches Brew, Founders Breakfast Stout, Goose Island Bourbon County Stout and, of course, Troegs Mad Elf…

Brewed with cherries, honey and chocolate malts

“Come in black Friday,” has been the mantra around here. And so they did. Lining up before sunrise, taking post in a thick fog, men and women gathered to get there drink on. Here are some of the die-hards…

Then, as 9 a.m. came to pass, customers streamed through the swing doors to pre-filled growlers, cases on display and some anxious cashiers.

Fortunately, unlike the scenes played out in many a Wal-Mart that morning, everyone moved in orderly fashion, showed patience, and went home happy. Perhaps that speaks to the nature of the craft beer audience… at least in the morning.

Pairing Beer with Food

Learning which drinks pair best with certain foods can help improve any meal. Until recently, the concept applied almost exclusively to wine. Not anymore.

The microbrew boom of the 1990’s changed everything. Brewers began producing a wide variety of unique new flavors and soon, beer-food experimentation took off.

When it comes to food pairing, beer has a significant advantage over wine: flexibility. Winemakers are stuck with a singular ingredient—grapes. Brewers on the other hand have a plethora of options. The wide range of hops, malts, barley, yeast, fruits and spices available present flavors beyond the scope wine can match.

I’m new to the world of pairing but I’ve developed a few preferences already.

For example, I like to pair a hoppy beer like Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA with a burger. The bitterness of the beer contrasts a rich flavored burger well.

Recently, I tried 21st Amendment Zambo Imperial Red Ale with slow-cooked sweet sausage (thank God for crockpots). Red ales taste kind of sour on the palette but finish sweet—a perfect compliment.

Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald with steak is another personal favorite. Malty beers like Edmund tend to pair well with red meats. Don’t ask my why. I know not why my tongue fancies the combo…and I’m not questioning it.

Start experimenting. Try an IPA with something spicy or pale ale with your next salad. Let beer broaden your horizons.

A Flying Fish for the Man from Utah

The other day, an awkwardly friendly young man asked me for a beer recommendation. This guy had a perceivable sense of happiness and general goodwill emanating through his smirk and slightly raised eyebrows; I kid you not. Naturally, I was disturbed.

“I’m from Utah,” he says, as it all starts to make sense. “I’m looking for a local beer to try.”

Now I’ve never met anyone from Utah before, but I’ve heard that Mormon’s are an usually nice sort of people. I didn’t ask him about his religious preference, and I’m not saying everyone from Utah follows Joseph Smith…I’m just putting two and two together…

“What do you normally drink?” I ask. When he shrugged, I knew something light might do the trick. Quite a few beers require a bit of getting used to, like super bitter IPA’s or anything with a lot of malt. Nothing over the top for Utah…

I walked him over to the Flying Fish Extra Pale Ale. The cool thing about this beer, I find, is the balance. It’s light, but still has this nice subtle dry hop taste. The low alcohol content makes for easy drinking. In fact, according to their website, the Flying Fish Extra Pale Ale is Citizen Bank Park’s most sold craft beer.

I recommended it to the kid from Utah as a solid representation of South Jersey craft beer. I recommend it to you for the same.

Now with an exotic new blue label 🙂

Perks of Life in the Armpit

Someone once told me New Jersey is the armpit of craft beer in this country. For the longest time I assumed this was an insult, the suggestion being that somehow the craft selection available in the Garden State stinks. But after talking with Jay Rose, I’m starting to think the “armpit” is exactly where we want to be.

Jay contributes to Philly Beer Scene Magazine, his most recent piece being an interview with Pete Danford, the regional sales manager for Victory Brewing Company. He was good enough to play a bit of role reversal and sit down with me to explain what makes New Jersey such a desired market for American brewers…and why being anywhere else would stink…

A Pour House, A Wealth of Beer

Inevitably, whenever I talk about the Pour House in Westmont, someone misunderstands what I’m talking about. “The POUR House,” I clarify. “It’s a bar.”

Soon after my twenty-first birthday, a few of my co-workers invited me to the Pour House on Haddon Avenue. “Sure,” I said.

By the time we got there, the place was packed. So packed, in fact, we had to wait outside for a table to open up. Freezing our butts off in a strong December wind, listening to the house band cover the Red Hot Chili Peppers, I was sure I had made a mistake.

Fortunately though, once we were in, things started to turn around. Moving through the shoulder-to-shoulder traffic I realized the set-up there was pretty cool. Beatles posters, Dylan paraphernalia, Stones albums on the walls….I liked the vibe. But it wasn’t until I saw the tap list that I knew the wait was worth it.

Since that night, I’ve visited the Pour House about a half dozen times. The trick is getting there early. When it came time to collect some photos for this blog post, I figured I had a pretty good excuse to make another trip. This time, my buddy Brian joined me.

Pub Ho!

As usual, the tap list was excellent.

What’s on tap?

I decided to go with a Unibroue Maudite.

Now the beer selection is what has normally drawn me back to the Pour House but this time, it was curiosity about something else: the food.

I’ve never actually ordered some grub there, and my friend Brian swears by their burgers, so I decided to give one a shot. The Pour House Burger seemed the only reasonable choice.

The Pour House Burger

Looks good, right?

To be honest, it left a little to be desired. With cheese melted over grilled onions on a medium-rare burger, the Pour House Burger is essentially a French onion soup Burger: a nifty idea, but altogether average. Maybe I should have paired it with a pilsner beer, not a Belgian. The caramel flavor was just a bit much for one meal.

My recommendation: stick to the bar. You’ll be hard pressed to find such a good selection anywhere else. And get there early.

Za Ba

Thanks again Brian…

Words with Bandana, the Brewmaster

Alright, so Joey Bandana is not his real name. That would be awesome, wouldn’t it? My good friend and home brewer Joe DePasquale earns the “Bandana” nickname by sporting, confidently, a multitude of bandanas on the reg. His collection seems boundless, as does his craft beer expertise. When it came time to find a credible Q & A source within the craft business, Joe presented one of the few worthy candidates. Joe has taught me a lot about beer…and fashion….and a lot of other cool stuff. I’m thankful he squeezed in some time to answer a few of my questions.

Without further ado…

Q: So what inspired you to start brewing, Joe?

A: The world of beer and the love of beer inspired me.  I like to know how things are made and whats in them (ensuring higher quality).  Plus its a hobby where the result is beer.  I’m gonna buy it regardless might as well make it myself.

Q: Tell me a little bit about the first time you brewed. What was it?

A: My first brew was an abomination. I was going for an IPA. Didn’t work out well. It was a good first try though. I learned how not to make an IPA. And I learned not to drink too much while brewing…leads to bad results. Oh and don’t brew solo. 

Q: What are some of your favorite bars?

A: In NJ, PJs Pourhouse, great craft selection, good food, good specials.

In Philly, Barcade for the tap list and arcade games.  Kraftwork for the tap list and the food.  Standard Tap for the food and atmosphere.

Q: What are your top five favorite beers?

A: Favorite beers? That’s tough. I’ll tell you my favorite styles. Pale Ale, IPA, Tripel, Saison, English Mild. 

Q: What local brewery is the best to visit?

A: Yards is great!  Atmosphere is tops and its 5 mins from the Ben Franklin Bridge.  They have a small (5/6 things) ever changing food menu and the bar itself is made from recycled lanes of a bowling alley.  Check their website for more sustainable energy facts.

Introducing Pizza Beer

Not every beer ever made is available in the great state of New Jersey (I see why politicians say “the great state” no matter where they are; it’s fun to say). Hamstrung by myriad distribution laws, some of the coolest brews out there can only be tasted by, well, going out there (wherever that may be). Yet, every once in a while a new beer does find its way here to the Garden State and, as more of a why not kind of guy, I try to acquaint myself.

This week I have discovered a real gem: pizza beer. Yep, they make that. And of course, it’s from Chicago.

“It’s a game changer for sure,” says Jay Rose, a home brewer himself. “I don’t think I’ll ever eat pizza without it.”

Brewing companies produce most of the beers you will ever lay lips on. The term “microbrews” refers to beers made by smaller brewing companies, like Troegs and Victory, as compared to the big boys like Anheuser Busch or Heineken.

The nifty thing about Mamma Mia pizza beer is that it’s made, not by a brewing company, but by a married pair of Chicago chefs.

Tom and Athena Seefurth, having brewed before, set out to make a session ale to pair well with their favorite foods, namely pizza. They achieved the goal by using garlic, hemp seed, coriander, hot peppers, and tomatoes among other things.

Mamma Mia pizza beer pours a golden yellow, without a head (as you can see by the photo). You can definitely smell the oregano and tomato spices they used brewing it. It does fall off a bit flat after you gulp it down but that’s not really a bad thing for a beer best paired with food- you never want the beer to overwhelm the flavor of what it is you’re eating. It really is the perfect drink for pizza.

“It’s one of those niche beers,” says Adam Hogan, a co-worker of mine. “If you’re doing Italian food it’s definitely worth a try.”

Mamma Mia pizza beer will soon be available throughout the region so keep an eye out.