Mug Warrior

I did not know exactly how to categorize this particular passage. There are categories regarding breweries, seasonal, and a general category about the site. How does the common beer drinker, nay the common man in today’s society navigate his way to higher learning about beer? We may provide the words, but we do not provide the squeeze. We do not make available the internet bourgeois, a guide to sample or dabble in these fine goods because our site does not have the category labeled “BEER STORES” or “DISTRIBUTORS.” Well I tell you my fellow serfs; it is my purpose in this particular blog to shed such light on where we may find many of the beers we discuss on Mugwarrior.

Today’s topic…The Foodery. If you are familiar with or frequent The Foodery, this is all old hat to you, so I recommend perusing the rants of Tim and his many Victorious moods. If you know not of the The Foodery, then continue to read. “The Foodery is located at 10^th and Pine street in downtown Philadelphia; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for those of you from Mississippi. It is the beer addict’s kingpin. It is where I have discovered and experimented with many of the beers I have tried in my life. It is where I was able to sooth the cravings of my wheat beer desires with the likes of Franziskaner, and Paulaner. It is where I was able to try the many different varieties of Chimay, only to realize the only good one is the expensive one. Sadly, The Foodery’s massive inventory has also fooled me into thinking that all beer is good. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury exhibit A…Aass Beer. Fortunately, a Guinness chaser was all that was needed to soothe the disappointment of a less than tasty beer. (If you have a different or similar experience with the Aass, please reply to this blog.) OK, no more writing, I am now thirsty and thinking about a trip to The Foodery…takers?

Update: We added a distributors category since this one was written.

Victory Brewing Company is by far my favorite microbrew. With the exception of their HopDevil (I don’t like it hoppy), I have loved nearly all of their beers. Their brewpub is pretty good too. The jalapeño-crab poppers are amazing.

The thing I’ve noticed about their beers however is the names. They are varied and creative. I had originally thought they were just silly names, but I have come to think that they are more than that. Each beer I have tried from Voctory seems to have a unique effect on me. The Golden Monkey (by far my favorite of all beers) tends to make me a bit goofy and stumbly. On occasion I have wondered if this was the inspiration for the Drunken Monkey fighting style. What brought me to this conclusion however is when I tried the Old Horizontal. An awesome beer, as I was drinking it I couldn’t fight the urge to lay down. I tried not to, I wasn’t tired, I just wanted to lay down. Then there was the St. Boisterous. Most who know me would agree that I need little help getting rowdy, but when I was drinking this delight, I was louder and more exuberant that normal.

Bottom line, the names aren’t just fun, they’re descriptive of the mood that your night is going to take when you drink them. I think I’m going to go pick up a case of their Dr. Decibals Brown Ale. Better warn the neighbors.

Ho Hos and the Yule Log you say? About three years ago, I was browsing through the world famous “Foodery” at 10^th and Pine in Philly. Just in case you did not click on the link yet, here it is again, www.fooderybeer.com. I will talk more about the “Foodery” later because I do not want to egregiously digress. As I am browsing through the many deli style refrigerators healthily stocked with the finest barley water in the world, I happen to come across a tempting selection: Cosendonk Christmas Ale in a 25 ounce bottle. I happen to be quite pleased with Cosendonk’s other beers so I figured to give it a try. I will spare you the aficionado’s review and analysis, but I will just say that it is excellent. Not necessarily in the “have one everyday, Yuengling Lager” sense, but definitely in the “stare at the open fridge and wonder what I am in the mood for” sense. The Christmas Ale bottle becomes somewhat of a tradition in my household. My wife and I usually buy a bottle around November and cork it (the bottle I mean) on New Year’s Eve. So three years later, I am drifting around the Exton area, actually I was commencing and completing Christmas shopping for my wife, and I walk into a beer distributor and find a case of this stuff. So I buy it, and now it is September and I still have some left. So I bring two up, pour them into the appropriate glassware, hand one off to Tim, and we drink.

Next blog will be about the Foodery.

I was introduced to Pumpkin Ale’s several years ago and was immediately enamored with them. I was drinking Dogfishhead Punkin Ale (which was brewed in celebration of the annual Punkin Chunkin even in Milmont, Delaware. It tasted like a pumpkin pie in a glass. It was heavenly. Jarrod and I drank it with dinner, desert, and waking up the next morning in possesion of a growler of it, for breakfast too. In recent years the flavor seemed to go down hill, I may have out grown it, it just wasn’t the same though. I desperately wanted to find something as good as that first year.

The other day I picked up a case of their Imperial Pumpkin Ale by Weyerbacher. Weyerbacher is quickly becoming one of my favourite breweries, convenient given they are local to me (located in Easton, PA). After the Blithering Idiot incident, which is a story for another time, my interest in this crafter was peaked and have had made it a point to sample some of their beers at any opportunity I might get. Seeing this Ale on the shelf of a local distributor I couldn’t resist. Untasted, I took the case to the counter.

The label of each bottle bears a menacing Jack O’Lantern holding his scepter high, cape flowing. Behind the king lies sit his court of pumpkins, looking terrified. It’s a fairly dark label. I could tell I was in for a treat suiting the halloween season coming soon. It did not disappoint.

The beer itself has a dark orange, tending almost to red, color to it, with a thin, light orange head. It smells strongly of spice. While drinking it leaves a very thin amount of lacing down the glass. Not heavy at all despite it’s earthy spice and pumpkin flavours, it is definitly drinkable. It warms the stomach and the body, given it’s higher than normal ABV, and makes one thing it would probably be perfect for taking the bite out of the october air. Cold this beer is good, but I prefer to leave the bottle out for about twenty minutes before pouring since I find the warmer temperatures really bring out the flavor of this beer. This beer is definitly a suitable replacement for that Punkin Ale, and I am happy to have made it’s acquaintance.

I have recently moved and have been frequenting the local take-out. Every time I would go, a certain beer caught my eye. I never tried it until tonight. The beer is Black Dog Ale, an English style amber ale by Spanish Peaks. I bought a six-pack and brought it to a small get together. Being a dog lover myself, I admire anyone who names their beers after their dog. The beer was smooth with chocolaty hints. If you are ever undecided on a beer and Black Dog is available, I would definitely check it out. It may not become your favorite, but it’s not going to sit in your fridge as long as that left over Chinese food from 2 weeks ago.

Welcome to Mug Warrior. Its a blog about beer. My friends and I are going to be writing about beer. Its the perfect excuse to talk about beer and drink beer and go to beer events. Sign up for the RSS feed. There’s sure to be a lot of great stuff showing up. The site’s going to grow really quickly.