2011 Vintage Beer Brunch, in pictures

Memphis Taproom's 2011 Vintage Beer Brunch

Salmon Roe

watercress, rye, brown butter, dill, chicken skin

Brasserie de la Senne X-Mas Zinnebir 2009

Fried Pie

Sour cherry, green apple, cherry smoked brie, strong-ale syrup

Allagash Odyssey 2010

Jumbo Lump Crab

Truffled asparagus, burnt grapefruit, bibb, pickled egg vinaigrette

Oud Beersel Oude Geuze Vieille 2005

Wild Maine Blueberry Bread Pudding

Grade B maple syrup, juniper whipped cream, Calva-blueberry preserves

't Smisje Calva Reserva 2010

Aged Cheese: Goat, Cow, Sheep

Cave-aged Intercourse, Lagrein, Fiore Sardo

Rosemary ash, herb salad, lard fried fig

Rodenbach Grand Cru 2008

Beer Garden

Sounds like Memphis is hiring. Who wants to slang dogs and cans?

A Beer & A Song

Hill Farmstead Edward on tap at Memphis Taproom

Radio Dept - Heaven's On Fire (Live at Kexp)


image credit: Dan Cassaro

Handmade Memphis

i'll be selling some wares at "thee most righteous" memphis taproom's handmade market this saturday from 11am - 3pm. the taproom is located at memphis and cumberland streets in the richmond section of philadelphia. if you've never been they have some awesome food and a great/ever changing beer selection. buy art & drink beer. thats a good proposition for a saturday.

hope to see you there!

Go on, you deserve it

You and your liver have been working hard for Beer Week. You should treat yourself to the Three Pigs in Blankets on the Memphis Taproom's brunch menu: hearty pork sausages robed in puff pastry, served with spicy house-made maple mustard. So good.

It don't hurt that their No-Repeat Beer Week is still going strong... beers on today include Lost Abbey Serpent Stout and Coronado Idiot IPA, both worthy pairings with the aforementioned pigs.

free beer

When things should work but don't work

That's the work of ... the PLCB.*

I don't have a lot to say about the Memphis Taproom/Local 44/Resurrection Ale House raids, that hasn't already been said. You should read what Joe Sixpack said here, what Lew Bryson said here and what Bryan Kolesar said here. And, of course, I can't forget the estimable Mr. Jack Curtin's Liquid Diet post on the topic.

So in case all, like, 19 of you haven't heard about this already -- check out those links above, and revel in the glory of Pennsylvania's Kafka-esque bureaucracy.

If you read this Brog you know that we are big fans of what Brendan & Leigh are doing at their bars. Although we don't know Brendan & Leigh except as satisfied customers of their fine establishments, we wish them the best.

* Apologies to the Evens

Resurrection Ale House

Jack Curtin had the news first, and we're way late to be posting this, but it's exciting nonetheless.

Two of our favorite publicans, Leigh Maida and Brendan Hartranft of Memphis Taproom and Local 44, are preparing to open Resurrection Ale House in the building formerly occupied by Yello'bar (Catherine St. at Grays Ferry Ave.).  Klein says they'll have 12 taps and 50 bottles; otherwise this one will be a little more food-focused than Memphis & 44, which bodes well for the new place indeed -- 'cause the food at those joints is pretty great. (We previously wrote about our dining and drinking experiences at Memphis Taproom here, and Local 44 here.)

They are shooting for September, maybe just in time for this Brogger to sip a birthday beer there... 

Vintage Beer Brunch @ Memphis Taproom

This is way, way late but I've been meaning to write about the highlight of my Philly Beer Week 2009, the Memphis Taproom's Vintage Beer Brunch.

The day's moving had worked up the thirsts and appetites of your humble Broggers and the MTR did not disappoint. The concept for the brunch was to serve two vintages of a particular beer, paired with a dish from Chef Jesse Kimball.

I've always enjoyed eating at Memphis - the kitchen turns out some great comfort food. But for this brunch, Kimball really stepped up in a big way and delivered a killer 5-course tasting menu to complement owner Brendan Hartranft's beer selections.

1. Orval. Mini pancakes with speck, maple syrup and crumbled cheddar.

2. Cantillon Gueze. Smoked salmon terrine with red onion compote, fried capers and tomatoes.

3. Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter & Stone Oatmeal Stout. Shirred egg with braised beef short rib.

4. Rochefort 10, 2004 & 2008. Asparagus salad with goat cheese and blood orange.

5. Weyerbacher Lunacy & Westmalle Dubbel. Mixed cheese plate: Cypress Grove Lamb Chopper, Bear Flag Aged Monterey Jack, and Capra Sarda.

All the beers were excellent (sadly I neglected to write down the vintages of the first two courses). The Rochefort course stood out in particular; the older 2004 bottling had an appealing roundness and deep malt character that the newer bottle only hinted at, its alcohol heat overshadowing more delicate flavors. The Flying Dog Imperial Porter was also fantastic; if I remember correctly that bottle was also from 2004. The 3rd and 5th courses paired two different beers rather than a true vintage tasting, though they were similar in style.

As I mentioned above, the food was great -- showing not only a knack for creative flavor combinations, but also an eye for visually appealing dishes. (And naturally I forgot my camera.) The second course, smoked salmon terrine, was the most visually dramatic and also the most surprisingly tasty dish for me. I'm not normally a fan of smoked salmon, but in chef Kimball's hands, the fishiness of the salmon blended with creamy goat cheese, fried capers and sweet onion compote to create a harmonious whole. The Cantillon paired well, with its bracingly sour notes.

While the terrine was my favorite individual dish, the best pairing of the afternoon was the third course: the dark, velvety Flying Dog Gonzo with luxurious braised short rib and shirred egg. After such a rich course, the asparagus salad refreshed us with its bright goat cheese and vibrant blood orange. A cheese plate rounded out the meal with three generous cuts of artisanal goat, sheep and cow cheese and tasty house-made condiments.

The brunch was so good that Mal and I will be attending chef Kimball's upcoming gastropub cooking class at Fosters. Maybe we'll see you there.

Thanks to MTR co-owner Leigh Maida for helping me out with the menu information.

Spring Classes at Foster's

There are some cooking classes in the next few weeks at Foster's Homeware that will put a springtime spring in your step. We're looking forward to these:

Tonight, March 23 - Michael Solomonov of BROG favorite Zahav leads a culinary tour of Israel.

Wednesday, April 15 - Jesse Kimball of Memphis Taproom (Mal's new neighbor) demonstrates how to turn out gastropub fare at home. The three course menu will include beer pairings.

Saturday, May 2 - Brad Spence, chef de cuisine at Vetri, instructs on the dark arts of charcuterie: sausage and salumi (a subject near and dear to this Brogger's heart).

Beer Week 09 is Over. Long live Beer Week.

Had to take a few days to decompress and assess after the whirlwind that was BW 09. In between hauling large pieces of furniture to Fishtown (thanks Jim and Tim) and giving myself a blister putting together Ikea furniture I managed to get to a few events and sample some amazing beers.

Sunday after moving a couple carloads to our new place on Memphis St., Amanda (along with Julie and Christy), Tim & I just made it to Memphis Taproom in time for the Vintage Beer Brunch, to which we had reservations. My physical exhaustion gave way to elation as each course trumped the previous (salmon terrine! shirred egg with short rib!). And the beer...Oh! the beer! ('04 flying dog imperial porter! rochefort old and new!). I think Tim is trying to cobble together a more coherent post on this event so I'll just leave it at that for now.

Also, made it to Caribou Cafe for a happy hour sampling of some Bieres de Garde as well as some tartines. We tried the Ambree from Brasserie La Choulette, which the menu described as being a classic representation of the style. It was malty sweet with hints of caramel and nuts; delicious, but I think I preferred Olivia's Gavroche.

They also had a couple beers from Brasserie du Mont Blanc. Neither the blanche nor the blonde from Mont Blanc were Bieres de Garde but I decided to try one anyway. I am glad I did. The blonde was delicious. Light in body and in color, it had the crispness of a helles or a pilsner. It was the surprise of the afternoon and a beer that I will definitely be seeking out this summer.

Let's see...what else? Oh, yea there were the random nights, after rearranging furniture for hours, that Amanda and I decided to hit our new local for dinner and their 'No Repeat Beer Week'. Really enjoyed the Fuller's they were pulling from the cask, as well as the Great Divide Wee Heavy. And Amanda had a chance to savor an Obamagang just before the last keg kicked.

See also: Tim's eloquent account of our harrowing journey into the belly of the Great Northbeast.

In short, it was a crazy 10 days. Im glad the moving is done. Sad that I have to wait 12 months til PBW 2010. But that sadness is tempered. For, in this Greene Countrie Towne of ours, every week is beer week.

I'm moving to within spitting distance of Memphis Taproom!

In Mid-March (or "Middle March" or "The Ides" or however you call it) Amanda and I will be moving to a 2 bedroom rowhome in that section of the Kensington District of Philadelphia known by some as Port Fishington.


In short time I'll be able to walk a half block to the Taproom and order a half-pint, or maybe even a whole pint if I feel like it. We hope to be moved in sometime during Philly Beer Week. Woot!

Speaking of Memphis Taproom: we were there last week for a late dinner and I noticed a change on the menu. The Kielbasy Hoagie has morphed into a Kielbasy Grinder. It now comes with gruyere, sauerkraut and russian dressing on a long roll. It was no less delicious and I was no more able to finish it than before. Sampled the Twisted Thistle IPA from Belhaven. Thistle was not used in the brewing of this cloudy, golden beer. They did use hops and malt though. The hops gallop out at first sip but then the malt catches up. A well balanced beer.

I'm thinking I should look into direct-depositing some of my paycheck each week straight into Memphis Taproom's bank account. That would save the processing fees...and some paper.

The Art of the Well Poured Pint

It is our belief that Philadelphia is the best beer city on the eastern coast of these United States. It seems that every other week a new beer bar opens in a different neighborhood. But just because we're the best doesn't mean there isn't room for improvement. We've been to quite a few ale houses, taprooms, saloons, birrerie and brewpubs in this fair city. We've encountered our fair share of headless pints, overfilled to the point of spilling. It's always a shame to witness the waste of all that tasty foam. On the other hand we've also seen an impatient draftsman completely ruin an Irish stout (the resultant pint consisted of more head than pint and the unlucky patron was forced to give the bartender a crash course in pouring a nitro beer). But we broggers are not here to denigrate. We are for to celebrate the best this city has to offer. To those who cannot pull a pint, who do not let their Guiness settle to perfection: allow us to put you on the road to recovery. Go to these establishments to learn how the professionals do it. We hereby present an incomplete, entirely informal and utterly biased guide to "The Best Pints in Philadelphia."

The Bards - a religious Guinness experience.
Grace Tavern - Reese (aka the best bartender in the city) will have you "covered like a blanket," which is a good thing.
Memphis Taproom/Local 44 - They pull the handpump to great effect.
Standard Tap - Consistently excellent. Check out their firkin wednesdays.
The 700 Club - Knowledgeable staff and delicious beer served properly in the appropriate glassware. Also, there's futbol on the telly.


We will be adding others to the list as they come to mind. In the meantime, we put it to you: where do you go for the perfect pint?