I wouldn't wish this on my worst Enemy

Imagine waking up one day and not enjoying the taste of beer. After years of enjoying beer, you now can't even stand the smell of it. For beer lovers like me, that would be my ultimately nightmare. One that I NEVER want to experience, nor wish upon anyone. I went to dinner with my Grandmother the other night at the Tortilla Press Fajita Night and found out she no longer loves beer, and thinks it taste like a "bar floor." For over 30 years she drank her 6 ounce Budweiser's from a can. While some drink tea before bed, my grandmother considers a small beer her treat. Unfortunately that is no longer the case. Whenever I go to the Tortilla Press I always ask the server what they have on tap, wishing one time she'll mention something that spikes my interest. As she was listing the beers I noticed they had a Summer Seasonal that wasn't Sam Adam's. I thought for sure I would go with this beer until I learned it was a Bock beer. Because I was enjoying Mexican food I went with the Modelo Lager which is a nice fine dark Mexican brew. It was then that I learned of my Grandmother's "condition." While enjoying my beer, she asked to take a sip, but didn't enjoy it. Although she didn't enjoy it that doesn't mean I didn't, and thankfully I went another day enjoying beer.

A Price I could not Refuse

The past few days I've been craving a Yards IPA. The Yards IPA is one of the better IPAs I've had and I feel it's is an underrated beer. In my opinion Yards Brewing Company is not as mentioned and popular as some of the other breweries in the Philadelphia/NJ area. I went to PJs Maple Shade Saturday night and thought I was going to squash my craving when I saw Yards was on tap. Unfortunately, it wasn't the Yards IPA, but the Yards Pale Ale. Although their Pale Ale is another one of my favorites, I enjoy their IPA much better, and this is a beer I can get at the next ballgame I go too. After thinking it over, I planned on ordering a draft of the Pale Ale, however when I saw they had $2.75 Blue Moon drafts, how could I pass up such a good deal. I love microbeers, but at times I find the prices of these beers a bit high. Having to pay $5 to $6 for a draft seems a bit high when I see products like Miller or Bud going much cheaper. I understand these smaller breweries produce much smaller batches than larger beer companies, but I always enjoy a bar that had draft microbeer beer specials. The Blue Moon was delicious and having it at such a low price was great (even if I wasn't paying). Does anyone know of a good bar that sells Microbeers at reasonable prices - even if it's just for happy hour.

If your wondering, I ended up squeezing the orange into the beer.

Two Brews at the Ballpark

Earlier this week I decided I would sell my Phillies tickets for Friday, June 24. With my furniture being delivered Saturday, and attending this upcoming Thursday game against Boston, I figured I could use the night to get my place set up. This season, I've sold a lot more of my Phillies tickets than I've done in years past. I guess this is the sacrifice that many say you have to make when you become a homeowner. For games I've listed for sale this season, I never had an issue unloading the tickets. But somehow I had a difficult time selling these tickets. Once 2 PM Friday hit, and I still had the tickets I decided to would go to the game regardless of what I originally planned. I got down to the stadium, and wanted to limit the amount of beer I would drink considering I would be driving home. I ended up drinking two beers: Shocktop without an Orange, and Bud Light Wheat. I've had the shocktop at the game before and mentioned this is a great beer to drink on a hot summer night, however I never had the Bud Wheat. One of the things I enjoy about the Phillies games is the large aluminum cans Bud and Miller products are sold in. These bottles are kept in ice and keep the beer so cold. My only complaint would be that I wish they sold some of my favorite microbeers in these bottles. Surprisingly, I enjoyed the bud wheat, but there's not much to say than this is an average wheat beer. I've had better, but it was solid and enjoyable. It was extremely cold and had more taste than a Bud Light. I was surprised I went with this beer choice, however this was served in one of the shorter beer lines, which factored into my decision.

No, I didn't stop drinking

It's been some time since my last post, and with many asking me why I haven't posted I wanted to clear the air. No, I haven't given up drinking and become sober, however I've been very busy with moving into my condo. Plus, I don't have cable or the Internet set up, and I haven't figuredout a way I can blog on my Iphone. My lack of blogs this past week was also in relation to my lack of beer drinking I've done. I did manage to drink some beer this weekend despite not having a drink since the week before. Although I still do not have Internet access I will try to get several blogs the next few days most likely posting during my lunch break, or stopping by my parents place. In the meantime, keep drinking and check back.

Yours Truly,
H Loves Beer

A Steakhouse Without Steak

This past Sunday was Father's Day, and I'm sure many of you decided to take your father out to dinner. My plans that night were no different and I had made reservations at Haddonfield's newest steakhouse Ralic's as most dads love steak. For the past month I've heard much about this place, and even noticed there were articles on Philly.com about the opening. I was especially intrigued to try the food as the chef, Ed Battaglia, was one of the finalists from the show Hell's Kitchen. I believe Haddonfield is considered a "dry" town and although this restaurant did not have a bar, they did allow for BYOB. Earlier that day I had stopped at the Wilco to pick up a bottle of wine for dinner, and yes I even planned to drink some. I doubt I would have had a full glass, but I would have tried it, and absolutely reviewed it.

Unfortunately, I couldn't tell you how the restaurant was as they were out of steak. Let me rephrase, they were out of the Fillet and Porterhouse, which eliminated several items from their menu. Yes folks, a steakhouse was out of steak. When I was in High School I did work at a Lone Star Steakhouse and do understand at times restaurants run out food, especially if it's Father's Day and a much publicized restaurant's opening weekend. I was disappointed that they were out of the more popular cuts, however my real disappointment derived from the lack of communication we got from the restaurant and it's staff. It wasn't until we were seated and being served water that the manager or owner came over to inform us of the bad news. My thought is that if I make reservations through Open Table, you have my phone number listed, and perhaps as a courtesy you can give me a call regarding the shortage. Or, perhaps they could have told us that they were out of certain meats when Lauren called to inform the hostess we were running late. Or, maybe when we walked into the restaurant, and prior to being seated we could have been told then. My point is there were plenty instances where we could have been informed, and being notified after you've read the menu and made a choice is frustrating.

When we found out they were out of steak, my life quickly turned into an IPhone commercial as I pulled out the phone and made reservations at Seasons 52. Thankfully we were able to get reservations on such short notice, and within minutes we were at the restaurant being seated. I've only been here once before, and remembered drinking Flying Fish; I don't remember the kind of beer though. Although they did offer Flying Fish, as I glanced over the menu I saw one of my favorite IPAs: Yards IPA. The color of the beer, and the smooth hoppy taste goes down well. Almost of smooth of Keith Stone (for those Keystone light drinkers). Despite this beer being poured from a bottle instead of a draft, I couldn't tell the difference, which is a plus. I did notice they had a Samuel Smith Organic Lager, which I would have tried if they didn't offer Yards. An organic beer seems like a cool concept, especially with the restaurant being so health conscious. I do want to point out that we had remarkable service at Seasons, and I was quite surprised how a night that started off poor became an awesome one. If you don't go to Season's for the beer, definitely go for the food.

Crabs and a side of Yeungling

The one benefit of living in New Jersey is you're never too far from getting Maryland Blue crabs. I first experienced blues while attending college in York, PA. Because of York's close proximity to Maryland, we had many student's from Baltimore who LOVE sharing crabs; that sounded dirty. Regardless, eating crabs isn't just a meal, its an activity, and when eating them nothing goes better than a cold beer to wash it down. Especially when they are covered with Old Bay.

When I was at school and ate crabs I would drink a beer called Natty Boh. Natty Boh is a Baltimore based beer that honestly tastes horrible, and ranks at the near bottom of beers. It reminds me of a Natural or Milwaukee light but much worst. Despite this beer being disgusting, Baltimore residents have such pride and find this beer amazing. I guess if it's brewed in your own backyard you have no choice but to enjoy it? As a marketing plan, the Natty Boh logo knows everything that has to do about Maryland. The next time your down at the harbour look for the t shirts of this beer. You'll notice them by the winking face that will remind you of a pirate, and have the famous saying Boh knows best. Boh apparently knows everything from O's baseball to Maryland Terps.

Last night, I ended up getting All-You-Can-Eat-Crabs, not in Maryland but in New Jersey. Where? I'm not really sure of the town, but know the name of the bar is called Babes Village Inn. This bar is truly unique as it has a tribute to Sally Starr next to the bathroom, and has a wicked velvet Willie Nelson painting. After our hour drive we were finally able to park in the dirt lot to meet up with the rest of the group. Although this place serves food, it's mainly a bar, and I noticed the group ordered pitchers of Yeungling lager. The Yeungling paired well with the crabs, and even if they had an IPA or some microbeer on tap, I don't think I would have strayed from the PA brewed beer. Eating the crabs covered in Old Bay will dry you out so you need to make sure you are drinking plenty of beer.

Through the course of the night we devoured buckets of crabs, and several Yeungling pitchers. By the time we were done I was bloated and exhausted when all the salt, and decided to end the night. I didn't drink any other beer Saturday night.

Was I that Thirsty or was the Beer that Good?

By the time I went for lunch, I was so thirsty. I'm not sure how, but I didn't have anything to drink Saturday morning, and by the time I went to lunch I felt like I've been walking the Sahara for days. I was that parched. Because I'm a great grandson, I decided to visit and bring my grandmother lunch. Afterwards, I needed food myself, and Laur and I ended up at an authentic Mexican restaurant in the Northeast: Las Margaritas. No disrespect to Chef Mark and The Tortilla Press in Pennsauken, but going to a traditional Mexican restaurant is always a great meal. After being seated I needed a frosty beer and saw they had Dos XX Amber on draft, which is the beer I usually drink at the Press. My first beer came with a nice head, and I was shocked to see a lime on the side. Normally, when I see a lime it's because I'm drinking a Corona or a light beach beer, not a dark Amber beer. Feeling the lime, I decided to flick the lime into the beer and watched the lime bubble up or carbonate my beer. I mentioned being thirsty because I drank my first beer like water. Yes, I drank it that quick. It reminded of the saying I saw on t-shirts in Mexico: Save Water Drink Beer. As I was looking to do a light lunch, I really only wanted one beer, but the beer was that damn good I ordered a second. Or maybe I was really thirsty. As I was leaving the restaurant I did notice a really cool Coor's light Neon sign that I've posted below. Many of the sports bars I've been too have the same Coor's light sign that has the NFL logos. However, as this was a Mexican bar that must enjoy soccer, their Coor's light sign had all the soccer teams. I'm not much of a soccer fan, but I was impressed with this neon.