Volume 4 | Issue 3 - Origlio Beverage

time hanging with the Lagunitas guys, sippingIPA and counting the hours until sunup.Events are spread across the five countiesso if you live out in the suburbs, there areplenty of opportunities. Take a look at thewebsite’s locations tab and set a date tomeet Bobo from Chimay or drink GreenFlash Hop Head Red in Delaware, Montgomery,Bucks and Chester counties. Ifyou live in the city or have time to venturethere, I highly suggest it. Most of theevents and the majority of the participatingvenues are in the city proper. The venuesare spread across the whole city with concentrationsin Center City and beer savvyneighborhoods like East Passyunk, Fairmount,Northern Liberties, Graduate Hospital,Manayunk and Fishtown.Beer Week events are held in bars from theupper reaches of Montgomery County toSouth Philly and from West Chester to OldeCity. Variety lies in the types of events thatare organized. There are the kick-off festivitiesthat include the Hammer of Gloryas it makes its way through the city frombar to bar on its way to the Opening Tap.There, it will be used by the Mayor to tapthe ceremonial first keg. The Opening Tapalso celebrates our region’s local breweriesand is a great place to enjoy Iron Hilland Brassier Dupont’s collaboration beer,Spéciale Belge. The beer was brewed inBelgium at the iconic brewery with thebrewmaster of the local brewpub.There are events surrounding special beers,styles of beer and particular breweries.There will be plenty of events focused solelyon the collaboration between Dupontand Iron Hill. Brewery focused events,for example, are a great way to meet GreatLakes Brewmaster, Luke Purcell and appreciatethe wide range of products hebrews. Events can focus on a particularstyle, like pilsner that will give the drinkeran opportunity to compare and contrast aGerman Pils like Sly Fox Pikeland witha Czech style like Oskar Blues Mamma’sLittle Yella.Events are also set up to showcase the camaraderiethat exists in the craft beer community.Going to a “Beers of California”themed event is a great opportunity to enjoygreat beer and discuss with the brewersthemselves how Firestone Walker and SierraNevada influence and inspire each other.These experiences are good examplesof pay-as-you-go events where entrance isfree and you only pay for what you eat ordrink. Flat fee events, by contrast, cost acertain amount and you are generally onlyon the hook for a tip after the up-front ispaid. The most popular type of flat feeevent is a beer dinner. Dinners are a greatway to meet Shane from Sixpoint, sample afew of his beers and see how well they pairwith food during a multi-course feast. Or,be entertained by the animated Jim Koch asyou feast on fresh tuna paired with NoblePils. There are also many different educationalevents where you can learn anythingfrom what cask conditioned ales are fromChris Wilson, Weyerbacher’s brewer, to thereason why you want bacteria in your spontaneouslyfermented beer from Rob Tod ofAllagash. On a less serious note, there areplenty of zany happenings like dunk tanks,eating contests and tests of knowledge.Trust me when I tell you, it is a ton of funto run 5 miles with your belly full of 21stAmendment Watermelon Wheat.Philly Beer Week truly has something foreveryone, at any time of day, in many locations.From sing-alongs for the kids to beerthemed strolls through historic parts of thecity. You can be having dinner with yourfather at a four-star restaurant enjoying aGreat Divide Chocolate Yeti at 7 PM anddancing with your friends to a punk rockDJ, swigging an Abita Purple Haze by 10PM. There is too much for any one personto endure, but it’s ok. PBW will be backnext June and you will have another 10days to indulge.9