Monthly Archives: November 2015

Newportville Inn

Beer Bar, Beer Tastings, , , , , , , ,

005Newportville Inn
Facebook     Twitter @newportvilleinn

This Gal has been to the Newportville Inn numerous times over the years but it had been a while since my last visit and thought it time to see what’s what. Glad to say nothing much has changed. It’s still a German place through and through. With an outside beer garden, German food and excellent selection of German beers on tap along with a few craft beers too. Oh and let’s not forget the German music playing or the complimentary pretzel nuggets accompanied by the house made mustard on each table. The mustard is wonderful and was a perfect accompaniment to the Paulaner Weiss I enjoyed.

The Inn sits in a large old stone building that seems like it was once someone’s homestead and has that wonderful old world feel to it. You first step into an enclosed porch area that now serves as the waiting area on crowded nights and I believe it’s safe to say they utilize this spot quiet often. From the porch you walk into the bar area. The bar itself is a good size and sits in the middle of the room with fireplaces and tables on either side. The room is very dark and cozy to begin with add in lit fireplaces in the winter time and you have a perfect spot to sit back, relax and stay warm. There’s a long porch/dining area on the other side of the bar and another dining room across from the bar as well. The Inn can hold a lot of folks but because of the lay out is able to maintain a warm personable feel. The one drawback is parking. Even on not so crowded nights parking can be a bit of a challenge but don’t let this sway you from visiting Newportville Inn. The German beer selection alone is worth a visit with 17 German beers on tap plus a hard cider if that’s your thing and the beer is dispensed via ceramic German beer towers.

Potato Pancakes
Potato Pancakes
Schweine Braten

 

Keeping in mind this is a German establishment the menu is heavy on German selections but does offer a few vegetarian options as well. My companion and I decided to go full German on this particular evening with both beer and food. Food: Turtle soup, pierogies, potato pancakes and Schweine Braten.

 

Weiss
Weiss

Paulaner Weiss 5.5% – crisp and refreshing with hints of orange to accent the wheat.

Paulaner Salvator Doppel Bock 7.9% – Yes, yes, yes! There’s a reason this Gal named one of her cats after this beer – Salvator – because it’s an amazing! Truly a favorite that I rarely see on tap. I love the combo of caramel roasted malts with hints of chocolate and hops. This beer has been brewed for over 375 years so you know their doing something right.

Next time you’re in need of some time away but your wallet says otherwise spend and evening visiting Germany at the Newportville Inn.

Salvator
Salvator

If you’re looking to make a day of it two of this Gal’s favorite breweries are just down the street from Newportville Inn –  Neshaminy Creek Brewing and Broken Goblet Brewery.

 

2nd Story Brewing Company

Beer Tastings, Brewery Reviews, Brewpub Reviews, Uncategorized, , , , ,

0022nd Story Brewing Company
Facebook  Twitter @2ndStoryBrewing

2nd Story Brewing Company is a welcome addition to the Philadelphia beer scene and with so many great beer options in the city of Brotherly Beer to choose from you might skip over one of the newer kids but I recommend you stop and check them out.

2nd Story has a rustic industrial feel to it with a long bar that takes up most of the wall to the right and multiple sitting areas throughout the downstairs. Something I absolutely loved (besides the beer) is the space between tables. Yes, the owners could  have fit in several more tables but instead chose to leave lots of breathing room between tables which gives each group/table a sense of privacy. Such a welcomed retreat from overcrowded dining areas.

There’s also an upstairs which is where the brewing takes place hence the name 2nd

Tilted Barn Farmhouse Burger
Tilted Barn Farmhouse Burger

Story. ; ) There’s also a smaller bar and some dining table upstairs which makes for a perfect spot for a private party.  On this particular night the area was empty and all the action was taking place on the main floor including a birthday celebration for a special someone – my awesome nephew! So happy my brother chose 2nd Story to celebrate his son’s 23rd birthday at.

Falafel
Falafel

2nd Story is a full service restaurant/bar with a diverse and tasty food menu and excellent service provided by Kelly. The beer selections are diverse as well and really offer something for everyone’s beer taste. During this Gal’s visit there were 10 beers on tap and one can do a flight of 4 5 oz pours for $8.50 (pints and growlers are also available) Naturally, this Gal chose to go with a taster round.

005Who Dunnit American Pale Ale 4.5% Hops, with odd after taste, sort of a dank funkiness mixed with herbs.

Pickers Pride Wet Hopped Ale 5%
One can taste the cascade hops in this nicely brewed ale. More and more this Gal is enjoying wet hopped beers.

Berliner Weisse 3.8%
Sour German wheat beer with a good amount of tartness that is counterbalanced by a saltiness.  You have a choice of it being served with raspberry or pomegranate syrup.

Fest Beer Oktoberfest 6.4%
A true classic Oktoberfest beer with earthy and sweet malts, hints of toffee and hops.

After the taster round was drained and the dinner consumed the group chose their dessert choices. Dessert for this Gal was a full goblet of Great Pumpkin Porter.

Great Pumpkin Porter 7.3%
This is a great combo of pumpkin spices, malt, vanilla and hints of a rum flavoring. Very clean, smooth and subtle pumpkin.  The house-made doughnut dessert is served with a small taster of the this porter and compliments the dessert nicely.

Small taste of Adsultium IIPA American Double IPA 8%
Yup, lots of hops and rightly so. Although, the honey helps to balance the hops.

Great Pumpking Porter
Great Pumpkin Porter

Overall 2nd Story Brewing Company is a great addition to the Philly Beer Scene. Located in Old City one could easily make it a stop on a beer crawl since it’s located across the street from Eulogy and around the corner from Khyber Pass.

Prism Brewing Company

Beer Tastings, Brewery Reviews, , , ,

FullSizeRenderqPrism Brewing Company
Facebook  Twitter @prismbeer

Go around to the back. No, really go to the back of the abandon looking building where you think nothing will be and you’ll have arrived at Prism Brewing Company. You’ll also feel as if you  entered something from a 70’s campy scream flick. Yea, Prism Brewing Company can be confusing to find and looks a bit sketchy from out the outside which makes it all that much more appealing.

Inside has a somewhat throwback biker/dive bar feel to it with several tables and a long wooden bar, dark atmosphere and arcade games. The bar overlooks the brewing floor but  when we towards the end of our stay and that added a nice touch to the atmosphere and livened things up a bit. Although, I have to say the glass overlooking the brewing floor was in dyer need of a good cleaning.

A limited bar menu is available from the “kitchen” behind bar and there are various weeknight specials too. FREE Bacon (take note House of Skip) on Wednesdays.

I was astonished to find out they have been in business for 5 years since I really just starting hearing about them in the last 6 or 7 months. It was at a recent beer festival that I had the pleasure of trying their Felony . It’s a Double IPA that was so smooth and coming in at 10% also a bit scary. This beer alone is the main reason I sought out Prism Brewing Company.

Since I had already had the pleasure of trying the Felony I decided on this visit  to try a few others from the 8 beers on tap. One can do a full taster of all 8 beers or half, plus pints are available as well. I went for the half taster since I had to drive – safety first.

FullSizeRender3ParTea Pale Ale 5.5%
This is an English pale ale brewed with black tea which you can really taste. An unique flavor with the tea overshadowing the malts and hops a bit but over all an enjoyable beer.

Funkzlia 6.6%
Light sour with spices and a maple syrup finish.

Mason’s Porter 4.8%
FullSizeRender6Hazelnut Coffee Porter – delish. My fellow beer taster for this trip tends to shy away from porters but loved this beer. The hazelnut is upfront and wonderfully rounded out by chicory, roasted malts and a ever so slight hint of vanilla.

Red Zone 6.6%
Fall Spiced Irish Red Ale with Spiced Sugar Rim – Yes a Spiced Sugar Rim! I wasn’t sure if I would like that but it was so tasty.  This is fall in a glass with all the spices you associate with the season, maple syrup and brown sugar. Make sure to get it with the sugar rim!

FullSizeRender2Prism Brewing Company is not far from Round Guys Brewing and this Gal highly recommends making an afternoon of it and visiting both breweries.