What Beer Goes Best With Crow?

The staff of American Public House Review are well aware of President Obama’s penchant for a good brew. We chronicled that particular predilection during his campaign visit to the Bethlehem Brew Works in 2008. We are pleased to discover that his fondness for the juice of the barley has been incorporated into public policy. The latest beneficiaries of his beer tap diplomacy are Sergeant James Crowley of the Cambridge Police Department and Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates Jr.. Both gentlemen have been invited to the White House for a beer.

The question is which selection of suds will best  smooth over the  ruffled feathers, and what beer goes best with crow?

Here are three offerings from the editors of American Public House Review:

• We suggest beginning the session by serving Thomas Jefferson’s Tavern Ale from Yards Brewing of Philadelphia. What better way to begin any meeting at the White House, than to honor the man whose very words helped to establish the rights and freedoms of this great nation. And with an ABV: of 8.0%  one can quickly undo any prevailing tensions.
• Next we recommend some Loose Cannon Ale from Baltimore’s  Clipper City Brewing. This is the perfect mea culpa malt beverage, when one needs to atone for expressing themselves without the benefit of having all the facts.
• And finally we would close this historic gathering with a pint of  Benevolence, a unique variation  of a Belgian lambic from the Cambridge Brewing Company. Not only would this properly honor the contributions to the  community by both Sergeant Crowley and  Professor Gates; but with an ABV: of  12.6%, that which some might be reluctant to forgive – will most certainly be forgotten!

Posted by: Chris Poh

The Tavern at the Sergeantsville Inn

On Black Friday, I ignored shopping invitations from Mr. Macy & Mr. Gimble and whiled away the afternoon talking and taking photos in the warm & cozy tavern of the historic Sergeantsville Inn with APHR cohorts Chris Poh and Ed Petersen, as well as friend Don “Juan” Garrido. The Sergeantsville Inn is quietly situated in the heart of rural, yet posh Hunterdon County, New Jersey, ranked as America’s wealthiest suburban county in 2007.

Don Juan Garrido Sipping a Guinness © Kathleen Connally

Sergeantsville was first called Skunktown because it served as a market center for skunk pelts in the late 1700s, but was renamed in 1827 for Charles Sergeant, a local landowner and Revolutionary War soldier. The Sergeantsville Inn was originally built as a private home but was later used as a grain & feed store, a grocery store and an ice cream parlor.

Old Speckled Hen Tap © Kathleen Connally

While I was sipping on a beautifully poured pint of Old Speckled Hen, Chris mentioned that a section of the handsome stone structure once served as the town’s ice house, and that some of the Inn’s staff have experienced ghostly encounters in that part of the building.

I was thrilled to learn that Ed is researching and writing a full story about the Sergeantsville Inn for an upcoming issue of APHR, where he’ll interview the employees about their adventures with the shadows and spectres that live there.  I’m looking forward to Ed’s story and to returning to the tavern later this month as I search for the Ghost of Christmas Present.

Chris Poh in the Ice House © Kathleen Connally

– Written & Posted by Kathleen Connally

Pumpkin Ales – Get ‘Em While Ye Can!

Pumpkins & Haybales © Kathleen Connally

In colonial America, English barley was costly and difficult to obtain, so brewers searched for an alternative ingredient for their ales.   Lo and behold – the indigenous & abundant pumpkin fit the bill.

Many of today’s brewers have revived the technique and incorporate roasted pumpkin into their ales.  Some of the ales include cinnamon, cloves or nutmeg and taste rather spicy; others rely upon the sweetness & aroma of roasted pumpkin.   

The Beer Advocate has a list of over 200 pumpkin ales, with some obvious standouts according to user reviews: 

• Pumking Pumpkin Ale, Southern Tier Brewing Company
• Schlafly Pumpkin Ale, Saint Louis Brewing Company
• Kuhnhenn All Hallows Ale, Kuhnhenn Brewing Company
• Great Pumpkin Ale, Cambridge Brewing Company
• Cottonwood Pumpkin Spiced Ale, Carolina Beer Company
• Fisherman’s Pumpkin Stout, Cape Ann Brewing Company
• Night Owl Pumpkin Ale, Elysian Brewing Company
• Dogfish Head Punkin Ale, Dogfish Head Brewery
• Screamin’ Pumpkin Spiced Ale, Michigan Brewing Company
• Saranac Pumpkin Ale, Matt Brewing Company

(If you’ve tried any of these, I’d love to hear your thoughts.)

Pumpkin ales are seasonal, so don’t hesitate!  Thanksgiving is the perfect time to try a few - otherwise you may have to wait until fall of 2009.

Written & posted by Kathleen Connally

Beer Pairings for Thanksgiving Dinner

Black Turkey © Kathleen Connally

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and if you’re looking to pair beer with a traditional turkey dinner party, help is on the way courtesy of Fred Tasker at the Dallas Morning News:

Aperitif

As guests arrive, hand them something crisp and cold, light as air. They sip and whet their appetites, but don’t fill up. The world’s lagers are made for this.

•Stiegl Goldbrau Premium Lager, Stieglbrewery, Salzburg, Austria, alcohol not listed: bright golden color, big, creamy head, light flavors of malt and hops; $3.19 per 1-pint- 9-ounce bottle.

Hors d’oeuvres 

As you pass around the canapes, you give your guests pale ales, somewhat fuller in body, hoppier, able to deal with shrimp with sauce, cheese balls and the like.

•Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, California, 5.6 percent alcohol: amber in color, full-bodied, malty, hoppy, spicy; $1.60 per 12-ounce bottle.

•Lagunitas Maximus India Pale Ale, California, 7.5 percent alcohol: deep amber, brutally hoppy, with flavors of pine and citrus; $3.99 per 1 pint, 6-ounce bottle.

Dinner 

For the full, complex, fatty flavors of an all-out Thanksgiving main course, you want a muscular beer, with the hops and alcohol to cut through. The category called Belgian-style strong ales works here.

•Collaboration Not Litigation Ale, Colorado, 8.99 percent alcohol: dark brown color, sturdy beige head, starts fruity, then the powerful alcohol kicks in. It’ll handle Cajun turkey, even red meat; $8.49 per 1-pint, 6-ounce bottle.

•Ommegang Brewery Rare Vos Belgian-Style Amber Ale, Cooperstown, N.Y., 6.5 percent alcohol: coppery color, fruity, spicy, muscular, flavors of burnt sugar; $5.79 per 1-pint, 9.4-ounce bottle.

Dessert 

With beer, as with wine, the drink should be sweeter than the dessert. The following will handle pecan or pumpkin pies.

•Dogfish Head Punkin Ale, Delaware, 7 percent alcohol: a full-bodied brown ale brewed with real pumpkin, brown sugar, allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg, it tastes like all of them; $10.49 per 4-pack.

•Rogue Chocolate Stout, Ore., 7 per cent alcohol: Yes, they add real imported chocolate to the brew, plus oats and hops, and it tastes like all of its ingredients, with the smooth power of alcohol and a bittersweet finish; $5.79 per 1-pint, 6-ounce bottle.

Digestif 

When you mellow out after the meal, watching the game, you need something big, rich, soft and sweet to settle your stomach.

•Dogfish Head Raison d’Extra Ale, Delaware, 18 percent alcohol a big, brown ale brewed with of malt, brown sugar and raisins; $6.25 per 12-ounce bottle.

•Great Divide Brewing Old Ruffian Barleywine-Style Ale, Colorado, 10.2 percent alcohol: smooth, sweet fruit and caramel flavors give way to powerful hops; $5.29 per 1 pint, 6 ounce bottle.

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(If you get this far,  I hope you’ve taken your guests’ car keys and have the local cab company’s phone number handy.)

 Article by Fred Tasker / Links Kathleen Connally

– Posted by Kathleen Connally

American Public House Review celebrates first anniversary!

Today we begin our one year anniversary of the American Public House Review.  Last October our journey began and it is hard to believe that we have been at it for a year already.  But this is a labor of love, and as is the case of with most fun things time really flies.

details at the Braveheart

In observance of this anniversary month, we here at the Pub Talk blog will take a look back at some of our favorite places we visited in this last year.  To begin, we travel back to a place we enjoyed in our very first issue.  It is a fabulous Scottish Pub in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley called “Braveheart Highland Pub”.

With big towns like Bethlehem, Easton, and Allentown right near by, it is easy to pass over Hellertown.  But if you are a lover of great pubs, that would be a mistake.  “Braveheart” is an attraction onto itself.  Whether you want great food, a terrific beer selection, or football from the United Kingdom you’ll find it there.

Posted by: David McBride

BEER PRICES ON THE RISE

Needless to say, we at AMERICAN PUBLIC HOUSE REVIEW enjoy a pint of fine ale from time to time, and then perhaps another. Lately, we have been taken aback at the diminishment in our pocketbooks by an evening of raised glasses, lifted spirits, and shared journeys.  There is no question about it; beer prices are going up. There are several reasons for this unfortunate, upward turn of events. First of all, at the risk of being accused as a “Captain Obvious,”  there are the transportation costs. Along with the rising cost per barrel of oil, the shrinkage of dollar value, and the tremendous increase in the trade of oil futures as a commodity , there is a shortage of diesel fuel. Diesel requires the highest quality of ”light, sweet crude” which goes for the highest prices of all raw oil. The worldwide demand for refined diesel fuel has increased tremendously due to the explosive industrialization of China and the economic rise of much of the third world.

Secondly, but just as importantly in regard to beer prices, there is a worldwide grain shortage. Because of bad weather in Europe, and because every farmer in the U. S. with an available acre is scrambling to grow corn, there is a severly reduced supply of barley and hops; the essential crops required by the brewmaster. Rice, which is an important ingredient in the beer of Anheuser-Busch, one of the biggest brew-boys of all, is also being rationed at the distribution level because of extremely low worldwide supplies.

Last but not least, the cost of aluminum has been rocketing upward. Again, you don’t need Captain Obvious to tell you how this factor can affect the cost of your favorite draught or can of suds.

We, here at the magazine, are not going to give up our pints anytime soon, but we may be nursing them longer and finishing up with a “half.”

Posted by Ed Petersen, Creative Director of AMERICAN PUBLIC HOUSE REVIEW.

A Place Where Everyone Wins

 I would not be one to say that I support the tactics or candidacy of the lady senator from New York; but I can not find any joy in the fact that after the North Carolina and Indiana primaries, Hillary Clinton has, although still stubbornly living in denial, lost her bid to become president. Like most human beings I spend a good portion of my life rooting for my guy, my cause, my side, my country, my party, my team and so on and so forth.

 On that rare occasion my horse actually comes in – as was the case at this year’s Kentucky Derby. With any victory there is that moment of gotcha and glee; but if you take the time to wipe the champagne from your eyes and look around – you’re bound to notice that someone is crying, someone is in pain and someone has lost. It seems that there is no human endeavor, no matter how well-intentioned, that doesn’t result in some degree of hardship for our fellowman.

I would like to think that beyond this life there exists a place where everyone wins, and where potential is achieved without doing harm to others – a place where your glass is always full and your heart is never empty!  Valhalla – Heaven – Nirvana – Eden or just…

 the back room at McSorley’s Old Ale House!

Posted by: Chris Poh, Publisher – American Public House Review

Landing in New Castle

[By the light from of an old gas lamp, located along the strand, we guided our sturdy craft into the shallows off New Castle, Delaware. 

 

Well, truth be told – we came by way of Interstate 95 in my fairly sturdy, well engineered Hyundai Elantra. But as one walks the cobblestone alleys that lead down to the river, the Atlantic imparts a hint of its presence in this channel north of Delaware Bay. A bit of salt on the tongue and a touch of brine in the nostrils helps to conjure up images of the Swedish, Dutch and English sailing ships that once plied these waters. 

 Ed Petersen, the Creative of Director of American Public House Review, and I both agree that New Castle rivals Williamsburg, Virginia as one of the best preserved and finest examples of colonial life in America. For that reason we wanted to feature the town and its pubs in an upcoming edition of the magazine. 

So we took up afternoon residence at the aforementioned public houses and proceeded to acquaint ourselves with local lore, colonial culture and a few indigenous ales.

We look forward to sharing this journey soon!  

Posted by: Chris Poh, Publisher American Public House Review  

 

Triumph, Tracks and Taverns

  For those readers of American Public House Review that are wondering about the whereabouts of the April issue – let us assure you that we have not been derailed or sidetracked. But it did come to our attention that the bar car had taken on so many passengers that in order to continue our journey we would need to replace our aging equipment with more powerful rolling stock.

To that end our editorial and technical staff have spent countless hours in the roundhouse putting the finishing touches on our new engine.  

 

 So before I overextend my use of metaphor and analogies, let me take this tme to inform our readers that “Tracks and Taverns” will be one of several new features in American Public House Review. Articles contained within that heading will explore those unique pubs that  have been influenced by America’s rich relationship with riding the rails.

Our first whistle stop will be Triumph Brewing Company In New Hope, Pennsyvania. This wonderful brew Pub sits alongside the main station of the historic New Hope and Ivyland Railroad.

 Take the ride by signing up for your free subscription at American Public House Review.

Posted by: Chris Poh, Publisher

 

 

 

 

 

 

TAPS at the Cashtown

No this posting is not about the beer selection at the Cashtown Inn; it is to remind the readers of American Public House Review that on Wednesday evening March 26th, the results of the investigation conducted by the team from The Atlantic Paranormal Society will be revealed on “Ghost Hunters.” The show airs on the Syfy Channel at 9:00 PM, and will be rebroadcast at 11:00 PM. 

The natural skeptic in me appreciates the no-nonsense scientific techniques employed by this particular group of paranormal detectives. The lack of theatrics coupled to their honest analysis and frank assessment of each individual case lends credibility to a profession that all too often has been the domain of hoaxers and charlatans.

During a recent luncheon at the Cashtown Inn, which is purported to be one of the most haunted taverns in America, I was able to conduct my own inquiry into the otherworldly activities associated with this Civil War landmark. Unfortunately my own personal contact with the spirits was limited to the superb potables recommended by the owner, Jack Paladino. Regrettably, my sensitivity to the spirits seems to stop at my palate. So until my third eye becomes functional, I will have to rely on gaussmeters, EVPs, thermal imaging and the trusted judgement of the crew from TAPS.