The Good Dogs, the Bad Dogs and the Best in Show

Uno - Last Year's Big Dog

I found myself last evening in one of those unfocused stream of consciousness modes. Perhaps it was the direct result of my decision to split my television viewing between the Westminster Kennel Club Show, (Lots of top dogs on their best behavior) and President  (The top dog…behavioral attributes yet to be determined) Obama’s first official news conference. I scanned the crowd at Madison Square Garden looking for our  associate editor and photographer, Kathleen Connally, (A well bred lassie) who was collecting images for her upcoming photoblog in  American Public House Review.

As I watched the handlers reward their canine charges with goodies from their pockets after each successful turn around the green carpet, I decided that I also was in need of a treat in keeping with the occasion. The question before me now was would I open a bottle of  Sea Dog Old East India Pale Ale from Topsham, Maine or would I pour myself a glass of  Chocolate Lab Red Wine from the Finger Lakes region of New York State. As is most often the case, I chose the  grain over the grape; but the consideration of the wine did trigger a recent memory.

On this past Sunday afternoon while keeping watch over my patrons at the Barking Dog Saloon at the Indian Rock Inn  I met one George McGonigal, (An extremely kind and well mannered dog) from Ithaca, New York. We spoke at length about our favorite places to imbibe while traveling the Finger Lakes. It was a great  pleasure speaking with someone that also appreciated the beer from Roosterfish Brewing in Watkins Glen, dockside cocktails at the Showboat on Seneca Lake and the tubular delights (A very good hot dog) served from the cart outside of Maloney’s Pub in Hammondsport.

At some point during this bit of recollecting I switched back to our Commander-in-Chief  just in time to hear his opininion on steroids and  Alex Rodriquez, (A very bad hot dog). While I appreciated Mr. Obama’s thought provoking  gravitas on all sorts of matters, when all was said and done his performance  did not garner a best in show for the evening. That honor would go to the Ukulele  Orchestra of Great Britain for their rendition of  The Good the Bad and the Ugly. I thank our creative director, Ed Petersen, (A really fine dog) for sending me the late night You Tube that rescued this dog from the proceedings at Westminster and Washington.

This just in…Stump, the ten year old Sussex spaniel has been named Best In Show at Westminster. 

Photo by Barton Silverman/New York Times

I love this dog; but  personally I would have picked either Lilly, the Airedale that protected our marketing director, David McBride, ( A very loving and loyal dog) during his Gettysburg campaign, or Fancy, the Himalayan that is presently asleep on my couch.

Lilly at Gettysburg

Fancy Actually Awake

Posted by: Chris Poh

Trouble A-Brewin’

One of Pennsylvania’s true destinations, the beloved Penn Brewery and Restaurant in the Deutschtown section of Pittsburgh’s North Side, is on the verge of closing its 19th century doors due to failed rent negotiations with its landlord, E & O Partners.

The Penn Brewery, Pennsylvania’s first and largest “craft” brewer, was founded in 1986 by “Mr. Beer,” Tom Pastorius. In 1990 Pastorius spent millions of dollars installing a custom-made German-style brewery — complete with locally made fermenters and storage tanks — in the former Eberhardt and Ober Brewery Building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Pastorius’ award-winning beers and accompanying restaurant featuring traditional German dishes turned the architectural jewel into a Pittsburgh icon.

Tom Pastorius, Image © The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

But Pastorius now has to close the brewery and restaurant due to a 360% rent increase by the historic building’s owners, E & O Partners, who have been unwilling to negotiate. In an interview with reporters Bob Batz and Bob Hoover from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pastorius said, “E & O decided to increase the square footage that the company’s responsible for. It more than doubled the space from 13,000 square feet to 28,000 by including the outdoor beer garden and loading dock. It also tacked on a bunch of other operating expenses for the entire building on the company’s rent.”

The Penn Brewery is searching for a new location.  In the meantime, the large and heavy brewing equipment must be dismantled and stored – not an easy task – and most of its 50 employees laid off, very difficult news in an area that has closed three additional brewing companies in 2008: John Harvard’s Brew House, Hereford and Hops and the Johnstown Brewing Company (website dismantled).

The last batch of Penn beer was made this week but Penn Brewery has contracted with the Lion Hill Brewery in Wilkes-Barre to continue making its beers with the same recipes and ingredients.  At issue may be maintaining Penn’s hallmark quality in a different and larger facility — Penn won gold and bronze medals at the 2008 Great American Beer Festival in Denver, Colorado, for its Kaiser Pils and Oktoberfest.

For more reading on brewing and microbrewing in Pennsylvania and America, check out Pennsylvania’s Breweries and The American Brewery: From Colonial Evolution to Microbrew Revolution .

– Written & Posted by Kathleen Connally

The Griswold Inn in Essex, CT brings you back to a better time

The Griswold Inn located in Essex, CT is one of those places that make you feel like you’ve crossed back in time about 200 years when you walk through its doors.  It is dripping with history and some of the details that adorn every corner of this tavern make you stop in your tracks and admire them.  Like this sign below…

I found it strange that only these two groups of people need to report to the captain of the vessel.  Are these truly the only folks he should be concerned about?  Ahh, how I long for the good old days when homeland security meant keeping track of gamblers and “fancy women”…

Click here to read our article from the Griswold.  It is a captivating pub situated within a gorgeous and historic New England town.

The Dim Light of Truth

  In a recent episode of the HBO series,”John Adams,” Laura Linney in the role of Abigail Adams defines diplomacy as she dines with Admiral d’Estaing, just after the French Royal Navy puts into Boston after their unsuccessful campaigns against the British Fleet at New York and Rhode Island. Meanwhile, her husband John is doing a less than admirable job of courting French favor in Paris. This brilliant production explores the powerful political and personal partnership of America’s first couple. It also presents an accurate accounting of the faults and frailties of the architects of this republic. Had these men been subject to today’s standards of  behavior and decorum we would still be paying too much for tea.

But alas, history tends to expunge the misdeeds and misgivings of great men. By most accounts even the French fare well in the telling of the American Revolution.  

 In the November issue of American Public House Review this author, after a few single malts at the famed White Horse Tavern in Newport, Rhode Island, expounds on the virtues of The Comte de Rochambeau and other assorted Frenchmen that aided America’s cause for independence. Hopefully this recounting holds up to the light of historic truth, or at the very least – the light of a dimly lit tavern.

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.

Braveheart brings a bit of Scotland to Pennsylvania

The only thing I don’t like about the Braveheart in Hellertown, Pennsylvania is that I don’t live close enough to it to become a regular.  But this is such a remarkably great Scottish pub that I have often made the nearly 90 minute trip just to sit and enjoy the atmosphere, conversation, and great beer selection.

Chris Poh is also an avid fan of the Braveheart, and he had the great opportunity to photograph this wonderful place, write about it, and get to know the folks who run it.  He was quickly taken by its perfectly stated influences.

Between pints of Belhaven Scottish Ale we are escorted on a tour of this fine establishment by Robbie, the manager who has found his way to Hellertown, Pennsylvania by way of Manchester, England and Ayrshire in Scotland. I am very impressed by this structure. For a new pub attempting to capture the spirit and look of the land of William Wallace and Robert Burns, it has not given into the temptation to overdo the theme, as so often is the case with most American attempts to recreate the UK or Irish public house experience. The building is a good balance of historic renovation, local craftsmanship and Caledonian authenticity.

Many great pubs tell their own great stories.  But like other works of art, a pub can also remind us of other stories and connect us to some that may not seem at first obvious.  In his article “Brave McKenzie”, Chris’ time at the Braveheart brings to mind an old aquiantance whose journey across the pond may not be all the dissimilar from Robbie and his mates.

Finding an Irish Heritage in Jim Thorpe, PA

As we approach St. Patrick’s Day, and the weekend that is sure to fill Irish pubs all over the country, we continue to highlight the Celtic themed taverns covered inside the American Public House Review.  Today we go deep into the mountains of Carbon County, Pennsylvania to find a truly Irish-American heritage at the Molly Maguires.

The deep and painful history of coal mining in this area of the country permeates the town of Jim Thorpe, PA.  The Molly Maguires focuses on the labor struggles that took place as a result of this sorted past.

So who were the Molly Maguires?  History has lost most of the details to their story, and much of it was shrouded in secrecy.  There is even some who question whether such a group ever existed.   But what we do know is that there were groups of coalminers who fought their companies and attempted to unionize the labor force.  One such group, many of whom were hung in Jim Thorpe when it was known as Mauch Chunk, is now known in history by that name.  It is their legacy that defines the unique Irish-American heritage of this little town.

But besides peaking into a somewhat forgotten history for those of us who are tourists to the area, Molly’s is also a great place to stop for a drink and some grub.  I have been there on more than one St. Patrick’s Day.  And even though it is somewhat subdued when compared to the local parade day, it is still a great place to sit and observe the holiday.