Saturday, June 22, 2013

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Philadelphia Church to Hold Beer Service

Beer is big in Phildelphia. Has been for as long as I can recall. When I packed up to move to San Diego from Philly, I bequeathed my homebrew setup — the fermentation tub, carboys, bottle brushes, air locks, fillers, capper, all of it — to my buddy Zeke, a cheesemonger who shares my taste for beer. In addition to the homebrew gear, there were several cases of liquor. The deal was: no cherry picking. Take all of it or none of it. Zeke's no dummy; he took it all. The occasional fermentation updates from the City of Brotherly Love still make me smile.

Can't make it to Philly?
Relax. Don't worry. Have a homebrew.
And if you don't brew,
Sculpin now comes in cans.
It's delicious.
Zeke and I were far from the only ones who liked making beer in Philly. The city was crawling with other brewers, both professional and amateur. It is, in fact, the location of next week's 35th Annual National Homebrewers Conference. Wrapping up the conference is a service dedicated to all that hoppy, sudsy goodness at a Center City house of worship established in 1796.

On Sunday, June 30th, the First Unitarian Church (2125 Chestnut Street) is hosting a service that

[...] will explore the history and culture of one of mankind’s oldest beverages. Throughout history beer has not only been a sustaining beverage but it has also come to connote conviviality and equality among all people. The service will also look at an interesting message from the world of craft brewing – small is good! This service will mark the conclusion of the American Homebrewer’s Association’s National Homebrewers Conference being held in Philadelphia this year.

Choir member Dane Wells is one of several homebrewers in the congregations. In 1985, he received a certification as a Beer Judge from the American Homebrewer’s Association, and has since devoted considerable study to the history and culture of brewing.

Goes well with:

5 comments:

randall said...

Great to see Ballast Point, Green Flash, Alesmith and Stone finally coming into their own. Once upon a time (circa 1999-2000)and a seemingly lifetime ago, I was the beer buyer at the Wholefoods Mkt in La Jolla and would always make sure to stock Alesmith and Stone. Didn't hurt that they would throw me free bottles all the time. Now that I'm in New York I'm glad that I can get all those great beers at my local distributor.

Nathaniel said...

There are a couple of rustic modern type restaurants, and a number of growler filling stations, now carrying Ballast Point Sculpin IPA here in Columbus, Ohio.

It's the only brew from Ballast Point I've had the pleasure of tasting but boy, quite the pleasure it always is.

Fantastic blog by the way. I think I may just dust off the old RSS reader though it reads like it should be on paper. Which makes me enjoy it all the more.

-Nathaniel

Matthew Rowley said...

Randall ~

It was a bit of culture shock moving to San Diego, but the beer scene here was a great cushion. There are so many good breweries here (a buddy in the vistor and convention bureau tells me the county now has 60 breweries; haven't verified, but seems plausible) that I almost forget what it's like to live in a place where great beer isn't ubiquitous. When Zeke (from above) visited from Philadelphia, he found such diversity that he bought a bunch of bottles from the local Whole Foods and shipped them home; said he was still saving money. Stone is growing, Ballast Point is growing, Green Flash...it all makes me happy to be in San Diego.

Nathaniel ~ Good to have you here. Columbus is no slouch when it comes to a throwing a good time. I was pleasantly surprised my first visit there. By the end of the weekend, I was drinking great beers with locals around a lamb rotating on a mechanized backyard spit. I could certainly spend more time there. The first time I had Sculpin, a friend who had been out on her boat came over with a box of lobsters she's caught — and the six pack of Sculpin bottles. As we prepped the lobsters, I cracked one open, took a swig...and then did a double take. That is one delicious beer. Each Christmas and birthday since, I've asked my family for a case of it. For some reason, they don't seem to think I'm serious. Thanks for the kind words re: the blog. I don't spend nearly as much time on it as I ought to and the whole thing needs a facelift...but when insomnia strikes, there'll be more in your RSS reader.

Cheers!

Zeke said...

Yo Matt, drinking a Golden Monkey right now and probly sipping on a sugar wash I ran a few days ago later. Also have a huge mason jar full of clear spirit and wild blackberries soaking too. Hope you are putting all those herbs to good use friend. Gimme a call soon, you and the doc take care

Matthew Rowley said...

The blackberries sound nice (well, it all does). I've wanted to put in some berry bushes at the house, but haven't yet settled on what/where. And then there's the matter of how to drink them...