Month: June 2011

Beerlass’s Guide to Beer Week

Beer Week has gotten so huge and so insane that it’s become almost impossible to figure out which things you want to do. Beerlass to the rescue. Philadelphia’s Beerlass (who some of you old schoolers remember as the Lovely Ginger) knows everything there is to know about local beer and Beer Wek, and was kind enough to let us know what some of the coolest events are this year. Here are her top recommendations (Except for nights when there is quizzo to be played. Then you know where you need to be. Food and Drink quizzo all next week.)

Saturday June 4th
Kite and Key 2 pm
Throwdown in Franklintown- watch local beer peeps (myself included) duke it out with over-sized boxing gloves.

Block Party at Varga Bar- Local Heroes at Philadelphia Bar and Restaurant

If you are one for cask-conditioned beers -King Pin starts at 3 pm at Standard Tap meanwhile Sister bar has “A firkin Riot” wit the coolest firkin apparatus the city has ever seen.

Or if you wanna ride a wave- Prohibition Tap Room has surf rock and beers from the rad west coast brewery Lagunitas featured.

Sunday June 5th

It’s bike race day- avoid it or embrace it. Kite and Key will be celebrating the annual championship race with Stone Brewing Co and tricycle races.

At night you know where you need to be if you’re a fan of The Wire, I mean Johnny Goodtimes. He will be hosting a special “The Wire” quiz while the bar sipps on beers from North Coast- one of my favorite breweries.

If you’re one of those quizzo players that has some money to burn. Good Dog is hosting an 8 course dinner with 8 different Iron Hill beers from 8 different brewers. It will be a special night of eating and drinking. If you’re looking for a nice civilized start to your day- You can join me at Kennett in Queen Village for a beer brunch 1-3.

Monday June 6th
If it’s not already sold out- 12 pm-Punk Rock and Finger Sandwiches with Dogfish Head at Nodding Head promises to be one of the week’s highlights. DFH’s Sam Calagione will be there prior to his visit to Resurrection Ale house at 3 for a Mustache contest where a Victrola will provide the soundtrack.

At night- Late night with Joe Gunn kicks off. There are no words to describe the hilarity that this hour provides. You are guaranteed to see people drink too much whiskey during beer week, see an eating contest, and of course a live musical guest. Kick off at 11 pm.

Friday June 10th
From 6 till 9 Brooklyn brewery will be at Fergies with a rare firkin of Irish Stout and a bunch of cheese and beer pairing will take place.

Also at 6 pm- since I know you all like a little competition. It’s the 4th annual firkin off between Sly Fox and South Hampton. This is a serious drinking competition. Last year a 9 gallon firkin was drained in 8 minutes. Pick a team and help a brewery out;)

Saturday, June 11th
Enjoy sour beers? Nodding Head is hosting Phreddie and the Four Phunks. Brewmaster Gordon Grubb has been stockpiling some of his reserved barrel-aged beers. Sour is the new hop. 3 pm.

Wanna a little physical fitness in your beer week? A few bars in Fairmount our hosting the 2nd annual “Beermuda Triangle” run from Bishops collar, to Kite and Key , to St. Stephens Green drinking craft cans of Oskar Blues and Sly Fox all the while. Set up a team. The team that drinks the most cans wins. Oh and there’s a prize for the first to the finish line too 2 pm.

Sunday, June 12th
For all the vinyl collectors out there- Prohibition Tap Room is hosting “kegs eggs and BYOV” (Bring Your own vinyl) brunch) from 12 till?

And Philly survives yet another beer week. The week ends with a karaoke bash called the TTUD (That totally unnecessary drink) at Fergies upstairs with a lot of brewery folk. Fergie LOVES karaoke. This has become beer week tradition. It’s one of the most memorable events of the week.

Hot Naked Babes Galore! And French Fries!

No, this isn’t spam. Just hooking you up with a Amadeo Modigliano painting. I bet if you had known how hot the ladies were in some of his paintings are you would have known the answer to that question (very few teams got that one right.) Anyways, we kick off French Fry Thursday tonight with a quiz at Ugly American at 8 p.m. Looking to give away a couple of baskets of fries away in French Fry Faceoff, so bring your game faces. On to the Bards at 10:15 p.m., where we’ll have $3 Lagers, French Fries and what the hell, I might give away some CDs and books as well.

Also, be sure to tune in tomorrow afternoon when I will have a very special announcement concerning the Summer Invitational. Stay tuned.

Wesley Willis’s Greatest Hits


Wesley Willis was the answer to a question at quizzo this week. Apparently, more than half of you had never heard of him. That must be remedied immediately. He was a chronic schitzophrenic from Chicago who made simple but bizarre songs in the 90s and early 2000s before tragically passing away in 2003 at age 40. He called rock ‘n’ roll his “joy ride music” because it kept his demons at bay. There are some who call it exploitation, and others who thought it was wonderful that he got a chance to do what he loved in front of adoring fans. (To learn more about this fascinating man, watch this documentary.) He pretty much sang over Casio keyboard loops, and closed every song song with “Rock Over London, Rock on Chicago” followed by a corporate slogan. Here then, are some of my favorite Wesley Willis songs. (There is cussing in some of these.) Enjoy!

1. I Whooped Batman’s Ass. Without a question, the greatest song about Batman ever. He was being such a jackoff.

2. Cut That Mullet. Do something about your long filthy hair. Perhaps the most annoying chorus in all of his songs, and that’s saying something.

3. Elvis Presley. He really pays homage to the king in this one. Wesley did a lot of songs where he honored music stars, including Eazy E, Alanis Morrissette, and Britney Spears.

4. Al Capone. Wesley likes Al Capone even less than he likes Batman. He is a hoodlum. He killed people gangland style.

5. Rock n Roll McDonalds. Probably Willis’s most famous piece. It makes no sense, but it was heard in SuperSize Me.

The Wire Quizzo at POPE


Getting excited about Sunday’s quizzo about the Wire at the POPE. A few notes about the quiz: I don’t like to do my specialty quizzes only for freaks who have seen the show 140 times in their basement (though those people should do fine at the quiz). As long as you’ve seen each episode of the show once, you’ll be able to do ok. That said, I won’t do anything cutesy like do a round on “Things that Rhyme with Wire”. It will be all inspired on the show itself, but I’ll be using more than just scenes from the show. There will be questions about Baltimore, about the soundtrack, about the booze McNulty and Bunk enjoy. I’ll be honest:  I plan on making this one of the best quizzes I’ve ever written. I simply have too much respect for this show to do anything less. It’s all in the game, yo.

Quiz is at the Pub on Passyunk East this Sunday, June 5th at 7 p.m.

RELATED: The 10 Most Intense scenes from the Wire.

Bounty Bowl Tonight!

Things are getting flat out ridiculous at the Rendezvous, where the Jams have been on such a hot streak that the bounty is now up to $45 . Any team who can knock them off gets a $45 bonus gift certificate in addition to the $25 they get for winning. And needless to say, all of the glory that comes with knocking off the Jams. On to the Black Sheep at 8 p.m. If you want to play with the big boys, tonight is the night to do it.

This week’s quiz is quite interesting. Several people last night were quite excited about the wild card round, saying that, “I normally don’t contribute much, but tonight you hit my wheelhouse.” So it’s gonna be interesting to see how it goes down. We had an upset at O’Neals last night and on a quiet night at the City Tap House, the Diabetics won their 5th straight, meaning we’ll have another bounty next week.

In addition, Koob and Kristy will be hosting a pop culture quiz tonight at Artful Dodger. Action starts at 9 p.m. Plenty of questions on music and fashion this week.