Philly Winter Beer Festival

Last week Rich called me telling about this Beer Festival in Philly. It looked like a pretty good deal. They had "VIP" tickets which allowed you to get 2 more hours of drinking and get in on a dessert and beer pairing that was hosted by Rolling Barrel. Rich and I tried to get our other friends to go. By the time we found out who wanted to go, the VIP tickets were sold out! I was super discouraged but then after a few refresh clicks tickets were available and for $5 cheaper than what was advertised! Woohoo! Below you can see all the breweries that were there.

We arrived a little late so we missed Rolling Barrel speaking about the three different beers and desserts they brought. But I did get to try Dogfish Head Punkin Ale with a caramel apple, River Horse Milk Oatmeal Stout with a Tasty Cake, and a Winter Ale with fruit cake. The pumpkin pairing was definitely the best.

Rich found his favorite soup.

Not only do you get to have fancy beers and desserts, but they were a full out buffet as well! Rich and I were a little concerned that the "light buffet" would leave us less than full, but there was nothing light about this buffet. Salad, two types of pasta, jerk chicken kabob, sausage, pulled pork sandwiches, giant soft pretzels, and french fries! The tasting glass was also a great deal. Much bigger than the other tasting glasses I have acquired and the microbreweries that were at the event pretty much filled your glass full each time. This might be the best $35 I've ever spent.

Ben was with us too, apparently his hair cutter at his salon burned him on the neck.

Graham and Rich were doing snus all night and here you can see where one of their pouches ended up.
The night turned into our own little beer crawl. After the festival we went into center city to Byblos, a hookah bar. It was a nice time but super expensive. One hookah was $30!

After Byblos we hit a few more places. We then decided we were hungry when really we all had plenty to eat at Blockley. Our next stop before ending the night was Pat's. I usually get whiz but decided to be different and get provolone. Boy was that a mistake. Not nearly as good as cheese whiz. I'm thinking about trying white american next since that's what all the grease trucks use in the city. I yet have to the other cheese steak joints in the city such as John's and Tony Luke's.
Even though it wasn't as good as whiz, the cheese steak was still delicious. Oh man, I could go for one right now.