Fresh Beer with Refreshing Service.

One of the Iron Hill Brewery's slogans is, “Born-on-date is no match for born-on-premises.” This was certainly true when I visited the West Chester location of this fairly widespread group of local brewpubs. Located right in the middle of West Chester and just a couple minutes from West Chester University, this brewpub was a welcoming stop for my family and I when we were out looking for dinner and some good brews.

Drink like a sailor, eat like a king.

In the land of Monk’s, Jose Pistola’s and Good Dog, there is another bar that deserves a little attention. The nautically themed Misconduct Tavern is anchored within a couple blocks of each of these renowned beer bars. They might not have the extensive Belgian list of Monk’s, the flowing firkins of Jose’s, or the trendy image of Good Dog, but Misconduct is a bar that deserves recognition and is a great alternative to the local legends.

When you think of beer, you typically think of the four ingredients defined in the German Purity Laws of 1516 - the "Reinheitsgebot" in German - which are water, barley, yeast, and hops. But hops are a relatively new ingredient to beer production.

Beer is older than the very idea of civilization. Approximately 9,000 years ago - the age of the oldest known evidence of beer - most humans lived as hunter-gatherers and were nomadic. Somewhere around 6,000 years ago, the original proto-states started to form with things like centralized governments, militaries, and so on. That makes beer about 3,000 years older than what many scientists consider to be the formation of modern, civilized, organized states. In fact, Charlie Bamforth, Professor of Brewing Science at the University of California, Davis, and others have argued that “Beer is the basis of modern static civilization," which made way for proto-states and civilization as we know it (1).

Kentucky’s got the ponies. Pennsylvania’s got the goats.

Why is it whenever I write a feature about one of the Scene’s more unique beer events, the day of the event always starts out with me waking up to the rain? And, why are all the good events in parking lots? (See Philly Beer Scene Issue #2, “The Park And The Parking Lot.”) On this particular Sunday morning on May 3, 2009, as luck would have it, a light rain would be coming down outside. I knew though that regardless of the cold, damp weather, I’d still be drinking awarding-winning Bock styled beers and watching goats race through the parking lot of Sly Fox Phoenixville to compete for the honor of having the brewery’s annual Maibock named after them.

Cleaning up the world, one brew at a time.

The times are great to be a craft beer drinker.  If it were not enough that there are hundreds upon hundreds of excellent brews to choose from, we can now take pleasure in the knowledge that our favorite drinks are helping save the planet—one pint at a time. It wasn't too long ago that gas prices doubled themselves and the threat of global warming was brought to movie screens. Our culture is currently experiencing a trend in which being “green” or environmentally responsible is actually popular. With this constant growing popularity, the beer industry has wasted no time jumping on board and doing their part to save the planet. The world of craft beer has actually been going through an explosive expansion over the past 20 years–which makes you wonder, is the sudden focus on eco-friendly initiatives just a good marketing tool to rope in customers or is there something deeper going on?