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Originally Posted July 9, 2007 SUMMER FUN: 2007 INCUBUS BOTTLES RELEASED, SLY FOX NEWSLETTER LAUNCHED, BLOBFEAST ADDED TO JULY SCHEDULE All this information, and more, became available today in the first edition of Sly Fox News, our brand new email newsletter. You can read this first issue using the link here, from a link which will now appear regularly on our opening "splash" page and, best of all, by subscribing to be sure you don't miss an issue, which can be done from within the newsletter itself, at the bottom. Sly Fox News will appear irregularly throughout the rest of 2007, as conditions warrant, and is expected to move to a regular publishing schedule in 2008. Another new "face: in the Sly Fox world is BlobFeast, being held in conjunction with the annual BlobFest celebration at Phoenixville's Colonial Theater this coming weekend. If you're not familiar with what this is all about, here's the theater's BlobFest website and this cartoon from today's Philadelphia Daily News will give you another perspective. BlobFeast will be held this Saturday, July 14, at both pubs. Phoenixville will feature a special dinner ("the BLOB-iest meal you'll ever eat") for $15.99, which includes a pint of the specially brewed (by director of brewery operations Tim Ohst) Blob Ale. At Royersford, there be a special menu as well and customers can also use the coupon to order off the regular menu. Blog Ale will also be on tap. Coupons will be available at both pubs and the theater. These will entitle users to the special $15.99 Phoenixville price and will insure that 20% of the tab of all those who submit coupons at either pub will be donated to the Colonial Theater. "BlobFest is a great Phoenixville tradition," says Pete Giannopoulos, "and we've been wanting to show our support for it and the Colonial Theater for some time. This is a great chance for us to do so and have some fun with the whole thing. Plus, carrying the celebration over to our Royersford location makes perfect sense since, while not a lot of people know it, some of the scenes from the movie were actually filmed there on the site where our brewery and restaurant now stand." About that special dinner in Phoenixville: it will feature items like "Blob-a-mole" and "Ghoul-ash" and, while nobody's talking, we're hearing a big, red Blob of stuff has been seen in the kitchen. |
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Originally Posted June 5, 2007 SLY FOX'S JOHN GIANNOPOULOS FORMING KEG-MANUFACTURING PARTNERSHIP The rising price of stainless steel, an increase in stolen or non-returned kegs by customers who then sell them for scrap, the loss of the major US manufacturer of kegs last year and the demand arising from the growth of the craft beer segment in recent years have made it both expensive and difficult to buy additional cooperage for breweries trying to keep up with demand. Now, Giannopoulos and partner Christian Messmacher have formed Geemacher LLC and entered into an agreement with an ISO-9200 certified stainless steel manufacturer in China to produce 1/6, tall quarter and half kegs in that country for American breweries. The plant is located in Penglai in northern China. "I have 12 years experience as a manufacturer's rep sourcing both plastic and metal component parts and products out of China," explained Giannopoulos. "We see ourselves as an alternative source for both the mainstream brewers and for smaller craft breweries, for whom we will offer the opportunity to purchase smaller quantities at fair and reasonable prices." For the last year, virtually all kegs purchased by US breweries have been imported from Europe after South Carolina's Spartanburg Stainless, the major US manufacturer, decided to withdraw from the market and focus on its core products. Spartanburg's keg division was acquired by the Switzerland-based Franke Group in November 2006. Manufacturing was relocated to Louisiana and executive offices relocated to Hatboro, Penna. The company plans to return to the market this summer with half kegs and to add 1/6 kegs to its line in December. Geemacher Is on roughly the same schedule. The company launched at the Craft Brewers Conference in April and Giannopoulos expects to have the first 1/6 keg production samples available by the end of this month. Quarter and half kegs should be available by Fall and the company hopes to begin producing firkins before year's end. "Larger orders will be embossed at the manufacturing plant," Giannopoulos said, "but we will also maintain unembossed inventory in the US and expect to be able to do quick embossing here for lower minimum orders by year's end." Geemacher is in the process of developing a website where contact information is already posted; John Giannopoulos can be contacted via email or by phone: 610.948.3700.
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Originally Posted May 6, 2007 IT WAS SUNDAE ON SUNDAY AS A NEWCOMER (LITERALLY) EARNED THE MAIBOCK CROWN As O'Reilly hoisted the first pint from the keg and the crowd boisterously sang the traditional German drinking song to the accompaniment of the Emil Schanta Band, which entertained throughout the afternoon, Alyssa hugged her favorite ruminant and promised to bring her back next year. "Definitely," she said. "It would be nice to have the first goat to win two years in a row." Sundae, given her smugly satisfied expression in the photo at left, seems confident she can accomplish just that (Photo by Mary Giannopoulos). Zawislak's win was a long-waited triumph for the local 4-H Goat Club. She is a member of that group which has been a prominent supporter of the Sly Fox event from its beginning. She won a $75 Sly Fox Gift Card for her family as the handler for the winning goat, while Sundae received a the traditional Gold Medal in addition to the distinction of having the Maibock named in her honor. That piece of jewelry was not designed for one as small as she, reaching down to tangle with her feet on the ground when it was slipped around her neck. The 2007 races were the most fiercely contested to date, with Sundae barely making it into the final round when she finished in a dead tie with Keely in the third heat. Keely is owned and was raced by Simmer Doughery of Chester Springs, who said her third-place finisher was a "rescue goat. The man who owned her and her sister was going to put them down, but I convinced him to sell them to me instead." Dougherty only learned of the goat races on Saturday, when a friend forwarded her a story which had appeared in the free newspaper, The Metro, on Friday. "I'm very proud of Keely," she said. "She's big and she's fat and she almost won." Second place finisher Onager comes from a proud racing tradition. She is owned by local veterinarian Leslie Gall, who ran with previous competitor Entrekin (third last The Bock Festival and Goat Race, which has grown steadily each year, appeared to take a quantum leap for 2007, with the crowd estimate jumping up some 700 attendees from the 2006 figure of 1800. The crowd filled the two story pub and surrounding parking lot on a festive sun-bright afternoon, enjoying the Maibock and the rest of Sly Fox's beer lineup, which was adjusted for the day to feature, aside from the flagship O'Reilly's Stout, all the Bavarian style beers which the brewing staff produces. A special German menu, together with the beer and music, made it a Sunday to remember. Especially for Sundae. (NOTE: As usual, the races made the front page of The Phoenix. You can read Dennis Wright's coverage here).
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Originally Posted April 9, 2007 ANNUAL SLY FOX BOCK FESTIVAL AND GOAT RACE SET FOR SUNDAY, MAY 6 In addition to the Maibock (which proudly bears the name of the victorious goat and is tapped for the first time by the winning goat's owner and Sly Fox brewmaster Brian O'Reilly at the end of the final heat), Slacker Bock, Helles Bock (a vintage release this year, from 2006) and Instigator Doppelbock will be on draught; two of those four traditional bock beers will also be served as Eisbocks (beers which are frozen to remove most of the water content, to create a stronger, more flavorful beer). In keeping with the day's German influence, other favorite beers of that nation which will be featured are Royal Weisse, Rauchbier, Pikeland Pils and Helles Golden Lager. The Rauchbier ("smoke" beer), a style which is relatively rare, has been a particular favorite in recent years because it is well matched with the German menu served throughout the day as a lively Oompah band plays German music and traditionally clad dancers swirl about in front of the bandstand. The fun begins at 11am on the brewpub's patio, with goat registration starting at 12:30pm. The race heats begin at 2pm. Goat owners interested in participating can contact Phoenixville bar manager Corey Reid at 610.935.4540. While you're waiting, you can get more information, sing the Bock Fest song along with previous winner Weird Beard and run your own online goat race right here.
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Originally Posted April 2, 2007 ROYAL WEISSE BECOMES FOURTH Royal Weisse is a traditional unfiltered Bavarian-style wheat beer made with German Pils and Wheat malts and hopped with German Northern Brewer hops. It is 5.6% alcohol by volume and the canned version will be a seasonal release for spring and summer on the brewery's schedule. It is available year-round on draught. "Of all our beers, this is the one which people have been asking about since the very first day we announced we'd be canning beers," says head brewer Brian O'Reilly. "It's been very popular on draught and is an ideal style for warmer weather at the beach or on the golf course. It's also a style that very few breweries make available in cans, especially in a traditional unfiltered form." Sly Fox's canned beers were at the heart of the brewery's stunning 94.4% growth in 2006, together with the emergence of O'Reilly's Stout as a popular addition to the taps at pubs and restaurants all over the Philadelphia region. "Now that's a beer we'd really like to get into cans someday," O'Reilly admitted, "16oz nitro cans so that it can be served at home or at a party just the way it is on draught. Unfortunately, that's a very expensive proposition and not something we can leap into at this time."
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Originally Posted March 29, 2006 TONY & STEPHANIE KRZYWANSKI OF PHOENIXVILLE WIN BOOT CAMP IRELAND TRIP The pair was shocked by their good fortune, Tony said. "We noticed the signs promoting Boot Camp at the pub in February and we tried to get there every week after that to earn our tickets, but we probably didn't have as many as a lot of people. She's the lucky one. I've never won anything, but Stephanie won a Palm Pilot in a raffle a while back and she also won a basket of wine from a winery." He added that the couple were looking at early summer to take their journey to the Emerald Isle, "maybe late June." Boot Camp, conceived by Phoenixville bar manager Corey Reid in 2003, is a ten-week program in which customers sign up to attend weekly "meetings" at either Sly Fox location to earn raffle tickets which are then tossed randomly into tubs at both pubs on March 17. Tickets are drawn alternately at the sites until the winner, who has to be present, is selected. This is the third year that a Ireland trip has been the grand prize. Previous winners were Bob and Priscilla Sager in 2005 and Ted and Amanda Siuta in 2006.
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Originally Posted March 5, 2006 THE BEST LAID PLANS OF MICE AND BREWERS.... While he offered his apologies to customers who count on a new varietal IPA from Sly Fox each month, O'Reilly suggested that there was a silver lining to all this as well. "Usually, fans of the IPA Project have to wait for the second Friday in December when all the varietals are on draught in order to taste them side by side. Come April, they'll have a chance to get a preview of that great day with both Phoenix and Amarillo on tap."
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Originally Posted March 3, 2007 IRISH TRAVEL COMPANY PARTNERS WITH SLY FOX ON IRELAND TRIP FOR BOOT CAMP WINNER St. Patrick's Day Boot Camp began in January and is conducted every Wednesday night in Phoenixville and every Thursday night in Royersford between now and March 15, then culminates in a drawing held at both pubs simultaneously (alternating the draws between the sites) to see who will win this year's Ireland adventure. The winner must be present at one of the pubs during the drawing to claim the prize. More information about Authentic Ireland and the trip can be found right here.
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Originally Posted February 22, 2007 SLY FOX ANNOUNCES IPA VARIETAL SCHEDULE, DECEMBER DATE FOR IPA PROJECT DAY The beers will be on tap at both Royersford and Phoenixville when the doors open each second Friday and then go to wholesalers the following week. There will be a limited release of the IPA Project series off-premises (scroll down to story posted February 9), and each will be available at the venues which signed on to be part of the year-long event at the owners' discretion. As things now stand, Amarillo IPA will be released April 13, Nelson Sauvin IPA May 11 and Chinook IPA June 8, Ohst said. "We're still tracking down the other six hops we plan to use and, since we didn't get started until February, there will be a second beer released in late November, the final varietal before IPA Project Day on Friday, December 14, when all 11 will be on tap in Phoenixville and the 2007 Odyssey Imperial IPA, brewed with all the varietals, will be released." The release events will be marked on the Sly Fox online calendar each month and fans of the series should keep an eye out there just in case, Ohst cautioned. "I'm a big fan of the 'best laid plans go awry' theory," he laughed. "If something goes wrong, either hops not getting here on time or an equipment breakdown, the schedule could be thrown off in any give month. I don't think that will happen but if it does, we'll get the information onto the calendar as soon as possible."
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Originally Posted February 19, 2007 SLY FOX TO CELEBRATE BREWER SCOTT MORRISON AS "THE DUDE IN EXILE" O'Reilly and Morrison are old friends, each getting his start as a brewer while working with the legendary Phil Markowski of Long Island's Southhampton Publick House when Markowski was brewing in New England, so O'Reilly has invited his old pal to brew his popular Biere de Garde at Sly Fox Brewhouse & Eatery in Phoenixville on Friday, March 9. After the beer ages in the tanks for three weeks, it will be served exclusively at Phoenixville for a special, one-time-only "The Dude In Exile" beer event on Friday, March 30. O'Reilly will help Morrison with the brew and both will be on hand March 30. "This seemed like a good way to let Scott earn a few bucks and keep his hand in while he figures out his next step," said O'Reilly. "Also, it never hurts to have a very popular and very good brewer working on the premises, even if only for a day. Scott has a big following in this area and I think we'll have a great crowd to wish him well on March 30."
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Originally Posted February 9, 2007 FIRST IPA PROJECT 2007 BEER GOES ON The IPA Project series beers are brewed on the original 10bbl system at Phoenixville by Brewery Operations Manager Tim Ohst and are a limited release, draught only product. Always scarce and hard to find because of their popularity, they will be even more so in 2007, Ohst says. "The yield on this first batch was 9.5 barrels and we've already allotted 9.2 barrels, which hardly leaves me any room for spillage when I'm filling the kegs," he laughed. "That's pretty much the highest yield we can get out of the Phoenixville system. As for off-site availability, the Grey Lodge Pub, Drafting Room Exton and Union Jack's on the Manatawny all signed on for 2007 and the Conshohocken Boat House will get theirs through the Beer Yard in Wayne. The Beer Yard also gets a few sixtels to sell to retail customers, as does Exton Beverage. "In New Jersey, Andy's Corner in Bogota and The High Street Grille in Mount Holly both are on board and our New York distributor contracted an impressive eight accounts before we had to cut off orders: The Collin's Bar, The Ginger Man, George Keeley's, Barcade, Hop Devil Grill, Spuyten Duyvel, Waterfront Brooklyn and Waterfront Manhattan all signed on right away. The result of this is that we've even had to cut back the amount of beer we kept for our own pubs, so each release will disappear from our taps rather quickly, I'd guess within a week or so. The nice thing is that there's always another one coming up, and another after that." A massive warehouse fire in Yakima, Washington, which destroyed roughly two million lbs. of U.S. grown hops last October, has left several varieties in short supply or completely sold out for the year, Ohst said, so only the next four brews following Galena have been determined. They will be, in order: Phoenix, Amarillo, Nelson Sauvin and Chinook. "Nelson Sauvin is a high-alpha hop from New Zealand with a great aroma," he said, "and I'm looking forward to working with it." He added that availability will determine the rest of the hops used and that New Zealand varieties will likely be involved further. "There's a hop called Sticklebract that I'm attracted to if only for its name."
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Originally Posted January 22, 2007 SLY FOX NEARLY DOUBLES PRODUCTION IN 2006 "I don't know for sure, but I have to believe that the production levels we hit, and especially the number and variety of packaged beers we brought to market, set some sort of record," said brewmaster Brian O'Reilly. "We released five beers (Ichor Quadruple, Incubus Tripel, Saison Vos, Black Raspberry Reserve and Christmas Ale) in caged, corked 750ml bottles, four beers (Rt. 113 IPA, Instigator Doppelbock, Oktoberfest and Odyssey Imperial IPA) in 22oz `dinner' bottles and three beers (Pikeland Pils, Phoenix Pale Ale and Dunkel Lager) in 12oz cans. "That's a dozen new beers on the shelves, ranging from good solid everyday beers to some of the more difficult and innovative styles. I think it was an astonishing achievement." "2006 was a pretty good year for us," Sly Fox Brewing managing partner John Giannopoulos said, then he laughed. "Okay, a very good year. But we made some mistakes along the way and had a few unexpected problems, so there's still a lot to do. We don't expect to see anything close to that growth this year--nor do we want to grow at that sort of rate. One of the big mistakes in any new business is to grow too fast. Everybody here wants to see us reach that magic $1 million sales level, of course, but that will come in due time. "Our attention in 2007 will be focused on our existing markets, especially our home market, making sure we expand our taps and sales at a manageable rate and that we maintain and even improve quality control." O'Reilly agrees. "I think we have to be both practical and realistic at this point. We now have a year's worth of statistical evidence on all our core brands and package products, information which will help us set our guidelines for the coming months. We will move forward slowly for the most part and don't expect to add any additional markets while we solidify those we already have. "Only one new packaged product is currently in our plans, the long-awaited and, from what we've heard, highly-anticipated canned version of Royal Weisse, which is scheduled for this spring. Otherwise, we plan to cut back a bit. For example, Ichor, which will be released this month, is going to be draught-only for 2007. However, we did hold back some cases from 2006 so that we can offer a 'vintage' version through selected outlets and maintain its identity as an on-shelf product. "A big new project for 2007 will be the creation of a true, British-style cask ale for the Phoenixville pub, where we've already installed three handpumps. The plan is to have that cask-only beer available at all times and to use the second and third pumps for special releases and on Third Friday Firkin Fest nights and other special occasions. "With the Friday firkin night and Incubus Friday as monthly events, plus the Robbie Burns Birthday Bash every January, the ten-week St. Patrick's Day Boot Camp from January to March, the Bock Festival and Goat Race on the first Sunday of May and the IPA Project Day in early December, I think our events programming is solid as it stands. Maybe we can come up with something for summer or early fall, though. We'll see." Not surprisingly, given the output, the Sly Fox brewing staff has doubled in size since the plant opened in November 2004. O'Reilly and director of brewing operations Tim Ohst are now supported by brewer Steve Jacoby, who came aboard in early 2006, and assistant brewer Keith Barnaby, who was added at the beginning of this year.
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Originally Posted January 11, 2007 LAST YEAR'S IRELAND TRIP WINNERS CHECK IN WITH PHOTOGRAPHIC PROOF OF THEIR "WONDERFUL TIME" JUST AS ST.PATRICK'S DAY BOOT CAMP 2007 GETS UNDERWAY
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Originally Posted January 8, 2007
SLY FOX DOUBLES THE FUN FOR FIFTH ANNUAL ROBERT BURNS BIRTHDAY BASH JAN. 19 The annual marking of the birthday of Scotland's most famous poet, Robert Burns, has become an eagerly anticipated January event at Sly Fox Brewhouse & Eatery in Pikeland Village Square; this year it will be twice the fun as the celebration falls on Friday, January 19, the same date as the pub's monthly Third Friday Firkin Fest. "No problem," says head brewer Brian O'Reilly. "The Burns Birthday event always features the release of our Gang Aft Agley Scoth Ale and we always have a cask version that night as well. This year, we'll also cask our Burns Scottish Ale to have twice the number of casked beers for what will be a double celebration." This will be the fifth annual Robbie Burns Birthday Bash at Phoenixville and will feature, as usual, the release of the two beers, a menu of Haggis and other Scottish treats, poetry reading, bagpipes and lots of folks in kilts. The last two years, a second Robert Burns even has been held a week after the birthday celebration, a Scotch and Beer Dinner at the Royersford location, but that has been removed from the schedule, O'Reilly said. "It was just a little bit more Robbie than we needed," he laughed. For more information, interested parties can call Sly Fox Phoenixville: 610-935-4540. |
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year) and finished back in the pack in heat one. Her son, Sean Bellay, led Onager across the finish line just behind Sundae. The family has had goats in every Sly Fox race and one of them has finished among the top three every time. "We've never won it all, but I think we claim to have, overall, the fastest goats in Chester County," laughed Gall, who resides in Nantmeal Village.
