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SEDUCTION IN A BOTTLE
For but one Friday each month, Sly Fox's extraordinary
Belgian Style Tripel is poured on draught at Sly Fox Brewhouse & Eatery in Phoenixville. That's it.

This masterful plan by brewmaster Brian O'Reilly, designed to ensure that the popular brew remains available throughout the year, has turned it into a cult favorite. The single First Friday keg, tapped at Noon, usually kicks before 7pm. ...

For those not able to make that brief open window each month...

INCUBUS IN BOTTLES IS BACK! 750ml bottles went on sale at both Sly Fox pubs on July 4 and should now be available at the best restaurants, pub and retail beer outlets in your neighborhood (if they're not, ask why not).

Brewed with German Pils Malt and Invert Sugar, Incubus is a dry, spicy golden-colored ale in the Abbot style famed for its powers of seduction. True to its name, this intriguing and wondrous brew offers up enticing hints of the ancient mysteries which its name suggests.

Incubus is available to enjoy at home right now or to cellar away for those cold winter nights... a beer to enjoy and share with a loved one. You know you want some so act now.

Like the wraiths which inspire its name, Incubus will be gone before you know it, leaving only a lingering sensation of pleasure and satisfaction...

Except on the First Friday of every month in Phoenixville...

INCUBUS FRIDAYS!
IPA PROJECT FRIDAYS with
VARIETAL RELEASES!
3rd FRIDAY FIRKIN FESTS!

Every Sly Fox Beer aficionado is familiar with these monthly events...

1. INCUBUS FRIDAY
On the First Friday of every month, Incubus Tripel goes on tap at Noon, only in Phoenixville.

2. IPA PROJECT
On the Second Friday of the month, February through November, a new Varietal IPA Project beer is released at both the Phoenixville and Royersford pubs.

3. FIRKIN FEST
On the Third Friday of the month, a firkin of cask ale goes onto one of the handpumps in Phoenixville at Noon. These beers pour until they're gone and that's it until the next time.

Check our Monthly Calendar for all of the dates and places...

SAISON VOS: NO RELEASE DATE REQUIRED
Sometimes we all need to be reminded of the wonderful things which are right under our noses. Take Saison Vos for example, Sly Fox's masterful interpretation of a Belgian Farmhouse Ale.

Because it's a year-round product, there's no release date to anticipate, no "big news" when it starts pouring. As a result, we need a jolt now and then to make you all aware of what a great beer this is!

We got that just a couple of weeks back... and it came from Canada, of all places.

Sly Fox Brewery was asked to send some beers to Mondial de la Biere in Montreal, the largest beer festival in North America, for its 15th anniversary celebration. Saison Vos, Rt. 113 IPA, Pikeland Pils and Royal Weisse were thus among the beers from 19 American breweries to be poured at the Petit Cafe, Mondial's international showcase tent at the event, which began on Wednesday, June 25.

What happened? The next day, the brewstaff came to work to find an email waiting from a Canadian beer lover, wanting to known how he could get Saison Vos in Quebec. Exciting stuff, but it only got better.

Corey Reid, bar manager at Sly Fox Phoenixville traveled to Montreal a week later to watch Formula One racing and stopped by at the famous Dieu du Ceil brewpub. Once he had identified himself to the bartender, both the owner and brewer at Dieu du Ciel made a point of coming out to tell Corey what a great beer they thought Saison Vos is.

So here's the thing... If you haven't had a goblet of Saison Vos at one of the pubs or your local of late, or you've neglected to stock away some bottles at home, you're really missing out on something good. For that matter, don't miss our Grisette either, on draught at both pubs and a few select on-premise locations. This lighter, crisper version of a saison is ideal for summer drinking and is rarely brewed in this country.

OUR SECRET BEERS
"Hey, look at this. Southampton Publick House on Long Island is brewing beers in Pennsylvania!"

"Whoa! Who knew Baltimore's Brewers Art was brewing and bottling in some place called Royersford!"

Both Southampton and Brewers Art do brew their beers in Royersford, Pennsylvania... at Sly Fox Brewery & Restaurant on Lewis Road.

Award-winning brewers Phil Markowski and Volker Stewart wanted to bottle some of their brews in 750ml sizes and they both chose Sly Fox as the best place to do so. By law, their labels must specify where they were made and bottled.

Just so you know, then, there are more great beers coming out of our brewery than just our own. So far, Southampton's 10th Anniversary Ale (an Old Ale), Grand Cru, Biere de Garde, Saison Deluxe and Abbot 12 have been made in Royersford, as well as Brewers Art's Green Peppercorn Tripel, Le Canard and Ozzy. If you're any sort of beer geek at all, you know that's a world class lineup.

PAIRING BEERS:
A Great Night at Chick's Cafe

A few weeks ago I hosted a beer dinner at Chick's Cafe in Philadelphia where Jon Medlinsky is the resident beer guy and manager. He came up with the idea of pairing five Sly Fox beers with the European classics that had inspired them.

I was asked to say a few words about them. Jon did all the heavy lifting, in other words, and I had the easy job. I had done the research over the past 15 years, starting with travels around Europe, then working for Phil Markowski in New Hampshire and reading everything I could get my hands on to teach myself to brew lager beer in Cleveland, Ohio...

The reception beer was our Grisette. I have never tasted a version of this style from Belgium, so this beer had no direct beer-y inspiration, but the idea came from reading Phil's book on Farmhouse Ales. Grisette is an old style that is rarely brewed or marketed today, a Saison-style beer, lower in alcohol, brewed with some wheat malt and sometimes spiced. It's become a draught favorite at our brewpubs since we introduced it last year and we added it as a bonus to the opening cheese course matched with Saison Vos and Saison Dupont. It's no secret that Dupont is one of my favorite beers and all three beers complemented the cheese in a way no wine could.

Next we worked our way through pan-seared Mackerel over fennel and orange salad along with Pikeland Pils and Jever Pils. I was surprised at how very similar these two were. Duck Confit with Royal Weisse and Schneider Weisse followed, another nice pairing.

We took a break then as, for the first time ever- for me at least, we had a cooking demonstration in the middle of a beer dinner. Jon's friend Adam Gertler is a contestant on the "Next Food Network Star" and he displayed some tricks for getting slow-cooked barbecue character at home. That was, naturally, followed by short ribs based on Adam's recipe, paired with O'Reillys Stout and Guinness (no comment). And the last course was Banana Napoleon with Ichor and St. Bernardus 12 with a surprise- Jon saved some Ichor from 2005 that he poured for a side by side comparison.

The evening would have been perfect if it had ended right there, but Jon had another surprise. He had saved a jeroboam of Renard D'Or that we had given Chick's as a Christmas present, so our resident Beer Lass Suzanne poured samples for everybody as Iota, one of the servers, played piano and sang a few tunes.

Jon and the staff at Chick's had exceeded any expectations I could have had, and it was an honor to be part of a true symphony of food and beer service and song.