The Four Seasons' courtyard was filled to the brim as lovers of Victory Brewery beer packed the house. uwishunu's Philly Beer Week Beer Garden was a hit and I highly recommend getting to the Four Seasons to take in the gorgeous garden view and enjoy the shade from the trees and the calming gurgle of their little waterfall. The Summer Love Ale, I missed it last year, but had 2 bottles last night, was nice. It's a great, light summer session brew that you'll be able to drink on your porch, your stoop or in the park all day long. The rest of their lineup is too hoppy for my tastes, but from the looks of it, I was most definitely in the minority. People were tossing back Hop Devils and Prima Pils like it was going out of style.
There were bloggers aplenty up in there. You couldn't swing a dead lolcat without hitting a dozen in the head. They'd probably turn around with an angry look if you did that, but not before tweeting it 
. Always great to see each other instead of simply reading words on a screen. Unfortunately, Messy was held up at work and couldn't partake in the imbibing and in-real-life blogger meet-n-greet.
And the surprise of the night was Eric Berley from Franklin Fountain with his ice cream on wheels. He had a delicious batch of organic strawberry ice cream made with the wort from the Summer Love Ale. The ice cream was fantastic as always. It was fun to catch up with Eric in such a nice setting.
I got to chat up Brewmaster, Founder and President of Victory, Bill Covaleski, before heading home. He's a really nice guy who must be one of the busiest people around for the next week. He was gracious and in no hurry to move the conversation along. Bill, whatever you do, don't listen to my complaining about the hoppiness of your beer. I'm obviously stupid, crosseyed and just plain wrong given the crowds of fans you've amassed. You make beer lovers proud, myself included.
Pics from Philly Beer Week 2011
Hmmm, perhaps we were not at the same event? Sorry to be negative the first time commenting on your blog, but a friend sent me your link after I finished telling her what a disappointment this was. Like you, Picky, I am no fan of hoppy beer. But I went with my husband to see how the Four Seasons would pair beer and food in a lovely outdoor setting. Well, it was more like a bad company picnic –with a cash bar. No table service, but lots of busboys snagging your cup the moment you set it down–with beer still in it. One line for booze & food tickets, a second line for the beer itself, yet another line for teeny portions of food. They ran out of beer and started carting warm stuff from storage up to the bar. Not enough seating and meanwhile a lovely veranda on the side was reserved for a "Private Event" — but not us beer drinkers, apparently. The young crowd did seem happy though, so maybe none of the above mattered to them. Me, I wanted some Four Seasons magic.
I'm not sure what exactly you were expecting out of this event, but it matched my expectations. I didn't expect table service, but I did expect attentive bussers (overly aggressive bussers taking away beers is bad though, very bad). I think that if you had gone up and told the servers that your brew was taken, half full, by a busser, you would've gotten another one, it is the Four Seasons and all.
Did you expect the beer to be free? Why were you surprised that there was a cash bar? The lines for beer and tickets were most definitely reversed from what seemed logically optimal, but not the end of the world. The food was schmancy and single serving, this wasn't a dinner affair, it was about the beer.
There was almost no seating if I recall correctly, but there were dozens of tables where you could've mingled and met some great people who were out for a good time. And yes, there was a Private Event at the Four Seasons, that's what they do as one of the fanciest hotels on the east coast. There was no seating where they were either and they must've been more pissed than you getting the grill smoke all night.
I felt the Four Seasons magic last night and I might go back for some more later on in the week. I had a grand time and I'm sorry you didn't, but I don't think the event built itself up to be something it wasn't: beer and food, in a garden/courtyard at the Four Seasons. They even had a calypso band for added summeriness!
[...] Messy and Picky Eating our way through Philadelphia « Summer Love & Four Seasons Beer Garden [...]