Beer Road Trip
Free Will Brewing Co. in Perkasie is celebrating their brand new, bigger and better, taproom tomorrow Friday, November 21 from 3 pm to 9 pm. The new bar area is in the same building, but is now located at the front, rather than the basement. There will be 16 beers on tap for the grand opening celebration. Here are just a few: Pixie’s Revenge, Ralphius, Black Friday, Freshie IPA, 10W Porter, Destiny’s Wit, Techno IPA (one of my favorites), Saison de Rose and a special firkin of C.O.B. (with Ghana roasted cacao nibs, Madagascar bourbon vanilla beans and maple syrup). The new taproom is accessible through the front entrance, street-side on 410 East Walnut Street.
Bucks County Brewery is brewing something special for Thanksgiving. “It’s a beer brewed for one meal. And one meal only,” says brew master and owner Andrew Knechtel. Convivium 2014 is a gruit style beer brewed with parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme instead of hops. It’s a beer brewed specifically for a Thanksgiving feast (Convivium is Latin for “the banquet”). Only 100 750 ml bottles of Convivium have been bottled. They will go on sale at the brewery starting at 3 pm tomorrow (November 21). Make sure you get a bottle for your family’s table before they sell out, because once this inaugural batch of Convivium 2014 is gone, it won’t be back until next Thanksgiving. The brewery is at 31 Appletree Lane in Pipersville, just north of Plumsteadville off of Rt. 611.
Pizza and empanadas
Authentic Neapolitan wood-fired pizza is coming to Lambertville. Pizza artisan Chris Bryan and Canal Studios owner Danny Popkin are opening Liberty Hall Pizza on North Union Street this month. Bryan learned the ropes at Nomad Pizza in Hopewell, NJ, whose Neapolitan pizzas are crisp, fresh and delicious. Bryan intends to source locally for many of his ingredients, especially for his fresh salads, in addition to imported Italian tomatoes, mozzarella di bufala and extra virgin olive oil. An Italian 850-degree wood-fired Valoriani oven is used to bake the pizzas for only two minutes, producing a chewy, yet charred “leopard spotted” crust. The 50-seat, 1,500-square foot restaurant is slated to open this month, November, at the Canal Studios on 243 North Union Street in Lambertville (next door to Rojo’s Roastery, and just down the street from oWowCow Creamery). Watch their Facebook page and website for updates.
Unless you’ve been out of the country and without internet access you probably already know that Empanada Mama, the delicious empanada bakery in Doylestown, has moved to a larger space this month. You’ll find them at 21 Donaldson Street, open now Monday through Saturday. See their website and Facebook page for daily menu updates and more information.
The lights are on
It’s a “soft opening” but the Stockton Inn has indeed reopened for business. They are serving dinner Thursday through Monday, beginning at 5 pm. We haven’t had a chance to stop by. If you have, let us know what you think.
I know I don’t normally write about chains, but there is a lot of excitement about the opening of Chipotle in Doylestown, slated for November 22. The hip, Mexican-style restaurant features very fresh ingredients sourced from sustainable, organic and local sources whenever possible. It’s certainly not your average fast-food chain restaurant. The restaurant is on 569 North Main Street, across from the Weis supermarket shopping center.
The lights are off
Doylestown’s private member Standard Club will host its last dinner in its downstairs restaurant this Saturday, November 22. The unique club opened in 2012 with only 45 members and grew to over 500 members in 2014. In addition to a fine menu using many local farms to source ingredients, the club has supported many local Bucks County charities and non-profits by contributing food, time and event space. The club will remain available for member-sponsored events. For more information, see their website.
