Perfect Fills Come to Harrisburg

You thought Al’s of Hampden was already rockin’ the Harrisburg area beer scene with:

• 20 CO2 tap lines  for in-house consumption, 1L and 2L growler fills
• 4 nitro lines (one on his fancy, new nitro faucet)
• 3 handpumps
• 350+ beers for take-out (in six-packs, mix-a-six bottles, singles, bombers and 750 ml bottles)
• live, real-time updates to the beer list on display in the shop and via Feedburner

Well, tonight he’s installing a counter pressure growler fill machine, which is essentially identical to the Austrian-built Alfred Gruber growler filler at Victory Brewing. It will create the perfect fill, the counter pressure fill will keep your beer fresher even longer.

Follow the installation on Twitter – complete with photos!

Let’s Try This Again

I needed a little break. I took a long break. So, yup, you missed out on all my beer adventures over the last 10 months. Just of the top of my head, they included:

• The Grilled Cheese & Beer Tasting at World Cafe Live
• My 50th state beer was consumed in Arkansas (yes, I’ve now had a beer from every state in the union!), and my 47th state-beer-in-the-state was consumed in Oklahoma
• Dark Lord Day which I missed (but due to good Karma and great friends, I got the beer anyway)
• The D(r)INKs Beer & Balls weekend, including Sly Fox Goat Races
• The Harrisburg Brewer’s Fest
• Several self-created area beer tours including Central PA Veggie & Beer Tour and Pubs of the Finger Lakes with a visit to Two Goats Brewing, among other great places
• 8th annual Ffej of July (Octoffej) – music, great friends, great beers and fun!
• Rhoads tour of Great Taste of the Midwest
• Helping a thru-hiker take a break with Blue Mountain Brewing and Devil’s Backbone
• A Northern California beer tour including Toronado, Jupiter, Triple Rock, Marin, Moylan’s, Lagunitis, North Coast, Ukiah, Anderson Valley, Russian River, Jack Russel and several more (the highlight, however, was hop picking at the Abbey de St. Humulus – the home of Moonlight Brewery!)
• Brewgrass 2010 with the Hollands and all of our favorite Asheville peeps
• Epcot® International Food & Wine Festival, with side trips to for beers and foods in Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Columbia, Aiken, Savannah, St. Augustine, Tampa (Cigar City and Peg’s Cantina & Brew Pub)
• Oktoberfest celebrations in Mifflinburg, at Berwick Brewing and The Reading Liederkranz
• Our 3rd Annual Thanksgiving Getaway (“Herbs after Turkey”) – destination Jackie O’s and surprise highlight, Weasel Boy Brewing Co.
• Bullfrog Brewery Pub Club Christmas party
• Selin’s Grove Brewing Company 14th Anniversary Party and Solstice Celebration / Firkin tapping
• Elk Creek Cafe + Aleworks 3rd Anniversary party
• My Big Birthday Bash in Orange County, including 13 hours of Disneyland, Naja’s Place, the Bruery Reserve Society Initiation Celebration, Beachwood BBQ and Pizza Port San Clemente
• East End Brewing Gratitude Barleywine 2010 Release Day 

Obviously, it’s been a busy 10 months. And this just scratches the surface. But it brings me up to speed so that I can get back to the business of writing instead of feeling like I need to play catch-up.

Thanks to those who encouraged me to take this back up – I hope I don’t let you down. Thanks to my many designated drivers for getting me to and from events. And if you are reading my blog for the first time, welcome.