Minding Your Ps and Qs

Introducing the Beer Lass.

by Suzanne Woods

I talk about beer. A lot. I remember my first La Fin Du Monde much better than my first Yuengling. But not as much as my first Rochefort 10.

I plan vacations around beer festivals. If my mother sees me in Arizona, it’s probably the Great Arizona Beer Festival weekend. Few things make me happier than goat cheese and Saison. I’ve had beer for breakfast (God bless Ithaca’s Caffinator). I preside over a beer club exclusively for women.

Sure, I’ll have an occasional glass of Tempranillo and whiskey once in a while (sometimes on pancakes), but my preferred potable can be found by the pint, bottle or quart.

Speaking of bottles, did you know Philadelphia was the first city to make recycling the law back in 1987? But it’s never really been enforced in the bars.

The city goal is to recycle 35 to 40 percent of waste. As of last August we were at 6 percent. I heard objections to recycling from a few bars that said they’d tried. They would separate their bottles, then watch the waste company pick it up and throw it all together anyway.

I give kudos to the Druid’s Keep for running possibly the most diligent recycling program in the city. If you get a chance this summer, enjoy a beer in their backyard, play bean bag toss and watch them do their little beer- drinkers’ part in saving the world.

A few blocks away the Standard Tap has set itself up so it doesn’t have lots of waste to begin with. In addition to selling all draft beer all the time, co-owner William Reed says the Tap saves and recycles all used fryer oil. Some is used by Greensgrow in their greenhouse heaters.

White Dog Cafe operates on wind power. Fairmount’s Bishop’s Collar uses recyclable to-go containers. Dock Street in West Philly has a community recycling drop-off every Saturday. There are many more doing good, but as of right now Philadelphia ranks eighth out of nine major cities for bar recycling. We can do better.

Next month I’ll make suggestions for the famous “mix a six” at the Foodery. Like mixtapes but with beer. Did you know the No. 1 selling summer seasonal in Philadelphia last week was Flying Fish Farmhouse? Agave isn’t just for tequila anymore. Breckenridge (Co.) has a new “Agave Wheat” available. Legacy’s “Dear Abbey” Dubbel is out and about.

General Lafayette will have big bottles coming to a cooler near you by Independence Day. And if it’s yet another hotass day and you want something refreshing, head to 16th and Spruce, and Monk’s will pour you a geuze to cure any summertime blues.