Nitro - The Beer Thrillers

Beer Wall on Penn Has Closed

B. Kline — Sat, 28 Sep 2024 03:12:48 +0000

Beer Wall on Penn has announced they are officially closed.

Beer Wall on Penn has announced they are officially closed

Another staple of craft beer in Reading, Pennsylvania, has announced they are closed. Located at 619 Penn Ave, West Reading, PA 19611, the Beer Wall on Penn has been in operation for nearly five and a half years. On the same street as Chatty Monks Brewing / Pagoda City Brewing, Willow Creek Brewing, and Broken Chair Brewery. In just the past two years Chatty Monks has undergone big changes and turned into Pagoda City Brewing with new management, Willow Creek Brewing has closed, and Broken Chair Brewery just recently closed as well.

Their announcement on social media reads:

**Important Announcement**

After 5 1/2 incredible years the ave, we regret to inform you that Beer Wall on Penn has closed it’s doors. We want to take this opportunity to express our heartfelt gratitude to all our amazing current and past employees. Your hard work, dedication, and passion have played an essential role in making Beer Wall a household name. To our customers, thank you for every pint poured, every smile shared, and every memory created. We couldn’t have done it without you. I got to live out a dream and for that, I’m forever thankful. It was one hell of a run!

We have retained our assets and “R” liquor license. If anyone is interested, please email beerwallonpenn@gmail.com

Beer Wall on Penn – Facebook Post

They posted this just a few hours ago at 8:38 AM.

Reactions

Some reactions from people on Reddit, Facebook, and others talk about Reading, and the craft beer industry as a whole. For examples…

Broken Chair brewing, Say Cheese, Nitro Bar, Willow Creek Brewery, and now Beer Wall on Penn closed. WHAT THE HELL WEST READING?!?!?!

Scott Horner

And from Reddit:

Say Cheese, Nitro Bar, and West Reading Motor Club all closed because of a scandal involving the club owners son who managed Nitro and WMC. From what I’ve heard: none of those restaurants were profitable anyway.

Broken Chair’s owner said he was promoted at work, close to retirement, wanted to slow down and not invest more into growing the business.

Willowcreek closed because the owners retired.

Beer Wall: no clue.

My opinion: the restaurant/brewery business isn’t an easy one. And there were so many in WR. Two of the originals (Chatty Monks and Barley Mow) still seem busy. People might say it’s prices and inflation but Barley Mow is the most expensive of them all yet they’re busy because the food is amazing.

Most businesses fail in good times and bad. Honestly, I have no idea how half the businesses in WR make any money and most close within a year. Either there’s just no demand, they don’t market, or another business in a saturated market gets most of the business. That’s how capitalism works!

/r/Reading, PA – Beer Wall on Penn Closes After Five Years in Business

For More Information on Beer Wall on Penn

For more information on the Beer Wall on Penn, you can find them at these social media platforms:

Beer Wall on Penn – Official Website
Beer Wall on Penn – Facebook
Beer Wall on Penn – Instagram

Brewery News

Interested in finding out about many other brewery openings, new locations, closings, movings, and in general brewery news? You can check out our links below:

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Embracing the Dark Side: A Guide to Stout Season

B. Kline — Tue, 30 Jan 2024 11:22:51 +0000

Irish Car Bomb Stout on Nitro by Rotunda Brewing

Embracing the Dark Side: A Guide to Stout Season

As the leaves turn and the air chills, beer enthusiasts know it’s time to embrace the darker, richer, and more complex flavors of stout season. This beloved time of year is when breweries release their most anticipated stouts, ranging from the robust and creamy to the bold and barrel-aged. In this guide, we’ll explore the allure of stout season, highlight key styles to seek out, and share tips on how to get the most out of these darker brews. Whether you’re a stout aficionado or a curious newcomer, prepare to be enveloped by the warm embrace of stout season.

The Allure of Stout Season:

Treats of Strength by Icarus Brewing

Stout season unofficially begins in late fall and stretches through the winter months, offering a comforting counterpoint to the colder weather. This is when the depth and complexity of stouts truly shine, providing a sensory experience that is both warming and satisfying. Breweries often use this time to showcase their creativity, experimenting with aging processes, ingredients, and blending techniques to produce flavors that range from sweet and velvety to smoky and bitter.

Key Stout Styles to Explore:

Imperial Stout: Known for its high ABV and intense flavors, the imperial stout is a staple of stout season. Look for variants aged in bourbon, rum, or whiskey barrels for added complexity.
Oatmeal Stout: Creamier and smoother than other stouts, oatmeal stouts offer a gentle sweetness and a silky mouthfeel, making them incredibly approachable.
Milk Stout: Also known as sweet stouts, milk stouts are brewed with lactose sugar, which yeast cannot ferment, resulting in a sweeter, fuller-bodied beer.
Coffee Stout: Perfect for coffee lovers, these stouts incorporate coffee beans at various stages of the brewing process, offering a delightful marriage of coffee and malt flavors.
Pastry Stout: A newer trend, pastry stouts are inspired by desserts and often feature chocolate, vanilla, cinnamon, and other confectionery flavors.

Tips for Enjoying Stout Season:

Pair Wisely: Stouts pair excellently with rich foods and desserts. Try them with chocolate cake, aged cheeses, or hearty stews to enhance the flavors.
Serve at the Right Temperature: Unlike lighter beers, stouts should be served at a slightly warmer temperature (around 50-55°F) to fully appreciate their depth and complexity.
Explore Local Breweries: Many craft breweries release limited-edition stouts during stout season. Visiting local breweries can provide a unique opportunity to sample exclusive offerings.
Host a Tasting Event: Gather friends and host a stout tasting event. It’s a fun way to explore different styles and share the experience with others.

Conclusion:

Santa’s Bake by YAH Brew

Stout season is a time to explore the rich and diverse world of dark beers, offering an opportunity to savor flavors that are as complex as they are comforting. By seeking out different styles, pairing them thoughtfully with food, and sharing the experience with friends, you can fully embrace the dark side of beer. So, as the nights grow longer and the temperatures drop, remember that it’s not just the cold that’s setting in—it’s stout season, and it’s time to celebrate the depth, warmth, and richness it brings to the craft beer community.

German Chocolate Cake by Wicked Weed Brewing

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MAPS OF BREWERIES

You can check out our different directories here: Beer Reviews, Hike Reviews, Book Reviews, Brewery News, Brewery Openings, Brewer Interviews, and Travelogues.

The Beer Thrillers on LinkTree can be found here: The Beer Thrillers LinkTree.

The Beer Thrillers are a blog that prides itself on writing beer reviews, brewery reviews, travelogues, news (especially local to the Central PA brewery scene), as well as covering other topics of our interests – such as hiking, literature and books, board games, and video games which we sometimes stream with our friends over at Knights of Nostalgia. We are currently listed as #7 on FeedSpot’s “Top 100 Beer Blogs” and #8 on FeedSpot’s “Top 40 Pennsylvania Blogs”. (As of January 2023.) Thank you for reading our site today, please subscribe, follow, and bookmark. Please reach out to us if you are interested in working together. If you would like to donate to the blog you can here: Donate to The Beer Thrillers. Thank you!

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Beer Review: Shallow Grave (Nitro) (Heretic Brewing Company)

BKline — Fri, 20 Nov 2020 04:45:06 +0000

Dipping into my bag of beer reviews I need to get done and posted, while slowly working on the series of articles from the trip. This isn’t as old as some, and comes from November 3rd, when I visited Al’s of Hampden (Pizza Boy) to try the I Voted Today by Tired Hands.

I had this on Nitro, had the I Voted Today, and later got a draft of this for Haley as her birthday ‘gift’ and she enjoyed it as well. So it does come …two-time recommended.

Shallow Grave (Nitro) by Heretic Brewing Company

Beer: Shallow Grave (Nitro)
Brewery: Heretic Brewing Company
Style: Porter – American
ABV: 7%
IBU: 33
Untappd Description: Shallow Grave Porter is dark as night, perfect for a cool evening out in the woods. This is a big, dark ale with a complex and rich chocolate and caramel malt character followed by a touch of warmth and light malt sweetness, leaving you ready for more after each shovelful. You will love this so much you won’t have time to dig a six-footer, so make it a Shallow Grave. We’re sure you’ll dig it.

Heretic Brewing Company is a small microbrewery from Fairfield California. Their Untappd description reads: “Ordinary beer is boring; don’t drink it. Embrace your inner Heretic and join us to push the boundaries of beer flavors. We are crazy about beer and passionate about making it. Wanna be a Heretic too? There’s always room for one more.” They have 173 unique beers with a global average rating of 3.84 (as of 11.19.20).

This is a dark brown, but creamy looking porter. The nitro adds a layer of creaminess to the already brown silken look to it. It looks like a good dark brown porter should, not as dark as a stout, but with a heaviness that isn’t in brown ales. It had a very thin dispersed head with nice bubbles, all varying, smooth and creamy, with a lightly brown to off white coloring that dissipated pretty quickly.

Aroma is very deep complex rich and aromatic. Lots of chocolate and caramel notes. Sweet and bitter at the same time, like you are getting sweet candy and also the bitter baker’s chocolate at the same time. There is definitely some malt notes but its a little bit more subdued and hidden behind the chocolate and caramel.

This is delicious right out the gate, it starts with the bitterness of a baker’s chocolate, but very, very quickly, switches to sweeter chocolate, and sweet malt, and sweet caramel, all emphasized and stronger due to the nitro. This has a nice range of flavors amongst these – varying sweetness and bitterness, but mostly staying on the sweet side. I think the base malt gets really added to by the nitro and lays down a very solid foundation for the chocolate and the caramel. Most of the chocolate and caramel is a malty style, but there is some regular caramel and chocolate. The 7% ABV isn’t too high, but I definitely think you feel it with this, it has a bit of a heaviness to it all overall. You aren’t going into this drinking a four pack or a six pack, but this makes for a wonderful beer to drink by the campfire, or at the bar (when we can drink at bars again in Pennsylvania) in winter times. Nitro or not this has a great flavor profile, is exactly what a good porter should be, and will leave you feeling full but satisfied, everything you can really ask for in a beer during these colder months.

My Untappd Rating: ****
Average Global Untappd Rating: 3.84 (as of 11.19.20)

Well, back to writing on those Indy trip articles. They won’t write themselves after all. Until then, everyone stay safe and healthy, cheers!

-B. Kline

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Beer Review: Irish Car Bomb Nitro Stout (Rotunda Brewing Company)

BKline — Mon, 16 Mar 2020 13:09:05 +0000

There is nothing quite like starting your day off with 9AM Irish Car Bombs…. unless their Rotunda Brewing Company’s Irish Car Bomb Nitro Stouts!

Its March 14th, Pi Day, and doom and gloom, national hysteria, societal collapse, is all impending and collecting around the fringes of our collective consciousness. The end is nigh. What do you do? …Simple. Irish Car Bombs at 9AM awaiting Kegs and Eggs.

Now, obviously, this is not a “traditional” Irish Car Bomb. BUT…. it is called Irish Car Bomb (Nitro Stout) and it is better than a Guinness at being the same thing. You could easily do the ‘real’ Irish Car Bomb with this beer, and it’d be better than using a Guinness (also a lot more filling, richer, and probably lead to even more car bombs than the traditional Guinness approach).

For those not in the know, an Irish Car Bomb is a drink / shot. You have a full pint (or for some a half-pint) of Guinness. You then drop a shot of either half and half of Bailey’s and Jameson or straight up Jameson into the pint, and chug all (both pint and shot) as one. Its delicious, its tradition, and its pretty much the only way I do shots anymore unless harassed and harangued into doing some by co-workers when out and about at dive bars with them. (See Tuesday night / Wednesday morning for proof of that.)

But, this could easily replace the Guinness in those shots, and would be much better. Its smoother, tastier, creamier, more delicious, all around better than a Guinness while being pretty much the same thing.

Comparison sake:
Guinness Draught:
Style: Stout – Irish Dry
ABV: 4.2%
IBU: 45
Untappd Description:

Swirling clouds tumble as the storm begins to calm. Settle. Breathe in the moment, then break through the smooth, light head to the bittersweet reward.

Unmistakeably GUINNESS, from the first velvet sip to the last, lingering drop. And every deep-dark satisfying mouthful in between.

Pure beauty. Pure GUINNESS.

Guinness Draught is sold in kegs, widget cans, and bottles. The ABV varies from 4.1 to 4.3%. Guinness Extra Cold is the exact same beer only served through a super cooler at 3.5 °C
Global Untappd Rating: 3.79 (as of 3.16.20)

Rotunda Brewing Company’s Irish Car Bomb Nitro Stout:
Style: Stout – Irish Dry
ABV: 5.5%
IBU: No IBU
Untappd Description: (Blank)
Global Untappd Rating: 4.31 (as of 3.16.20)

So stat wise; you go from a 4.2% to a 5.5% ABV. No mention of IBU in the second so can’t really compare. And also no description, so if your looking for information on the beer going in, your getting a blank. But I can tell you… which one is better. So thats just what I’ll do.

So lets run this beer down and drink up for St. Patty’s Day and for The End of Times. So cheers to the end of all things and for the doom of society!

Irish Car Bomb (Nitro Stout) by Rotunda Brewing Company

Beer: Irish Car Bomb (Nitro Stout)
Brewery: Rotunda Brewing Company
Style: Stout – Irish Dry
ABV: 5.5%
IBU: None Listed
Untappd Description: (blank)

First off, you can tell this is creamy. Just look at that picture! Nitro is one of the best things that has ever happened to beer, and this proves why. It provides a wonderful robust creamyness to this already good looking beer. It is dark, Razor Ramon hair black, midnight black, your ex’s soul black. It has a super rich, creamy head to it. The whole appearance of this looks frothy, rich, creamy, decadent. (Don’t worry, it lives up to it.)

Aroma is malty, rich, and creamy. You are going to see the word ‘creamy’ a lot in this review. Maybe I should have led off about that getting people to do a drinking game everytime they see the word creamy in the review. An Irish Car Bomb (shot included) everytime they read the word creamy in this review? ….Ah you poor schmucks would be dead by the end of the review then! Anyway, back to the aroma….. this has a deep malt smell, roasted malt, with vanilla, the nitro brings out that and the deep roasted malts and also highlights the caramel malts a bit as well. All around this smells as delicious as it looks… and it certainly does…. look….. creamy.

Creamy. Creamy. Creamy. Creamy. This. Is. Creamy. Oh… did I mention; that its creamy? You guys still alive out there doing the drinking game? Because if so…. its creamy. Despite its 5.5% ABV, this is a strong, dark, deep, rich, full, and filling beer. Its basically brewed on the same premise as a Guinness draught. To be filling, full, and a damn good stout. The ABV doesn’t matter because the beer itself is so full and rich. And with the nitro, it makes it so creamy, and even more rich and full. This is both a beer you could drink TOO many of and also not be able to drink TOO many of. Depending on time of day, mood, food, stomach, etc. You get the dark, roasted malts, the caramel malts, the roast and darkness of this brew really kick into ultra-drive as you drink it down. The richness from the nitro lending a strong sweetness to it is very nice. It does differ from Guinness where there’s not really a lot of bitterness to this. It might be more malty, and it might be more high ABV, (4.2% to 5.5%) but its certainly a lot sweeter. Not in a bad way, but for a traditional Irish Dry Stout some might prefer some level of bitterness to this, where here its pretty more nonexistent. This is a full, and delicious beer, as it warms you get even more essence out of it, and it just broadens and opens up more, offering the fullness of its vast flavors and ingredients. This is a wonderful beer at 9AM to start your day with breakfast, and even better to be the kick-off lead-in beer before doing a Kegs and Eggs mini-brewfest! (It certainly helped stave off the gloom and doom anyway!)

My Untappd Rating: ****.50
Global Untappd Rating: 4.31 (as of 3.16.20)

Like I said, March 14th (Saturday), was the Kegs and Eggs (2020) brewfest and event at The Batdorf and Rotunda Brewing Company in Annville, Pennsylvania. I am working on the write-up of the event as we speak, and it might get posted tomorrow, or Wednesday. Currently, my job is still open (the only Casino in the state to still be open despite the pandemic going on), so I am still working. I don’t know when I’ll be shut down, if I’ll be shut down, or whats going on. There’s a lot of uncertainty at my job right now, especially since we’re the only ones still open. Ohio Casinos are shut down, Maryland casinos are shut down, the other PA casinos have voluntarily closed…. but we are still open. Financially, health, ethically, there is so much uncertainty at our job right now. Getting to work on the blog is providing a nice escape and stress release for me.

So you can look forward to seeing a Kegs and Eggs (2020) event write-up by myself. I hung out with J. Doncevic, D. Scott, and we caroused our way through sampling from a myriad of breweries in a confined space. Also hanging out with guys from Rotunda Brewing like Kevin, Bryan, and hanging out with Bart from Hop Headz and so many more great people.

I have talked to Karl Larson recently, and he has expressed interest in writing for the blog. So he might start writing soon… or he might not. Either way, no pressure on him. He does have a fantastic Wee Heavy for me to try and review for the blog, that he’s won a National Award for, so I can’t wait for that.

I think I will also be trying to wrap-up my Coronavirus / COVID-19 article. And give ways to help out local breweries. As they are going to be hurting the most from all of this. So please, if you are able to support your small time local breweries (like Boneshire Brew Works, Moo-Duck Brewery, Rotunda Brewing Company, ZeroDay Brewing, etc.), please find ways to help them out where you can. We all need to stick together to get through this.

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Thank you for reading, cheers, and Happy Stone Cold Steve Austin Day!

-B. Kline