Saturday, July 10 was Nodding Head’s annual Royal Stumble, this year being the 11th for the unique beerfest. Talk about an institution! The theme was “It’s Always Sunny at the Royal Stumble,” but as I alluded to in my previous Wee Bit Stumble video, that was a misnomer. Why? Because it rained from early morning until well after Nodding Head opened its doors to a soggy line of people.

But could rain keep us down? Hell no! This is the Stumble! This is the fest where breweries are clamoring to make sure your glasses are full, and your buffet plates have a nice assortment of pub food. I’m betting Nodding Head could move the Stumble into the dead of winter and folks would still come out, brimming with craft beer love and non-douche-baggery.

This year, Ryan and LeeAnne joined us after I talked their ears off nonstop about how the Stumble is one of the quintessential fests of the year. Making our way up the stairs, Yards was the first to grace my glass, pouring me a tall one of their Philly Pale Ale. Crisp and hoppy, it was a great way to start. Yards also managed to kick their keg first, giving them the honor of being the RS winner. Yay for Yards!

After getting our first pour and winding through the boisterous crowd, we commandeered a table (like you do) tucked in a far back corner and went to the buffet in shifts to get pulled pork, mini latkes, mac salad, and for those interested, hot wings and franks. It was a nice spread that was replenished often, without being over the top, dry or skimpy.

The offerings for the day were:

Dock St.: Saison Du Potts
Dogfish Head: Festina Peche
Earth Bread + Brewery: Glutenus Minimus
Flying Fish: Farmhouse Ale
General LaFayette: Barren Hill Best Bitter
Nodding Head: Grog
Ommegang: Rare Vos
Philadelphia Brewing Co: Pennsylvania Pale Ale
Sly Fox: Helles
Stewart’s: Coffee Stout
Stoudt’s: Heifer in Wheat
Triumph: Saison
Troegs: Sunshine Pils
Twin Lakes: Greenville Pale Ale
Victory: Helios
Yards: Philly Pale Ale

There were a lot of familiar beers in the line up, as well as a few welcome surprises. Earth Bread + Brewery’s Glutenus Minimus knocked my socks off! The beer is gluten free and sits at 2.5% ABV. Despite the low ABV, the beer packed a punch in the flavor department. At first I thought I was drinking Dogfish Head’s Festina Peche when I snagged a sip from LeeAnne’s glass. Nope! It was EBB’s Glutenus, and the flavor sang of fresh, succulent peaches. I could sure use a growler of that!

Twin Lakes Brewing Co.’s Greenville Pale Ale was an organic offering and nicely showcased Cascade hops. The gentleman manning the taps was jovial and full of information about the beer and brewery, and it was nice to see a new face at the fest.

As always, Festina Peche was a welcome refreshment, as was Stoudt’s Heifer in Wheat (I proudly told the brewery rep that I was married there, which he thought was pretty damn cool). Triumph’s Saison was spot-on for the style and General LaFayette’s Barren Hill Best Bitter had a pleasant nuttiness about it.

I think the beer that surprised me the most was Sly Fox’s Helles Golden Lager. I have to admit, I’m not really a lager girl. I respect the style and how accurate a brewer needs to be with lager beers, but they’ve never been on the top of my list. However, I found the Helles exceptionally crisp and refreshing, with a little je ne sais quoi that made it really enjoyable. I also had a chance to chat with Philly’s one and only Beerlass Suzy about the state of beer in NJ, Denver-area breweries, and my awesome Oskar Blues Canarchy t-shirt (which looks to be unavailable now, per the website).

While Ray, Ryan and I were steadily getting our drink on, LeeAnne — who’s not a huge fan of beer — set about the challenge that Stewart’s Brewing Co. had put out: For every pour of their Coffee Stout you had, you would earn a sticker. The person with the most stickers got a 5-pound bag artisan coffee — the same kind that was used to brew the stout.

So LeeAnne, extroverted and friendly as she is, managed to amass 146 stickers, while not drowning herself in the stout (which was delicious, by the way). Instead, she went from person to person collecting stickers, all the while trying the beer a few times. Talk about entrepreneurial spirit.

We left the Royal Stumble shortly before the end with five pounds of coffee in tow, heading off through the humid, wet streets of Philly in search of our next great adventure for the weekend: roller derby.

Brewfests, Brewpubs, Craft Beer 1 Comment »