In downtown Philadelphia, down an narrow hidden alley, sits the oldest continuously-run pub in the city, McGillan’s Old Ale House. It’s one of those places that immediately hits you with its charm the moment you walk through the doors. Dimly-lit with wooden beams lining the ceiling, McGillan’s is the quintessential old-time tavern. My wife and I walked through the doors and were immediately greeted by the bar’s owner, who told us to sit wherever we’d like. We chose one of the tables near the fireplace and took a look around.

Lining the walls were the typical bar decor: old pictures, sports news clippings, and a seemingly random collection of antique nick-nacks. But looking through the menu, we discovered that this building contained a boat-load of history.

From their website:

Shortly after the Liberty Bell cracked and long before ground was broken for City Hall, McGillin’s Olde Ale House threw open its doors. Its beer taps have been flowing since 1860 — making it the oldest continuously operating tavern in Philadelphia. McGillin’s has outlasted Strawbridge’s, the Civil War and even Prohibition.

Hit the link for a few photos.

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It was about three years ago that our good friends Savory Cade and Cap’n Rawkenschpiel introduced us to Sailor Jerry. At the time, our rum of choice was Captain Morgan and to us nothing could ever replace it. And when Savory and Cap’n first told us about the Sailor, claiming that it was far superior to our beloved pirate, we simply wrote it off as another impostor akin to Calico Jack and Admiral Nelson.

Shame on us!

One sip of the Sailor and we were sold. Not only was it stronger than Captain, it was smoother and mixed better with Coke. And as a bonus (depending on your point of view), it made us even more surly during podcasts. We never looked back and Sailor Jerry and Coke has been the favorite mixed drink of Drunken Gamers Radio ever since.

On a drunken Sunday afternoon in Philadelphia, I stumbled out of an Irish pub (more on that later), rounded the corner, and saw the sign for the Sailor Jerry store. I rubbed my bloodshot eyes and looked again. Could it be? An entire store dedicated to the greatest rum ever distilled?

Xanadu!

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Trappist beer is a special thing. There are seven breweries in the world that carry the official Trappist seal, and every single beer they brew is a masterpiece. All of these beers are brewed by actual Trappist Monks in monasteries. They have to have something in exchange for that vow of celibacy, right? Well, I don’t know if I would trade carnal relations for these beers, but they sure come a close second.

Six of the seven Trappist breweries are represented here. The seventh monastery, Westvleteren, couldn’t be with us today because they only sell their beer out of the monastery… in Belgium… damn. You can get their beer on Ebay, but I think it works out to a little over $100 for a six-pack of 11.2oz bottles. Another thing to note about Westvleteren is that they brew the #1 rated beer on the planet, at least according to the ratings on beeradvocate.com and ratebeer.com, the two most popular beer sites. When I get to try the Westy 12, I’ll let you know how it is…

I have picked out one beer from each brewery. From Koningshoeven, the quad is the only one I’ve tried. Rochefort does an 8 and 6, but the 10 is the best. Chimay has a white and red, but the Blue is my favorite. Westmalle has one or two others, but the Tripel is the only one I’ve had. I believe Orval and Achel only make one beer apiece. I’m sure I’m wrong somewhere in this paragraph; I’m just too lazy to research.
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For those of us with prior responsibilities, Midwest Gaming Classic was not an option. What could be more tempting than a room full of free pinball? Craft beer, of course! While many of you were traipsing around the Milwaukee area soaking in all things geek, I went to the 2nd annual Firkin Fest beer festival at the Happy Gnome in St. Paul on March 21st, accompanied by my wife and sister-in-law. I even brought my camera this time!

The first thing one has to think about when going to a beer festival is getting home. So we rode the bus there, ensuring we would be extra hungry for the event by getting a contact high at the second stop. We also arranged for my sister-in-law’s boyfriend to pick us up. The kids were at Grampa’s house, so we were set for a day and night of nonstop drinking of great beer.
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Mmm…beer…

A year ago, my wife got me a subscription to Draft Magazine, and every month since I get a serious case of the thirst the moment it arrives in the mail. Draft has expanded my beer horizons by recommending some of the best beer I have ever had the pleasure of drinking. Hell, it was Draft that first introduced me to Westmalle after they made Westmalle Dubbel the first beer to score a perfect 100 in their magazine. And I’ve lost track of the number of times they’ve mentioned Surly in their magazine, which certifies them as experts in my book.

Draft covers nearly everything a beer-lover could ask for. In addition to beer reviews (my favorite part of the magazine), they also tour cities highlighting the local beer hot-spots. They interview brewers, bar owners, and chat up the occasional celebrity about their favorite beers, and there are often recipes complete with beer-matchings. The most recent issue (pictured) lists the top 200 beer bars in the United States, broken down by region. Among those listed are local Twin Cities restaurants like The Blue Nile, Bryant Lake Bowl, The Happy Gnome, and an old favorite of mine and Hilden’s The Muddy Pig.

Draft Magazine is an indispensable resource for beer connoisseurs and for those looking to learn more about beer. Check out segments of the magazine and sign up for a subscription here.

Ok. So, I realize that the pot is calling the kettle black here, but there’s just a level of dork that I can’t seem to fathom. It resides squarely in the camp of this product right here, Mana Energy Potion. While on a recent excursion to Frye’s in Los Angeles, my astute sister-in-law pointed this product out to me in all it’s uber-nerd glory.

Now, first off, Mana presents itself not as an energy drink but a potion. Which means that somewhere, presumably over a hex grid and some 20 siders, some dude is going to stand up and hoist aloft this potion and say something like “ENERGY RESURGENCE +20!” before slugging it down. Or possibly this is simply a link in a long chain of aids toward getting that coveted “Shit Your Own Pants” achievement in World of Warcraft. Either way, it’s positioning itself in a very serious niche and I’m simply curious to see this product in action.

The website has this to say:

WTF is a Mana Energy Potion?

It will bump your mana or your HP up +160 (real world humans have about 100 mana, by the way). It’s 5-8 hours of smooth, jitter-free energy. When it comes to caffeine content, this potent shot is equivalent to about two 8-ounce Red Bulls or four cups of crappy office coffe.”

The actual Mana product is a blue colored liquid that is delivered in a small vial about the size of an airplane liquor bottle. There is also another variety, called Health, that comes in a red colored form. Presumably this variety has a different taste (apple-cinnamon according to the website) and is filled with more herbs and vitamins than Mana. You know…to make you more..healthy in battle.

What I can personally tell you is that this product tastes like crap. But that’s just me. Your Mana consumption mileage may vary. You can find this stuff in most of your big box retail shops if you look hard enough and bottle retail for around $3.00 a bottle.

I don’t know about you folks, but I’m going to caffeinate myself the old fashioned way with coffee. The way GOD INTENDED.

And now for something completely different…

My wife makes a lot of good food, but this is by far my favorite meal she makes. The best part is that it’s insanely easy to make, thanks to the faithful crock pot. What we usually do is prepare the ingredients before we go to bed, and then turn on the crock pot in the morning before we go to work. And in the evening, when we get home, the whole house smells fantastic. The recipe calls for lam shanks, but a lamb or beef roast works as well. I wanted to pass this along because it tastes fucking fantastic!

4 lamb shanks
1 cup white wine
1 tablespoon dried oregano, crushed
1 tablespoon dried mint, crushed
1 teaspoon green peppercorns, crushed
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup uncooked rice

Place the lamb shanks in a slow cooker with meaty ends down. In a small bowl, combine wine, oregano, mint, peppercorns, salt and garlic. Pour mixture over lamb. Cover and cook on LOW 7 to 9 hours or until meat is tender. Remove meat from bones, discard bones. Return meat to cooker. Turn control to HIGH. Add rice; cover and cook 1 hour.

It’s a fantastic meal on cold winter evenings and goes great with a nice dark beer or red wine. Enjoy!

Well, once again the gift of beer has been bestowed and we are obliged to show off just how cool our podcast listeners can be. You can hear the full effect this killer brew had on us if you listen to the latest episode of Drunken Gamers Radio, but before you listen just take a moment and LOOK at that awesome beer!

From the Wikipedia article on the Rochefort Brewary:

“The brewery is located inside the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Saint-Rémy, near the town of Rochefort, and has been brewing beer since 1595. There are approximately 15 monks resident at the monastery. The monks are very secretive about the brewing process, and the brewery is not open to the public, therefore much of the information publicly known about the brewery comes from only a few sources.
Like many strong Belgian beers, those produced at Rochefort age well and can be cellared for at least five years whilst maintaining quality. Each of these beers is brewed to the same recipe, with the only difference being the alcoholic content. The water for the beers is drawn from a well located inside the monastery walls.
As with all other trappist breweries, the beer is only sold in order to financially support the monastery and some other good causes. The monks will not increase production based on demand or profit motives, but only enough to support themselves, resulting in a fairly limited supply of beer availability. In practice, there is currently no shortage through regular channels.”

I don’t know about you but the past two weekends have proven that monks make GREAT beer. Once again, our sincerest thanks to Thom for his gifts of not only awesome beer but some great glasses with which to drink them. You, good sir, are simply too kind.

Pices
Your 40 to drink is a King Cobra. Upon finishing, your will be rewarded with one win on your squares bet for the super bowl.

Aquarius
Your 40 to drink is a Miller High Life. Upon finishing, you will avert yourself from any upcoming snowmobile accidents.

Capricorn
Your 40 to drink is a St. Ides. Upon finishing, your life expectancy increases-…-for your computer. Not you.

Sagittarius
Your 40 to drink is a Camo XXX(XX) [High Gravity]. Upon finishing, the next beer you have will taste like your favorite. Or you’ll become a gigantic pussy and drink nothing but hard cider for a month.

Scorpio
Your 40 to drink is a Olde English “800″. Upon doing so, your next guest will visit you bringing semi-expensive ales and later leave them over for future private elegance.

Libra
Your 40 to drink is an Icehouse. Upon finishing, your happiness will double by two and your friends will slightly judge you for your taste in beer. However, your happiness will divide by two if a case of Milwaukee’s Best is found at your location.

Virgo
Your 40 to drink is a Mickey’s. Upon finishing, your resistance to cancer increases and you’re going to belch like, really fucking loud.

Leo
Your 40 to drink is a Steel Reserve 211. Upon finishing, your team choice will win the Super Bowl and you’ll have reduced beer farts the next morning. You get bonus immunity to AIDS if you’re Canadian.

Cancer
Your 40 to drink is a Schlitz. When you finish, you’ll play better at Chromehounds. Your inane chatter over the headset will exponentially rise and you’ll become ‘that guy’ who wants to break the game using party chat.

Gemini
Your 40 to drink is a Colt 45. Upon finishing, the next Yagerbomb you have will send you straight to the toilet. Vomit away, son. The benefit is pretzels will taste really good that night. I prefer the little rods. They are yummy.

Taurus
Your 40 to drink is a Mt. Everest. When done, your speech will distort and your buzz will magnify eight-fold. You’re attraction to ladies will also increase. Unfortunately, the ladies will not increase attraction to you unless you have a second 40 of Mt. Everest.

Aries
Your 40 to drink is a Laser. Not even before you’re done, your friends will think you’re pretty fucking sweet to bust that out. Here’s a picture of John drinking one, but not really.

For those of you who listen to the Drunken Gamers Radio podcast, you may recall that we received a generous gift from one of our listeners.

Here is a picture of the awesomeness that Thom sent us! Behold the glory that is fine beer. Thanks, Thom!