Bella Vista Beer

I really need to think more about how I plan things.  And I need to take more pictures.  Because yesterday was awesome, and could have been awesomer.

I took the kids down to South Philly for the grand opening of the new location of Bella Vista Beer Distributor.  My first error in planning was thinking that it was at Ellsworth St, 6 blocks or so below the actual location at Fitzwater St.  And then deciding to park at 9th and Dickinson, so that the girls could have a nice walk.  Yea, that was a bad decision.  As was letting Maruke fall off my shoulders, just grabbing her ankle in time to avoid a serious head injury.  That was a bad idea.

The grand opening, however, was a good idea.  The bad planning part was that I didn’t plan on staying there all afternoon.  There was at least 10 or 15 breweries pouring, and it was totally free.  Marni and her 2 girls met us there, and eventually Lois rode on down also.  I had a chance to try a couple beers.  The clear winner and stand out was Voodoo Brewery’s Black Magick Stout.  Wow!  A 15-16% Russian Imperial Stout, aged in bourbon barrels.  Fresh at a year old, it was smooth, sweet and really boozy.  Rather profound, I must say.  I almost went in and bought a case (sans labels, as the brewer said it wasn’t even really supposed to be released yet).  But then I thought about the walk back to the car and decided against it.  Probably the best decision of the day.

I also wished that I had taken some pictures.  The new location is gigantic, though the abbey and bell tower was a bit of a let down.  I probably shouldn’t have actually thought that there would be a playground-like monastery with a 2 story clock tower; but I’m a sucker for my own inflated imagination.  I didn’t really even make a dent in checking out the entire store, so another trip is definitely in order.