Fallsers know him, but unless you were born here or happen to collect Big Band records, the name "Harry Prime" might've slipped under your musical radar. What a shame. UPDATE June 17, 2017: Harry Prime passed away Thursday, June 15, 2017. Born on March 5, 1920, Harry spent his final years with his family in Pennsylvania. He was a graduate of St. Bridget's Elementary and Roman Catholic High School. Services and interment will be private at the...
Slow-henadel no more! With spring kicking into high gear, things are buzzing inside and outside Hohenadel's walls. By the way, you'll notice a fancy new coat of stucco on those exterior walls, compliments of Mike Labetti's crew, who are taking advantage of the beautiful spring weather to make the old lady really shine. (After the stucco gets a hand-rubbed finish, it'll be painted white with black trim. Very period-appropriate for an Italianate...
For fans of craft brewing, the guest list at the East Falls House Party just keeps getting better. We’re psyched to welcome two celebs of Philly's craft beer scene: Lou Farrell, veteran brewer and Great American Beer Festival medalist, and Rich Wagner, brewery historian and expert on antique brewing methods. Lou Farrell Long before craft beer went mainstream, there were highly talented brewers like Farrell who were dedicated to local...
This just in -- Hohenadel’s lager and Harry Prime won’t be the only historical effervescence at the East Falls House Party on October 18th. There will be a few special gallons of America’s oldest beverage on tap — hard cider. Joe Getz, co-founder of Pennsylvania’s own Kurant Cider, has kindly donated a batch of his company’s unique brand of handmade, local cider to the cause. Made from Pennsylvania apples, the cider has a...
Q: How do you turn German beer into American beer? A: Drink it. Poor American lager. A whole generation of craft beer lovers grew up associating this once-noble Old World recipe with the thin, low-alcohol stuff favored by rednecks and underage drinkers. In truth, New World lager is an exciting German-American hybrid: their recipe, our ingredients. American beer at the turn of the 20th century was a proud product of artisanal brewers, made with...
Hohenadel House is Ready to Swing: SATURDAY OCTOBER 18th ... 6 pm - 10 pm A century ago, when friends called on John Hohenadel at his grand mansion on Indian Queen Lane, they likely joined the old brewmaster in his basement parlor -- his "ratzkeller"-- for some of his Falls Brewery beer. His plant a few blocks up on Conrad Street produced more than 30,000 barrels a year, the last and most successful enterprise of the family's 83+ years in...
Pity the beer snobs who don’t "get" lager. They think of an entire style of beer as something that comes in 12 packs of aluminum cans with mountains on the label. It’s thin, it’s watery, and it doesn’t punch you in the face with a fistful of hops. For them, ales are where it’s at and always will be. No matter how silly... Funny thing -- ales were once the hip beer in the early 19th century, until a bunch of German immigrants came along...
Today's players: Tom (brewer) Lou Farrell (local chef, historian/archaeologist, craft beer judge, and pickle aficionado) Steve Fillmore (writer and beer geek and home brew groupie) Mission: To taste-test the pilot batch to determine if the combination of the cluster and noble hops evokes the flavor of a historic 19th century maibock beer -and- to make as much yeast as possible for the Hohenadel throwback lager. Notes: We’d be lying if we said...
The pilot batch tasting is this Saturday! After a couple weeks in Tom’s basement, we’re ready to sample the Maibock beer he made last month, to see if cluster hops produce the desired citrusy flavor (which can also, in certain beers, have hints of tropical fruit essences). Tom’s also hoping for a light and crisp body, but at this early stage of the game, the primary goal is to just “avoid beer that tastes like the first Rheingold you had...
In its heydey, Hohenadel Brewery produced seven different beers, including Indian Queen Ale, Rival Porter, and even a "Health" beer that claimed to be "Approved, Recommended and Endorsed by U.S. Health Bulletin for Absolute Purity, Free from Adulterations" -- big whoops, there. In 1916, the PA District Attorney charged John Hohenadel with "misbranding," and fined him $100. Poor John! Sounds like he was just trying to market his own spin on the...
