Drink
When Ed and Carol Stoudt launched Stoudt's Brewing Company more than 20 years ago, they were microbrew pioneers for the local beer scene, which is currently in full-celebration mode with Philly Beer Week until next Sunday.
When Ed and Carol Stoudt launched Stoudt's Brewing Company more than 20 years ago, they were microbrew pioneers for the local beer scene, which is currently in full-celebration mode with Philly Beer Week until next Sunday.
A taste of Stoudt's recently rereleased Smooth Hoperator, though, shows the Adamstown brewery is as current as ever. Created last year to mark the brewery's 20th anniversary, Smooth Hoperator is a cleverly Americanized rendition of a German doppelbock - thus the classic beer's billy-goat mascot dresses in suave hip-hop threads on the label. The beer itself has the traditionally malty, richness of that deep amber lager, but the finish goes decidedly Stateside, with a bitter and piney apricot kick of Amarillo hops laid on with a lip-smacking groove.
Smooth Hoperator is available in better beer bars, distributors and select delis. Suggested retail price is about $35 a case, $10 to $12 a six-pack, or about $5 a pint.
- Craig LaBan