Bonifest featured three musical acts

The Brew Review pairs Isaac’s food, beers

Several months ago, I was having a beer at St. Boniface Craft Brewing when I ran into co-owner and brewer, Jon Northup. The brewery had just received a huge order of cans. He told me the Ephrata-based brewery would soon be distributing in the Philly market.

St. Boniface is growing, and the dedicated crowd at Bonifest on Saturday, June 4, is one of the reasons why. Back for 2016, Bonifest once again delivered great beer, quality food, and spectacular entertainment to the brewery’s devotees.

Last year, I missed out on a special firkin, so this year I was parking my car at 11 a.m. sharp. I couldn’t wait to get my lips around a glass of the limited and dwindling barrel-aged Anniver5ary Hegemony stout. It’s so good! The weather was beautiful, and as the afternoon approached, the crowd grew.

Lititz-based band The Heavy Push kicked off the entertainment, and was followed by the popular David Wax Museum, and Lancaster County favorite Corty Byron Band. Where else can you get a beer, a souvenir glass, and a concert for $15?

Guests could partake in nosh from The Fridge, Crave Food Truck, Sven’s Café, and Sugar Whipped mobile bakery. Specialty brews for the third annual event included lemon shandies, Paideia with Citra hops and blood oranges, Libation with Simcoe hops and mango, and a tiramisu Hegemony.

Devotees came for the brews and food, and stayed for the great entertainment. Bonifest, on June 4, was another triumph for St. Boniface Craft Brewing.

The Brew Review

June seems to be a great time of year to get St. Boniface. During a recent get-together, my friend Adam DiPerna told me about some special beer events going on at Isaac’s Pickle Bar. Each month the Pickle Bar in Lancaster features a brewery with a “Brew Review” and a tap takeover. When I learned the next one would be St. Boniface I had to check out what a Brew Review was all about. So, I headed into the city last Saturday.

The Brew Review pairs Isaac’s food with four different beers. For the first course, bar manager Josh Swisher created a beef stroganoff soup utilizing the restaurant’s tenderloin tips to pair with St. Boniface’s Wynfrid English Session Ale. The second course featured a ham, pineapple, and three-cheese pizza to help accentuate the Citra hops in Paideia. My favorite Boniface beer, 3 lb. IPA, was served with a curried cranberry-almond chicken salad wrap. For the fourth course, Swisher paired Hegemony with a miniature version of the restaurant’s signature desert; the Fudgie Wudgie is a warm brownie served in a bowl with vanilla ice cream and topped with hot fudge, whipped cream, and miniature chocolate chips. It paired well. My favorite pairing was the first; the beef went well with the maltiness of Wynfrid.

The event was great, because even being so familiar with the brewery I managed to learn something I hadn’t known about St. Boniface. Guests gain an advanced knowledge of the brewery and their beers.

Tap takeover

Each Brew Review is followed up by a tap takeover. The St. Boniface tap Takeover kicks off at 5 p.m. on Friday, June 17, when all eight taps at the 25 N. Queen St. bar will pour St. Boniface beer. The next Brew Review will look at Sierra Nevada’s offerings on Saturday, July 9, with a tap takeover scheduled for July 15.

August returns with a local brewery, Columbia Kettle Works; and September brings in one of my all-time favorite breweries, Sixpoint, out of Brooklyn. Cheers!

Michael C. Upton is a freelance writer specializing in arts and leisure. He welcomes comments at somepromcu@gmail.com and facebook.com/SomebodiesProductions.

Pretty soon, you won’t be able to enjoy any more barrel-aged
Anniver5ary Hegemony stout. Stop by St. Boniface and try it while the limited batch is still available.