Hell with the Lid Off
Several readers have asked about this year's Hell with the Lid Off Barleywine Festival.
The wonderfully named annual celebration of really, really strong beer is this weekend at Kelly's in East Liberty, but it's sold out, for both days, as usual.
You still can get a piece of it, in the form of the poster beautifully rendered by local artist Wayno.
He plans to be at the event both days selling the posters to attendees for $15, but you can get one from his website for $25.
As he notes there, the event's time and ticket prices changed, so this year's poster is even more "collectable" than past ones.
You can have your own little toast this weekend by seeking out a bottle of barleywine at a better beer store or bottle shop.
Brandon McCarthy, the new head brewer at Rock Bottom, recently told me about the Homestead restaurant and brewery's Old, Old Wooden Ship Barleywine, which weighs in at 9.9 percent alcohol by volume, and a few kegs of which have floated out into the world. All Saints also makes one.
Look for the annual release of East End Brewing Co.'s Gratitude barleywine later this year.
Wayno art
He pl
barleywine