Groundhog Brew!

If there's a way to tie beer into it, I'll find it!  Groundhog Day is one of my favorite "holidays" and Groundhog Brew does exist.  It's a German-style alt-bier brewed by Straub Brewery in St. Marys, PA.  I just finished reading some reviews on beeradvocate.com.  Of the first two I read, I have to assume they are either fans of typical domestic lagers (like Straub Beer) or they have no taste in beer at all since the few reviews I read gave it high ratings and mentioned things like "...I would easily pick this up over a case of Yuengling lager," and "Heavy grain bill loads this one up, there is a few notes of hoppiness to this beer but just hints scattered here and there. Lots of toasted malts some caramel."  However, beeradvocate.com's overall rating for Groundhog Brew is POOR.  As I've had it, right there in Punxsutawney, on Groundhog's Day, I can fully agree with that rating.  It is downright awful, disgusting swill.  But they put a different label on it each year, making it collectible.  And, as I have a pint or tasting glass from most everything beer related I've been to, I have a Groundhog Brew pint glass, circa 2007 or 2008 - also collectible, if you're into all that groundhog nonsense (and I am).

Me at Gobbler's Knob with a wanna-be Phil, 2007

I attended my first Groundhog Day event at the source, Punxsutawney, in 2007.  There were only four of us who made the trek, but oh, what a great time we had!  As lodging is VERY limited in Punxsutawney, we ended up staying a half hour away at the Super 8 in Brookville, PA, off Interstate 80.  We drove up right after work, grabbed some grub at the neighboring truck stop, then hit the beds for as much snooze as we could squeeze in before our 2:30am departure for Gobbler's Knob.  We arrived in Punxsutawney just in time to make it to the pick up spot for the first Knob Bus to to the Knob.  My friends tried to sneak in some alcohol to this non-alcohol event.  One nearly had his flask confiscated until he promised to leave it in the car.  But SJ was smarter and put hers down the front of her pants.  No one was going to pat down that area so off to the Knob we went with small flask of whiskey to keep us warm until sunrise.

Three and a half hours of well below freezing temperatures (I think it was around 17°F for a low that night), a lot of really cheesy, yet entertaining entertainment, and a nice fireworks display brought us to that crucial moment - when Punxsutawney Phil, the Prognosticator of Prognosticators, is taken out of his "hole" and asked whether or not he saw his shadow.  We were completely frozen, but we had a ball.

All that fun was followed up by all sorts of groundhog-related activities back in town, including at a showing of the Bill Murray movie, Groundhog Day, which we, of course, had to watch.  The real deal is a bit different than it is portrayed in the movie.  Gobbler's Knob is out of town a couple miles, not right in the town square, and there are a hell of a lot more people in attendance.  People come from all over.  The couple next to me for most of the night had gotten married on Groundhog Day, but hadn't had a honeymoon.  Several years later, there they were at Gobbler's Knob, enjoying a belated one and celebrating their anniversary.  For some people, Groundhog Day is such a big thing that the event organizers include a mass wedding ceremony every year after the main festivities.  I tell you, if a wedding day every comes for me, I'll be hard-pressed to decide between the Groundhog Day fanfare and a drive-thru Elvis wedding chapel in Vegas.

After we had enjoyed all that we could find to do, we stopped in at the only bar in downtown Punxsy for a brew.  That's where we discovered Groundhog Brew.  It was a boring place, though, so we did some investigating and found there was another bar about a mile or so away on the other side of town (yes, only two bars in all of Punxsutawney - at least that we could find).  There was already an abundance of snow in town, but it started falling in earnest as we began our walk to the other bar.  By the time we reached it, we all looked like abominable snow creatures.  I can't say it was much of a place, but we had the right people and ended up having a great time.  Fried foods, more bad beer, excellent company - what more could you ask for after all that groundhog fun we'd had?

It was such a goofy, entertaining experience, I just had to make the trek again the following year.  There were a lot more than four of us who made that journey, though events followed much the same.  Instead of the movie, though, we went to one of the many pancake breakfasts offered around town, waiting in line forever and not getting enough.  I recommend finding a snack at the Civic Center or somewhere else along the way if you find yourself hungry after all that bitter cold fun on the Knob.  Then we ended up at the main square where we actually got to meet Phil himself (or herself, there is some debate about that).

 Me and Phil, 2008

Phil and one of his handlers, 2008

I really hope that I can make the trip to Punxsy for Groundhog Day again sometime.  I will happily endure another Groundhog Brew, if only for the bottle.