I hate to say it, since I was born and raised in Northeast Philly, but the quality of bars sucks up here. They have this f*cked up formula of: load up the taps with crap beer, plaster the place with neon beer signs, book stank-ass garage bands and hang a sign outside that says: "No Cover Charge With Mullet."

The Grey Lodge confounds this formula. They offer great beer from local brewers (Flying Fish, Victory, Yards and Manayunk Brewing Co. are regulars). There's a minimum of neon, no garage bands and a 2 mullet minimum. Actually the place is a "best of both worlds" situation. It is cozy, no-frills and unassuming enough to pull off a neighborhood bar. But beer events like Friday the Firkinteenth, Stout Season, Woodchuck Night and Two Heads (Nodding and Dogfish) are Better Than One Night are bringing in clientele that appreciate a better brew.

Every Friday the Grey Lodge places a firkin of cask-conditioned beer up on the bar and taps that bugger at 6PM on the dot. When the tap is dry, that's all she wrote. The special Friday Firkin of beer is usually a hard to find, limited edition ale from a local brewery.

If the13th of the month falls on a Friday, all Firkin hell breaks loose. They call those Friday's: Friday the Firkinteenth Nights. On those hallowed nights they load up the bar countertop with 8 or so firkins. These nights bring out the beer groupies of the Delaware Valley. These are special events. There was only one Friday the 13th in Y2K and there are only 2 Friday the 13ths in 2001. The Grey Lodge provides mini-pint glasses so you can get a taste of every cask-conditioned brew w/o being rolled out of the bar onto Frankford Ave. The next Friday the Firkinteenth is in July 2001. They plan on brews from Dogfish Head, Flying Fish, General Lafayette,  Manayunk Brewing Company, New Road Brew House, Nodding Head, and Yards.

But the more important question is: what the hell is a firkin??? Well, hold on to your ass and prepare to get schooled: "A firkin is a small beer cask, holding nine Imperial gallons (72 pints). The name is derived from Dutch (vierde meaning four). Two firkins make a kilderkin, two kilderkins make a barrel and one-and-a-half barrels make a hogshead of 48 gallons (384 pints). Aluminum kegs start at nine gallons." -> I didn't really know that, I copied it from here. 

As far as entertainment at The Grey Lodge, you can either belly up to the bar or slide into one of their green/orange vinyl booths and watch local sporting events on the TV's mounted high around the room. There are a couple video games, a CD juke box and a pair of dart boards. If your so inclined, they even run a dart league. Check out their website for more info. 

It's a mixed crowd at the Grey Lodge. You're likely to see people of all ages here. Around happy hour, it's primarily guys hanging out and drinking the affordably priced brews. As night fall, the place gets populated by more women - you can't blame these chicks, they know that after a few 9% Belgian styled brews, the men are easy pickins.