Craft beer lovers know the dilemma. How does a person sample craft beers affordably before deciding to drop $40 or $50 for an entire case?
Tim Volikas shared that frustration. During trips into Philadelphia, he found himself stopping in delicatessens and mixing his own six packs to bring home. “The idea came through my customers, through word of mouth and going down to the city. The idea has been out there. At the Foodery, you can mix and match and buy individual bottles,” Tim says. He started thinking the mix and match concept might work well at his family’s business, Pinocchio’s Pizza in Media.
Pinocchio’s Pizza had offered a standard selection of beers for takeout. Tim often heard customers ask about mixing and matching. “Guys would come in and say, ‘My girlfriend wants three Blue Moons and I want three Hop Devils, can we do it?’ And I’d have to say, ‘not really.’”
Tim first suggested the idea of a beer garden to his father Ted in 2007. “It took me two years to convince my father, to show him everything, that it could be fun, but the whole craft industry was growing so fast,” Tim says.
They researched the concept and took road trips to see how places operated. Eventually, through Tim’s persistence, his father agreed to try it and the Pinocchio’s Beer Garden was born. “We opened December 15th, 2009, and we were the first in Delaware County.”
Now, in a space situated behind the popular pizza shop, with it’s own side entrance, sits a long narrow sampling room. The left wall is lined with glass doors which frame over 850 refrigerated beers that can be purchased by the individual bottle. They also offer 25 tapped beers which can be filled by the growler.
Eventually, locals started to notice. “It took some time–our best advertising is word of mouth. Word of mouth in the beer world is something else.” Tim notes craft beer lovers want to discuss beers and often ask he and his staff for recommendations. “I have customers who come in regularly and ask for beers. All my guys know a good deal–they are so knowledgable.”
The manager of the beer garden, Dan Shaw is one of four certified cicerones in Pennsylvania. A cicerone is comparable to being labeled a sommelier in the word of wine.
Andrew Taggart has also built a reputation for knowing the beers. “Andrew has built relationships, people always want to know what he’s drinking. They seek him out.” Tim smiles and pulls a bottle off the shelf with a photo of Dan and “Dan’s Choice” taped to it. “Anything we put his face on, customers seek out.”
“We each have our own preferences,” Tim says. “IPAs are my favorite, but I’m getting into sours more and more. I also like stouts but they have to be bourbon aged.”
“Andrew likes IPAs and he’s very picky. Dan is into sours,” Tim says.
So what’s the most popular beers these days?
“IPA’s are the most popular style,” Tim says. “Firestone Walker is a new brand that just came out – an awesome IPA. Bell’s Two Hearted Ale. A lot of Pennsylvania beers, Victory Golden Monkey.”
Pinocchio’s also focuses on seasonal beers. Tim estimates they have 25 pumpkin beers and about 50 total seasonal beers in stock.
Talking with customers and recommending beers is what Tim and the crew enjoy most about the new beer garden. Though sometimes, he notes, people get too wrapped up in the conversation.
“I’ll be giving someone a sample and we’ll be talking beers and then after an hour, the guy will say, ‘I better go, my girlfriend is in the car.’ I”ll be like, why didn’t you invite her in?” Tim shakes his head and laughs.
Pinocchio’s Beer Garden is located at 131 East Baltimore Pike, Media, PA. Phone number is 610-566-7767. You can keep up to date on their new additions on Twitter or Facebook.
