Craft beer is one of the few things that has kept me sane during this pandemic. While my friends have been filling their homes with indoor plants and collecting every possible BTS merchandise out there, I’ve been quietly drinking beer at home. Dining out and social drinking has not been allowed in the Philippines the months following the lockdown, but thankfully many local brewers have been able to adapt and started offering their beers for home delivery.
Elias Wicked Ales and Spirits is a microbrewery helmed by head brewer Raoul Masangcay, whose mission is to bring world-class craft beers and hard ciders to every Filipino. If you’ve attended any of the MNL Beer Festivals and ever tried the Guyabano Cider, you’ll be happy to know that you can enjoy amazing brews right in the comforts of your home.
With quarantine restrictions easing up for the GCQ and dine-in allowed again in a limited capacity, the restaurant where the brewery is located in Quezon City has reopened with proper safety and sanitation precautions in place. They’re also still open for curbside pickup, takeout, and delivery.
Elias Wicked Ales & Spirits is located in Ubay Street (near Banawe Street and Amoranto area) in Quezon City. Launched in 2018 as part of 13 Ubay Steet Comfort Dining (which opened in 2015), this large and airy restaurant built from a family-owned printing press offers a very spacious space for dining and drinking. The location is a bit hidden so it doesn’t get too crowded, but it’s definitely worth hunting down if you’re a craft beer enthusiast. With most taprooms located in the Makati and Poblacion area, Elias is definitely a hidden gem in Quezon City.
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The scaled-down menu ranges from old-school appetizer dishes to pub-style burgers, small plates, and rice bowls. Bestsellers include the Wicked Sisig, Goat Salpicao, and Pride Chicken. They also have a couple of thin-crust pizzas and interesting appetizers like Mushroom Tempura and Laing Lumpia.
But more than the food, people really go here for the hard ciders and classy craft beer tasting sessions. Elias offers 30+ craft beers and hard ciders on tap that guests can enjoy with an expansive view of their dining room and brewing facility. There’s a lot to choose from, including hop-forward brews, fruity ciders, and guest brews from other local and international brewers.
Aside from the fresh offerings on tap, you can also buy hard-to-find canned and bottled beers and beer merchandise like t-shirts and glassware for takeout. The microbrewery recently released growlers in 500ml and 1L bottle sizes so guests can take out beers on tap.
Pre-COVID, this place offered an amazing venue for intimate events and parties. With its homey ambiance and secluded location, the restaurant was a nice spot for family gatherings, barkada hangouts, and romantic dates. It’s hard to believe that the Craft Beer Community Christmas party was just last December!
We all know how badly the restaurant and bar industry has been impacted by the ongoing pandemic with enforced closures and on-and-off liquor bans in various cities. With all the travel restrictions and need for social distancing, dining-in may not be an option for some people these days. So it’s great to still be able to get beers and ciders delivered at home through the brewery’s website. We’ve tried most of the new offerings at home and have loved all the releases so far.
Favorites include 3 Stars and a Haze IPA, a juicy New England IPA-style with intense fruit flavors and aromas and tropical fruit qualities from Mosaic, Citra, and Galaxy hops; Suppa Fly IPA, a combination of house Belgian yeast and a variety of hops; Dark Vader Stout, a classic American stout with combined flavors of chocolate, caramel, and coffee; and Intergalactic Double IPA (intense tropical fruit flavors and aromas made with the brewer’s favorite hops – Nelson Sauvin from New Zealand and Galaxy & Vic Secret from Australia).
Aside from the unique flavors these beers offer, the beer labels and packaging are really cool too! Check their website frequently, as stocks get sold out quickly and there always seems to be something new to order.
Some beers even have a cause behind them. Elias has released a few special brews to help different sectors affected by the ongoing pandemic. Mix Tape Pale Ale (a 5% ABV American Pale Ale brewed with bright hop character of Cascade, bready flavor of Vienna malt, and clean California ale yeast) aims to supports the brewery’s DJs with actual music released on SoundCloud per release.
#AllTogetherBeer is an IPA that’s part of a global collaboration hosted by Other Half NYC in the USA that was brewed to support hospitality professionals and raise support for those who have lost revenue because of COVID19. Elias is just one of over 500 breweries worldwide participating in this awesome worldwide beer project. Amidst the crisis that continues to impact small businesses everywhere, craft brewers have found ways to give back to the community.
For every purchase of #AllTogetherBeer, the microbrewery is donating a portion of the profits to UNICEF Foundation and their humanitarian efforts battling the virus. Drink craft beer, save the world, right?
In case you’re not a beer drinker (why not though?), you might like the hard ciders, which are sweeter and generally easier to drink. Hard ciders are alcoholic drinks made by fermenting the juice of fruits. They kind of taste similar to fruit wines, though are not as alcoholic. The flagship hard ciders like Hanep Guyabano and Astig Mango Cider have been favorites since they were first released a few years ago.
For the benefit of foreign readers, “Hanep” is a Filipino superlative used to describe something awesome, impressive, or amazing. With its crisp and refreshing notes and 7% ABV, Hanep Guyabano (Soursop) Hard Cider will easily inspire feelings of awe. The fruity guyabano goodness will leave you with a nice buzz pretty fast.
“Astig” is another Filipino term that literally means “hard,” but is also used to refer to anything “badass” or “cool.” Astig Mango Cider is a hard cider with a Filipino twist that offers a perfect balance between sweet mangoes and tart apples that will have you exclaiming “Astig!” with every sip.
Elias recently released a few new ciders this year that feature similarly quirky Filipino labels and offer easy drinking but pack a punch at 7% ABV each. I loved the Rosé Rizal Strawberry Cider! According to the brewer, there’s nothing rosé about this drink. The name is an intentional pun of our national hero’s name José Rizal. Don’t let the light red and sweet fruity finish fool you, this strawberry cider has a pretty strong kick. Actually, all the ciders do. It’s been great pairing them with our meals at home.
Another awesome cider to try is Pwedeee Guava Cider, which makes use of guavas, a tropical fruit that packs loads of health benefits. Some say that it tastes between a strawberry and a pear. The cider is sweet and tart with a strong aromatic finish. It’s another easy-drinking cider that pairs well with salty dishes.
Galeng Mangosteen Cider makes use of mangosteen, an exotic tropical fruit with a slightly sweet and sour flavor. This is one of the most exported fruits from the south of the country, with most harvests coming from Sulu, Zamboanga, and Davao del Norte. The sweet and sour flavor of the fruit matches the tartness of the apples making this almost Champagne-like.
If you’re looking for a fun and different drinking session at home for special occasions, you can easily order these beers and cider for convenient home delivery. With the novel flavors and cool packaging, these make great gifts for birthdays and special care packages for friends. You can also buy gift certificates that can be used for dine-in at the restaurant or future purchases on the website including some international beers from Sierra Nevada, Petrus, Brussels Beer Project, and Brasserie. More Filipinos are starting to experiment with homebrewing and the site also carries homebrewing equipment and ingredients in the Brewer’s Stockroom section.
COVID NOTE: If you’re planning to visit the microbrewery during the GCQ, safety protocols are in place. Face masks and shields are required to enter. Contact tracing and temp checks are done at the entrance. The place is large and airy enough to practice social distancing. Chairs have been marked so you don’t sit next to your companions. Based on the latest supplemental GCQ guidelines in Quezon City (dated August 31, 2020) restaurants may provide guests with a maximum of two (2) servings of alcoholic beverages to their dine-in customers from 1pm-9pm to be consumed inside the restaurants. Duly licensed liquor dealers may sell to retail customers from 1pm to 5pm. The mode of payment has options for cashless transactions.
- Address: 13 Ubay St., Quezon City (Mon-Sun, 11am-8pm)
- Open for Dine-In • Pickup • Delivery • Foodpanda
- Order online here: wickedelias.com
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