Mmmmarzoni's

What a beautiful fall weekend in western Pennsylvania. A tad too warm for me, considering we're 3/4 through October, but a great time to be on a trip. The leaves are turning, the sunlight is crisp and bright, and beers are rotating. The last of the summer beers are kicking, the oktoberfests are just past their peak, and the winter warmer beers wait just over the cold horizon.

We found ourselves pulling into Marzoni's in Duncansville about 2:30 yesterday afternoon. Hadn't been there in quite a while and it was killing me ;)

We walked in to find the Oktoberfest and German Hefeweizen on tap as the specials. I'd had both before in seasons past, and it was nice to see some old friends. Speaking of old friends, we found James & Jo at the bar, whom we've not seen in ages. They're getting married in a few weeks and it promises to be a good celebration. We kicked some pints back while reminiscing.

The Oktoberfest was even better than I'd remembered and hit the spot - just the right balance of malt and dry nutty hops in the finish. Unfortunately, as I was about to order up another, they announced it kicked. I wasn't the only one disappointed! The man who got half a glass down the bar from me was David Cassidy, the co-owner of Cassidy's Brew Zoo in Altoona - a retail distributor from which I've bought a fair amount of beer. James introduced us, and we chatted about the beer scene in Altoona, the challenges of running a retail vs. wholesale outlet, and the somewhat restrictive laws that affects everyone in the beer chain. As we talked, the other co-owner, Rick, arrived to join the conversation.

After another hefeweizen, I settled the tab and walked out with a growler of the Avalanche IPA for the game tonight - which I enjoyed (the beer, not the game since we lost by a field goal in the last 2 seconds).