Beers #194-203: Local Tastings from September(ish)

In mid-August, we met some friends for dinner at The Knickerbocker in Altoona.

#194/365: Flying Dog Pearl Necklace Oyster Stout:
Nice roasted malt aroma, bitter with some chocolate and coffee. Dark black opaque with creamy light tan head. On nitro, smooth and creamy. Hints of coffee, smoke, and chocolate, with light carbonic tang at the finish with smooth nutty bitter after.  Dry Stout  72/100

 In early September, we were in Pittsburgh and had lunch at Burgatory.

#195/365: Full Pint Chinookie (Wet Hop) IPA:
Great fresh hop aroma, piney, herbal, and spicy. Medium golden amber clear with thin white head. Medium bodied with medium carbonation. Sweet with oranges and tons of hop flavor, sticky and bitter. Bitter finish and after. Nice fresh-hop IPA.  India Pale Ale  82/100

Some miscellaneous tastings throughout September:

#196/365: Flying Dog Dogtoberfest:
On tap at Twisted Jimmy’s. Mild malt aroma with some caramel and biscuit. No discernible hop character. Coppery amber clear with light haze and very little head. Medium-light body with medium-high carbonation. Starts moderately sweet, a little dull, with mild biscuit and caramel. Carbonic bite, a little watery but clean. Mild nutty bittersweet finish and smooth nutty after.  Oktoberfest/Märzen  54/100 

#197/365: Straffe Hendrik Brugs Tripelbier 9°:
From bottle, courtesy of Dave S. Neutral fruity character with biscuit and caramel, light hop notes and some oxidation - butterscotch. Warm coppery amber, cloudy with creamy off-white lacing head. Medium-heavy body with high carbonation. Starts sweet with neutral fruity character with biscuit and caramel. Pleasing hoppy bitter finish with lingering sweet-bitter after.   Abbey Tripel  80/100

 #198/365: Porterhouse Wrasslers XXXX Stout:
From bottle, courtesy of John C. Mild roasted nutty nose, chocolate, coffee, and light bitter hops. Some vanilla and caramel. Dark black opaque with thin tan head. Medium bodied with medium-high carbonation. Starts pretty dry with roasted-burnt malt, and hop bitterness. Light coffee and chocolate, some vanilla sweetness. Finish is fairly smooth with carbonic bit and bitter hop after.  Dry Stout  70/100

#199/365: Guinness Red Harvest Stout:
From draught can. Mild biscuit, woody with nitro gaseousness and light hops. Bit of neutral fruity character. Dark coppery amber brown clear with creamy off-white to coppery tinted lacing head. Medium-light body with nitro smoothness. Moderately sweet start with neutral fruity character, cherry wood, and very little bitterness. Finish is smooth with light sweet nutty notes and clean after. Very easy drinking and reminds me of Caffrey’s.  Dry Stout  74/100

#200/365: Penn Pumpkin Roll Ale:
On tap at Twisted Jimmy’s. Sweet vanilla and pumpkin spices in the nose, bready with some caramel. Medium coppery amber clear with light haze, topped with thin off-white head. Nutmeg and eggnog. Medium watery body with medium-high carbonation. Starts sweet with pumpkin, vanilla, and biscuit. Sweet throughout but not cloying. Some nutmeg and eggnog tastes. Finishes sweet with spice and pumpking and very light bitterness.  Spice/Herb/Vegetable  68/100

#201/365: East End Moktoberfest Altbier:
From growler. Sweet nutty-biscuit aroma. Grainy and dusty with mild hop notes. Neutral light fruity character. Deep coppery amber clear with thin off-white lacing head. Medium body with medium-high carbonation. Starts moderately sweet with biscuit, caramel, and nutty bitter notes. Lots of hop bitterness. Smooth nutty-sweet finish, lasting bitter character. Smooth after - nice Alt.  Altbier  74/100

#202/365: Old Forge Overbite IPA:
From can, courtesy of John C. Nice hoppy floral aroma, sweet malt character and light tang. Notes of orange. Medium amber orange clear with thin white lacing head. Medium body with medium-high carbonation. Starts sweet and syrupy with fruity notes, oranges, and sticky sweet and resinous hops. Alcohol warming with sweet finish. Nice IPA with hoppy sweet after.  India Pale Ale  82/100

#203/365: East End Pourganic Farmhouse Ale:
From growler. Wonderful jasmine fragrance, yeasty with some bubblegum and spice. Sweet. Medium golden clear with foamy white lacing head. Medium body with medium carbonation. Starts sweet with pilsner malt, jasmine, biscuit, honey, and wheat. Nice estery balance with mild bitterness. Bit of chalky bitter finish with floral notes. Sweet spicy after. A really nice saison.  Saison  82/100

Next up in the backlog ... a trip to D.C.

Beers #172-193 from July & August

Lots of catching up to do ... with (as of today) 77 beers in the back-log.  Still short of 365 beers for 2013. And even though I plan to put some more dents in that, I don't think I'll be trying 100+ beers before Dec. 31.

Towards the end of July, John C. and I made a day trip to Pittsburgh to meet face-to-face with some local brewers about the upcoming Oktoberfest. We met with Andrew Maxwell (Rivertowne) and Brendan Benson (East End), and then the GM at Church Brew.  We also stopped in at The Beermuda Triangle and House of 1000 Beers for some samples.

#172/365: Church Brew Lichtenhainer:
Sampled on tap at Church. Very mild maltiness, smokey notes with very light hops. Pale straw clear with light haze, topped with thin head. Medium-light body with medium carbonation. Starts wheat with nice sweet flavor. Medium smokey notes throughout, just enough to be tasty and not overpowering. Sweet clean finish with no bitter after.  Grodziskie/Gose/Lichtenhainer  66/100

 #173/365: Church Brew St. Agricola Ale:
Sampled on tap at Church. Mild spicy sweet nose. Malt and some molasses. Herbal note like lemongrass and/or ginger. Dark brown amber clear with thin head. Medium bodied with medium carbonation. Starts somewhat sweet with herbal/lemongrass citrusy notes and light bitterness. Medium nutty/hoppy bitter finish. Kinda tastes like Sen-Sen (breath freshener) and licorice. Sweet-smooth finish with light nutty sweet after.  Spice/Herb/Vegetable  68/100

#174/365: Church Brew Kenya Coffee Pale Ale:
Sampled on tap at Church. Very mild coffee aroma with neutral fruit sweetness. No discernible hop aroma. Pale golden clear with white lacing head. Medium bodied with medium-light carbonation. Starts with pale malt sweetness and light coffee. Interesting to have this flavor in a light-colored beer for a change. Finish is coffee and nutty sweet, with good hoppy bitter punch.  American Pale Ale  60/100

#175/365: Sierra Nevada Beer Camp Oatmeal Stout:
On tap at Beermuda. Roasted malt, molasses, light chocolate, coffee, and smoke. Sweet nose. Dark black opaque with foamy tan lacing head. Medium-heavy body with medium carbonation. Starts sweet and malty with lots of molasses, chocolate, and coffee. Light bitter finish with sweet lingering after.  Imperial Stout  78/100

#176/365: Bullfrog Blackberry Juju:
On tap at House of 1000. Mild bitter berry nose, semisweet with some muskiness. Light golden amber clear with light haze. Medium bodied with medium carbonation. Starts sweet with mild pale malt and wheat, nice berry flavor and a bit of bitterness. Smooth sweet fruity after. Fruit Beer  72/100

#177/365: Bullfrog Op Tight:
On tap at House of 1000. Wet canvas and hoppy nose, lactic acid and coffee. Smells like the seat of a deuce-and-a-half with coffee spilled on it. Dark black opaque, light tan creamy head. Medium-heavy body and smooth nitro carbonation. Very sweet, rich, malty stout with soy. Sweet nutty finish and sweet after.  Sweet Stout  68/100

 #178/365: Central Waters Illumination Double IPA:  Sampled on tap at House of 1000. Apricot, pineapple, resin and fruit punch. Great hop nose. Golden amber clear with pillowy white lacing head. Medium body with medium carbonation. Sweet with tons of pale malt, orange, pineapple, and apricot esters. Residual sweetness. Big bitter finish with muted bitter after, leaving you with tons of flavor. Nice IIPA.  Imperial/Double IPA  82/100

One evening at Benjamin's, I found ...

#179/365: Stoudts Four Play IPA Batch #2:
Sweet caramel nose with light hop floral notes. Bit of dusty grain and hint of oxidation. Coppery amber clear with thin white lacing head. Medium body with medium carbonation. Starts with light caramel and biscuit. Good hop bitter presence with medium bitter finish and light bitter after. Nutty sweetness.  India Pale Ale  64/100

Dana, Aidan, and I took a trip to IKEA and Pittsburgh one weekend, and I got the following on tap during the required Sharp Edge Creekhouse lunch stop.

#180/365: Southern Tier Plum Noir:
Very light nose of coffee, chocolate, and a bit of plum and raisin. Bit of sweet molasses. Dark black/brown opaque with thin off-white lacing head. Medium-heavy body with medium carbonation. Starts sweet, rich, and malty with lots of chocolate, molasses, and a bit of fruity plum/raisin notes. Light bitter finish with smooth sweet nutty bitter after. Mild warming.  Imperial/Strong Porter  74/100

#181/365: Three Heads Country Shwheat Imperial Wheat: 
Light wheat and orange zest, raw malt, and some carbonic gaseousness. Neutral fruity character. Medium golden amber clear topped with white lacing head. Medium-light bodies with medium carbonation. Wheat notes, mild sweetness. Oxidation or perhaps beer line character? Mild to medium bitter finish with dry astringent bitter after.  Wheat Ale  54/100

At home ...

#182/365: East End Köst's Kölsch: 
From growler. Nice pilsner malt sweetness in the nose, with mild neutral fruity character and a bit of spicy noble hops. Medium golden clear with thin white foamy lacing head. Medium watery body with high carbonation. Starts sweet with pilsner malt and neutral fruity notes. Clean. Nice medium hop flavor and nice bitterness. Finish is light and sweet with crispy bitterness. Smooth clean after.  Kölsch  72/100

 #183/365: Cortland Firehouse Pale Ale:
Mild malt sweetness, with some biscuit and caramel. Lots of carbonic gaseousness and frothy bitters, with some neutral fruity hop character. Beautiful deep amber clear with creamy-foamy white lacing head. Medium watery body with medium carbonation. Starts with muted sweetness and some neutral fruity character, a little orange. Some caramel. Mild hop flavor with light carbonic acidity. Bitterness is closer to astringent but not too detracting. Has a homebrew-y taste to it, but I’m not sure why. Finish is smooth with light sweet after.  American Pale Ale  66/100

On August 8, I drove down to Pittsburgh to meet up with some fellow Ratebeer members for a tasting, hosted by Justin (one of the brewers at Church).  Nice afternoon ...

#184/365: Westbrook Weisse Weisse Baby:
From bottle, at Dog Days Tasting. Mild tart nose, light lactic, wheat, and cranberries. Pale straw hazy with white thin head. Light body with medium carbonation. Starts tart with cranberry and wheat, lactic sourness. Refreshing with sour finish and smooth tart after.  Berliner Weisse  76/100

 #185/365: Tired Hands Mr. Alien:
From growler. Very mild nose, a bit of pale malt but not much funk or tartness. Pale straw with haze, thin white lacing head. Watery body with medium-mild carbonation. Starts mild with light tartness and some funky quality. A bit water, wheat and mild at the finish. Light and refreshing.  Berliner Weisse  64/100

 #186/365: Trinity TPS Report Ale:
From bottle at Dog Days Tasting. Ginger, orange Tic-Tacs and Tang. Fruity, tart with some Brett. Pale golden with light haze and thin head. Medium body and carbonation. Starts tart and fruity with tangerine and orange, Brett and chalky yeast. Reminds me of a traditional lambic. Smooth tart after with light chalkiness.  Sour/Wild Ale  80/100

 #187/365: Tired Hands Lil' (Ol') Lady:
From growler at Dog Days Tasting. Funky Bretty nose with light malt sweetness and some wheat. Medium golden hazy, with white foamy lacing head. Medium body with medium carbonation. Starts moderately tart with wheat, light funk and good bitterness throughout. Orange zest and nice hoppy finish with tart after.  Saison  74/100

 #188/365: Tired Hands Singel Hop Saison, Pacifica:
From growler at Dog Days Tasting. Subtle fruity and floral hop aroma - ethereal and heady. Mild sweetness. Pale golden yellow clear with thin white lacing head. Medium-light body with medium carbonation. Nice hop flavor, mild sweet notes with light bitter finish and after.  Saison  76/100

 #189/365: Trinity Damn, It Feels Good to be A Gangsta!:
From bottle at Dog Days Tasting. Smells like drying latex paint. Dull coppery amber clear with no head. Medium body with medium carbonation. Starts and stays tart with roasted barley and mild hop bitterness. Tart acidic finish with light nutty character and tart after.  Sour/Wild Ale  58/100

 #190/365: Santa Fe Sangre de Frambuesa:
Very mild sweet raspberry juice, musky with light alcohol. This is aged, but has held up well. Coppery amber hazy with off-white lacing head. Medium body with medium-high carbonation and alcoholic warming. Big raspberry flavor, aged but good. Alcohol. Medium sweet raspberry jam with mild funk. Mellow overall with warming. Fruity musky finish with nice raspberry after.  Fruit Beer  82/100

 #191/365: Funky Buddha Last Snow Porter:
Smells like Almond Joy with a hint of coffee. Dark black opaque with foamy-creamy lacing tan head. Medium-heavy body with medium-light carbonation. Starts moderately sweet with caramel, coconut, almond, coffee, and chocolate. Tastes like a coffee-Almond Joy mix. Finish is a little dry and watery with a lot of carbonic tartness in the after.  Porter  82/100

 #192/365: Full Sail Imperial Stout:
From 2010 bottle at Dog Days Tasting. Mild alcohol, coffee, chocolate, and tart light soy. Dark black opaque with foamy-creamy light tan head. Medium-heavy body with medium-light carbonation. Starts rich and sweet with chocolate and coffee, mild alcohol, and soy. Carbonic acidity. Light bitter finish with some bitter tang. Nutty sweet after with chalky coffee bitterness. Imperial Stout  80/100

#193/365: Stone Bourbon Barrel Old Guardian Barley Wine:
From bottle at Dog Days Tasting. Alcohol, nutty and oaky. Sweet and malty with light hop character. Smooth nose with some licorice. Dark coppery amber clear with thin lacing off-white head. Medium-heavy body with medium carbonation. Sweet with raisin, alcohol, bourbon and oak, and vanilla. Still hot with lots of warming. Heavy viscous sweet finish.  Barley Wine  78/100 

More catching up to do ... September and prepping for Oktoberfest

Second Annual Downtown Indiana Oktoberfest

On Saturday, October 12, Downtown Indiana and Holiday Beverages are sponsoring the 2nd Annual Oktoberfest.  Regular session tickets are $35, and the VIP tickets are $60 (SOLD OUT).  For regular session, the event is from 3-6pm, where patrons will be given a 5 oz. commemorative glass for sampling of all the available beers.  Several food vendors will be on hand for separate purchase of sandwiches, kettle corn, funnel cakes, etc.  Live music will be provided, too.

For those who purchased VIP tix, there will be a 2-3pm session, where patrons will be able to sample beers not available during the normal session.  In addition, VIP ticket holders will be able to participate in the after party with festival volunteers and brewers at the Coventry Inn.

Participating brewers this year include: East End Brewing Co., North Country Brewing Co., Rivertowne Brewing Co., Church Brew Works, Marzoni's Brick Oven & Brewing, Penn Brewing Co., Yuengling, and Samuel Adams.  Each brewery will be providing at least two different beers to try (not including VIP selections).

Each patron will be able to vote for their favorite beer of the festival, and the top three beers will be made available at a local pub sponsor (one beer each to the Coney, Twisted Jimmy's, and the Coventry Inn).

The weather forecast looks promising - partly cloudy with high of 70 and no chance of rain!  All proceeds will benefit the Downtown Indiana initiatives.

Beers #22-28: Pittsburgh Day Trip

Over the past few years, a few of my friends and I have tried to take a one-day, beer-related road trip.  Sometimes we've gotten in a couple, sometimes just one.  Sometimes, it's just two of us and other times, there have been three or four of us - we all have families, jobs, and other obligations so it's not like the days of college road trips.

In late January, Dave and I took a Pittsburgh road trip.  We got off to a bit of a late start because of a two-hour delay in the local schools, but we made the most of the short time we could get away.

The first stop was for lunch and beer at Fat Head's Saloon in the South Side section of Pittsburgh. Fat Head's beers are brewed in Ohio, but they keep a lot of them on tap (along with about 25 other brands) in Pittsburgh.  My first beer was not a new one, but delicious enough to have again - Fat Head's Head Hunter IPA - with my burger and fries.  For dessert, I tried ...

22/365: Lagunitas Sucks Holiday Ale:

Great fresh hop aromas, grassy, spicy, light rubber, and piney. Mild malt sweetness. Dull golden amber clear with creamy off-white lacing head. Medium-heavy body with medium carbonation. Starts medium sweet, pale malt, light caramel. Tons of fresh spicy hops. Big bitter finish that is not overwhelming or offensively bitter. Bitter finish with sweet bitter after.  Specialty Grain  82/100

From Fat Head's, we headed over to Smokin' Joe's in order to find a limited-release offering from Stone.

23/365: Stone Enjoy By IPA:

Enjoy by 2-15-13. Terrific fresh hop aromas. Grass, pine, bitter citrus peel, apricot … heavenly. Very funky with ozone and bong water. Deep amber clear with foamy white lacing head. Medium body with medium carbonation. Starts lightly sweet, funky with grass, resin, ozone, and rubber. Potent hop character throughout, with burnt brown sugar and creme brûlée sweet finish. Fairly smooth bitter after, very tasty. Imperial/Double IPA  88/100

Next, we walked across the street to Piper's Pub, where we enjoyed a couple of pints and BS'd with Hart, the bartender. 

24/365: All Saints St. Mosey's Black Pils:

Dry tangy nose with lots of roasted character. A mix between a stout and a schwarzbier. Mild sweetness. Dark black opaque with thin cocoa tan lacing head. Medium body with medium carbonation. Roasty and chocolatey with sugar tang. Medium bitter finish with nutty light sweet after. More like a schwarzbier than a Bohemian pils.  Bohemian Pilsener  88/100

25/365: Victory Midlands Stout:

Nice roast to the nose, roasted barley with lots of hop character. Mild coffee and chocolate, dusty grain. Dark black opaque with thin lacing head. Medium body with medium-light carbonation. Starts roast with light tang, carbonic acidity and light caramel. Dry finish with light bitter after.  Stout  72/100

From the South Side, we drove up to the new location of East End Brewing, which now shares a great space with Commonplace Coffee.  Nothing new on tap for me to try, but I picked up a growler of Monkey Boy (German Hefeweizen) that Dana and I enjoy.

Our last stop before heading home was at House of 1000 Beers, in New Kensington.  The House always has something new on tap, and their bottle selection is incredible (and prices are a bit cheaper than bottle shops in Allegheny Co.).  We sat at the bar (next to the owner) and enjoyed a couple of offerings.

26/365: Firestone Walker 16 (XVI Sixteenth Anniversary Ale):

Toffee, caramel, vanilla, oak, bread pudding with caramel sauce. Sublime nose and only improves and expands as it warms. Dark black opaque with thin off-white to light tan lacing head. Medium-heavy body with medium carbonation, smooth. Alcoholic warming, slightly boozy. Sweet start with bread pudding, caramel, oak, vanilla, and licorice. Warm finish, heavy with oak and vanilla. Delicious sweet after but not cloying. Nice example of what you can do with brewing.  American Strong Ale  94/100

27/365: Urban Chestnut Zwickel: 

Wheaty grainy nose with noble hop notes. Medium amber clear with thin off-white lacing head. Medium body with medium-high carbonation. Starts medium dry with wheat and pale malt sweetness. Noble hop bite, carbonic acidity, and light hop finish. Zwickel/Keller/Landbier  70/100

28/365: Clown Shoes Muffin Top:

Hoppy nose, fresh and fruity with orange blossom, sugary sweet and almost cloying. Medium golden amber hazy with thin head. Medium body with medium-light carbonation. Sweet start with sweet malty caramel and biscuit. Big hop flavors with almost cloyingly sweet after. Bitter sweet and tasty.  Belgian Strong Ale  80/100

 We each picked up a few bottles (Dave grabbed a Pliny The Elder!) before heading back home.

Up next ... a couple of tastings with friends

Beers #1-9 of 365

My first beer of 2013 was, appropriately named, First by East End Brewing in Pittsburgh.  This amber ale was the first beer brewed at East End's new location (they moved from Susquehanna St. to Julius St.), and I picked up a growler on a weekend trip Dana.  East End's new location is terrific - much more room to move around, and you can also enjoy/buy Commonplace Coffee while you're there.

1/365: East End First:

Wonderful spicy and floral Cascade aroma. Great hoppy nose with a bit of sweet and nutty malt undertones. Dark amber, almost brownish, hazy body with thin beige lacing head. Medium bodied with medium to high carbonation. Starts with mild caramel sweetness and light carbonic acidity. Big hit of hoppy flavor and bitter character. A bit of fruity character, too. Overall, very easy drinking amber with nice dry hopped profile. Bitter finish with lasting bitter after and a bit of nutty astringency.   Amber Ale 78/100

The second was sort of a flagship beer for a new brewery in Millvale, Draai Laag. They're focusing on higher gravity Belgian-inspired brews at the moment.

2/365: Draai Laag Aureus:

Fruity and subtle sweet nose. Light tripel-like yeasty notes with some orange, vanilla, and coriander. Hazy golden amber with creamy-foamy white lacing head. Medium heavy body with medium carbonation and light warming. Starts and stays sweet with fruity character and notes of orange, honey, coriander, and a bit of vanilla. Carbonic acidity with a fruity acidic note, too. Sweet until the finish with mild hop bitterness and a light lasting fruit rind bitter after. Dregs add more fruity acidity - pops up front, then dull bitterness.  Belgian Strong Ale 78/100

Beer #3 was a Coors offering, the new Blue Moon Proximity which is a wheat ale brewed with sauvignon blanc grapes.

3/365: Blue Moon Proximity:

Light Belgian wit nose with a note of oak and white wine of some sort. Fairy faint nose. Dull golden clear with thin white dissipating head. Medium-light body with medium carbonation. Starts sweet, sweeter than Blue Moon. Notes of chardonnay or similar white wine, with mild acidic bite. Fruity, finishing fairly smooth with a bit of white wine profile and watery bitter after.   Fruit Beer 48/100

Next up was a cider, a bottle of Woodchuck with some Belgian witbier flair. It's been available on tap in town at the Coney and the Coventry Inn, as well as in bottles.

4/365: Woodchuck Private Reserve Belgian White:

Faint apple cider sweetness with orange peel and coriander notes. Dull dark amber clear with light haze and no head. Medium body with medium-high carbonation. Starts tart and fruity with nice apple juice and cider taste. Juicy. Has a bit of orange peel and coriander to the taste, and the finish is fruity and acidic. Tart and not overly sweet. Fruity tart after.  Cider 62/100

Back to Blue Moon for the fifth of the year, the Impulse, brewed with cabernet sauvignon grapes.

5/365: Blue Moon Impulse:

Light cabernet sauvignon nose with a little wheat sweetness. Deep pink/rose clear with thin pink head. Medium body with medium-light carbonation. Sweet grape juice with wine tang. Predominant red wine flavor with mild wheat sweetness and light tannic bitter after.  Fruit Beer 58/100

The next two beers of the year were enjoyed at Rivertowne Pour House in Monroeville. The first was The Copper Nugget, a single-hop American Pale Ale with Nugget hops.  The second was their Abbeygale, a take on an Abbey Dubbel.

6/365: Rivertowne The Copper Nugget:

Roasted malt and sweet caramel. Medium-strong fresh Nugget aromas, resinous and piney. Dark coppery amber clear with mild haze, topped with a thin off-white foamy lacing head. Medium body with heavy carbonation and fizz. Starts somewhat dry with tons of fresh Nugget hop flavor. Mild caramel sweetness, carbonic acidity and big bitter finish. Lasting smooth bitter after.  American Pale Ale 72/100

7/365: Rivertowne Abbeygale: 

Mild sweet malt aroma. Brown sugar, candy sugar, light sweet tang and no glaring hop character. Like a dubbel in the nose, but a bit subdued. Dark hazy coppery brown with foamy-creamy white lacing head. Medium-heavy body with high carbonation. Starts and stays sweet. Roasted malt, caramel, and candy sugar. Carbonic bite with light sugar tang in the finish. Clean, smooth.  Abbey Dubbel 70/100

Beer #8 was another East End offering, brought to me in a growler by the owner of the Commonplace (thanks for saving me a trip to the Burgh!).

8/365: East End Steelcut Oatmeal Stout:

Roasted and smoky patent malts, chocolate, molasses, coffee; woody with vanilla. Mild acidic smoky notes. Dark black opaque with cocoa-colored foamy lacing head. Heavy body with medium-high carbonation. Starts fairly dry with tons of roasted-bitter malt, chocolate, molasses sweetness and light acrid bitterness. Big rich bitter chocolate and smoky sweet finish with light bitter coffee after. Smooth.  Stout  82/100

The final beer for this post (#9), was a brand new offering from Straub in St. Mary's, PA. They made a German Altbier for their 2013 Groundhog brew. I do love a good Altbier and this was pretty good.

9/365: Straub Groundhog Brew 2013:

Thin adjunct-corn tang with dusty grain nose - pretty similar to an authentic Düsseldorf altbier aroma if I recall. Coppery amber clear with thin off-white foamy head. Medium body with medium carbonation. Starts medium sweet with dusty grain, medium caramel sweetness, light sugar tang and a noble-style hoppy character. Reminds me a lot of Diebels Alt. Clean after.  Altbier 70/100

Up next ... a lunch trip to Titusville

Brewpub and Brewery Operations: Day 7

Another day of field tripping today - this time everyone went to the same places. We left IUP at about 10:30 and drove to Edgewood to visit D's Six Pack & Dogz, arguably the best bottle shop in the Burgh. The students were able to find many more styles and brands of beer that just aren't available to us over here in Indiana, and most walked away with some bottles of good stuff. We also met briefly with the owner (and I just completely blanked on his name - sorry!) and Hootie, "The Executive Director of the Nectar".

Next, we drove over to the Sharp Edge Beer Emporium on St. Clair Street for a late lunch and tour of one of the best Belgian beer bars. Hart, the director of beverage acquisitions for the 4-store chain was there to talk to us about the locations, their beer selection, and all the challenges of running a place in the Pittsburgh area. He was also gracious in giving us happy hour beer flight prices! After a great lunch, we got a tour of the place, including the beer storage area.

Finally, we made our way over to our final stop, East End Brewing. Scott and his assistant brewer (sorry - forgot his name, too!) were on hand to tour us around the brewery and offer up some samples of their beers. When the tour was over, the students (and the instructors) purchased a growler of stuff to go (in my case, two growlers and two bottles). We hit some rush hour traffic but did make it back home in fairly good time.

After a long day on the road, I then had to host the May meeting of the Indiana Homebrewers' Club. Students from the class were invited, but only one showed - not surprising since they'd been with either Tom or me all day: why ruin their evening ;)

Anyway, a homebrewer and former student of mine was the guest tonight and he showed us how to build some nice mash/lauter tuns and hot liquor tanks from picnic coolers using PEX tubing. Other than missing a few pieces not available at Lowe's, I'm just about done with mine. I'm anxious to start the all-grain brewing for the summer again.

Thanks to our hosts today at D's, Sharp Edge, and East End! Tomorrow, it's off to Pittsburgh again for the Hofbräuhaus and Church Brew Works.

Looking Forward to Brewing Again!

Crikey! It's December already. Time is flying. So, I've not brewed since April, and the secondary carboy now has some nice mold growing on the top of the last beer I made. I'm still going to try to keg the stuff to see how it goes, but I've distanced myself enough from that batch that I won't be horribly upset if it gets trashed (though I'm hoping it's not).

On Friday, Erick and I went out to our local homebrew store to pick up some carboys I need for a chemistry experiment (non-brewing, unfortunately) and we each placed an order for some supplies. Erick's going to brew the IPA we made back in January, in addition to a Belgian white he's going to make for his wife. I'm going to try an Abbey Dubbel for a change, and may or may not add some spices to it. We'll see.

Some local beer news of late: The Coney now has a Marzoni's tap (Avalanche IPA), which many of us here are extremely about; Marzoni's also has now two really tasty special brews on tap: Hoppy Saison and Bill's 5th Anniversary Barley Wine; Otto's has a great apple-flavored tripel available; and Scott at East End has been busy creating some great stuff for the holidays.

Our December homebrew club meeting is just going to be an unofficial gathering of whomever can show up - it's busy this time of year with holiday and family obligations. I finally signed up for a subscription to Brew Your Own, since I keep buying it at the newsstand price.

Over the holiday break, I'm hoping to get down East to see some friends of mine, including Jon, and to visit some fine brewing establishments.

Other excitement lately is that I finally got out for a day of deer hunting this year - the first time since 2000 or 2001. My cousin from Ohio got the one 8-point that roams our hollow, but I had a great time. Tomorrow, I was supposed to go to jury duty, but because this is finals week I was granted a pass. Bummer, because I could have sat on a murder trial (though I have an idea that lawyers aren't too crazy about having academics on juries).

Brewing and Baseball

So as the summer winds down and I prepare for another school year, I try to squeeze in a bit more fun before getting back into a rigid schedule.

On Tuesday night, we had our August homebrew club meeting at the Coney. It was a nice meeting, and we had 12 people in attendance along with four homebrewed beers to sample. I even managed to come away with a quart bag full of some home-grown Cascade hops for some dry-hopping. If possible, I'm going to try to test the alpha-acid level. I had to call it an early night on Tuesday, however ...

The alarm went off at 4:30 on Wednesday morning, and I was out the door by 5:00 - all in the name of good beer. I was fortunate to be able to 'help' Bill Kroft brew a batch of Patchway Pale Ale at Marzoni's in Duncansville. Bill starts early, however, so when I knocked on the door at 6am, he already had the water heated.

I've toured many breweries and brewpubs over the years - from high tech monstrosities like an Anheuser-Busch plant to more traditional and tiny operations like Cantillon. But never until last week was I able to be there for the whole brewing process. The steps in brewing were the same as all-grain homebrewing, but what was terrific and humbling to see was both the scale of materials and the automation of the process. It was actually easier to brew 10 bbls of beer than for me to make 5 gallons - of course it helps to have such great equipment. And, of course, the clean-up was a bit more involved because of the scale.

Bill was kind enough to let me and another homebrewer, Mike Jackson, watch the entire process from milling grain to pitching yeast and ask tons of questions. Mainly, we stayed out of his way but did try to help by shoveling spent grain and hosing out tanks. We started at 6:10am and finished by 1:30pm. Afterwards, we chatted over a few pints out front. I enjoyed some Saison and some Chocolate Wheat. I even got a sneak preview of the 5th Anniversary Barley Wine coming out in November ... keep your eyes open for this one!

Fast forward to today. We got in our one Pirates game today, with a beer theme. Today was the second of three special beer tasting events at PNC Park in the club level (Club 3000). For two hours before the game, East End Brewing, Church Brew Works, and John Harvard's Monroeville were pouring two beers each. This "Beer Passport Club" offer will happen one more time this year, on Friday Sep 12. The game starts at 7:05.

How good a deal? The normally-priced $58 ticket was priced at $40, plus free beer for 90 minutes before the game. In addition, your ticket could be used to get up to $10 in food/beverage on the club level. Considering the cost of a large beer at PNC is now $7, this ticket almost could pay for itself. During the game, the club bar has about 15 taps, including Sam Adams, Penn, SNPA, Dogfish Head, and several other crafts.

If interested, contact Jason Marovick at (412) 325-4964 no later than week before that game.

Monkey Boy, Smokin' Joe's, and Another Batch Bottled

Yesterday, Dana and I went to Pittsburgh for the day. After having breakfast at Cafe 701 (isn't there a Cafe ### in just about every town?) with our friend Erick (also now a homebrewer), we got ready and hit the road. Well, I should say, first we did some stuff around the house and left around 11:30.

We decided the main visit of the day would be Phipps Conservatory. Dana wanted to see the spring flowers and also the newly opened butterfly forest exhibit. But first, I had an errand to run since we'd be on the right side of town - that is, get a growler of East End Monkey Boy, a really nice German Hefeweizen that Scott debuted last month. I was hoping to get some before it was gone (like the fate of the Cherry Grisette!), since I don't make it down as often as I would like. We strolled in at 12:45 or so .. absolutely empty, unlike every other Saturday visit I've had.

By this time, we were hungry, so we drove over to Shadyside for lunch at Girasole, a nice little Italian bistro on Copeland Street. Luckily, we got a table inside and not the patio, because half way through our meal the skies opened up for a nice shower.

After lunch, we hit Phipps and walked around for over an hour and a half. Nice place. While inside, a big booming thunderstorm passed - amazing how much water really comes down when the whole ceiling is made of glass! Dana picked up a neat little garden decoration - a tiny solar-powered 'lamp' with a hand-blown glass flower top. We put it out today, and as I write this I see it glowing in the dark out in the back yard. Kinda cool.

From Phipps, we took a slightly scenic drive through Schenley Park and over to Homestead, where we drove around the Waterworks 'mall' area. There's a Rock Bottom there, but we skipped that this time. I visited one in Seattle last summer, but wasn't hugely impressed - especially compared to our local scene. We killed some time, instead, in Barnes & Noble, where I read through a few beer magazines.

Next, it was on to the South Side. We tried to get a table at Fat Heads, but the wait was an hour! So we ambled down a block or so to Smokin' Joe's. We found no wait, and a nice tap selection. Between us, we had a Stoudt's Abbey Tripel, a Magic Hat Odd Notion Irish Red Ale, a Boulder Beer Obovoid Empirical Stout, and a Dogfish Head Burton Baton.

Slightly happy now, we decided not to eat there, but rather head across the street to Primanti Bros. Again, if you've not been to Pittsburgh or have been but not eaten here - do yourself a favor! The best place to have one is the original 18th Street location in the Strip District, but you can find them several places now, including PNC Park for a Pirates game.

After dinner, we were tuckered out form the day and drove back home.

Today, I bottled the Coffee Porter I made back in January. I'm a little slow this year! Anyway, it finished at 1.011 and tasted pretty fine. I hope it will be ready for the grand tasting during our Homebrew Club meeting on May 13!

Super Tuesday (for beer, not voting)

Yesterday was my Spring Break beer-related day, starting with a road trip and finishing with a homebrew club meeting. It wasn't quite the journey from last year, but it was a great day.

I picked up Justin (aka Naka) at 10am, and after grabbing some caffeinated sustenance at The Commonplace Coffeehouse, we headed west on Rt 422 towards Kittanning ,Butler, and New Castle. At New Castle, we hung a left toward Boardman, Ohio, our first destination.

Why Boardman? Well, because of an absolutely wonderful beer & wine store named Vintage Estate Wine & Beer. First, we had lunch up the road at a place called Rocknes Pub & Restaurant ... a run-of-the-mill pub like TGI's or Chili's or "Chotchkies". The food was fine but uninspiring. In fact, the whole strip of businesses and restaurants all along Rt 224 in Boardman was the most bland yet eclectic collection of businesses I'd seen in a long time: Home Depot next to a mall next to Olive Garden next to a mattress store next to an adult store called "Ambiance". The whole area kinda sucked the spirit out of you. But I digress....

Vintage Estate!! Man, worth the two-hour drive from Indiana. The beer selection was phenomenal and the prices, compared to Pittsburgh beer stores and the asinine Allegheny Co. Onorato tax, were very, very reasonable. I had a wish list and some cash from Eli, whose order I filled first. Justin was busy gathering his stuff.

After getting Eli's stuff, I picked up the following:

• Ølfabrikken Porter


• Haandbryggeriet Norwegian Wood


• Nils Oscar Imperial Stout


• Nøgne Ø Imperial Stout


• Mikkeller Big Worse Barley Wine


• Chouffe Houblon Dobbelen IPA Tripel


• Mad River Steelhead Scotch Porter


• Tripel Karmeliet


• Allagash Curieux


• Bottleworks Van den Vern Grand Cru


• De Dolle Arabier


• De Dolle Dulle Teve


• Left Hand Milk Stout


• 't Smisje Grande Reserva


• Weihenstephaner Korbinian


• Weihenstephaner Vitus

After making the purchases and loading the car, Naka and I headed to the back of the store for a sampling of some of the beers that Ron Bush (the proprietor) had on tap. He rotates six different ones and yesterday there was:

1. Weyerbacher Blithering Idiot


2. Flying Dog Double Dog Double Pale Ale


3. Founders Pale Ale


4. New Holland Night Tripper


5. Bell's Consecrator Doppelbock


6. Lagunitas The Hairy Eyeball

I'd had the Lagunitas and Weyerbacher before, so I tried the other four.

After a great time at Vintage Estates, we hit the road and drove straight to East End Brewing in Pittsburgh - making it just in time for growler hours at 5pm. There weren't many people to show up between 5-6, so we hung out and chatted with Scott and Richard, tried a few samples (including the soon-to-be-released Monkey Boy, a German Hefeweizen). I left with a growler each of the Best Bitter and the Dubbel Trubbel.

We left Pittsburgh and headed home. After dropping Justin off and stopping home for a bit, it was time to head uptown to The Coney for the March meeting of the Indiana Homebrewers Club. The article about our club, published in the local paper last month, helped get us six new members last night! We talked about the hop shortage, tried some great homebrews and the two East End beers, and I ended up staying until midnight.

In all, a great beer day!

A Little Western PA Tour

I hope that everyone had a nice Christmas (for those who observe) and/or break and got to enjoy good beer!

Neither my or my wife's families exchanged gifts this year, except of course for the kids ... can't ignore the nephews! Regardless, I still ended up with a gift card to Marzoni's and an 'official' 2006 Oktoberfest München ceramic 0.5L mug on Christmas Eve. For Christmas day, I was drinking Avalanche IPA (which I'd purchased with the former) out of the latter. It was a nice day.

Yesterday, friends and fellow brewers Dave and Justin (Muckney Brewing) and I got in my car and headed out of town for a day of sampling and purchasing. Friend Eli (Four Eyed Geek) was not able to go, though he sent a cooler with empty growlers and cash in his stead; and Jon (no link) was working, but had just returned from a successful beer trip to the Detroit area.

After gathering everyone/thing, we grabbed some caffeine for the road at Indiana's own Commonplace Coffee and took off. First stop for the day (after a brief detour to my parents' house) was North Country Brewing in Slippery Rock. Here we had lunch and some samples. Dave & Justin each got a sampler tray, while I had a pint of the Dubble Trouble and the cask Amber. The cask amber was terrific!

From Slippery Rock, we headed down I-79 into Cranberry, where we each got a sampler tray at the Hereford & Hops. I thought that most were mediocre at best, though the Portersville Porter (Baltic porter) was above average.

Next, as rush hour was about to commence, we headed down Route 19 into Wexford to the first of two beer stores for the evening, 3 Sons Dogs & Suds. I find that 3 Sons is a bit cheaper than D's SixPax & Dogz for many beers, though the selection is a bit smaller. I grabbed a Lindemans Framboise and Chimay Bleu for my wife (both her favorites), and a Hoppin' Frog BORIS the Crusher for myself. Dave & Justin found good offerings, too.

From 3 Sons, we slogged our way down Route 19 to McKnight Road, then over Babcock Blvd to Country Wines for some homebrewing supplies. They had reorganized some things since I was last in - seemed a bit more roomy, anyway. I grabbed a few essential equipment pieces for friend/neighbor/colleague Erick, who's going to brew his first batch of beer over Xmas break in my kitchen. Lookin' forward to bringing yet another person over to the wonderful world of brewing!

By now, it was dark and rush hour in full swing. It was also time for growler hours (5-7pm) at East End Brewing! So, down Babcock and over to 28 North until the Highland Park Bridge, etc, etc. East End was slammed by the time we got there ... must have been at least 20-30 cars parked in the street and it was a fairly long wait to get our growlers filled. I think a lot of people go there to get free tastings and bullshit, though I hope they all buy something to support Scott. (see interview I did with Scott here)

I picked up a growler of the Grisette and a bottle of the Three Year Anniversary Ale; Dave & Justin got their fill, and we got more stuff for Eli. Snow Melt and The Bitter End were running, and last year's batch of Gratitude was back on sale.

By now, we were all hungry again and had one more stop to make: D's SixPak in Edgewood. After waiting for a table (man, it was slammed in there too!), we grabbed a draft and some food and then geared up to peruse the wares in the Beer Cave. I was particularly excited, because I had a $50 gift certificate that I'd purchased for $25 in October.

I grabbed 8 bottles, totaling just over $50, but they were ones I've been meaning to try for a while - along with a few spur-of-the-moment choices. A few interesting ones were Nøgne Ø 100, Avery The Beast and Avery Samäel's Oak-Aged Ale (note the particularly poetic rating by krisbierjaeger, who offers wonderful notes on beer tasting!), DFH Raison d'Extra and a few other goodies.

These buys, along with a few trades/gifts from Jon (including Founders Breakfast Stout, some Jolly Pumpkin offerings, and probably what will be my 2000th beer rating - Kuhnhenn Raspberry Eisbock).

All in all, it was another enjoyable and successful year end voyage and shopping trip (last year I was at State Line Liquors in Maryland) and I look forward to drinking and sharing many of the finds with my buddies listed above (and looking forward to trying some of their finds, too)!

In case I don't get a chance before the next post; Happy New Year!

East End Brewing Article

Here's an interview I did with Scott Smith of East End Brewing in Pittsburgh.

This link goes to the article on RateBeer.com.

East End Brewing on TV!

This Tuesday, January 30 on WQED at 7:30pm, the boys from Dave & Dave's Excellent Adventure will be visiting Scott at East End Brewing to see what good beer is all about. I can't wait to see that one! Congrats to Scott for great P.R. :)