Indiana (PA) Beer Scene - Summer 2013

Many years ago, I wrote a blurb about the beer scene here in Indiana (PA). A lot has changed since then (for the better, I might add), so here's a recap of what our little town has to offer. Below is a list of good beer places in town. Caveat: my definition of 'good' is in regard to selections other than macro-brewed pale lagers (e.g., Bud/Miller/Coors, Corona, Heineken, Labatt, etc.) and their lite/light counterparts.

Bars & Restaurants (in no particular order)
Local places that offer up some craft beers on tap or in bottle.

• Ironwood Gril [1830 Oakland Ave.] Has quite a large tap system in place with a few regional micros (Troegs, Penn) and more national brands such as Sam Adams, Leinenkugel's, etc.  The downstairs has coolers with decent six-pack selections and bombers of Stone, Voodoo, and a few imports. One thing I don't care for is that smoking is permitted in the tap room. CORRECTION - Smoking is no longer permitted. And I've visited on a couple of different occasions where the tap lines needed a good cleaning (this hopefully is no longer an issue either).
•  The Coney [642 Philadelphia St.] Offers a few good crafts on tap, which rotate with some frequency. You'll always find a Penn seasonal brew, too. Troegs, Dogfish Head, Leinie's, and Sam Adams are just about always present. For about a year, they carried Marzoni's Avalanche IPA, but that apparently fell out of favor. Monthly bottle selections are offered, ranging from Victory to Bell's to Stone. Recently, they've offered a few large bottles, such as Arrogant Bastard and the 0.5-L Franziskaner (a bit overpriced, however). The food is solid and they still offer my favorite Buffalo wings.
• Benjamin's [458 Philadelphia St.] Terrific enclosed indoor/outdoor patio & bar, with about 18 beers on tap - many are one-offs and they rotate frequently. The current local hangout of the young professional to middle agers, usually always packed.  I've had a lot of good beer here recently, including Bell's Hopslam, Anderson Valley Hop Ottin', Troegs Nugget Nectar, East End Big Hop, Harpoon Chocolate Stout, Southern Tier Pumking, and many others. Chris does a great job of bringing in good stuff on a regular basis.
• Coventry Inn [11 N 6th St.] One of the neater places in town. It opened in the mid-to-late 90's as an English pub, then closed for a while, then reopened in the mid-2000's.  It is only open for dinner (4:30-11:00p) on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.  Great decor - really feel like you're not in Indiana! Small but very good menu offerings, live music on Fridays/Saturdays, and they often hold special events here. The most attractive point to the Coventry is their Happy Hour specials - from 4:30-6:00 on Thur/Fri, you get half-off select appetizers and mixed drinks/beer.  Now, their beer selection is very small and not very interesting, but the food and service is always good. Not a place for a quick in-and-out bite to eat, however.
• Twisted Jimmy's [29 N 7th St.] This place is adjacent to Steel City Samiches, and is owned/operated by the same family.  For the time being, the menus are the same, though I've been told that Jimmy's plans to have a more sophisticated upscale menu (small plates, burgers, etc.) to get away from the traditional bar food that is so prevalent in this town.  They opened in Fall 2012, and once the N 7th Streetscape is finished, they'll be working more with their patio next to the pedestrian area outside. The recently installed a glycol-chilled 20-tap system, with more than half the offerings dedicated to good craft beer. And from 10-12pm, beers are half price ... about $3 for a glass of Dragon's Milk??? I'm in!  Also, I'm told to look for a sister location in the Shadyside neighborhood of Pittsburgh.
• H.B. Culpeppers [653 Philadelphia St.] Kind of a standard college town bar, catering to more young professionals and college students. I don't go here that often, save for the occasional happy hour gathering with some IUP colleagues on Friday evening.  Menu is OK and the beer selection has improved. The really good beers are actually upstairs in a renovated bar area (about 5-6 years ago) that's really attractive. Unfortunately, it is also very smoky. I'm not crazy about trying to enjoy a good beer through a cloud of second hand tobacco smoke.  The other annoying part to this is that sometimes they'll have something on tap that I want upstairs, but the wait staff downstairs won't go and get it - meaning I have to either a) settle for mediocre offerings downstairs, or b) go up and get it myself.
• Grub's Sports Bar [566 Philadelphia St.]  With an al fresco dining area, tons of large-screen TVs, and the tagline "Cheap Drinks and Lousy Food" ... what's not to like?  Adjacent to Wolfie's, this place opened a few years back and is very popular.  Occasionally, they'll have a decent craft beer on tap, but mostly they cater to the college sports bar crowd with light beers and pale fizzy lagers. The food is straightforward, good, and cheap.

Distributors & Stores (in no particular order)
Local places that offer up some craft beer by case, six-pack, or singles.

• Holiday Beverages [471 Water St.] Good selection of craft beer in cases with weekly craft beer tastings.
• Duquesne Beer Distributor [1215 Maple St.] Large selection of craft beer in cases, decent prices.
• Martins [1570 Oakland Ave.] Martins started selling beer about two years ago.  Their selection is decent and slightly cheaper for mix-your-own six packs. However, their selection is not as good (my opinion) as Giant Eagle.  They other annoying thing about buying beer here is that - unlike Giant Eagle - you cannot carry your purchase out of the cafe area while you complete your shopping.  So, you either have to buy your beer after you've shopped or you have to make a trip back to your car. Annoying!
• Giant Eagle [475 Ben Franklin Rd. South] The 'new' Giant Eagle opened up a few years back, after the old one downtown was closed and demolished for the new Giant Eagle Express. Very nice beer selection of six-packs, bombers, and mix-your-own.  Prices are a little higher than Martins, but the selection is better.  For me, this store holds the distinction of carrying my absolute favorite beer: Orval (and a few other Trappist beers).  Seasonal offerings abound, and I can always find a beer or two that I've not had yet.  Also, despite having to purchase your beer separately, you can put it in your cart and continue shopping (unlike Martins). Or, you can have a few beers in the cafe with food from the hot bar or salad bar.
• Giant Eagle Express [435 S 7th St.]  Opened last year at the site of the 'old' Giant Eagle, with beer at the cafe in six packs, mixed singles, and bombers.  Again, a better selection that Martins but more expensive. Handy for lunch, too, since you can get subs/sandwiches/salad bar/sushi to eat with your beer in the cafe - and there is outdoor seating and free wireless.

Homebrew Supplies

• Montgomery Underground Winery [11032 US 422, Shelocta] The winery has a retail store on 422 near Elderton that also serves as a homebrew supply store.  They carry all of the basic (and some specialized) equipment, ingredients, and kits. And if they don't have it, they'll make every attempt to order it for you.  Many of the club members get their stuff here, and the owners (Tom & Della) are regular attendees (and great brewers!).
• The Homebrew & Hobby Shop [540 Franklin St., Clymer] Just opened a few months ago. I've not yet been, nor do I know anything about it.

I've Just About Given Up on Ironwood

So my wife and I wanted to go grab a pint tonight and she suggested going to the outdoor porch/bar of the Ironwood Grill. We arrived at 6:30 or so and asked to be seated outside. Well, as we were escorted to the outdoor bar/seating area, we were met by two unsavory elements: (1) a ton of cigarette smoke wafting out from the second floor bar area (newly renovated and now joined to the outside by an open bar area); and (2) music so loud that we would have to almost shout at each other over drinks. This is outside, mind you.

I have to say, this is not our speed. The indoor dining area seems to be fine - nonsmoking, relatively quiet. But if you just want to go sit outside or enjoy a beer at the bar - be prepared to get smoked out and blasted by music.

We left without even sitting down. After a side trip to Lowe's, we ended up back at the Coney for a nice meal and good draughts. Sorry Ironwood, I'll keep checking you out for the occasional sixer and bomber of Old Guardian, but you can count me out for a pint at the bar or overpriced dinners. I want to taste and enjoy a good beer, not snort a shit load of second hand smoke.

Ironwood Grill's New Bar - First Impressions

Well, tonight after dinner at Nap's Cucina Mia, my wife and I decided to hit the Ironwood for a drink. Upon arrival, we were told that the new bar was open for business.

The bar is located up the stairs and to the left of the host(ess) station. They have a whole new area which contains several booths and some tables, a pool table, and a new bar.

First, I was impressed that the tap selection included Magic Hat #9 and Victory Hop Devil (although the Hop Devil was kicked tonight). Second, I liked the fact that all of the beers available downstairs in 6 packs seemed to be in the cooler for drinking (didn't see the Stone bombers or the Baltika beers, though).

Unfortunately, the new bar allows smoking, so be prepared for that. However, you can get all the beers in the non-smoking restaurant section (no beer list yet, however). My wife asked for a virgin strawberry daiquiri and I asked for a Victory Hop Wallop (bottle). "That'll be $8.", says the girl behind the bar.

$8!!! I think someone goofed. I asked another waitress later - the Hop Wallop bottle (12 oz) was indeed $4, but the other girl made a mistake on the virgin daiquiri, as $4 is the price of the alcoholic version. I raised that point with the owner as I left, and he assured me that was a goof and that he'd comp me the next time I came in (now, whether he'll remember me ....).

The other point - $4 for a bottle of Hop Wallop, when downstairs the price of a Victory sixer is between $9 and $12. Hmmm, let's see ... that's about a 100% markup. Sorry, but that's a rip off for Indiana, PA. I've paid prices like that in Pittsburgh, but it's a little more expensive in general. Yeah, I understand overhead, etc. - but $4.00 to drink on premises where it'd be $2 a bottle (MAX!) to take out. C'mon. If the Coney expands their list, they'll give Ironwood a run for the money (Hop Devil is less per bottle, for example).

So - first impressions were disappointing. Smoky, overpriced, and bar help that is either swindling me or just inept. I appreciate the selection - I really do. But jacking up the price is not going to get my business too often unless I want to sample something before plucking down cash for a six pack.

According to the owner, the beer tastings will start (most likely) in April - first Tuesdays of the month (nicely coinciding with the beer club for a meeting in April/May) with some distributor reps. Alcohol (hard liquor) reps will follow later in month, too. The upstairs (outer) bar is now under refurbishment, and apparently is expanding and will be a double-sided bar.

I look forward to hearing other's impressions of the Ironwood's new bar and their selection. Time will tell whether or not it's going to be a worthy craft beer hangout. I'll be giving it a few more chances to impress me, but if each visit turns out like tonight then they're losing a customer.