Pittsburgh Beer (Philadelphia, Lancaster, Harrisburg: appointed, sales, condos)

[bboy36win]

Originally Posted by Drover

If you happen to like high-end beer, Pittsburgh is one of the best craft beer cities in the country. However, it does not have the same emphasis on local/regional beer production that the West Coast does; it has a stronger emphasis on imports than the West Coast does, particularly beers imported from Belgium. That said, there are a couple of high-quality breweries in the city (Penn Brewery for German style beers, East End for more eclectic styles) and in the region (Dogfish Head in Delaware, Weyerbrecher, Victory and Stoudts in the Philly area). The Sharp Edge in East Liberty is one of the most renown beer bars in the country, as is its sister location in Crafton (called Sharp Edge Creekhouse). Fat Head's on Carson Street is also a nationally renown beer mecca. Smokin' Joes right down the street from Fat Head's should, in my opinion, have just as much national acclaim as Fat Head's but for some reason it doesn't. I suspect Fat Heads has better marketing. D's Sixpax n' Dogz in Regent Square is one of the best known retail beer shops in the country, boasting over 900 varieties of beer in stock at any given time.

Drover, I like a hoppy IPA. What's my best Pittsburgh-brewed option?

Thanks.

[Drover]

For strictly Pittsburgh-brewed, you really only have one choice. Penn only does German-style beers, so they're out. Church Brew sometimes makes an IPA that rotates in and out of their specialty slot so you can never count on it being there. Therefore your only choice is East End Big Hop IPA. Fortunately, your one choice happens to be a really good one. Ratebeer.com puts it in the 75th percentile of all IPAs worldwide and in the 88th percentile of all beers worldwide. That's pretty high praise considering the Ratebeer crowd tends to favor big hoppy beers so they are very discerning about IPAs.

There is also a Boston-based chain brewpub out by the Monroeville Mall called John Harvard's. I haven't been there in quite a long time but when I was there I remember their beer being very solid. They lean toward British-style beers so it stands to reason they will have an IPA as part of their regular lineup.

Cheers,

-Drover

[bboy36win]

Now I'm thirsty.
Thanks.

[Drover]

If you're willing to expand your geographical reach a bit, there are some other great IPAs brewed in Pennsylvania.

Troegs in Harrisburg makes the well-respected Nugget Nectar. It's a seasonal beer and I don't know in what season it's released, so you may not be able to find it right at the moment. I haven't had it yet, but I do have a bottle of it in my cellar when I can get around to it.

Stoudt in Lancaster County makes a phenomenal double IPA called, uhm, "Double IPA." It's one of the best IPAs I've ever had. When I lived in Pittsburgh, Stoudt was widely available there. But when I was there last summer, I had some trouble finding it, so I don't know if they have cut back their distribution territory.

Victory in Downington makes the venerable Hop Devil. That one is popular enough that you can even find it here in Chicago. I'm not a big fan of Hop Devil, but I'm also not an IPA connaisseur. Said connaisseurs have a pretty high affection for Hop Devil.

If that's not intense enough for you, there's always Victory Hop Wallop, a double/imperial IPA. It's a seasonal that is currently in season so you shouldn't have much trouble finding it. I haven't had it yet but I have a bottle of the 2005 batch in my cellar waiting for my attention.

Easton-based Weyerbrecher just had its Double Simcoe IPA named Pennsylvania Beer of the Year for 2006 by Lew Bryson, a respected Philadelphia-based beer critic. Haven't had it, but I respect Lew's judgment.

Then there's always the Dogfish Head line of IPAs: the 60 Minute IPA, the 90 Minute IPA, and the 120 Minute IPA. I'm working on a bottle of 120 right now. This is more of a meal than a beer. Plus it's 20% ABV, so it's definitely something you don't sit and drink a six-pack of, unless you don't mind suffering a temporary inability to walk, talk, or maintain self-awareness. Unfortnately the 120 is only released once a year and the last release was about 7 months ago so you may not be able to find it. (OK, I'm cheating a little on this one since Dogfish Head is actually in Delaware, but they're in the Philly area and that makes them an honorary Pennsylvania brewery in my book. )

So, still thirsty?

[bboy36win]

Good info. Thanks.

Gotta love Troeg's ... though I still have yet to try the "Troeginator".

ABC (Appalachian Brewing Co. in Harrisburg) has a good pale ale, as well as a good seasonal beer in September (Kiponafest I think is the name). I try to get there a few times a year.

Quick story: last summer in was in Bube's Brewery in Mt. Joy (Lancaster County) picking up some home brew supplies (my brother and I make a tasty Red Ale), and I start talking to the cashier, who I'm thinking is just a part-timer. I'm telling him about the brew we're going to make, and I say, "so do you know anything about brewing?", and he says, "uh, I'm the brewmaster here." Once I removed my foot from my mouth, he says, "come on downstairs and have some samples." Very cool.

So, yeah, I'm still thirsty.

PS - drove through Chicago the week before last. Now that EZ Pass can be used in the I-Pass lanes, it was a piece of cake. You know on 290, near the airport, just before you hit 90, on your left (as you're going north) ... is that a mall? Looks like a small village. Couldn't figure out what it was and figured you'd know.

Cheers,
Jeff

[Drover]

Originally Posted by bboy36win

PS - drove through Chicago the week before last. Now that EZ Pass can be used in the I-Pass lanes, it was a piece of cake. You know on 290, near the airport, just before you hit 90, on your left (as you're going north) ... is that a mall? Looks like a small village. Couldn't figure out what it was and figured you'd know.

Cheers,
Jeff

Hahahaha, that's Woodfield Mall. That mall and all the crap around it has its own sales tax zone that generates so much revenue that the city it's in (Schaumburg, population 80,000) doesn't have a residential property tax. My wife works right across the street from that mess. Sometimes it takes her 20 minutes to get on the tollway, which is a 2-mile drive. It's especially fun during Christmastime when the place is so packed that people actually park in my wife's employer's parking lot and then dodge traffic on a six-lane highway just go go shopping -- and presumably do the same thing on the way back, only this time with shopping bags full of stuff! Some people are just crazy I guess.

Did you get a chance to visit Stoudt's when you were out in Lancaster County? That place is flippin' weird. It's part of an out-in-the-sticks-of-Lancaster-County version of Woodfield: A great big flea market, a butcher, a bakery, a chophouse/restaurant, a banquet hall, a brewery, a brewpub, and a residential development with weird cheesy pseudo-Alpine architecture where it seems like every house is required to have a store front facing the street. I can’t decide if this is creepy or if it’s a model community -- after all, shouldn’t every neighborhood have its own brewery, pub, chophouse, antique flea market, et cetera? They've already got the butcher and the baker; the only thing missing is the candlestick maker. I’m sure he’ll arrive shortly.

The inside of the restaurant/brewpub is really weird too; I swear to God it feels like you're eating dinner in Montgomery Burns' mansion. The whole place has a weird "old people" atmosphere to it. It's definitely one of the most surreal places I've ever been in all of my pubcrawling years.

[bboy36win]

Originally Posted by Drover

Did you get a chance to visit Stoudt's when you were out in Lancaster County? That place is flippin' weird. It's part of an out-in-the-sticks-of-Lancaster-County version of Woodfield: A great big flea market, a butcher, a bakery, a chophouse/restaurant, a banquet hall, a brewery, a brewpub, and a residential development with weird cheesy pseudo-Alpine architecture where it seems like every house is required to have a store front facing the street. I can’t decide if this is creepy or if it’s a model community -- after all, shouldn’t every neighborhood have its own brewery, pub, chophouse, antique flea market, et cetera? They've already got the butcher and the baker; the only thing missing is the candlestick maker. I’m sure he’ll arrive shortly.

The inside of the restaurant/brewpub is really weird too; I swear to God it feels like you're eating dinner in Montgomery Burns' mansion. The whole place has a weird "old people" atmosphere to it. It's definitely one of the most surreal places I've ever been in all of my pubcrawling years.

I have been in the parking lot but have never gone in! My wife is big into antiques and that stretch of 272 is lined with huge antique places (not to mention a pretty good italian restaurant called "Zia Maria's"). Anyway, one time we were up there looking for a bite to eat, we saw the sign, drove in, looked around, saw the storefronts, then the townhouses or condos or whatever they were, and said in unison, "what is hell is this??". Are we in a neighborhood or a strip mall? Or some bizarre experiment? I think we dined at Zia's that day.

Knowing now how good their beer is, I'm going to have to go back and find the courage to go in.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by bboy36win

ABC (Appalachian Brewing Co. in Harrisburg) has a good pale ale, as well as a good seasonal beer in September (Kiponafest I think is the name). I try to get there a few times a year.
Jeff

I tried some ABC stuff back in the late 90s when they were just firing up and I was not impressed. Their reputation these days far exceeds what I remember of them so it looks like they've gotten their act toegether. I'll have to give them a spin the next time I'm in that neck of the woods.

Didn't they just open a branch in Gettysburg? That place has been in desparate need of a real brewpub since Gettysburg Brewing shut down a few years ago. Gettysbrew (note: NOT the same as Gettysburg Brewing) is simply some of the most awful beer I've ever had. It looks like that place finally went out of business a couple months ago. Didn't happen soon enough; that place was to tourists what a speed trap is to motorists. If it weren't for the constant influx of new victims, they'd have closed their doors (or at least abandoned brewing) within six months of opening.

[bboy36win]

Originally Posted by Drover

Didn't they just open a branch in Gettysburg? That place has been in desparate need of a real brewpub since Gettysburg Brewing shut down a few years ago. Gettysbrew (note: NOT the same as Gettysburg Brewing) is simply some of the most awful beer I've ever had. It looks like that place finally went out of business a couple months ago. Didn't happen soon enough; that place was to tourists what a speed trap is to motorists. If it weren't for the constant influx of new victims, they'd have closed their doors (or at least abandoned brewing) within six months of opening.

I believe they did - near the college. They now have 3 locations: Harrisburg, Camp Hill and Gettysburg, though I've only been to the Hbg location.

Also, if you're in the area, you may also want to try out Market Cross Pub in Carlisle. They have a nice selection of draft and bottled beer. (http://www.marketcrosspub.com/Beer%20Menu.htm) (broken link).

[Winwahoo]

Pittsburgh is an awesome beer town! Even with PA's weird and out-dated alcohol laws, they are beginning to be less restrictive. More 6-pack shops are opening, including a great one over in the South Hills on 88 (Barley and Hops) Also, East End Brewing's Scott Smith makes world-class beers (his seasonal "Snow Melt" is particularly delicious) And...the 'Burgh has arguably the best Belgian beer bar in the country in Sharp Edge. (and all these "props" coming from a Browns fan!) And...don't forget about Red Star over in Greensburg, PA, a 30-minute-or-so drive...WELL worth the trip! I've lived in Pittsburgh for 4 years now and have not been disappointed by beer selection. (and if you are...Youngstwon's a hop-skip-and-a-jump, and there are some great beer stores there, as well)