Scream for me, Pittsburgh! - Part I

Since Pittsburgh is almost four hours away from little old Annville, a trip usually warrants at least a 3-day weekend. With the recent influx of new breweries since our last full-on brewery crawl in the 'Burgh, we decided to make it 3-and-a-half days. Brewslut was required to be at school for some curriculum writing (yawn!) but was able to skedaddle due to a power outage, so we got to embark on our trip around 2 p.m. on Thursday afternoon. This would definitely put us well ahead of schedule on our agenda, which included visits to four different breweries before retiring to our hotel in the Greentree area. Oh, did I mention that the impetus of the trip was once again to witness the mighty Iron Maiden live in concert? It's not the first time beer and Maiden have intersected with our travels; you may remember two summers ago we traveled to Bristow, VA to see the band on its Book of Souls World Tour (as recounted in Scream for me, Virginia... and you too Maryland!). This time around, we enjoyed some extra down-time to cruise around the greater Pittsburgh area and soak in all that the Steel City has to offer. 

As per our typical modus operandi, we headed straight to a brewery rather than check into our hotel. I decided to hit the brewery furthest away from our hotel and work our way back down. That brewery is one of the 'Burgh's most talked-about: Dancing Gnome. The last time we visited, we landed at Dancing Gnome at the end of the night, so it was a bit of a blur, I'm afraid. We enjoyed a pair of beers and some grub from a food truck, but otherwise the memory of our visit is a pretty hazy one (no pun intended).

Before we get into the beer, I'd like to throw out a quick side note. Shortly after we parked at the bar, someone came in and asked if anyone drove an (insert make and model of a car here). Apparently, some patrons' car was sideswiped by a bus right outside the brewery. Oops. Turns out the unfortunate couple was sitting a few stools down at the bar, and the woman responded with, "Are you kidding me? Jesus Fucking Christ!" This offended someone else at the bar, and I just had to chuckle. I remarked to Brewslut that "at least she got his middle name right" and that J.F.C. is easily my favorite compound vulgarity. You get the power and shock value of "fuck" with a little bit of blasphemy thrown in for good measure. It's a win-win. 

Anyway, on our way in, I was excited to see the Pittsburgh Tortas food truck parked outside. We'd enjoyed its food at Brew Gentlemen on one or two occasions, and it was dinner time, so we each ordered a tasty chicken and smashed black bean torta with some kind of flavorful slaw that tied it all together. 

OK, let's get back to beer. I perused the beer menu (a back-lit screen right in front of my face, as it would happen), and immediately a beer called Lull jumped out. Why did it jump out, you ask? Well, the beer is a pale ale hopped exclusively with Nelson Sauvin hops. Always a favorite of mine, these New Zealand-grown hops boast a dominant white grape flavor with delicate berry-infused tropical fruit undertones. Think of a semi-sweet white wine like Riesling and you can get an idea of its flavor character. This beer definitely had some Nelson qualities, but it tasted slightly undone in that I also picked up on some vegetal qualities and a hint of grassiness. 

Pleeps is READY!

While sitting at the bar, we had a fun conversation with a guy about Neil Peart. I overheard him make the claim that "you can't call it bluegrass if it has drums!" I snidely remarked, "I knew there was a reason I don't like bluegrass." Of course, I don't dislike bluegrass; in fact I kind of dig it. Would I want to sit at a festival and listen to it all day? That's an easy NO WAY. But a few songs in a set? OK. Bluegrass musicians are usually pretty legit pickers. At any rate, he also made the comment that "you can't have Neil Peart [mispronounced his name, of course] up there playing all that..." and he then went into an air drum orgasm of tom fills that made me chuckle. I responded, "now you're speaking my language... and, by the way, it's PEART [pronounced correctly, like PEERT]." We then went into a fun conversation about how difficult it is to play Neil's drum parts. I mean, if anyone knows this first-hand, it's me. 

Pleeps gettin' a piece of  my torta and a sip of Citra Jam.

I followed up Lull with the slightly more upbeat Citra Jam. A variation on its IPA Jam, this one is brewed with rye and heavily dry hopped with - you guessed it! - Citra. I preferred this one a bit over the Lull, but it still had a slightly chalky texture with that same grassiness I experienced with Lull. 

We were familiar with our next stop, Strange Roots, in that it had recently changed its moniker from Draai Laag. You might remember that we'd named Draai Laag one of our Top 10 new breweries visited in 2017. Frankly, I was mesmerized by the place. Everything about Draai Laag was spot-on, from the ambiance of the space to the unique beers and elevated experience. The brewery excelled in crafting complex sours, wild ales and barrel-aged beers.

New name, same place.

With Strange Roots, its taproom remains at the same location as our previous visit back when they were still called Draai Laag. While they still seem to brew some pretty out-there stuff, they've streamlined a bit and now offer a lot more - let's call them "safe" - beers as not to alienate any newbies that may wander in for a cold one. I must admit that I was kind of bummed when I discovered this, as I felt they'd carved out a unique niche in a market saturated by hazy IPAs. I will admit, however, that Strange Roots is more memorable - and easier to pronounce - than Draai Laag.

Beer selection at Strange Roots.

With that said, I honed in on an intriguing beer named Lemon Tea Off, a wild ale fermented on lemon peel and black tea. The beer itself is a fairly dry, peppery rustic ale with earthy tea notes and a spritz of citrus by way of fresh lemon zest. This one came across as a saison and proved a pleasant deviation from the one-two punch of haze at Dancing Gnome. 

Backtracking a bit to when we arrived, a guy (whose name we soon discovered was Spencer) was in the process of setting up for Bingo. Apparently, Strange Roots hosts a Bingo Night each and every Thursday evening to entertain the throngs of beer drinkers. Bingo is kind of underrated in that it can be extremely competitive. The game is heightened because you can't see any of the other participants' cards. I love me a good game of Bingo, and turns out we won a few matches. Brewslut won some sweet gardening gloves and a Strange Roots sticker, while I scored a free sandwich (which I cashed in on immediately... a PB&J with Gouda sandwich). I liked it; Brewslut, not so much. I ended up winning another sandwich, but I gave it to a table of locals who hadn't won a round yet. They were happy campers. I suspect that bought me a bit of good karma to burn. 

Pleeps gettin' in on some Bingo action!

After getting tea-bagged I craved some hops, so I opted for a pour of Swamp Whale, a Double IPA hopped with Citra and Mosaic. Overall, it was very similar to the IPAs we experienced at Dancing Gnome. Not to say it was bad or off-putting, but the Bingo was keeping me a bit more interested.

When I went up to the bar to pick up my sandwich, I noticed there were some specialty bottles available for on-premise consumption. One piqued my interest, and the price was reasonable. So, we decided to try one of these more experimental beers since the brewery as Draai Laag had a proven track record.

.

The bottle in question was a beer called Grand Blü, a collaboration with the popular local restaurant and taproom, House of 1,000 Beers. The beer itself is a wild ale fermented with peaches and "roqueforti," the organism used to make blue cheese. Now this is the kind of beer Draai Laag was once known for brewing. While it didn't knock my socks off, it boasted a pleasant sweet-tart peach punch with some pretty funky, slightly cheesy (in a good way) notes and ample carbonation. It's refreshing to see that Strange Roots continue to brew off-kilter beers like this. Grand Blü was probably my favorite of the beers we tried during this particular visit. 

Pleeps getting Blü with us.

Although we felt like we still had a few rounds of Bingo left in us, it was time to wrap up our visit at Strange Roots and head on over to nearby Roundabout. We'd first visited Roundabout shortly after the brewery opened its doors to the public back in 2013 or thereabouts. Methinks it was right around the time when my blogging motivation was slipping and I soon sank into a 2+ year hiatus. The last time we visited, we enjoyed two of the best beers of our trip in Cadwallader IPA and "And Now Pitching" Gose.

When we arrived this time, the tasting room was pretty barren save for a table of four ladies and a few employees who had just finished their shift. Roundabout also seems to have a small patio area where three additional people were relaxing when we arrived. Otherwise, it was a pretty quiet visit. Beer-wise, I settled on Pacific Sky, an IPA hopped with Nelson Sauvin, Citra and Mosaic - a few of my favorites! Featuring hints of pine needles and light citrus and tropical fruit, this one was a bit too subtle for me. Meanwhile, Brewslut worked on a pour of Barrel Jump, a collaboration with PearlArts Studio, a Pittsburgh-based multimedia dance company. I knew she would order this because it's a Berliner Weisse (her favorite beer style) and happened to feature pineapple and passionfruit. Yes, it was a no-brainer for her.

Pleeps preparing for his Barrel Jump!

We chatted for the employees for a hot minute about our past visits and talked some shop, but it turned out to be a one-and-done stop for us. Since we got a head start on the day, we had plenty of time for one final brewery before retiring to our hotel for the evening.

Our last stop of the day was a new-to-use brewery called 11th Hour. In contrast to Roundabout, things were spinning in high gear when we arrived at 11th Hour. The densely populated tasting room may have had something to do with the fact that about two dozen local bocce ball league - let's call them "athletes" - had congregated there, possibly after a league game or tournament. How did we deduce this? Well, a bunch of them were wearing identical T-shirts and Brewslut noticed they were part of a bocce ball league uniform. So we kicked back with the "athletes" and enjoy a pair of final beers before retiring to the hotel for the evening.

After settling in and taking a moment to peruse the beer list, I decided to go with a Southern hemisphere-inspired IPA called Indigenous Species. Hopped with tropical heavy-hitters Galaxy, Motueka and Enigma, this combo resonated with hints of pineapple, ripe mango, passionfruit and peach. Overall, it was a juicy, dank affair that I enjoyed quite a bit. A good first impression, indeed.

Pleeps meets the indigenous species at 11th Hour.

While I got to know the Indigenous Species, Brewslut worked on her pour of Apollo, another Fresh Fest collaboration, this one with Warcloud Brewing based out of California. Hopped with Lemondrop and Citra, this beer boasts a prominent lemon character. Flaked and malted wheat combined with lactose and vanilla soften the sharp edges, but the addition of fresh lemon juice adds a touch of pucker, giving the beer a lemony cake-like finish. There's no bread, lemony cake! My Rush friends will get that joke.

It's always 11 o'clock at 11th Hour.

Overall, I was pretty impressed with this place. The fact that the spacious tasting room was full of happy customers on a Friday night is a good sign they're doing something right.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

We kicked off Friday at Insurrection Ale Works, a place we'd first checked out back in April 2017. I actually hadn't heard of it when we visited originally, but somehow we stumbled on the place at the end of the night. A happy accident, indeed! Although we've encountered numerous breweries with names featuring the "-tion" prefix, this one is easy for me to remember because of the Star Trek: The Next Generation movie of the same name. Bonus points! I recalled really enjoying its IPAs, two of which were named after Phish songs: Split Open & Melt and Weekapaug Groove. More bonus points!

Since I dabbled exclusively in IPAs the last time around, I decided to try something different on for size during this visit. I started with Keep Summer Safe, described as a "rustic American ale." Featuring a malt bill of barley, wheat and oats, this aromatic ale's ingredient list also includes organic Peruvian ginger root and lemon zest. With the addition of Citra lupulin powder, it made for a pretty pungent nose. Ginger and lemon zest are both strong flavors that can dominate a beer, but this one was tempered by the Citra character. I will say that a bit more ginger shone through compared to the lemon zest, but overall it was a nicely balanced beer.

Pleeps does what he can to keep summer safe.

Meanwhile, Brewslut tackled the evocatively named Do Rhinos Run from Thunder? Yes, the beer is named a question. This double oat cream DIPA is brewed with lots of stuff to soften the mouthfeel: malted oats, flaked oats, oat milk and lactose. Hopped and double dry-hopped with Citra and Mosaic, then fermented with a house yeast strain, this hefty DIPA was chewy and boasted plenty of tropical fruit and some ripe melon notes.

Since we were here, we closed out our visit with Optical Hopsation, a spelt DIPA brewed in collaboration with Golden Sky Media for Fresh Fest, the nation's first Black beer festival.

Oh yeah! Remember my buddy from last time? You know, the dwarf I dubbed Calvin? Well, he was camped out in his favorite corner again. He even remembered me. OK, I think he remembered Pleeps. After all, he is the memorable one of the group.

Remember this little guy? Yup... It's Calvin!

Every trip to Pittsburgh wouldn't be complete without a stop at East End, one of the town's "old guard" breweries. As it would happen, we were also on a mission to pick up a 4-pack of the recently released Almost Famous Pickle Beer, a collaboration between East End and famed sandwich restaurant chain, Primanti Brothers. Wait... did you say pickle beer? Why yes, in fact, I did. It's a real thing. See?

You got your pickles in my beer!

We changed up our itinerary to arrive a few minutes prior to the tasting room opening so we could hang with Scott (owner) and Brendan (brewer) for a bit, who were just ending their brewing shift. As always, its a pleasure to chat for a while, and they always take very good care of us.

We had a few samples of some beers before diving into the pickle beer. First up was Smokestack Heritage Porter on nitro. At one time, this beer had been ranked the #1 Smoked Beer in the world on Beer Advocate. The beer has also become a staple of East End's popular Festival of Darkness.

A new beer, Peach Gose, was up next. Enough said! Peaches? Check. Gose. Check. This beer was light, crisp and refreshing with ample peachy goodness... certainly enough to please this lover of all things Prunus persica. One of these days, I'm movin' to the country.

Pleeps in the midst of it all!

Meanwhile, East End recently partnered with Larder of East End to offer casual, counter-service pub fare by chef Justin Severino. I was thrilled to see that the menu includes lots of vegetarian options. In speaking with Scott for a bit, I learned that he'd been a vegetarian for many years. He was happy to hear of our pro-veggie endeavors, even though I haven't made the full plunge (I still eat chicken and fish). Call it Ffejetarianism, if you will. We ordered two small plates to share: Smoked Pickled Beets with goat cheese, maple-dijon, sesame, and cilantro; and Falafel with cucumber yogurt and pickled radish. The food was fantastic and served as a nice afternoon snack since we typically skip lunch in lieu of a big breakfast.

Inside East End's Julius St. brewpub.

Up next was the Almost Famous Pickle Beer. I must admit I was a bit skeptical of this one initially. I mean, I've had some cucumber beers in the past, but most were farmhouse-style ales with complex yeast or other ingredients like melon to contrast the cool, green vegetal qualities of cucumbers. But straight up pickles? Hmmmm. The base beer is a tart Gose brewed with over 600 lbs. of cucumbers along with coriander and dill. To quote the beer's description: "It's designed to deliver everything you'd expect from a Primanti Bros. pickle - except maybe the crunch." Turns out this beer was a hit - both with Brewslut and I as well as East End's customer base. Scott said it was "by far" the fastest-selling beer they'd ever released... and that's saying a lot, because East End has been around since 2004! I guess folks from Pittsburgh love their pickles. Whodathunk a pickle beer would become a huge hit? Not this guy! I will say that one of the reasons why I never got super into drinking beer with meals is because often times I'll order a sandwich, which comes with a pickle. Have you ever tried drinking an IPA or a stout while munching on a pickle spear? It's neither fun nor funny. This beer is the perfect accompaniment to a deli sandwich with a side of po-sal and a pickle.

East End's bar.

We ended our visit with full pours of the Peach Gose and Almost Famous, courtesy of Brendan. I reciprocated by sharing a bottle of Apricot Farmette, one of our Splinter Series beers at Troegs. Gotta share the wealth when traveling! After an enjoyable visit to East End, it was time to move on.

Just downstream from East End is a newer place called Couch, which is an apt name for a brewery this cozy. Immediately, the tasting room reminded me of Weasel Boy with its vintage furniture, mish-mash of string lights and little trinkets placed strategically around the space. Even the barstools were vintage and transported me back to the 70s (even though I wasn't old enough to drink back then, obviously). We arrived during Happy Hour, which was a pleasant surprise. Any time we can save a few bucks is certainly appreciated.

Bar area at Couch Brewery.

We kicked off our visit with a pair of (although unbeknownst to us at the time) beers featuring juniper. I opted for Gimlet Pale Ale brewed with juniper berries and lime. While this beer featured some traces of light pine and citrus fruit, the flavor was dominated by gin botanicals. Overall, the flavor was a bit jumbled in my opinion. Brewslut wasn't jazzed with it, either, so I drank the lion's share of this one.

Meanwhile, she went all OG on dat ass with the Snoop D-O-double-G-inspired Gin & Juice IPA, yet another Fresh Fest collaboration with Straight to the League, a comedy-based podcast. This beer also featured hints of juniper and orange and was similar to Gimlet but had a bit more of balanced hop flavor. Neither of us were wowed by our beers, but we were having a nice conversation with the bartender and a local patron, so we decided to split one final beer in attempt to get sucked into the Couch vortex, because I really wanted to love this place.

Pleeps getting cozy at Couch.

First off, what an awesome name for a beer from a brewery called Couch: Ottoman Empire. Score! When I saw the name of the beer, I immediately thought of the round, cushiony feet-propper-upper piece of furniture, not the state that controlled much of Southeast Europe, Western Asia and North Africa between the 14th and early 20th centuries. To be honest, I didn't think that both things were spelled identically. Thanks, Wikipedia! I owe you two bucks. The beer itself - a DIPA hopped with four different (unfortunately unknown) varieties - didn't do a whole lot for my tastebuds. It was kind of citrusy but muted for a big 9.2% ABV beer with 111 IBUs. With that said, it was probably my favorite of the three we sampled while visiting Couch. They get an A for ambiance but a C for beer, I'm afraid. With that said, I'd definitely be interested in swinging by again during our next visit to see what's brewing at Couch.

The last time we visited Hitchhiker was when we spent a quick weekend in Pittsburgh last July for a Solar Federation gig. Everything we had we enjoyed quite a bit. This time, there was an equal amount of interesting, hopefully delicious beer available for consumption. The one I wanted to drive into my gullet pronto was a beer called Next to Norman, a sour ale with coffee and blueberries. I thought to myself for a moment and tried to recall if I'd ever had a sour beer brewed with coffee. I was pretty sure the anwer was "nope," so even more reason to try this odd concoction. Brewed with oats and conditioned on blueberries and Ethiopian Yigacheffe beans from 19 Coffee Company (a roaster based out of nearby Washington, PA), this beer was complex and delicious.

Brewslut also scored with her selection, Whole Punch: Lemon Meringue Pie. Last time we visited, we tried Whole Punch: Tangerine, which was delicious. This lemon meringue pie version was off-the-charts good. Whole Punch (I love the double entendre, by the way) is the name of a series of milkshake IPAs from Hitchhiker brewed with milk sugar, vanilla and a variety of other adjuncts. They have variations including Fruit Punch, Key Lime, Pineapple Upside Down Cake, and many others. This delicious beer features a base beer with oats and wheat as well as Citra and Amarillo hops. To elicit lemon meringue pie, the beer is conditioned on lemon juice, lemon zest, graham crackers, milk sugar, and vanilla beans. In a word, this beer was outstanding.

Both of these beers were stellar and among the most memorable of the trip. We also grabbed some tasty tacos from the on-site food vendor. Sadly, they had just sold out of the shrimp tacos, so I was forced to downgrade to chicken. Still, these hit the spot and added a bit of fuel to our tanks. Beer notwithstanding, this particular visit was heightened by a group of people we met while trying to find somewhere to sit. The place was packed inside and out, so we eventually made it outside. While I was scanning the perimeter for open seating, I came across this little cutie:

Daisy, my new best buddy!

Daisy is a sweet 11-year-old basset hound we met during our visit. A few of the breweries are dog-friendly, and Hitchhiker happens to be one of them. In getting to know Daisy, we struck up a conversation with her owners and their friends. They were some of the best people we'd ever met at a brewery. After this experience, I think I'm going on record and giving props to Hitchhiker as my favorite brewery in the 'Burgh.

Abjuration, up next on our itinerary, was a fun visit. The brewery is attached to the Parkway Theater, a small and adjoining nightclub, so there is always something fun going on there. Speaking of fun, we had a blast shooting the shit with one of the owners/brewers there, a big bushy-haired guy that kind of reminded me of the singer for Melvins. He even gave us a quick ten-cent tour of the brewing facility. Their philosophy is simple: make good beer for Pittsburgh with a mad scientist approach and penchant for experimentalism. As a matter of fact, the brewery boasted a whole science bent, right down to serving its beers in beakers. The name Abjuration itself is derived from a Latin word "abjurare," which relates to, as Wikipedia states, "the solemn repudiation, abandonment, or renunciation by or upon oath, often the renunciation of citizenship or some other right or privilege." In other words, "to forswear."

Our visit also happened to coincide with the start of comedy open mic night. While I wouldn't say I heckled the guy that was on while we were there, I definitely participated in some banter. I even stumped him by using the phrase "Hot Cosby" after he made a slightly humorous joke about sexual assault. Sorry if that offends anyone, but I have a pretty warped sense of humor. I can laugh about just about anything, which is a trait I view as my defense mechanism against the sick, twisted world in which we currently live. But we're here to have fun, so I'll cut the morose sentiments and get back to beer.

We were pretty impressed with the beers here. They only had three or four beers available, as well as a few guest taps and a local cider. We nixed the amber ale and settled on two house beers. The first was Mayan Mocha Stout, a big thick chewy stout brewed with Maris Otter, milk sugar, oats and a complex blend of amber and dark malts. Conditioned on a laundry list of ingredients including cocoa nibs, Madagascar vanilla beans, cold brewed coffee, cinnamon sticks, chili peppers and nutmeg, this one resembles many Mexican-style mole stouts we've come across in our travels. While the body was perhaps a tad thin, the flavor was balanced and complex, with nothing really overpowering the palate. Cinnamon and peppers are two tricky ingredients to use in brewing, mainly because they are potent and elicit a lot of strong flavor. However, this one was nicely done. 

Brewslut was equally pleased with her Lemon Bar, an IPA hopped exclusively with Citra hops and yet another Fresh Fest collaboration with @blackbeertraveler. A malt bill featuring two-row, oats, cookie malt and honey malt impart a bready cookie-like malt profile. To achieve a lemon-forward flavor, they added actual lemon bars as well as Citra hops to the whirlpool. As if that wasn't enough to elicit a lemony cake (there's that term again!) flavor, they dry-hopped the beer with a massive amount of Citra and more lemon bars. Wait... dry-hopping with lemon bars? OK, if you say so! Mission accomplished, I suppose, because this sucker tasted like a lemon bar with a nice citrusy hop character to boot. Both of these beers were quite enjoyable.

Sadly, we didn't snap any photos while we were there. I suppose we were having too much fun. I wanted to stick around for the next comedian, but we had to move along to the next place. In retrospect, I kind of wish we'd stayed put at Abjuration. Oh well... live and learn.

When in the 412...

Our next stop, which was slated as our final brewery of the day, was 412. The brewery takes its name after Pittsburgh's area code, a trendy that pops up quite frequently in craft beer. We've come across several beers named after area codes, but I think this is the first brewery we visited that was named after the actual area code in which it resides.

When we arrived, I could tell this place hosted a crowd that wasn't our cup of tea. It seemed to be littered with loud, annoying, drunk twenty-somethings. We tried to shrug it off by turning a deaf ear and ordering our beer. After checking out the beer menu, we both settled on the same beer, a milkshake-style IPA brewed with lactose and blood orange, and boasting the cumbersome moniker Orange You Gonna Have Another? After my first sip, this beer didn't strike me as a milkshake IPA at all. The blood orange was definitely present, but it came across as orange juice concentrate. There was no soft lactose mouthfeel, no frothy head, no vanilla accents. No complexity, really. Overall, it was pretty lackluster. After a few sips, I was kind of sad that we would be ending an otherwise great day with this beer.

What do you think, Pleeps?

Meanwhile, the drunk twenty-somethings were beginning to grate on me like a room full of screaming children. Needless to say, my patience began to fade quickly. Add a sub par beer into the equation, and I was ready to run to the hills (no pun intended, Maiden fans). After maybe twenty minutes, I gave Brewslut the "let's get the fuck out of here... chug your beer" face, and she duly complied.

I decided we couldn't end the night on a down note, so we chugged the last bit of our beers and headed back to Hitchhiker. Turns out my geographical faux pas was a blessing in disguise, because we ended up back in the vicinity of Hitchhiker, which was my favorite brewery of the day. In retrospect, I'm totally glad we decided to return for one final beer. Remember that beer karma I'd earned back at Strange Roots? Well, the Beer Gods were about to bequeath me with what would become my favorite beer of the trip.

Back to Hitchhiker, and I'm glad we went back because I was treated to one of the best beers I've ever had. A Different Animal Brewed with Wheat. Dry Hopped with Citra. Notes of lemon juice, passion fruit, crushed apple, and baked bread. I got a nice coconut note in there that was just utterly amazing. This beer was perfect. Perhaps it was the right place at the right time. Whatever it was, this beer is special. I was bowled over with every sip of this masterpiece. Since we arrived so late, they had already called "last call" midway through our beers, so it was obviously a one-and-done stop. 

I must say that this beer was so good that the young loud crowd didn't throw off my mojo or annoy me in the least. To illustrate this even further, there was some young, sexy girl there who thought she was a model. She was posing in the back of the room against one of the walls, and eventually one of her girlfriends came over and started taking pictures of her striking various poses like they were engaged in some Cosmopolitan photo shoot. Now, drunk end-of-the-night Ffej wouldn't typically let her off the hook so easily. She may have gotten some clever yet disparaging remarks from me had I given a shit. But I was so enamoured with my beer that I let it slide. I did have to chuckle when two younger guys who looked like they just rolled in from either a D&D campaign or a local B-level comic book convention were standing on the opposite side of the tasting room making fun of the model chick. I smiled and gave them the thumbs-up. And really, that's the great thing about getting older. If I was in my twenties today, I'd probably kill myself. No offense to all you youngsters out there, but cell phones really are the bane of our existence. Put your phones down and get out there and communicate with people. Don't turn into a brain-dead automaton. Man, I'm so glad I grew up in a world where the Internet and cell phones didn't exist. Not sure how I got off on that tangent, but whatever. OK, it's time to turn the rant switch to the "off" position. You're welcome. 

Stay tuned for Part II, as we continue to work our way around the Steel City and head back homeward. Until next time...

My First Interview!

When I first started The Pour Travelers blog back in 2011, it was kind of a hodge podge of beer travel stories, local beer news, beer-related observations, and little tidbits I'd come across from time to time. When my friend Brooks Edmund invited me to attend the release of a collaboration beer he helped brew with Columbia Kettle Works (CKW), I checked my schedule and - lo and behold! - I had a free Friday. I promptly marked the date on our calendar.

As we were driving down to Columbia, I thought it might be cool to interview Brooks to get some insight on how the beer and collaboration with CKW came about. I'd never conducted an interview with someone exclusively for the blog, so I suppose this is something that we'll consider for future Pour Travelers blog content if the opportunity arises.

I've said on a few occasions that CKW is one of my favorites of the newer breweries that have popped up throughout Central PA over the last decade. While they certainly aren't a trendy haven for beer geeks traveling near and far for the next hazy Trillium clone, CKW brews a wide spectrum of styles that run the gamut of an easy-drinking, true-to-style German Helles Lager to a tasty holiday ale brewed with blackstrap molasses, fresh cherries, vanilla bean and cinnamon called Grinch Feet. Best of all, they brew them well!

Pleeps in da hizouse!

Once the crowd thinned out, I got to sit down with Brooks and talk a little about his Kirsche Weisse recipe, how the collaboration came about, and - of course - music!

Tell me a little bit about your Kirsch Weiss and how it came to fruition.

So the Kirsche Weisse is a German style beer. It's a Berliner Weisse, which is a tart wheat beer. I enjoy drinking and brewing that style a lot. It's also somewhat inspired by Belgian Kriek in that when they ferment on cherries, they leave in the pits. This gives the beer a great almond, marzipan-like flavor. So I kind of wanted to put that into a Berliner, but it's really hard to find cherry pits. So somehow on the Internet I found a spice called mahlab, which is a Greek spice. Luckily my great grandma is from Greece and my mom shops at a Greek grocer in Baltimore. So I had her go down and see if they had any and they did. It's actually from the pit of a different kind of cherry, and it's used to make something called Easter bread, which gives off that almond like flavor. So, I thought I could substitute the spice for the pits. So I used my base Berliner Weisse that I've made dozens of times, then used a whole bunch of sweet cherry puree and a little bit of the mahlab spice and it came out great, so I entered it into the iron brewer contest.

How did you get involved in the iron brewer competition?

The competition is held by the Lancaster Homebrew Club, Mad Chef, and Columbia Kettle Works. It's a legitimate BJCP competition with the added bonus of two brewer's choice awards in addition to the regular "best in show" award. So you have to win your category and then the guys from Mad Chef and CKW get to pick which beer they'd like to brew at their brewery. Columbia picked mine, so we brewed it.

How involved were you with the actual brewing process at CKW?

They brought me in and I was here the whole day. Chad let me do pretty much what I wanted to do. I didn't really have to ask a lot of questions because he guided me the whole way, but it wasn't too dissimilar from homebrewing, there was just a lot more liquid to move around. But I did the whole brewing process, and once it went to cold side Chad took care of the cherries and spice when they were ready.

Any other upcoming contest in which you'll be entering beers?

I haven't been brewing a lot lately (NOTE: Brooks recently became a dad), but I've been asked to come back to the Mighty Pint competition in Baltimore because I did win that one last year, and they want to do a "Winner's Row" thing this year, so I've been asked to come back, and I think I'm gonna bust out the kettle and brew up some batches for that.

What's one of your favorite styles to brew?

Man, it's really hard to say, but my passion totally lies in the mixed culture, spontaneous fermented stuff, which is super fun to do but takes so much patience.

I'll bet it's hard to do at home!

Yeah. Like the Kirsche Weiss, I can crank out in 3 or 4 weeks. But those mixed culture batches take like 2 or 3 years and it definitely tests your patience, but the output is worth it.

What about your personal favorite beer style?

Man, favorite beer is a tough one. I think I'd have to answer in two parts. If I had a desert island style, it would probably be either Helles or pilsner, but if I had to pick my favorite beer style, it would definite be Gueuze, and the brewery would be Drie Fonteinen. I got to go there a few years ago and it was a mind-blowing experience.

One final question... I've been intrigued by some recent "Beer and Music Pairing" blogs and Internet posts. I know your a huge Dream Theater fan, so if you could pick one Dream Theater album that pairs well with your Kirsche Weisse, which one would it be?

Oooh, let's see... Dream Theater and Kirsche Weisse. Man, this is a tough question! I think I'd have to go with the album Images and Words. There's just something about the imagery of that album with the beating heart on the cover that reminds me of the color of the beer. It's also kind of a very layered and nuanced album, and the beer is like that too. It's tart but there's a nice crispness. Then you have the sweet cherry in there and the spice has a few layers in it. So that's what I'd go with... Images and Words. 

So get down to Columbia Kettle Works and try some Kirsche Weisse. I had two pints last night, and it's a very good beer. At only 3% ABV, it still packs a ton of flavor. Until next time...

Son of Campground Brewdown

After my cousin sold the chalet, I felt a void in my life. Not only am I a sucker for nostalgia (my family purchased that land back when I was about 3 years old), but over the years Brewslut and I have grown to love the Penn's Creek region. A huge part of its endearing quality is the proximity of a few of our favorite breweries in the region, the most obvious being Selin's Grove. Thankfully, my good beer buddy Kramer owns Penn's Creek Campground just a few miles down the road from the chalet. He's been kind enough to offer accommodations to us on a few occasions, so it would appear that we'll be able to continue visiting the area we enjoy so much! 

Entrance to Penn's Creek Campground.

As with any weekend retreat to this area, we always begin on Friday evening with a (usually lengthy) stop at Selin's Grove for dinner and drinks. In addition to the Kriek - which was still hanging in there - I was elated to find the 2017 vintage of bourbon barrel-aged St. Fillan's Wee Heavy (aka barleywine) on the beer engine. We were about to set up shop at the bar when Brewslut noticed two of our good friends - Uncle Rick and Aunt Carol - occupying the corner table in the main dining room area. They were with two friends - Jeff and Beth - visiting from Charlotte, NC. They asked us to join them, and of course we obliged. They'd just finished dinner, but it's our MO to eat at the pub on Friday, so we ordered our food and drinks. The corn chowder was sold out, so I opted for a chicken chipotle wap with a side of po-sal... one of my go-to menu items. I started off with a Kriek because I knew it would be disappearing soon, and followed it up with two BBA Wee Heavy pours, because... well, why not? We had a great time getting to know our friends-of-friends, and we talked about everything - yes, even Rush! - but mostly the conversation included tales of beer, bourbon, and traveling. To our surprise, Jeff and Beth stealthily picked up the tab when none of us were looking, and we didn't even know it until an hour later when we were ready to settle up. What a nice surprise! With that, we finished up our drinks and headed to the campground. 

When we arrived about forty minutes later, the key to the house wasn't where it was supposed to be. After a brief panic and a stroke of luck, we actually stumbled upon the guy with the key at his campsite. Turns out the water main was struck by lightning in a bad storm and one of the regular campground residents had the key to try and get everything fixed up. With key in hand, we turned in for the evening.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Since I didn't prepare an itinerary in advance, we ended up switching gears and re-routing our trek. I'd originally planned to start the day at Shy Bear and work our way up to State College, then finish up back at camp. Turns out Short Bus (one of the other new places we planned to hit) didn't open until 3 p.m. so we decided to "Tarantino" our route and go in reverse. But first, breakfast! We decided to hit up the nearby (and recently re-opened) Boomerangs, a bar and grill located outside of Millmont not too far from the campground. The place had burned down a while ago, and they rebuilt and remodeled it. The cheese omelet, home fries and toast provided a nice layer of starch and protein in our bellies upon which we would be laying plenty of beer. 

The slight change of plans was fine by me, because it meant we could swing by Inglebean for a quick iced coffee before grabbing a beer at one of my favorites in the region: Elk Creek Cafe & Aleworks. We actually arrived about twenty minutes before Elk Creek opened for the day, so we decided to use our time wisely and get some coffee before our visit. Typically, we like to swing by Inglebean after a beer or two and get it to go, since State College is another half hour or so from Millheim. We grabbed a pair of iced coffees and decided to sit out on the back patio with the resident dog, Eddie Murphy (yup, that's his name). Sadly, he was pretty drained from a week of running and playing back home, and was happy to lie lethargically during our entire twenty-minute visit. 

Pleeps with my pour of Elton's ESB...

We easily procured two seats in our usual spot at the bar (right under the "food specials" chalkboard) and I immediately noticed that they had four seasonals and no Winkleblink, their lightest offering. Usually, they only have two or - at most - three seasonals. I was torn between two of my favorites: Elton's ESB, which was on cask, and Yarrington's Best Bitter. I ultimately decided to go with Elton's ESB since it was on the engine. Tim (Yarrington, head brewer) is one of the best traditional English style brewers in the area, and these two beers are stellar takes on these classic English ales. Brewslut opted for the Summer Session Ale, a light, crisp thirst-quencher that doesn't skimp on flavor. 

...and with the wife's Summer Session Ale.

After a pleasant commute to State College, we arrived at Happy Valley, which has always been a reliable stop on the itinerary. I don't really recall having a "bad" beer there. As a matter of fact, I enjoyed a Triple IPA called Grand Wazoo (bonus points for the Zappa reference) last March that turned out to be one of my favorite PA beers of 2018.

Happy Valley has had pretty much the same flagship line-up of four beers since opening in 2013, but they always have one or two seasonals that we hadn't had before. I'd likely hang out here quite a bit if we lived in the area, as they host live music several nights each week as well as a Vinyl Night on Tuesdays. My kind of place, indeed! 

Monkeying about the tap handles at Happy Valley.

Beer-wise, I decided to go with something new, while Brewslut chose something more familiar. The new beer in question was Haymow Mango, a DIPA hopped with Amarillo, Bitter Gold and Ekuanot boasting tropical notes of papaya as well as ripe melon and a hint of lime. Of course, this one was also finished with juicy mango. However, the mango didn't dominate the flavor or add too much sweetness. It was a nice little dollop of mango. This one drank more like a West Coast style with a little hoppy grit and bite to it. Nicely done! 

Brewslut revisited ZZrbert, a beer we'd first tried back in 2015. Brewed with a raspberry, blackberry, Tahitian vanilla and lactose, this refreshing, slightly tart beer is heavy on fruit and finishes smooth with a creamy mouthfeel. It comes off as liquid gelato or raspberry sherbet. Tasty, indeed, but I was in the mood for hops, so I was pleased with my decision. 

We'd recently checked out the new Voodoo tap room in Lancaster, which is situated in a local butchery. Upon checking out its web site for details, I also learned that Voodoo had a location in State College. Wha-wha-whaaaaat?! 'Tis true! So we made it a point to swing in for a beer. Turns out Voodoo State College is two doors down from Happy Valley.

Our view from the bar at Voodoo State College.

The tap room is situated on the lower level of the Barn at Lemont, a small plaza on the same side of the street as Happy Valley (only a house divides them). I'm sure that particular resident is thrilled that he or she is sandwiched betwixt two breweries in a college town. I personally think it would be awesome, especially since I love these two breweries. I could do without the 22-year-olds, though. At any rate, the Barn at Lemont is home to a collective of local businesses focused on sustainable, healthy living. For example, there was a seafood vendor on-site slinging salmon burgers, lobster rolls and the like, and I quickly regretted filling up for breakfast at Boomerangs. Upstairs in the courtyard, there appeared to be a mini farmer's market taking place.

But back to Voodoo. The tasting room is situated along Slab Cabin Run, a tributary of Spring Creek, and it boasts a patio as well as seating along the water for added ambiance. The outside area was pretty packed, so we decided to set up shop at the small inside bar. In addition to the usual six or so year-round offerings, there were a variety of other seasonal and one-off options. I settled on Unrefined, a hazy IPA hopped with Azacca (one of my favorites) and Cashmere (one you don't see all too often). This one had a tropical fruit flare similar to other IPAs in the same genre. While it hit the spot, I will give the nod to Happy Valley's Haymow Mango as far as being more in line with my particular IPA palate.

Pleeps with a plastic cup of Unrefined.

Overall, this is a great addition to the growing craft beer scene in State College, and it's good to have another reliable option when we roll into town. Before we left, Brewslut picked up a 4-pack of Hazy Vibes to enjoy at the pool and at home. And with that, it was time to move on and check out a pair of new-to-us breweries. We set the GPS for Lewistown, PA, and hit the rocky road.

I hadn't really been in or around Lewistown since my days of driving between Shamokin and State College during my later college years. We'd been meaning to visit Shy Bear for about a year (more on Shy Bear shortly), but when we caught wind of another brewery less than two miles away, we felt it was time to bite the bullet and cross two more breweries off our ever-expanding list.

Gettin' ready to ride the short bus!

Short Bus Brew House, situated in Lewistown's neighbor, Burnham, recently hoved onto our radar when Deuane gave us a can of its Bus Stopper DIPA back in April. It was pretty solid, so I could sense some promise with this new kid on the block. Other than this singular experience, we'd never had any Short Bus beers. When we arrived, we were surprised to find the place was pretty large. Brewslut mentioned on the way in that the building looked like an old car dealership.

Since we'd only had that one beer from Short Bus, we decided to dip our toes into their beer and share a sampler flight. If they were up to snuff, we'd get an additional full pour to share. Here's the skinny on the sampler flight:

• Field Trip Peachy Day - light blonde ale brewed with peach puree.
• Straight A'zzzzz - Single hopped New England style IPA brewed exclusively with Azacca.
• Hot for Teacher - Belgian style Tripel with hints of coriander, clove and pepper. Finishes pretty dry with a hint of sweetness and touch of hop bitterness.
• Black Goat - NE-style black IPA with plenty of roasted malt character and an earthy hop presence with a touch of citrus.

Pleeps proudly ridin' the Short Bus!

All in all, everything was solid across the board, although Brewslut didn't care for the Black Goat. This didn't surprise me, as she's not a fan of black IPAs. My favorite was the Field Trip Peachy Day. I just can't seem to get enough of them peaches! Since we were adequately impressed, we decided to share a pour of Hazy Dazy, a triple dry-hopped NEIPA with Citra, Mosaic and Vic Secret. This one was pretty tasty and had a fruit-forward aroma and flavor with a sticky hop finish.

It's just a Hazy Dazy for this little monkey.

Great conversation with older local guy, met the owner, suggested some cool school-inspired beer names. Place bigger than I thought it would be.

From Short Bus, it was a quick five minute drive down the road to Lewistown and our next destination, Shy Bear. We first sampled their beer at the Selinsgrove Hops, Vines & Wines festival last year and were pretty impressed. We'd heard from a few friends that the food was excellent, so it has been on our list for a while. I knew we'd get there sooner or later, and now was the time to check out Shy Bear. 

Inside Shy Bear's tasting room and restaurant.

In retrospect, I'm glad it worked out so we could visit around dinner time, because the food WAS spectacular! The menu is pretty upscale and forward-thinking with a variety of non-traditional dishes using fresh, seasonal ingredients. After some deliberation, we each ordered an Aloah Tower featuring ponzu vinaigrette marinated sushi-grade tuna marinated in a ponzu vinaigrette with seaweed salad, Hawaiian salsa, tobiko (aka flying fish roe), fried wonton strips, and a citrus hoisin glaze. We also shared the Nacho Stack as an appetizer. Check out the laundry list of ingredients in this puppy: house-made corn tortilla chips with pico de gallo, firehouse-style grilled and chopped chicken, green onion, smoked beer cheese fondue, pickled jalapeno, sour cream, and cilantro. As predicted, the food here was outstanding!

Me posing with a not-so-shy bear.

Pleeps ain't afraid of nuthin'!

Beer-wise, the board looked rather enticing, I must say. We felt another shared sampler flight was in order, so we decided on an a la carte sampling of several beers. Here's the lowdown:

• Osoveza Especial - Mexican style lager brewed with flaked corn and pilsner malt and featuring a classic German hop profile. Crisp, clean and flavorful! 
• Seabreezy - Inspired by the classic beach cocktail, the Seabreeze, this Berliner Weisse features cranberries and fresh pink grapefruit for a tart, citrusy finish.
• Blue Hen Crush - Session IPA showcasing El Dorado and Simcoe hops.
• Shifty Please - Key Lime Pie Sour IPA. Dee-freaking-licious!!! 
• No Ducks Given - Pina Colada DIPA. This one was a very close second to the Shifty Please, but gets the award for favorite beer name! 
• Alpine Swift - Pale Ale hopped with Ekuanot, Summit, Citra and Cascade featuring flaked rye and Ekuanot dry hops. This one is fermented with Norwegian Kviek yeast, a traditional non-phenolic farmhouse yeast passed down through the generations.
• Chief Logan - Citra dry-hopped Pilsner.

Pleeps is ready to dig in to this lot!

I really liked the presentation of the sampler flight board. Each beer was accompanied by a card indicating the name of the beer, and the cardholders stuck to the board magnetically. Each sample featured a generous 6-ounce pour of beer, which is 1-2 ounces more than typical sample size glasses.

Alternate angle of Pleeps with the flight.

 

Overall, the beers here were above average, with our favorites being Shifty Please (especially Brewslut) and No Ducks Given (mostly me). The Blue Hen Crush was perhaps a bit lacking in flavor, but otherwise a stellar line-up from Shy Bear. Factor in the food and this place is a goldmine. Looks like we'll be back in Lewistown sooner than later!

Pleeps gives at least a few ducks.

We still felt like we had one more stop in us before heading back to the campground. We hadn't been to Rusty Rail in a while, so we decided to swing by for a late night one-and-done. They were in the process of closing up the main floor, but the second floor bar and game room was still open until midnight. We decided to head upstairs (even though I deplore all of the taxidermied animals occupying the walls) for a beer. The free classic video game sit-down consoles kind of cancel out the taxidermy, so I just suck it up and focus on the beer and video games. We both opted for the same beer this time, a tart peach and passionfruit ale called Tasting Colors. This is a great beer with a great name; one of the best I've had at Rusty Rail to date. I'm glad to see Rusty Rail is finally coming around and churning out some great beers. They have always been hit and miss with us, but recently I've been routinely pleased with everything I've had from them. And the place really is a gem of a brewpub. 

Back at the campground, we had our own little "Campground Brewdown" with a circle of Shamokinites around the campfire. Chu, one of my friends from high school who is now the Schuylkill County rep for Durdach Distributors, was spending the weekend at his little cabin and introduced a bunch of people to us. Some actually lived mere blocks away from my mom's house (where I grew up) and another guy, Russ, is the sales manager at Durdach and has been slinging Tröegs since the very early days. He regaled me with tales of - among many others - driving around Northumberland and Schuylkill Counties with Chris Trogner trying find ANYONE who would take a chance and buy Tröegs to put on tap. We shared a few beers around the fire, ate cheese, potato cakes and soupie, tried some freaking amazing homemade limonchello and root beer liquor, and got pretty drunk. Luckily, we had a short walk back to the house (thanks again, Kramer)! 

On Sunday, it was once again a Selin's Grove sandwich within a sandwich. Wait... huh? The Selin's Grove sandwich is a term I coined to describe visiting the pub on a Friday night and again on Sunday before we headed home. Well, this time we visited the pub for lunch, then joined Uncle Rick, Aunt Carol and company for some pool time and MinkiBall (patent pending), then headed back to the pub for dinner and a few more beers. The Kriek had finally kicked, so I settled for a Shade Mountain Oatmeal Stout, which I hadn't had in a while. I really wanted another pour of the St. Fillan's but knew I had to drive over an hour to get home. See? I can be responsible every now and then. 

Well folks, that's a wrap on another enjoyable weekend of brewery hopping! Until next time...