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...

Jammin' in the 'Burgh: Part 1

It was time for a return trip to Pittsburgh. We hadn't dropped by the 'Burgh since our Drinksgiving Trip back in November 2013. A lot had changed since our last visit, and we planned to add another nine or ten new breweries to our ever-expanding list.

After an almost four-hour trek, my brain was begging for beer. Travelling a long distance always makes me thirsty, which perhaps is why we love travelling for our beer rather than cracking open a few bottles at home. The first stop of our long day took place at Fat Head's on Carson Street, Pittsburgh's equivalent of Philly's South Street. Upon entering, we noticed that they were going through a construction phase. I also asked about bottle shop situated upstairs in the loft area, as it looked like it no longer existed. Indeed, it was gone. We found our way to the bar just inside the main entrance.

In typical Pour Travelers fashion, I opted for a 9.4% Imperial IPA as my inaugural beer of the trip. Brewed with Citra, CTZ, Simcoe and Warrior hops, Bonehead Red blended biscuity malty notes with piney and resinous hops. Think sticky and slightly burnt malt and sugars. While not my favorite flavor profile for a DIPA (I was pining for some Hop Juju, but the well was dry), this was still enjoyable and easy to drink for such a hefty brew. Brewslut went with You Dropped the Hops on Me, Baby! This was a peculiar choice for her, as she's typically not a fan of Belgian IPAs, which is exactly what this beer is. Plus it includes Amarillo hops, so that's a double whammy. Still, she enjoyed it, as did I (although it was a tad too sweet for my palate overall). But the beer itself was inspired by the brewery's collective love for 70's funk music (named after the Gap Band's hit, "You Dropped a Bomb on Me").

Taps at Fat Head's from my vantage point.

There were a few others I wanted to try, but Fat Head's doesn't do half pours or single samplers, so we opted for a flight of five offerings, three of which were Fat Head's house beers. The other two were guest taps. Here's the run-down:

• Jack Straw Pilsner - very good interpretation of a classic Czech pils!
• Trail Head Pale Ale - brewed with whole flower Simcoe and Citra hops.
• Black Knight Schwarzbier - excellent take on a classic German dark lager with notes of chocolate and coffee.
• Windows Up - an IPA hopped with Citra and Mosaic from Alpine Brewing. This was a far cry from the old days of Nelson and Duet, unfortunately.
• Goedenacht - a strong ale from Draai Laag brewed with apples, orange blossom honey, coriander and Brett. This tasty beer was a sign of good things to come! 

It's no Creepy Baby Head, but still...

Fat Head's does a good job across the board. While it's my opinion that they make some of the best hoppy beers on the East Coast, each of the three beers in our sampler flight was a spot-on representation of its respective style. Food-wise, we both enjoyed a tasty chicken chipotle cheese steak sub with house-made chips for lunch. Fat Head's always features plenty of tasty pub grub and comfort food on the menu, and we've never been disappointed. Although once again I was denied of Hop Juju, there was still plenty of great beer to be had during our visit to Fat Head's.

Since it was Easter weekend, I figured we'd better get to church. Our kind of church, anyway. Not much had changed since our last visit to Church Brew Works, the next stop on our agenda. I've often cited this brewpub as one of the coolest places I'd ever enjoyed a beer. Despite not having set foot inside a church since high school (with the exception of weddings and funerals), I find the architecture of churches quite breathtaking. I've always been a fan of stained glass windows and all of the ornate decor that adorns the house that Jesus built (after all, he was a carpenter). I'm just not generally a fan of what transpires inside. Except, of course, when it means drinking beer. Church and beer... it's a match made in heaven (pun intended)! I always thought the blood of Christ wasn't quite so carbonated. I guess not.

Jokes and blasphemy aside, we entered the building and were greeted with awe-inspiring views of the brewhouse (typically where the minister performs his sermon). Soaking it in, we b-lined to the jagged, winding bar (not that they were busy at this time of day; we just prefer bar seating) and took our seats. I feel they need to add some pews and perhaps make the beer menu mimic the Bible. Hey, why now go the whole nine yards, right? After ordering our first beers, I decided to take a quick stroll and snap some pictures of the surroundings.

The window above the pipe organ inspired Church's logo.

I started with a pint of ThunderCloud, dubbed as a "hazy IPA" brewed with Citra, Mosaic and Nugget hops. I had already had the Thunderhop, their flagship IPA, a few times in the past, and it was enjoyable. While this beer wasn't hazy in the least (see below for a shot with Pleeps), it was pretty damn tasty. It was light and went down easy... almost too easy! The hop combo provided a sweet, fruity base with some tropical notes around the edges.

Pleeps meets ThunderCloud

Brewslut opted for something called Almond Joy, which turned out to be a bourbon barrel-aged stout with a big coconut character and hints of chocolate, bourbon and vanilla. At 8.5% ABV, it was pretty light-bodied, although quite smooth and oily. The coconut character struck me as quite authentic. I've had some coconut beers in the past that have displayed a "fake" or chemical-like flavor, but not this one.

Interior of Church Brew Works. Love the stained glass!

For some reason, I always forget about the beer engine. Many places have them, but oftentimes you have to ask if anything is available. The beer menu indicated to "ask your server," so I asked. On this particular occasion, The Church was offering up its Ambrosia, a wheat ale brewed with herbs instead of hops. This cask-conditioned offering also benefited from the addition of apples. I've rarely (perhaps never) encountered a wheat beer on cask at a brewery, so I was game. We opted for a full imperial pint to share. The apple didn't really shine through like I'd expected, but it was a light, refreshing beer nonetheless.

Cherubs rockin' out at Church!

Prior to our trip, Deuane mentioned that Voodoo had opened a brand new taproom in the Homestead area. Needless to say, we had to go. We'd been fans of Voodoo since our first encounter with original owner/brewer Matt Allyn at Philly Beer Week shortly after he started Voodoo. We bonded over the band Primus (one of his beers, Wynona's Big Brown Ale, is a reference to one of the band's songs). So we worked it into the itinerary. Reminiscent of the original taproom in Meadville, this location mirrored the vibe and garage-like atmosphere of its predecessor. I noticed some familiar-sounding beers on the list, including Killapilz (formerly Pilzilla) and Big Black Voodoo Daddy. I knew Brewslut was going to get a pour of the latter. I was right. She did. I went for a limited brewery-only release, a DIPA called I'm a Loner Dottie, a Rebel. This 8.9% ABV bomb was brewed with Citra, Columbus, Simcoe and new 7 C's hops. The latter hop is actually a blend of seven varieties all starting with the letter "C" to produce a distinct tropical fruit character: Cascade, Centennial, Chinook, Citra, Cluster, Columbus and Crystal. As for the peculiar name of the beer, I was proud of myself for instantly knowing the movie to which this moniker made reference.

Go ahead, think about it for a few seconds. It'll come to you.

If not, I'll give you another hint. I mentioned to the bartender that "Large Marge sent me" when I ordered the beer. (If you still don't know, I'm not gonna tell you. Google it!)

Inside Voodooo's new Homestead taproom.

By this time, I was getting pretty hungry. I noticed something on the small but interesting food menu: salmon cakes. I was hooked. While they came out a bit mushy, they still tasted great and hit the spot. Plus they were served with a side of bowtie pasta salad. This served as a good mid-day snack while we continued to imbibe on the beer trail. 

Pleeps is down with the Voodoo.

We kind of went out of our way a bit to get to Voodoo, so in the words of James Brown, we "hit it and quit it." Up next on the agenda was Roundabout. The last time we visited, they'd just opened their doors for business a few months prior. The tasting room looked pretty similar, although they built on to it in order to facilitate more seating. But the bar area remained the same. Brewslut recognized the server as well (we believed her to be the wife of the owner/brewer). With only a handful of beers available, I opted for the Cadwallader IPA, which might have been my favorite IPA of the day. Brewed with Nelson Sauvin (already sold when I read this), Galaxy, Mosaic, and Cascade hops, this beauty of an IPA boasted hints of ripe melon and bright citrus fruit, especially pineapple. It was bangin', and I should have gotten a growler of it to take home. Fail!

Cadwallader IPA... you had me at Nelson Sauvin!

While Brewslut visited the restroom, I took a chance and ordered her a pour of the "And Now Pitching" Gose. Turns out I know her pretty well (I should after 27 years), because this was the beer she wanted. She was equally impressed with this offering. I'm glad to see Roundabout still operating and churning out some tasty beers. These two beers are definitely a step or two up from what we had when we originally visited, so kudos to them!

Up next was Grist House, and what a shit show! Remember the old days when Tröegs first opened in Hershey and it was a chaotic as all hell? Well, add the amount of customers we now have on any given Saturday and factor into the equation side street parking, and you can get somewhat of a snapshot of this place on the day we visited. But hey, good for them! These guys seem to be cranking out beer that people want to drink. Can't complain about a place for being popular, right? Plus it was a dog-friendly brewery, which I always enjoy visiting.

Outside at Grist House

Honestly, it only took us about five or ten minutes to get a beer at the bar despite the ordering process being a free-for-all. Grist House seems known for its take on the super-trendy hazy, turbid Northeast IPAs introduced first by breweries such as The Alchemist and later "perfected" (for lack of a better term) by places like Tree House and Trillium. The beer I settled on - Hazedelic Juice Grenade - was one of these types of beers. Great name! Brewslut went with the equally awesome-named Member Berries (fans of South Park will get that reference), a tart ale brewed with blackberries. While it wasn't overly sour or tart, it was enjoyable and the blackberry character was pretty pronounced. I enjoyed my "juice grenade" quite a bit, although Brewslut claimed it "tasted like a Trillium beer," so she wasn't too jazzed about it. She claims many of these types of beers have hop profiles that display notes of onion and cat piss. (For more on this phenomenon, you can go waaaay back into the annals of Pour Travelers history and read more about Brewslut's olfactory anecdotes.) I wanted to stay and try another beer, but it was so crowded and there was no place for me to rest my weary buttocks, so we decided it was time to move on.

After having a taste of Draai Laag (pronounced "dry log") at Fat Head's earlier in the day, we were excited to get to the tasting room. When we arrived, we felt right at home in the relaxed, charming atmosphere of the small space. Sitting down at the small bar, I thought, "This place is right up my alley!"

The Dutch term "Draai Laag" loosely translates to "turncoat."

With eight house brews on tap, the selection was quiet eclectic, offering up a variety of sours, farmhouse ales, and barrel-aged treats. I was more inquisitive than usual, and we were lucky to have a super-friendly and knowledgeable server who answered my questions about "lees" and "wild angels" (their signature yeast strain cultivated through open fermentation during their first year in business) as well as the origins of the name "Draai Laag." I was also surprised to learn that Draai Laag in fact had its own Koelschip (aka "Coolship"). We'd only ever come across one in our travels when we visited Allagash, and it was pretty cool (OK, that one wasn't intentional).

Tap list at Draai Laag.

We would have enjoyed sampling all eight selections, but we made a pretty good dent (considering we had one of these at Fat Head's earlier too). Here's what we tried:

• Wild Hazy Dry Hopped Prototype #6W - a tart, lemony dry-hopped saison
• Atomic Pomme - a bourbon barrel-aged American sour ale brewed with apples
• Öl (pronounced Oil) - strong ale brewed for Draai Laag's 5th anniversary
• Red Briar - an American wild ale brewed with raspberries

Taps at Draai Laag.

All of these beers were unique and against the grain. They've really carved out a niche for themselves in this market. I doubt you'll ever see an IPA on run of the mill styles like brown, red, or amber ales. The Atomic Pomme was especially memorable, offering an almost apple brandy character. Red Briar featured an authentic tart raspberry flair with a pleasant wild yeast backbone. We were also both pretty smitten with Öl as well. This 11.3% ABV strong ale was aged in Laphroaig Scotch casks, bourbon casks, and 27-year-old rum casks. I believe it was also conditioned on local maple syrup. The result was a viscous concoction of rum candy, dark fruit, molasses and Belgian chocolate. It was very Imperial Stout-ish, but with a Belgian yeast character that played nicely with the dark fruit and barrel wood. Before we left, we also had a thimble of a beer that had replaced the Prototype #6W, which was brewed with mustard seed. I'd never seen that as an ingredient in a beer before, so I was curious. It worked. It had more of a sweet, citrusy character, which was pleasant. I love when breweries experiment with non-traditional ingredients!

Peek-a-boo!

Overall, we were both really impressed with the complexity, inventiveness, and presentation of the beers, the service, and the space itself. A brewery like this could easily come across as pretentious; however our experience proved otherwise. While it was definitely an elevated beer experience, it felt casual and not forced in any way. In a nutshell, Draai Laag has their shit together. I will be seeking out more of their beers in the future for sure!

"Do we have to leave?"

We were happy to find that there was a food truck at our next stop, Dancing Gnome. We quickly perused the menu before heading into the taproom, which boasted a variety of wood-fired oven goodness. We settled on a calizone and headed in, but not before one of the pizza guys suggested we try the Jam. Sounded good to me, as I'm always up for a sweet jam session.

Following his advice, I ordered a Jam. This was a soft, hazy NE-inspired IPA brewed with rye and Australian Vic Secret hops. This newer hop variety is similar to the more popular Galaxy, also with origins in the land down under, offering notes of tropical fruit (especially pineapple) and pine. We also opted for a pour of Spy Dolphin, a DIPA with Citra, El Dorado and Idaho 7 hops. There was another DIPA on tap during our visit, but the Pour Travelers were becoming weary and fatigued. It had been a long, productive day, but alas we were tired... too tired to continue to our final destination of the evening, Hop Farm. We decided that we'd open Hop Farm the next day and adjust accordingly. For now, it was time to head to our hotel.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of our Pittsburgh jaunt, coming soon. Meanwhile, Pleeps will strike a pose. Until then...