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.

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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 2

We began our second day where we'd planned to end day one - at Hop Farm. In hindsight, I'm glad we decided not to squeeze in one more place on the previous night, because it would have likely been a blur. So, we opened the place. I knew we were in the right spot thanks to the van parked outside in the small customer lot. Zoinks, yo!

Hop Farm's van reminded me of the Mystery Machine!

The small tasting room was vacant when we arrived, save for the bartender. We perused the chalkboard, and there were a dozen or so interesting sounding beers available - everything from English-style Cream and Brown Ales to IPAs to funky barrel-aged beers. While I'm always a sucker for variety, I decided to start off with the brewery's eponymous Hop Farm IPA. It's flagship beer (and for good reason), is brewed with generous amounts of Cascade, Columbus, and El Dorado hops. This one went down all too well, especially for how early in the day it was. It wasn't hazy, turbid or trendy; this was a no-frills, straight-up, tasty, juicy-ass IPA. I was diggin' it fo' sho'! It was a good way to start the day. (I'm always about good omens!) Brewslut opted for a coffee porter called Fresh Pot of Porter. Quickly, I was reminded of the hilarious video of Dave Grohl in the studio demanding more coffee by screaming "fresh pots!" at the top of his lungs. This was quite the coffee-forward beer. I actually liked how they describe the beer as "local La Prima Dark Roast coffee brewed with beer."

Lots to choose at Hop Farm.

For her next beer, Brewslut was eyeing up Cupid, a chocolate cherry stout. I must admit, so was I. There was plenty to be had, so we settled on smaller pours of several beers in order to experience the full spectrum of Hop Farm's beers. Naturally, we also had to sample Cupid's Wicked Woody, a soured version of the standard Cupid that had been aged in a bourbon barrel with Brettanomyces from Wicked Weed Brewing. While vastly different than the base beer, I actually preferred straight-up Cupid. While I've had a few sour stouts that I've loved, it's generally not a style to which I gravitate. Still, it was nice to try them side by side and make note of the different nuances of each.

My view from the bar at Hop Farm.

Since I enjoyed the IPA so much, I decided I might as well try the Black IPA. Hop Dreams proved to be a roasty, citrusy treat. Brewed with three pounds of El Dorado, Lemon Drop and Mosaic hops per barrel, this interpretation was on the hoppier side of the spectrum. It had a nice slick texture, which I often appreciate in the style. I like the "black" characteristics to be stout or porter-like and the "IPA" attributes to be... well, duh!

Akin to myself ordering a Rauchbier when I see one on tap, Brewslut must always try a brewery's Russian Imperial Stout if one is available. Enter Kulak, a dark and foreboding 8.5% ABV treat. I'm typically on board with this, as it is one of my very favorite beer styles. This one seemed more along the lines of a classic RIS with flavors of smoke, leather and tobacco in lieu of chocolate and coffee. Given those flavor descriptors, I may have enjoyed it a bit more than Brewslut, as she tends to stray from anything even remotely described as "smoky." Me? I say, "Give it to me!"

I'm still not quite sure how Pleeps got that Russian hat.

After a great start at Hop Farm, it was off to East End. A few weeks earlier, I had the pleasure of meeting head brewer Brendan when he dropped by Tröegs with his cohort Scott (East End's owner) and the Pizza Boy crew. They were getting a tour from John Trogner and I came down afterwards to say hi. It turned out to be quite an evening, as we hung out in the tasting room for a few hours. Yup. Never made it to the gym that night. But we set the groundwork for a few Ffej of July collaboration beers for 2017 and made a few friend. Brendan had another commitment later that afternoon, but he was kind enough to meet us for an hour or so, share plenty of samples, and give us a quick tour. I reciprocated with a pair of recently released Pizza Boy cans - BBA Sunny Side Up with and without Vietnamese coffee. I also cracked a bottle of Freaky Peach and shared with him before he left. But let's talk East End beer. Here's what we enjoyed during our visit:

• Eye Opener - tasty coffee porter brewed with local Commonplace Coffee.
• Big Hop - flagship IPA brewed with tons of Centennial and Cascade.
• Chamwow - a Belgian-style "table" beer brewed with chamomile. Slighty tart.
• Little Hop - dry-hopped session version of Big Hop. Nicely done! 
• Fat Gary - nut brown ale.

The bar at East End. I love the hop cone lighting!

Commonplace Coffee actually shares the space with East End, but sadly they were closed on Easter. East End does pour a tasty nitro cold brew, though, which I tried at the tail end of our visit. I wish more breweries would hop on the nitro coffee bandwagon. I'm all for every brewery having coffee available, especially dispensed via nitrogen right from the tap tower! After enjoying several samples, Brendan showed us around the brewery. I was surprised to see so many barrels in the cellar area. I was also surprised that they started releasing barrel-aged versions of the fantastic Gratitude Barleywine, one of my favorites of the style. Brendan was sure to send us home with one of those (and a pounder can, no less)! After poking around "backstage," we settled back into the tasting room area for a pint of Little Hop, my favorite of our visit. I also nabbed a pounder can of the newish Wheat Hop, a wheat IPA that was pretty damn delicious (had to wait to get home to enjoy that one)! I'm also looking forward to the beer that Brendan and Swingle concoct for this year's Ffej of July! 

Behind the scenes at East End.

After an enjoyable visit to East End, it was time to head south of the city (and rivers) to a few breweries closer to our hotel for the evening. I also got in touch with my friend and herbie band mate, Jay, who had migrated to the 'Burgh a few years ago, to meet us for some drinks. He's more of a whiskey guy, but appreciates a good beer now and then... at least when he's not drinking Miller Lite or Dos Equis.

Outside the larger-than-anticipated Spoonwood Brewery.

First on the chopping block was Spoonwood. When we arrived, I was surprised at the size of the building. I had a similar response a few months ago when we visited Double Nickel on our New Jersey and Philly weekend jaunt. We arrived about 45-minutes prior to Jay and his wife, Nicole, so we ordered some food and dug into the beer menu. Judging by its beers, it's obvious that Spoonwood has a soft spot for IPAs, as four of the five beers we sampled fell into the IPA category.

• Side Scroller - dubbed a "16-bit" IPA brewed with El Dorado and Denali hops. Clearly the brewer (or someone at the brewery) is a pretty serious gamer.
• Killer Diller - IPA with citrus, floral and fruity notes.
• Good-eye Sniper - 9.5% ABV DIPA hopped with Amarillo, Citra, Equinox and Sorachi Ace.
• Smoke & Oats - brewed with cherry wood smoked malt and flaked oats.
• Forever Single - single hopped Citra IPA.

Again, I enjoyed everything we tried here, plus the food was very good as well (nachos and some other carb-heavy menu item that escapes me). I must admit that I wasn't concerned too much with the surroundings or taking notes, because we were catching up with Jay and Nicole. I do remember Side Scroller being the stand-out beer, though. Must be the El Dorado hops. Jay was also nice enough to pick up the tab, indicating "You're in my town." I promised to get a bottle of Crown Royal for our upcoming herbie rehearsal in two weeks. 

I'm pretty sure this mural was done with chalk!

We talked Jay and Nicole to join us at our next stop. Mindful Brewing was a large, modern building with about a dozen house beers and a host of guest taps. While there was some interesting stuff not brewed on premises, I always like to try the house beer first. I decided on Zero Visibility, described as a "turbid ale." I was led to believe that this would be akin to a Northeast style Pale Ale or IPA. I think that was the intention; however, this beer was clear as a sunny day. Great name if it would have lived up to its description. Unfortunately, I was underwhelmed with my selection, not only for its lack of turbidity (that didn't bother me, actually), but the flavor just didn't deliver. I questioned whether or not I even received the correct beer. At any rate, I felt obliged to move on to a guest tap for my next selection. I settled on a Northeast Auburn Pale Ale from Knee Deep, which was a step in the right direction but average in the grand scheme of things.

Aside from an impressive tap list, Mindful also boasts a diverse and well-stocked bottle selection for take out and on-premises consumption. The building and atmosphere was pretty cool - perhaps a bit too trendy for my taste, but modern and well-maintained nonetheless - and had a pretty sweet outside deck area. There were a ton of people there during our visit, which gave the appearance that this was definitely a hot spot. Sadly, I snapped no pictures during our visit, save for this group shot of Jay, Nicole, Brewslut and I that a guy at the next table was kind enough to take:

Although Jay and Nicole headed back to Cranberry, Brewslut and I kept the Pour Travelers train a-rolling. Hitchhiker, our next stop, was pretty dark and crowded when we arrived. The dimly lit space made it feel like an old saloon. I moseyed up to the bar while Brewslut secured seating at a small round table in the corner of the small, crowded room. I opted for a pour of Porch, an American Pale Ale with hints of pine, melon and grapefruit. Brewslut settled on A Different Animal, a dry-hopped sour ale with notes of lemon, watermelon candy and bread. Both were quite good, and we noshed on a bowl of mixed nuts while we enjoyed our beers. Snack time anytime! It was pretty dark inside, so I failed to snap any pictures during our visit. It was also a pretty quick one-and-done stop for us, but it was enjoyable nonetheless.

Stock photo from Google.

Our final stop, Insurrection AleWorks, wasn't even included on our original itinerary. Not sure why, because it was pretty damn awesome! Either they were really new or I somehow missed them on the Beer Mapping Project map when I was researching our trip.

The place featured several heady-sounding IPAs (two of them named after Phish tunes) and a general crunchy vibe, if you catch my drift. Fine with me. Seems that hippies generally make really good beer, especially dank-ass IPAs. (Gee... I wonder why?) Seems like all of their hoppy beers were brewed using oats and wheat, giving them a silky mouthfeel and hazy appearance. Here's the low-down on everything we had during our visit.

• SHPAS - Pale Ale hopped exclusively with Galaxy. 
• Aufstand - Berliner Weisse with fresh strawberries and rhubarb. 
• Weekapaug Groove - IPA hopped with Denali (there's that name again), Motueka, Amarillo and Nelson Sauvin. 
• Split Open and Melt - DIPA hopped and dry-hopped with exclusively with Citra.

The kitchen was just ready to close, so we quickly ordered two bowls of mac and cheese. I enjoyed all of the beers immensely, and the fact that two of them were named after Phish songs was an added bonus. By this time, we were turning into pumpkins and it was time to make the short drive to our hotel and retire for the evening after a productive day of doing what we do best! While we were leaving, I snapped this pic of me and a diminutive guy I've dubbed "Calvin the Dwarf."

Me with Calvin the Dwarf. 

I couldn't decide if he was a gold prospector or a D&D character. I'll let you be the judge... kind of like a Choose Your Own Adventure book. Remember those? I sure as hell do!

But for now... Beer. Beer. Beer. Bed. Bed. Bed.

On Sunday morning, we woke up fairly early and grabbed some coffee and granola bars from the "free breakfast cart" in the lobby. Weak compared to our previous night's accommodations. We had one single stop before we hit the PA Turnpike for our return home - Brew Gentlemen, located just outside of the 'Burgh in Braddock. I'm going on record that Braddock, PA is the saddest, most depressed town I've ever visited. And folks, I've been to Camden and outside the casino area of Atlantic City. This place was virtually a ghost town. Arriving in town about thirty minutes before Brew Gentlemen opened (they were hosting a yoga class in the adjacent room to the main tasting room), we decided to walk from the brewery down into "town" (I use that term loosely) to try and find some food. I swear, we walked for five blocks and encountered not a single open store except for a Family Dollar store, which was packed! The town did have its share of dilapidated buildings, boarded-up windows, and graffiti a-plenty. It seriously was a sad sight to behold. I couldn't believe that such a revered brewery was located in such a desolate place. I still can't believe that I didn't take any pictures. I felt like I was trapped in a weird episode of the original Twilight Zone.

Brew Gentlemen... a great brewery in a ghost town.

Dejected yet in awe of what we'd just experienced, we returned to Brew Gentlemen hungry and thirsty. Thankfully, a food truck had parked itself outside the brewery and was in the process of opening. I checked out the menu and - SCORE! - burritos, quesadillas and tacos. Sold! I don't know if it was because I was so hungry or what, but damn that was one tasty-ass burrito. It may have been one of the best I ever had. I love when burritos have potatoes as an ingredient, and this one was stuffed with them. Bonus points for guacamole too! By the way, this particular food truck was Brassero Grill, and they are at BG every Thursday and Sunday.

Inside Brew Gentlemen's tasting room.

Inside, the space was modern and hip but with a vintage feel. For example, the bartender was wearing a tie and apron, which made me feel I was back in the 30s or 40s at a speakeasy. He looked more like a mixologist than a beer slinger. The music choice, however, was total gangster, and while it fit perfectly with the vibe of the town, it felt out of place inside the establishment. I seldom comment on the music while we're visiting breweries, but Brewslut pointed out that it was indeed quite a peculiar choice. Fair enough.

With only five beers currently on draft, we decided to try them all. I've heard that BG has a penchant for brewing hazy NE-inspired hoppy beers. Sounded good to me. I began with the General Braddock's IPA, their flagship beer. While it didn't knock my socks off, it was a delicate, balanced beer with complex nuances if you dug deeply enough. Its sweet malt backbone played nicely with layers of citrus, melon and honeysuckle. It wasn't overly aromatic or flavorful, but it was insanely drinkable, and the texture of the beer was spot-on... for my tastes, anyway. I've always been a fan of hazy beers, so not being able to see through my glass has never been an issue for me. It's a good thing too, because all of the beers today were hazy and translucent.

Pleeps bogarting my juice!

Brewslut opted for the BG Lime, an ale brewed with lime (obviously). I found this one to be fragrant and extremely refreshing. It may have been my favorite of the bunch. Listed as a spring seasonal, this one is a thirst-quencher for warmer weather for sure! We followed up with pours of Overgrowth, an American Pale Ale. Floral and citrusy, this one was also quite delicate. Liquid Resume, an Americanized Kölsch-style ale dry-hopped with Motueka. This one featured citrus tones and a hint of grape. We ended with Tiny Tross (unfortunately Brewslut's least favorite), a Pale Wheat Ale reminiscent of Trillium-esque hop profiles. Come to think of it, it was probably my least favorite of the five beers we had. Not to end on a negative note with a run-of-the-mill beer, I will say that this place seems worthy of the hype overall. While I wasn't blown away by anything, I left satisfied and glad that the trend for this type of brewery is spreading across the country like wildfire.

Pleeps was all set to do a speech about the trip, but he must have forgotten to bring his note cards so we'll just leave you with this pic. Until next time...