The Great Taste Caper 2018 - Day 3: Algonquin for "the good land"

Our itinerary for Day 3 had been under construction up until about two weeks prior to our departure. I really wanted to squeeze in Milwaukee, so we had to drop Chicago from the mix. Fine with me, as we'd been to Chicago about three times in the last decade, while I'd never been to Milwaukee and Brewslut hadn't been there in almost 10 years. So, we booked a room and it was set in stone. We were off to "the good land!" (You'll want to click on that link... trust me!)

Following a leisurely 100-mile drive into Milwaukee, WI, (complete with a bit of road construction), we landed at what was most certainly the impetus for including this historic beer city on our itinerary. Brewslut had first visited Lakefront Brewery during her inaugural trek to Great Taste with fellow Team D(r)INKers Deuane, Carolyn, and Dain. She had routinely mentioned the top-notch quality of the brewery tour there, citing it as insightful, educational, and also quite humorous. FUN FACT: Part of the brewery's bottling line is the same piece of equipment from the opening title sequence for the 70's hit TV sitcom, Laverne & Shirley. Following the tour, guests are encouraged to sing the lyrics to the song while two volunteers from the tour group place a rubber glove on one of the passing bottles (just like in the opening credits of the show). But more on the tour later.

Outside Milwaukee's Lakefront Brewery.

As we walked up the inclined platform to the brewery entrance with a Tröegs 6-pack in hand, I was stopped by a greeter, who kindly informed me I wasn't allowed to bring in any outside beverages. Of course, I wasn't attempting to smuggle foreign beer into the brewery, but rather I was bringing a gift for the fine folks from one brewery ambassador to another. Once they figured it out, they rolled out the red carpet for us.

These Three Stooges sculptures used to be beer tanks.

Our first order of business? Beer, of course! When one reserves a spot on the Lakefront brewery tour, each person is given four wooden tokens to then acquire 5-ounce beer samples of his or her choice. In an amazing display of long-term memory retrieval, Brewslut recalled still having two tokens from her visit a decade ago, found them and took them with us on the trip. So we were afforded the luxury of FIVE samples instead of four. Nicely done, buddy! Since the tour wasn't starting for another 20 minutes or so, we had time to chat with some of the employees about beer, our travels, Tröegs, etc. I was surprised to learn that Lakefront had been in the beer business for 30 years! I knew they were considered one of the "old guard" when it came to craft beer, but that's pretty impressive. Conversely, I was startled when I discovered that they produce less than half the barrelage of Tröegs (around 45,000 bbl). After chatting for a bit, it was time to soak in the authentic German beer hall atmosphere of the tasting room. Here's a little peek:

Bavaria comes to Milwaukee at Lakefront.

Anyway, onto the beer. I started with a pour of Fuel Cafe, an organic coffee stout brewed with roasted malts and coffee from Milwaukee's renowned Fuel Cafe. I find it appropriate to start off the day with a coffee beer, and this one is on-point.

Pleeps and I shared beer tokens since he didn't get any.

Up next was a beer called Just Muck'n Around, a collaboration with a nearby small brewery called Eagle Park (coincidentally, our next stop on the list). Dubbed a "black NE-style hazy IPA," this may very well be the first of its kind. I'm not sure how a black beer can be "hazy," but whatever. Since most NE-style IPAs are know for aroma vs. bitterness, this one came across as a typical black IPA with a prominent roasty character and citrusy hop flavor with a hint of coffee and chocolate. Still, it was pretty enjoyable and I always appreciate experimentation in brewing.

By this time, the tour was about to start, so I grabbed a pour of Eastside Dark, Lakefront's most decorated beer with regard to various competition medals. Honoring the eclectic East Side of Milwaukee, this Bavarian dark lager blends three different specialty grains to create a rich, creamy schwarzbier that was quite enjoyable. It is also worth mentioning that folks are allowed to take beer with them while on the tour (a no-no at some other breweries). The other thing they allow on tours, unfortunately, is children. (At least Tröegs has that part right!) As luck would have it, there were three annoying ones on our tour, so we made sure to steer clear of them when we arrived at stopping points along the way. Our tour group was pretty large (around 40 people) so it wasn't an up-close-and-personal tour, but our tour guide was knowledgeable, funny, and loud when he needed to be.

Midway through the tour, we were able to get a beer refill at one of the conveniently located "pop-up" bars along the tour path. This was pretty sweet! I opted for Lakefront Pils, a traditional German-style pilsner that hit the spot, especially since it was a bit humid and stuffy during the tour. Although it didn't pop quite as much as the trifecta of PA pilsners I'm used to drinking, this is still a fine example of a style that often gets overlooked for its simplicity. However, everyone knows that it takes true grace to brew a world-class pilsner using just four ingredients and nothing to hide behind.

Lots of beer to choose from at Lakefront!

Speaking of lagers, my final pour was something called Beer in Progress - Mexican Lager #001. It seems to me that "Beer in Progress" is the name of a Scratch-esque Series of experimental beers from Lakefront. Seems a lot of larger breweries have these small-batch series now. This one is a refreshing take on the "island lager" a la Dos Equis with a bit more flavor. This one has a nice lemony character with an almost margarita-like flair.

After the tour, we chatted with the tour guide, and I grabbed some beer from the trunk to give to him. He mentioned he was a fan of pilsners, so I got him some Sunshine Pils. Sharing beer with fellow breweries always proves to be a good omen, and more often than not, breweries reciprocate with gifts of beer.

As our visit was winding down, we decided to join a guy I'd met briefly on the tour from York, PA. I heard him say, "Tröegs Scratch Beer" and my ears perked up. We high-fived and that was the end of it. Well, I saw him sitting at a table in the tasting room so I decided to join him and his friends. It was cool to run into someone from my next of the woods almost 800 miles away from home! While we chatted, our tour guide returned with a mixed 6-pack of Lakefront beers for us to take home. Now that's good beer karma!

Me doing the touristy thing at Lakefront.

Our tour also included a voucher for a free pint glass or $2 off merchandise in the gift shop. Since we have so many beer glasses, we opted for the keychain bottle openers, which were conveniently just $2 each. So they were free! You can never have too many of those. Well, actually yes you can, but at least they're good to have around when someone breaks out a random beer somewhere.

After an enjoyable visit to Lakefront, it was off to nearby Eagle Park Brewing, which was less than a mile away and just across the Milwaukee River. Founded by two brothers who also play in a band together, Eagle Park marries their passion for craft beer and music. Many of the brewery's beers are named after music references or song titles (Set List, Loop Station, From a Land Down Under, etc.). Inside, the space was open and bright with lots of natural light, blonde wood, and a cozy lounge area to which we were drawn immediately.

Outside Milwaukee's Eagle Park Brewing.

Since we had quite a bit of beer at Lakefront, we settled on a sampler flight of three beers to share. First up was Guava Wheat Wine. Another Wheat Wine... how 'bout that? Of course, I had to try it. This particular one was brewed with over 200 pounds of guava. Had the Eagle Park brothers been fans of the band Ween, perhaps they could have named this one Pure Guava. Speaking of music references, we also chose Pink Houses (likely named after the John Mellencamp hit), a black currant Berliner Weisse, as one of our three samplers. There was no way we were getting out of there without Brewslut trying the Berliner Weisse. Goon Juice, a hazy NE-style IPA hopped with Citra, Mosaic, Eureka, and Columbus rounded out the flight. The chalkboard was pretty IPA-heavy during our visit, but this one came highly recommended from both the bartender and a few patrons at the bar. This beer is loaded with aromas of bubble gum, tangerine, papaya, and a touch of pine. Goon Juice was definitely my favorite of the three, and an excellent example of a style that has been all over the map in my experiences. This piqued my curiosity, which led me to wanting to get another IPA before we left.

Pleeps has taken flight!

Pleased with all of the beers in our flight, we decided to get a full pour of Nelson Sauvin NEIPA to share. Besides, we were camped out on a couch over in the corner of the tasting room and digging the vibe. Brewed exclusively with one of my favorite hop varietals from the land of Jemaine and Bret, this tasty IPA boasts fruity notes akin to white grape with traces of tropical fruit and pepper around the edges. Although Nelson Sauvin hops are hard to beat, I have to give the nod to Goon Juice as my favorite beer we had at Eagle Park. An exemplary take on the NE IPA style, for sure.

Pleeps chillin' with his buddy Nelson.

We were beginning to get a hankering for an afternoon snack, and as it turns out Eagle Park has a little kitchen with a walk-up window to order food. With a small but varied menu featuring shared plates and sandwiches, we liked what we saw and decided to share the Chicken Tostadas. These tasty little Mexican-inspired treats feature chili-stewed chicken on a house tostada with crema, chimichurri, cotija, pickled jalapenos, radish, and corn nuts. These were delicious and added a little extra fuel in our tanks.

View from the couch at Eagle Park.

A quick 5-minute drive landed us at our next stop, Black Husky Brewing. With a name like Black Husky and its logo featuring, well, a black Husky, I was fairly certain this would be a dog-friendly brewery. Started in 2010 in a small log cabin nestled in the rural town of Pembine, Wisconsin, Black Husky takes its name from the sled dogs occupying the kennels on the land. Six years later, they moved operations to the Riverwest neighborhood of Milwaukee, where they currently produce their beers and operate the taproom we visited. Yup, definitely dog-friendly!

Outside Black Husky's taproom.

The taproom definitely had a log cabin or ski lodge vibe with lots of bright, clean wood. We set up shop at the bar and ordered a pair of beers from the dozen or so offerings. The first one that leaped out to me was an IPA called Sprooce 2. Brewed with locally harvested spruce tips and weighing in at 106 IBUs, this aggressive DIPA reeked of fresh pine needles. Christmas tree in a glass, indeed. While I appreciated the execution, this was one intense beer that demolished my palate with its barrage of sappy sweetness and dry bitterness. I will say that it was probably the most pine-forward beer I've ever tried.

Brewslut opted for Vain, a Citra-hopped pale ale. At 7.2%, this definitely straddles the line between pale ale and IPA. This one fell squarely in the middle of the road for me. However, it could be due to the beating my tastebuds took from the Sprooce 2. Either way, it wasn't as memorable as Sprooce 2 and didn't entice us to stay for seconds.

Outside Third Space Brewing.

Our fourth brewery of the day was Third Space. This place is situated in an old factory and has a lot of character. There's brick as far as the eye can see. The outside courtyard serves as a beer garden of sorts, and customers can grab a beer inside and soak up some rays out in the open area. We opted to stay inside and chill. With only about 7 beers available, we reviewed the list and chose wisely. I really liked the sound of Java Blanca, a coffee cream ale, but it wasn't available on draft, only in cans. I rarely opt for can or bottle over draft when visiting breweries, but I made an exception this time. Brewslut went with Happy Place Citra, a Citra-hopped variation of its house pale ale, Happy Place. Both beers were solid, but we'd already decided that this was going to be a one-and-done stop. So we nursed our beers and enjoyed the atmosphere. There's just something about drinking in an abandoned factory or warehouse that appeals to me for some reason.

Beer selection at Third Space.

We were getting hungry again, so we bought a 1-pound bag of squeaky cheese curds to nosh on while we enjoyed our beers. I mean, we're in Wisconsin, right?! That's like going to Florida and not eating an orange, or not eating soupie when you're in Shamokin. We blazed through the bag of curds swiftly, and I made the mistake of reading the fat and caloric content on the back of the bag. It wasn't too terrible. However, then I saw the "serving size" was 1-ounce. We polished off the entire 12-ounce bag in one sitting, so once I did the math I could feel the cheese congealing in my gut and turning to fat. Oh well. It was worth it.

Just a logo on a brick wall, that's all.

As I was poking around the brewery and tasting room, I came across a few signs for beers that weren't on tap at the moment. One of them was called "Unbridled Enthusiasm," which immediately reminded me of a quote from Seinfeld. I asked the bartender about it, and she confirmed my assumption. Then I noticed a beer called "That's Gold" and realized that someone here must really like Seinfeld. "That's gold, Jerry! Gold!"

Pleeps was getting a little wobbly by now.

I kind of dig the name of this brewery, by the way. People have their first place (home) and second place (work). So a third space would kind of be a "happy place" or meeting place for friends. Simple but effective. Nicely chosen, folks! 

More logos painted on stuff.

We finished our beers (and cheese curds) and were off to our next brewery. After crossing the Menomonee River in two different places within two miles, we arrived at our final brewery of the day.

Outside MobCraft Brewery & Taproom.

As soon as I saw the tap list at MobCraft, I was pretty sure we'd be visiting again the next day. Boasting 20-odd taps of primarily IPAs, stouts, and sours, I was certain I wouldn't get through everything I wanted to try in one sitting. With every description I read, I thought, "That sounds awesome. I want that." Well, it turns out I wanted about 14 of the beers and realized pretty quickly that that wasn't going to happen. See?

Decisions... decisions... decisions...

So, let me walk you through my first flight of beers at MobCraft:

• Midnitro Dragon's Dream - chocolate oatmeal stout with blackberries served via nitro.
• Batshit Crazy - brown ale with coffee. Dee-licious!
• Hoppy Hoppy Pants Pants - dank, juicy DIPA featuring some far-out hops: Dr. Rudi, Jarrylo, Idaho 7, and Amarillo.
• Senor Bob - Imperial Cream Ale brewed with agave syrup and aged in tequila barrels.
• Existence Blackberry - blackberry sour ale.
• Squeezin' Juice - juicy, citrus-forward American IPA.

Tons of taps at MobCraft!

My favorite of the lot was probably Batshit Crazy, which says a lot because I tend to stray from brown ales. However, add coffee to pretty much any style and I'm sold! Overall, I was definitely digging the sours and dark beers here a bit more than the IPAs. I mean, everything was enjoyable, but I just felt that the other non-IPA offerings were a bit more interesting and flavorful. MobCraft is really doing lots of unusual styles and flavor combinations. They also love using fruit, which comes in handy when the person drinking the beer also loves fruit (i.e. me). 

We enjoyed our visit quite a bit, and it's clear that MobCraft is one of the more adventurous breweries in Milwaukee. Our bartender was super-friendly and talkative, and was happy to answer my dumb questions. I passed off some Nimble Giant to him just for being cool. Speaking of cool, it looks like Pleeps was out cold for the time being. I must have been a little loopy too because I can't for the life of me remember what's in the glass in the following picture. I guess I needed a nap too! Pleeps knows what I'm talking about...

Pleeps needed a quick power nap after that session!

Since we decided to return the following day to make a bigger dent in the tap selection, we were off to use our final token procured at Lakefront as a gift for taking the tour. New Glarus does this as well, whereby you take the token to a participating bar or restaurant and redeem a free beer (in this case, a free Lakefront beer). But first, we enjoyed a great impromptu meal at BelAir Cantina, which we stumbled upon while parking our car a block down from Stubby's (more on that in a moment). We each enjoyed a spicy pollo bowl consisting of pulled chicken, árbol sauce, citrus slaw, beans, rice, lettuce, crema, and salsa roja, plus a side of tortilla chips and salsa. This was some legit Mexican food pretty far from the border. Coming across some bangin' authentic Mexican cuisine in Wisconsin is like finding amazing Korean BBQ in South Dakota... or something like that. Either way, I'm glad we found this place!

BelAir Cantina serves up some bangin' Mexican food!

We ended our night at Stubby's Gastropub, one of the participating bars at which we could redeem our Lakefront token for a free beer. I figured we might as well cash it in. I mean, free beer, yo! I settled on Fixed Gear, a hoppy American Red Ale brewed with Chinook and Cascade hops. This one was quite floral and some sticky citrus and pine around the edges, and plenty of caramel malt sweetness to stand up to the heavy dry-hopping. It was also one that I hadn't tried while visiting Lakefront, so chalk up another Untappd check-in for me!

Pleeps is lookin' rejuvenated after his nap!

We still had a pretty ambitious half-day planned in Milwaukee for the following day, so we decided to head to the hotel and rest up. I'll leave you with this lovely view of the Milwaukee River as we walked from BelAir Cantina up to Stubby's. Stay tuned for Day 4 as we continue to make our way across Wisconsin into Minnesota. Until next time...

The Great Taste Caper 2018 - Day 2: Sour Goats & Bare Ewes on Oak Street

For our second day, we had planned on hitting one of our favorite spots, Buckeye Beer Engine, bright and early (at least by Pour Travelers' standards) at 10 a.m. upon opening. However, our hotel was about 10 miles in the opposite direction and right off the Interstate, so we decided to wait until the return trip home and swing by for lunch. With this audible, we were able to add about two hours to our itinerary. What does this mean? More brewery stops along the way, of course!

The goat is my spirit animal.

Our first order of business for the day was a leisurely 3 1/2-hour drive to Granger, IN for a stop at Heavenly Goat. When I discovered this brewery by way of my newest, bestest Internet buddy, BreweryMap.com, I knew I was destined to visit this place. Why? Because goats! Fortunately for us, the place was fantastic, the service was spot-on, and the beers were pretty darn tasty too!

Step inside my GOATress of solitude! 

After we got settled in and scoped everything out, we started off with a flight of six different beers, which ran the gamut of a dry-hopped Brett pale ale to a pair of barrel-aged stouts. Here's the skinny:

• Batch 54 - dry-hopped pale ale fermented with Brettanomyces
• Batch 54 Fruited - the aforementioned pale ale fruited with blackberries and raspberries
• Black Triangles - IPA hopped with Citra and Mosaic
• Coffee Death by Porter - Porter conditioned on Zen Cafe roasted coffee beans
• Tonight we Ragnarok (variation #1) - Imperial Stout aged in a Heaven Hill bourbon barrels
• Tonight we Ragnarok (variation #2) - Imperial Stout aged in Bulleit rye whiskey barrels

My monkey was diggin' the goats!

Overall, everything was solid, although I was quite partial to both Black Triangles and the bourbon barrel-aged variant of Tonight we Ragnarok. FUN FACT: In Norse mythology, Ragnarök is a series of future events, including a great battle, foretold to ultimately result in the death of a number of major figures (including the Gods Odin, Thor, Loki, etc.). This doesn't surprise me, as I learned from our bartender that the name of the brewery itself is steeped in mythology. The gist of it is this: the 'Heavenly Goat' origin story takes place in Valhalla of Norse Mythology. Heiðrún the Goat stands on its hind legs to bite the buds of the Tree of Life. From her teats runs the mead that fills a cauldron so large that all of the Nordic warriors who have fallen are carried to Valhalla on the wings of the Valkyries to drink the precious liquid. Pretty cool, eh? I thought so. 

Heiðrún the Goat eats from the Tree of Life.

Since I enjoyed the Black Triangles so much, I opted for a special pour from the beer engine to split with Brewslut. This was a limited one-off cask dry-hopped with Amarillo. Yum, yum, gimme some! It's not one of Brewslut's favorite hop varieties, but I love it. This variation was even more enjoyable than the standard version. I love me a good IPA on cask, and this one didn't disappoint. Speaking of not being disappointed, the homemade soft pretzels here were amazing. They resembled small loaves of bread more than pretzels, and they were so damn tasty. Carbs for the win!

Pleeps' geometry lesson: Black Triangles.

While we were at Heavenly Goat, we struck up a conversation with a local about - what else? - beer. Over the course of our banter, he happened to mention a second brewery in the town of Granger situated just a few miles away called Bare Hands. He promised we wouldn't be disappointed, so we decided to work it into the itinerary. As a matter of fact, he finished up at Heavenly Goat before us and just so happened to be heading to Bare Hands next. (Turns out he's a mugger there.) After he vacated the premises, a beer-loving couple came in and occupied his area at the bar, and oddly enough, they were also heading to Bare Hands afterward. Since we postponed our visit to Buckeye Beer Engine, we had plenty of time to stop. Let me tell you, I'm glad we did!

Outside Bare Hands Brewing, Granger, IN.

When we arrived at Bare Hands, the chalkboard was brimming with hoppy offerings including a lot of IPAs. Fine by me. First up was West Coast Joe, a Citra hopped West Coast-style IPA, for me, while Brewslut chose New Westy IPA, a NE-style variation of its house IPA boasting all the catch phrases and nomenclature all the kids dig these days: hazy, juicy, dank, double dry-hopped, yada yada yada. However, this one delivered! It turned out to be the star of the show for both of us, and we made sure to throw a pair of cans in our mixed 4-pack before we left.

Up next was a pour of Bare Hands' self-proclaimed flagship beer, Thai.P.A. Any time a brewery boasts a "flagship" beer, I have to try it. I mean, that's what they're known for, right? Hence, it's usually a wise decision to give it a shot. I've encountered a few Thai-influenced beers over the years in my travels (Terry Hawbaker's Thai.P.A. back from his Bullfrog days comes to mind) and I've enjoyed them. For this creation, Bare Hands added Thai palm sugar, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, and galangal (Thai ginger) to create a citrus-forward flavor with a spicy finish. This was definitely a unique creation, and the fact that it's one of their top-selling beers is a testament to its excellence. I look forward to revisiting this one when we crack open the can we brought home.

Hops a-plenty at Bare Hands.

Meanwhile, I'd noticed a barrel-aged selection on the chalkboard nestled away from the barrage of IPAs. Enter Bourbon Barrel-Aged Vanilla Mail Order Bride, a 2017 vintage Russian Imperial Stout weighing in at 10.2% ABV. I was strongly urged to try this beer by a few patrons, so not only did I want to try it, but now it had to live up to a bit of hype. This was definitely a vanilla bomb of a stout and overall a tad too sweet for my palate, although it was complex and pretty chewy overall. I was digging the IPAs more here, which seem to be the brewery's forte.

We wrapped up our visit with Westy IPA, Bare Hands' "house IPA." Not to be confused with "New Westy," which we had earlier, this is more of a West Coast style IPA. It's also one of the only times I preferred a NE-style over a West Coast-style IPA. I couldn't help but think of the whole "New Coke" marketing ploy of the mid 1980's and had a good little chuckle over the name. Both were indeed solid but I give the nod to New Westy. Overall, I was glad we had some extra time to kill so we could swing by for what turned into a fun stop. I met the owner and gave him some Nimble Giant, to which he reciprocated with a 4-pack of Citronic, a Citra-hopped pale ale. Perks of the industry, folks.

Down the road a bit from Granger is South Bend, home of Crooked Ewe Brewery & Ale House. I must admit that I was stoked to find a sheep in such close proximity to a goat (thanks again, BreweryMap)! This was a visit we intended to make, as it was part of our original itinerary. It's no secret that I love goats, but I'm also quite partial to sheep (although not in the same vein as Brent from Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back). I just hoped the beer was decent and worthy of a stop. Turns out it was!

From heavenly goats to crooked ewes!

First up, another turtle beer! This one, Turtle Tamer, was an IPA hopped with Amarillo and Simcoe for a nice resiny pine and sweet tropical fruit combination. Plus who doesn't love turtles? Unlike a turtle, this one moved quickly into my gullet. Brewslut opted for Gleek, a straight-up unfruited gose that was enjoyable.

We decided that Crooked Ewe was worthy of follow-up beers, so we decided to chillax for a bit and get a bite to eat. After perusing the menu, we both honed in on the Poke Bowl. Check out this laundry list of deliciousness: house-cured salmon, mirin-soaked (mirin is a type of rice wine) sushi rice, wakame (edible seaweed), wasabi black bean, cucumber, and unagi (eel) avocado Srirachi. Holy sweet fuck was this dish amazing! We washed down this incredible bowl (note: definitely NOT a failure pile in a sadness bowl, for those of you Patton Oswalt fans) with a pair of IPAs: Vital IPA, hopped with Centennial for a prominent grapefruit note, and Wampus Monster, a Citra-hopped DIPA with bold citrus fruit flavors. I'm so glad we decided to get our chow on here, because that bowl was dee-freakin-licious, even though I was "eatin' my lunch from a single bowl." It just wasn't in my parents' basement.

Pleeps says, "Hey ewe guys!"

While we enjoyed some bar time at Crooked Ewe, we got caught up in another conversation with an older gent who was visiting some family in the area. One thing led to another, and he mentioned a brewery "right up the road." Sounds familiar, right? By now, we were still ahead of schedule so we figured we might as well swing by for a beer to check it out. After all, when would we be back through Northern Indiana? (Probably sooner than I think, but who's counting?)

Over at 18th Street, the gutted-building-turned-brewery reminded me of a big city music venue in an old, decommissioned factory. As a matter of fact, a band was just finishing up soundcheck when we arrived. This place seemed pretty "metal." It was dimly lit, sparsely decorated, and the acoustics were "boomy." The band sounded pretty heavy as well. Perhaps not the best environment for live music. And although as much as I love metal, we were here for a beer.

Loving the beer names at 18th Street!

I was digging the names of the beers here; they ran the gamut of dark and ominous (Here Comes the Reaper and Convicted Souls) to metal-as-fuck (Overlord's Revenge and Temporal Purgatory) to just plain disturbing (Black & Rigid). Then there's the beer I selected from this amusing list: The Fox and the Goat. I mean, duh! Lucky for me, it was a style I was into (not that there are many I'm not into). A collaboration with Girl and the Goat, a Chicago-based restaurant, this Centennial-hopped pale ale also featured some pretty heavy-handed dry-hopping with Amarillo. Pretty... pretty... pretty good!

Brewslut opted for Candi Crushable, another collaboration beer, this time with Northdown Cafe & Taproom (a Chicago-area bar that's apparently now closed as per Google and Yelp). Also a pale ale, this one features flaked oats and lactose sugar for a soft mouthfeel and hint of sweetness. Simcoe and Falconer's Flight hops impart hints of lemon, grapefruit, and pine. Both beers were solid, and it was another worthy diversion in our itinerary. (EDITOR'S NOTE: Turns out I'd checked in about half a dozen or so beers in the past, courtesy of our friend Nathan, who had sent some stuff in the "mail." Coincidentally, we were meeting with him later this evening. But more on that in a bit.)

Obligatory coaster shot with my main monkey Pleeps!

In what was turning out to be the leitmotif of the day, we got talking to another slightly older couple at the bar about beer and our travels. Over the course of our conversation, the guy asked if we enjoyed sour beers. We said we did, and he promptly directed us to "a brand new place right down the street" called The Sour Note. When he said it was "right down the street," he wasn't kidding. I didn't even need to pull out of the parking lot at 18th Street. I programmed our GPS and it was literally half a block away! We could have just walked. 

From my barstool at The Sour Note.

Started as a side project of 18th Street Brewing (the place we'd just visited) to focus on a variety of sour beers including tart wheat ales, fruit beers, and bottle-conditioned farmhouse ales, The Sour Note has evolved into a brewery in its own right. The place was small, and the building reminded me of an old restaurant I used to frequent in Shamokin to get ice cream called Amity House. (Brewslut and I went on a few dates there back in high school.) Inside, there were about four people scattered around the bar and a young, extremely friendly guy working behind it. We got to talking in no time because we unfortunately had to skedaddle pretty quickly, as we were meeting Nathan in Willow Springs, Illinois, about a 45-minutes away. We mentioned we were visiting from PA on our way to Great Taste, and,  long story short, it turns out the guy (Oswald) used to work with Roger (the Assistant Brewer at Pizza Boy) at Cigar City down in Florida. Small world, eh?

Never met an Oswald... until now!

He made sure to send us home with a pair of Cherry Gose 6-packs and a few 750mL bottles of some choice beers. I made sure to reciprocate with plenty of stuff from my employer. While we were there, we were able to enjoy pours of Foeder Peach Wild, a keg-conditioned wild golden ale brewed with peaches, and Coconut Drift, a toasted coconut gose. Both were tasty, and I wish we could have stayed longer, but alas we had to clear out and hit the road. At least we got to experience the place, if only for about twenty minutes or so.

Outside Imperial Oak Brewing.

After a 45-minute jaunt into the depths of Illinois (intentionally around Chicago, not through), it was time to arrive at our final brewery destination for the evening. Like the majority of the breweries on our itinerary, I'd never heard of Imperial Oak. When we arrived, there was a street fair happening a few blocks away, so parking was challenging. We found a spot a few blocks away, and as we approached we could see the place was bustling. After all, it was a Saturday night. The outside patio area was pretty full, so we headed inside to see if we could find Nathan. There he was sitting at the bar with a beer waiting for us to arrive.

The beer list was vast and almost intimidating, with about twenty-odd beers available including a diverse range featuring a handful of IPAs, a few Belgian-inspired beers, lighter offerings such as a fruited Kolsch, and several sours from its Savage Oak series. They even had a Wheat Wine on tap (which of course I had to try). I decided to start with a style I've been running into a lot lately, a Brut IPA. A variation of its "Crank It" series called Crank It Brut, this hoppy offering is meant to imitate the effervescence and dry finish of champagne while still maintaining a hop-forward character. Interesting concept, eh? If memory serves me correctly, Brewslut was digging this one a bit more than me, but it was pretty solid. Coincidentally, Rush's "YYZ" came on over the speakers in the tasting room and my ears perked up. Crank it, indeed, I thought.

I had to also try Aquavit Barrel Aged Pain!, an Imperial IPA (named Pain!) aged in Aquavit (or Akavit) barrels. Aquavit is a unique distilled spirit primarily produced in Scandinavia. Whoa! Citrus fruit mingles with spicy, herbal notes of caraway and dill in this out-there IPA. I'd never had nor heard of Aquavit before, but I'll usually try a barrel-aged IPA when I come across one, just for the adventure of it. In the grand scheme of things, they are pretty hit and miss. This one tasted like my grandma's spice rack got mixed up with a West Coast-style DIPA. Interesting, to say the least.

Speaking of grandma's spice rack, up next was something called Thyme for a Peach. This one is a variation on the "Crank It" theme featuring Azacca and Columbus hops with fresh thyme and peaches added. I'm a sucker for beer with peaches in it (or just peaches in general), so this one was a no-brainer for me. Turns out it was pretty tasty and perhaps a tie (or thy?) for my favorite beer at Imperial Oak.

Our view from the bar at Imperial Oak.

My next selection was my other favorite: Lady Humongous, a wheat wine. This one could be named after my wife's impressive guns. I rarely encounter wheat wines in our travels, so I'm always curious to try at least a small 4- o 5-oz. pour. The younger sister of the barleywine, the wheat wine is a generally glossed-over style of strong ale containing a large portion of wheat malt to provide a soft, fluffy mouthfeel. Most I've come across are sweeter and a bit thinner than traditional barleywines but pack the same boozy punch. This particular lady boasted hints of caramel chews, vanilla, butterscotch, and candied fruit with a touch of boozy warmth.

I finished up our visit with Crank it Hype, another variation of the Crank It series, this one a NE-style IPA. Funny name, as everyone knows that hazy IPAs are all the "hype" these days and seem to show no sign of slowing down. Speaking of slowing down, it was time to stick a fork in us. Right, Pleeps?

Pleeps is cut off!

Overall, it was great to catch up and share some beers with Nathan, whom we hadn't seen in a while. (By the way, stay tuned for more fun with Nathan and his new wife, Tiffany, at the tail end of the trip.) Back at the hotel, we cracked open a can of The Sour Note's Cherry Gose, which was quite tasty. I was glad we were sent home with a 6-pack of this to enjoy. Stay tuned for Day 3 from Milwaukee, WI, coming soon. Until next time...

Ewe and I have memories...

The Great Taste Caper 2018 - Day 1: Hello Cleveland!!!

2359 miles...

197 beers...

44 breweries...

11 days...

8 bars...

6 states...

2 travelers...

1 monkey.

It had been six long years since our previous trek to Madison, WI for the amazing Great Taste of the Midwest, a 5-hour marathon of beer-soaked sampling from the cream of the mid-western crop of craft breweries. Last time around, we spent some time in Grand Rapids, MI, and its periphery before heading to Madison for the festival. For this year's epic excursion, we had our sights set on Minnesota's Twin Cities: Minneapolis and St. Paul, a mere 4-hour drive from Madison. After numerous revisions and tweaks to my initial itinerary, we finally honed in on an ambitions schedule that would traverse us from our home state of Pennsylvania with stops in: Cleveland, Ohio; northern Indiana; northeast Illinois; Milwaukee, WI; Minneapolis and St. Paul, MN; and finally Madison, WI, before heading back home. Just thinking about it makes my legs and back feel sore and fatigued. 

On the Thursday night before we departed, I could barely contain myself. I felt like a kid on Christmas Eve lying in bed thinking of the coming day's barrage of presents. Actually, I felt more like a middle-aged man gearing up to see Rush at Red Rocks. Needless to say, it took my mind a while to finally succumb to my body's impending (and much-desired) slumber.

I worked a half day on Friday, August 3 and waited for our neighbor to drop off Brewslut at the brewery. I must admit that I was already "checked out" from work. I was in full-on vacation mode. Finally, the moment arrived, and we B-lined it straight to Cleveland, arriving in a record-breaking 5 1/2 hours with a bathroom break along the way. We were ready to get our drink on! Pleeps was getting pretty antsy, too. 

We decided to skip places we'd visited on previous trips, like Great Lakes, Platform, and a few others, in lieu of some brand new places. First up was Masthead. I must say that this place set the bar extremely high for the rest of the trip, as the beers here were stellar!

Outside Cleveland's Masthead Brewing Co.

Speaking of setting the bar high, my first beer of the trip was pretty friggin' amazing. Perhaps I'd built up a vicious thirst during the 342-mile drive to Cleveland, but Ten Minute Double NEIPA was a welcome reward for my patience. Brewed to celebrate the 4th Anniversary of Small City Taphouse in Sandusky, OH, (I'll spare you any snide remarks about Penn State) this heavily dry-hopped special release is only available at two locations: Small City and Masthead. So the added rarity of the beer was a bonus. Let me tell you, I crushed it like it was going out of style.

Pleeps looks ready to dive into my Ten Minute!

Shortly after we arrived, two guys set up shop next to us at the bar, and one of them commented on my Selin's Grove work shirt. Turns out they were visiting from Berks County, PA, and hitting some breweries before attending the NFL Hall of Fame induction of some famous Philadelphia Eagles player. They were both extremely friendly and conversing about sports, cars, and (more my forte) beer helped pass the time nicely. Of course, I was hoping to hit three additional breweries that evening. We exchanged social media handles and what not, so if you guys are reading this, "'Sup?"

My vantage point from the bar at Masthead.

Up next, I felt I needed to try Masthead's flagship IPA (named simply that... IPA). Brewed with massive amounts of Simcoe and Mosaic, this beer boasted a blend of pine, passionfruit, and grapefruit notes. While enjoyable, it paled in comparison to Ten Minute. I probably should have started with the IPA, but I didn't want the Ten Minute to kick before I had the chance to try it.

For "dessert," Brewslut and I shared a pour of a delectable stout with an equally succulent moniker, Raspberry Espresso Torte. Brewed with raspberries, locally roasted Six Shooter coffee, and lactose, this thick, rich imperial stout was brewed in collaboration with Heinen's Fine Foods (an OH-based grocery chain). This served as the proverbial icing on the cake of an amazing visit to Masthead and a well-deserved first stop of the trip.

Up next was Collision Bend, a place Deuane recommended. Turns out he recommended them more for the food than the beer. However, we needed to eat at Masthead, as I find it's not necessarily wise to drink beer (especially DIPAs and imperial stouts) on an empty stomach. After all, we were still in fasting mode when we landed in Cleveland. The location of Collision Bend is situated in a seemingly trendy, upscale neighborhood. We noticed many signs for valet parking, and lame modern dance music could be heard everywhere once we stepped out of the CRV. Luckily, we found free parking right outside the brewery. I might have been the only guy in glancing distance wearing jeans and a T-shirt.

From the bar at Collision Bend.

Inside, we were greeted by the middle-aged yuppie, BMW-driving crowd (apologies to BMW drivers... but hey, I needed a description for these folks). The place was nice, but something just wasn't jiving with me. We ordered a pair of beers at the far end of the bar, and after a minute or two, some folks informed us they were leaving soon. Another minute had passed and they paid their tab and vacated the premises. With bar stools occupied, we carried on with our beers.

I opted for something light, so I settled on Iron Wind, a German-style pilsner. Brewslut went with C-Town, an American Pale Ale brewed with Jarrylo and Azacca hops. After the stellar beers we'd just encountered at Masthead, both of these offerings felt lackluster in comparison. They weren't terrible, but they weren't memorable either.

Pleeps being Pleeps.

Midway through our beers, a group of twenty-something "woo girls" (readers of the Pour Travelers should be well-familiar with this term) showed up and set up camp right next to us. I could hear Brewslut's eyes roll as they asked dumb questions about beer, then ordered wine anyway. We should be used to it by now, I guess. I hate being negative, but we get annoyed easily. Perhaps this phenomenon can be attributed to hanging out with Deuane a lot over the last decade. (Love you, buddy.) So, we took that as our cue to finish up and head on to the next place.

Situated a mere three-or-so miles from Collision Bend, Terrestrial was much more up our alley, both beer and vibe-wise. For starters, there was a very good solo acoustic guitar performer playing some tunes for the small number of patrons occupying the ample tasting room. I believe there was an outside beer garden, which is why the inside area seemed a bit lightly attended. This set the tone nicely, although there were three very loud, obnoxious baseball fans in close proximity that drowned out the music at times. I thought Brewslut was going to get into a fight with one of them. All three, however, had DB written all over them. (Again, apologies for the negativity, but it makes for good storytelling.)

Sweet chalkboard at Terrestrial.

Immediately, I was drawn to the names of the beers here. One in particular, I Love it When I Save the Turtles, was my first choice at Terrestrial. I love turtles, I love beer, and I love saving turtles, so naturally I thought I would love I Love it When I Save the Turtles and decided not to save I Love it When I Save the Turtles for later. Brewed to raise money for the Splash Fund at the Greater Cleveland Aquarium to save the spotted turtles, this porter was inspired by "turtle candy" - the decadent chocolate treat filled with pecans, caramel, and sea salt. Add coffee to that mix and you have a winning combination, as far as I'm concerned. Plus $1 of every pour benefits the turtles. Hence, I love I Love it When I Save the Turtles!

By now, I was in dark beer mode, so Barrel Aged Ween Heavy (yes, that's not a typo and most likely a reference to the band Ween) sounded like a wise choice. I opted for a small pour of this guy, as we still had one more place to visit tonight. This sweet, chocolatey Scotch ale was aged in OYO rye barrels doused with wild yeast. This was another winner in my book.

Meanwhile, Brewslut was working on a pour of Bruh Lite Lime, a refreshing, crisp, American-style premium lager. The addition of grilled limes and salt give this light lager a gose-like flavor with just a hint of tartness. Pleeps also had his eye on a beer, something called Space Chimp. With a name like that, there was no way we weren't ordering a pour. We typically shy from Witbiers, but this slightly tart Belgian-style ale features coriander and bitter orange peel for an added dimension of aroma and flavor, accentuating the floral and juicy characteristics of the star of the show: passionfruit. It was pretty... pretty... pretty good. Right, Pleeps?

Pleeps hangin' with Space Chimp.

By now, the musician had finished up and the douche crew rolled out. I threw in a few bucks as a tip for the musician after I noticed he was implementing a loop station into his set. I always appreciate someone who does something a little different and doesn't regurgitate the same Van Morrison and Jimmy Buffett tunes that most acoustic guitarists rely on to win over their audience. So, on to our fourth and final stop before heading to the hotel to retire for the evening.

Outside Bottlehouse's Lakewood Tasting Room & Mead Hall.

Situated in nearby Lakewood (where our hotel was located) Bottlehouse's Tasting Room and Mead Hall was a pleasant discovery. It didn't look like much on the outside, but once we got situated, I knew we were in for a treat. If you enjoy sours, ciders, and meads, or just experimental beers in general, then this place is for you. Upon perusing the varied menu, I was intrigued by most of them. This time, I glossed over the hoppy offerings and focused on the Belgian-inspired, barrel-aged, sour, and fruit-forward ones.

Tap handles at Bottlehouse.

Since there were so many beers that interested me, I settled on a flight of four beers. Here's the low-down:

• Obsessive Compulsive Vampire - sour blackberry stout
• Vox Maris - Based on the first sour Bottlehouse ever released, this quad-like ale features dark candi syrup and sour cherries aged in-used bourbon barrels for years before blending. Yowza! This beer was tart, complex, strong, and amazing!
• Pina Sour - sour pineapple saison aged in wine barrels with Brettanomyces. Another stellar beer!
• Idol - sour apricot ale

4-star flight at Bottlehouse!

Everything was killer! The Vox Maris was far and away my favorite, followed by the Pina Sour, but all four beers were fantastic and stand-outs of the trip. I'm also glad we worked up our appetite for a late-night snack, because the cheese plate we devoured was one of the best we've ever encountered.

Racks of wood!

Bottlehouse proved to be the perfect conclusion of a long, productive day. The sense of accomplishment of working a half day, driving 5 1/2 hours (with no traffic jams, thank God), and hitting four breweries before finally succumbing to slumber wasn't lost on me. It was a good omen for things to come. But now, we were ready to settle in back at the hotel for some much-needed rest. Stay tuned as we continue on with the Great Taste Caper and head through Indiana and Illinois. Until next time...

Swillin' in Steel City

This past weekend found me venturing westward to Steel City for a gig with Solar Federation, my Rush tribute band. After a bit of discussion, we decided to make a weekend out of it. I mean, why not? It's about a 4-hour drive from Central PA and Pittsburgh definitely has no shortage of good breweries, so we could certainly keep busy during the down time. It was on. Sadly, our photogenic drinking partner Pleepleus didn't join us for this particular outing, as he is currently resting his little monkey liver for our summer beer-cation to Minneapolis, MN, and Madison, WI, for the annual Great Taste of the Midwest beer festival.

We made arrangements with my long-time friend and band-mate from herbie, Jay, to stay at his house in Cranberry Township on Friday night, which is situated about half an hour north of Pittsburgh proper. (Longtime followers of the Pour Travelers may remember one of my very first blogs about a Taste of PA beer sampling I conducted for Jay and then-fiancée Nicole's "Jack & Jill" party in lieu of a bridal shower.) Entering our destination into my new buddy BreweryMap.com, I was pleasantly surprised to find that our route would pass near a brewery that has eluded us despite numerous trips to (and around) Pittsburgh over the years.

The devil's been busy...

We'd been wanting to visit Helltown for a few years after first having their beer at Al's of Hampden quite some time ago. However, their hours have always been prohibitive (i.e. open 3 to 7 p.m. on Friday), and we'd always find ourselves driving through too early or too late to pop in for a visit. They've since expanded their hours slightly, but the are still only open 3 days a week. When we arrived, they appeared to have a healthy "happy hour" crowd congregating after work to unwind and prepare for the weekend. That's kind of why we were there, too. Nothing makes me thirstier than driving for three hours. When we're on a trip, my thirst for beer is directly proportional to the distance we must drive to arrive at said beer. I'm sure this could be quantified through some kind mathematical formula, but alas, I'm no mathematician. I mean, I count with my fingers. Thankfully, I like words, otherwise this blog would be littered with lots of statistics and scary numbers. No thanks.

Overall, Helltown isn't much to look at. It's basically a cluttered production brewery with a few lopsided picnic tables outside and a tiny gift shop with a restroom. But they are churning out some tasty beers. I also love the name of the brewery (obviously), which is most likely derived from 15666, the zip code of Mt. Pleasant. And again, my buddy Lord Lucifer makes an appearance in my favorite frosted, frothy beverage. All hail!

Everything in its place... right?

This isn't a place to bring the kids, although there were a few rugrats present when we arrived. Thankfully the weather was cooperating quite nicely for late July, and it was cool and breezy outside. Since there's no real bar, we ordered our beer from a tattooed guy wearing a Helltown shirt who liked he should be there. Since it was slim pickings with the tap list (about 5 beers) we both settled on The Rapture, Helltown's signature IPA. I ended up spilling some on my sneaker, and the server made a joke that he's notorious for squeezing 17 ounces of beer into a 16-ounce pint glass. He was telling the truth. Both glasses were filled to the brim with beer and nary a bit of froth was to be found anywhere. The Rapture is a pretty straight-up West Coast style IPA with lots of pine resin, some citrus, and plenty of balanced bitterness. It's a solid drinker any way you slice it. We both enjoyed it quite a bit and were surprised that neither of us had never checked it in on Untappd. So chalk up a new beer to boot!

Up next was Idle Hands, a DIPA in the same vein as The Rapture. Weighing in at 8% (vs. Rapture's 7%), this one boasted a more oily texture and alcohol presence amid sticky resinous hop goodness. Brewed with Citra, Summit, and Amarillo hops, I could definitely pick out Amarillo in the line-up with its pungent signature blend of citrus and cat box. While we liked this one as well, we both agreed that The Rapture was superior. 

Strolling the grounds at Helltown.

It was great to finally get to Helltown after multiple failed attempts. Deuane had told us about a recent Kriek they had released, but unfortunately they were sold out. Maybe next time. I'd love to try one of their barrel-aged beers in the future. Hopefully it won't be our first and last visit to the devil's neck of the woods.

Afterward, we grabbed some tasty turkey subs at DiBella's Subs and turned in for the night at Jay and Nicole's, which went something like this: Dos Equis > Cab Sauv > Cab Sauv > Cab Sauv > cheese balls > bourbon > bourbon > bed.

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

Outside Hitchhiker's Mt. Lebanon tap room.

After breakfast and some more catching up with Jay, it was time to shove off for a quick stop at Hitchhiker. Given its close proximity to the venue at which I would be performing later that evening, it was a decidedly convenient place to grab a pre-show beer or two. We'd first visited Hitch Hiker the previous Easter during a long weekend brewery jaunt to Pittsburgh (refer to Jammin' in the 'Burgh: Part 1 and Part 2), but it was a quick, down-and-dirty visit with just enough time for one beer each and a bowl of roasted nuts.

What's pouring at Hitchhiker?

For this visit, we were joined by fellow Troegs compadre (and Schmoopie) Dalton, who happened to be in the area visiting some friends from college. They also joined us, so it turned out to be a nice group. Dalton is a big Seinfeld fan, so we enjoyed making references to the show and tossing one-liners back and forth. It was another lovely day to be outside, and luckily for us, Hitchhiker boasts a cozy little deck out behind its main tasting room with plenty of shade and a pleasant view. See? 

View from our table out on the deck at Hitchhiker.

And now, the beer. Brewslut immediately was drawn to a lactose IPA with tangerine called Whole Punch, while I was eyeing up a new release called Triple Shakes, an Imperial version of its standard The Shakes coffee porter. Weighing in at 11.5% ABV, it seems like the right beer to kick off my day. This big, burly fellow was conditioned on Ethopian Yirgacheffe and honey-processed Honduran Finca Californeo from 19 Coffee. Though it went down pretty easy, I did my best to take some time with it and sip rather than slosh. Whole Punch, on the other hand, was insanely chuggable. The tangerine character of this beer was insane, and the lactose sweetened the pot and provided a smooth mouthfeel. Overall, this NE-style IPA produced a strong citrusy punch with some residual sugary sweetness. Nicely done!

Triple Shakes vs. Whole Punch.

For round two, Brewslut settled on Agrio, a raspberry margarita gose brewed with wheat, coriander, sea salt, agave, and lime zest, then conditioned on raspberries. I opted for an IPA called A Place in Time. Brewed with oats and hopped with Mosaic and Simcoe lupulin powder, this beer offered a complex wash of citrus, mango, pine, and a hint of earthy blueberry.

After a relaxing ninety minutes or so at Hitchhiker, it was off to the office to earn my keep. The show was fun albeit lightly attended. Still, it was awesome to see many familiar faces, some of whom drove 4+ hours to see us perform. That always makes me feel swell. The venue (Crafthouse Stage and Grill) also had a pretty solid tap selection featuring 50 beers. By the time we finished playing, I was craving a Fathead's Headhunter, but alas it had kicked. So I settled for a Hop Nosh Tangerine from Uinta. And with that, it was time to head back to the Holiday Inn Express for some much-needed rest.

After a sweet free hot breakfast at Holiday Inn (not just muffins and shit; I'm talkin' mini omelettes, turkey sausage patties, bagels, cereal, juice, etc.) we decided to kill some time seeking out local coffee. Turns out Steel City Roasters is situated just one block away from our first stop of the day. Our server was super nice, and we enjoyed our nitro cold brews, while we waited for Voodoo to open at noon. 

We'd been fans of Voodoo since our first encounter with original owner and 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 most endearing songs). Since then, we've become fans of the brewery and visited the main brewery in Meadville on our Drinksgiving 2013 as well as this particular site last year over Easter weekend. 

This time, we opened the place. To quote Clark W. Griswold, "First ones here... first ones here." Checking out the chalkboard, there appeared to be several interesting sounding beers in the "Seasonal Brews" column. I'll admit I'm a sucker for seasonals over year-rounds because there is typically more diversity in styles and flavors (although I must say I was tempted by Hoodoo IPA, which is fantastic). So, we settled on the Galaxy Pale Ale and Shatter Machine, the latter a lactose IPA brewed with mango and in collaboration with Magnanimous Brewing based out of Tampa, FL.

In chatting with the bartender about music (specifically our shared enthusiasm for Tenacious D), I learned that his girlfriend works at Crafthouse Stage and Grill, where Solar Federation performed the night before. As a matter of fact, she was smitten with my Star Wars/Rush mash-up T-shirt and asked me multiple times to sell it to her. Small world. 

We debated getting some food and, although the pierogies and sushi tacos sounded amazing, we were both still full from breakfast. We had plenty of room for beer, though! Up next was Tropical, a Berliner Weisse with passionfruit, pineapple and mango. This sounded so good that we each decided to order our own pour. The fruit wasn't overdone, which may or may not be a good thing depending on your view of the style. We both dug it, though obviously Brewslut was into it more than me. After all, it's her favorite beer style.

We rounded out our visit with a shared pour of IPL (that's India Pale Lager for those keeping score at home) hopped with Mandarina Bavaria, Huell Melon, and Hallertau Blanc. This combination lent a crisp melon character with tangerine and a hint of white grape. I thought this combo worked well on the blank slate of a lager as these all display subtle hop complexities and therefore don't get in the way of the lager yeast character. This was quite enjoyable!

And with that, it was time to bid farewell to Voodoo and ship off to our next destination. We exchanged some stickers with our bartender and moved on.

Brew Gentlemen is pretty classy for Braddock, PA. I mean, if you look up the word "blight" in the dictionary, a photo of downtown Braddock would accompany its entry. Last time, I referred to this ghost town as "the saddest, most depressed town I've ever visited." This time, however, there was a glimmer of hope of gentrification. Some people frown on this phenomenon, saying it ruins a town's character. In this case, Braddock is in dire need of some kind of facelift. It was nice to see rows of brand new townhouses being constructed just across the street from Brew Gentlemen when we arrived. This is certainly a step in the right direction for this dying town.

But back to beer. We were surprised to find that the tap list had doubled since our last visit, even though it was very heavy on IPAs and Pale Ales. For obvious reasons, a DIPA named Atomic Goat jumped out at me. There was no way I wasn't getting that! I opted for the small 6-ounce pour size since this was an 8+% ABV beer. Like the majority of its hoppy offerings, this was hazy, soft and delicate with a bright aroma and plenty of citrus fruit with minimal bitterness.

Last time, we were wowed by the burritos we got from the food truck, so I had hoped there would be something equally as impressive during this visit. This time, we were greeted by Pittsburgh Tortas. I'd never heard of a "torta" before, but it sounded Mexican. Turns out a torta is a sandwich made with a crusty bread roll. It's almost like a taco but on a roll instead of a traditional corn or flour tortilla. We both decided on the Verde Chicken torta with tomatillo sauce, smashed black beans, melted chihuahua cheese, lime cilantro slaw, pickled onions, and poblano crema with a side of homemade tortilla chips. Yum-tastic!

For my next selection, I went with another 6-ounce pour of a DIPA called Golden Panda. Coincidentally, this one tasted a bit more exotic than Atomic Goat. While goats are clearly the superior animals, Pandas are easily more exotic. I mean, they're from Asia, right? I picked up on some lemony, herbal notes (lemongrass, perhaps) and a hint of sweet Vidalia onion (but not in a bad way, because I loathe onions... at least raw onions). Round it out with a hint of catbox and you get some idea of its complex flavor profile. Since brewing and ingredient specs are tough to find on BG's beers, I would venture to guess that they used Sorachi Ace hops in this beer. Maybe not exclusively, but it would make a loose connection with part of the beer's name (i.e. panda). OK, that's stretching it a bit, because Sorachi Ace hops originated in Japan and panda bears are indigenous to south-central China. Both could be described as Asian, though. Sorry... that's just how my brain works. Long story short, I preferred Atomic Goat a bit more for its simplicity. And the name, of course.

BG is known for its soft, hazy, minimally bitter IPAs, so I wanted to try something that wasn't a hoppy ale. It was basically a toss-up between a Porter and something called Saison du Mon. I went with the latter. Grainy and grassy with hints of lemon and flowering herbs, this clean, bright farmhouse-style ale was slightly dry and refreshing.

Meanwhile, our beer cohorts Deuane and Tristan were on their way back to Central PA from a Reds game in Cincinnati and wanted to meet up for a beer. They couldn't get to Brew Gentlemen in time, so Deuane suggested a new place in nearby Irwin, PA, called Quinn. I'd never heard of this particular brewery before, but we're always game to give a new place a shot.

We pulled into the parking lot about 10 minutes before Deuane and Tristan, so we secured a few seats at the small bar. This didn't pose too much of a problem, as there were only about three patrons when we arrived. Like so many West Coast breweries we've encountered in our travels, Quinn is situated in an industrial park amid a myriad of other disparate businesses. When we arrived and entered the building, the lay of the land reminded me of Race Street Brewery in Clearfield, PA (minus all of the eclectic decor). I was surprised by the roominess of the tasting room, with its decent-sized stage for live entertainment, assortment of seating options (long tables, high tops, bar), and big screen TV.

On to the beer. we scoped out the chalkboard, and nothing really jumped out at me. There was a Pale, DIPA, Black IPA, Red Ale, Brown Ale, Oatmeal Stout, etc. All pretty pedestrian styles. When in doubt, I'll always go with a pale ale, as they're not hard to screw up. Enter DesDemona Pale Ale. It was a fine pale ale; not flawed but not really memorable either. It kind of straddled the line between American and English styles, as it wasn't overly hoppy. This one features tried-and-true Cascade hops as well as the rarely seen Apollo variety, so there was plenty of citrus character, especially grapefruit. Apollo hops tend to be pretty "crunchy" with a hint of cannabis, but this beer didn't have that ganga-like dankness. Still, it was pretty easy drinking and proved to be a safe way to make first contact with this new brewery.

Quinn is tapping up some suds for the folks of Irwin, PA.

Brewslut got the Horsi Stout, which was an intensely roasty version of the style. It was quite dry, and I was surprised it was an oatmeal stout and not an Irish or export stout. I took a sip or two and that was enough for me. To finish up, we decided to share a pour of a DIPA called Lindencross. I wanted the black IPA, but Brewslut vetoed my suggestion. This turned out to be a pretty malty English-style DIPA with a bit of diacytl, unfortunately. She didn't mind it, but I was slow with my sips. Besides, I had to drive three hours home following our visit.

Although we enjoyed plenty of great beer and company over the course of the weekend, this had to be the highlight of the trip for me. Until next time...