Ot: local beers
- Thread starter SoufOaklin4Life
- Start date
Someone more sophisticated than you or me should start a thread here with instructions...
Got any spares of that DG stout???Couldn’t make it out there today. Fortunately it sounds like they’re going to have several variants throughout the year.
It’s on draft. Go in the next couple of days and it should be on. Expect it to kick Saturday.
When you consider the potential swill that he may have to digest after it scars his trained sophisticated palate in the hick filled craft beer backwater that is Pittsburgh, yes. Beer snobs, they do get insufferable...PBR me asap or I do like an occasional Samuel Jackson if I want to step it up a notch....
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That’s what I was hoping, or reprise an old one .
I’ll think that over with my beard.
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Shu Brew's El Zapata is absolutely freaking amazing. Never had something quite like it. Also, they have some pretty different/cool food on the menu. A great spot.
I forgot the East End Brewing Co beers are great.
We can't get them or atleast find them in Eastern PA so we plan to pick some up when we leave Pittsburgh after the Pirates Cardinals series in late May.
East End Wittte
Wheat Hop Ale
Steel Cut Oatmeal Stout
All like March - June beers.
"save horse ride a cowboy"
Signed: Mrs Buffett
Go CSU Rams & PITT Panthers
We can't get them or atleast find them in Eastern PA so we plan to pick some up when we leave Pittsburgh after the Pirates Cardinals series in late May.
East End Wittte
Wheat Hop Ale
Steel Cut Oatmeal Stout
All like March - June beers.
"save horse ride a cowboy"
Signed: Mrs Buffett
Go CSU Rams & PITT Panthers
Thread made me thirsty. I'm now going to sample Hitchhiker and stop on the way home to get some Crowlers for the game.
This too. Can’t believe I forgot to mention them. Especially since I was there last week. They don’t normally have a big tap list but they make real good beer as well.
Insurrection is making really good beer. They haven’t gotten hype IMO because they have only used a 3bbl system, so they haven’t had supply to put in craft bars or can like others. Even worse they would often run out of options in their own room. But they are working on a production space next door to boost volume and start canning.
Oh yeah and their wings are great too.
If that expanded facility isn’t running yet it has to be close. There was all kinds of equipment in there last week. And I agree on the wings. Their food is generally good. Had some wild boar chili there a while back that was outstanding.
Picked up a 4 pack of Hitchhiker The Barbarian ipa from market district.
It’s okay.
Yeah-
Why aren’t these local breweries available in grocery stores,six pack places, and distributors??
Even nanobrews had cans and bottles readily available.
Pa is weird. Including the weird grocery store volume limits.
Why aren’t these local breweries available in grocery stores,six pack places, and distributors??
Even nanobrews had cans and bottles readily available.
Pa is weird. Including the weird grocery store volume limits.
Canning and bottling lines aren’t cheap and I’m guessing they take up a fair amount of real estate. East End used a mobile canning line last year I believe. More places are starting to do it though thankfully.
When the breweries first started popping up growlers were the only option. Some now have crowlers - that’s a 32 oz can for those who may not know.
There are a number of reasons why the best craft beer isn’t in Giant Eagle 6 pack shops.
The weird centralized draconian PA beer law that existed until the last few years ago is one. The brewers who where able to get distributed were forced to commit production to retailers and limited in innovation by customer expectations.
Voodoo has their beer at GE, and their Hoodoo IPA is IMO kind of outdated. But you can’t change the product and jeopardize that channel. Now if you go to their taproom you can get growlers of far superior beer but they continue to innovate. Not all do.
The brewers that stayed smaller stuck to the in house growler pours so that’s the system craft beer fans expect. Selling in house they can also control quality. That is important because hoppy beers often don’t have the shelf life to go through a distro then retailer and sit for months.
The canning changed things because it allowed for longer freshness and in turn trading, which was better marketing than GE could do. When you have 100 people lined up to pay $20 for 4 beers, why would you sacrifice volume much less the Golden goose of quality to make money for GE?
Don’t disagree at all with the last part. I was speaking more generally about canning as opposed to it being in retail locations.
And you’re spot on about voodoo. I’ve gone there for a few different can releases and they were better than what giant eagle carries. Although I don’t dislike those either. They’re not bad.
Yeah wasn’t disagreeing - the canning is a game changer because of the beanie baby type marketing alone. That was the one aspect for which breweries had been dependent on retailers.
Money. They make a LOT more at the bar than they do in a can.
I’ll see blocks worth of bearded twenty and thirty somethings waiting in the rain for Dancing Gnome cans. I have been told they have a high microbrew trade value.
Bummer
For those of us who don’t wish to travel around to buy beer.
At least a few are close
I had a Frank the Tank Pale Ale at Caliente yesterday. It was a bit severe, very citrusy and hoppy, almost overwhelming for my palate.
I got a couple crowlers of a DIPA called Myrcene which was tasty, a nice double I would drink in the summer (citrus and not overly hoppy for a double). Grabbed a 4 pack of Bane of Existence IPA but have not tried it yet. Grabbed two crowlers of Cultured Creature sour for the wife, one passion fruit and one unfruited. She drank the passion fruit and said it was good, but a bit too sour to drink a lot of it.
Don't remember seeing Barbarian IPA on their list of drafts or cans.
I had one from Voodoo out one night that gave me a similar experience. Can't remember the name, googled but nothing rings a bell.
I've been to every brewery in Allegheny County and most of the others outside AC.
Overall, I think may favorite establishment is Hitchhiker. I could provide a breakdown on all of them.
Best beer that I've tasted is the Vanilla Belgian Quad at Abjuration.
Hitchhiker was only OK with their first few batches in their first year but now I find them to be excellent.
Go to the Pittsburgh Beer Museum website and they have a pretty much all encompassing map of every brewery in Western Pennsylvania. Beer Advocate has become pretty behind the times.
Insurrection is a fairly cool place and I like the couched area to hang out. It's also at a decent neighborhood spot on the main drag in Heidelberg. I've always felt their beers were generally pretty good, but not great.
My beef with them is selection. I've been there about 6-7 times and they've never had more than four of their selections on tap at one time. (Twice they just had 3).
You know your stuff -- thanks for the post.
I'll only add that Hoodoo's Wynonna's Big Brown Ale is a one of my very favorite Browns.
Same thing I said about Insurrection. I’ve never seen that few but I assume (hope anyway) that’s gonna change with the expanded production facility next door.
