Steel Town Beer: Pittsburgh, PA

Pennsylvania Brewing Company sits in a part of town that, as near as I can figure, has probably changed suprisingly little over the past, say, one hundred years or so.  Trying to find your way there it is easy to get lost driving down old cobble-stone street that wind through old brick factory buildings. 

In fact the primary function of this building hasn't changed much.  I've mentioned before the proclivity of micro brewers to take refuge in forgotten buildings that litter urban areas of this country.   Unlike most breweries Pennsylvania Brewing Company is built in the old E and O brewery building. 

Penn Brewing specializes in German style beers and a kind of hybrid German / American slash fiction type food.  All of which is pretty awesome.

They've got a pretty large collection of regular beers along with a couple rotating seasonal offerings and a brewer's choice.  So let's get to the run-down.

Penn Gold:  The beer for those who go to a brewery looking for a Budweiser.  A little more hop flavor and and a tad sweeter, but basically a copy of a typical American pilsner.

Wizen: German-style wheat beer.  Aroma was banana and spice.  The flavor, though, had a lot more of the clove and spice notes than I expected.  There was some tropical fruit and maybe a little nuttiness.
I was traveling with a friend, Jimmy who added this:
"Tastes like Tobbacco.  *drinks again*  No... you know that smell on the fourth of July?"
(Me) "Gunpowder?"
(Jimmy) "Yeah!  It smells like gunpowder."

Penn Pilsner: Very light aroma.  It strikes me as sweeter than an average pils, with just a bit of hops in the back of the pallet.

Kaiser Pils: As a man who treats most pilsner beers with a kind of polite detachment, I have to say, and I can't stress this enough, is an awesome beer.  I'm not just talking  about awesome for a pils, but awesome in general.  It's aroma is warm sweet and herbal.  It's hoppy, but not extremely bitter.  It's got some citrus and herbal hops backed up by just the right amount of malt.  I found myself going back to the aroma again and again.

Allegheny Pale:  No aroma to speak of.  The flavor starts extremely light but becomes very hoppy, very quickly.  I got a lot of pine and medicinal flavors from the hops, but that's pretty much all that come through the palate without any malt to back it up.

Oktoberfest: Obviously the seasonal beer at this time of year.  Very light caramel aroma.  Light malt follows suit on the flavor with just a hint of bitterness in the back. On a side note, it's too late this year, but if you have the chance to visit this brewery during their Oktoberfest celebration, do it.  It's awesome.

Alt er Ego: This beer starts with a sweet fruit aroma of cherry and plum.  Massive malt bill and yeast brings some nice, sweet dark fruit flavors that hit for almost and instant beofre hops kick in.  As I drank I picked up some roasted flavors and some slight sourness that reminded me of honey malt.  This was the brewer's choice beer during my visit and far and away my favorite.

Penn Dark: No aroma to speak of.  Charcoal and roasted grain flavors before a heavy does of bitter, herbal hops.  This one should have been significantly maltier in my opinion.

Black Swan Theory: Part 2

OI try not to visit the same place very often for pretty obvious reasons.   Here's the thing, when a group of co-workers and the boss ask for a good brewery to find food and a pint of celebration, it's best to stick to a place you know.  I was in Indianapolis so it was back to the Black Swan.

So instead of a huge, long post about this little gem on the outskirts of Indianapolis this will be a little update with a couple of the beers that either weren't available or I just didn't get to for some reason.

Cascade Double Pale: Starts off with a sweet, citrus hop aroma.  The flavor is very bitter.  The malt bill is enough to stand up to it for the most part.  I feel like I'm losing some of the subtler flavors underneath the weight of a hop kick to the back of the throat.  Makes me wonder where exactly that line between and IPA and a pale ale lies when it comes to style variations like a double, but overall a very pleasant beer.  It's surprisingly drinkable given the dose of malt and hops.

RubyAle: This is a malty amber ale.  Wonderful sweet, fruity aroma.  I picked up a little cherry and a little apple in there.  Very malty with caramel and cherry notes. Slightly dry on the finish.   Very good, malty session ale.

Very short, like I said, but I'll be back next week reporting from the city of Pittsburgh.  Cheers!

Bottle Beer Tour: A Midwest Sampler.

It is still the down season.  Not a lot of opportunity to get out and sample beer at the brewery, but quite enough time to sit down and pour myself a nice pint from one of the six-packs I collected on my previous travels.
So strap in time to go on a three-state tour of the Midwest:

Burning Skye Scottish Ale, Lincoln NE: Okay, so I picked this up at a local supermarket.  Aroma is light and malty with just the slightest hint of lemon.  Color is a deep copper color and hazy.  Flavor is a very light malt with a medium body.  Hops arrive in the middle kind of unexpectedly.  Not a lot of flavor but leaves a bitter, back of the throat feel.

New Glarus Brewing Co.  Moon Man No Coast Pale Ale, New Glarus, WI:
Intense spicy citrus hop flavor.    It's nice.  The aroma is there but it's not quite the hop bomb it would seem from the aroma alone.    The hops are there, but they add citrus overtones to a light malt bill for a nice, clean refreshing summer pale ale.  Absolutely wonderful beer.

Lucky Bucket Brewing Co. Certified Evil, La Vista, NE:
Kind of a local legend among the Nebraska beer snob crowed.  It has lots of dark fruit and coffee aroma.  Bitter coffee with with sweet chocolate and toffee back.  I taste a little butterscotch in there as well.    It's a big, malty beer but not as complex as some imperial stouts, but a pretty good selection.








Great Lakes Brewery Dortmuder Gold: Cleveland, Ohio
Very light lemony aroma.  Light sweet honey, citrus flavor finishes dry with just a hint of hops in the back.  An awesome light lager.  The flavors are subtle but very nice making this the ultimate summer session ale.