THe winter weather has been making it difficult to visit breweries to finish up the quest. Yes I could easily jump on a plane and head to San Diego, Portland, OR or Florida........heck that is too easy. So no more whining, its crunch time. I spent the month of February visiting the breweries close to the home bases. When a snow free day appeared it was easy to jump in the car and visit a few of the local breweries that seem to popping up everywhere. So as always her are a few of my latest most favorite visits.
- FULL PINT Brewery- located on the outskirts of Irwin, my hometown. The brewery is a little difficult to find, just off of US RT. 30. Once you find it, the small tasting room has quite a selection of nice brews to choose from. Make sure you try the Chinookie IPA and the GUS IPA, along with the Perc E Bust Coffee Porter and the Nerd's Revenge Stout. The brewery is growing and they are distributing bottles of their beer in quite a few locations. So be sure to try one of their wide range of style brews. It is great to know that the Beer Revolution has spread to my home town.
- ALL SAINTS Brewery- heading east from Irwin, make sure you stop in Greensburg and visit All Saints Brewery. The building was formerly a bakery outlet, but has now been transformed into a nice sized brewery with a large tasting area. They have a very nice selection of brews. I enjoyed Crimson Halo Red ale, IPA, Iron Horse Stout, St Andrew Scotch Ale and the Iron Horse Irish Stout. THis was a great stop, no bread, but very good beer. Hey...maybe they could start baking some beer bread.
- Helltown Brewery- driving back south towards WV, the small town of Mt. Pleasant, PA has an emerging brewery Helltown. Well I drank with All Saints so I guess it was logical to make a stop and drink with the underworld at Helltown. Thew brewery is located at the end of a small dead end street, so be sure you look for the small sign. The tasting room is small and used for growler fills, however, you can sample the beer, they can not sell you a sample flight. Helltowns focus is more on the distribution of their beer to various locations. They are gearing up a small bottling system, which they hope to grow. Purgatory Imperial IPA was my favorite, I also enjoyed their Hop Frenzy and the Mischievous Brown Ale. THe tasting and growler fill hours are very limited, if you get a chance stop in.
When the weather cleared, I ventured back into Western Pa and visited the Pittsburgh Brewery. Its great to see that the City know for years for its Iron City Beer, has welcomed the Craft Beer Revolution. Penn Brewery and Church Brewery have been around for awhile and probably were the early leaders of the beer revolution. Today you can find many more craft Breweries with more on the way. Here are a few of my favorite ones that I visited:
- Hofbrauhaus- I know this is a chain brewery that serves your standard German beer with little creativity in flavor and styles that you find in other craft breweries. However, this is a great bier hall and it can really be a fun place. Our beer server, Liz, was very friendly ( ok she favors vodka over beer, but she is converting) and made the visit that much more enjoyable. Their seasonal beer Zweifach Gehopfter Hallodri was the hoppiest of their brews. I also enjoyed the traditional Lager, Heffe Weizen and the Schwarzenegger Weisse. Fun place, good food and traditional German Beer.
- Hitchhiker Brewery- located in the South Hills of Pittsburgh ( not far from South Hills Village if
- Spoonwood Brewery- this is the latest addition to the South Hills Craft Brewery Fleet. The Owners put some dollars into this large modern brewpub. The have a very large bar and indoor seating area. The food menu was very nice with a good selection of small plates, salads, sandwiches and pizza.I highly recommend their Rolls Royce pizza. Oh yes the beer menu was just as good. I was avoiding the high ABV brews which looked very interesting. In the Black, Bruna, Killer Diller and Cold Drip City were the four that I enjoyed. This brewery was very impressive and one to enjoy during lunch or dinner or anytime.
- Roundabout Brewery- located in the Lawrenceville section of Pittsburgh, Roundabout is another newer entry into the Burgh's beer revolution. The quaint tasting area was quite crowded on a cold Saturday afternoon. The beer selection was nice with a diverse variety of brews to choose from. Two of my favorites I selected for my sampler flight was the Pumpernickel Porter and the Humboldt Range Double IPA. The Pacific Ring and Heini's Good Cheer were also very enjoyable.
- Hop Farm Brewing- just a mile up the road from Roundabout, you will find Hop farm Brewing. True to their name they are growing and using a lot of their own hops in their beer. This place was packed and we barely squeezed two places at the bar. Before I get to the beer they have a nice variety of sausage sandwiches, so go hungry and thirsty. Hopfarm also has a nice selection of beer, the IPA and Fresh Pot of Porter were my two favorites. The Cupid Chocolate Cherry Stout was interesting and it looked like they were brewing some interesting brews for future releases.
- Draai Laang Brewery- crossing the Allegheny River, please use the bridge, do not swim, you will find this brewery just north of the Penn Brewery in the small town of Millvale. Draai Laang has brought Belgium to the Burgh and if you like Belgian Ales of sours this is your place. Just a word of caution, most of their brews are high ABV, if you are not careful you may try swimming the Allegheny. THe Goedenacht, Geestelijke and the Ragnarok were my favorite samples during this visit.
- Grist House Brewing- it is hard to believe that Millvale has two breweries. Just around the corner you will find the Grist House. This place was packed during our Saturday afternoon visit and it didn't take long to see why........they are brewing some very good beer. My favorites on the sampler where the Double Vice Coffee Porter, the Black Rye Double IPA and the Camp Slap Red. So if yinz are in the City be sure to head over to the North sure to visit Millvale's contribution to the Craft Beer Revolution.