Pittsburgh Pubs

East End Brewery beer in London

2011-12-18T16:28:00.000-08:00

When I was in London at the beginning of December of this year, I made it a point to have a pint of beer from the East End Brewery in Pittsburgh, Pa. The oddity of this is the fact that I am from Pittsburgh and drink the beers often, as the beers coming from Scott Smith's kettles are wonderful. So why would I travel to London at considerable cost to drink a beer I get down the street? Because it was there!

When I first started my travels to the land of fish and chips and pork pies I was not yet a beer drinker. Good thing too as there was not a lot of what we would call craft beer back in the 1970’s. As I got my training in good beer at Chiodo’s Tavern in Homestead I discovered that there was more than one beer style. Unfortunately nobody told London. I was drinking porter in Pittsburgh but no bartender in London ever heard of such a drink. “Do you have any porter?” “No, he went home early today”.

Finding good beer in London is pretty easy now. The Brits are finding that they can make interesting beers and so many are finding their way to London. European beers are as popular in the UK as they are here. American beers have been firmly planted on British soil and Sierra Nevada, Rough, Victory, Southern Tier and Duck Rabbit are as easy to come by as Young’s and Fullers.

Thanks to a rotating distribution system Scott was able to send 30 combined kegs of Black Strap Stout and Big Hop IPA to England and Europe. Two pubs in London had them on and the reviews that came back were positive. A long time buddy from London had a Black Strap and found it eye opening. One chap on twitter sent Scott a tweet with the word “blimey” in his review of the IPA. When a review incorporates the word blimey in it you have arrived. To stand next to a tap in a London pub sporting a beer from Pittsburgh is one that I am happy to stand next to. I support Pittsburgh brewers and will do so 4000 miles from home.

Photos are of the Craft Beer Company on Leather Lane, Clerkenwell EC1

Blue Barrels

2011-12-13T12:39:00.000-08:00

The question was asked recently as to why the name barrel is abbreviated as bbl. There have been a few answers and I found a few more in the Internet as well. Some are almost right but a bit off the mark and some are just pure bunk.

It is widely believed that the abbreviation of barrel is bl and the bbl for blue barrels. Both of these are bunk. Yes, there were blue barrels but at the same time there were red barrels. Barrels (also known as casks) have been around for centuries and not until recently have they been standardized. Beer and wine barrels were standardized for a number of reasons. First and foremost that coopers (barrel makers) need a way to mass produce them. Although made by hand they cut staves to a uniform length so that the barrels would hold the same quantity of material. Beer barrels were made different that ale barrels so one produce could be distinguished from the other. This is where the blue barrels debut. It was not until western Pennsylvania became the oil capital of the world that color came to be applied. As the country was involved with a civil war, the northern government needed a way to tax oil to fund the war. It took some doing and industry basically came up with the standard size of 42 gallons. Thi sisze was in use during the 1700’s. Bunk 1: Standard Oil did not standardize the barrel, the industry as a whole did. Bunk 2: The barrel was not open topped and companies would not pay for spillage. Only an idiot would ship a valuable commodity this way. Bunk 3: A 42 gallon barrel was not used to guarantee anything to a buyer. It is just what the oil producers came to agree on.

Why was the barrel painted blue? Because it was not red. When the oil was refined there were a number of products derived. One was gasoline that nobody wanted. What did you need it for? It was also dangerous. The most important commodity derived from oil in the 1800’s was kerosene. This was the money maker for oil companies. As barrels were pretty much the same size (unlike beer and ale) another way was need to tell one from the other. Hence, kerosene was in blue painted barrels and gas was in red painted barrels. Even though kerosene was the more important product all barrels were still abbreviated bbl and not rbl. As shown in the link below, the abbreviation was used before the birth of “big oil” in 1859. Any further investigation will have to involve Ben Franklin.

See: http://sites.google.com/site/petroleumhistoryresources/Home/42-gallon-oil-barrel This story also tells of the birth of the Heisman Trophy.

South Side, Pittsburgh NID 1

2011-12-07T12:32:00.000-08:00

Transparency and Disclosure

I have many issues with the SS NID and what they are attempting to market. They are supposed to be business owners so one would think they know how to sell. Yes, that was a purposeful dig by me. Their website is nice and green with warm and fuzzy fluff nut no real business plan. If they wish to sell me they need to answer some questions.

What do you want to do?

You want to clean sidewalks that owners are required to keep clean (by law) yet they refuse so you want my money to pay somebody else to clean it for them. Is that right? Many owners do clean their sidewalks. If you don’t like dirty walks then complain to the owners. If you take money to pay people to clean sidewalks, will everyone who pays have their walks cleaned? Will some not be? Will you keep an eye on my property at 2 AM when drunks are breaking mirrors and up-rooting plants? Who decides this?

What area does the NID propose to incorporate?

Before you can have a Neighborhood Improvement District you need to where it is. Do you have a map or descriptive outline of its boundaries? Will all properties within the area have to pay? Will all owners within the area get clean sidewalks and security? Will people outside the area have anything to say about this?

None of this is debatable. Tell me your plan and the area it encompasses. Put it on your website and facebook page and make it clear. If you want to get off to a good start (with me) do not call me a stakeholder. I am a citizen

Pa Clubs and Nudity

2011-09-29T19:29:00.000-07:00

I received comments concerning my webpage, Pennsylvania Drinking Laws, from a reader who brought to my attention an error on my part with respect to nudity in licensed establishments. I was aware that establishments in Pennsylvania that have a liquor license were prohibited from having nudity within the place. What I was unaware of that this prohibition has been rescinded.

The US 3^rd Circuit Court of Appeals struck down (in 2006) Pennsylvania’s law on lewd behavior in licensed establishments. It did uphold New Jersey’s law on lewdness. The rulings were based on interpretations on the First Amendment of the US Constitution. In Pennsylvania, clubs (not bars) can permit nude dancing. As a club, they are private and everyone entering must be a member (40 Pa Code 5.72). Bars are open to the public. Clubs may allow dancing whereas bars have restrictions disallowing entertainment such as dancing. These are two clauses that distinguish a club from a bar.

So, in as much as a club can serve alcohol and have nude dancing, don’t look for an influx of booze and babes clubs to open soon. There are several reasons it is to a clubs advantage to not have a liquor license. Having another government bureaucracy control their activity seems like a good reason not to have a license.

In doing a bit more research on this I stumbled on Title 17 of the Pennsylvania Code. Apparently the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has something to say about booze and babes. Somehow my mind is working with the combination of nude dancing and natural resources, but let’s not take this further.

Section 23.12 prohibits possession and consumption of alcohol on state forest picnic areas. Disorderly conduct, indecent exposure, and obscene or lewd acts or dress is prohibited in section 23.24.

I will be updating my page (http://pubnetwork.com/pennsylvaniadrinkinglaws.html) soon but I wanted to get this posted to address my reader’s comments. He also gave me some other feedback that I am reviewing for my update. I always enjoy positive feedback as it helps get the information corrected.

Smoking Bars

2011-08-27T08:47:00.000-07:00

In Pennsylvania, a bar can be open on Sunday if they have a Sunday license issued by the LCB. To get one the bar has to have food and non-alcohol drink sales of 30% (was 40%). The state Department of Health says that if the bar wants an exemption to permit smoking, the food and non-alcohol drink sales cannot exceed 20%. They also have to show the State Health people their records. This tells me that smoking bars cannot be open on Sunday. Do I have it wrong? Anybody?

I see some bars open on Sunday with smoking permitted. I have to think that they are ignoring the law. And who can blame them? I was once told that some bars do this until they get caught. They just pay the fine and keep doing it/ So much for government protecting us.

The real law are the patrons. It is their choice to enter a smoking bar and the state seems limp in enforcement. A law with no teeth is no law. I am posting a new page on www.pubnetwork.com on Pa Drinking Law and getting my information together. As for smoking bars and the law, I am just trying to see thru the smoke.

Cows on Carson Street

2011-08-25T06:07:00.000-07:00

I have seen cows on Carson St. in the South Side for many years but I thought that they were just passing through. Little did I realize that they settled down and started to breed. They seem to be everywhere now and much like the beer stains on my shirts, they are here to stay.

I saw my first one late one evening in the 80's when I came home form an outing. I saw a female sitting on my steps. I though she just had too much to drink and wanted to rest. Being kind to animals then I was going to leave her stay. As the number of bars on Carson was fewer than today there were few cattle running about. But as I got closer I noticed that she had her pants to her ankles. She was all set to do a No.2 pie drop on my steps. Well, you should have seen what it took to get her to move. Yet she fought with me like I was being mean. Why are cattle prods illegal I ask?

Today they have taken over the South Side like teenage boys at a wet tee-shit contest. Most of the cattle seem to know to stick to the pathways but crossing streets seems to mystify them. They will get to a corner and look at the colored light on the other side and go into a trance. They will walk towards the lights slowly and without preference to the lights being red, amber or green. I think they are drawn to the red lights more. An effective method of making them move faster is to point the front of your car towards then and give it a go. That seems to take them out of their trance.

And it is not just crossing from one path to another. Very often they stop and gather in the middle of the street or crosswalk to collectively chew their cud. Pigeons do this as well but seem to know that cars are coming for them. Maybe the cows like the middle of the street because it reminds them of open pasture? As they don’t start moving about until mid-day they stay up late at night, which seems to be the preferred time for personal tasks. Many of them seek the farmer’s house to let free the day’s liquid intake. Never mind that they have barns of their own for this. Male and female cattle have been observed doing this. The females seem at ease with the outdoors, as they will, without hesitation, perform hygienic maintenance activity. Watching them in groups can be most disturbing. I think the sociology people at the nearby universities should look in this. Better still, video bloggers.

Some cattle actually know how to operate cars. Not well, but who can when ones tail is pushed up ones butt? Should they ever be required to have a license like the rest of humanity they could be instructed on proper parking, turning when permitted and the meaning of colored lights hanging down in front of them. I wonder what Darwin would have written had the H.M.S. Beagle landed on the South Side boat launch?

Tripped Advisor

2011-08-21T04:16:00.001-07:00

The Pittsburgh Post Gazette published this Trip Advisor entry on Sunday, August 21, 2011. In a response to a refused cab ride from Manhattan to LaGuardia, Lesley Carlin made reference to LaGuardia's location. She wrote: …but because LaGuardia's in Queens...

God did this gyrate me. I’m not too smart and I have the records to prove it. But if one were writing professionally I would expect proper sentence construction. Used in the above manner, an apostrophize shows ownership. Example 1: Ed’s beer is pale ale. Example 2: Did you find it in paragraph 1? What should have been written was that LaGuardia is in Queens. I don’t think this was a typo and maybe just a tad lazy. Maybe I am being overly picky but I was at the store yesterday when I listened to a husband ask his wife “is you got the money?” I may need several pale ales to settle down after all of this.

Clean Jugs

2011-08-19T11:24:00.000-07:00

Scott Smith of East End Brewery posted a note on his website (http://eastendbrewing.com/node/946) about cleaning out growlers. If I read between the lines I see that some people who buy growlers from him are bringing them back in a not too clean condition. May I shake my finger at them? One should always clean out a growler when the last drop of beer comes out.

First, you need to keep the growler clean so the nest beer does not become infected. Why spend good money on good beer to have it go bad? As any good bartender will tell you, there is a correct way to clean a glass for beer. Never use detergent and never wipe the glass with a towel. Hot water rinse a few times and let air-dry. But I think Scott tells you that.

Second, do not abuse Scott’s kindness. He is kind enough to clean your growler for you before he refills it. This also costs him water and labor. Not too much of a big deal but one that we should be doing ourselves. If he has to clean the growler for the guy in front of you then you will be delayed. It is also easier to clean a growler when just emptied than days later.

Please and thank you to Scott and his staff when doing refills are always in order and one way to say thanks for good beer is to bring back a clean one.

No Big Pour for Ed

2011-08-04T05:13:00.000-07:00

Tickets for the Pittsburgh Big Pour have gone on sale and I for one do not plan on going. I went to the first one and thought it was set-up wonderfully. They intermixed the beer vendors with the food vendors so that there were no clumps of drinkers blocking anyone out. The second Big Pour was packed and not too much fun for me. Over the years I have gone to several events and left after a short time. They are getting to be no fun for me. For the most part my liver has processed about every beer one expects to see at a beer festival. Seldom do I see a beer that turns my head away from some guy’s girlfriend. So, from the beer aspect, what’s the point of going?

Then there is the price. Ticket prices have gone up and when you factor in that you may have to buy them from a service the cost goes up more. As for the BP I am just not going to pay $65, nor the $140 (no early admit) for this years special. Anymore, due to popularity, it is a chore to park and wait in long lines to get in and a pain in the butt to get to a brewer. (Did anyone catch that sad attempt for humor?) And sometime the table does not even have the brewer. For me it is: “what am I getting for my money”? Can a vendor bring something that is soon to be released? How about a Beer Festival Only brew? Can we have some seminars?

This is not just the BP. I have walked out of the Penn Fest and my last one on Long Island. The only ones I would consider are invites only (never happens) or small intimate events.

For $65 I can spend a weekend at my local and get pretty well put away. I can use this opportunity to create my own festival. I can drink beers that I normally do not drink and eat food that I also do not normally eat. Parking is not a problem as I can walk to my local. Long lines are nonexistent and I can sit by myself, which seem to occur more often than not now that I think of it. (?) Anyway, not to diminish beer festivals for the younger lads but for me I am getting older and cranky and can honestly say been there, done that.

Travel Writers & Bloggers

2011-07-31T06:31:00.000-07:00

Just a note to all you other travel writers and bloggers out there. I have a small bone to pick with you guys. In as much as the Internet is replete with false information I have also noted that there is an abundance of misleading and omitted information. My day job, which pays my bar tab, requires me to keep accurate information. A key factor in this is the date stamp on all files, documents and printed matter. The month-day-year (or day-month-year to the Brits) is essential and always foremost in my daily routine. I see many websites that lack dates and the most disturbing omission is always the missing year. When I find information on trade shows, conferences or events, the lack of a full date confuses me (easily done) and I don't know if the event is past or up-coming. So please, all you writers out there, please ad a full date when posting something that has an expiration date.

First Growler at Fat Heads

2011-07-26T08:34:00.000-07:00

I was going through some of my writing that I did as editor of the TRASH Can, for the Three Rivers Alliance of Serious Home Brewers. I found this article from June 2001 and thought it would be interesting as growlers have been around Pittsburgh for 10 years now. Has it been that long Glenn?

Headline: All Smiles at Fat Heads

A while back Fat Heads South Shore Saloon on the South Side shut down for a remodel. They have been reopened now for several weeks with an expanded beer list. Going from 20 to just-under 40 taps put a broad smile on my face. They have always been noted for serving good US microbrews and this has not changed but they now expanded the English, German and Belgium offerings. But this is not why I write.

For the first time in Pittsburgh a tavern is selling growlers. Talk about one for the road. Yes, our local brew-pubs have been doing this for a number of years but Fat Heads is the first bar that I know of that is selling draft beer to go. If you think another pubs has or is doing this too please let me know.

It has always been legal for bars to sell draft take-a-way; this is how growlers got their start. The price of the beer is the same as on draft plus the $5 cost of the growler. They bottles hold 48 oz. of beer and the cost usually works out to the price of three 16 oz. pints. The specialty beers have an adjusted price but just remember you are paying for 48 ounces of beer. They will refill the jug if you bring it back for the cost of the beer.

Even if you have just one or two favorites on tap the new happy hour should start you smiling. From 4 to 6 all drafts are half off and not just at the bar. Either in the dining rooms or the new patio everybody can be happy at happy hour. Myself I’m pretty happy at the bar just to have a chat with Amy.

The above story was first published in June 2001 so the growler prices and happy hour ar edifferent at Fat Heads now.

Ed's Beer of the Month: Old Ale

2011-07-04T10:41:00.000-07:00

It was announced that East End Brewery in Pittsburgh is to bottle Old Ale. Just want is old ale and why should you drink it? Well, if contemporary drinking habits are followed it should be well received in the local bars. Old ale is an English beer term denoting a strong ale that was set aside to mature and mellow. Strong English ale is purposely made to a higher gravity with the intention to be served after a short maturation time. Maturation is the ageing of beer under controlled conditions. This allows the beer to develop various characteristics and qualities that people find more desirable over ordinary strong ale. Some strong ale may exhibit a bite from imbalance of alcohol. Old ale has been allowed to mellow out, much like the young warrior transforms to a wise old man, albeit wobbly knees and back pain. One of the reasons the beer is allowed to change condition is so it can be blended with other pale or brown ales. When set aside for this reason the beer is referred to as a stock-ale. Incidentally, when different beers are combined by a brewer or bottler it is called blending. When done during serving it is mixing.

Old ale does not have to have a high OG, although what the Brits think is high as to what we have on tap these days can open some eyes. Many English Old ales have less alcohol than the BJCP guidelines list. These ales fit in between strong ales and barley wines but the evidence of a lot of alcohol need not be overwhelming. Theakston’s Old Peculier (4.5 abw/5.6 abv) has an exciting taste yet is so mellow that is almost seems like a dark mild. Yes, the 5.6% is a bit much by UK standards but I always have a pint at The Swan in Cosmo Place, London WC1.

When strong ale is matured for a longer vatting time, preferably in oak, it is said to have gone stale. This is not a bad word. It simply means that it has been allowed to “stand” for a while. The word stale is a very old English word meaning, stand as in a stable where a horse would stand to rest. Old Ale should have expressive notes of fruit, hops and malt and should be bittersweet. To be true to style is should mature in oak for more than a year. Sadly I don’t think many American brewers are doing this. Roger Protz called one of his favorites port wine with hops (Protz, Taste of Beer, 92). Overall, the beer will be mahogany to dark ruby. Fruit should be expressed on the palate as well as a dryish hop bitterness. North Coast Brewery reflects Protz’s assertion of the port wine comparison. See what the BJCP has to say about Old Ale. This is what CAMRA has to say about Old Ale.

Other than Old Peculier (correct spelling by the way) good examples are:

Bell’s Third Coast Old Ale US 10.2% abv 1.098OG

Full Sail Wassail US 7% abv

North Coast Old Stock Ale US 12.5% abv

Robinson’s Old Tom (labeled as Strong Ale) UK

Ringwood Old Thumper UK 5.6%abv

Young’s Old Nick UK 6.8% abv

Weyerbacher Black Hole US 7.0% abv

Parking on the South Side

2011-07-03T11:33:00.000-07:00

Tell me what's wrong with this picture.

And it's not the picture that's wrong.

Growlers in a car

2011-06-27T13:21:00.000-07:00

Growlers have been around for a very long time in one form or another. In recent years they have gained a new popularity with the coming of brewpubs and bars that offer draft beer to go. A little tweet caught my eye on having growlers in one’s car between pub and home. As the Federal Government has resorted to a form of extortion in mandating the states to impose added restrictions on how you operate your car I felt comments on this were in order. The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (known as TEA-21) was enacted June 9, 1998 by congress. Although it is no longer in effect its damage continues. One aspect of this was the mandating to prohibit open containers of alcohol in vehicles. In a nut brown shell, it basically states:

Prohibit both possession of any open alcoholic beverage container and consumption of any alcoholic beverage.

Cover the passenger area of any motor vehicle, including unlocked glove compartments and any other areas of the vehicle that are readily accessible to the driver or passengers while in their seats.

Apply to all open alcoholic beverage containers and all alcoholic beverages, including beer, wine, and spirits that contain one-half of one percent or more of alcohol by volume.

Apply to all vehicle occupants except for passengers of vehicles designed, maintained or used primarily for the transportation of people for compensation (such as buses, taxi cabs, and limousines) or the living quarters of motor homes.

Apply to all vehicles on a public highway or the right-of-way (i.e. on the shoulder) of a public highway.

Require primary enforcement of the law, rather than requiring probable cause that another violation had been committed before allowing enforcement of the open container law.

So the question at hand is a growler an open container? I don’t know if this was specifically determined in court but it could be a matter of interpretation between you and the police officer writing you a ticket. In the true sense, an open container has no cap, lid, seal or anything else that would prevent the contents from coming out. No, fixing your mouth to a growler is not sealing it. Also in the true sense, a sealed container is one that was sealed after filling by the manufacturer and as such the seal needs to be broken to open. Twist-off caps usually indicate if it was twisted off. In the case of growlers it cannot be determined if the cap was ever removed other that seeing that the bottle is still full. Still, there is a legal point that can be made that a person has access to the contents more readily in a growler than if it were in a can or regular beer bottle. The fact that a growler can be opened in a car may be legal enough to receive a citation. Actually, the last sentence in this writing does restrict alcohol from a passenger compartment.

Four Sons brewpub in Western Pennsylvania used to sell growlers when they were in business. They applied the letter of the law when selling growlers. They would apply heat-shrink tape to the cap and neck to show that the container was “factory sealed” at the point of sale. This established a president of sorts, as local cops would have known that this was done. Had you been stopped and not had a “sealed” bottle they could argue that you had an open container. Now, I’m no lawyer and maybe I drink too much but I would not take the chance in having one in the passenger compartment of my car. If you are sober and have a short ride home is one thing. Having a few big brews and then taking some more home may be risk.

The actual prohibition to having any alcohol in the passenger compartment of a car comes from the Commonwealth.

http://www.dmv.state.pa.us/pdotforms/vehicle_code/chapter38.pdf

Page 16 of 29 states:

§ 3809. Restriction on alcoholic beverages.

(a) General rule.--Except as set forth in subsection (b), an

individual who is an operator or an occupant in a motor vehicle

may not be in possession of an open alcoholic beverage container

or consume a controlled substance as defined in the act of April

14, 1972 (P.L.233, No.64), known as The Controlled Substance,

Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act, or an alcoholic beverage in a

motor vehicle while the motor vehicle is located on a highway in

this Commonwealth.

Alcohol Free Navy

2011-06-19T15:29:00.000-07:00

The Navy should not drink any form of alcohol. They have a stealth boat that inspired the ship used in the 1997 James Bond film, "Tomorrow Never Dies." The Navy is trying to GIVE AWAY the Sea Shadow to anyone that will put it on PUBLIC DISPLAY. But nobody has shown any viable interest so the Navy will cut it up for scrap. Let’s have a recap here boys and girls. The Navy (ours) has a secret ship that it wants to give away so the public can see it. The ship will no longer be secret (like, starting now?) and viewable to every man, woman and child in the world.

So, where is this boat now? Norfolk? Basement of the Pentagon? Dr. No’s garage? No, The Sea Shadow now berths inside the rusting hulk of the Hughes Mining Barge, a fully submersible dry dock at the Navy's Mole Pier in San Diego, California. (Was that a secret?) The ship, as well as the dry dock, are kept out of sight of spy satellites and from public view. Oh yes, the dock is for the taking, too. So, just one more re-cap. The Navy is trying to give away two rusting ships in the hope that they can be put on public display but for the time being they are top secret.

Is it fathomable (yes, pun time) to think that it is time that AA has a group session with the top brass?

Parking Rates a Complaint

2011-06-06T17:56:00.000-07:00

In no surprise to anyone, the Republican controlled Parking Authority and Republican controlled City Council jacked up parking rates in Pittsburgh. Remember, the Democrats are for the working man. In an added bonus for rate-payers, certain people who have the power to put this in affect get a discount on their parking downtown. They should as they do so much to us.

In a show of force just to let us know who is in control, the parking people were out in force after the rate hike writing tickets at a feverish pace. Allegheny County Emergency Services reported that many of the ticket writers had to be rushed to area hospitals for writer’s cramp. No doubt we will get the bill for that.

So, should we bitch about this? No! Politicians have a deep desire to take money from people who actually earn it. The purpose for meters is not to remove money from your pocket but to control traffic and PROMOTE shopping. Rates need to be set to allow for doing business but not to give shoppers reason to stay home. It is also to prevent all day parking for people NOT shopping. Do politicians need to listen to our bitch? No! As long as we bend over and pay it they are happy. As long as the parking money is coming in as well as the tax paid by the merchants, the lords of the manor are content. Is there a solution? You betcha! But I don’t think anybody wants to hear it due to its painful side affects.

And what affect will the new tax and enforcement have? I say none. We got a smoking ban and people said bars would suffer yet I can’t get a seat. The drink tax was going to make people stay home but I can’t find a place to park. Much like the drink tax is yesterday’s news we will move on to another bitch soon enough. Hey, football is right around the corner.

I do have one complaint for the Parking Authority; FIX THE METERS! If I am going to pay can I at least see through the frosted window?

South Side Bars Update

2011-05-15T12:16:00.000-07:00

Update the Pubnetwork South Side bars since my last web version update.

City Grill

2019 E Carson St (river side)

Closed and said to become a new bar called the Blue Coconut.

Claddagh Irish Pub<>

407 Cinema Dr (North off Carson Street at S. 27th) South Side Works

Next to the cinema and sort of behind the Cheesecake Factory

Phone 412 381 4800, Web: www.claddaghirishpubs.com

Problems seem to have been cleaned-up so stop in for a real Dublin Guinness.

District 3

2009 E Carson St (river side) between S 20^th & S 21^st Streets

Phone 412 ??? ????

http://www.facebook.com/DistrictThree?sk=info

Open for business.

Fat Heads South Shore Saloon<>

1805 E Carson St (river side) just east of South 18th St

Phone 412 431 7433, Web: http://www.fatheads.com/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fat-Heads-Saloon/60242346101?sk=info

http://twitter.com/#!/fatheadspgh

Glenn has been serving Arsenal House Cider (fro the other side of town) for a short while and he is now serving Rough Spirits (from Oregon).

Le Brew House

2512 E Carson St (hill side)

Phone: 412-488-2223 Fax: 412-488-2232

http://www.lebrewhouse.com/index.html

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Le-Brew-House/163689137016727?sk=info

http://twitter.com/#!/LeBrewHouse

Beer signs illuminated in the windows, tables and chairs out front and an open door indicates service is on.

Le Pommier Bistro Francais

2104 E Carson St (hill side)

The plywood window treatment indicates they may never reopen unless new owners take over. They have been closed for a long time, due to a fire, and should have been cleaned-up by now.

Piper’s Pub<>

1828 E Carson St (hill side) between South 18th & South 19th Streets

Phone 412 381 3977, Web www.piperspub.com

http://www.facebook.com/piperspub?sk=info

http://twitter.com/#!/piperspub

The three beer engines have been removed (RIP) and replaced with 4 new ones. Talk coming down the bar stools has it that there could be a cask ale festival this coming fall. Let us pray. Drew is no longer serving cask ale from the UK due to the warmer summer months coming thru but he continues to serve fine ales from Pennsylvania’s local brewers.

Smokin’ Joe’s

2001 East Carson St (river side) at South 20th St

Phone 412 431 6757,

http://www.facebook.com/smokinjoessaloon?sk=wall&filter=1

http://www.smokinjoessaloon.com/

http://twitter.com/#!/smokin_joes

I have not been able to get down for a first-hand check but it looks like they put out the butts and have gone smoke-free despite having a smoking exemption from the state. They do good food and good beer and that is good news. If you are concerned about the smoke please call first.

T & T Hardware

E Carson Street (hill side)

Long established hardware store closed and set to be transformed to a beer distributor “like you’ve never seen”. So says the sigh in the window. Not much one can do with a distributor so this could be interesting.

Flag on the Play

2011-05-05T17:21:00.000-07:00

I have to say that the new media in this country is getting on my nerves. They generally leave out a lot of information in stories these days and sometimes write inflammatory headlines. The one today about Hines Ward being pulled out of a stolen car at gunpoint and handcuffed is one of them. What made it worst was the fact it was done by the local news chirps. Reading only the headline, one would think he did something to warrant this. After reading the story, it turns out that he is absent of any wrongdoing nor was any action on his part suspect. He wore a golden halo.

It turns out the driver reported it stolen, forgot where it was, found it and never told the police it was never missing. The police did what they did as a manner of procedure. Everyone was professional at all times, the story states. So, what should the headline have read? Hines Ward in car with idiot! Hines Ward shows off the best of Pittsburgh! He ain’t Ben! The fact that the facts in this story were true, they should not have been the headline. They were only to sensationalize the story and cause Iron City drinkers to choke of their suds. It was clear that Mr. Ward brought out the best of being a Pittsburgher. Too bad the news people can’t follow along.

NRA Off Target

2011-05-01T08:58:00.000-07:00

To paraphrase one of our past presidents: My fellow Americas, get a life. LBJ often spoke the beginning of that phrase. I added part two after hearing the attack on one of Pittsburgh’s institutions: Primanti’s. It seems that the NRA thinks Primanti’s has a political point-of-view not in line with theirs. The NRA wants to boycott Primanti’s, which I think is off target. I think they need to get their sights adjusted and see the real America, the one that accepts everybody no matter side of the menu one may be looking to order from.

To their credit, the Democrats did not condemn the real food maker after Glenn Beck (they hate him but he had harsh words for W, so go figure?) bought 400 sandwiches at the Strip District location for his show in Pittsburgh. Nor did the Republicans launch a boycott after Hillary paid a visit: undoubtedly looking to do take-out for Bill.

It was noted in the Post Gazette that one NRA member will no longer go to Primanti’s. May I ask: does one ask for political connections before going to any restaurant, barber, banker, grocer, butcher or candlestick maker? I don’t know if the NRA has an official policy on this and I don’t care. But guys; get a grip. The very place you are holding your convention was build by anti-gun democrats in a town run by democrats who you are giving your money too. Yet you want to boycott a company whose only interest is in making sandwiches. Get real. Heaven forbid you find a registered Democrat in your group. Primanti Brothers welcomes all who walk thru the doors and the NRA should welcome all Americans. It’s the American way.

Keep it Corked

2011-04-24T13:19:00.000-07:00

Pittsburgh City Councilman Doug Shields has launched an attack on massage parlors in the city. They are not only illegal they are not good for the well being of a community. About the same time Mr. Shields started rubbing the parlors the wrong way, an interesting article appeared in the Post. Apparently Papa J’s restaurant in downtown Pittsburgh has adverts on their coasters that is catching more than overflowing beer. The coasters have pictures of women that encourage finger exercising. You need to read the story yourself.

From what the Post writes, it would appear that these ads are demeaning to women. It is one thing to look at a women tastefully posing in a magazine but something else all together to have holes in strategic location to insert ones fingers, followed by instructions. Not a good move on Pap’s part. The coasters may be placed on the bar and not on tables but they are a restaurant none the less and children could come to see them. What does dad say when little Jane sees the mats? For that matter, should female wait staff have to deal with comments made by customers?

Papa J’s is a good place and maker of the best white pizza around. They stopped the ad campaign, which was the smart thing to do. Bars and restaurants should be a place for enjoyment by all and not a place to cultivate lewd or offensive behavior. The coasters could just get things fermenting. It is sad that some people may think this is “sour grapes” but some things just need to remain corked.

Beaver Brewing at OTB

2011-04-20T16:54:00.000-07:00

Dan Woodske of Beaver Brewing had a Pittsburgh release of their brews yesterday at the OTB Bicycle Bar on E Carson St. On tap and in growlers were the three regulars: I Porter Ale, Camoline, and Basil. Also in growler form but in limited quantity was the excellent Kvass.

I Porter Ale is a bit of a porter with hop character found in an IPA.

Basil is an amber ale made with basil grown by Dan.

Chamomile Wheat made with Chamomile Flowers, Fuggle and Hallertau Hops. Not your typical wheat beer but very pleasant.

None of the beers are over 6% so one can have more than one should you desire a personal beer tasting.

Kvass should get Lew Bryson to town as it is well within the “session ale” range; coming in between 1% to 2% ABV. Yes, that’s right; a drinkable beer that is not 17.76% ABV. This original Russian style beer is made with baked bread, water, lemon peel and raisins with just a dash of barley and hops, too.

One thing that I noticed was the people at the bar and in the back. They were all young (over 21, of course). You could feel the exuberance as they all were drinking what we call craft beer nowadays. Between the bar crowd and the OTC Beer Club the focus was on the beer. This was not a drink fest but a bunch of young lads and lassies enjoying well-made beers. I was told that the number of club members in that evening was unexpectedly high. Probably a result in looking to see what the new kid on the block was brewing. Judging by the turnout and reception the beers received I tooks like Dan will be busy as a … No, I just can’t say it.

Beaver http://www.beaverbrewingcompany.com/

Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/beaverbrewing

Facebook ?

OTC Facebook http://www.facebook.com/otbbicyclecafe?v=wall

Web http://www.otbbicyclecafe.com/

Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/otbbicyclecafe

Bad Press

2011-04-17T05:31:00.000-07:00

Most Sundays the hard copy Pittsburgh Post Gazette is thin. Not much going on in the world so no need to print a fat paper. But today's was thick and heavy. After getting to breakfast and opening it I found (as I often do) that half of it was missing. This is partially the fault of the Post as they make underpaid out-sourced workers assemble it at point of sale. What made today's different? It had 11 sets of the PG Store inserted whereas it should have had only ONE. It this the Post's way of ridding itself of unwanted paper? Oh the trees that gave their lives for sports.

The fact that the Post does a better job of reporting on beer news (thanks to Bob Batz) and has more local news, I would switch over to the Trib. But they do not print Dilbert. I will stay with the Post but look for another place to buy it. How could I change papers? I would miss how the Post crinkles the paper in production at no extra cost to me.

Brik Room

2011-04-16T07:08:00.000-07:00

Mantini’s changed its name to the Brik Room and has reopened as of Friday, 15 April 2011 after a rebuild. Here is the link to their website, The Brik Room. Their Facebook page has been updated but it still goes by the old name of Mantini’s.

I find it interesting that the crab cake apitizer went up from $7 to $10, yet the crab cake sandwich is also $10. The crab cake diner has two cakes for $19.

I was too tipsy yesterday to stop in but plan to soon. No telling if the old bar staff has been retained or replaced. Harry on Saturday was a good bartender. I hope they kept him as he seemed a good fit there.

South Side Living

2011-04-16T06:38:00.000-07:00

Just two reasons why South Side is a great place to live. Toys to play with at night and so many places to drop off your empty bottles.

Patio 10

2011-04-04T14:42:00.001-07:00

I checked out Patio 10 one Saturday afternoon just before 6 so I can legally say I was there in the evening. What a pleasant time I had. With Guinness in hand I was talking to the bar manager Rae, a young lady who obviously has a grasp on customer service. One could have a nice talk in this place, as it is not ear-bleeding noisy as some other places. The décor was easy on the eyes too. I liked the space age lamps hanging over the bar that reminded me of George Jetson’s home.

Parking can be tough anywhere on the South Side and here is no exception. You can pull in off 10^th Street and enter the hotel parking lot before 3 pm; just say your going to Patio 10. After 3 for is hotel guests only but you can leave any time. Parking is available at the Riverset Credit Union lot one block away at Bingham, on the left. Only after they close please; after 4:30 weekdays but 6 on Thursdays.

On a subsequent visit I had a crab cake sandwich and potato soup. The food was good and service was quick. The other bartender was nice to talk with and judging by the others at the bar nobody was leaving anytime soon. Ok, so this isn’t a review that you would read by a real food writer but head on down and give the place a try. They are tied to Nakama.

Email: patio10pittsburgh@gmail.com

20 S 10th Street at Muriel Street at the foot of the South 10th Street Bridge

Phone 412 904 2898

Located in the Holiday Inn Express building and where Amalfi on Tenth used to be.

St. Patrick's Day 2011

2011-03-13T11:30:00.000-07:00

I was surprised by the lack of noise on this past Saturday’s St. Patrick’s Day public urination fest. It was a lot better than years gone by and I am at a loss to figure out why. Perhaps it was because the kiddies spent more time drinking instead of yelling? The Post Gazette reports that there were 37 citations for public urination (only 37); eight for failure to clean up urine (how?); 18 for public intoxication (Joe Wilson: You Lie!); six for possessing an open container of alcohol (how does one drink out of a closed container?); two for harassment; six for disorderly conduct; one for criminal mischief; and two for obstructing a passage way (just walk over him). This was just on the South Side.

Also, there were a handful of arrests: one person was arrested for drunken driving (I think there were more); two for possessing a controlled substance; one for public intoxication; one for prowling; one for criminal trespass, resisting arrest and theft; and one for marijuana possession, public intoxication, escape, public urination.

What I want to know is how do you clean up urine and did the cops cite the homeowner? Actually, the Post went to bed (that’s real newspaper talk) too early or they would have gotten the big scoop. One young woman had a night she will never forget and it wasn’t sex in the city. She was in the 1800 block of East Carson Street at 3 am when some male wanted to show her his manhood. He hit her in the face and knocked out three or four of her teeth. The police nabbed him on 17^th & Carson and took him to the County Jail where he should have his lucky charms removed.

I was a bit concerned that the cops were going to close Carson Street when I saw all the barricades at every intersection. Apparently they were just placed there so the kiddies would have something to play with at 3:30 am. As I went to breakfast early Sunday morning I got to watch some of the partygoers sleeping at intersections and going thru those pesky red lights. Hey, this is why people from the world over are flying in to America’s most drinkable city.

Primanti's South Side

2011-03-11T17:30:00.000-08:00

In a story that you will only read when you are in a comma, Primanti Brothers have settled a lawsuit that started when they printed too much information on credit & debit card receipts. Had you used yours at the South Side location between certain dates you can get a free sandwich. But in doing so you loose you right to sue and spend more money that the sandwich is worth. Apparently, WTAE reporters interviewed customers who paid cash and are upset. It was reported that: “Customers who accept a free meal give up their right to sue, but some said they don't have an option because they used cash”. To these people I have to ask: do you have coleslaw for brains? Do you plan on breeding anytime before I am admitted to a nursing home? You have not been harmed unless you paid by card or chomped down on a toothpick, in which I feel sorry for the pick. Mother Mary of God help me for there are people walking the earth that make me look smart.

Le Brew House South Side

2011-03-10T23:47:00.000-08:00

Updating the Pubnetwork.com site to include a new brewpub opening on the South Side this April. Sorry, this update (March 21) to clarify that this is not a brew pub but only a bar/restaurant. Still, I am excited.

Le Brew House (Not a Brewpub, but a bar) Scheduled opening in April 2011

2512 E Carson St (hill side) former Mill Site tavern

Phone: 412-488-2223 Fax: 412-488-2232

Web: http://www.lebrewhouse.com/index.html

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Le-Brew-House/163689137016727

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/LeBrewHouse

Pennsylvania Wine Monopoly

2011-03-02T13:42:00.000-08:00

Former US Ambassador Dan Simpson wrote a story in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette (2 March 2011) that caught my eye. The sub-headline was “They enjoy feisty politics and wines you can't get in Pa.”. That alone caused me to ask a question. Upon reading the story I had a few comments to add, but for another time. My first question to Mr. Simpson is to give an example of what wine(s) one cannot get in Pennsylvania that he apparently enjoys in France. It has always been my understanding that to avoid a monopoly the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania must sell any and all wines sold in this country on the open market. There may be some caveats but we should be able to get them. Do any of my readers know of brands that are prohibited in Pa, but not in the other 57 states? Are the wines he drinks in Paris only available in Europe? There may be a reason that he cannot get his here. Mr. Simpson writes for a newspaper long known to support privatizing the state store system. Should that ever happen would any and all wines sold on the open market be sold in EVERY wine store in the state?

As for beer, there is no upper limit on how much alcohol can be in a beer. All beer can be sold in Pa. but with one BIG difference. The state does not care if you can get it. The importers and distributor decide what you will drink. They can respond to market demands but sometimes need electro-shock to get moving. Go to Fat Head’s, Smokin Joe’s, or any Sharp Edge and I can point out about 75% of the stock that I was told cannot be sold in Pa. because “we would have to buy a pallet”. Sometimes I wish I could buy beer like I can buy wine.

Pittsburgh Beer Festivals 2011

2011-03-01T19:46:00.000-08:00

There are a number of beer festivals coming up this year that we may want to place in your calendars. One special note not on a festival is the introduction of Beaver Brewing Company tasting at Bocktown on March 9 at 6pm.

April 16 is the Erie Brewer’s Festival. This year’s focus will be on Ohio brewers.

April 29 and 30, 2011: Seven Springs has a brewski festival and who could do better than a ski resort? Scheduled for .

May 6 Fat Head's will hold a Brewer’s Ball and local beer tasting event to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. At the IBEW Union Hall Ballroom on the South Side.

May 13 & 14 brings the International Beer Festival to Cleveland, Ohio. There is not a lot of info yet out on this festival.

June always starts the first Saturday with the ever-popular Penn Brewery Micro Brewer’s Festival.

June 25 & 26 finishes with the Sharp Edge European Beer Festival . This is the only one in America that gives focus on European brews.

August 13 is set for the Millvale Brew Festival

August 20 has the State College Brew Expo. One a sad note, the Penn State Beer Expo, which was one of the best, has changed locations. It was always held at the Penn Stater in State College. I enjoyed the indoor venue as well as being able to take an elevator back to my room. This year it is re-locating to the Tussey Mountain Ski Resort.

September Big Pour

Schedule for late September, this has always drawn a huge crowd. I may not be in attendance. They promote the buy local school of thought and who can argue against that? In as much as they do bring in out of towners, they seem to have gone out of their way to exclude one of our own brewers. Rock Bottom Brewery in Homestead was not invited last year and it looks like they may not be invited this coming September. I do not know why. I know there is a board of directors in charge of the Big Pour but I do not know if they are behind this or the owner of Construction Junction. I happen to enjoy Rock Bottom and see no reason to exclude them. If anyone knows why let me know.

No glasses were dropped or broken in the preparation of this post.

Big Ono

2011-02-27T11:44:00.000-08:00

I see that I picked up another reader. Thanks to all of you who do read my work. I have to call out to the Big Ono just to say that I love his graphic image that is off to the side here. Nice work. Cheers.

District 3 Bar

2011-02-27T10:07:00.000-08:00

After reading last week of Town Tavern closing and District 3 coming in its place, I took a walk down today to see how things are moving along. The new local owners must be politicians or lawyers or both. They have the LCB liquor license posted in the front window but they could not have got it higher up. Do they what people to be able to read it? It must be so that we can take in the marvelous art work standing in for window covering. I wonder if they will be open for St. Pat's Day?

South Side Club Fight

2011-02-27T00:17:00.000-08:00

Big fight at the Caravan Club on Carson at 3 AM. Must have had 100 people inside. Anybody want to bitch about the "bars" being trouble. This place has more fights than inside the House of Representatives. Anyway, it brought a big police response and medic request. I bet the community leaders look the other way with this club. And why does the bank give them private parking? And yes, this was posted at 3 AM. I just with I did video so I could post the pee-a-thon outside.

Wine Beer

2011-02-19T11:40:00.000-08:00

Very often I hear people say how some high strength beers are like wine. Like wow! I grit me teeth when I hear this, as it is sometimes misleading to make a point. There is a correct perception that wine is higher in alcohol that beer relativity speaking. Factually it is incorrect as some wines approach beer strength. In today’s market of ever increasingly beer strengths, some brews may exceed some wines. What determines a type of alcoholic drink is its ingredients and manufacture. Beer is a fermented malt beverage while wine is fermented grape juice. Cider is fermented apple juice and perry is fermented pear juice. Although ordinary beer is 5%, it can be made much stronger but it does not BECOME wine. Yes, I know that the beer-wine comparison is used to illustrate a point, but it gives me reason to rant.

Actually, scotch is more like beer than wine. Scotch is a malt bases drink that is born from the brewing process. In a nutshell, grain is germinated, which converts starch into sugar. The germination process is stopped and it is now malt. The malt is added to hot water so the sugar can be extracted from the malt. Yeast is added which feeds on the sugars. The by-products of this buffet are carbon dioxide and alcohol. Plants consume one substance as food. Humans consume the other to make the opposite sex more attractive. This beer is distilled and the alcohol vapors are condensed into scotch.

This is a nice article on making scotch. http://running_on_alcohol.tripod.com/id34.html

To make wine: smash grapes, yeast ferments juice, drink. Simple.

Mantini’s Wood Fired

2011-02-19T07:31:00.000-08:00

I was reading the reviews posted on Tripadvisor and was a little surprised by what I saw. I am always amused when I read comments by people who do not review restaurants, etc. with a guidance plan. They usually state their experience by what they saw on their visit. This is fare as it is what actually happened to them. It can also be a bit misleading due to a one time glitch or a problem not caused by the restaurant. Still, some people have the opinion of “best place I’ve ever been to” to “worst place I’ve ever been to”. I often think “are these people in the same place?”

In the case for Mantini’s on the South Side, the reviews were so top heavy with negative reviews that I had to give a lot of credence to them. Although some reviews were about the service by the staff, the majority had to do with the owner. I have to say that what was said about the owner was overall correct. As for the staff, how the owner runs the ship is how the crew responses. I am happy to inform all those who had a bad time that the old owner has left the ship and a new captain is at the controls. I have had excellent service by all members of staff and enjoy going there. They also do steak far better than me. Anyway, here is one of my tenets on restaurants. If I had a problem with a restaurant I will always go back. If a problem persists that would be a good sign that things are not well. Don’t let one bad experience turn you off to a place. With new ownership at Mantini’s things are much better now.

Pooch Back at Penn Brewery

2011-02-18T02:21:00.000-08:00

In a move that shows they know what they are doing, the new owners of Penn Brewery have brought back Pooch to the operations. Don't ask me his real name as I don;t think anyone ever hear it. But, if your a long-time regular to the brewery then you know who I mean. He will be dealing with back room operations such as material handling and other what nots. Nick, Any and Steve are still the brewing end of the business.

Katherine Jenkins

2011-02-13T07:55:00.000-08:00

In as much as I would love to rant about something this fine Sunday morning, I shall not. Instead I am going to give you a treat. Well, not ranting may be a treat in itself. Please click on this You Tube video for some delightful singing by a beautiful Welsh singer, Katherine Jenkins. Nothing more needs said.

Pa State Stores and Our Business

2011-02-06T18:11:00.000-08:00

Ah, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board and the State Store system. So much can be written about that and so much has. So let me give it a “shot”. When talking about the LCB the subject most discussed is the state store system. Here is Pa. we have to buy wines and spirits from the government. Why? Just because! Some people want the system to be privatized while others want to keep it under the control of people don’t have real jobs. Let’s take a look at some this. But first I am going to get strong coffee.

Recently, Antony Davies, associate professor of economics at Duquesne University and a senior scholar at George Mason University, Fairfax, Va. wrote a letter to the editor in the trib. He asked if the private sector could sell alcohol more efficiently than the state? His retort was that government has never done a more efficient job than private sector. My comment to Mr. Davies is to get off the campus more and see how private business is run. There is no law that says private business has to run efficiently, make money or give customers what they want. If that were not true then Dilbert would not exist. I have seen things done in retail that would make a government bureaucrat weep with envy.

The practice of operating efficiently does not have to be applied with the state store system. They have no competition other than boarder states and as long as we go in to buy wines and spirits at said price, what are they loosing? Could they make more money? Yes, But they are making money and being more efficient will not translate to lower costs for us. Under private hands, price could go up, selection could go down and we would still be bitching. And let’s us not forget the restaurant people. They now buy from a single source. How would they obtain stock? A central wholesaler who could control cost or multiple vendors fighting for sales? Should “big alcohol” go private don’t expect your Thunderbird to be delivered with unicorns.

Mr. Davis brought up the issue of underage drinking and drunk-driving (that’s drink-drive for my British readers). First of all, if alcohol was the only thing youngsters were taking in, it would be better than what they are taking in now. Getting booze and smokes have always been obtainable. How about dad’s liquor cabinet?

I have several issues to Mr. Davis’ comments on drunk driving and binge drinking. He said that Pennsylvania had equivalent underage drinking rates but higher drunk-driving fatality rates than privatized states. I cannot dispute this but what does it have to do with anything? First of all we need to remember that not all alcohol comes from state stores. Beer comes from distributors. I don’t think many people walk out of a state store or beer distributor and start drinking on the way home. Other than drinking at home, a lot of people drink in bars, clubs and restaurants. This is all private. Right now people are drinking beer, wine and whiskey and getting drunk and driving. Privatizing the system will do nothing to change this. If you want to link drunken driving to the state store then you need to eliminate all drunk driving incidents what were due to beer only. If that could be done it would mean nothing.

I have concerns and interests in how the LCB operates in general but as for state stores I don’t buy wines or spirits for home so I don’t care one hoot about them other than the state budget and my taxes. Anyway, should the system go private I am sure that we will have a good selection. As for price, we will pay for the value and not the worth. By that I mean that the price will based on what we are willing to pay as opposed what it cost to stock an item plus mark-up.

I am sure that all who read this has an opinion one way or another. I don’t see how a change in a products distribution will change its end use. All that is germane to this topic is taxes generated, price and selection. Right now we can bring our grievance to our representatives. We have been doing that and it has not gotten any better. Once the system goes private none of this will be any of our business.

Incidentally, I am only using Mr. Davis’ comments as he wrote a letter today and I could not pass it up. He said what a lot of people are saying and I think much of it is moot.

Vinyl

2011-02-05T12:31:00.000-08:00

Architects and builder work together to create beautiful buildings for pubs and restaurants. Why do the owners of pubs and restaurants go to great measures to make them blighted for the sake of attracting customers. I am talking about vinyl signs. They are a blight on the landscape and if proposed at a zoning or planning commission hearing the project would be shot down. Community groups demand building owners abide by strict standards. Here on Carson Street owners need permission to paint the buildings and the city even gets to approve the colors. Yet the vinyl signs get strung up and nobody bitches. I drove past Patio 10 today. Lovely place with a nice patio (but just 1) with a nice view of the Bluff. But out front are 3 eye-sores. Guys, can we do better. Maybe it's just me. It always is. But I just don't like vinyl signs on buildings. Across the river can be seen the UPMC and BNY Mellon signs. You may or may not want them there but aren't they better than having a vinyl sign flapping in wind? Well, that's it. No more rant. I am off to Fat Heads.

Adult Magazines

2011-02-01T18:29:00.000-08:00

Should beer magazines and newspapers be covered in plastic akin to many of the “other” adult magazines that have more pictures than text? This may seem an odd question but what leads me to ask this is what I see on the Internet. It is very common to get to a brewery or distributor home page (usually based in the US) and having to select the “I am over 21 button” to go further. Is there some Federal law that prohibits those under 21 from reading a site that describes beers and trying to sell said product? I know of no such law yet many having such sites seem to think otherwise.

If we are to protect the kiddies from viewing naked beer bottles on the web then should not all viewing of alcohol be prohibited? Young people see adverts in newspapers, storefronts (if you are not in Pa.), State Store windows (in you are in Pa.), and so on and so on. And good god lets not forget about those sports events and TV commercials. I can’t fathom the adult nature that is presumed in brewery and distributor website and I have ever seen anything “adult” about them. Maybe the powers to be are trying to save the children from accidently seeing photos of Miss Frothingslosh? If there is some rule on this I’d like to know. I would also like to know if anyone looking for “model trains” has ever clicked the “No, I am NOT 21” button!

Pub Walk in the Snow

2011-01-20T17:25:00.000-08:00

I just have to say that I love living on the South Side. Other than when a sports team wins as I get pee on my house for days. But I love to walk to my pub. Today it started to snow during rush hour and everybody is in a panic. I came home from work and did a load of laundry and then said, "how what"? I took a nice stroll down to Dish Osteria for a pint (3 actually) and some octopus stew. Nobody on the street and nobody in the bar except for me and four lovely ladies. Ah, the enjoyment of living on the South Side. It does have its down side at times but to be able to walk to your pub in any kind of weather is worth the city tax. After an hour or so several other locals came in with the same thought as me. Walk a few blocks to a nice warm bar with good food and friends and with no fear of getting pulled over for a DUI. This is what a pub makes. Yes, you guys in the suburbs can have your Saturday lawn mowing and driving a mile to get a quart of milk. Me, I will be enjoying a pint (3 actually) at my pub with four lovely ladies. Just wanted to rub it in a bit.

Cask Ale Williamsburg

2011-01-09T05:27:00.001-08:00

Dateline, Brooklyn. For those of you who haven't seen me on my regular barstool (I have been missed, haven't I?) I am at the 4th Williamsburg Cask Beer Festival. The event is at the Williamsburg location of D.B.A. and is taking place 7 - 9 January 2011. It's my first festival of the year. There are 16 firkins of beer from the United States but England and Wales are represented as well. The lowest ABV is 4.2 from Elland, England going by the name "Beyond the Pale" and made with American Cascade hops. Two Pennsylvania beers are on deck and they are impressive in their strength. Blue Canoe Aged Wheat Wine from Titusville is pulling at 11.5% and Black Magick from Voodoo is on top at 15.5% ABV. Those guys in Meadville really know how to make a Russian Imperial Stout. It was also NOT aged in oak barrels. And no, my spell heck is not broken, it is spelled Magick.

This festival was put on by Alex Hall from Brooklyn. The one thing I liked about all this was that all the beers have the ABV listed. Most bars in New York City also dispay the ABV. I for one would like to know what I am drinking and when you have a 15% beer in you glass yu should know about it. The festival is operated with a mix of the English way and the American way. Entry is free and you just buy the beer you want to drink. But you had a choice in glass size you wanted. Gleaases came in 10, 16 and 20 ounce size and cost was typically $4, $7 or $8, respectively. The real high strength brews were adjusted some what in blass size or cost.

The Friday evening seeion was great as I got there before most eveyone else and it wasn't too bad that evening. Saturday afternoon was another story. It was packed and with only one batender it made for a long waite for a refill. As this bar does not do food a food service was put in place for the Saturday session. As it is Sunday morning as I write this I don't know what it will be like this afternoon. Still, it was great to see the interest in cask ale. I don't know if most of th4 people here came in to see what this was all about or if they have been drinking cask ale before. I have to think they are here as they aa their cask affection goes way back. A lot of bars in metro New York have at least two beer engines and demand is here.

Bottom of the Glass

2011-01-02T05:56:00.000-08:00

I will let this video speak for itself. It would be interesting to see what bartenders and bar owners have to say about this. This may be good for baseball games but I doubt anyone would like to see this at a beer festival and I further doubt that it will work with cask ale. Pouring beer FROM the bottom of the glass: how interesting.

Beer and Cheese, Totally

2011-01-01T05:08:00.000-08:00

A new beer has been fermented in Leicestershire, England and you could make a pig of yourself drinking it. The Belvoir Brewery in Old Dalby, Leicestershire has developed a beer made with whey. Not just any old whey but the whey from the making of Stilton cheese. Whey is a by-product in cheese making and has been used to make a perfume and a milkshake. It is also fed to pigs. Stilton is only produced at dairies in Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.

The brewery, in the East Midlands, obtains their whey from the Long Clawson Dairy in Leicestershire. They make unfermented wort and add the whey to it before fermentation. A chestnut-colored ale of 4.2% is the outcome. Said to be creamy and not cheesy. Brewers tend to boil the wort and then ferment after a cooling down to prevent infection. Adding whey un-boiled is a bit risky but as it is part of the food making process it should work out well. I don’t see a mad rush on Whole Food in trying to get whey but yes home brewer’s, you can try this at home. This beer may not come to Pittsburgh unless somebody brings it back but one of our breweries could give it a go. I see this fitting in well in Scott Smith’s recipe book at East End Brewery. Just naming the beer could make for a nice quiz night at the pub.

Bikes and Beer

2010-12-31T08:36:00.000-08:00

A Pittsburgh mountain biker took a ride from the Over The Bar Bicycle Café on the South Side in order to sample beers at the East End Brewery. I applaud him for drinking at two fine beer places. It is a good ride out to EEB and I am sure he built up a thirst. But he is way too serious in his ride for beer. His trip is on the web and the Garmin he used tracked his miles, speed, elevation differences and plots it out on a map along with graphs that one would see in a NASA press release. Check it out here. The wonders of the modern age!

I am a bit slow in moving towards high tech having only recently moved on from my quill pen to a new No. 2 pencil. And yes, I still rely on paper maps, which are fine as they still work after spilling a Guinness over one.

East End has a bike ride involving beer and you can read about on ride on this EEB page. This looks to be a lot of fun. Should you use your bike for a beer ride do use some caution in your drinking as you can be cited for DUI on a bike.

Beer Festivals

2010-12-12T05:00:00.000-08:00

Over the years we have seen a swell in the number of beer festivals in the US. The Great American Beer Festival in Denver was thee place to be but for those of us who cannot get a mile high we have a plethora of fests in most major and not so major cities. Here in Pittsburgh we have the Penn Fest, European Beer Fest and the Big Pour, one put on by the Pittsburgh Rugby Club and a smidgen of smaller ones. Beer festivals in America are operated the American way. That is, each person entering pays an admission price of anywhere between 30 to 70 dollars. But you get a free glass to keep and take home. The glass is small, not more than six ounces so it’s easy to carry out. As you know, we get two ounces at a time but we get all we want. The exception is the European fest where you get one shot at all the beers but you can’t get to try one more than once. This is controlled by a punch card. The other exception is when you only get a set number of tickets, which can be used for one ore a variety of brands. I don’t like that method myself, as it seems the most overpriced.

The Brits have a different take on doing a fest. Hey, they don’t drive on the same side of the road as us so why should they drink like us? The English way is to get you in the door for free or at least a quid or two. But before you ask for a cask you need a glass. You buy a glass but it is a full size pint (or half pint) that you use at the fest and if you do not want to take it home on the tube you can return it for your cash back. Now with pint in hand you head for the beer. The Brits operate a fest like a big pub in which you buy a pint (or half) of any beer you want at standard pub prices. Then you turn to the chap next to you and talk football. Now, when you are paying full price for a 20-ounce pint of beer you aren’t going to be sampling one from each brewery. But all in all it makes a great day in finding on that is not typically in your area. In a way the Brits go to a beer festival much like they go to the pub. It is about the beer but for them it is more of a social get together. But in many ways that is universal. Beer brings people together. For more on beer festivals in England see CAMRA.

New York City has beer festivals pretty much the same way most fests are put on in the US but thanks to Alex Hall one can experience a beer festival the British way. Several bars in NYC have cask-ale festivals in which 15 to 20 firkins are lined up on stillage dispensing real ale on gravity and without a cask breather. Some casks are hooked to a beer engine to get the beer to your glass, which is a full pint I have to say. These cask ale fests operate the English way so you buy a full pint of each beer. It’s not about sampling 20 beers in one afternoon, it’s about enjoying a beer you never had with friends. Unlike Pittsburgh, the price of a pint in the Big Apple is $7 or $8. On the good side I can get Sierra Nevada Porter and Stout on cask (just a mention in case Glenn is reading this).

I am off to a cask fest in Brooklyn this January 7 so if you don’t know what a beer engine is or what stillage does, come on up and drink like the English. Of course you will have to hold the glass in your left hand.

To find a cask ale bar in New York City, see this page, with a thank you going out to Mr. Hall and the Malted Barley Appreciation Society.

Prison Pubs

2010-12-05T11:15:00.000-08:00

Over the years that I have been going to London, I have been invited to a pub lock-in only twice. When the pub closes for the day, usually at 11 pm, all drinkers are asked to leave after the drinking up time. On two occasions I was invited by the owners to stay and chat with a few other gents. This is a high honor indeed. Usually the lock-in time is an hour or so, at least for me as I need to find my bus back to the hotel. When I saw this headline on the BBC I took note. A group of two customers and five staff were locked in a pub due to snow for eight days. A DREAM COME TRUE.

To be expected they took to the drink but that did not last long and they tended to do some work. Still, they had benefits. The bosses were away and were snowed OUT. They had wireless Internet and television. The Lion Inn is a B & B so they had rooms and food, including the chef. They also made improvised sledges made from beer trays. I wonder how far they tried to go before they realized they would be found?

The chef was a real downer of a dude. Mr. Butterworth (his mum is Mrs. Butterworth) said the snow got to him and he started to get a little crazy. At times he started talking to himself. Hey, who hasn’t? I have had the nicest conversations with myself in my South Side local. Le Chef was hoping more customers would come in when the road reopened so he would have more company. Dude! What do you think the other six people were? Maybe if you stepped away from the pancake batter and talked to them you wouldn’t be so lonely. Oh yes, let’s do the math. One couple gets one room. The 5 staff split three rooms. Let’s see: 2+2+1 = one very private room for Mr. Butterworth. If there is one thing we could learn form this boys and girls is to get to the pub BRFORE it snows.

Chiodo's Tavern & the Bra

2010-12-02T14:39:00.000-08:00

Anyone who has ever gone to the now closed Chiodo’s Tavern in Homestead should remember a few things. One of the first, and most striking features of the bar was all the artifacts and bras hanging on the walls and ceiling. I can’t remember the year but I was there for first bra. Well, kind of. I was at the end of the bar one night when a young woman came between me and my buddy. Neither of us complained. She was trying to get the attention of Sam Chiodo who was at the other end. We just assumed that she was trying to get him to get a brew. What she really wanted was the bra hanging over us. It was her girlfriend’s bra. A friend of hers was so agape by all the items people donated to the owner, Joe Chiodo, that she wanted to leave something too. So, she went into the lady’s room and took it off. They came back a week latter and the girl tried to get it down so her friend could sign it. We asked the young lady if she was going to leave hers behind. No, she said. I am too small; my friend is a C-cup. And that was the start of the bra hanging at Chiodo’s.

I too left behind something at Chiodo’s. But not to worry, it wasn’t an undergarment. When Sam started to bring in the import beers in the early 1980’s he had no place to showcase them on the back bar. He built a set of shelving from beer cans and thin plywood just stacked on top of one another. The beer bottles weighted more than the shelving and the whole thing rocks as good a Joan Jett (who supposedly live in Homestead at one time). Partons would ask to see a bottle or two and the bartenders shook at the thought of getting one down for fear that the entire stack would come falling down on them. As much as I enjoyed watching all of this I felt bad for them. As I was taking wood shop at South Vo-Tech, I got a supply of cheery wood and made the bar a sturdy wood shelf unit that could take a largest beer bottles Europe sent over. I took good measurements but somehow the unit had to be lightly tapped (pounded with a hammer) into place. I don’t know how they got that out when the goods were auctioned off? I may never see that shelf again and I may never know who bought it but let be known that I made it for the bartenders of Chiodo’s.

School Zones

2010-11-29T12:26:00.000-08:00

Ok, I was driving past a school on my way the local market and remembered how is was when I was a kid going to that school. Back then we had a bar on one corner and things were fine. That bar is long gone and under current LCB law you can't have a new bar within a given radius of a school. I ask why? Will the little tykes get a buss on if they smell the beer. Will they try and come in when they hear the baseball game on the TV? How are they being protected from evil bar if they can walk past hundreds of them when they are out of school? I wish I knew. But, if bars can't be near schools should kids be allowed to be near bars? What would dad's do? How can you take little Eddie to the playground if you can't stop off for one first? These are serious questions of the day.

This is similar to universities. One local U does not allow adverts in the school rag from beer distributors. The students are probably their biggest customer base. Yet for the ban on the ads they permit beer and wine appreciation classes. So how do they advertise the class? Clearly I have nothing to do today but at least you guys have something to talk about!!!

Smoking Bars

2010-11-25T12:16:00.000-08:00

As some of you may already know, I publish a directory of bars for Pittsburgh’s South Side. I do it for fun but I try and do it right. What I try and avoid is listing information about a bar that could change often or that you can get from them via their website. One tidbit of information that I list is whether or not the bar allows smoking. Actually, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania allows this now. You can find all the bars in Pa. that are exempt from the smoking ban on this website.

A lot of other websites put out similar information and typically do a review. They often list details about a bar such as hours, cover charge for bands, etc. But I can’t say that I have ever read a review or story about a bar allowing smoking or not. A recent story in a local paper was about perogis in many Pittsburgh bar. One was in particular was noted for this but reading the comments from readers caused me to think about the ban. The bar in question allows smoking but serves food. This is allowed. In order to be exempt from the smoking ban a bar must not have more that 20% of sales in food. That means they CAN serve food but would you want to take a date there? A lot of people will not go to a bar that allows smoking and they may wish to know this ahead of time. So, this is not one of my ordinary rants but just a comment for you writers that get paid for this. Please note the smoking allowance when you do your review. To my readers, am I blowing smoke or is this an issue? (Hey, you had to see that line coming)

I do know of some bars that do a great deal in food but permits smoking. I an others are not sure how they pull this off. If anyone knows the deal on this let me know.

Rock Bottom

2010-11-16T15:51:00.001-08:00

On November 15, 2010, Rock Bottom Brewery merged with Gordon Biersch Brewery to form Craft Works. The principal of the combined business is Centerbridge, a private equity firm with about 12 billion dollars in capital. Included in this new venture is Old Chicago restaurants.

Rock Bottom was founded 20 years ago and has 35 restaurants in 16 states. Gordon Biersch has 29 restaurants in 18 states and in the nation’s capitol. Old Chicago has 101 restaurants giving Craftworks a presence just about everywhere. Craftworks is maintaining offices in Chattanooga, Tennessee and Louisville, Colorado. Craftworks is headed by Rock Bottom foundr Frank Day, who will be chairman and Allen Corey, an original investor of Gordon Biersch.

What does this mean for Pittsburgh? Craft beer will continue in Homestead with Rock Bottom. Mr. Day and Mr. Corey plan to continue to offer promotions, tours and tapping parties. In addition to the three named companies above, other companies in the Cragtworks family include: Big River Grill Brewery Works, Ragtime Tavern, Seven Bridges, A1A Ale Works, Bluewater Grille, Chop House & Brewery, Walnut Brewery, Sing Sing and Rhythm & Brews. Hey, lift goes on. I am glad we have two lads (yes, they are young looking) helping to make it go better with beer.

Penn Brewery

2010-11-16T15:22:00.000-08:00

This is going to be short and to the point. Tom Pastorius is no longer with the Penn Brewery. Apparently he and the other three partners has a difference of opinion as to the direction the operations and Tom lost. Please remember one thing all you boys and girls who have an MBA; when you sell your business you no longer have a business. Everything that could be said about the opening and closing and then the new opening has been said. I can’t add too much more. What I would like to say is: Thank you Tom.

At some time in our history we would have gotten a brewpub in Pittsburgh. But we did when we did because of Tom. Tom will go down in history as being the driving force is opening the first brewpub in Pittsburgh as well as the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Tank you Tom for doing this. Thank you Tom for giving me the pleasure of drinking some of the finest beers in the world: Kaiser Pils. Thank you Tom for bringing together in one place many people that have become dear friends of mine. Thank you Tom for being so kind to me.

The Penn will always be Tom’s. I have never met the other owners nor do I think they care to meet me. They are in business to be in business. Tom was in business too, but he was foremost a beer man. He wanted to see his customers enjoy what he worked so hard to make. He came out and drank with us. He was not just the owner, he was one of us. The Penn Brewery has given me an untold trove of memories. Have I ever said thank you, Tom?

Irn-Bru

2010-11-09T02:20:00.000-08:00

For those who do not frequent Piper’s Pub on the South Side, you are missing an interesting drink and it is not a beer. Irn-bru is an orange flavored, non-alcoholic soft drink made in Scotland. First I have to say that I never tasted this as it has way too much sugar for me and would cost me another co-pay to my doctor. But for those healthy lads and lassies I want to make it known to you.

It has carbonated water, sugar, caffeine and quinine. It also has a trace of ammonium ferric citrate and who doesn’t go for that? But rest assured that this is not one of those dreaded energy drinks people are getting their kilt twisted over. Despite the fact that I am unable to drink this I enjoy their website and especially their ads. They think out of the can and run some funny ones. Unfortunately some of them are not suitable for public broadcast (they are not illicit, sorry to say). These are my favorite and can be found on their Ads that Never Ran section of the site. So pop on down to Piper’s and pop one open. Enjoy the ads on your smart phone and then call your friends. Once they find out you are not drinking beer they will not come down the you can drink in peace and enjoy the match.

Duquesne Pilsener Beer

2010-11-01T18:27:00.000-07:00

The other day I went to the Pittsburgh Bottle Shop to meet my mates. Mark Davis, former brewer at Pittsburgh Brewing is the owner. They sport a lot of drafts and a huge take out selection. The beers are always good and the bottles are really round. Pittsburgh Brewing, the makers of Iron City Beer is (was) in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh. A competing brewery was located on the South Side; the Duquesne Brewery, home f the really big clock face. It went out of business in 1972 after a labor strike. But thanks to Mr. Mark Dudash, Duquesne beer is back. This year saw the resurgence of Duquesne Pilsener and the bottle shop had it in stock. They had it on draft, my preference but this time only in bottles. So I ordered one from one of the nice round bartenders. My reaction?

I liked it. The beer was very nice, too. Now remember that this is not Sierra Nevada or Dodfish Head. But all in all I liked it. It was clean and clear. It did have a nice head once poured, albeit not in a pilsner glass. The taste was refreshing and mild bodied but I picked up a nice but faint malt aftertaste. I had a second. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is an almost local beer made in the former Rolling Rock Brewery in Latrobe. Now called City Brewing it is making beer in and for western Pennsylvania. I think we should give the beer and brewery a go. Duke will never (maybe?) take on the national brands but it’s a hometown boy. Let’s give him our support. The brew is distributed by another South Side lad; the Frank B. Fuhrer Wholesale Co.

http://www.duquesnebeer.com/

http://www.bottleshopcafe.com/

http://www.citybrewery.com/

http://www.fuhrerwholesale.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duquesne_Brewing_Company

http://rustybridge.com/post/337822200/history-of-duquesne-brewery-clock-faces

Sam Smith in Pittsburgh

2010-10-08T12:47:00.000-07:00

It was a very pleasant day on 8 October and that afternoon I (right) had the pleasure of leaving work early to meet the future owner of the Samuel Smith Brewery in Yorkshire, England. Mr. Sam Smith (on the left) was in the Market District in Robinson with Merchant DeVin and Frank Fuhrer Distributors. It was a meet and greet promotion and mini beer tasting. On the cask (no not on cask but sitting on the cask) was the brewery’s Cider, Oatmeal Stout and Nut Brown. Also on display was the limited version of Stingo. An oak aged special beer. My bottle was listed at 9% and brewed in 2009. A description on the beer is on this PDF.

Mr. Smith was a delight to speak to and drew a good crown of men and women. The women were most interested in the beers. They were pleasantly surprised to fine how good the Brown and Oatmeal was. Women tend to shy away from dark beers. Even the cider won over a few converts. It was also nice to see people coming in to she Mr. Smith and learn about his beers. Despite the free samples this was not a drink fest but people wanting to learn about good beer. Sam Smith beers are available but only in bottles so if your pub carries bottles take a look for them.

This was Mr. Smith’s first venture in the United States and if this visit is typical during his tour then he should be please to see his beers doing well in the states. Actually, Pennsylvania and Kentucky are the largest markets for Sam Smiths with Pittsburgh being the largest. Thanks to Sam Smith, Merchant DeVin and Frank Fuhrer for making this happen.

Oktoberfest

2010-09-20T16:37:00.000-07:00

Well, if it’s September then it must be Oktorberfest time and that means beer, dancing, pretzels and more beer. And it all began when a young lad’s eye caught the smile of a pretty girl’s face. But the question that is always asked: “Why do we call it Oktorberfest if it’s in September?” The answer to that question and why we drink Oktoberfest beer is right here but we first need to fill our steins with Märzenbier. Did I say Märzenbier? Yes, we first need to drink this beer brewed in March since Oktoberfest beer had not yet been developed. I will explain all of this and although this is not a long story but you may want to have a pretzel handy, and stay close to the beer.

The Germans have a well-established reputation for their beer drinking. Although they drink responsibly they drink often. Many workers have beer breaks similar to our coffee break. Wouldn’t that cut back on absenteeism? The young drink, but are taught how to do so responsibly. To the Germans beer is a part of life and it follows one simple rule; good beer in moderation. The temperance movement may have been discussed in Germany but I don’t know if anyone lived to tell about it? All in all, they enjoy a good brew. But what happens when good beer goes bad?

Brewing in the hot summer months in southern Germany was problematic until refrigeration was developed in the late 1800’s. The top fermenting lager yeast was prone to attack from wild yeast strains and temperature control ranged from very warm to hot. Not a good environment for brewing a cold German beer. The quality of beer was always foremost in the hearts and minds of officials and this led to the Reinheitsgebot, or more commonly known as the Bavarian Purity law. The Reinheitsgebot was a decree that only permitted barley, hops and water can be used to make beer. It said nothing about yeasts since nobody knew what that was then. Nor did it permit wheat. In as much as romantics would like to think this was to preserve Bavaria beer it was, in fact, to preserve Bavarian bread. Long before Wilhelm IV imposed the purity law, the Munich council enacted a law in 1447 that permitted only water, malt and hops. That law was to preserve the integrity of beer. But neither of these laws prevented spoilage.

To keep the beer from going bad and wasting grain, a summer brewing prohibition was introduced in Bavaria by the Wittelsbachers (the ruling house of Dukes) in 1553. Brewing was restricted from September 29 (St. Michael’s Day) to April 23 (St. George’s Day). The beer would have been called March beer, or Märzenbier, as that is the first full month it would have been stored. The beer would have been brown in color because of the way the barley was kilned. Barley is left to sprout but very quickly it is heated in a kiln where it becomes malt. Barley was killed (kilned?) at the time in kilns using wood or coal. This gave the malt off flavors as well as charring if the temperature was too high. It is the malt that gives beer its color. The yeast used to make the beer, and the alcohol, did its job by lying on the top of the liquid. This is known as top fermenting yeast and the beer would have been considered an ale. It would not be until some years latter that bottom fermenting lager yeast would be developed; making the German lager we know today. Full bodied with a well rounded malt taste.

Now we get to the wedding. In 1810, a young lad, Crown Prince Ludwig I of Bavaria proposed to a princess, Therese Charlotte Luise, princess von Saxonia Sachsen-Hildburghausen. She said yes (I can just see the invitations) and in doing so set the stage for an event that would eventually rock Munich. Obviously the prince was happy, and so were the townspeople as it gave them an excuse to have a party. They held a community fair, not unlike any other of the day, other than that they renamed the meadow in honor of the bride, Therese’s meadow (wiese), or Theresienwiese. The following anniversary, October 12^th, the townspeople decided to have another fair. Starting on the wedding anniversary and finishing as it did the previous year on the 17^th; the Oktoberfest was born. Some years latter the start of the fair was moved to late September to take advantage of the warmer evenings. This is what led to the confusion of the name for the October festival. Today, the Oktoberfest begins on a Saturday in late September and finishes 16 day later on the first Sunday on October. The 2005 Munich fest goes from September 17 to October 2 where they expect nearly 6 million visitors.

But Bavarians continued to drink the brown Märzenbier until an Austrian brewer named Anton Dreher produced an amber colored beer in 1841 using pale-colored malt. It was so different from the brown colored beers of Europe that it was given the name Vienna beer. The malt was given the name of Vienna malt and beer made using this malt was said to be made using the Viennese method. The first hot air kiln was invented in 1818 allowing malt to dry without charring. This gave Vienna beer a translucent copper-red color and a cleaner taste. Josef Sedlmayr of the Spaten brewery of Munich introduced an amber beer at the Oktoberfest for the first time in 1871. It was so well received by the people that it took the name of the festival and the rest is history. When we swing our steins at an Oktoberfest this year and say Prost remember the happy couple, kiss your sweetie then go for the pretzel.

Fat Head's GABF 2010

2010-09-20T16:20:00.000-07:00

The results are in from the Great American Beer Festival and they are not good for Western Pennsylvania. Printable PDF here. I have been told that Penn Brewery was in attendance but did not win any metals. I don’t know I they took any Kaiser Pils this year, but that is always a gold metal winner in my book. I don’t know if any other breweries from these parts went out. If so, after looking over the results, they came back empty handed. That is a shame as they all produce good brews.

One local lad who dun good has his brewery in Cleveland. Yes, that’s right; Fat Heads won a silver-metal for Head Hunter IPA. Congratulations to Head Brewer Matt Cole and Brewers Mike Zoscak, and Rick Skains. Congratulations are in order too for Glenn Benigni for having the balls in opening a brewery in Cleveland. Maybe he just wanted to show what a Steeler fan could do. All in all, well done lads.

Pittsburgh lads love t make light of Cleveland but it really is a good beer drinking town. I found this gem, Der Braumeister on my last visit and who cant get down at the Polka Hal of Fame?

License to Drink

2010-09-09T17:34:00.000-07:00

Stopping in a bar for a cold one is something we don’t think twice about until we get home and face the wife. It is a simple pleasure that we just do after our workday. What never enters our minds is the fact that we need a license to drink. Merchants need one to sell and yes, we need one to consume. Prior to the introduction of the photo ID, the LCB issued cards that showed that you were of legal age. If you did not have one you did not drink. The state dropped them like an empty wine bottle after the DOT rolled out the new driver’s licenses with your mug shot on the front. That, along with a passport, non-driver ID or military ID is what allows you to sip, slurp or slide shots down the old pipe. Under the law, a bartender can deny you service, no matter your age, if you can’t produce an ID. So far it is not a problem but I see trouble coming to River City.

With advances to technology I see the day coming when you will have your ID swiped and information stored on it as to what you bought AND paid for. Should you get pulled over at a checkpoint your card can be read and you questioned about your bar bill. Years ago the State of Utah required all spirit bottles be hard-wired to a computer. When a shot is poured a signal goes out to the LCB and they know what their take is from a bar or restaurant. No freebies there. More on this here.

Other systems are in place that monitors the volume of booze coming out of bottles as shown by Ali Baba.

A story in the news illustrates just how microchips are being forced into our daily lives. Local governments are placing chips in recycle bins and read by local authorities. Should you not recycle the chip will squeal on you and you will be sent a fine. Along with this utilities are installing smart meters that read your power consumption by the minute and soon by the appliance.

I am no conspiracy theorist, but all of this is disconcerting. Back in my father’s day my mum monitored his drinking. Now I am looking for the day when government is going count my shots for me. We may not be able to stop it but at least they can buy a round, now and then.

US Airways to Oz

2010-08-15T11:12:00.000-07:00

One thing that gets me out of bed in the morning is to see what I can do to get to London next. On this day I was poking around the US Airways website looking to see what they were offering for this coming November. I have no money to go right now but that is a secondary issue. I have always wanted to be in London for Thanksgiving and pretended to make reservations for Monday, the 22^nd to Monday the 29^th. US Airways as well as most others are coming in between $500 and $600 for an economy round-trip flight. As you cannot get a direct flight from Pittsburgh anymore at least one stop is required. Airlines usually give you a number of flights out and back to choose from but one outgoing flight caught my eye.

They actually recommended a flight to hell. First let me set the stage as to what should be expected. A flight from Pittsburgh to Charlotte or Philadelphia is short. The flight to London takes off that evening and eight hours latter you are in Piccadilly. A combination of flights for 22 November exceeded two days. Here is how it was scheduled.

Flight	Trip	Times	Duration
96	Pittsburgh to Philly	8:45pm – 9:56pm	1 h 11 m
	Same Day Layover		0 h 54 m
1290	Philly to LaGuardia	10:50pm – 11:40pm	0 h 50 m
	Overnight Layover		7 h 20 m
2116	LaGuardia to Boston	7:00am – 8:05am	1 h 05 m
	Same Day Layover		1 h 25 m
61	Boston to Charlotte	9:30am – 11:58am	2 h 28 m
	Same Day Layover		6 h 22 m
732	Charlotte to Gatwick	6:20pm – 7:20am	8 h 00 m
			29 h 35 m

Total transit time: 2 days, 5 hours, 35 minutes.

7:20 am in London would be 2:20 am on the east coast.

Good-God. Four layovers and one of which is overnight for over 7 hours. You actually leave Pittsburgh on Monday but don’t leave Charlotte until Tuesday and when you land in London is it on a Wednesday morning. You would think that with all of this free time one of the planes would fly past Oz and pick up Dorothy and her little dog, too.

The flight to London is only scheduled for 8 hours but the total flight time is 13 hours and 34 minutes. All this for only one easy payment of $275. The flight back to Charlotte and Pittsburgh is only $276. (Only one dollar more?) And let us not loose focus on that 7-hour layover in Boston. What does one do at that time of the night? One question that will never get an answer to is how do they know they know when they are losing money? When? Any day they operate a flight! I know that the above schedule was computer generated. I am just glad they still have pilots on board and not computer driven craft. As I have always said (if you ever listen to me) is that just because they can get you there does not mean you should take the flight. Fifty-four minute layover in Philly to get to New York; I would rather take my chances in Vegas.

Chestnut Ale from Mississippi

2010-08-07T17:38:00.000-07:00

I was in Fat Head’s South Shore Saloon (Pittsburgh) on Friday, 6 August. My intention was stay home and finish painting my hallway baseboards but I quickly came to my senses and scurried down to the bar. It turned out to be a smart move. First I was sitting next to a pretty girl and was served good beer by more pretty girls. Then I met a dude. In this case it was ok as he is a beer salesman for Frank Fuhrer Beer Distributors on the South Side. As they sell Sierra Nevada Pale Ale they are tops in my book. Anyway I started taking to the dude; Simmons was his name, and he told me about a new beer he brought in from Mississippi: Lady Magnolia Southern Pecan Nut Brown Ale.

This was an excellent beer. It had a pleasant aroma with a hint of pecans and as it was in the English style, it was not sweet. Some beers can be too sweet making drinking a pint a struggle. Some of us regulars were able to sample a bottle from the upstairs take-a-way shop. If I had to compare it with another beer I would say that it is similar to Newcastle Brown but the pecans give it a distinct quality. Coming in just under 6% and being lightly hopped, it gives me inspiration to make this a session beer. Beer Advocate gives the alcohol at 4.25%ABV and I think that is right. It is believed that this is the only beer made with pecans. I am just thinking out loud, but I wonder how this will go with pecan ice cream? I don’t know if and when this will come in on draft but I will be in line when it does. Look for me sitting nest to a pretty girl.

Here is the link to the http://www.lazymagnolia.com/ brewery in Kiln, Mississippi. I don’t know about you guys but I just love typing Mississippi. The Magnolia website shows a nice range of brews and I am hoping they all make it to Pennsylvania. Here is a nice Wiki article about the brewery as well: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lazy_Magnolia_Brewing_Company. This story gives some incite how they started the business and the problems they encountered: http://mscoast.org/in-the-news/lazymagnolia-649/. That’s it. I am done. Just let me type Mississippi one more time: Mississippi. Sorry, that was twice. Oh well, let’s go for three Mississippi’s.

Piper's Pub Good Hot Food

2010-08-07T17:37:00.000-07:00

I stopped in Piper’s Pub the other day (Wednesday 4 August) for a beer and a bite to eat. I spotted an interesting item on the menu that I just had to have: Lamb and Chestnut Sheppard’s Pie. As Piper’s does food right I never expected a bad meal but when the server brought my plate she said what servers say across the country; the plate is hot. That was the understatement of the year. Not only was the plate hot, my food was hot for hours. That was ok because I could not eat it anyways. My fork was also hot. How hot was it? Too hot to handle, it was. Fortunately I had a beer at the ready and that saved my mouth. If you remember Matthew Modine in the movie, Full Metal Jacket, he thought the south was so hot it was Africa hot. I say that it would have been arctic cold compared to my plate that evening. Yes, they do food right and hot food is hot. Little did I know tat this would be the week of nuts, as I would be drinking a Pecan beer from Mississippi. That is in my next post above.

A buddy of mine from work finally made it down to Piper’s. He is from Kentucky and is of Scottish-Irish decent. I don’t remember exactly, but I know he loves Scotch Eggs. Piper’s has the best and he couldn’t wait to try some. His verdict was two thumbs up. Alas, he had them sans Colman’s Mustard, but there is always another visit.

Accused of Drinking - Don't do it

2010-08-06T14:25:00.000-07:00

This story came out a few days ago and I can’t believe what I read. Some of the statements are so unbelievable that I have to comment. A woman, Cynthia Angel, on a Delta flight thought she smelled alcohol on the pilot when he talked to her and three other passengers. This concerned their delay in departure. After the pilot walked away the four passengers all thought he had an alcoholic odor. The woman told a flight attendant about this and as none of the other passengers spoke up or defended this woman all that she said was hearsay evidence. But the pilot was checked and found to be safe. Staff talked to the woman but not to the others. Why they were not approached is not surprising, as you can’t ask someone what they may have said to others. But none of then ever offered testimony. The woman was eventually asked to leave the plane and take another flight. Apparently the pilot, who was also the captain order her off the plane. She claims that she was told that Delta takes these accusations seriously.

Attorney Mark Silverman was interviewed by NBC for their report and he said: "She was just trying to be a good citizen. You'd think Delta would thank her for her concern," What he said seems like a common sense reply to what occurred.

What Mr. Ross Aimer, CEO of Aviation Experts said was bull-crap. "Making drinking accusations against pilots is a serious matter," Yes it is. "If you think someone is drunk, you owe it to yourself, your loved ones and other passengers to report it," (Yes you do) said Aimer, who is also a retired United Airlines captain. "However, in this case, because the captain had not been drinking, Delta made the right decision by asking her to leave the plane." Bull-Crap. Mr. Angel had good intentions. It is not like she pretended to have a bomb in her purse.

Let’s look at it this way. Who in his or her right mind would ever accuse anyone in an airline uniform of being drunk? If Ms. Angel did the right thing why was she reprimanded? The pilot being proven not to be drunk is not the issue. The issue is that someone saw something that could have led to a bad event and did something about it. I don’t think she out and out accused the pilot of being drunk. She thought something was suspicious. I know that I am mincing words here but the flight attendant could have said talked to the pilot and determined if there was an alcohol smell. I would like to say that if he made it on the plane he was ok. But I have seen in the news how drunken pilots have been taken off of planes. You don’t retaliate against someone based on the outcome of an investigation like this occurrence.

Let me just say this; if I ever see a drunk speeding through a school zone at 3 pm, don’t expect me to call the police. I wouldn’t want to get myself in trouble. After all, drinking and driving is a serious matter. I may have my license suspended if I am wrong.

South Side Drinking Problems

2010-08-03T02:19:00.000-07:00

The Pittsburgh Post Gazette ran this story in the Sunday edition concerning the drinking problem on Pittsburgh’s South Side. This August 1, 2010 article looked at how some bar owners are trying to “solve” the problem. Owners are aware that patrons and non patrons alike are causing problems for residents who are at their whit’s end. Mr. Adam DeSimone, owner of Diesel Club Lounge was interviewed by Joe Smydo of the Post and was quoted several times for the story. I would like to add me 2 shots to the discussion.

The South Side

The South Side is a residential area that has a large business and commercial district that has co-existed for decades. In the 1980’s after the mills shut down the stores on Carson Street closed and we became a dust bowl community. Efforts were made to revitalize the area and it was successful, depending on your point of view. The old furniture stores, grocers and butchers never came back but bars and restaurants did. With them came people from outside the community who brought their cars. Parking became a problem and although there were some other problems this was the major concern in the 1980’s.

This has manifested into epic proportions as the older residents moved or died and their home sold to developers. As property values were inexpensive at the time homes became apartments. This attracted students who now make a major component of residents. With them came their cars and what was a big problem became even bigger. Still, the South Side has long-term families with children and an assortment of multi-legged pets.

The List of Problems

Mr. DeSimone acknowledged that there are problems, BUT (are you reading this Jim Quinn?) "I think there are fewer problems than what has been reported." Retort from Ed: Bull Shit. There are many problems that never make it to the papers. Parking not withstanding, there is the breaking of car windows and mirrors, Keying of cars, breaking of house windows, electric meters pulled from walls, trees and plants being up-rooted, blocking driveways, fire hydrants and stop signs crosswalks. Men and women doing No. 1 and No. 2 in the streets is probably equal the purging of stomach contents. I can see this in the gutter but why would you do this on somebody’s front steps? Steps are a favorite spot to place empty bottles and broken glass, by-the-way. The list can go one and I have not even touched the noise made at three in the morning. But my favorite social activity is watching girls change tampons in the street. Yes Mr. DeSimone, this is not reported because it is not supposed to be. Note to Post Gazette; why not publish the name and offence of those arrested in your “police blotter” that you have done in the past?

Many people, including some police officers have said it residents who obey the law (we) do not like what those who disobey the law (them) do in their (we = our) community then we should move. That is morally and intellectually empty. If a meth lab opens for business next to an elementary school, should (a) the neighbors move, (b) try and get rid of the lab or (c) not report it in the news and pretend it is not a big problem? Do I really need to give you the correct answer?

Bar Owners

I can’t say that I hold bar owners responsible for our problems. They don’t want problems in their bars and they can’t control people outside on public ways. I also think it is unfair to blame others for the actions of people actually doing something wrong. Who is responsible when people get drunk at sports events and do damage on their way home? Who is responsible when a fleeing bank robber crashes into parked cars? Actually the police did tell me it was my responsibility. People should be held accountable for their own actions. But getting back to bar owners. Despite the fact that they no longer live here they do have to contend with us and it is better to work on friendly terms. The story in the paper said that eleven bars and clubs are putting in $60,000 for added police presence and weekend clean-up duty. This is good. There are other bars currently cleaning beyond their front door and many other shop owners clean their property as well. The problem is that there is just too much litter and not all of it from the night crowd. I see people at all hours of the day simply toss trash on the street like yesterday’s news. Sorry about that Post; figure of speech. So no, not all of the problems are bar-generated. This brings us to the students.

The Students

Many of the people causing problems here are not students. Many of the students living here are respectful people and are trying to fit in to the community in which they live. As renters they do not have pride of ownership and that could be a problem but by and large I think students may be taking a bigger hit than they should. They have added to the population of the South Side and they brought a lot more cars than we had in the past BUT (forgive me Mr. Quinn) they have that right. Some young people do indeed cause problems but just like everyone they need to be held accountable.

Safety

Mr. DeSimone said in the Post article that if the neighborhood isn't safe, no one's going to come. What does this have to do with the story about cleanup? It is still perceived that the South Side is safe. To some degree it is but late at night the crime rate has changed since I was a young lad. It was the low crime rate and the ease of walking Carson Street that made bar hopping popular in the first place. People could park and walk for blocks with little to fear. It is still this way for small groups of people but single people do make an easy target. As the popularity of the nightlife brings in more people with spending money so follows the rouges with raccoon masks.

Solution?

For whatever reason it is a known fact that you cannot get a ticket for parking next to fire hydrants, stop signs, crosswalks, fire breaks or on sidewalks on a weekend or Monday thru Thursday night. One solution that may be illegal in Arizona is to just ticket cars until the city runs out of them. Then maybe people will begin to play nice and actually respect the law and others. They may also stay away, but I know that is heresy to a bar owner. I am glad that DeSimone and others like him are try to help. The problems are many and solutions are not easy to come by. Aggressively going after the problem people and the illegal activity is a good step to take. When people know that they can get away with funny business they lose fear of authority. The overall solution may require small steps but we need to enforce the rules more. They cleaned-up Times Square we should be able to do the same to Carson Street and the South Side.

Fat Head's Alt Beer

2010-07-22T13:25:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, 20 July was an exciting day for me as Fat Heads South Shore Saloon tapped its German Alt bier. The beer was made at the Fat Heads Brewery in Cleveland and I wasn’t expecting to see it poured on the South Side until Friday. Knowing how fast a keg can kick at Fat Heads I took no chances and headed down that afternoon. I was drinking Alt after being served by the lovely Colecia and sitting in my favorite seat watching the girls go by. Life was good that afternoon.

Alt beer is a Dusseldorf style and unlike bottom fermenting lagers it is actually a top-fermented ale. But in the traditional German style it is lagered at a colder temperature. Originally all beers were top fermented until bottom fermenting yeast was developed. But, that was the “old way”. Having spent four wonderful days in the Alstat district of Dusseldorf this past March I did some quality control at the Zum Uerigei brewery that was walking distance to my hotel, which was called the Alt Dusseldorf. The BJCP, or Beer Judge Certification Program says that Alt should be orange-bronze to deep copper in color, but not brown. The taste should be in the malt and clean tasting. As this is a session beer the mouthfeel should be smooth with little to no astringency. The Uerige has an alcohol content of 4.7% V. The Fat Heads Alt was listed at 5.5% V and for me that was enough to pick up a difference in the overall mouthfeel. This is not a negative quality as the beer was a VERY CLOSE match to the German. It was to be somewhat expected as the amount of malt used was a bit higher in the American. Yes Steeler fans, Cleveland is in America.

Matt Cole is the brewer at Fat Heads Cleveland and has won numerous awards. Headhunter and Bumbleberry have been mentioned nationally and his Up-In Smoke Porter should be (is) one of America’s finest. It did win a Silver at the 2009 Great American Beer Festival. Matt has been to Germany and knows the style and how to replicate them here. The sad news is that he is not in Pittsburgh so visits to North Olmstead (the real location) are required from time to time to get more of his brews. Should you venture into the brewery please do not ask to speak to Mr. Cole as he needs time to brew more beer for Pittsburgh.

The German Beer Guide to Alt: http://www.plastic.dsl.pipex.com/germanbeer/altbier.html has some information, but a number of good links to other sites on Alt.

Uerige Brewery: http://www.uerige.de/start/

Fat Heads South Side: http://www.fatheads.com/home.php

Fat Heads Cleveland: http://fatheadscleveland.com/

BJCP: http://www.bjcp.org/index.php

Alt Dusseldorf Hotel: http://www.alt-duesseldorf.de/

Keg: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keg

Pittsburgh Steelers

2010-07-01T16:34:00.000-07:00

The Steelers are in practice and that should get the fans ready for the upcoming season. We need to get our vocal chords ready and the best way to do that is to sing the Steelers fight song. The original from the 1970’s is the best and I posted a link to it here. Get all your buddies gathered around the bar and just start. Didn't that feel good? Polkas make everyone happy. Did you know that the Pittsburgh Steelers is the only team with a polka fight-song?

Old 1970’s fight song.

Myron Cope talks about the terrible towel.

A bit of history on how the Steelers got the logo on their Helmut can be found on this site. She’s a Russian schoolteacher (no one misses her class) and she is now living in the US. Her name is Marina Orlova and she goes by the moniker Hot for Words. Here is a link to her main site. She has a lot to teach us so listen carefully.

Frank - A Regular Guy

2010-06-24T14:59:00.000-07:00

Sunday, 20 June was Father’s Day and across the country fathers were being celebrated. Pittsburgh was no exception other than a small ceremony that took place at the Rock Bottom Brewery in Homestead, Pa. But first let me say what led to this. Rock Bottom is a national chain restaurant and brewery. Many people enjoy the food and beer but some pass it off for merely being a chain. Perception may have it that chains are cold and too structured. They are not perceived to be warm and friendly like the mom and pop restaurants. This may be true for some placed but the regulars at Pittsburgh’s Rock Bottom would argue otherwise. Since its opening the Pittsburgh location has attracted a loyal base of regulars. This is due to the staff’s warm welcome to all who enter the door. Some customers have contributed in making others welcomed as well. Two regulars, Frank and Betty, have made friends with all who have met them.

Sadly, Frank passed away over the New Year’s Holiday and news of his passing was devastating to all. Frank was in his retirement years but way too young. All who knew him was glad to see him when they came in as they saw a buddy at the bar. The staff saw him as such and I don’t think anyone working at Rock Bottom did not know him. He was close to the heart of several staff. Frank was mild mannered and easy going who brought comfort to the bar. A father should bring comfort to a home and Frank made a so-called chain restaurant comforting for many of us. On Father’s Day 2010 Rock Bottom installed a brass name plate to his bar stool with his family present. Kind words were spoken by bartender Paul and a toast was given with a round of Lumpy Dog. His stool was placed off-limits for the evening. This was not done to mark the passing of a patron but to celebrate a dear friend and good man.

Sorry that this was posted so late.

Tax 'em Dano

2010-05-23T04:52:00.000-07:00

Now that the primary election is over we wait for the big one in November. We will elect a new governor that could bring profound change to the commonwealth. One of the two tweeted his chances away by being stupid. The other is none other than Mr. Tax, Dan Onorato. He is the Allegheny County Executive who went to Harrisburg and received permission to add a Drink Tax to all poured alcoholic drinks in Allegheny County. How long is it going to be after he takes office that this tax is state wide?

Sharp Edge Beer Festival

2010-05-10T19:38:00.000-07:00

Well, summer is upon us and that means beer festivals. Pittsburgh is blessed to have the return of the Pennsylvania Micro Brewer’s Fest and towards the end (September) we can look forward to the Big Pour. Even East End Brewery will have an event. One well established festival is the European Beer Festival at the Sharp Edge Beer Emporium. I think they need mentioned because they are doing something nobody else is doing.

Back in the day, we were lucky to have a smidgen of brews. Even Guinness was hard to find here. Then the imports started to come in and people went for them like mad.

A lot of bars were slow to catch the wave but eventually all the good bars had a line of imports. Social networking sites were activated so people could spread the word when a new beer came to town. Back then it was called using the landline telephone to call your friends. It was fun to seek out bars that had something new. Every Friday was like Christmas morning with beer. But who drinks on Christmas morning? Then something happened to change drinking in bas forever; micro-brewed draft beer made in the United States. Just as we desired the imports we found new pleasure in drinking beers made in American, and on draft. Bottled beers from Europe could not compete and lost ground, sorry to say. But one tavern owner held his ground and put his bars on the map.

Jeff Walewski of the Sharp Edge is noted worldwide for his selection of Belgian and European beers. I separated Belgian beers because I don’t think you can find more on tap or in bottles that he has anywhere in the country. Most bars today focus on US craft beers but the Edge is all about the old world. Jeff’s festival, started in 1997, at the end of June is the only festival in the country that serves only European beers. This event gives a splendid opportunity for people to try beers they may never knew existed. There is a world of beers out there and you can find them at the Edge.

From my old notes I remember that the Sharp Edge was the second tavern in Pittsburgh to sell Cask Conditioned Ale. Kangaroo's was first but they did not know how to handle it and the product was removed. The third tavern to sell cask ale was the Fuel & Fuddle in Oakland in June 1997. First cask was Pretzel City IPA. They could not keep the keg at the proper temperature as the cask sat on the top of the bar and there was no room under the bar for a cooler. They purchased the one hand pump from Kangaroo's. I can’t say that I remember Kangaroo's but I think they were on McKnight Road.

World Beer Cup

2010-05-05T10:03:00.000-07:00

The World Beer Cup of 2010 was recently held in Chicago and something caught my eye when they posted the results. There were 90 categories in the competition, which indicates the number of different beer styles. The word Imperial was used in a great many beers entered, which also caught my eye. Three categories stick out that warrant a comment. Category 53: English style India Pale Ale, Category 83: Imperial India Pale Ale and Category 90: International Pale Ale.

English style India Pale is a historic style as it was the English who created this, unintentionally by the way. The word India was used to some degree to identify a style but also as a shipping label of sorts. The story behind this is rather long and for another forum. But it gets my point across that India Pale Ale is a historic beer style. India Pale was sent to several places around the world but primarily to India for the British clerks and officials. The “troops” that so many others write about would not normally drink IPA due to the cost. The word India in the original sense was used to identify the entity that purchased the beer and NOT the destination. October beer was bought by the East India Company for resale in India, Bengal and other areas under their control.

I do have problems with the word Imperial. It seems that any beer over 7.0952% is called Imperial. Although it originally identified a strong porter it too was somewhat of a shipping label. The word Imperial should never be used be used with reference to Pale Ale. But that’s just my opinion. Imperial is synonymous with the word Russia. London Porter was sent to many Baltic countries but its biggest buyer was the Imperial Court of Catherine the Great. Is it coming together for you?

The oddity of the World Beer Cup was the category of International Pale Ale. What the hops is that and when did we start using it? I can see American Pale Ale as it has more (and different) hop character than the UK versions. But what makes International Pale? Does it have water from the seven seas? Was it brewed in the International Space Station? Is it even sanctioned by the UN? What characteristics make International Pale Ale? In doing a quick Google search I see that the WBC are the only ones using this identification. I don’t know, maybe it’s me (it usually is) but I think we are running rampant with beer names now a days. I may quick drinking when somebody comes out with an Imperial Chocolate Wit.

Now that I have finished with my rant I shall offer a fun fact. No brewer in the UK is permitted to make an ESB except Fullers. The English drink only ordinary bitter and special bitter. Extra Special Bitter is a registered trademark of Fullers. Oddly this beer started as a winter-ale and was re-named as a bitter.

Wine Stores

2010-05-04T10:28:00.000-07:00

Let me say right off that I do not drink wine, nor do I buy wine from a stat store. A lot of people think that eliminating the state store system in Pennsylvania may be good for the consumer. I don’t know. Let’s take a look at a few things. It is my understanding that to avoid being a monopoly Pennsylvania must sell you any wine that is sold in the United States that is available on the open market. Beer distributors have no such requirement. If you special order a wine from a particular store you may have to buy a minimum order. Duh! Most businesses do this. The fact is that you should be able to buy any wine you want in Pennsylvania. As a business seeking profit, a beer distributor is free to tell me no. If I can buy any wine in Pa., why can’t I buy any beer? I know that beers need to be registered here, but do wine need registration? Why the discrimination?

If wine is sold on the free Market in private shops, those shops will not sell you what you want but rather what makes profit. They may also decide not to handle a brand just because they don’t want to. Demand could influence a manager but he is under no mandate to cater to customers. This is how merchants grow or fail. So the way I see it the state of Pennsylvania must sell me a wine that I want but a bar owner can tell me to get lost. Why the discrimination? So here is my question. If state stores were to be privatized, what guarantee do we have that one could go to ANY store and buy ONE bottle of ANY wine sold in the US cheaper than it cost right now? Is this happening in other states? I haven’t decided if I am pro or con on privatization of the state store system but should this occur do we really know what will come of it?

At The Bar

2010-05-04T10:26:00.000-07:00

What’s on the bar next to your drink? I was sitting at an upscale Strip District bar when a man came in and placed his hat on the bar. The bartender politely asked to remove it from the bar. The bartender had experience with men’s hats and the creatures found living it them. Since then I always noticed if somebody puts a hat on a bar. I keep quiet about that but I see what the bar staff does: typically nothing, sad to say. One thing we do leave on the bar is cash. In the states one can leave money out on the bar, take two weeks vacation and return to fine it untouched. It is assumed that if you touch somebody’s money on a bar you risk broken bones. On an early trip to London I bought a round of drinks and left my money out on the bar for the world to see. My friend quickly updated me on English pub edict which one is to remove his money when change is returned. I never forgot that one. On a recent visit to a well-run London pub I saw a lad place a bag on the bar. When the bartender spotted the contents of the bag he asked the owner to remove the bag. It contained a pair of new, off the shelf shoes. I was ok with that but it was not proper. Nobody, including the bartender knew why, but it just wasn’t done. Speculation had it that shoes on a bar in a pub were bad luck.

So here is my question. What have you seen on a bar that you thought should be best left off? Remember, we not only drink on the bar but eat as well. Woman’s purses should be ok but what about shopping bags? Some men’s only bars have women (I though it was men’s only?) who dance to pay for the cloths they don’t have. I wouldn’t want to eat a meal in a place like that but I doubt that they have a kitchen anyway. The most bazaar happened decades ago. Friends of mine were drinking in a South Side tavern when a local gent approached them. He needed to use the gent’s room and asked them to keep an eye on something he had. When they agreed he promptly removed his false teeth, placed them on the bar and walked off. I would have put a hat over it.

Penn Brewery Reborn

2010-04-03T05:13:00.000-07:00

I went to the Penn Brewery yesterday. They are not opened full time but they do a Friday happy hour from 4 to 7. I was happy to see Tom. He built this brewery from the ground up and it has always been, and always will be, his brewery. He was working hanging new flags, cleaning and sweeping and just running around greeting people. I haven't seen him this happy since his first day in 1989. I was happy too. The Kaiser was back on tap and it has to me my all time favorite beer. Sorry to all you English ale brewers, but Kaiser is just that good. The brewery's American Pale Ale is as good. I wasn't sure what to expect from it but my first pint at Fat Heads last week made my eyes pop. It was equal to Kaiser in crispness and character. I for one can't wait until the brewery is open full time. This should be in late April, ut keep an eye out in the Pittsburgh Post in Bob Batz's column on Thursdays. More good news from the brewery is the return of the Penn Fest this June 5th. Only two sessions but two is better than none. For all you newbies in the beer drinking community, Tom and Mary Beth worked to allow brew-pubs to exist in Pennsylvania. Without them we may never have been allowed to have them. That in itself is another commentary. The Penn opened in 1989 as the Allegheny Brewery & Pub, Pennsylvania's first brewery-pub. Thanks Tom and Mary Beth.

Not a Trashy Beer

2009-10-01T03:01:00.000-07:00

Jake Ocque was the winner of the home brew competition held organized by TRASH; the Three Rivers Alliance of Serious Homebrewers. It took place at the Rivertowne Pour House in Monroeville this past July. Rivertowne was kind enough to let Jake brew his beer with them, which has to a big thrill for any homebrewer. Well, I was happy to have some last night at Piper’s Pub. The beer, is a cask-conditioned English style Dark Mild coming in at 4.7%. After fist taking a few sips I took a look at the color. It is a dark beer and the color is brownish and not like Guinness or Mackeson; both of which are stouts. The head had some bubbles as it should have and it looked like a northern mild as I think it was. The taste was excellent and I picked up a hint of caramel in it and in the nose. It was faint and contributed to the taste. Most UK mild’s that I have had were very thin in the body to the point that they were anorexic. Jake’s had a better mild body to it. You knew that you were drinking a beer. After three pints I came to the conclusion that this beer should be on every publican’s order. Jake, you did good. You beer can stand with any in a British pub.

If you know me then you know I live for mild beer. My enjoyment of Jake’s beer continued long after my session at Piper’s. When I drink higher alcohol beer that has a greater level of hops I usually feel it the next morning. That doesn’t stop me from drinking it but I sometimes wonder why I do. Cask mild such as Jake’s left me refreshed the next morning. I seldom get a headache or hangover from drinking good beer. But I sometimes feel crappy in the morning and I don’t want to get out of bed. The lower alcohol with moderate hops makes for a pleasant morning for me. I for one am glad to be able to find beers like this at Piper’s. All the Pittsburgh brewpubs make mild at one time or another and I am glad that they do.

Cheers, to Jake, Piper’s and Rivertowne

I Love New York

2009-08-30T06:12:00.000-07:00

I have not been to New York City since late 2000. This year I was able to visit Manhattan twice in June. I shall visit once more this 11 September. Other than to break away from my office computer I want to take part in Beer Week. I discovered the joys of being back in my old favorites, d.b.a. as well as seeing new ones; Brazen Head, Rattle & Hum, just to name a few. I was able to visit the Blind Tiger for the first time in June but that experience left a sour note with me. Other than that I love drinking in the Big Apple. Here’s why.

The pubs are (can) be quite. Most places I visit in the afternoon are quite oasis’s and far removed from the mass horde of people at the tourist traps. I staff, usually nice looking young ladies that are pleasant and delightful to talk to. Most of all they are relaxing places and unlike the New York Public Library, they serve cask conditioned ale. This is in stark contrast in my taverns in Pittsburgh. Some are quite and some not. Even if the juke box had a volume control many Pgh Pubs have screamers. Sometimes it’s just not relaxing to come in for a pint. Yes, I am sure that there are many NYC bars that can make your ears bleed, but I have yet to find one. Well, maybe one. I did pop into O'Reilly's Pub one night at midnight. The music was blaring but they had good Guinness and college girls dancing one the tables, so it balanced out. Still, many people have a miss conception about the city. It is nice for walking and relaxing. Get away from midtown and go to the villages. Eat in a deli and ride the subway. If you want to get away from it all go to New York. Yes, that’s right. I said that. I Love New York!

Bankrupted Reporting

2009-07-31T09:20:00.000-07:00

KDKA news (online) posted a story from CBS News about up-scale South Side restaurants taking a hit, presumably due to the economy. I would like to make a comment on this story. BULL CRAP. First of all there is no name associated with this story so I don’t know who he is or if he even lives in Pittsburgh. Second, why was this story written? It said very little and then contradicted itself. Why did it not say retailers thriving? It said that Café Allegro closed after 22 years and Bruchetta's is going to close. Yes, that is bad for us but never assume that a business is closing because they are not making money. We will never know why and it is none of our business. It also said that the Wine Loft is doing well. $90,000 a month in wine sales! How does he know that? What drivel was he told? The story never mentioned that they are in bankruptcy. I hope they come out of this ok, by the way. I need more information on this and I demand better reporting. Were other owners interviewed? What about the other up-scale places on the South Side? I need to know or I may loose sleep over this. Then again, maybe not.

Fat Head's Brewery

2009-07-31T09:06:00.000-07:00

I must say that I am in a quandary and I don’t know what to do. I am updating my Pittsburgh Brewery’s page on my website: Pubnetwork and have an issue with an entry; Fat Head's. I was thinking about this during their beer tasting event at Bocktown on Wed. 29 July. Fat Head’s is a bar on the South Side and they do not brew (here). There is a Fat Head’s Brewery in Cleveland. It is a franchise of the South Side tavern. Many bars in Pittsburgh bring in beers from micro-breweries but that does not get an entry on my site. But what if it’s the bar’s name on the beer? Any bar can have a brewery contract a brewery to make them a house brew or a series of beers with the bar’s name on the label. But I this case it is a much-more stronger tie. We hear about bars (in England) being tied to a brewery, but in an odd sort of way in this case it is the brewery being tied to the bar. This must be a first in America.

In any event, “Fat Head’s” brews in Ohio and serves it here at their bar, as well as Piper's Pub and soon to be in many more, hopefully. So, how do I list them on my “Pittsburgh” breweries page? If you have a comment please pass it my way. I am not looking for a legal opinion, just a beer drinker’s thoughts. And don’t be afraid to stop in the bar to help you get opinionated. I do several times a week.

The President's Beer

2009-07-26T15:10:00.000-07:00

Let me make it clear that I have no intention of making a political statement but I have something to say about Mr. Obama having guests over for a beer. As you recall, because the news media will not let it go, Mr. Obama is trying to make peace between a Harvard professor and a police office. He has extended an offer to them to stop in or a brew. I think this is a nice thing for him to do and it is a part of his job to calm the public. Many people on other blogs have criticized him over this but but he is n track with his offer. Why? Because BEER BRINGS PEOPLE TOGETHER.

One thing is not yet known; what type of beer is he going to serve? It should be foremost an American Ale. As Commander-in-Brew, he can have any beer he wants flown in. It is a perk that comes with the office. I would like to recommend several from Pittsburgh's breweries. In any event I am sure that there will be pizza and a game on the big screen in the war room. Hopefully the girls will be off to the mall. I hear that DC has a really big one. By the end of the night all will be friends and we may have world peace. So I say let them crack a few open and relax. Chill out and have a brew. Oh yes, you guys in the news should sip a few more suds too.

My Ass

2009-07-19T06:10:00.000-07:00

There are a few things that I can count on happening every Sunday morning. Church bells will ring. I treat myself to a breakfast out. South Siders wake up to see the mayhem from the night before from out-of-control party goers. Some blame the number of bars but I will not. In the 1980’s the South Side had tumble weeds rolling down Carson Street. One new bar opened, then two. Soon more would come in and we were grateful. We kissed their ass. Now, after we drove off all the bakeries and furniture stores (how has T&T managed to stay here still?) we want to kick them (the new bars) in the ass. I will not. I will not blame the police either. I would like to see them issue more tickets for parking, littering and public drunkenness. Let us put the blame on the people causing the problems here. Maybe if we kicked them in the ass they would not cause so much destruction?

I was born here in 1953 (that’s like 1776 to some of you 20 year olds) and have seen it all. In the pre 1980’s we had as many bars as today, if not more (some were even next to schools). Yet things were not this bad. A lot has to do with respect for others and self respect. I think we have lost a lot of that. I can’t understand why people block fire hydrants, but then again, I only got a sixth grade education. I will never understand how one can come from a bar and break windows, leave broken glass on steps, put sand bags on cars, break car windows, remove drain pipes, change Tampons in the gutter (photos coming), This all has happened to me except for the Tampon change. Others have been shot stabbed, run over by cars and car jacked. I could go on. The South Side was a great place to live. I don’t think so anymore, but this is my home and I want to make it better. But I need community leaders and city officials to do there part. The only think I get from them is that if I don’t like it I should move. To those people let me just say, kiss my ass. To those who want to have a clean and safe community; bless you.

President Obama was put into office under the banner of change. We can make the South Side a better place but we have to have the spirit to want to do it. Instead of placing misguided blame we need to go after the people actually causing harm. I have gone after people doing damage to my property. I scared the crap out of some. Some were taken to jail. Others were baffled why a home owner would yell at somebody peeing on their door. I may get shot some day but one thing I will not do to people with no moral compass is kiss their ass.

London Bus in Pittsburgh

2009-07-18T02:35:00.000-07:00

For those that cannot get to London, England anytime soon you can still experience the thrill of a ride on the big red bus. An old Routemaster (No. 12 to Victoria) departs the South Side Works for a journey around Pittsburgh. You can’t miss seeing it parked on South 27th Street. The red double-decker bus is rather imposing at 14 feet high. Vince and Manon LaMonica run the service here in Pittsburgh. See this site for details.

The No. 12 in London originates at Oxford Circus and travels towards Trafalgar Square, Parliament Street, Elephant & Castle Station and onward to Dulwich Library. Sadly, they are no longer used in London except for one or two limited routes. Londoners were experienced in hopping on and off the bus whilst it was still moving. Some never made in on and I don’t know of anyone getting hurt other than loosing a shoe now and then.

The thrill was hopping on the bus as it was pulling away from a stop. You did not enter from the front and pay the driver. He sat in an enclosed cab and was only concerned with traffic. People got on and off at the rear where there was no door but an open platform. It had a pole that you grabbed so you could pull yourself in. A conductor walked the upper and lower saloons looking for new faces. He would come around and take your 10p and would give you your ticket from a dispensing machine hanging from his neck. Yes, the bus did stop and as there was only one way on or off you had to move quickly. The best seats were on the upper deck. Climbing curving stairs on a moving bus was like being at Kennywood.

If I may borrow from Natalie Tran AKA Community Channel, the word of the day is saloon. No, a saloon is not a drinking establishment but an open area or room in which people could stand. Taverns have a saloon and they commonly have a bar where drinks are sold. Old English homes often had a saloon where the lady of the house entertained guests. Obviously they did not stay long but maybe that was the point of having one. Anyway, getting back to Vince and Manon LaMonica; good luck, no flats and will you drop me off at the pub?

Margaritaville

2009-07-04T08:57:00.000-07:00

A few months back the owner of Margaritaville on the South Side was given notice by Jimmy Bufffet's lawyers to stop using the name Margaritaville as only JB can use that name for any reason in any state at any time. It seems to me that JB has new lawyers with nothing to do so they must be trawling for Margaritaville bars in the country. Now, JB has a claim to this as he has this name registered most places, but not in Pa. I can't find the story in the local or national news outlets but this is not the first time the owner of this Carson Street bar has been served. Years ago when the bar was under the original owner JB's lawyers came in to shout the place down. They were pretty smug about it until they found out the the name was registered by the bar's owner first. They left town and life went on. Now it is under new ownership and the lawyers are back at it. I would hope that the bar's owners will find the name to be legal and send the others back to the beach. I haven't seen any more of this on the news so it is either dragging on or resolved.

Shootz Bar

2009-07-04T08:45:00.000-07:00

I have gotten the scuttle butt from two people so far that tell me that Shootz bar on Carson Street on the South Side has closed. Can anyone confirm that? I will check into this further after the holiday. If they are closed during standard opening times then that should be that.

A note to the news people out three. For years I have cringed at how you identify streets and areas of the city incorrectly. For those of you who were born here you should know better. For those who are not from here, buy a map. In checking into Shootz I saw a video from one station that placed the bar next to the Birmingham Street Bridge. There is no BSB. It is called the Birmingham Bridge. But, at least that is not as bad as Liberty Street Tunnels. And I wonder why I drink?

UPDATE: The Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare is moving in as they have left the State Office Building. I hope that they can find their way down Carson Avenue. Yes, that appears on some of my bank documents.

G20 Beer Festival in Pittsburgh

2009-05-31T06:51:00.000-07:00

The Obama administration announced a G20 Summit that will take place in the United States on September 24 & 25, 2009. The host city will not be New York, Los Angles or Crawford, but my hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. My guess is that he wants to take in a Steeler game or a pub-crawl on the South Side. As past news stories have shown we can expect demonstrations. So, what can we do to keep mayhem at a minimum and help developing countries boost their economy? I suggest a G20 Beer Festival inside the convention center. Beer brings people together and drinking together usually solves the world’s problems. I should know; me and my mates do it every weekend. Admission will be free to all demonstrators (proper ID required) and world leaders will pay for the beer. Democrats will do a food service and Republicans will check ID at the door and clean up afterwards. There will be two children’s play areas, one red one blue.

The beers on tap will come from the G20 developing counties as shown below.
Bolivia (Huari), Brazil (Frevo), Chile (Kunstmann), China (Zhujiang beer 珠江啤酒), Cuba (Bucanero Beer), Ecuador (Cerveza Nevada), Egypt (Sakara), Guatemala (Moza), India (Cobra), Indonesia (Bintang), Mexico (Negro Modelo), Nigeria (Guinness made with Sorghum), Pakistan (Murree), Paraguay (Baviera), Peru (Cusquena), Philippines (San Miguel Pale Pilsen), South Africa (Zulu beer, it’s pink), Tanzania (Safari beer), Thailand (Chang beer), Uruguay (Patricia beer), Venezuela (Polar beer) and Zimbabwe (Zambezi)

A few notes on some of the above. I drank the Nigerian Guinness in London last year. It is high gravity beer in a bottle and was wonderful. It was not what I expected and if I could buy it in Pittsburgh it would be (one of) my beers of choice. A surprising note is that more Guinness is drunk in Nigeria than in Ireland. The Zulu beer is served in milk containers and you don’t want to know how it became pink. The Polar beer will be served by Al Gore but don’t expect it to be warm. From what I have been reading beer seems to be doing well in Muslim nations.

South Side Hole in the Wall

2009-05-19T09:23:00.000-07:00

On May 19, 2009 the Pittsburgh Post published a story on the doings of a bar on the South Side. S Bar applied for a permit to work on the former Tom’s Diner on East Carson Street in the city’s beer haven district. They told the city that it was to be used for retail and no mention that it was to serve alcohol. So says the city. Then S Bar applied for and received a liquor license extension. The bar is the adjoining building. Some city folks don’t like this so his building work was ordered stopped. What caused the work stoppage was that S Bar made an opening between the two buildings. When S Bar sealed the opening (how?) the city lifted the cease-work order. Can it be reopened when the city isn’t looking?

The city is bent out of shape that S Bar did not tell them they got a license extension, but guess what, they still have it. So they have a license to serve in a building that the city says should not be serving. The city is upset because they say S Bar lied to City Planning and sent Zoning down to close the place. This entire affair is about a hole in the wall and not alcohol. If it was the city’s desire to limit licensed bars then City Planning, Zoning and Council should have the balls to bring S Bar in for questioning. Can they stop this? If so why haven’t they? There are a lot of things not mentioned in the Post’s story. Future posting will highlight some of them. For the record, I have been in the S Bar a few times and it is a very clean and well run place. I have no connection to it or it's owners. On a legal point, is the license extension valid if ther is no direct passage from one building to another?

Bocktown Beer Tasting

2009-05-04T11:04:00.000-07:00

I have a post below that mentions a few tastings on the South Side. There is a great bar out west that has tastings every Wednesday. Well, they are not that far out west that you need a cowboy hat but Bocktown has a beer tasting at 6 pm. Usually you can meet a brewer or rep that can give you good info on the beer. Their website can give you details and directions. Talk making its way down the barstools has it that they may put a beer engine on. Let's hope so. They do beer good and serve good beer. The food is great too. Plenty of free parking as well.

Guinness 250

2009-05-01T03:17:00.000-07:00

I stopped at one of my favorite pubs for a pint of the 250th anniversary Guinness. For several years now Guinness have been toying with the brew and how it is served. They continue to play games. I can describe the beer in one word, nothing. It has nothing. No body, no flavor (rather lackluster), no head. I wish it had no nitrogen but that will never happen now. Gentlemen, you make a classic beer. Why are you not happy with what you have? Just to be fair I had two pints to make sure that I wasn't drinking anything. What else can I say. That about sums it up. To be a bit more descriptive; Guinness started out as a porter and became a stout. The 25 is neither but more like a dark mild. I am happy that they did not replace the original Guinness. On the other hand I did get a free Guinness Tee Shirt from a pretty girl.

Cask Ale in May

2009-04-28T04:43:00.000-07:00

There seems to be a lot of beer events happening in town this month. Here are a few venues doing cask ale for May 09 with a smidgen of April, in Pittsburgh’s South Side. To locate these fine pubs go to the Bars of the South Side on my site: pubnetwork.

April 29th (Wednesday) at Piper’s Pub will be meet the Yards Brewers. Cask Ale will be served from a firkin. For more on their cask ales see Piper's Pub. I am hoping that they have the Brawler on cask, 4.2%ABV.

April 30th (Thursday) at the Birmingham Bridge Tavern (no known web). On draft from the Yard’s Brewery in Philadelphia will be Thomas Jefferson Ale (8.0% ABV) & General Washington Porter (7.0%ABV). The BBT does not pull a beer engine but we may need more Yard’s ale. For the good of the country of course.

The meet the Yard’s Brewer night on Wednesday and Thursday is a Vecenie Distributor promotion. Ok boys and girls, what does the 1933 mean to you?

May 7th (Thursday) Piper’s Pub will introduce the Duck Rabbit Brewery from North Carolina. They are sending a firkin of the Duck Rabbit Coffee Porter that will be pouring. Somebody from the brewery will be in that evening for the event. Sorry, no ABV.

May 8th (Friday) Fat Heads will also place a firkin on the bar of the Duck Rabbit Porter. Fat Heads starts tapping the firkins at 5 pm so get in line behind me. In addition to the porter expect to see 2 or 3 others from the brewery. They make a milk stout, brown, amber and the porter. The Imperial porter may come this way too.

May 15th (Friday) is a non-cask night at Fat Heads but our friends from Oskar Blues (Dales Pale Ale) will be in at 6pm.

May 18th (Monday) will be a cask night at Fat Heads but we can meet the brewer from Victory Brewing. Not sue of the time so check out Fat Heads. St Boisterous Bock (7.3%ABV) and Braumeister Pils (?%ABV)will be on Tap and the Hop Wallop (8.5%ABV) on Cask.

Just a note for June 2009, the Penn Fest is scheduled for the first Saturday of the month. I already have my tickets. The Penn is located on the North Side and can be found at Penn Brewery.
MAY 12, 2009 PENN BREWERY UPDATE: The Penn Fest is being re-scheduled. If you have a ticket you need to take it to the brewery for a refund. They need the ticket as this is their way of keeping track of returns. Check their site to updates.

Pitt Students in London

2009-04-26T12:19:00.000-07:00

I am looking for Pitt Students (or other college students) who have studied in London for a semester with the University.No need to call 911 as I am not looking for anything shady. I noticed on the Pitt web-site that students are given a travel pass for the time they are there but not for one week in March. I wondered what type of card you get and why none for the one break week. I think it would be better to be issued a travel card (monthly, seven, three and one day) which will give you unlimited travel in zone 1 & 2. I have to think that the guys at Pitt know about this but I don't know what pass students get while in London. So, how do you like studying in London? Way different than Oakland, uh?

Blue Dust

2009-04-17T03:48:00.001-07:00

April saw the doors open at a new bar the entrance to Homestead's Waterfront. Blue Dust is on Amity Street at the stop sigh at the railroad tracks. It is rather elegant with a European cafe feel to it. Jerry Miller, who was one of the founders in introducing craft beers to Pittsburgh (I will have more on this in another post) is the owner. He has 26 craft beers behind him on tap. Included in this is my favorite, Kaiser Pils from Penn Brewery. Thank God. They are still getting a few details cleaned up so its cash only for the first few days. Soon they will take credit cards and the ATM inside will be working. They do have food. Hours are (yes, this is correct) Tuesday thru Friday 4:07 to 1:37, Sat 11:37 to 1:37, Sun 11:37 to when ever. They are closed on Monday. In time they are going to have a lot of bottles to go as well as growlers. The lovely Sarah Miller built the bar top. It is lovely too. Look for parking in the rear lots (I don't know if they charge) and some street parking. Ask at the bar if you have concerns.
UPDATE: They now have their own site here: Blue Dust

Hofbrauhaus Opens

2009-03-17T09:55:00.000-07:00

The Hofbräuhaus House in the South Side Works has opened as of Monday, March 16, 2009 and is wonderful. They have 4 beers on tap from Munich (Lager 5.2 %, Weizen 5.4 %, Light 3.8 % and Dunkel 5.5 %) and they are bottled in six packs for take-a-way. The on-site brewed beer will be tapped in April after the Munich beer is gone. The place is huge and the bar is a large horse shoe bar with a wood top. It’s not the Penn but they got a good welcome from the patrons. One thing that surprised me were the security people; large men in yellow tee-shirts. They look like bumble bees and they sting. I don’t know when their web site is going to be updated. The girls have nice outfits and some of the skirts are short. I’ll be back.

Drinking & Smoking on Sunday

2009-03-14T15:39:00.000-07:00

I am confused. For a bar to be open in Pittsburgh, or any place in Pa. for that matter, it needs to have a Sunday license. To get one the bar must do 30% or more in food sales. They don't have to sell food on Sunday they just need to sell a lot of food. Recently, the Commonwealth passed the Almost Clean Indoor Air Act, which prohibits smoking indoors. Well, almost. But the state prohibits bars from allowing smoking unless it gets an exemption. That requires that the bar does no more than 20% of their sales in food. Let's re-cap. Sell a lot of food and stay open on Sunday with no smoking permitted. Sell little food and let the patrons smoke all day without grub. So why do I see smoking permitted bars open on Sunday? I think the 10 to 20 percent gap is wide enough to do the intended job. Sell more than 20% in food but less that 30% and you can do neither smoking or Sunday sales. Am I confused? Did I miss something? Can somebody clear the smoke from my eyes?

Incidentally, if the bar has an exemption absolutely no one under 18 is allowed in the bar. Not your kids or the owner's kids. Bar have to post a sign no under 18's allowed, but many bars list 21 as the minimum age.

Beer Secrete

2009-03-10T08:49:00.000-07:00

OK, this is my rant of the day. Why is it a secrete to know the alcohol strength of a brew? In my last post I commented on how strong-beer seems to becoming the norm. At one time elected officials would not allow the strength of a beer to be posted as it would entice consumers into buying the the strongest brands. Can we take a look at wines and spirits? Can we take a look at getting new officials? Although this law has been relaxed there is no law that requires the gravity to be posted in a bar. Many bars are noting the strength of the beers but only when the brewer provides it. I like the idea that we have a huge choice in selection now a days but should we not know the strength be a part of OUR decision making? If you order a 7% pint not knowing that it is, could that put you at risk, either in driving or medically? As beer is controlled by the the alcohol and tobacco people and not the FDA, no "food label" is required. I would think that consumers would want to know. But I rant.

Normal Beer

2009-03-09T15:38:00.001-07:00

I know that the United States is a big country, but does that mean we have to make our beer as big? After prohibition, and up until not too many years ago, most beer in the states was about 5% in strength. Basic Bud is 5% and that seems to have been the target for most brewers. In the UK a beer of that strength would be considered a strong-ale. But brewers here are pushing the limits for beer strength. At a few of my favorite watering holes I find most of the beers on tap come in between 6% to 11%. That’s fine for a special brew once and a while but it seems to be the norm now a days. Is it just me or are there others who think this is getting to be too much? I know people who actually think 8% beer is your everyday brew. Noooooo!

I don’t blame bar owners from selling them since they have a higher profit margin. But for me it cuts into my choice. And it goes against the grain, so to speak, in general beer drinking. With more emphasis placed on DUI one would think that people would be seeking out lower gravity beers. I find cask ale better for me as it usually comes in under 5%. This allows me to have a few and still have a sense of direction back to the house. A lot of brewers make wonderful porters and pale ales, yet when see 7% after the name I shy away. Yes, these are enjoyable brews but I think this is getting to be too much. At first I thought it was a trend set by the Belgian importers. But it looks like the muscle beers will be with us for some time to come. Heck, I can remember when people said Guinness was strong.

Penn Brewery

2009-03-03T14:46:00.000-08:00

When Tom Pastorius came back to the states from working in Germany he found crap for beer. So he founded the Pennsylvanian Brewing Co. I can’t remember if this was in 1986 or if that’s the year he took over a building on Pittsburgh’s North Side. That building once belonged to another German brewing concern, Eberhardt & Ober. Tom wanted to brew but he also wanted to open a nice restaurant and that’s when the law said no. At the time brewers were not permitted to sell direct to the public. Tom was determined to change this and in short order he did. Without doing into details, Tom openned Pennsylvania’s first tied house since prohibition, the Allegheny Brewery & Pub. That date was September 12, 1989, as miss-written as 1986 by so many other publications. Since then other brewpubs have opened across the state and Tom made this possible. The Eberhardt & Ober Brewery was located here since 1848 and once more the building is under threat as the new owners are looking to close the brewery, but more on that in a latter post. This post is being written to say thanks to a gentleman who made my favorite beer, Kaiser Pils, and allowed me to drink it in a wonderful old building. Simply stated, thanks Mr. Pastorius for what you have done for brewing, Pittsburgh and the Commonwealth. For more see Tm’s site at http://tompastorius.com/

Pittsburgh Pubs

2009-03-02T15:18:00.000-08:00

Well, now that my other blog, edslondon.blogspot.com is of to a roaring stand-still I thought that I would try one more. Yes, I am a Pittsburgher and I love pubs and I love to talk pub talk. The burgh is a good beer drinking town and having five golden rings only adds to the living here. I live on the South Side and there is no wanting for beer. There is a lot to say however. The drink tax, no smoking are forefront right now but my first comment will be on the closing of the Penn Brewery. First I want to get a bit tanked at one of my locals so I can get worked up over this. Needless to say that I am pissed about this. So, let get to drinking and I will be back soon to hit the keyboard. For other info check out my site, pubnetwork.com.