Beer Review: Church Brew Works Pious Monk Dunkel

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 4.30 percent

Appearance: This dunkel was a dark toffee brown with lighter caramel highlights. The head was an off-white beige that seemed under control and remained as a half finger length layer of foam for the majority of the drink. This allowed for some average lacing inside the glass. I also noticed some bubbly texture in the sectors of the brew just below the beige head.

Smell: I noticed tons of sweet caramel and toffee in the aroma. Behind that were some more layers which included nuts and just a little bit of brown sugar.

Taste: As a dunkel should be, this was more malt forward than anything. As I noticed in the aroma, there was a great bit of caramel and toffee. There was also a tasty dark bread character that complimented the malt quite well. The nut flavor just added a kiss of butter-like taste as well. There's a light hop bitterness to finish everything off near the end. The bubbles put an explanation point on everything else by providing some fizzy texture.

Overall Rating: 

This is one of my favorite brews out of Pittsburgh as well as my favorite Munich Dunkel Lager. Nice and toasty, but still sweet and bready. Easy on hop bitterness. Goes well with pretzels. It sometimes even reminds me of some form of a liquid pretzel. My favorite beer from Church by far!

Get Ready, Ohio

I have plenty of family and friends in the state of West Virginia. They're just a two hour ride down I-79 from Pittsburgh. The beer landscape is quite different down there than it is here. There isn't the biggest variety of beers to choose from. One thing they have that we don't is ability to sell alcohol in most stores. Walk into a Walmart in West Virginia and the mid-isle beer displays include Yuengling Traditional Lager, Budweiser, Keystone etc.

From my observation, Yuengling might be one of the more popular selections in that area. It hasn't always been there, though. It wasn't until a number of years ago that Yuengling ended up being distributed into West Virginia. I remember how excited some down there were.

That's why I always smile when I see announcements like that of Church Brew Works in the Pittsburgh Business Times yesterday saying it plans to distribute into Ohio. Ohio will be the first state Church will distribute in that isn't Pennsylvania.

It looks as if Church has a solid core of beers to boast as well. I really enjoy both Celestial Gold and Pious Monk Dunkel. Any thirsty Ohioans reading this can take my word for it. Those brews are worth the trip you'd make to get them. I once had a sampler which included Thunderhop IPA and Pipe Organ Pale Ale in addition to the aforementioned beers. Hop heads might adore Thunderhop since it's loaded with hops. The pale ale is a solid selection in my book, too.

Brewsylvania

Nothing stirs intense debate within the blogosphere like a top-whatever list. An article via CNN this week ranked the top eight beer cities in the United States. I must admit that I thought I'd see Pittsburgh on there. Unfortunately I didn't, but Philadelphia did make the list.

Almost a year ago I wrote something about how this side of Pennsylvania knew how to drink and the Philadelphia side knew how to eat. I remember a few people close to the Philly area not being too happy about that. Maybe things have changed on my end.

I certainly have my favorite beers and brewing companies here in Pittsburgh. East End Brewing always has an awesome selection. Full Pint Brewing Company in North Versailles has an interesting group of people at the brewery and has an awesome lineup as well. Is there a neater brewery in Pittsburgh to have a great beer and an awesome meal than Church Brew Works in Lawrenceville?

Despite my obvious bias, I've grown closer to a few beers/breweries from Philadelphia. One of my favorite breweries in all of Pennsylvania has been Troegs in Hershey. I must admit that Yards Brewing in Philadelphia has quickly climbed my charts. That has been evident in my musings on this blog on multiple occasions.

Even Mr. Penn would be proud.

The thought of Philadelphia Pale Ale makes my mouth water. Can I speak about the the Ales of the Revolution any more without people thinking I'm in love with them? The Love Stout is something I'm curious about trying. Still, I'm not yet sure my tongue is ready for a oyster stout (at least it's an oyster stout according to a friend that visited the brewery).

I honestly don't have a problem with the list. Maybe I'm just sparking some debate? I think both cities do an amazing job in terms of craft beer. Keep brewing and drinking, Pennsylvania. I still have one request. I want a beer with William Penn on the label.

Beer Review: Church Brew Works Thunderhop IPA

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: Six percent

Appearance: Church Brew Works Thunderhop IPA has a deep amber color in the body. There's a little amount of visible carbonation. With that, there's what can be classified as an almost explosive head with an abnormal retention rate. It makes you wait for a great amount of time in order to finish pouring out the remainder of your beer.

Smell: This beer smelled mainly of hops with a citrus undertone. The hop aroma was severely dominant. Up to this point, Thunderhop IPA has lived up to its name.

Taste: Absolutely nothing but hops. I'm not talking about a small kick of hop character. It was almost as if I was drinking a pint glass full of hop oil. My taste buds were fried to the point of not being able to detect any other possible flavor in this beer.

Overall Rating: 

I rarely give out one-mug ratings in my beer reviews. There were just too many problems, in my eyes, with this beer. The obnoxious head foamed to the point where it was over the glass and would not go down so that I could finish my pour. This is sometimes a sign of a bad batch. So, I'm hoping that was the problem. The hops were so dominant that I think that even some hop heads out there wouldn't enjoy it. Again, just hoping it's a characteristic of a bad batch.

Beer Review: Church Brew Works Coconut Stout

Serving Type: Draft

ABV: Five percent

Appearance: Church Coconut Stout doesn't venture from the looks of your typical stout or porter. It's very dark. Almost black, but with a few brown undertones spread throughout the body. The head has a thickness of about half of a finger and is somewhat foamy. Other than that, not much carbonation is present. The beer does appear to be thick.

Smell: This beer's smell had plenty of nuttiness, chocolate and coffee, but I couldn't detect any coconut. With a beer named as such, you'd expect to have plenty of coconut, right?

Taste: This beer did bring back a few childhood memories. The chocolate came through magnificently, and fleshed well with a hint of vanilla that was also present. It reminded me of a twist cone you'd get at your local ice cream establishment. Again, the coconut was really lacking. I didn't get much of it at all.

Overall Rating: 

The taste of Church's Coconut Stout wasn't bad at all. I enjoyed the mix of chocolate and vanilla. I just wish there was more coconut presence in a beer named as such.