Beer Review: East End Snow Melt

Serving Type: Draft/Growler

ABV: Seven percent

Appearance: East End Snow Melt pours a deep shade of brown, but has plenty of red highlights elsewhere throughout the body. The glass I poured was crowned with an almost two inch head. It was a light beige color, faded away just a tad and left a ton of sticky lacing. The head was strong enough that an above-average layer stayed atop the brew for the majority of the drink. If you have any hair on your upper-lip be prepared to wipe some foam off!

Smell: Some might feel warmer just by getting a sniff of this brew. It's very roasty in the aroma. There was a few other dark flavors that seemed to come off as toffee and chocolate. I also picked up a slight pine scent from the hops in this.

Taste: I got a great amount of roasted malt on my tongue. Everything else in this beer complimented that initial flavor. The dark flavors were an excellent pairing with the malt. The chocolate and toffee seemed to be there. I also picked up some hints of sweet caramel. There was a somewhat strong finish in the bitter department from the hops, but not enough to make me shy away from it. The seven percent ABV was noticeable on the tongue. It nipped at me a bit and was enough to provide a warming sensation on the way down. After all, this is called Snow Melt.

Overall Rating: 

If you really enjoy winter beers this is a great local brew to get your hands on during the colder months. The Spring Equinox is coming up next week. so, I thought now was a fitting time to review this one. I was happy that this beer didn't taste like it was saturated with spices. Such is the case in most winter brews. The ABV was a bit more noticeable than I usually like, but that's just my palette. Something like that would keep me from having multiple of these in the same evening. On the other hand, this brewery has a hefeweizen that I can have many of in a single night.

Monday Rant: Fragile Standards

I made one of the more ironic discoveries during my craft beer travels last Friday when I ventured to the new digs of East End Brewing Company. I was craving a growler of Monkey Boy Hefeweizen. I also had heard a lot about the currently tapped Chocolate Covered Cherry Stout. So, I picked up a growler of that as well.

After I made the purchase of the aforementioned growlers, I stumbled across the ironic discovery on my way out. On the rack of East End memorabilia was a card labeled "Fancy Schmancy Glass - $5.) I looked up at the rows of glasses and was excited to see East End Brewing branded snifters. Pardon me if my classification is wrong, but it's definitely a cross between a snifter and a tulip. Still, that's far from the point.

It was ironic to me being that the craft beer community has been engulfed in the Dogfish/Sierra Nevada wine and IPA glass controversy. To me, this cleverly-named piece of glassware was a microcosm of the happenings of the past week. It's called a fancy schmancy glass. So, the namesake could be poking fun at the way some of us beer drinkers are about our glassware. It also could not be the reason it's named as such. That's why I thought it was both brilliant and ironic. That and five dollars for a good glass is a bargain. I instantly bought it.

I'll be damned if I didn't drink both the hefeweizen and the stout out of it. I did and it was wonderful. I plan on probably drinking all kinds of styles out of this glass down the road because it really doesn't matter.

I've fallen in love with this glass just as I fell in love with the Libby craft brew set my girlfriend got me for a Christmas gift one year. For me, the fun and enjoyment of different types of craft beer is drinking it the way you want to. There isn't any set standard. I've drank IPA's and fruit beers from a tulip. Pilsners and dunkels from a flute glass. You can bet the farm that I'm going to drink all kinds of different styles from my new East End fancy schmancy glass because the brewer probably intended all of his brews to be drank from it. Now, that's a great standard to drink by.

Beer Review: East End Monkey Boy

Serving Type: Draft

ABV: 4.8 percent

Appearance: East End Monkey Boy has a chroma of pale gold. It's almost a straw yellow. It's very hazy and foggy. The beer has an impressive crown atop the body. It's a vivid shade of white and is fluffy as well. The head also leaves plenty of lacing as the beer travels towards the bottom of the glass.

Smell: First, I got an aroma of sweet banana bread. If you sniff a little longer, you can pick of strong hints of wheat and clove. This beer also smelled somewhat spicy and peppery. A heavenly aroma.

Taste: The clove and pepper sensation really pops the tongue when this beer is consumed. There was also a flavorful sensation of banana that comes through slightly on the front, while a tad of hop character complimented it on the back. The carbonation provides for an awesome texture, too. Sensational flavor in this beer.

Overall Rating: 

This is one of the first beers I look for when I walk into a local pub or tavern. According to Scott Smith (East End's head brewer) there isn't any actual banana used in the brewing process! The yeast that's used goes a long way in creating that banana flavor that's there. The fact that there isn't any banana used in the brewing process just adds to the luster of this beer. It's sweet, spicy and has an awesome texture going down.

Beer Rankings Updated

The Beer Rankings are officially updated. Highlights of my revisions include:

• The complete list has expanded from 20 beers to 24 beers.
• East End's Monkey Boy has cracked the top-10.
• The infamous and flirtatious Blueberry Blonde that I encountered at Pearl Street Grill and Brewery in Buffalo has taken a big hit as it doesn't appear that it's made by its brewer anymore.
• The very popular seasonal, Troegs Nugget Nectar is now ranked on the list.
• As I've been reintroduced to Oatmeal Stouts, I've added my first of the type to the rankings.
• Plus, two more brews are included.

You can find the Beer Rankings in the main tool bar up above or by clicking right here.

East End Brewing Takes Over Casks at Piper's Pub

Piper's is one of the coziest places to be.

One thing I regretfully didn't get too familiar with during my first venture to Piper's Pub was the cask system the bar has. There isn't really time to explain what beer on cask is, so if you aren't too familiar with it just click here. Craft Pittsburgh did a piece on cask beer in an issue last year. You can download that issue by clicking right here. In essence, and you'll read the same in the Craft Pittsburgh piece, drinking cask ale is a chance to experience a beer in a livelier fashion than you're used to when having one off of a typical draft system.

Starting today, our own East End Brewing has taken over the cask system down at Piper's for the Festival of Darkness (a celebration of dark beers). On cask are three of East End's brews: Smokestack Porter, Homewood Reserve 2011 and Milk Stout.

Just as I has bragged about having the last glass of Southern Tier Pumking in almost all of Pittsburgh one night at Blue Dust in Homestead, I came across another milestone in my beer-drinking adventures by having only the second beer out of the Festival of Darkness casks today.

Tasty. Not me. The beer.

I decided to go with the Smokestack Porter and I wasn't disappointed. With this being the first beer I've ever had on cask, I noticed the beer's temperature. It was significantly warmer than any beer I've had on regular draft. I suddenly felt like I was sent back in time to London in the 1890's. Just watching the bartender use the hand pump to get my beer instead of simply lowering the tap lever and waiting for the glass to fill was exciting for me. Don't ask why.

The smoked malts came through strongly in the beer's taste and was very creamy towards the finish. It was very enjoyable. I can admit that a good portion of the flavor wouldn't have come through if the beer was much colder.

The fact that there was less carbonation in the beer in order to help create the pressure to pump it upstairs almost seemed to bring out more in the beer. The head looked thicker than most any other beer I've had (no nitro was involved!) and the flavor exploded once it hit your tongue. Despite my inexperience drinking beers on cask, something tells me that this is the way beer is meant to be drank, as I am a traditionalist in many senses.

As a heads up, the bartender let me know that Piper's intends to rearrange its tap/cask organization on the bar. Apparently imports and Pennsylvania beers will have there own section. Keep an eye out in the future.

The Library: Not Just for Reading

I've walked past The Library on the infamous South Side many times without noticing it or thinking about what it had to offer. I tend to make a bad habit out of doing that, but in cases such as this it seems to work out. Now, I have yet another wonderful place to go and enjoy an amazing craft brew.