The Six Pack Project: Western Pennsylvania

About a month or two ago, I noticed Justin of his cleverly-named Brew Review Blog participating in a beer blog collaboration project called the Six Pack Project. The idea is the brainchild of Bryan of This is Why I'm Drunk. The objective is to get beer bloggers across America and maybe even the world to help spread word about some of the local beers that seem to best represent our unique beer cultures.

Here are the rules, according to Bryan.

1. Pick a six-pack of beers that best represents your state and/or state’s beer culture.
2. Beer must be made in your state, but “gypsy” brewers are acceptable, so long as that beer is brewed with an in-state brewery and sold in your state.
3. Any size bottle or can is acceptable to include.
4. Current seasonal offerings are fine, but try to keep selections to year-round brews as much as possible. No out-of-season brews preferred.

Now, four of the six I narrowed down are either pretty close to Pittsburgh or definitely on the western side of Pennsylvania. Of the two remaining, one hails from the central sector of the state while the other is much farther east. I felt it important to have the concentration of my selections favoring the Pittsburgh area since the aforementioned Justin has already done some of Pennsylvania for this project. Also, these beers are in no particular order or ranking.

White Lightning by Full Pint Brewing Company - North Versailles, Pa.

If you paid any attention to last year's Great American Beer Festival you might have noticed that this beer earned a silver medal. It's tart and citrusy. It has a lovely aroma of coriander and spice, which both contribute to a spicy finish. Hops are easy, but provide a kiss of bitterness to compliment the tart and fruity aspects of the brew. It has a vivid straw color and creamy white head. The 5.5 percent ABV doesn't interfere at all. Tastes quite sessionable even though some might not consider it as such.This is quite an easy get when you get a chance to cruise through a couple bottle shops here in Pittsburgh. The brewers at Full Pint pretty much threw everything they had into starting this brewery. They sort of represent the hard-working people around Pittsburgh. This is arguably the brewery's best offering, in my opinion.

Monkey Boy Hefeweizen by East End Brewing Company - Pittsburgh, Pa.

Of the brews that hail from Pittsburgh, this is the one that's closest to my heart. This is quite lighter on the ABV scale at 4.8 percent. The remarkable thing about this beer is that it's a nice foggy hefeweizen that tastes like a banana, but there isn't any actual banana used in the brewing process. Some creativity with the yeast strain unlocks such a flavor in this beer. This beer also seems special in terms of how craft beer has grown over the years. Some time ago, beer tasting like this might have been considered spoiled and tossed out. Now it's considered great beer! East End can only be found on taps around town, from growlers at the brewery and in a growler shop downtown.

Sunshine Pils by Troegs Brewing Company - Hershey, Pa.

Moving away from Pittsburgh for a second we have a nice German Pilsner that's crisp and hoppy. If you've had this before you already know those two facets because it says it on the case and bottle! Not only does it have a nice dosing of tasty hop flavor that plays well with the rest of the beer, it features a few citrusy undertones you don't come across in many pilsners. It's light in ABV at 4.5 percent, always well-carbonated to add some nice texture and represents the many German/Dutch communities that dot the central part of the state. This is a seasonal offering, but is still available at certain locations. Especially bottle shops. The brewery in Hershey has some in the tasting room the last time I checked.

Wynona's Big Brown Ale by Voodoo Brewing Company - Meadville, Pa.

This is the booziest of the bunch that I selected with an ABV of 7.4 percent, but you can trust me in saying that it's not a bad thing at all. I was on a real brown ale kick a few weeks ago and found a bottle of this in a cooler at a nearby shop. I was pleased with my choice. There's a lot of cocoa in this to the point where you feel like you're eating spoonfuls of Nestle Quik mix like you did as a kid. Some darker flavors like toffee and roasted malt take over on the finish. This is one creative beer. Meadville is quite north of Pittsburgh and is a much more spacial place than the city is. Voodoo is known for concocting some adventurous beer. Just as adventurous as it is when driving the back roads of northwest Pennsylvania.

RT Lager by Rivertowne Brewing - Murrysville, Pa.

I sometimes thing that lager gets a bad wrap nowadays and are though of as being boring. This beer is far from boring. This is a beautiful red lager that comes in at 5.4 percent ABV. Not only do the Cascade hops used in the brewing process provide some bite, but so does the malt bill that's used. It's crisp and has a nice bubbly texture. That's if you like carbonation. I tend to enjoy it. Just as Pittsburgh is a classic town, this beer is also classic. It's not flashy, but tastes great. Just like the Super Bowl champion Steelers teams of the 1970's, this beer tastes gritty and still comes through. (If you don't get the reference, the 1970's Steelers ran the ball and grinded it out. Lager is considered boring, but this is a fantastic beer) Rivertowne just recently started canning it's beer. This is now becoming readily available. I purchased a case for myself not too long ago.

Poor Richard's Tavern Spruce by Yards Brewing - Philadelphia, Pa.

Weighing in at an even five percent ABV is one third of the infamous Ales of the Revolution series by Yards.  This beer is based on Benjamin Franklin's personal spruce ale recipe. After all, what better Pennsylvania historical figure to have a beer after than Franklin? He's one of only two non-presidents that are on American currency! This beer has an attractive beige head in contrast to the deep brown body. The sweet profile and tang of the molasses used in the brewing process play very well off of each other. The booze is slightly present in this beer, but only in a warming sensation that warms your throat as it goes down.

The other Six Packs for this month:

• Ed from Dogs of Beer for Delaware
• Jeremy from SubBeerbia for Illinois
• Heather from HeatherVandy.com and the Honest Pint did Massachusetts
• Mark via Bryan's blog did Michigan
• Chris from I Think About Beer did Belgium

You can also read other Six Pack's at the Six Pack Project Archives.

The Search is Off

This week is certainly turning out to be some collection of local shout-outs. I'm sure there are some out there (especially those receiving said shout-outs) that aren't bothered by it at all. I've been searching for a particular case of beer for the better part of a year. I came to the assumption that it wasn't distributed to this side of Pennsylvania even though it was brewed in Philadelphia.

Yesterday morning I got a tweet telling me that it was finally possible to claim a case of this beer for myself. A mission had finally come to an end. I honestly couldn't believe it.

@burghbeersnob your unicorn has arrived twitter.com/BrewsOnCarson/…
— Brews on Carson (@BrewsOnCarson) April 22, 2013

I have a sort of Mount Rushmore of beer gods here in Pittsburgh. The first two that come to my head are the owner of Blue Dust Jerry Miller and the publisher of Craft Pittsburgh Magazine Tim Russell. Miller seems to be able to pull any strings he wants to get the beer that he wants for his gastropub. Russell's publication has done a lot in promoting the local beer scene here in the city.

Bringing some cases of the Tavern Spruce to Pittsburgh elevates Jake Nickman, the owner of Buddy's Brews on Carson to such a status (might not count as anything to you but it sure as hell does for me). His bringing in of this lost Yards beer reminded me of Miller finagling a ton of pumpkin brews for his outdoor pumpkin festival late last fall. Oh yea, there's also a ton of beer to choose from as well as a cool automatic door when you're carrying out your case.

Maybe a beer review tomorrow?

Monday Rant: Where Art Thou, Benjamin?

At some point in the summer of 2012 I came across one of the most fascinating cases of beer I've ever delved into. Not only was the case of beer extremely intriguing, but so were the individuals the three beers whose personal recipes were used in the brewing of said beers.

If you are one of the few that actually follow my musings on this blog you probably know I'm talking about the Yards Ales of the Revolution Sampler. The three individuals were of course George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin.

My next-to-last one! Have mercy.

The Thomas Jefferson Tavern Ale was an above-average beer. I thought General Washington's Tavern Porter was fantastic, but I loved Poor Richard's Tavern Spruce the most.

Every time I head out on a beer shopping venture locate where the Yards Brewing section is. I find the Ales of the Revolution case and sometimes find entire cases of both the Tavern Ale and Tavern Porter. Unfortunately, I'm yet to catch myself hungrily staring at a case of Poor Richard's.

Where could it be? Do entire cases of this fine beverage even exist? If not, why are the other two pieces of the amazing variety pack the only ones in their own respective cases? Tese questions are part of my most-recent craft beer quest.

There are certainly other ways of retrieving this fine brew. I could always buy the variety pack again. I've also seen single bottles of Tavern Spruce at D's Six Pack and Dogs in Regent Square. A six pack of Tavern Spruce once in a while could hold over my hankerings. This beer in small batches is just alright. I want to get a decent buzz on quite a few of them sometimes and pretend I'm a colonial meteorologist.  Until then, I'll continue to search for information leading to the finding a case of this beer. That's even if cases exist.

Beer Review: General Washington's Tavern Porter

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: Seven percent

Appearance: General Washington's Tavern Porter pours a really dark black. By black, I mean black like the ocean abyss with the weird-looking creatures you learned about in elementary school. The body also featured a few slight brown highlights. The head was a dark beige and begins as the width of a half-finger and has a moderate dissipation rate..

Smell: Some strong and dark coffee is prevalent in this brew's aroma. Behind that came some roasted malt. What made me feel like I was in a colonial tavern somewhere was the presence of molasses. A lot of molasses, which I had no problem with at all.

Taste: That dark, roasted coffee was once again dominant. I got some nice zing from some black licorice as well. The molasses took over on the finish and in the aftertaste, which really lingered. You'll thank me for this later, but let the beer warm a bit. As it warms, there's a small alcohol warmth sensation that accompanies each sip.

Overall Rating: 

This is a fantastic beer. I love the heavy use of molasses in this brew. It's something that I don't sense much in a lot of beers today. The zing I got from the licorice also added an awesome touch. If you get a good glass of this with a great head, it's a very attractive beer as well. Unfortunately, the photograph I took doesn't get that across as well as I would've liked.

Thomas Jefferson and Beer

Photo via Wikipedia

As we continue on our journey through Yards Brewing's Ales of the Revolution sampler pack, our next look into beer history involves Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson is my favorite president in the wide history of our country (I know some of you are surprised that it's not Abraham Lincoln, knowing how much of a Civil War geek I am). Lincoln even thought of Jefferson as one of our most important political figures too!

Jefferson is famous for leading the Louisiana Purchase, which involved big and powerful government. Something that he was strongly against. in essence, he took a major step across the isle. In my opinion, it's one of America's boldest, yet moderate move in political history.

He was also known as bit of an eccentric, which makes him one of my favorite individuals in history as well. He hated his birthday, had somewhat of a clock obsession and even had his bed built into the middle of a wall. Monticello still remains as one of the top tourist attractions on the East Coast, today.

As Benjamin Franklin did, Jefferson actually preferred wine to beer. He actually didn't completely turn to beer until some point in his retirement when he actually ran out of wine and spirits. It was around this time that the War of 1812 was going on. So, embargoes and such meant that winos in the states had less and less of their favorite beverage. Jefferson's wife actually began brewing decades before he did (at least according to what I've read over the years).

Sometime in the early 1800's Jefferson had a beer cellar and brewing room built at Monticello in order to help him produce his beer at a bigger scale. Monticello.org has an entire section devoted to Jefferson and beer. This post simply just doesn't do it justice.

The Tavern Ale that I reviewed yesterday isn't the only Jefferson-related beer out there. Starr Hill Brewery teamed up with Monticello in making Monticello Reserve Ale. This beer is definitely on my list of beers to locate and try. It's a little different from the Tavern Ale recipe since corn and wheat are used in the malting process.

Beer Review: Thomas Jefferson's Tavern Ale

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: Eight percent

Appearance: Thomas Jefferson's Tavern Ale pours a light copper and honey brown with a fair amount of orange hue elsewhere in the body. It also features a white head that's heavy at first, but settles down and leaves an appetizing and thin layer of foam. There's also plenty of ample lacing as you consume this brew. Altogether, this beer has a thick appearance to it and that's with the body being a lighter shade of copper/brown.

Smell: Initially, this beer smells very dark and toasty. I got a lot of caramel malt and toffee. In essence, it smells like this beer would be farther into dark spectrum given the strong notes I was taking in.

Taste: It's very strong on the front. The harshness was mostly due to the bitterness of the toffee and the strong hop character this beer had. The aftertaste is definitely pleasant, though. There's a subtle, yet sweet honey taste on the finish.

Overall Rating: 

Tavern Ale is very appetizing in terms of look and aroma. I just wasn't expecting the harshness in the taste. Just a little bit too strong in the toffee and hops department for my preferences. Still, this is an excellent beer choice for a history buff.

Beer Review: Poor Richard's Tavern Spruce

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: Five percent

Appearance: Poor Richard's Tavern Spruce pours a dark amber with a thin, tan head. As I said, the head is thin, but has above-average retention. It's not overly foamy, nor is it way weak. With that calculated, I'd prefer a little bit more action in the head as well as a bit more carbonation.

Smell: This beer had me feeling like I woke up somewhere in the deep forest on a foggy morning. The spruce dominates. Notes of molasses and syrup mellow out the remainder of the aroma in a sweet, but subtle way.

Taste: The pine/spruce and syrup combine amazingly. while creating a spicy, sweet and smooth flavor. The molasses adds more sweetness, but a darker side of it. The flavors mix more as the beer warms a bit, only making the taste that much better. The alcohol is screened by the amount of sweetness in this beer. You can feel that the booze is there, but it's just as a warming sensation as this brew bathes your throat.

Overall Rating: 

This is a top-beer in my book. Since I'm a history buff, I love the fact that this beer is somewhat based on Benjamin Franklin's (AKA Poor Richard in case you didn't know) personal spruce ale recipe. Franklin is one of my favorite individuals throughout history. Drinking this makes me want to do some meteorology, or at the very least just flip on The Weather Channel. I bought this beer as part of Yards Brewing Company's Ales of the Revolution sampler pack.