Brace Yourselves

After nearly a year and a half of posting about the news of and my own anticipation of North Country Brewing Company, our of Slippery Rock, it finally looks as if the time has come. News has spread on Twitter within the Western Pa. beer community about the cans actually being filled and the actual palettes being trucked around wholesalers via forklifts.

.@ncbrewingco kegs are in the market now. Cans hit the market next week.
— Craft Pittsburgh Mag (@CraftPittsburgh) December 7, 2013

Look what we picked up from @ncbrewingco today! Available now IN CANS from @beersince1933. Be among the 1st! pic.twitter.com/cCodZj5F8B
— Michelle Reid (@Pourthing) December 12, 2013

May the excitement ensue. The Craft Pittsburgh tweet is from five days ago. So, that should mean that North Country cans should be in some distributors by this weekend or early next week at the latest, correct? Only time will tell, but I'm sure that's the likely case. This state seems to be having a craft can explosion of sorts. I've also seen and heard rumors of the Troegs Brewing Company cans hitting markets as well.

Do Yourself a Favor

Throughout all of my craft beer adventures in the Commonwealth two places have stuck out and have proved to make me giddy for each of their respective brews. Oh, and I should mention the food as well! Both of these establishments were fun and interesting to be at. Great atmospheres as well as good beer. Be sure to check them out when you get the chance. Well, there has been some news concerning each in the past week or so.

Roll Out! Roll Out!

The beginnings of my craft beer tastes (or microbrews as we referred to them in my early college years) might have begun to develop after sampling some of the brews offered at North Country Brewing Company in Slippery Rock.

We've known for about a year that the brewery had expanded from just the morgue turned brewpub and into a full-scale brewing facility south of Slippery Rock. It feels as if we've been waiting for kegs and cans of North Country beer to hit the local markets here in Pittsburgh for almost an eternity.

Within the last week kegs of North Country brews have reached many Pittsburgh bars. North Country has been trying to update the locations in which said brews are offered on its Facebook page. The roll out is finally looking to be happening. Still no word on cans being sold in distributors, but I'm sure that's close to happening as well.

I met a friend at OTB Bicycle Cafe on the South Side just over a week ago and he snapped a good photo of a North Country Tap Handle. The beer was in. It just wasn't tapped yet. This was for the new Buck Up Black Pale Ale. I don't remember ever having that while in school. So, it looks like they';re still being creative as possible with their brews.

My buddy, Zack, also spotted more NCB on the North side via his Twitter account.

Needing a Larger Shoe Size

Back in August I visited Gettysburg Battlefield Brew Works after months of anticipation. I was fascinated at the fact of drinking great beer in what was a former Confederate field hospital at the time of the battle in 1863. Things were obviously still getting started when I was there. I've been following the Brew Works on Facebook  (I've also found them on Twitter) and things have seemed to be picking up amazingly. There is now consistent live entertainment as well as some barbecue food offerings from a local Gettysburg eatery.

I've been writing about the place constantly. From when I first heard about the pending liquor license (and the reason I have the odd subhead just above) and when I finally got to visit for the first time on my yearly excursion to Gettysburg.

More importantly, the Brew Works made an appearance on the Discovery Channel's Bar Hunters show. I missed the episode on Sunday and I've never watched the show before. So, I'm not entirely sure if the episode was dedicated in full or it was just a segment. Still, I was able to embed a video I found on the Discovery website.

Monday Rant: No, You Can't

This weekend marked the 31st edition of the Great American Beer Festival. Before I begun this weeks ranting let me take some time to congratulate the many Pennsylvania breweries that brought home medals over the weekend. These breweries include Voodoo, Troegs and Lavery. That's just the cusp of breweries off the top of my head. There were at least a few more. Congratulations are in order even for the ones I left out. I'm an ardent supporter of Pennsylvania beer. I'd put it up against any state in the country.

There was one article I came across yesterday. In essence, it said that having 10 beers in cans that received medals over the weekend. The link dump site I found it on had a headline claiming that the feat is a sure sign of the times. Everyone is welcome to state their opinions. With that said, I think I have to state mine on this issue. Remember, it was the person that posted the link that made said claim. The web site was just passing on the information.

Craft beer in cans is still a slightly new and evolving thing. We have seen drastic growth in craft breweries canning their beers. All sorts of positives come from having our beer in cans. Cases are lighter, cans take up less space for storage, etc.

I'm happy that a web site dedicated to craft beer in cans made mention of the canned brews taking home some awards, but when readers start to claim that it's a sign of the times or coming of age I start to question.

The beers that won were deemed worthy because of the actual beer. Not because of what it's stored or shipped in. Cans are a positive for the beer scene, but let's not get started making brash claims. The beers that won would have won even if they were in Styrofoam cups. The cans had nothing to do with it.

Monday Rant: Frozen Pumpkins?

Into the stockpile it goes.

Somehow we all knew it was going to happen. After all, our favorite seasonal brews seem to appear earlier and earlier each year. I'm just going to warn you now that this is going to be the paragraph of callbacks. I certainly know I've harped for almost two years about the seasonals hitting shelves on an earlier basis. I recall writing something proposing some kind of craft beer paradox in which seasonal beers end up coming out so early that the release dates are months out of season (i.e. fall beers being released in the spring).

In that very post, I linked to a report of Penn Brewery planning on releasing one of the first pumpkin beers this summer. The month of the release? July. Well the week has come and gone. Amidst one of the hottest heat waves of the 2013 calendar year, Pumpkin Roll Ale has hit the shelves of our beer distributors.

I honestly don't know where a brewery can get pumpkins to have a pumpkin ale come out this early. Did they have a surplus of them last year and freeze the pumpkin meat? That's the only feasible thing I can come up with in my rage.

I told myself all week long that this past weekend was the one in which I wouldn't drink or buy any more beer. As if I didn't need more anyways. In great fear of this pumpkin beer being stripped from the shelves with ultra beer geek speed, I caved and got myself a case on Saturday. Oh, how shameful it is.

I wasn't thrilled at the thought of beers in a can. Slowly, but surely I've grown on that. Canned beer is easily stackable and takes up less room in a fridge. I think we're close to having all of us getting used to beer out of season. Maybe even to the point where we demand these beers year-round instead of this absurdity. One thing we are close to is a certainty. We now have pumpkin beer in July. Which brewer dares to be the first to do it in June? The clock is ticking.

When Will Rivertowne Delivereth the Cans?

I've been talking on and off about local breweries beginning to can their beers and distribute them. It's been quite a while since I've ran the subject through my mind. That's when a Twitter follower mentioned me in a tweet saying something about  Rivertowne Monroeville cans possibly being out this week.

@burghbeersnob RT cans coming this wk!
— Josh Brikis (@JBrikis) January 9, 2013

Other than that, a quick internet search doesn't find much else on the issue. As far as I've noticed, no Rivertowne cans are in nearby distributors. At least not the few stores I've been in recently.

I'm not the world's biggest fan of beer from cans, but I'll quickly get over it if a world of more variety is unlocked for me. I've only come across bottles of Babbling Blonde, RT Lager and Old Wylie's IPA from the Rivertowne selection.

If you take a look at the Our Brews page on the brewery's website you'll notice the images of a few others that Rivertowne brews. The best part is that they're depicted in cans! I'd love the opportunity to stack a few cans of Hala Kahiki in my fridge.

Monday Rant: Beer Metallica

There was a good piece in Craft Pittsburgh Magazine in its latest issue about how having to expand into canning, bottling and new buildings are all great problems to have for a few local breweries. Two of the brewing companies mentioned in this feature were North Country Brewing in Slippery Rock (which provided me with my very first taste of microbrews while in college) and Rivertowne in Export. Both places are in the beginnings of starting to can some of their beer.

In my mind, the fact remains that this is a great thing for these companies on our local scene. There's more beer to be purchased out on the market and we now can enjoy some of these brews in the comfort of our own homes instead of physically going to the pubs of these companies like we had to previously.

I have a grandmother that can't get over how picky I am sometimes at the dinner table. We're a Slovak family and that shows in our holiday gatherings as the meals are very ethnic. Let's just say I only eat half of what's actually served for dinner on Christmas Eve.

The same can be said for other aspects of my life. When it comes to beer I'm picky about how it's served. I don't really prefer beer from a can as I can easily distinguish some type of metallic taste that seems to settle in the beer.

Some craft breweries are going to can their beer whether I like it or not. So, this is just going to be something I have to get over. Still, I'm excited to have a chance to purchase some beer that I couldn't do previously.

Monday Rant: Beer Cans - Good or Bad?

An interesting poster I came across at Beer of Tomorrow brings up an intriguing point that many beer drinkers have been debating for years and perhaps will for the rest of eternity: canned beer.

From what I can gather there are people that hate having beer out of a can and there are also people that think it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. I think that the ball falls on both sides of the fence in this argument.

As you can see in the poster, having your beer in a can is almost like having it in a mini-keg as it can keep it colder easier. In my book this isn't always the best option. It depends on the beer you're drinking. I feel that a good bit of beers don't need to be really cold to be enjoyed at their fullest.

I agree with he energy-saving aspects brought up in the poster as cans are infinitely recyclable as well as the fact that your beer is less likely to become skunked in a can rather than being in a lighter-colored bottle

Where the argument goes south in my mind is the fact that I've had some beers out of a can taste totally different than it does on tap or out of the bottle, whichever is better depending on your preferences. This is something I've referred to as my "Yuengling Theory" which proposes that the beer tastes magnificently out of the bottle, but isn't the same from cans or on draft. I named it as such because Yuengling was the first beer I noticed this with.

Regardless of what I think, I don't think that you're wrong if you're on either side of the fence. This issue is something that will be deeply rooted in our own personal preferences of how we drink our beer. Just don't come to me and tell me how awesome you think the new Miller Lite punch-top can is. Yes, I had to remind myself how to breath after watching this commercial, too.