CraftPittsburgh Issue #23 by CraftPittsburgh

cooking with beer • home brewing • upcoming beer events • Brewer Sit-down • have you tried...

CraftPittsburgh | Issue 23

where Beer meets Grill

table of contents upcoming events

Sixteen ever changing craft beers

editor’s letter

to chose from 7 Days a week

2016 pittsburgh beer preview @craftpittsburgh - instagram style profile - the dark side of beer

take the party home!

the hoppy couple - dorothy 6

Fill-Up a Growler

with any Beer on tap

hand crafted - getting crafty, drinking beer

check 'aht the list at Bocktown.com/Beer

craft cocktails - colonial-era flip pgh pizza - aiello’s so you want to open a brewery? cooking with beer - oatmeal stout cassoulet

illustrated breweries of pa - voodoo brewery have you tried... where dives survive - armand’s home brewing - the two sisters

brewer sit-down - andy kwiatkowski

page

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6. 7. 8. 10. 12. 14. 16. 18. 23. 24. 28. 31. 32. 34. 36. 38.

DiD'ja know, yinz can see what's on tap any time?

staff

trail head PALE ALE in stores & on tap: January

PUBLISHER P•Scout Media, LLC

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

shakedown stout in stores & on tap: January

hop juju imperial ipa in stores & on tap: February

Rob Soltis rob@craftpittsburgh.com

MANAGING EDITOR Mike Weiss mike@craftpittsburgh.com

COPY EDITOR Frank Cunniff

CONTRIBUTORS Brian Meyer, Beth Kurtz Taylor, Joe Tammariello, Amanda Stein, Mindy Heisler-Johnson, Hart Johnson, Ian Mikrut, Frank Cunniff, Nils Balls, Jack Smith, Will Groves, Dan DeLucia

PHOTOGRAPHERS Tim Burns, Jeff Zoet, Laura Petrilla

COVER PHOTOGRAPHY Jeff Zoet Visuals

AD SALES sales@craftpittsburgh.com

2015 great american ® beer fest

CraftPittsburgh | Issue 23

HOP JUJU - GOLD MEDAL IMPERIAL INDIA PALE ALE BONE HEAD - GOLD MEDAL DOUBLE RED ALE MIDNIGHT MOONLIGHT GOLD MEDAL AMERICAN-STYLE BLACK ALE

CREATIVE Soltis Design soltisdesign.com

BLITZKRIEG BOCK GOLD MEDAL RYE BEER BLACK KNIGHT SILVER MEDAL GERMAN-STYLE SCHWARZBIER

ENJOY OUR FLAGSHIP TRIO YEAR-ROUND

FATHEADS.COM

FOR INFORMATION ON CONTRIBUTING EDITORIAL CONTENT OR PLACING DISPLAY ADVERTISING PLEASE CONTACT US AT INFO@CRAFTPITTSBURGH.COM Craft Pittsburgh is issued bi-monthly by P•Scout Media, LLC. All information and materials in this magazine, individually and collectively, are provided for informational purposes. The contents of this magazine do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of P•Scout Media, LLC., nor does the mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation for use. No portion of this magazine may be reproduced in whole or part without expressed written permission from the publisher. Advertisements are subject to the approval of P•Scout Media, LLC. P•Scout Media, LLC. reserves the right to reject or omit any advertisement at any time for any reason. Advertisers assume responsibility and complete liability for all content in their ads.

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cheErs to a TAsty 2X16!

upcoming events Check out CraftPittsburgh.com for even more events and make sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram. January • 2 Food Truck Roundup @ The Brew Gentlemen • 4 Craft Beer Industry Night @ Caliente • 10 Brewer’s Brunch @ Rock Bottom Brewing • 11-17 Pittsburgh Restaurant Week • 14 Maggie’s Farm Tasting @ Spoonwood Brewing • 16 Good Wood Festival @ East End Brewing • 20 Five Course Cocktail Dinner @ James Street • 22 6th Annual Pour for a Cure @ US Steel Tower • 23 The Grist Shu Brew Tour @ PA Brew Tours • 29 Troeg’s Sausage Fest Tailgate @ Blue Dust • 30 Hibernation Party @ Rivertowne Brewing

February

On the trail or in the woo ds, we’re here fo r your post ri de ... refreshments .

• 1 Craft Beer Industry Night @ Caliente • 6 Lost in the Woods (New Belgium sour party) @ Hough’s • 6 Food Truck Roundup @ The Brew Gentlemen • 14 Steel Valley Brew Tour @ PA Brew Tours • 20 BrewFest @ Steel City Rowing Club • 20 The Hitch Ran Away with the Spoon @ PA Brew Tours • 26 Pittsburgh Winter Beerfest @ DLL Convention Center

March

CraftPittsburgh | Issue 23

Made fresh everyday, be sure to try the one with peanut butter. Really!

north park boathouse • historic southside

• 5 One Hellofa Brew Tour @ PA Brew Tours • 5 12th Annual Hell with the Lid Off @ Kelly’s • 5 Food Truck Roundup @ The Brew Gentlemen • 7 Craft Beer Industry Night @ Caliente

April a great sele ction of seasonal craf t beer on tap. Espe cially the local br ews.

otbbicyclecafe.com

15th - 24th

editor’s letter Happy New Year

ew year, new breweries, new bars, and new fonts. There’s a lot of new things going on in our city and also here at CraftPittsburgh. With everything going on in 2016 let’s not forget how great 2015 was. And what better way to take a look back than with a bunch of Instagram photos.

Rob Soltis

CraftPittsburgh.com

Cheers to another year of friends, family and great beer!

The 2016 Pittsburgh

Beer Preview With 2015 closing out, it’s time to look forward to what’s in store for the new year. In terms of breweries, meaderies, and alcohol in general, it’s looking to be a truly great year. 2015 saw new breweries like Hitchhiker Brewing and Spoonwood Brewing as well as 2nd locations like Voodoo Brewery’s Homestead location. We also saw expansions of equipment like that of East End Brewing and ShuBrew. All totaled, 2015 was a very big year for beer in Pittsburgh. But, with 2015 behind us, we need to start looking at what’s happening in 2016 because the past is, well, the past and the future is always so shiny and bright. Here’s some of what to expect in 2016 from craft beer in and around Pittsburgh.

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New Breweries in Planning

2015 marked the most breweries in the United States since prohibition knocked most of them out of commission for good. In other words, there’s a lot to be excited about in regard to craft brewing, especially in Pittsburgh. 2016 is just getting started and we already have a lineup of breweries set to open this year. In the North Side of Pittsburgh an old firehouse is giving life to a new brewery with War Streets Brewing. With beers named after Mexican War Streets and an amazing, historical location, these guys are looking pretty great. And how can you not get a great beer from them when the owner/brewer is named Jake Bier?

Photo & Story by Brian Meyer

Hashers rejoice! Only a five-minute jog from the War Streets, Allegheny City Brewing is already winning fans with their Grapefruit IPA, Hop Tart sour ale, and Rubus Berliner Weisse. Incorporating a taste for sour and barrel aged ales with the feel of a Colorado brewpub, Al Grasso and the brother-and-sister team of Matt and Amy Yurkovich are poised to open their doors in March. On East Liberty’s Broad Street, Three Mugs Brew Pub is slated to open by the end of 2016. Husband and wife team of Bradley and Alesha Smith recently leased the 4,000-square ft. building that will be home to the new brewpub. Just outside Pittsburgh in Irwin, Quinn Brewing has opened their doors to a thirsty audience. Owner, head brewer, and aptly named Alan Quinn has been brewing beer for himself and friends since the early 1990s. Recently, Quinn decided to take the next step and started sharing that beer with the world, starting with Pittsburgh. Quinn Brewing are kicking things off with three beers, including a Grand Reserve Tripel Belgian Style Ale, Drowsy Emperor British Style Brown Ale, and Elwood Island Irish Style Red Ale. Also opening their doors in 2016 is the winner for most interesting brewery name award: Dancing Gnome Brewery. Soon-to-be located on Main Street in Sharpsburg, this brewery in planning already has an outstanding website (DancingGnomeBeer.com) with a list of their planned beers ready for your (visual) consumption. The brewery plans on only brewing hop-forward beers, primarily focusing on IPAs and pale ales in general. Dancing Gnome will run a 10-bbl system and plans on canning to coincide with their opening.

Eleventh Hour Brewing Co. are planning on opening their doors in early 2016, and are currently wrapping things up on the purchase of their brewing system and are in the final steps of signing their lease. Founder and head brewer Matt McMahon is already making some great beers, which you may have tried at the Beers of the Burgh in 2015, so we’re expecting big things from them when their doors finally open. Spring Hill Brewing on the North Side will open their doors in 2016 after a somewhat lengthy battle with the neighborhood zoning commission and eight months of “legal wrangling.” The new brewery will call Varley Street in the Spring Hill area of the North Side home, only one mile away from Penn Brewery. A few other breweries all planning to open their doors in 2016 include Abjuration Brewing, Couch Brewery in Larimer, Mindful Brewing in Castle Shannon, Cellar Works Brewing in Sarver, and Helicon Brewing in Oakdale. There are more coming up weekly, so keep an eye open online and with CraftPittsburgh on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for news on all the new breweries as we learn about them.

Expansions & New Locations Along with all the new breweries coming to Pittsburgh in 2016, there are just as many expansions and second locations coming up for the existing breweries, brewpubs, and other spirit producers we’ve grown to love as well as the new breweries for 2015 and everything they have to offer. Some breweries that opened in 2015 that are only getting bigger include Brixton Brewing and 4 Brothers Brewing both in Beaver County as well as Insurrection Aleworks and Reclamation Brewing Co. in Heidelberg and Butler, respectively.

As for second locations, one that I am personally excited about is Apis Meadery’s new, larger location. Owner and head meadmaker David Cerminara says the new space will be larger to accommodate the number of mead fans that seems to be growing every day as well as to support a larger mead making facility. The new venture will also feature food, making it a new must-visit location in 2016. With still more new breweries opening, and larger volumes from the breweries we already love, it’s looking like the biggest year yet for craft beer in Pittsburgh.

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Millvale’s Grist House Brewing is planning to essentially double their fermentation capacity in 2016 by installing two new 30 bbl fermenters as well as a new 30 bbl brite tank. Brian Eaton of Grist House Brewing says the primary reason for this expansion is to increase the number of craft beer bars and restaurants that have access to Grist House beers. In short, expect to see quite a bit more of Grist House in Pittsburgh in 2016.

@CraftPittsburgh We love Instagram. Occasionally we team up with cool people like New Belgium to give stuff away. Here are a few entries from the #AccumulationPGH photo contest. Winner Ryan Stetz took home a brand new pair of Rocky Mountain Underground skis. For future contests and giveaways make sure to follow us @CraftPittsburgh.

@stetz5 Combining the PPG Christmas Tree and Accumulation in a great photo, @stetz5 was our winner.

@cosgro

CraftPittsburgh | Issue 23

@damienconn

@barrelhousebabes

Expect more @travelwithtiff

Download the zTrip app and get home safely The new app that gets you a black car or taxi

@bhopesally

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@jtw_brewer

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@amcgreen

style profile Written by Brian Meyer, Image by Jeff Zoet

hances are, you’ve probably heard of both the porter and stout styles of beer, but I’d be willing to bet a growler of East End Brewing’s Black Strap Stout that you’re not sure of what the differences between these two opaque beers really are (no, I’m not buying you any beer, even if you do know the differences). Oh, and in case you didn’t guess by the title, there are going to be quite a few Star Wars references here. What can I say, I’m excited for Episode 7.

to the 1800s and the porter style of beer had made its way to America, Russia, Ireland, and many of the Baltic countries.

It’s not uncommon to confuse the two styles. While there are some key differences that we’ll get to shortly, the names of these two beers don’t just signify dark beers in general as some people take them to mean. Each is a unique style of beer with numerous sub-styles underneath them. In other words, saying that you “just don’t like dark beer” isn’t a valid excuse to not try something new.While they do look nearly identical, these two members of the Dark Side of beer each have something special to offer. Let’s look at the differences between porters and stouts.

That’s right, stouts were, for a time, sub-styles of the porter. These types of porter became the most popular, and the terms porter and stout started to be used interchangeably with one another.

The Porter

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“These are the beers you’re looking for.” -Obi Wan Kenobi

Most likely the first beer to truly span the globe, porters are one of the first beers to employ both innovation and technology to make a beer significantly different than what was currently available in the world. Most accounts have the porter starting its life in 1722 by London brewer Ralph Harwood. Ralph didn’t set out to brew a porter, but instead he mixed three separate beers together to create one unique beer, known as “Three Threads.” This beer became the go-to drink for the working class, which in London consisted heavily of workers known as…you guessed it, porters. As this beer grew in popularity large breweries took on the task of brewing the beer, which required aging in large wooden vats. Jump ahead

At this time, there were a few varieties of porter including: • Plain • Export • Stout • Extra Stout

Some commercial examples of American Porters are: • Anchor Porter • Founders Porter • Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald • Sierra Nevada Porter • Deschutes Black Butte Porter Before getting into the specifics, let’s look at the history of the stout next.

The Stout

“Aren’t you a little short for a stout?” -Possibly Princess Leia Organa

As you read above, it seems the stout definitely came after the porter. This isn’t necessarily so. As it turns out, “stout” was actually a term used to signify strong beers regardless of their style. So, that means that people indeed ordered a “stout pale ale” fairly often. Porters became the most popular beer to be served as a stout, which is why the terms began to become interchangeable for dark beer. As these styles started to commingle the differences between the two became pretty hard to spot. So how do we separate these styles if they’re

so closely linked? It’s not easy, but there are some key differences that many brewers follow. This doesn’t mean that a brewer can’t make an Imperial Porter that’s stronger than most stouts, or that a sessionable stout is out of the question. As long as the beers are dark and fit into a fairly basic framework, more and more it’s seeming up to the brewer to decide. Some commercial examples of stouts include: • Voodoo Big Black Voodoo Daddy • East End Brewing Black Strap Stout • Bell’s Expedition Stout • Sierra Nevada Narwhal Imperial Stout • Full Pint Night of the Living Stout • Rivertowne All Aboard Stout • Great Lakes Blackout Stout

The Differences

“Powerful you have become, the dark beer I sense in you.” -Master Yoda

So, what exactly are the differences between these two styles of beer? To answer this let’s look at the American versions of these beers that originated across the pond all those years ago.These Americanized versions of the porter and stout are typically bigger, stronger, and hoppier than their British counterparts, and yes, they are still closely linked here as well as over there, but there are definitely differences present. Color: One place that a difference between porters and stouts can sometimes be seen is with their color. Porters can be medium to dark brown while a stout is nearly always completely jet black. This isn’t always the case, but since porters originated with brown malt in England, this still seems to hold true today. Aroma: When it comes to aroma, porters tend to lean towards the dark malt aroma side of the fence while the American stout typically adds in the deeper roasted malt aromas of coffee, dark chocolate, and toasted malts. Porters can have hints of toffee in their aroma mixed with light notes of toasted malt — stouts go all-in on the roasted aroma profile. Flavor: Sure, looking at and smelling beer is great, but taste is what really matters. This is where the styles truly start to distinguish themselves. The American porter typically has a moderately strong malt flavor with a lightly burnt malt character that can come through as chocolate or coffee. The American stout on the other hand typically features roasted malt flavors, which lend tastes of dark roast coffee, rich chocolate and caramel – as well as medium to high levels of bitterness. This doesn’t mean there aren’t sweet stouts out there and extra bitter porters, but it does mean these typically meet their respective criteria. Alcohol By Volume: Finally, when talking Alcohol By Volume, or ABV, porters are typically lower than a stout. Porters often fall into the 4.5-6.5% ABV range while stouts can be found most frequently in the 6-8% range and above. It’s not uncommon to find a 10% ABV or higher stout.

Brian founded and writes for pghcraftbeers.com and craftbeeracademy.com.

CraftPittsburgh.com

Overall, the distinctions between porters and stouts are not huge, and even with their notable differences, they still tend to ebb and flow into each other as brewers push the boundaries of different styles. So the next time you’re looking for a dark beer, should you try a porter or a stout? Whatever you pick, don’t just try it. Follow Yoda’s advice: Drink or drink not, there is no try.

hoppy couple

Dorothy 6

Blast Furnace Cafe 224 East 8th Ave, Homestead 15120 - dorothy6.com

The Hoppy Couple is one part Joe Tammariello and one part Amanda Stein. Amanda is the charitable creative type, while Joe is the nerdy eccentric type. Together we make a perfect brew, har har. We don’t consider ourselves beer experts but we spend a good bit of our free time exploring the city and sampling all of the food and drink it has to offer. We also try our hand at brewing beer from time to time at our home in Swissvale. We hope that our points of view will pour a well-rounded pint of our experiences with Pittsburgh’s local craft beer scene. Say “Cheers!” if you see us out!

Amanda Location

Dorothy 6 is located in Homestead but you may know the area better by “The Waterfront,” which boasts plenty of food and shopping. Just across the train tracks is the small downtown of Homestead, which is another one of Pittsburgh’s up-and-coming neighborhoods with several breweries and restaurants leading the way. All of these restaurants offer something a little different so it’s great to see them supporting each other instead of competing. If you find yourself in the Waterfront for errands soon, make the turn across the train tracks to check it out.

Beer

While Dorothy 6 has a great selection of seasonally rotating taps, as well as a fairly extensive wine list, I noticed that their handcrafted cocktails looked pretty unique and I decided to give it a go. I had the Mon River Water Martini which is Skyy Grapefruit Vodka, Barrow’s Intense Ginger Liqueur, fresh basil, and soda. It was absolutely delicious! We got to chat with the bar manager, Kyle, who went over some of the new cocktails he designed for this season’s cocktail list. You can tell he takes a lot of pride in the work he puts into keeping the food and drink menu fresh.

CraftPittsburgh | Issue 23

Atmosphere

Pittsburgh has a long history of hard workers and Dorothy 6 pays homage to that. The Steel City was once powered by three furnaces, Carrie, Eliza, and Dorothy. Big Dorothy ran hot and powerful but after she burned out she was just another part of Pittsburgh history. Every part of Dorothy 6 is a tribute to the past: reclaimed steel, exposed brick of buildings past, grand chandeliers, and the hard working staff. The main spot has a large industrial-themed

bar, dining tables, and a patio space for nicer weather. Upstairs is their Karma Lounge which is a more private dining experience for date night, private parties, and events.

Food

Their menu is well-crafted and delicious. Joe and I shared a few appetizers during our visit and each got a meal afterwards (though we were already full!). I chose the Spinach Artichoke Bruschetta and it was remarkable; sliced bread topped with savory sun-dried tomato relish and creamy goat cheese (mmm, cheese!), crispy Applewood bacon, and drizzled with a rich balsamic vinaigrette. I could have eaten the whole thing myself – so decadent. I’m also a sucker for a good bowl of French Onion Soup so I had to try theirs and it did not disappoint.

Joe

Location

The Waterfront got the ball rolling and its success paved the way for some smaller, craft businesses. If you are looking to do a bit of a beer tour, I would recommend stopping by Blue Dust and Voodoo Brewery’s Homestead location which you can walk to. I have to say that we forgot to take a selfie at Dorothy 6, so the picture you see is actually from Oysterfest, which took place in Homestead during Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week 2015. While we were at Dorothy 6, Kyle told us about Studio AM across the street.This cool spot is operated by former Pittsburgh Steeler, Baron Batch, who is a local art and food buff in Pittsburgh.

Beer

Dorothy 6 had Sly Fox Christmas Ale (one of my favorite winter beers) which I did have, but I want to talk about the other seasonal I tried. Elysian’s Dark O’ The Moon was a super flavorful stout, dubbed a “cinna-stout.” I love cinnamon, even more, I love cinnamon in my

beer. It reminded me of Elysian’s Punkuccino without the pumpkin or coffee notes being as prominent. Overall this beer was dark, but smooth, and not too heavy. Dorothy 6 seems to keep as many regional beers on tap as possible which fits their theme quite well.

Atmosphere

Dorothy 6’s décor screams reclamation. Some of the more notable fixtures are in the downstairs bar. The bar’s backsplash is essentially a 400lb crane hook that is supported, literally, by “I” beams. The bar top is made from poured concrete with really neat USS (US Steel) inlays. The edge of the bar, and the foot rest that runs under it, are made from old train track rails which is really unique and seems to make perfect sense. Overall, there is a lot to look at once inside Dorothy 6 so be prepared to take some pictures.

Food

We don’t normally order enough food to feed six people, but tonight we did, and we had no regrets.A brand new option that wasn’t even on the menu yet was dubbed “Beer Pierogi.” These delicious pockets of potato are made with Full Pint’s Kolsch style beer and the dough used to make them is made in part by using spent grains from Full Pint’s local brewery as well.You could really tell, too. They were a bit heavier than normal pierogi and had a very slight beer taste to them. Delicious. I also had their reuben because what else goes better with pierogi than corned beef?

Conclusion

Homestead is quickly becoming a place to keep your eye on and Dorothy 6 is helping to make Homestead a great place to visit if you are into craft beer, art, and food. Check out any or all of the places we mentioned and you won’t be disappointed. Cheers!

Explore a Wonderland of Winter Beers

Hundreds of domestic, import & craft beers now available in over 40 Giant Eagle and Market District CafĂŠs throughout Western PA.

For store locations or more information, please visit: www.GiantEagle.com/Beer. Not all items available in all locations. Restrictions apply. See store for details.

hand crafted

Getting Crafty, Drinking Beer By Beth Kurtz Taylor

More and more, the worlds of those who craft works of art and those who brew delicious craft beers intersect. Wandering around Western Pennsylvania, as I often do, I found a number of spaces where the two “crafts” come together.

Selling Art, Sampling Beer There was a steady stream of people of all ages going into East End’s Larimer brewery on a bright but chilly day in November. Most were not the usual customers with empty growlers in hand. They were there for multiple levels of craft: craft beer, hand crafted items, and the opportunity to craft a necklace. It was the third East End Crafts and Drafts held in the facility within the past year. In February of 2015, Scott Smith had the idea to open his brewery to local artists to sell their wares, as well as a food vendor, and included a new release beer tasting. He recalled that they created a Facebook page and had a little over 200 positive responses, figuring half that amount would attend. It was a huge success with people standing 45 minutes shoulder-to-shoulder in line for beer; it was hard to keep count when upwards of 500 guests had arrived. With the success of the first event they’ve had two more within the first year. Expanding on the idea, the whole brewing space beyond the taproom is now opened up as well. Crafters vend in brew space and the tap room along with on-site crafting by the resourceful artists from Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse. La Palapa Food Truck was stationed in the parking lot and of course beer and Barmy sodas were for sale at the bar. Look for more Craft and Draft days in the winter months! The Pittsburgh Beer Ladies are fortunate to have Samantha Bower among their members. She is a local jewelry artist who sets up shop in The Artsmiths, an arts and cultural center and cafe in Mt. Lebanon. In December she coordinated a craft beer night there along with a trunk show for local artists. East End was on hand serving up Snow Melt, Fat Gary and Big Hop and guests were able to participate in a small scale six pack beer exchange. A trunk show afforded the artists large gallery space in the facility’s basement so they were able to display and sell larger pieces of their work. Added bonus: offering craft beer brought new customers into the innovative space!

Getting Creative, Sampling Beer Cold local brews taste extra delicious consumed in a mug you crafted yourself. The Pittsburgh Society for Contemporary Craft offered novice potters the opportunities to build one from pottery slabs this past fall. Eight participants spent an entire Saturday working with clay to design their individually stylized beer tankard. Instructor Yoko SekinoBove guided the group through construction, decorating with clay imprinting and coloring the mugs with food safe glazes. The students came up with creative designs using Yoko’s techniques or their own designs ranging from custom braided mug handles to a large beer boot! The Society for Contemporary Craft also offer their own Crafts and Drafts for crafters who want to spend a relaxing evening getting their feet wet in the craft beer world. Crafts and Drafts is a session that is offered on Friday evenings throughout the year. Local artists guide the participants through a specific small scale craft while they enjoy a few local brews and snacks. A friend and I recently made jewelry out of wood scraps and metal findings from the Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse. Upcoming classes include work with fiber artists and a metal crafter where the students will make a ring.

CraftPittsburgh | Issue 23

The Union Project also offers sessions to craft receptacles for local boozy beverages. There is not another Beer & Stein class until fall of 2016, but if you are in need of a flask for distilled spirits, there is an upcoming workshop this spring.They are teaming up with Wigle Whiskey for this event which, like their stein class, will include some imbibing of their partner’s product.

Don’t let the name deceive you. The Allegheny Wine Mixer also has a great selection of craft beer in addition to their well-curated list of wines and cocktails. On the first Sunday of every month you can tap into your creative side from 6:00 to 9:00 pm by participating in Bar Crafts! The Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse assembles project kits, which vary each month and are available to purchase for $5.00. Beverages, snacks, music, and crafting combine for a good way to wind down before the work week starts.

The Mug Club at Reclamation Sizing up the interior of Reclamation Brewing in Butler, you’ll notice the owners’ appreciation for artwork made with salvaged or repurposed items.The company’s logo is represented in a large back wall mosaic made entirely of beer bottle caps. Empty craft whiskey bottles are encased in wooden frames with metal slats as wall art. But behind the bar lies an earth toned collection of handmade numbered beer steins, no two alike. This labor of love was created by Renee Suhr, a potter and owner of Stray Cat Studio in Beaver Falls. Mug Club members, financial backers of the new brewery through Indigogo, have their own numbered steins to use when they patronize Reclamation. Suhr recalled that throwing the mugs was no easy task as they had to be consistent in size, comparable to the volume of a pint glass. In order to get the job done she had to enlist the help of two other potters.The Reclamation logo is emblazoned into each mug using an iron print method. The print is affixed and fired and the iron image is left behind. If you are visiting Beaver Falls, stop by Stray Cat Studio. In addition to offering pottery classes, they also have an artisan gift shop featuring the work of over 90 local artists. There’s sure to be a beer stein among the shelves of gifts!

pccr.org reclamationbrewing.com straycatarts.com unionproject.org

CraftPittsburgh.com

alleghenywinemixer.com artsmithspgh.com contemporarycraft.org eastendbrewing.com

craft cocktails

Written by Will Groves, photos by Laura Petrilla

Colonial-era

Flips T

here you are. Sitting by a crackling fire in a cozy tavern after a long day. You’re relaxing with a drink and chatting with a friend. There is one more detail that shouldn’t be overlooked in the interest of setting this scene. The friend you’re talking to at this tavern is noted cherry-tree-cutterdowner and fomenter of rebellion, George Washington.That seems important to the story. It would be foolish to think the founding fathers of this great nation weren’t imbibing after a long day every now and again. Washington himself distilled whiskey. Thomas Jefferson was a wine nut. Sam Adams was… well, that one’s easy to guess. So what spirit were the founding fathers drinking after a hard day of revolution? The answer is obvious, right? When you think of the very spirit of America, you’re thinking about one thing. That brown liquid that figures so heavily in our collective consciousness. That magical stuff, after careful distillation and long maturation in a barrel, that gave our forebearers the strength of will to throw off the shackles of injustice imposed by the Crown. Whiskey, right? Nope. It was rum. Sorry to spoil that for you. The reason for rum’s popularity over whiskey was purely practical. Molasses was cheap, readily available and easy to store. Whiskey distilling, on the other hand, typically was limited to times when farmers had excess grain that couldn’t be stored without spoiling. By 1770, rum production in Colonial America was upwards of 4.8 million gallons . That’s not to mention the nearly 4 million gallons that were imported from the Caribbean. It was generally accepted that Caribbean rum was better. Colonial rum though, was much cheaper. It’s this fact that gives rise to some of the earliest mixed drinks such as syllabubs (syllabubs are kind of like eggnog, but with wine) and toddies.

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Just think back to college. You had some booze that tasted like garbage juice and you’d do almost anything to cover it up and try to make it potable. That was how the colonists lived and imbibed every day of their lives. Their courage is truly admirable. One of the best ways these brave folks found to cover up the taste of cheap, coarse rum was to make a drink called a flip. Traditionally a flip is rum, dark beer and molasses, heated to boiling with a red hot tool called a loggerhead. All of these things were readily available in most any colonial tavern or home. The trio of beer, sugar or molasses, and intense caramelization do a whole lot to soften the blow of even the rowdiest rums. Of course nowadays, we have spirits that taste great on their own. So now, when we apply these same antiquated processes and techniques to modern spirits we not only get beverages that are potable, but delicious.

The flip we made for this article is based on Maggie’s Farm Spiced rum. While a spiced rum isn’t strictly traditional, it is delicious and adds another layer of complexity to this colonial cocktail. Speaking of nontraditional, the beer featured is Spoonwood’s phenomenal Bruna. Bruna is a Belgian porter that clocks in at 8.2% ABV and is weighty, slightly sweet, and has notes of fig and chocolate. Not exactly what the colonists would have, but my priority here is making tasty stuff, not teaching a history class.

With that in mind, let’s get to a recipe.

Colonial-era Flips (makes 2) • 4 oz. Maggie’s Farm spiced rum • 2 oz. brown sugar syrup or molasses • 12 oz. Spoonwood Bruna Belgian porter, or other dark, rich beer • Freshly grated nutmeg or cinnamon, to garnish Preheat two mugs by filling them with boiling water. Combine all ingredients in a metal vessel. Pull your iron loggerhead from a roaring fire and plunge into the drink until the flip is steaming hot, frothy and the sugars have begun to caramelize. Serve and enjoy. Sounds pretty simple, right? What’s that? You don’t have a cast iron loggerhead? Oh…well, that changes things, I guess. Let’s think about the science involved here. You need to caramelize or even burn some of the sugars here. That creates deep flavor and complexity. You also need to rapidly heat the whole drink so you don’t boil off the alcohol. Unless I’ve been doing it wrong this whole time, the alcohol is the best part, after all. Here’s what I put together as a work around for not having a loggerhead, but still wanting to feel like you’re drinking with Paul Revere. Heat a cast iron or other very heavy pot over medium heat until water splashed on the bottom immediately fizzles away. Once you have this pot very hot, SLOWLY (I cannot overstate the importance of pouring slowly and gently so this doesn’t explode and create a huge mess on your stove) pour the drink directly into the center. It will foam and sputter violently for a few seconds. It will stop, don’t worry. Wait 20-30 seconds until the drink is hot. Pull it off the heat. It’s done. Ladle it into pre-heated mugs and grate cinnamon or nutmeg on top. I seriously hope you try this drink. It’s really tasty, the parts list is pretty simple, it’s easy to make for a crowd, and most of all it’s a tangible link to the bibulous history of the United States. Cocktails, when they’re good, have a history and innumerable stories behind their creation and consumption, and this one has more than almost any other I can think of.

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(One quick note. If you do try this drink, and enjoy it enough to want a loggerhead, the loggerhead which is pictured in this article was custommade for me by the extremely talented and friendly Colin Carrier at London Pattern Studio in Homewood. londonpattern.com)

CraftPittsburgh | Issue 23

PGH PIZZA

Aiello’s 2112 Murray Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15217 by Dan DeLucia

an idea, but it basically operates on the honor system — so don’t be a jagoff! They have a nice selection of crafts, domestics, and imports with sixers to go. Of course, I’m having an ice-cold Iron City.

When it comes to pizza in Pittsburgh, Murray Avenue in Squirrel Hill is a veritable Murderers’ Row. With 3 top-notch pizzerias within a two-block section, locals definitely play favorites. I enjoy them all. Tonight I’m having Aiello’s. At 2112 Murray Avenue, this is not my first foray here. It’s in my regular rotation.

This evening at Aiello’s, I’m getting a 10-cut plain. When your pizza is ready and they call you up to the counter to grab it, you can tell immediately it’s a top quality pie. One of my favorite characteristics about Aiello’s pizza is the balance in flavor and construction. The cheese is a classic tasty blend: a little sharp, a little salty - firm, but not too hard, nor gooey. The thin floury crust is crispy, yet airy and chewy inside - never burnt. There is an indescribable subtle sweetness to it. Between all this is a perfect layer of sauce. It’s slightly sweet, yet zesty. The final sauce note is a spicy bite. Everything about this pie hits the spot in the right ways. It’s a precise amalgam of flavors that work together perfectly. Satisfying, it pairs perfectly with a cold pale lager.

Great pizza is all about family tradition. After arriving in America in 1967 and sharpening his craft at another local pizza parlor, Giuseppe Aiello opened up shop in 1978. With his recent passing, the business has been handed down to his son, Michael. He’s always right there in front of the oven keeping a watchful eye on the operation. The draw with pizza shops is what you see as you approach the place from the street. For me, it’s all about presentation. Below the super cool vintage hand-painted sign, Aiello’s has a large front window where you can see all the way to the back of the joint. Right up front is a spectacular sight: pizza dough being thrown right there behind the glass. As you walk in, the counter stretches back to the seating area. You’re greeted with a friendly and dedicated staff. From the dough-man, the pizza makes its trip along the counter to Mike sliding it into the oven. I like that it all happens in front of you. The parlor is well lit and always nice and clean. It’s busy, but you can usually find a seat. In the summer, they also open up seating on the sidewalk. Aiello’s offers a nice dining-in experience. Whether on a date, with friends, or family you can sit back and relax and not feel rushed out the door. This particular evening, I watched the hockey game. Order your pie and grab a beer from the cooler. You’ll pay on your way out. Keep track of what you drink. I like to think that they probably have

I’m a big fan of plain cheese pizza, especially if it’s my first visit. In my opinion, it’s the best way to really get to know a pizza for the first time. It’s like an interview. I know what I like, and I know what I’m looking for in a pie. It usually ends there. Occasionally, I’ll gamble and get pepperoni… if I’m not driving.

If you’ve never been to Aiello’s, do yourself a favor and check it out soon. Get a whole pizza, or grab a couple slices. They even offer half-baked pies that you can finish in the oven at home. It’s a Squirrel Hill institution with a savagely loyal customer base. They’ve been around a long time for a reason. The pizzas they serve speak for themselves. Aiello’s is a go-to when it comes to searching out a delicious pizza in Pittsburgh. I promise not to steer you wrong. I live a life of pie. CraftPittsburgh.com

othing pairs better with good beer (and cheap beer) than good pizza. Obviously, for a publication dedicated to educating and informing Pittsburgh about all things craft beer is it only makes perfect sense to include a section about pizza. The editor is a sharp cookie. He’s instilled me with the great responsibility of writing about the best pizzerias around town. Trust me, OK? I know what I’m talking about. I consume an unhealthy amount of pizza. Call it a sick obsession. Our city has an abundance of great pizza shops. Let’s discuss!

So You Want to Open a Brewery? Written by Ian Mikrut, photos by Jeff Zoet

It’s not as easy as it sounds. Insurrection Aleworks finally opened its doors to the public mid-November, after years of various delays and forced changing of plans held them in place. Matt Messer, one of the owners of Insurrection, shared some advice. “Don’t make a projection of when you’re going to open. Plan on delays and don’t plan on setting a date.” While opening weekend seems like a logical beginning, it’s hard to imagine starting there without mentioning all the headaches in between that Messer and partner Brad Primozic encountered embarking on this venture. Primozic, from Murrysville, apprenticed at Davidson Brothers Brewery in New York. When he would come home to visit his family he’d find himself hanging out at nearby 3 Rivers 6 Pack in Delmont, owned by Messer. “I got to know him pretty well,” Primozic said. “I’d come down and visit and bring a bunch of beers for him maybe once or twice a month, finally he said let’s do a brewery together. I thought he was joking for a long time,” he continued. Before long Messer was calling him once every couple of months. Then once a month. Until finally it became a matter of time until Primozic moved back home. The pair have been home brewing on the same system for the last two years.“We would take batches out to his shop and see what people think, we got to air our mistakes out with his regulars rather than two weeks after opening,” Primozic said. There’s no manual for opening a brewery. For anyone starting a new business endeavor, pitfalls and setbacks are bound to happen despite any plans or preparations made in advance.

At Insurrection, the delays came early and often. The “farmhouse industrial” warehouse space that now houses all of the brewing equipment, beautiful bar top and tables made from a black walnut tree from Messer’s parents’ house (preparing the wood took four years), wasn’t even the location originally intended for customers. A bar just 20 yards away from the warehouse seemed like the perfect set up. The plan was to use the warehouse to store production equipment with a small storefront open a few hours a week to sell growlers in order to meet the requirements for the zoning licenses. The pair had plans to purchase the bar, already fitted with a kitchen, and run the brewpub as its own entity while keeping production organized separately next door. “It needed renovations, but it wasn’t like this where we had to retrofit the entire building,” Messer said. “We were literally drawing the paperwork up, getting ready to send it over and his lawyer stopped calling us back,” he said. What seemed like a sure thing quickly proved otherwise. Six months later, the bar was shut down for not paying the county liquor tax and other potential issues. It’s still tied up in court. “So after that, that’s when the fun started,” Messer said. Left with the warehouse, Insurrection literally started from scratch.Though Messer bought the property ten years ago after the area was flooded after Hurricane Ivan, there was a long road ahead in getting the space ready for customers. Besides extensive drywall damage, it was originally intended as office and storage space for a real estate company before Messer and Primozic planned on using it for production. Now, it had to hold their entire operation. From an outside perspective, it would seem like getting usable space would be the hard part and from there you could hit the ground running. However, there are so many seemingly minor details needing tending that any progress can be halted for months. Before any plans to retrofit the building could be put in place, a parking variance was needed. One parking space is needed per every four seats

needs to be fine-tuned,” Primozic explained. Trouble shooting these kind of issues tend to be trial and error, taking the system apart and figuring it out. Luckily, Robin Hood Brewing Co. in Bellefonte runs the exact same model. “There’s no manual, so we spent a day with those guys,” said Primozic. One of the biggest points Messer and Primozic stressed is that the entire process is a learning experience.You have to figure out a lot on your own, and that included the proper cleaning methods and using the keg washer. However, the craft beer industry stands out as collaborative in the way that breweries always seem quick to help one another out. “Chris Schell at Robin Hood just did a fantastic job of just sharing all his data with me,” said Primozic. “He gave me everything I needed to know. He was brilliant just sharing all of that because he didn’t have to.”

planned. Insurrection ultimately had five to start with, but with 40 seats planned they would need a total of ten spots. The variance involves posting a sign on the door of the business for 45 days, telling anyone in the public the date, time and location of the zoning hearing.The hearings are open to the public to come and air any grievances. Though the hearing went well, it was a two month process before Insurrection obtained a variance for five spots. So after two months, parking could finally be checked off the growing to-do list. It was mid-December of last year and the two could finally sit down with the architect to start planning the warehouse renovations. With a projected timeline of 6-8 weeks for initial plans to be ready, the pair figured they’d be able to submit everything and be approved to start working by the end of March. That’s an estimated month and a half to two month delay just for planning.“And that’s on us, nobody else delayed us but the engineer that the architect used. So we literally didn’t’ get our plans until April,” Messer said. Initial reconstruction involved cutting out the entire floor and putting in new sewer lines. “Heidelberg is different than some places. It’s a small borough so they have a third party independent, private company that handles all of their inspections. So you don’t submit it to the borough, it’s to this third party company in Mars. They were not easy to deal with,” Messer said. While the existing drains would have been fine for production-only, the addition of the brewpub involved installing a new drain. The original concrete floor was cut out entirely, trenched, and sewer lines were put in place. The plumbing inspection was taken care of through the county, separate from the building inspection. After getting the OK from the plumber, everything could be sealed and the concrete re-poured. There are a lot of separate, constantly moving pieces at work. The year prior, the pair had already put a deposit down for brewing equipment, expecting it to arrive the previous summer. Because the order was for a small independent brewer like Insurrection, the company they ordered from waited to piggy-back it along with other orders to save on shipping. Tack on another six month delay.

CraftPittsburgh | Issue 23

Now that all the equipment has arrived and the interior is in the midst of getting ready, just install everything and you’re good to go, right?

Think again. Insurrection runs a 3.5 barrel system that needed to look professional and aesthetically pleasing since it would be on display. And there aren’t many options for the type of equipment needed for that operation. Messer and Primozic were essentially left with a bunch of crates and not much instruction in terms of installation and use. Early on the pair were forced to dump two to three batches because the system wasn’t cooling properly. “You don’t know what the max grain load is if you’re doing a big beer, you don’t know evaporation rate, all this stuff

Still, there’s not a fix-all brewery mechanic that can be called to fix equipment or show you exactly how to use everything. Messer mentions a welder he knows he can call, but fortunately hasn’t been needed at Insurrection. “You become a glorified janitor basically,” said Primozic. With most of the headaches behind them, Messer and Primozic were ready for their grand opening. “Congratulations you’re open, but now the grind starts,” said Messer.“Now the real work begins.” The pair emphasize how the majority of the general public have been receptive and excited for their business, even locking up for them when they’ve left their doors open during the long, stressful renovation process. The first night wasn’t without its issues. A failed attempt at using a different payment system than at 3 Rivers 6 Pack took longer to process orders, creating some delays because of the number of people in and out of the brewery all night. Add it to the to-do list. After everything, particularly in the last year, Insurrection is excited to finally showcase their mass selection of beer, full kitchen menu and comfortable space. “All things considered, it went alright and it’s been smooth sailing ever since,” said Messer. The menu includes wings, salads,

appetizers like French onion dip, deep fried Portobello mushrooms, stuffed pork meatballs, various mac n’ cheese selections and an array of sandwiches with pizza selections on the way. While the core structure of the menu will remain the same, specific meal choices are planned to be rotated. Most of the ingredients are locally sourced from La Gourmandine (Lawrenceville), Strip District Meats, Parma and Penn Mac. As for beer (finally), Insurrection does everything from hoppy ales, saisons, and IPAs, to a whole room dedicated to sours. “We’re ramping up to have more sours to offer,” said Messer. “We have two wine barrels filled that will be ready in a year or so. We’ll be able to make more, get that process up and running, we should have a consistent flow,” he said. As its Whiskey Rebellion name suggests, Insurrection also plans on doing a few bourbon barrel releases, though it’s not a main focus. Something that stands out about Insurrection is its minimalist approach to branding. Their logo is simply Insurrection scripted with a lion modeled after the Heidelberg graphic and hops at the end of its tails. There are no crazy names or labels for any of the beers, Messer and Primozic believe that making the best beer possible should be the main focus.

TRIBUTING ISSINCE 1933

MPANY CO

VECENIE D

Do away with all the needless, excessive selling points like off-the-wall ingredients, goofy names and IBU scales. They’re hesitant to even categorize the style and taste out of worry that it’ll be associated with someone else as a selling point, desiring their beer to speak for itself. There aren’t even yearround flag-ships to choose from. “We don’t really have any flagships, I’m not a huge believer in them,” Primozic said.“The biggest pitfall we talked about in being a new brewery is hop contracts. Hop contracts for any hop, especially for the ‘it’ hop. Crops are sold years in advance. If you’re a new brewery

2015

coming in, those contracts are set up five years in advance. So you come in and it’s like, what am I going to do? If I’m going to make a beer, people love it and it has citric and mosaic like our Sedition #3, probably our best seller right now, I want to make that beer next week and I’m out and can’t get the hops. Now that beer is worthless to me and our flagship is dead until I can get that hop,” Primozic said. Because Insurrection is a smaller operation, there is some flexibility in that they can pay retail to get the hops they want and absorb the cost that comes with it. That’s something a lot of larger breweries can’t do. While that’s not saying Insurrection won’t revisit a particular beer, the current hop issue provides the opportunity for Messer and Primozic to experiment and constantly be creating something new while educating the customer. “The way I put it is, for example just our IPAs are a way to taste what the hops have to offer over just bitterness,” Messer said. “You get to experience the flavor of the hops over bitterness. So many people associate IPAs with bitterness. I don’t want that.” “The beer is different from most people’s,” Primozic said. “If you taste it, it’s softer, there’s very little perceived bitterness. I don’t want to call it smoother, it’s just a different process, but at the end of the day we live in Pittsburgh, we make Pittsburgh beer, we make beer that we like.” So you still want to open a brewery? With all the preparation over and the doors finally opened, it would seem like now is the easy part. While Messer and Primozic are still dealing with the usual day to day headaches of owning and operating a brewpub, these are the ones the pair signed up for.Whether it’s correcting their Google map location, figuring out off-site production space and logistics or keeping customers on their toes, it’s all in a day’s work.

VECENIE DISTRIBUTING CO. 140 North Avenue, Millvale, PA 15209

412.821.4618  beersince1933.com

PORTER’S & STOUT’S

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Western Pennsylvania’s Premier Wholesaler of Regional, Craft, Imported Beers and Specialty Sodas

cooking with beer Hitchhiker Oatmeal Stout

Cassoulet By Mindy Heisler-Johnson

assoulet is one of my very favorite winter dishes; a traditional French peasant dish, cassoulet is a hearty, stick-to-your-ribs, slow cooked bean stew that can be topped with any number of meats, poultry or sausages. Dried beans are slow cooked with vegetables, aromatics, stock and, in this case, smoked ham hocks and Hitchhiker Oatmeal Stout, until you get a thick and bubbly, steaming pot of winter perfection. One of those low & slow meals MADE to be cooked with beer when winter gets real. The bean stew is topped with a layer of fresh or panko bread crumbs, baked to a perfect bubbly brown crust then traditionally (using that term loosely) topped with confit duck leg, wild game sausage and roasted pork loin.

CraftPittsburgh | Issue 23

There is no “right” way to serve a cassoulet; for me perfect is a roasted chicken thigh, duck sausage and a chunk of seared medium pork tenderloin. For The Husband it’s a spicy merguez lamb sausage, smoked pork and roasted chicken breast. It is also delicious all by itself with the chunks of smoked ham hock all cooked in. I have also made vegetarian versions topped with roasted cauliflower and brussel sprouts and no meats cooked into the beans and you don’t really miss the meat. This dish is easily tuned to your personal tastes - a little chipotle & cumin give it a southwest flare, lighten it up with leeks and all white beans and pair with some shrimp or lobster for a beautiful seafood cassoulet, Creole it with some peppers, gumbo spices and seafood stock; much of the beauty of peasant food is its versatility, cassoulet is no exception.

For this I chose a rich and dark Oatmeal Stout from Hitchhiker Brewing in Mt Lebanon. Their stout has a deep, smoky flavor with little bitterness that works well for the slow cook. Sam Smith Oatmeal Stout also works really well in this dish - you just want to stay away from any stouts that are overly sweet or bitter, they will add some strange aftertastes to the beans. This recipe is made from dry beans, so the cook time is 6 to 8 hours. If you don’t have that kind of time you can make a quickie version using canned, drained beans, just reduce the stock on the recipe by 3 quarts and cook for about 2 hours to let all the flavors marry. The leftovers from this might be my favorite thing - they freeze well if you need them to for fast, just-add-meat dinners and they make an amazing base for a hearty bean soup.

Oatmeal Stout Cassoulet

2lbs dried beans - I used a mix of red kidney, lima, black eyed peas and garbanzo 1 gallon cold water 5 slices thick sliced bacon, diced up 1 large sweet onion, small dice 3 carrots, small dice 3 stalks celery, small dice

2 cloves garlic, minced 1 tbsp herbs de provence or dried thyme 2 bay leaves 2 tsp fresh ground black pepper 1 tbsp salt 1 qt Hitchhiker Oatmeal Stout 1 28oz can whole plum tomatoes 1 gallon chicken stock 2-3 smoked ham hocks Rinse your dried beans in a colander and pick them through for any weird things, doesn’t happen often but it does happen. Soak in the gallon of cold water in the fridge overnight.You can quick soak them by bringing them to a boil with the water in a pot for 15 minutes then letting sit covered for an hour, but I find the beans cook better with the slow soak. When you’re ready to cook, drain the beans and discard the soak water. Heat a dutch oven-sized pot over medium high heat. Add a couple tablespoons of olive oil and bacon, render until bacon is crisped. While bacon cooks prep your veggies. When the bacon is crispy add the onion, carrot and celery. Cook over medium high heat for three or four minutes, until the onions loose the raw smell. Add the garlic and herbs and cook until the garlic smells sweet, another few minutes. Season with salt and pepper and deglaze with the beer. Bring to a simmer and reduce the beer by half. Add the tomatoes and crush them up with a spoon while bringing back to a simmer. Add the beans, stock and ham hocks. Bring to a simmer, cover and either slide into a heated 350° oven or continue on the stovetop; I prefer the oven for a more even distribution of heat and less chance of scorching as the stew thickens. Remove the lid and stir every hour or so for the first 4-5 hours they are cooking. Check the stock levels and the tenderness of the beans after hour five, at this point you will see it starting to thicken as the beans cook and the ham hocks will start to fall apart. Remove the lid and let the beans finish cooking and the stock reduce. Taste often for the doneness of the beans - don’t add more liquid unless you absolutely have to in order to completely cook the beans until they are soft and tender, but not completely obliterated. Pull out the ham bones, shred the meat and put back into the cassoulet. Adjust your seasoning with salt and pepper when the cassoulet is completely cooked. At this point it can be cooled or ladled into bowls, topped with panko or fresh bread crumbs, and browned in a hot oven. Top with your favorite meats (or not-meats) of choice, then serve paired with your favorite winter beer and some crusty bread for the perfect winter supper.

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CraftPittsburgh | Issue 23

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have you tried... Written by Hart Johnson, photo by Tim Burns

1. Ballantine | Burton Ale 11.3% - Old Ale - ballantinebeer.com I know I’ve talked about Pabst “rescuing” the Ballantine name before on these pages, so let’s go beyond that. Burton Ale. Malt forward, heavily hopped but not a stout? Bold move in this day and age. But hey, Old Ale, Burton Ale, Session Barleywine, these are all just words, put forth a quality product and you can literally call it Hoof Hearted in this age of wonderment. Anyway, why in the hell is Pabst making an Old Ale this good? Why is Pabst making an Old Ale at all? I don’t know, I’ll say I wish it was bottle conditioned beer, the label mentions ageing & filtered beer doesn’t do that well. But this is a damn good shot at an Old Ale, rich candied apples on the aroma with a little hint of cedar hoppiness. Rich and sweet on the tongue, lots of sweet malts & ripe fruit flavors, little hint of hop bitterness on the finish. Label says 75 IBU and man o man does that mean nothing because all those hops are buried beneath piles of sweet delicious malt. More Old Ales please. Recommended if you like: Young’s - Old Nick, East End - Old Nebby, Founders - Curmudgeon, North Coast - Old Stock Ale

2. Troegs | Scratch #212 CraftPittsburgh | Issue 23

7.1% - Chocolate Stout - troegs.com

The Troegs Scratch Series is a fun testing ground for things that may or may not become a reality for the “big” Troegs Brewery. Starting in 2007 the Scratch Series right off the bat gave us the first version of Flying Mouflan with #4 and hasn’t stopped. If you’ve been paying attention, previous Scratch Beers have been everything from Gose to Mango Triple IPA to Cranberry Porter. Some barely survive on the life of a dozen untappd reviews, others graduate into the big leagues. #212 is the Ebby Laloosh story of the season, getting its chance in the big show by appearing in the Winter Anthology variety case. Pours a beautiful deep black, creamy tan foam. Huge cocoa powder aroma right off the bat, fading

into dark chocolate covered cherries and creamy hot cocoa. Incredibly full bodied thanks to lactose sugar, which also adds a fair amount of residual sweetness that complements the heavy dark chocolate flavors, but make no mistake this isn’t a huge decadent Chocolate Imperial Stout. Rich and creamy on the finish with a wisp of roasted barley and maybe a faint trace of some of the hops they claim to have added. Recommended if you like: Southern Tier - Choklat, Great Divide Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti,Voodoo - Cowbell,Terrapin - Moo-Hoo Stout

3. New Belgium | Blackberry Barley Wine 10% - Barley Wine Style Ale - newbelgium.com

You know how some people get all excited when asked to explain the difference between porter and stout? That’s me the only time someone asked the difference between Old Ale and barley wine. Plot twist: I have no idea what the historical difference is. Old Ales to me are a bit weaker and focused more on the malt flavors, barley wines are stronger and more hop focused. Sure, that works, right? Then someone hands you a Blackberry Barley Wine with barely a trace of hop and… well, style guidelines are for the boring, right? So anyway, New Belgium — 20 years in the business New Belgium — has released their first barley wine under their fancy Lips of Faith line. And added blackberries. Because they’re New Belgium. The added fruit lends a jammy richness that complements the caramelized sugar and toasted malt flavors of the base beer. Barely a trace of booziness, which considering 10% ABV and a fairly light body, makes this stuff dangerous. Recommended if you like: Lost Abbey - Angel’s Share,Victory - Old Horizontal, Roundabout - Heini’s Good Cheer, Boulder - Killer Penguin

4. Insurrection |

восстание

10% - Imperial Stout - insurrectionaleworks.com Everybody wants to talk about the craft beer bubble and when it’s gonna

pop. So, let’s say we’re around 4100 (!!!!!) breweries in the US at the time this is printed, right around the same amount of breweries these fine United States had in 1870. So, 38.5 million people in 1870, 318 million people in 2014, same amount of breweries. We could triple the number of breweries and still be awesome, just keep drinking the good stuff. Speaking of good stuff, good stuff keeps opening up closer and closer to my literal front door. Heidelberg man, there’s good beer in Heidelberg. High fives all around to everyone who has a great brewery less than a mile from their house. This big pile of darkness I’ve chosen from the local-est of local breweries to me goes more towards the dark dried fruit land of Imperial Stout.There’s still a drying bitterness on the finish, but that’s after the dark chocolate covered cherries took the iced coffee outside and invited molasses over for a little private session.You know what I’m getting at right? Sure you do. Recommended if you like: Bell’s Expedition Stout, Lavery Devil Bird, Green Flash Double Stout, Great Lakes Blackout Stout, Hop Farm Kulak

5. Alesmith | Speedway Stout 12% - Coffee Imperial Stout - alesmith.com Tis a strange time to be a good beer drinker in the land of Pittsburgh.We’ve been the land of flyover for many years, forced to travel across the state or state lines to find many West Coast delights. Now? New Belgium, Left Hand, Deschutes, Port, Alpine and now Alesmith are sitting on your local grocery store shelf. Shit’s crazy man. And sure, there’s probably dozens of beer nerds bemoaning their growth, but let’s not talk about those people — they’re boring. Let’s talk about how good this shit is, the queen daddy of Coffee Stout. Bold, fresh brewed espresso coffee flavors just soaking life up in this huge stout, notes of dried fruits, toffee, black licorice, cedar-like hop bitterness and a luxurious mouthfeel. So weird to buy ridiculous beer off the shelf of a grocery store, good job everyone!

flavor, grassy and light grapefruit hop flavors with mild caramel malts that are surrounded by a slight oaky tannin. This works, let’s just please see a bit more clarity on what “barrel aged” means, please? Recommended if you like: Goose Island - Honkers Ale, Sierra Nevada - Pale Ale, Stoudt’s - American Pale Ale,Terrapin - Rye Pale Ale, Sly Fox - Phoenix Pale Ale

8. North Coast | Old Rasputin 9% - Imperial Stout - northcoastbrewing.com

When you start getting real nerdy, I mean REALLY NERDY, about beer, not just LOL I HAVE 1000 UNIQUE UNTAPPDS LOL nerdy, like Beer Judge Certification Program Nerdy about beer — you start to keep track of certain beers as the benchmark for the style. To me, Old Rasputin is the beer all Imperial Stouts are judged against. Sure, Old Rasputin may not have the fancy boutique hops, the yeast of the month or ancient grains for added whatever but goddamn if every time I find one of these it’s a damn pleasurable experience and, AND, you don’t have to wait in a line with 300 stinky dudes outside a grocery store to find it. On the nose this black fluid throws off some piney hop notes just barely noticeable above bordering on burnt coffee roasted barley note. Most traces of the bitterness on the aroma are gone on the palate. Sweet smooth dark chocolate, little bite of hop, slight alcohol burn and a clean finish with malted chocolate lingering on the tongue. Recommended if you like: East End - Toaster, New Belgium - Hop Kitchen Stout,Thirsty Dog - Siberian Night, Grist House - Black in the USSR Follow Hart on Twitter, not Twiiter. @MoarHops

Recommended if you like: Voodoo - Black Magick, Founders - Breakfast Stout, Lagunitas - Cappuccino Stout, Rock Bottom - Brakeman’s Breakfast Stout, Great Divide - Espresso Oak Aged Yeti

6. Breckenridge | 72 Imperial

7.2% - Chocolate Cream Stout - breckbrew.com Two chocolate stout reviews in one issue?! What is this, an issue that comes out shortly before Valentine’s Day or something? Ha ha, jokes! So yeah, falling just between Let’s Release A Huge IPA season and I Guess We Should Make Something Irish-ish season is the season for trying to convince the sweet tooth in your life that not all beer is created with busloads of hops. Some veer more towards the dark chocolate (see the Troegs I reviewed somewhere on these pages), others go full tilt on the sweetness. Breckenridge goes more for the sweeter side, while still not going full Wilford Brimley showing up to cut your foot off. Rich toffee and caramel flavors are in tow to complement the milk chocolate flavors, the mouthfeel is silky smooth with light carbonation and there’s a pleasant flash of fresh brewed drip coffee on the finish. Recommended if you like: Rogue - Chocolate Stout, Bell’s - Double Cream Stout, Fat Head’s - Oompa Loompa, Rivertowne - Mazy’s Malted Milk Chocolate Stout, Penn - Chocolate Meltdown

7. New Holland | The Carhartt Woodsman I have to admit, seeing “barrel aged” on a beer label immediately leads me to think “bourbon barrel aged” and heavy boozy, vanilla soaked sweetness. And maybe that’s just me, but I’d like to see more clarity on what exactly barrel aged means. Because honestly, I see barrel aged pale ale and I groan because big boozy vanilla bourbon flavors would destroy a pale ale. But! Fresh oak barrel flavors in a pale ale? Hey, let’s talk about that. And that’s, I guess, what we have here. Some light herbal hop aroma, but mostly fresh oak and some slight hints of vanilla and toasted grains. Light and refreshing

CraftPittsburgh.com

4.4% - Barrel Aged Pale Ale - newhollandbrew.com

I can’t explain the connection linking rebirth and fried fish sandwiches, but, for my cash-only dollar, anecdotal evidence doesn’t get more enjoyable than Armand’s in Bloomfield.

CraftPittsburgh | Issue 23

In the light of day, or at least while hiding from it, Armand’s runs as much like a friendly, James L. Brooks sitcom-style 1970s sandwich shop as it does a bar. After dark, the jeans get tighter, the 60 Minute starts flowing, and the stools and retro-ergonomic orange booths are jammed with a whole new, decades younger life.

Formerly Tony’s Bar, Armando and Diana Lombardozzi established Armand’s in 1976 after purchasing it from his brother, Anthony Lombardozzi. Diana and her son, Herman, have operated Armand’s since 1993. A shot-and-a-beer haven that extends into a restaurant that looks like what happened to your favorite diner’s smoking section, both sides of the business are relatively untouched by the last 20 years. Except for the Dogfish Head tap handle, the age of most photographs taken in Armand’s can only be determined by the date of the last Steelers championship listed on patrons’ shirts. Like plenty of the nighttime clientele, I’d never been to Armand’s for lunch. Their fish is one of Liberty Avenue’s most iconic signs, but the takeout window in the diner-half is closed whenever I happen to stroll in. Starting a few years ago, well-circulated rumors even had it they stopped making food, or that the fish sandwich was only available during Lent.

Before I got into why I was there, I ordered my first “Famous Fish Sandwich” at the takeout counter in the back. From the indoor drivethru window, Diana gave me what some people would consider a surprisingly firm warning that the fish sandwich takes a while. After a quick search while walking back to the bar to wait, I chuckled at more than a few insulted online reviews with different takes on the same story. Personally, if there’s one thing I find more endearing than a great dive, it’s a fair warning in a great dive. I waited with a Straub and started taking notes as I was in danger of getting lost in my most debilitating of vices, game shows. CBS’ broadcast heavy-hitters, The Game Show Network, it doesn’t matter-- it’s a habit you never fully recover from. Nearby conversations included “Not Caring About the Steelers This Year,” “Getting Senior Citizen Parents Ready For Winter in Pittsburgh (while you yourself just became a senior citizen),” “Two Jags In Here From Yesterday,” and my favorite, “Losing a Toenail.” When I noticed daytime bartender Gail Kelly’s black and silver cigarette purse— a fabulous, vintage jewel of sparkling leather— I couldn’t help but imagine John Waters brawling with an entire, horrified pinochle game to get his hands on it. I could tell from that cigarette purse it was going to be fun watching game shows with Gail. Between commercials, we both agreed Steve Harvey was indeed taking the Feud in a good direction. She knew the name and work schedule of nearly every customer there, and gave me welcoming introductions down the bar. “When I worked across the street, everyone thought that the crowd wasn’t as good here. But they’re great people,” she told me after exchanging a heartfelt goodbye with two departing regulars. A 28-year veteran of D’Amico’s, the former Bloomfield standby across the street, Gail still takes the same two buses from Carrick for her shifts at Armand’s.

Halfway through the massive and totally deserving of its fame fish sandwich, Diana Lombardozzi visited the bar to check on me. She didn’t recognize me at the counter and knew she never made me a fish sandwich before, and maybe some maternal instinct triggered in case my elbows buckled under the weight of the three crunchy fillets. “I worked in this kitchen 41 years, even before it was Armand’s, filleting the fish, breading the fish. So now, I’m only here ‘til 5,” Diana told me in a warm, Italian Pittsburgh grandma accent. Standing in front of lovingly framed photos of Three Rivers and Pitt Stadium, Herman Lombardozzi joked, “Hey, she’s a fixture, we’d have to include her if we sold the place.” Like Gail, Diana knows almost everyone she cooks for. I paused as I felt the air getting heavier. I braced myself for the signature, crest-of-a-hill shift in my stomach when someone is about to get their heart broken with cruel gossip at a bar. It’s a bartending sixth sense– except, in this case, the call was coming from inside the house: I had to tell her I’d heard there wasn’t food here anymore. A raw nerve was struck, she knew about the rumors. “I have heard this before! I think it is one man, one jealous man!” she explained, throwing up her hands at the situation. Even if the reports were greatly exaggerated, it plainly hurt to see such an important part of her life’s work being denied by their new generation of customers. Being a wellmeaning rube, I promised I’d do my best to straighten the record out.

CraftPittsburgh.com

Don’t listen to a clandestine anti-fish sandwich conspiracy or amateur hour barhopping friends-- as long as Pittsburgh craves fried food the other 325 days a year, Armand’s famous fish will continue to be one more great reason to start your day before 5:00 PM, and start getting awesome.

home brewing By Jack Smith

Double Down CraftPittsburgh | Issue 23

I 36

GET TWO BEERS FROM ONE ON YOUR BREW DAY

t’s crunch time. You promised to make two batches of homebrew for your step-uncle’s big annual Arbor Day party in four weeks’ time and you haven’t brewed yet. This Saturday is the only day you have to crank out some wort. Double brew days are brutal, so let’s talk about how to get two beers out of one brew session. The obvious, well-known way to do this is to split the wort and ferment it with two yeast strains that provide very different character. Imagine fermenting half your German Pilsner wort with saison yeast, or a wheat beerhalf fermented with Chico yeast and half with weizen yeast. But we can do better. We can add more complexity. Think about how extract plus steeping grain batches are brewed- malt extract forms the bulk of your fermentables, and you use specialty malts to bolster the recipe. Using

this premise, we can get two very different beers out of a single brew day. Like a hoppy pale ale and an American stout. Or a crisp, summery blonde ale and a rich, smooth brown ale. The key is to come up with a common base (like the DME in an extract recipe) and add the specialty grains only to half the batch. Play around with dry-hopping or hop teas (and, yes, yeast selection) and you can make multiple beers that nobody would guess came from the same mash. Obviously to do this you need to be able to boil a double batch at once, but if your pot can’t hold ten gallons post-boil, who says your batch size needs to be five gallons? This method can be used to make two batches of any size — just scale the recipe to suit your equipment.

THE TWO SISTERS: Blonde Ale & Brown Ale Batch Size: 10.5 gal.

Boil Time: 60 minutes OG: 1.051/1.055 FG: 1.009/1.012 ABV: 5.5/5.6% IBU: 30 Difficulty: M oderate (all grain) / Easy (extract) *Assuming 70% brew house efficiency

Grainbill

9 lbs. German Pilsner Malt (2L) 7 lbs. Pacific Northwest Pale Ale Malt (3L) 4 lbs. Munich Malt (9L) 1 lb. Carahell (11L) 12 oz. Crystal 60L (steeped separately) 8 oz. Crystal 80L (steeped separately) 4 oz. P ale Chocolate Malt (200L) (steeped separately) 2 oz. Chocolate Malt (450L) (steeped separately) 2 oz. B lack Patent Malt (500L) (steeped separately) *Extract Brewers: Replace the Pilsner Malt with 5.4 lbs. of Pilsner DME. Replace the pale ale malt with 4.2 lbs. of Light DME. Replace the Munich malt with 2.4 lbs. of Munich DME.

Hops

84g Tettnang (4.5% AA) @ 60 mins. 14g Citra (14.5% AA) @ 10 mins. 14g Tettnang (4.5%AA) @ 10 mins.

Mash, Boil, Steep

Perform a simple single-infusion mash at 150F for 60 minutes of the first four malts listed (pilsner, pale ale, Munich, Carahell). Vorlauf, lauter, sparge, and boil as you normally do. For the extract version, crush and steep the Carahell in a muslin sack at 150F for 30 minutes, then remove the sack, rinse with a quart of 170F water, and add the DME while the water heats to a boil. While your base beer is boiling, crush the rest of the specialty grains (C60, C80, pale chocolate, chocolate, and black patent), put them in a muslin sack, and steep in two quarts of 150F water for 30 minutes in a separate pot. Rinse the grain sack with 1 quart of 170F water, discard the sack, and bring to a boil. Kill the flame and chill the pot down to room temperature. If you used a small pot (1 gallon or so), you can chill it in an ice water bath in the sink. Carefully add the chilled specialty wort to one of your sanitized fermentors. When the main boil is done, transfer the wort evenly between your two fermentors, one of which has the specialty grain extract while the other is empty. You now have a batch of blonde and one of brown ale ready to be fermented. Great job!

Yeast/Fermentation

Chico yeast (WLP001, Wyeast 1056, Safale US-05) works great here. Make a big starter and split it between both beers. Or feel free to use a different strain in each beer to further differentiate them. Aeration/Oxygenation: Aerate or oxygenate well using your favorite method – plenty of oxygen helps promote yeast growth. I like to provide one full minute of pure O2 via a stainless oxygen stone to each carboy. With a healthy, active starter and good dose of O2 your fermentation should be off to the races in 12-24 hours.

e s i t r e v d a

! R E E H

Fermentation & dry-hopping: Pitch at 65F and allow it to free-rise to 67F. Ferment at 67F for 3-4 days, then start ramping to 70F over the course of a couple days to prepare for dry-hopping. At this point fermentation should be just about done. Add your dryhops. Remember, each beer gets a different set of dry-hops. Hold at 70F on the dry hops for 4-5 days, then crash the beer to 32F for two days to drop the hops & yeast. Bottle or keg as you normally do. Enjoy fresh!

14g Tettnang (4.5% AA) @ flameout 20g T ettnang, 10g Simcoe, 10g Citra @ dry hop (blonde ale only) 10g E ast Kent Golding, 10g Willamette @ dry hop (brown ale only)

A homebrewer since 2002, Jack Smith is a National BJCP Judge, the president of the Three Rivers Alliance of Serious Homebrewers, and an active member of the Three Rivers Underground Brewers. Follow him on Twitter @whenyeastattack

info@craftpittsburgh.com

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To keep it simple, let’s think about how to doctor half a batch of wort and call the other half finished just the way it came out of the boil kettle. This means we’ll probably have one light-colored beer and one darker. We need a base malt profile that can stand up on its own and also serve as the canvas for a complex beer. I like to layer a couple types of base malts, maybe throw in some Munich or Vienna malt. Treat hopping the same way — the IBUs should be an acceptable level for both beers, and the hop varieties should provide flavors & aromas that work in both beers.You can use dry-hopping or hop tea to give each beer a noticeably different hop character. Let’s dig in to a recipe that’s worked well for me. Give it a try and revel in the time-saving!

brewer sit-down

andyKwiatkowski Hitchhiker Brewing Co. 190 Castle Shannon Blvd. Pittsburgh, PA

Each issue we sit down with a local professional brewer and ask them the same eleven questions. Our goal is to have an interesting mix of characters with varying backgrounds and experience.This issue we talked to Andy Kwiatkowski; Head Brewer at Hitchhiker. AGE? 30

FAVORITE PITTSBURGH BAR? Too hard to pick one so Korner Pub, Pipers Pub, and Independent.

HOMETOWN? I hail from Wexford, PA, specifically Franklin Park Borough.

IF YOU WEREN’T BREWING? I’d probably still be stuck in a cube slowly rotting away. Beer saves lives.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN BREWING? I’ve been homebrewing since January 30th, 2010 and brewing professionally since March 2014.

WHAT’S YOUR DAILY CARRY?

BREWING BACKGROUND? My father has been into craft beer and homebrewing for as long as I can remember. A friend brewed a beer to commemorate his college graduation and it blew me away. I borrowed some old homebrewing books and equipment from my dad and was instantly hooked. Since then I wanted to make to a career to the point my hobby spiraled out of control and I built a walk in cooler in the basement of my parent’s house where I brewed. A friend introduced me to Gary Olden and I’ve been with Hitchhiker ever since.

CraftPittsburgh | Issue 23

FIRST CRAFT BEER YOU DRANK? My eureka moment was Victory Moonglow Weizenbock. I couldn’t believe something so delicious could also get me so drunk so easily.

IF YOU WERE TO BUY A CASE OF BEER RIGHT NOW, WHAT WOULD IT BE? East End, Big Hop, Or anything Penn, Full Pint, Rivertowne, North Country, Church Brew Works. GUILTY BEER PLEASURE? Coors Original, I freaking love that beer. Probably the best shower beer of all time. FAVORITE MUSIC TO BREW TO? Run the Jewels, Father John Misty, Houndmouth, Cabinet, Eternal Sleep, Pavement,Talking Heads.