CraftPittsburgh Issue #34

cooking with beer • homebrewing • upcoming beer events • style profile • have you tried...

. d e t r a t s , party

our pick six Ah, September. The anticipation and hope of the new season is finally here. Is there a better way to spend a day than to cheer on the best teams in the world? We don't think so either. Cheers to cheers!

table of contents editor’s notes upcoming events GABF results style profile - hard apple cider handcrafted - brewing trouble mysteries fat head’s 25th anniversary juicy brews holiday gift guide interview - greg koch, stone brewing hoppy couple - harmony inn interview - mike hinkley, green flash

plates & pints - brandon blumenfeld, scratch have you tried ... what were they thinking? brewer sit-down - matt mcmahon cooking with beer - holiday sides home brewing - winter warmer ale what’s brewing? - sessions page

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staff

PUBLISHER

P•Scout Media, LLC

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Rob Soltis rob@craftpittsburgh.com

MANAGING EDITOR

Mike Weiss mike@craftpittsburgh.com

COPY EDITOR Kristy Locklin

SALES MANAGER

Tom Garzarelli tom@craftpittsburgh.com

CONTRIBUTORS

Brian Meyer, Beth Kurtz Taylor, Joe Tammariello, Brian Conway, Amanda Stein, Mindy Heisler-Johnson, Hart Johnson, Ian Mikrut, Jack Smith, Drew Cranisky Kristy Locklin, Nathan Stimmel

PHOTOGRAPHERS Tim Burns, Jeff Zoet, Buzzy Torek, Brian Conway,

CREATIVE

Soltis Design soltisdesign.com

COVER

Photo by Jeff Zoet jeffzoet.com

CraftPittsburgh | issue 34

FOR INFORMATION ON CONTRIBUTING EDITORIAL CONTENT OR PLACING DISPLAY ADVERTISING PLEASE CONTACT US AT INFO@CRAFTPITTSBURGH.COM

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november

november

Craft Pittsburgh is issued bi-monthly by P•Scout Media, LLC for readers of legal drinking age.

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.

editor’s notes

HOPPY HOLIDAY • Things I’m thankful for this holiday season:

- Our

advertisers, we literally couldn’t do this without you. Thank you for believing in what we do and helping to cultivate the beer culture of Pittsburgh.

-O ur awesome staff of writers and photographers. I’m lucky to be on a team of such passionate and talented people.

-Y ou, the readers. Six times a year we put out 10,000 copies of this magazine in over 220 locations across Western Pennsylvania.

Nearly every copy finds a home. Thank you.

- Tom Garzarelli, our new Sales Manager. If you’ve noticed the issues getting thicker, that’s because of Tom.

- Pittsburgh Delivery Service. Jim and the crew help do in two days what use to take a week.

In other news • Cheers to our friends at Caliente on their five year-anniversary and also on announcing a fourth location. You ready for some world-class pizza and beer, Aspinwall?

• We recently heard some sad news from our friends at James Street Gastropub and Speakeasy. Due to continued complaints from a single, unknown neighbor, they’ve made the tough decision to close before being declared a nuisance bar by the PLCB. Cheers to all you’ve done to support beer, music, art, and acceptance in our city. Your contributions will not be forgotten.

• Thanks to Ed and Day of the Drinking Partners Podcast for having me on the show the other week, I had a blast. Check out episode #139 along with all the others at epicastnetwork.com/partnerspod or on iTunes.

• Do you know what I need after following my wife and daughter around the Grove City Outlets all day? Yep, beer. Lots and lots of beer. Luckily Voodoo’s G-City location should be open by our next shopping trip.

CELEBRATing our 25th year in southside ORIGINAL SMOKED WINGS • SALADS HEADWICHES • MUNCHIES • BURGERS GROWLERS • 42 BEERS ON TAP 4, 6, 12 PACKS AND FOOD TO GO!

NEWLY REMODELED

• By the time you read this, Pittsburgh’s first food truck park will be open.

The brothers Lang, of Pig Iron Public House and Steel City Samiches Bar & Grille are pairing two of my favorite things, food trucks and good beer, at the Pittsburgh Food Park in Millvale.

• Just for the record, although I poked fun at New England-style IPAs and their striking resemblance to a glass of orange juice, I’m actually a fan.

• P aste Magazine just named Brew Gentlemen - Lou (Ales for ALS, 2017) the best DIPA in a blind taste test. 176 DIPAs from all over the country were judged completely blind by how enjoyable they were as individual experiences and given scores of 1-100. Tasters included professional beer writers, brewery owners, brewmasters and beer reps.

Cheers,

1805 E. CARSON STREET • SOUTHSIDE PITTSBURGH, PA 15203 • 412.431.7433 Rob Soltis

FATHEADS.COM

PIT TSBURGH

B UR N W I T H L O V E

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November • 11 Cider Tasting Event @ Smallman Galley • 11 Rhinegeist Veterans Day Event @ Beerhive • 11 Rise + Shine: Coffee & Brunch Festival @ Hitchhiker Brewery • 12 Homebrewers Competition @ Threadbare Cider & Mead • 14 Cider Tasting Event @ Smallman Galley • 15 P(r)ints: A PGH Printmaker Show @ East End - Taproom • 16 Victory Beer Dinner @ Pints on Penn • 16 Yough Defense Party @ Falls City Pub • 16 Cocktail vs. Beer Dinner @ Threadbare Cider & Mead • 18 Video Game Tournament @ ShuBrew • 18 Light Up Night @ North Country - Slippery Rock • 24 Black Friday Party @ Hough’s & Copper Kettle • 24 Bourbon County Black Friday @ Caliente - Bloomfield • 30 Hurry Up, Say Something Funny @ Apis Mead • 30 St. Nik Bock Reserve Party @ Penn Brewery

December • 1 Annual Holiday Toy Drive @ Hough’s • 2 Mexican War Streets 5k Tour & Brews @ Allegheny City • 3 Juicy Brews Beer Festival NYC @ Brooklyn, NY • 9 Crafts & Drafts Holiday Market @ East End Brewing • 16 Breckenridge Ski Lodge Party @ Hough’s • 23 D rinking with People You Grew Up with, but Haven’t

Seen Since Last Year @ Sketchy Bar - Your Hometown

January • 19 8th Annual Pour for a Cure @ US Steel Tower • 20 Make Your Own Kombucha @ Tupelo Honey Teas

CraftPittsburgh | issue 34

April

6

April 20th - 29th

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C

ongratulations to all the local breweries along with the local favorites that brought home hardware from the 2017 Great American Beer Festival (GABF) competition. Presented by the Brewers Association, GABF is the largest commercial beer competition in the world and recognizes the most outstanding beers produced in the United States. The top three winners in the competition’s 98 beer-style categories were announced Oct. 7th at the Great American Beer Festival awards ceremony held at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver.

FAT HEAD’S

The 2017 winners were selected by a panel of 276 expert judges from 7,923 entries, plus 118 Pro-Am entries, received from 2,217 U.S. breweries.

“Each year the Great American Beer Festival showcases the best that American brewers have to offer,” said Chris Swersey, competition manager, Great American Beer Festival. “With a record 8,000 + entries, this year’s competition was the most competitive to date. Congratulations to all the winners who truly demonstrated why the U.S. is the world’s best and most diverse brewing nation.”

FAT HEAD’S

AlpenGlow

ROUNDABOUT

Midnight Moonlight

PENN BREWERY

Old Ale or Strong Ale

FULL PINT

German-Style Wheat Ale

Penn Gold

Munich-Style Helles

BALLAST POINT Manta Ray - Imperial IPA

SLY FOX

Grisette Summer Ale Belgian & French-Style Ale

STONE

Witty Moron - Other Belgian-Style Ale

American-Style Black Ale

Heini’s Good Cheer

Night of the Living Stout

BALLAST POINT

American-Style Stout

Sour Wench Fruited American-Style Sour

DUCK-RABBIT

RIVERTOWNE POUR HOUSE

KNEE DEEP

Robust Porter

Wee Heavy Scotch Style Ale Scotch Ale

JFP

Lupulin River - Imperial IPA

YARDS

Extra Special Ale - Extra Special Bitter

ALESMITH

Wee Heavy - Scotch Ale

BRECKENRIDGE

Mountain Series: Maibock - Bock

BREWDOG

Elvis Juice - American-Style Fruit Beer

OMMEGANG

Witte Ale - Belgian-Style Witbier

NESHAMINY CREEK

Nick Rosich & Steve Crist Penn Brewery 8

Charlie Papazian BA President & Founder

Photo ©2017 Jason E. Kaplan

CraftPittsburgh | issue 34

Croydon is Burning - Smoke Beer

NEW HOLLAND

Pilgrim’s Dole - Old Ale or Strong Ale

SWEETWATER

Triple Tail - American-Style Pale Ale

WEYERBACHER Riserva - Fruited Wood/ Barrel-Aged Sour Beer

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style profile Words Brian Meyer

HARD APPLE

CIDER There’s no shortage of information on the history of beer, and for good reason. Beer can be traced back for as long as civilization has been around, and some say that we can even thank that on our want for beer.

While many orchards were planted solely for cider making, many ciders were made with leftover apples, which allowed all the harvest to be used since hard cider would last much longer than apple juice or fresh apples.

Hard apple cider, while not as popular as beer, has helped to shape more recent history. Whether you’re looking at larger mass-marketed brands or small, local, independent cider houses…you’d be hard-pressed to find something not to love about hard apple cider

Cider started to fall out of style as the booze of choice in the US for a few reasons. The shift started with the influx of German immigrants and continued as the US spread west, opening up fertile land that was perfect for growing the ingredients needed to make beer. Add to this the shuttering of many orchards in favor of urban sprawl and you have the perfect recipe for the end of cider as it was known.

In The Beginning…

Don’t think for a minute that the early settlers were all teetotalers. Looking back to the first English settlers on our shores, the need for booze was just as real to them as it is to you and me. While early farmers had issues getting barley and hops to grow in New England, they did notice how well apples grew, and while most the apples they found not exactly edible, they showed the settlers that when it came to their booze, apples were the way to go.

This was such the case that one of the first major supply requests from the settlers was a shipment of apple seeds from England as to aid in the growth of edible (and drinkable) apples.

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After their first harvest cider became the drink of choice for settlers young and old, even including a weaker alcoholic drink for the kiddies called ciderkin. Sadly, this wasn’t so the kids slept better at night; the fermented beverage was a clean source of water, too.

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There are beers named for many of our Founding Fathers today, but in truth many of them enjoyed cider just as much. Take for example our second President John Adams, who was said to drink a tankard of hard cider with breakfast each morning. Cider was far from exclusive to the rich, as the average resident of Massachusetts at the time drank around 35 gallons of hard cider per year.

From Thomas Jefferson and the South Orchard at Monticello to Benjamin Franklin, to William Henry Harrison…cider was never far from our Founding Fathers and early Presidents.

Cider was such a part of colonial life that at times it was used like money, helping colonists to pay bills and barter for services. It was the original “I’ll give ya a case of beer if you help me move” situation.

Thankfully, with the focus on craft-made beverages and a want for new (to us, anyway) and interesting drinks, cider is back and better than ever.

While cider will likely never overtake beer to be the drink of choice for our nation again, but with a love of all things handmade, it’s spot in history and on shelves around the country isn’t going anywhere soon.

Cider: How It’s Made

When it comes to making hard apple cider, the basics are pretty simple.

Get yourself some fresh apple juice, add yeast, and ferment. While it seems easy, it’s a little more difficult than that to say the least. While many ciders today are made from common eating apples like McIntosh or Granny Smith apples, there is a growing trend towards utilizing cider apples for making cider. Cider apples are very bitter and are not what you’d want to eat. It’s this bitterness and inherent tannins in cider apples that help ciders made from them to have sharp, complex flavors that craft ciders have today.

To make a truly handcrafted cider, the first step is to crush fresh apples in a press. Next, the fresh juice is placed into fermentation tanks where yeast is added. The yeast eats some of the sugars in the apple juice and in return creates alcohol and CO2, just like the fermentation process with beer and from here the ciders can be filtered. The remaining steps differ based on who is making the cider and what they’re making it for. The hard cider can be bottled, canned, or kegged at this point and chilled, ready for drinking. This cider can also now be blended with other ciders

or batches of the same cider to give a specific flavor profile. This step can also include the addition of any other flavors including ginger, pumpkin spice, cinnamon, and even hops.

Types of Hard Cider

Much like beer, there are a variety of hard ciders, making cider much more versatile than it gets credit for. Generally speaking, hard apple ciders fit into two main categories: dry and sweet. Sweet ciders, as their name suggests, are high in sugars. These are easy-drinking hard ciders that can be similar in taste to non-alcoholic apple cider. Sweet ciders can range in flavors from super sweet to just a little sugary, but overall these are sweet and are a perfect foundation for many of the flavors apple ciders on the market.

Dry ciders on the other hand are not sweet at all. These tend to have more champagne and wine-like characteristics that afford them very broad flavor profiles. These types of ciders are often the style made by craft cider houses and for good reason, they require more attention than sweet ciders and mistakes in fermentation are more evident in the finished product.

Beyond dry and sweet, there are a number of non-apple hard ciders available today as well. Cider can be made from basically any fruit, so craft cider makers often experiment with blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and more. The line between cider and wine is blurred at this point, making the exact specification of these somewhat hazy and often based on state laws. The important thing to know is that there’s more to cider than sweet and dry, and anything you find outside those two designations deserves a try.

Hard Cider in Pittsburgh

The number of cider houses in and around Pittsburgh is growing every year. Arsenal Cider, which started in their original location in Lawrenceville has grown to multiple locations in and around Pittsburgh. Along with apple ciders like their Pickett Bone Dry, the cider house/winery features ciders made from a variety of fruits, and even makes a pumpkin cider for the fall season.

On Pittsburgh’s North Side, Threadbare Cider opened their doors in October down the street from their sister location, Wigle Whiskey’s Barrel House. Owned and operated by the same folks that brought whiskey back to Pittsburgh, Threadbare Cider built their love of cider around the legend of Johnny Appleseed, or John Champan as he was better known. Chapman was a real person who called Pittsburgh home in the late 1700’s, and helped to plant thousands of cider apple trees across the state as well as the burgeoning nation. With a focus on this history, Threadbare Cider features a handful of ciders now, with plans on a major barrel program to come.

There are more than 40 cider producers in Pennsylvania, with other local cider makers near us including Apis Mead & Winery, Allegheny Cellars Winery, and some not so local PA cideries like Jack’s Hard Cider, Lancaster County Cider, and Wyndridge Farm Crafty Cider.

As you can see, there’s a lot more to cider than you probably thought, so next time you’re looking to try something different, grab yourself a hard apple cider and see if the whole “keeps the doctor away” thing works when the apple’s been juiced.

Brian Meyer is a beer journalist located in the greater Pittsburgh area. Find him on twitter @thebriandrinks & hire him via his business Fresh Brew Media, Inc.

CraftPittsburgh.com

Cider isn’t just a local trend, either. Major cider producers with national distribution include Cidergeist, Woodchuck Hard Cider, Original Sin Hard Cider, Smith & Forge, Angry Orchard, Crispin, Strongbow, and even ciders form some major breweries like Cidre from Stella Artois and Sick Cider from Dogfish Head.

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handcrafted

Words Beth Kurtz Taylor

JOYCE

TREMEL AND THE BREWING

TROUBLE MYSTERIES “It’s Oktoberfest in Pittsburgh, and brewpub owner Maxine ‘Max’ O’Hara is prepping for a busy month at the Allegheny Brew House.

To create the perfect atmosphere for the boozy celebration, Max hires an oompah band. But when one of the band members turns up dead, it’s up to Max to solve the murder.”—back cover from A Room with a Brew by local author Joyce Tremel While working as a secretary for the Shaler Police Department for 10 years, Joyce Tremel of Glenshaw had non-fiction work published several times in statewide police newsletters and the Pittsburgh PostGazette. Her job may have inspired her fiction writing as she moved into flash fiction mysteries and began to pen at a few novels. Her first Brewing Trouble Mystery, To Brew or Not to Brew, was actually a fourth or fifth attempt.

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Joyce’s agent submitted a book, whose protagonist was a police department secretary, to Berkley Prime Crime, (a division of Penguin Random House) a publisher known for printing “cozy mysteries”. Joyce’s first attempt was returned to her agent as it was not “cozy enough”.

Books in this sub-genre of crime and mystery fiction have distinguishing common threads. They are generally whodunnits that downplay sex and violence. The main character is an amateur sleuth (usually female) who is intuitive and well-educated. She has a career through which she continually engages with the public, for instance, a bakery or coffee shop owner. The good news was that Berkley did like Joyce’s writing and asked her to try again.

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Finishing a favorite brew one evening she was stuck with the thought that no one had ever written about a brewer, or, better yet, a female brewer; the Brewing Trouble Mystery Series was born. Many of these mysteries take place in small towns, think Murder She Wrote. The series is set in Pittsburgh, but specifically Lawrenceville. A close-knit neighborhood in a bigger city still seems to work. Maxine, our brewer/ detective, comes from an Irish-Catholic family of six children and knows just about every person in the fictional recreation of Lawrenceville.

Of course, Joyce could draw from her previous writing experience and work with the police department for the crime end of the story, but what about the beer? In step Scott Smith of East End Brewing and Shawn Setzenfand of Hofbrauhaus Pittsburgh, both lending their knowledge of brewing to Joyce. Also, Scott helped her determine good places to kill someone in a brewery!

Pittburghers will love the references to our city and its people. For instance, the owner of the local bakery, Cupcakes N‘at is Candy Scyzpinski, who dresses head to toe in black and gold and has a fan-crush on Troy Polamalu. Maxine’s brother is the pastor of Most Holy Name Parish on Troy Hill. Maxine is a German beer purist brewing predominantly hefeweizens and brown ales, coincidentally some of Joyce’s favorites! On Nov. 1, she tapped the Monthly Seasonal Beer at Hofbrauhaus, Pittsburgh; it was their Dunkel Weizen, an unfiltered dark wheat.

A Room with a Brew is the third in the series, it’s predecessors are To Brew or Not to Brew and Tangled Up in Brew. They are available at Barnes and Noble and locally at Mystery Lovers Bookstore in Oakmont. Check out her website for upcoming author talks, joycetremel.com.

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WHAT A LONG

STRANGE

TRIP IT’S BEEN Words & Photos Brian Conway

“It’s been a lot of fun,” says co-founder, Glenn Benigni.

Glenn and Michelle Benigni opened their first bar, Big Head’s, in 1991. Glenn, whose head is perfectly ordinary, explains the origin: “There was this one kid in school who had a nickname for everyone, and mine was ‘ big head.’”

In 1992 they caught wind of an undervalued, 1874 Victorian structure for sale at 1805 E. Carson Street in Pittsburgh’s South Side. They closed Big Head’s, and Fat Head’s was born.

get their liquor license transferred to the new location, ended up at a bar that offered guests a passport where they would receive stamps for finishing different types of beer.

“I thought, hey man, no one is doing this at all in Pittsburgh,” says Glenn.

So he called the wholesalers at the time and was able to assemble a 99 bottle collection, mostly imports, like Sam Smith, alongside the “Budweisers of the world”—Kingfisher, Red Hook, and the like.

“Hundreds and hundreds” of people ended up trying all 99 beers—some several times over—and they were awarded with a t-shirt, bobblehead, and the legacy of having their name immortalized on the wall.

At the time, they were one of only a handful of bars in Pittsburgh to offer more than just domestic beer.

The bottle club has been disbanded—the emphasis at Fat Head’s has shifted to draft— but Michelle says they still have the paper lists of everyone who completed the challenge, and they hope to reincorporate the old records as a form of wall art somewhere inside the newly renovated Pittsburgh space.

The inspiration came from a trip to Ocean City, MD. Glenn and Michelle, in need of a break from a tedious bureaucratic battle to

The Benigni’s estimate that most of their early customers came more for their jaw-busting headwiches than the brews, though word

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Who could have imagined that in 25 years a neighborhood bar from Beechview could grow to become one of the most wellregarded, highly-awarded craft breweries in the country.

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eventually spread about the extensive beer selection. (The TRASH guys began to migrate down from Chiodo’s when word got out that Fat Head’s offered Fuller’s ESB.)

brewing system. There will also be three open fermentation tanks where they can experiment with new Belgian-style ales and German wheat beers.

In addition to bottles Fat Head’s offered eight beers on draft. Red Feather Pale Ale,

by Arrowhead Brewing, in Chambersburg, PA, was the first semi-local microbrew. It was later joined by offerings from Newport, OR’s Rogue Ales and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.

And that’s not all.

“It was the first beer I actually loved,” recalls Glenn. “Back then it seemed super hoppy. It’s still a favorite.”

Today Fat Head’s offers 42 beers on tap representing some of the best local and national beers available. “I think that’s plenty [of lines],” says Glenn. “We want to keep it fresh and keep it turning.”

That’s not the only change: in anticipation of their 25th anniversary Fat Head’s underwent one of its biggest facelifts in memory, with a new, pressed tin ceiling and clean white subway tiles that “echo the spirit” of the 1874 Victorian they call home.

“It’s an old pub feel infused with Fat Head’s pop culture,” says Michelle.

On September 11, the Benigni’s celebrated their 25th anniversary with throwback menu items and an “Anniversary IPA” brewed with Centennial, Warrior and Citra hops, then dry-hopped with Mosaic and Simcoe “Cryo Hops.”

It’s easy to forget that Fat Head’s didn’t start to brew their own beer until 2009—who can remember a world without Headhunter IPA? The motivation came when Matt Cole, a Pittsburgh native brewing at Cleveland’s Rocky River Brewing Co. at the time, approached Glenn and Michelle about teaming up to open a brewpub outside Cleveland.

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Glenn knew Matt from when he worked sales at Penn Brewery and he knew he could brew great beer, but they were still a bit skeptical when they decided to hear his pitch. They loved the idea, but with one catch: they didn’t want to bankroll a new business venture; they wanted the North Olmsted saloon to be a Fat Head’s.

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Since Fat Head’s started beer production in 2009 they have medaled at every single Great American Beer Festival, including, in 2017, Gold in German-style wheat ale for Alpenglow and bronze in American-style black ale for Midnight Moonlight.

In 2012 they opened a production facility in Middleburg Heights that they have already outgrown. Early next year they’ll move production one mile down the road where they’ll make the jump to a 65 barrel

In early 2018, Fat Heads will open a brewpub in Canton, Ohio. Like the Portland, OR, location, which opened in 2014, they will brew on-site with a 10 barrel system alongside a pilot batch system for experimental one-off beers.

Later in 2018 comes another brewpub location, this time in Charlotte NC’s South End neighborhood.

a recent visit offerings from the likes of Full Pint, East End, Hitchhiker and Voodoo joined a dozen Fat Head’s brews and other craft selections on the draft board.

Glenn says the quality of beer coming from today’s craft breweries impresses him much more than the first wave of microbreweries that hit Pittsburgh in the late-90s, when Fat Heads offered beer from long-forgotten outfits like Strip Brewing and Foundry Ale Works.

“Brewpubs are the new bar,” says Glenn.

“People want to open a brewpub more than they want to open a restaurant.”

“Most of the breweries opening today are by people who know how to brew good beer,” he says, and that, first and foremost, is the best piece of advice he can give to today’s upstarts:

The Benigni’s have a nice rapport with the new class of local craft breweries, and on

“Please make good beer,” he says. “Quality is more important than anything else.”

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CraftPittsburgh | issue 34

Our Winter Wonderland...

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FIRESIDE

Words & Photos Brian Conway

A HAZY CELEBRATION About 400 hop heads flocked to Dancing Gnome Brewery in Sharpsburg Oct. 1 to celebrate the craft brewery’s first anniversary with one of the freshest beer festivals in recent memory: Juicy Brews.

The event, presented by online craft beer magazine, Hop Culture, saw top-tier regional craft breweries pour alongside Pittsburgh heavyhitters Grist House Craft Brewery, Voodoo Brewery and, of course, Dancing Gnome.

“The fact is, hazy IPA is having its moment, and we wanted to celebrate that,” Hop Culture co-founder Kenny Gould says.“I can’t tell you why that style of beer in that particular format is having its moment right now,” he continues. “Two years ago, it wasn’t a thing. And two years from now it might not be a thing again.”

Tickets to the event sold out in 10 seconds, and those fortunate enough to gain entry to one of the two sessions were presented with an embarrassment of riches: seven out-of-town breweries with a penchant for all things hoppy, each pouring in Pittsburgh for the first time.

Gould and Dancing Gnome brewer and owner Andrew Witchey swapped notes and reached out to their favorite under-the-radar breweries specializing in hazy IPAs and fruited beers. In order to make it happen, the breweries distributed under a one-week license provided

by Steel City Beers.

“They’re not huge [breweries] but they’re making absolutely phenomenal beers that a lot of people in Pittsburgh might not have heard of because they don’t distribute regionally,” Witchey says.

To an extent, the event was a mirror into Hop Culture’s philosophy: highlight the up-and-coming Dancing Gnomes of the world making outstanding beer but aren’t yet household names.

“We could have picked Trillium or Tree House or Tired Hands—I love all three of those breweries—but to be able to go a little bit deeper and

CraftPittsburgh.com

The hazed crusaders have arrived, and they brandish the banner of humulus lupulus: the mighty hop.

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find these hidden gems people aren’t talking about but will be talking about, that’s really our goal,” Gould says.

To wit: one day after the festival, Paste Magazine ranked 176 of the Best DIPA/Imperial IPAs in America, and Juicy Brews participants Triple Crossing, out of Richmond, Va., had beers come in at No. 2 and No. 4.

“Intimate events like Juicy Brews give consumers a chance to try outof-their-local-market beers which are sought after and allows brewers the opportunity to network and tell war stories about the days and life in a brewery in a different market,” Triple Crossing co-owner Scott Jones says.

Judging by length of line the most popular brewery may have been Aslin Beer Company out of Herndon, Va. Witchey had just joined them in Virginia for their two-year anniversary, and they reciprocated by pouring at DG’s birthday bash.

Other participants included, from Columbus, Ohio, Hoof Hearted Brewing and Seventh Son Brewing Co. SingleCut Beersmiths came in from Queens, and Magnify Brewing from New Jersey. Rounding out the out-of-towners was another Richmond, Va. brewery, Ocelot Brewing Co. Based on the success of the event, Hop Culture already has plans for another session of Juicy Brews on Dec. 3 in Brooklyn. Seventeen breweries will be on hand this time around, including Dancing Gnome, who will be joined by newcomers Burley Oak Brewing Co., Civil Society Brewing Co., Bearded Iris Brewing and more.

“It would be a mistake to underestimate this newest class of brewers,” Gould says. “There’s a lot of people who have been in the industry for a while who look at these people and say, ‘They are a fad, they are a trend,’ but everyone is new at some point, and [those people] were new once, too, and the generation before them probably said the same thing about them.”

Besides, these breweries are much more than one-style wonders.

Dancing Gnome celebrated their special day by pouring a one-year anniversary brew, Nobody’s Monkey, a huge, 9% imperial stout that’s anything but a juicy brew.

“We want to be known that way,” says Witchey when asked if he had any problems with being known as a brewery that specializes in hazy IPAs. “At the same time, we want to be able to make stellar stouts and anything we choose to brew: true to style and with our own twist.”

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CraftPittsburgh | issue 34

2017 Holiday

Gift Guide Words Kristy Locklin Photos Jeff Zoet

Prices start at $24.99 firstsipbrewbox.cratejoy.com

Everybody loves getting mail (when it’s not a bill), and it’s even better when that mail is beer-related!

First Sip Brew Box is a Pittsburgh-based subscription service that delivers brewery swag straight to your door!

Each month a different craft brewery is featured and boxes are filled with their designated glassware, T-Shirts, coasters and koozies. Members can even get hop-andmalt based soaps, jellies, candies, hot sauces and pretzel mixes, along with advice on beerand-food pairings and news from the world of brewing!

Legal issues prevent the company from sending you actual beer, but First Sip Brew Box stretches Christmas Day into a yearlong celebration!

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First Sip Brew Box

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Goathead Knives Set shown $650 etsy.com/shop/goatheadknives Instagram & Facebook – @goatheadknives Whether you’re an outdoorsman, an avid collector or just a wannabe master chef trying your hand at beer and food pairings, the right tools can make all the difference. And nothing beats having a stylish, extremely functional knife that will last a lifetime.

Goathead Knives are handcrafted in Pittsburgh by owner Todd Minoski. Both the 8 inch chef and 4 inch paring knives are made from Damascus steel (1095 and 15n20 steel, forge welded), giving both blades the distinct grain patterns. The matching g10 bolster handles are finished with Hawaiian koa wood.

Individual knives of other variations are also available starting as low as $125.

As a car mechanic with a background in electronics, welding and fabricating, Minoski started making knives as a hobby two years ago. It came to him naturally and before long he found people asking to buy them.

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“As I got into it and family members were asking about it I found out two of my great grandfathers, one was a knife maker, the other was a machinist and tool maker,” Minoski said. “[My family] said it must be in my blood or something. It was weird, now it’s like an addiction, I love doing it.”

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Amanda Lee Glassware Prices start at $18 Amanda Lee Glassware & Art Studio 802 Allegheny River Blvd.

Oakmont, PA 15139 AmandaLeeGlassware.com Red Solo Cups are for kids. When you sip that winter warmer around the holiday hearth, do it with style!

Artist Amanda Lee hand-paints drinkware in her Oakmont workshop, pouring a bit of herself into each pilsner, rocks, pub, wine and shot glass. Each receptacle is American-made and decorated with durable glass paint and then fired for maximum durability. Styles range from Pittsburgh’s famous skyline and sports teams to beach scenes and zombies!

Brewer’s “BEAST” Beer Brewing Equipment Kit As shown $139.99

with a discount on your first recipe kit South Hills Brewing Supply (Greentree) 2212 Noblestown Rd., Pittsburgh, PA 15205 412-937-0773 Country Wines (North Hills) 2300 Babcock Blvd., Pittsburgh, PA 15237 412-821-2337

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SouthHillsBrewing.com

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Give a man a brew and he’ll drink for a day; teach a man to brew and he’ll drink for a lifetime.

Plus, if you purchase from South Hills Brewing Supply, you’ll get a discount on your first batch of ingredients.

Yes, a beer kit really is the gift that keeps on giving. For under $200, you can potentially launch the next great brewermaster’s career! (And, if you’re a beer-lover yourself, it’s like getting a present in return!)

Directions are included with the kit, but the folks at South Hills Brewing Supply can offer support, too. In business since 1994 with two locations—on Noblestown Road in Greentree and on Babcock Boulevard in the North Hills—the company boasts more than 3,000 square feet of beer-making gadgetry and ingredients.

This alcoholic chemistry set comes with all the equipment your loved one will need to start making their own suds, from a complete carboy system and 20-quart stock pot to specialty cleaning supplies.

Hopefully, by next Christmas, Santa will be getting a nice stout to go with his cookies instead of milk.

City Brew Tours Gift Certificates Start at $50 citybrewtours.com/pittsburgh Dashing through the snow, in a City Brew Tours bus! Over the hills we go, breweries or bust!

Give the gift of a designated driver this holiday season and allow your loved one to be whisked away to four different local breweries!

These all-inclusive, five-hour tours include 15 different beers—ranging from 3-to-16-ounce pours—a meal, brewery entrance fees, gratuity and transportation.

The journeys depart from the Pittsburgh Marriott City Center on Saturdays and Sundays, starting at 11:30 a.m., and Wednesdays through Sundays at 5:30 p.m. Like hop-fueled Rudolphs, on-board Beer Guides will lead you down Pittsburgh’s winding roads while helping you navigate the often befuddling world of brewing.

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City Brew Tours might just make Santa ditch his sleigh.

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Brewed2Burn Starting at $21.50 As shown $85

Limited time only, Holiday 4 Pack + Gift Box

brewed2burn.com If you’ve got an aromatherapylovin’ hophead on your shopping list, Brewed2Burn has just what you’re looking for. Their all-natural, soy-based candles come in cut beer bottles and feature a variety of scents, including Winter Pine Pale Ale, Pumpkin Spice Porter and Oatmeal Stout.

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Based in Pittsburgh, the company is shining a light on a good cause. A portion of the proceeds from each candle sale goes to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

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Only $100

payable in a lump sum or in four payments of $25

pghbrewtalfest.com Appease their inner demon with a year-long membership to the Brewtal Alliance! The beer and music festival, which was held in September, combines loud and abusive tunes with local brews. By joining their ranks, participants will receive a VIP ticket to the next concert, a limited edition hoodie, discounts on merchandise and at participating breweries, exclusive updates and invites to quarterly events featuring free booze!

There are only 100 memberships available until Dec. 31 and they’re going faster than a Slayer guitar solo.

Pittsburgh Craft Beer Alliance Membership Starting at $25 pittsburghcraftbeerweek.com If Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week isn’t enough to quench your thirst for local brews, a one-year membership in the Pittsburgh Craft Beer Alliance just might do the trick!

Participants will receive a 2018 PCBW T-Shirt, printed guide and sticker, access to early ticket sales for all participating beer festivals, specials and events, and first dibs on volunteering opportunities. There’s a long, cold winter to get through before the next PCBW—which will be held April 20-29, 2018—sign up now for a warm and fuzzy feeling.

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Brewtal Alliance Membership

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a beer &

GREG You’ve said that the first beer that made you stand up and say “Wow!” was Anchor Steam. What was the most recent beer that gave you that reaction?

I’m happy to say that there’s quite a few. I couldn’t mention just the very last one. Today, you can round the corner anywhere and have one of those “Oh, my God!” epiphany experiences. But I did have—I was in Toronto—and I was at this wonderful restaurant called People’e Eatery, and they had a bottled beer from a local brewery and I couldn’t even tell you the name, but it was aged in pinot barrels. It was an unrepeatable experience. It was complex and completely different from what I’ve had before. The ability for these moments to happen is what’s so starkly different 30 years later.

You have a whole range of responsibilities as executive chairman.

How intimately are you involved in the brewing process?

The truth is I’ve never been our brewer. So I started the company with Steve Wagner, who was our brewmaster. We had homebrewed together, and I was always the assistant homebrew lackey who did the bottle washing and such, but I still do take a very active part in the development of the beers. Mostly, that’s tasting sessions with our brewers. We sit down and we discuss, do we have an idea that we want to create a beer to meet this idea, or has somebody created a beer and said he we think this should be an idea? So I’ve got a Stone Ghost Hammer IPA in my hand right now, and this is a perfect example, because I first tried this beer earlier this year.

And we tasted this beer and we were like, this is awesome, yeah, we gotta do this one as a seasonal release.

So this is the hot button issue right now, when was the last time someone approached you with a check with all those zeroes at the end?

[Pounds table for emphasis] I. Will. Never. Sell. Out. To. The. Man! It has never happened, and I think it’s because, I’m certain it must be because, I’ve been well-documented and very clear. I don’t think one of the big international conglomerate industrial brewers wants to have me tweet out how I told them to go pound sand. So they just don’t expose themselves to that ignoble end result.

Do you think there are any trends hurting the craft beer industry?

Yes, the one you just mentioned. Absolutely. I can totally understand how the average craft beer consumer does not understand how negative it is. But all you have to do is go to neighboring Canada. I was just in Toronto, and the brewers will tell you there how much the big international conglomerates cock-block access to markets. And that is a strong, pejorative term, and it’s completely appropriate. I can tell you how, being in this industry for 21 years, industrial beer has tried their best to prevent craft beer from getting to market, and they have a new technique which is to buy/modify/obfuscate. You go to the airport bar at the Burbank Airport, and they seven IPAs on tap, Bud, Bud Light and Stella. To the casual observer, fuck yeah, its

a few questions with

KOCH STONE BREWING

EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN & CO-FOUNDER

great. But it turns out every single one of these beers all come from the same brewery. The true authentic local brewers in Southern California have been blocked from having their beers served at the Burbank Airport.

Words & Photos Brian Conway

Has there been any cross-pollination now that you have a brewpub in Berlin? Any ideas that you’ve taken from the German style of brewing or vice versa?

The only influence we’ve taken so far from German brewing would be that we decided to brew this most awesome Berliner Weisse in Berlin, which I’m really excited about because I’ve been a lover of the style once I discovered it could be done well. Other than that, we’re being Stone. I think it would be disingenuous if we went and tried to be anything other than ourselves. As to the other question, there’s about 15 breweries in Berlin, and 11 or 12, maybe even 13 are focused on American craft beer styles. So I think that answers your question.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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

north park boathouse • historic southside

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

otbbicyclecafe.com

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

Really!

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hoppy couple

THEHARMONYINN 230 Mercer St, Harmony, PA theharmonyinn.com

Joe Location

The Harmony Inn is located in Harmony, PA, a few minutes from Zelienople and about 30 minutes north of downtown Pittsburgh. The good thing about making this drive, other than visiting a unique place like the Harmony Inn, is that the other breweries in the area will add to the enjoyment of this trip. In fact, the Harmony Inn is owned and operated by the good folks from the North Country Brewing Company located in Slippery Rock, PA which is only a short drive from the Inn. Not only that, but Zelienople’s own ShuBrew has a small second location within walking distance from the Inn.

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Beer

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As I mentioned, North Country Brewing acquired the Harmony Inn a few years ago and when that happened they started serving all of their delicious beers there. They even brew a few on-site in the basement which are known as their ‘Big Rail’ series. I tried two beers at the Inn and both were great! They were both sours, yadda yadda, you folks know I love me some sour beer. The first was called the ‘Lurnberry Sour’ and this tart delicious sour beer is flavored with raspberry and pomegranate juices.

I’d say it stacked up to most of the fruity sours I’ve had so far—very, very good. The other beer I tried was a sour IPA called ‘Tina’s Sour IPA’. This was a bit different than most sour beers out there and while very good, I need to try more of this style to be able to compare them.

Atmosphere

The Harmony Inn is a huge house, rather, I should say small mansion. Built in the 1800’s, it was the home of Austin Pearce who was a banker, mill operator, and railroad executive. The entire feel of the place is rustic and it kind of felt like grandma’s house. Inside, there are multiple floors with lots of smaller dining room type spaces. There is a balcony out front on the second floor where we dined and there is also a large patio along the side of the Inn. Plenty of indoor and outdoor seating will allow for you to easily take a large group of family and friends to enjoy some great food and beer.

Food

With a fairly expansive German-style menu there are plenty of options for everyone and trust me when I say you won’t leave empty-stomached. The

assortment of great appetizers, sandwiches, and entrees—all freshly made —are reminiscent of Oktoberfest, except all year-around. It was hard to choose just one item for lunch and as I kept seeing other people sitting around us getting their food, I wanted everything that I saw. I ended up deciding on a meat-mountain of a sandwich called ‘The Swineload’.

This heart-attack was a pretzel bun stuffed with pulled pork, ham, and bacon topped with some IPA sauerkraut and the Inn’s famous Black Bear Mustard. I’m not even sure I need to say anything more, but for good measure I’ll let you know that it was, in fact, very delicious!

Amanda Location

The Harmony Inn is aptly named for its home in Harmony, PA, a small town rich with history. In the past, the Harmony Inn has been a private home, as well as a home to many firsts: in the 1800’s, first indoor plumbing in the area; in the 1900’s, first licensed establishment in Butler County; and 1985, first craft beer bar in Butler County. Near the Inn, there are a few antique shops where you may even find some goodies from the history of the town. If you know the North Hills, then you know there’s also plenty of shopping, dining, and other entertainment up that way to make a day out of the trip. On the way to the Inn, we passed Soergel Orchards which had hundreds of pumpkins splayed out on their fields ripe for the picking which fit perfectly with our cool, fall afternoon trip.

Beer

The Inn obviously has plenty of beers from the mothership, North Country Brewing, but also offers some signature cocktails. During this visit we were joined by a few friends, one of whom ordered the Harmony-themed ‘Murdering Town Margarita’ which is made with blood orange juice (yum!). I enjoyed the brews I ordered: ‘Fresh Hopped Ale’, dry hopped with local Chinook and Cascade hops; and ‘Locals Only Session IPA’, brewed with Citra and then dry hopped with Galaxy. Both pints were smooth, crisp, and hoppy; just how I like ‘em!

Atmosphere

This place is massive yet homey at the same time. The Harmony Inn has a rich wooden interior throughout, with plenty of different cozy seating spaces, and historic artwork and articles decorating the walls. Not only is the Inn a beautiful place to visit, but it may be a hot spot for a ghost hunt!

The Inn is reportedly haunted by a little girl in a white dress who has been seen numerous times roaming the hallways. Inn staff and guests have also reported furniture rearranging itself on its own, as well as significant temperature changes in various spots. Being a huge fan of everything horror and haunting, I am super excited for future visits in hopes to experience some of this for myself!

There were spaetzles and strudels aplenty; reubens and burgers galore!

Literally everything sounded (and looked) amazing but I decided to go with the traditional reuben. Maybe a boring choice for me but definitely not a boring sandwich! This reuben was absolutely delicious and the fries were pretty darn perfect, too. We started off with some Goat Cheese Pillows which were perfectly flaky dough pastries packed with warm, gooey, savory goat cheese. Holy...moly… There’s definitely something for everyone here.

Summary

If it isn’t obvious by now, the Harmony Inn is quite the place! Definitely go check it out and while you are at it, check out North Country’s other location in Slippery Rock, too. Also, if you happen to see any ghosts at the Inn, please let us know!

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CRAFT BEER INDUSTRY PODCAST INTERVIEWS

MIKEHINKLEY Owner & Founder of Green Flash Brewing Interview Jaron Barton

Photos Green Flash Brewing

For its 75th episode, our friend Jaron Barton of the Craft Beer Industry Podcast was joined by Mike Hinkley, the owner and founder of Green Flash Brewing, at Pig Iron Public House in Cranberry Township. See a few local highlights below as well as Hinkley’s take on the future of Craft.

JB: How has your visit to Pittsburgh been so far?

MH: You know, I love it. I’ve only been here a whole day, but having a good time. Every time I come to Pennsylvania it’s always a good time, good people, great part of the country. It’s beautiful.

JB: You’ve visited before?

MH: Oh yeah, many times over the years. Pennsylvania is a great state, it’s a big state for Green Flash. You probably don’t realize, but, for us, California is the No. 1 state for sales, of course. Virginia is No. 2, it’s where our other big brewery is. And Pennsylvania is the No. 3 state for us. We sell a lot of beer in Pennsylvania.

JB: So what are your impressions of all the times you visited and this time of the craft beer scene in Pittsburgh?

MH: You know, I think craft beer has been doing well here for a long time. This is a pretty mature craft beer market with consumers that really know their beer. There’s some really great breweries in this state like Victory and Sly Fox. There’s definitely some good beer being made, a lot of great tradition in beer. And the people drink their fair share in Pennsylvania. We’ve been selling a lot of beer in Pennsylvania for a long time. I think we started here in 2005, so we’ve been here 10, 11, 12 years. The people in Pennsylvania love West Coast IPA.

MH: I kind of welcomed the slow down. And while it’s not as fun and easy to be a part of an industry that’s growing at 15-plus percent each year, I think at some point the quality of the beer was impacted negatively. 2500 breweries opened in three years, and there weren’t 2500 amazing brewers waiting tables before that.

And I really think the average quality of the beer really suffered.

And I think that’s why the consumer has maybe pulled back a little bit. I know I have, a little bit pulled back on my willingness to try new beers. Which is a shame, but I think it’s starting to swing back the other way now.

I think a lot of consumers are saying you know I’ve tried a lot of beer, and it’s still fun to try new beers, but sometimes you just go to the strong brands that you know have consistent quality and amazing beers themselves. The Stone and Green Flash, and Bell’s and Dogfish Head and Sierra Nevada and Anchor Steam and Brooklyn. These breweries that have made really good beers for a long time that you know you’re going to get a quality beer from.

And I think people are kind of moving back to that, at least as a solid part of what they do. And I think it bodes well for us. And the best of the new breweries will succeed and continue on, and they’ll contribute and they’ll come up with new and innovative ideas and

processes and recipes and ways to market their story that will make the industry better.

On the future of the industry:

MH: I think Craft will continue to grow indefinitely. Just not at that rate. I think in 20 years from now, when I’m 71, most beer will be better beer. Most beer that is consumed will be from a craft-type brewery of some sort or a bigger brewery that has learned to make better beer because that’s what the customer wants. I think we’ll generally see better and better and better products. I think it’s just the natural evolution of the way things go.

The full episode further covers Hinkley’s views on the future of craft and Green Flash, his journey from Brooklyn to San Diego via time in the U.S. Navy, his interest in boxing growing up, how his love of craft beer developed, and the growth of his company. Listen to the full episode and subscribe at craftbeerindustrypod.com, iTunes, Google Play Music or Stitcher.

CraftPittsburgh.com

JB: [In a past episode] we talked about the stagnation that’s happened in the growth of Craft Beer sales across the board. What do you think Green Flash and other brands need to do to combat that trend?

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plates & pints Words Drew Cranisky Photos Buzzy Torek

CHEFBRANDON

BLUMENFELD SCRATCH FOOD & BEVERAGE - TROY HILL

TUCKED AWAY IN THE NORTH SIDE’S TROY HILL NEIGHBORHOOD, NEAR THE SUMMIT OF THE TERRIFYINGLY STEEP RIALTO STREET, SITS SCRATCH FOOD & BEVERAGE.

CraftPittsburgh | issue 34

In many ways, Scratch is a classic corner bar.

A mismatched array of Pyrex coffee mugs hangs on a wall near the tiny kitchen. Quirky thrift store salt and pepper shakers dot the tables. A pile of board games occupies one corner; a pinball machine stands in another.

Though just minutes from Downtown, Scratch is worlds away from the dizzying dining rooms across the river.

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Scratch is sneaky, however. You won’t find baskets of fried food and cups of ranch dressing here. Under the direction of ambitious young chef Brandon Blumenfeld, Scratch is serving up a menu that rivals anything Downtown—or anywhere else in the city, for that matter. Blumenfeld and owner Don Mahaney describe their cuisine as “elevated accessible”: simple dishes executed with flair.

It’s taken Scratch the better part of two years to settle into their current groove. Since opening in late 2015, Mahaney struggled to find his footing in the booming Pittsburgh restaurant scene, with a revolving door of executive chefs making it challenging to develop an identity. That changed when Blumenfeld came on board. A native Pittsburgher, Blumenfeld returned to the city after training and working all over the country. Drawing on that education and experience, along with a passion for local produce, he rapidly turned the Scratch kitchen into a can’t-miss dining experience.

We were thrilled when Blumenfeld agreed to be the first chef in a new series for CraftPittsburgh. The guidelines are simple: create a three-course meal paired with three beers. Here’s what he came up with:

THE FIRST DISH IS MORE THAN AN APPETIZER: IT’S A MISSION STATEMENT. “We try to make vegetables more of the star of things,” Blumenfeld explains. “There are a lot of people who take great care and respect for the products they grow, and that’s something I totally can appreciate.”

Paired with a Blackberry Farm saison (see the sidebar for more on the beers), the dish is built around delicata squash from Cherry Valley Organics in Burgettstown, Pa. The roasted squash is paired with fried Brussels sprouts, house-made ricotta and chestnuts cooked in brown butter and sage. It’s an explosion of fall flavors—no bacon necessary.

Blumenfeld’s appreciation for local, seasonal ingredients runs deep. After attending

culinary school at Le Cordon Bleu in Miami, he headed to California to work on organic farms, developing an understanding of the amount of time and effort it takes to raise a chicken or grow a tomato from seed.

From there, Blumenfeld moved to New York and cooked at several acclaimed restaurants.

Franny’s, a now-closed Brooklyn pizzeria lauded for their farm-to-table approach, had a particularly profound impact.

FOR HIS BLOWOUT MEAL, BLUMENFELD TURNED TO MIKEY ORELLANO, a former Scratch employee and big-time beer lover, for help with the beverages. He told us more about picking the perfect pairings.

“The food was so different from anything I had ever thought could be done,” he recalls.

“It wasn’t molecular or anything like that … it was a Southern Italian restaurant that was run like the most fine dining restaurant you’ve ever been in.”

That same ingredient-driven, casual yetserious approach is on display at Scratch, where care and respect is lavished on everything: even a humble plate of roasted veggies.

For the first course, Orellano chose the Saison 18 from Tennessee’s Blackberry Farm Brewery, which is fermented with Brettanomyces and aged in red wine barrels. It’s light and citrusy, playing off the tang of the homemade ricotta, and the oak and Brett funk bring an earthiness that complements the fall veggies.

Orellano grabbed the Rusted Route amber ale from Roundabout Brewery in Lawrenceville to pair with the main course. It’s a wonderfully foodfriendly beer, with a clean bitterness that cuts through the rich skate and buttery cauliflower.

For dessert, Orellano brought The Shakes, a coffee porter from Hitchhiker Brewing in Sharpsburg. The beer delivers toasty, pie crust notes and a touch of smokiness that balances the sweetness of the panna cotta and marshmallow.

FOR THE MAIN DISH, BLUMENFELD CREATED AN UNLIKELY SPIN ON SCHNITZEL. “This was inspired by a dishwasher that used to work here,” he explains. “He was in the Army and was stationed in Germany. One day I asked a bunch of people what their favorite food was, and he was like ‘Dude, if you could make a schnitzel like I had in Germany, I would love you forever.’”

With a strong pork dish already on the menu and an appreciation for the city’s love of fried fish, Blumenfeld turned to skate wing for the base of his schnitzel. The skate is breaded and fried, then served with a cauliflower puree, roasted garlic and a watercress salad.

Paired with an amber ale from Roundabout, the dish is a hearty meal fit for fall.

It’s a stunner of an entrée, clever without being fussy. There are no fancy tricks or showy garnishes to hide behind. Instead, Blumenfeld showcases great ingredients with classic techniques.

“It’s not like, foams and gels,” he says. “We’re not trying to throw any smoke and mirrors out there. We’re trying to just do really authentic, super delicious food.”

FOR DESSERT, BLUMENFELD TOOK INSPIRATION FROM ANOTHER FALL FAVORITE. “I wanted to do something that was like a pumpkin pie, but not a pumpkin pie,” he says.

The base is a pumpkin panna cotta, a classic Italian custard. The panna cotta is topped with a Golden Graham streusel, a brittle made from pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds, and a big dollop of marshmallow fluff. The cereal and marshmallow recall childhood desserts, but the savory brittle and a hit of Maldon salt add refinement and balance. A toasty coffee

porter from Hitchhiker Brewing Co. offsets the dessert’s sweetness, a decadent end to a lovely autumnal feast.

Like the restaurant itself, Blumenfeld’s dessert is playful yet sophisticated. It’s the perfect encapsulation of that “elevated accessible” vibe. It may look a bit fancy and have a few unfamiliar ingredients, but, in the end, it tastes like pumpkin pie. A damn good pumpkin pie.

From farming in California to working in topnotch restaurants in New York, Blumenfeld brings an array of experience to Scratch. But he is also a fourth generation Pittsburgher with an innate sense of the city, able to walk that line between neighborhood hangout and destination restaurant. Though the prices might be higher than other spots in the area, Blumenfeld is conscious of Pittsburghers’ low tolerance for BS. “This is still in a neighborhood in Pittsburgh,” notes Blumenfeld. “We’re not in the heart of Downtown, we’re not in the heart of Lawrenceville. At the end of the day, these people that come in here, if we’re going to ask them to pay that much money for the food, I’m going to make sure they leave full and satisfied.”

Drew Cranisky is a writer and bartender based in Pittsburgh. When not drinking or serving beer, he can be found hosting a weekly trivia night or looking for the city’s best cheeseburger.

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CraftPittsburgh.com

have you tried...

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CraftPittsburgh | issue 34

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1. O SKAR BLUES G’Knipling

2. G REAT DIVIDE Barrel Aged Hibernation

Perhaps this would’ve been a better review for the Artwork Issue, but I didn’t get this can until after that deadline, so here we are with more words for Tony Knipling. I know lines are being blurred for what defines corporate beer these days. No longer can you point to the biggest three breweries in the U.S. and say “That’s what corporate beer is.” Don’t matter to me, I’m gonna sit over here and say I don’t care if you’re owned by private investment and focused on growing buzzwords I don’t understand in a market I really don’t understand and still took whatever time it took you to Photoshop G’Knipling onto a G’Knight label and slam that label onto a couple cases of beer, you’re good people. The link up there were the brewery link should be is the story of Gordon, the inspiration for G’Knight and while it’s a great story and all I think this quote sums it up “If you knew the man behind this liquid tribute, this beer needs no explanation. If you didn’t we’re sorry.”

Old Ale. The name calls to me. It’s like an ogre gently bellowing “MMMMMAAAAALLLLLLLTTTTT!” amid the screams of a thousand chipmunks chirping “hopshopshopshops.” Oh, and you’ve barrel aged it? Have mercy. So, Old Ale? Isn’t that just barleywine? Sure, I guess?

Words? I’ve always associated barleywine with a simple malt bill that is complex in its bombast while Old Ale has a bit more complexity to the malt bill that furthers the bombastic maltiness. I’d let both eat crackers in my bed if you get what I’m saying here. Hibernation starts out as sort of a chocolately malt-forward beer with a bit of hop before it hits the barrels.

Twelve months of soaking up all that oaky whiskey goodness and say goodbye to any hop and hello to vanilla-soaked, boozy, chocolate wafer bars in liquid form.

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Recommended if you ever drank: Bell’s, Stone, Victory, Troegs, Dogfish Head or however many more beers Tony Knipling helped bring to Pittsburgh.

11.5% Old Ale - greatdivide.com

Recommended if you like: Anchorage - A Deal With The Devil, Dogfish Head Olde School, Arcadia - Cereal Killer, Anchor - Old Foghorn, Roundabout - Hieni’s Good Cheer, Caustic Facebook Groups #BIL

Words Hart Johnson Photo Tim Burns

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3. P ENN BREWING Penn Gold 4.5% Helles Lager - pennbrew.com

Recommended if you like: Four Seasons - Latrobe Lager, Bell’s - Lager of the Lakes, Pizza Boy - Brewery Lager, All Saints - GBG Lager

CraftPittsburgh.com

Yeah, I know I just reviewed Penn Kaiser Pils in the last issue. Hell, I may review Penn Dark in the next issue. Respect your elders. Especially when your elders win Gold at Great American Beer Fest in the year 2017. You can say whatever negativity you have about GABF, light lagers and Penn Brewery. I ain’t listening. Gold has always been an exercise in a perfectly balanced golden lager. There’s a soft sweet malt flavor up front, there’s a light herbal hop flavor and then a little bit of sweetness left on your tongue. Where other styles of beer encourage you to think about what you’re tasting, a good Helles encourages you to stop staring at your beer and maybe try socializing.

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4. INSURRECTION Heavy Things

7. PIZZA BOY Peach Around IPA

I’d like to go on record that I would’ve preferred to review one of the like 40 breweries in the Greater Pittsburgh Metropolitan Area that I haven’t yet talked about, but deadlines are deadlines so here I am reviewing my local brewery. So, yeah, my backup plan is a 6% IPA double dry hopped with Citra hops. Made less than a mile from my house. I’m really suffering over here. Not gonna lie, this beer is everything I’m about. I dig the relatively lower abv, I dig Citra hops and their dank grapefruit and lemon pith flavor and I dig that world-class beer is made within walking distance from my house. My house in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Also, Insurrection? Best wings in the city. Fight me about that. Aleworks sauce?

I’d eat my own fist if it was covered in Aleworks sauce.

There are people I love and admire in this industry and then there’s the man behind Pizza Boy Brewing, Albert Kominsky. You ever watch a better version of you do better and greater things than you could ever do? Al is that to me. Flipping the finger to cease and desists; naming beer Hater’s Tears, Losertown, Lacto Calrissian; and still looking at what’s next in beer. You want a hazy IPA? Kettle Sour? Brett fermented ale? Pumpkin spice coffee stout?

Straight up pilsner? Pizza Boy got it. Heck, we’re about to talk about a peach IPA right here. I don’t even know anymore, peach used to be reserved for some cloyingly sweet tripe like here’s our phoned in wheat beer and I don’t know you want some peach flavored corn syrup in your already sweet beer?

Now we’re adding fresh peaches to juicy IPA. It’s almost a bad idea to put peach on the label here, because shithead IPA drinkers such as myself are just gonna scroll by because seriously Peach Beer? Get bent, hoser. And this is so not a Peach Beer. Sure there’s a little bit of underripe peach on the aroma along with pine and mango hop notes. But it’s all IPA once it hits your lips, big, bold and brash with lemon rind and fresh grapefruit and OK maybe a hint of peachstone if you squint hard enough. I mean, fine, it’s a peach beer, it’s not a PEACH beer.

6% IPA - insurrectionaleworks.com

Recommended if you like: East End - Green Giant, Alpine - HFS, Lagunitas Born Yesterday, Levity - Summer School, Pizza Boy - Harbinger of Sorrow

5. S AM SMITH Nut Brown Ale

5% English Brown Ale - samuelsmithsbrewery.co.uk

First things first, how in the *multiple expletives deleted* has Samuel Smith never grasped the idea of selling draft beer in these United States?

Don’t come at me with cooperage costs and shipping and whatever else, they’ve been selling bottles here since 1978 and how many other lesser beers send kegs here? Now that I have that yearly rant off my chest, let’s talk Brown Ale. Yes, Brown Ale. The style no one admits to liking, but also the style that probably opened your eyes to beers that weren’t called Ice or Light or Malternative. Brown Ale was my gateway beer and Sam Smith was pacesetter for the style. Ripe orchard fruits and toasted nuts on the nose with a hint of dried fall earth. For a 5% beer it has always presented itself as much larger, there’s a great amount of earthy hop flavor that is just buried below layers of toasted malt, roasted chestnuts and red skin apples. A damn treat of a beer, think how tasty it would be on draft!

HINTEDY HINT HINT HINT SAMUEL SMITH BREWERY AND MERCHANT DU VIN IMPORTERS.

8.1% Peach IPA - pizzaboybrewing.com

Recommended if you like: Dogfish Head - Aprihop, Green Flash - Tangerine Soul Style, Yards - Grapefruit Philadelphia Pale Ale, Hitchhiker - Surge IPA

@ MOARHOPS

Recommended if you like: Pittsburgh, beer, bicycles, curmudgeons, clean draft lines, retweets, dogs, Wade Boggs stories, whiskey, South Side observations, memes, obscure Simpsons quotes.

Recommended if you like: Voodoo - Wynonna’s Big Brown Ale, Fury - Nuts of Fury, Against The Grain - Brown Note, Dark Horse - Boffo Brown Ale

6. N EW BELGIUM Sour Saison

CraftPittsburgh | issue 34

7% Mixed Fermentation Saison - newbelgium.com

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I catch myself wearing the curmudgeon pants a lot. Yes, despite my curmudgeonly outlook on the internet, I’m actually worse in person. It happens. New Belgium is one of the breweries I get real curmudgeonly about, they’ve been around a long time, they’re wildly successful and I have quaint memories of drinking the shit out of Fat Tire way back when I lived in Colorado. Now that I can buy Fat Tire just about everywhere? The romance has faded. It’s not you New Belgium, it’s me. And it ain’t right.

New Belgium’s out here putting crushable, beautiful, mixed-fermentation saisons into a year-round-available, reasonably priced six-pack and I’m over here screaming about how Fat Tire isn’t’ the same like some nitwit screaming about emails from an election that happened a year ago.

Back on point, this is remarkable blend of saison and aged sour ale.

That bright blast of pineapple and banana saison aromas is backed up by lemony leather and soft oak, it’s light and spritzy on the palate with soft wheat, ripe tropical fruit and a tart zesty finish. Sure we could get into a long-winded debate about whether or not this is “sour” or “tart” or whether culottes are pants or shorts, but no one likes that much pedantry.

Recommended if you like: East End - Saison La Seconde, Brew Gentlemen Mise en Rose, Epic - Elder Brett, Boulevard - Saison Brett, Off Color - Apex Predator

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CraftPittsburgh.com

Words Nathan Stimmel

No brewery kills it all the time. No matter what their on-site-only release is fetching on the secondary market, no matter how early you have to set up your chair to get a pre-reservation to their anniversary shindig, there’s not a brewery in existence that’s batting a thousand.

Some may have made some very public foibles—Sam Calagione at Dogfish Head likes to joke about Verdi Verdi Good, a Dortmunder made with green algae for St. Patrick’s Day. Many, many more have skeletons in the closet—a beer or two destined for the brewhouse drain, or, just by some stroke, somehow, never made it into regular rotation (because it was a trainwreck). Not all brewers are willing to be so candid as to share their mistakes, but there are lessons to be learned in error. We were fortunate enough to have some of Pittsburgh’s finest share their honest, well-intentioned eff-ups, and the pearls they bore.

NOTE TO THE READER: The sensitive nature of this content

CraftPittsburgh | issue 34

necessitates complete anonymity. To protect the identities of those who contributed and their corresponding companies, the brewers’ names have been abbreviated and their respective breweries given pseudonyms.

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EMBRACE YOUR PILOT SYSTEM

Andrew W. at “Prancing Elf” Brewing learned the value of the cutting room floor early on, when he hatched the idea of adding lavender to a milk stout.

“It was pretty much a disaster,” Andrew confides. “The brew day went fine, but I wasn’t smart enough to know that you need GRAMS, not OUNCES, of lavender.”

The resulting brew smelled “good, but sort of nauseating. It was like drinking soap with additional potpourri.” Luckily, it was a just a test batch brewed on the “Prancing Elf” pilot system—a beer that never saw the brewery’s tap room. Andrew has yet to revisit that recipe, and likely never will.

“Pretty wild,” he says. “I’ll stick to hops.”

KNOW WHEN TO DUMP

Scott S. at “East Bend” Brewing has a way with words. Nearly a decade before every second brewery was making a Gose, Scott was taking his first stab at the tart, salty style by experimenting with sour mashing.

“It smelled like a Strip District alley on a summer day. People visiting the tap room were like ‘Uhh, is everything okay here?’.” That rancid smell cleared up within a few days, but the beer again took a turn for the worse when it came time to boil. “Ants under a magnifying glass” is Scott’s description for the resulting sensory experience. The beer—dubbed Here Gose Nothing—met its destination in the brewhouse drain. The second attempt—Here It Gose Again—turned out much better.

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

Pittsburgh craft pioneers “Punn” Brewing are known for a repertoire of well-honed, traditional styles, an approach that brought them gold at this year’s Great American Beer Festival.

“We never created a truly off-the-wall, ‘what-were-we-thinking’ beer,” Marketing Director Linda N. says. “That said, many years ago we did attempt to brew a ‘light’ craft beer with fewer calories.” The beer didn’t perform well in the brewery’s restaurant, and the team realized their error: craft fans want full flavor, full mouthfeel, full experience—and to hell with the calories. Linda compares it to other foodie tastes: “low fat, low sugar varieties just won’t cut it”. That light beer? It’s stayed history.

KNOW YOURSELF

Dominic C., of “CoaSter” Brewing, isn’t afraid to admit when he’s made a mistake.

“Always happy to talk about our failures,” he offers candidly. “Most of the beers we don’t like just go straight down the drain. We had a pomegranate Belgian that never saw the light of day, and a wild-fermented Belgian that was, shall we say, interesting…”.

While most beers that aren’t ready for prime time remain in safe harbor, some come close to going public. When Dominic and his partner, Jeff, had a local restaurant smoke some malt for a Chocolate Smoked Porter, the two soon learned something: smoke is potent and highly variable.

The resulting beer was nearly undrinkable. “[It was] so astringent from the smoke—but, then again, neither of us drink smoked porters,” Dominic says. “This is why we don’t brew what we don’t drink, ha!”

DON’T LOSE YOUR SENSE OF HUMOR

When asked to share his faux pas release, Andy K. had a characteristic response: “Um, every beer we’ve ever made?”.

Not taking yourself too seriously can be a life-saver. Andy knows it, the other brewers interviewed here know it. Craft brewers strike a balance between being able to work incredibly hard with the ability to have fun and like what they do, and a big part of that is hanging onto humility and not being afraid to laugh at yourself.

As “East Bend”’s Scott S. put it, “Everyone’s messed up. If you say you haven’t, you’re either lying or deluding yourself.” It seems that taking risks, admitting failure, and moving on is part of what allows the field to endure. If nothing else, brewers can salvage some knowledge from their mistakes. Some knowledge, and some good.

CraftPittsburgh.com

The head brewer at “Itchliker” Brewing has a reputation for self-deprecation, and takes the glib, sometimes callous feedback of the “drinkand-critique” public in stride. Thanks to social media, we live in an age where opinions are formed and publicized instantaneously, where everyone’s a critic while also being masked by the giant anonymous bullhorn of the Internet.

Andy heads haters off at the pass—he’s his own harshest critic and isn’t afraid to make himself the butt of his own jokes. But he also engages his audience in a warm, inviting way, thanking those who come to the brewery, acknowledging missteps, and upping the ante for himself.

Having a few years of professional brewing experience under his belt, Andy’s still able to take the piss (he mentioned a corn-on-the-cob saison and a pumpkin pie IPA as his “WTF?” beers). At this stage of the game, though, most of the negativity is in the rear view mirror.

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brewer sit-down Photo Buzzy Torek

MATT

McMAHON

11th Hour Brewing - Lawrenceville Age 37

Hometown?

Pittsburgh. I grew up in Mt. Lebanon and now I live in North Allegheny, my family’s from McKees Rocks and Crafton.

What’s your brewing background?

CraftPittsburgh | issue 34

My wife bought me a brewing kit about 10 years ago because she ran out of stuff to buy me for Christmas. I’d always seen the place on Babcock Boulevard, the Country Wines, so every time we’d drive by I’d be like “Eh, it’d be interesting to learn how to brew.” And so she bought me the kit and that’s really what started it. And then it just kind of snowballed from there.

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I started getting a lot better at brewing, I think, and from there I just started reading pretty much every book I could get my hands on. And then started to travel around different areas of the country, areas of the city, looking at their different brew systems, asked them what you would do different, how would you change this, what would you do about this.

Just learning through talking to them, and through just building off of their experiences. And that’s why it’s such a great community, because everybody’s willing to give you all of their experiences. On top of that, when Grist House first opened I went over and brewed with them a few times. We brewed with East End, Church and Rock Bottom. Just getting all of those different experiences, all the different styles of breweries, and all the different sizes and methodologies.

Do you remember your first craft beer?

I think really the eye-opening thing was I traveled over to Germany for work so getting a Kölsch, which is like getting a Budweiser over there,

but so much more flavorful and clean and everything else. It was just amazing to me, like, wow, there are 40 breweries in Cologne that are all making the exact same style of beer! And everybody likes it and they’re all sustainable.

That I think was the kickstarter where I realized I really like beer and there’s so much more out there as far as different styles. And that had to be 12 years ago maybe. I really started getting that appreciation for it back then. It was nice seeing things start to pop through in the United States.

Do you have a guilty pleasure beer?

One of the ones that helped build this place was Narragansett. We would go to Liberty Beer and just buy cases and cases of either Narragansett, Miller High Life or Hamm’s. So those were the ones where “I want a beer, but I need to focus because I’m building a table right now and need to get my cuts right, but I just want a beer.”

Do you brew to any music?

We do a lot of different styles. We go everywhere from Wu-Tang, Run the Jewels, we get some classic rock in there, blues. We’re non-discriminatory, we like what we like and just chuck it out there.

If you weren’t brewing, where would you be?

I’m a business intelligence consultant. Right now I’m on a project with American Eagle, so I’ve been there off and on for eight or nine years.

That’s what I’d still be doing, but part of the reason for starting this was looking at people who were older than me and saying is this really what I want to be doing in 20 years? You’re solving the same problem that I’m solving, you’re doing the same shit I’m doing, you’re writing the same proposals that you’ve probably written five or six times. How is this not

getting old for you? So I wanted to start something myself, because if I’m going to be doing this I’m going to be working hard, why not do something for myself? So if I wasn’t brewing I’d probably be looking to start my own consulting firm.

Do you have a death row beer?

I would want something that was a nice bourbon barrel-aged stout, 1213%, something that can last. Something you can sip on, enjoy, see the depths of different flavors whether it’s the vanilla or the chocolate or the bourbon. And each sip gets you something different from it.

If you could go back anywhere and re-drink a beer, where and what would it be?

Probably the Guinness in Ireland. It was me, my mom, dad, brother and my sister went over to Ireland. The Guinness over there is much different than here, it’s brewed with their water. The depth of flavor on something like that, being in an actual Irish pub in Ireland, feeling all the vibes and having a Guinness stew right next to you while you’re in this dank little basement with your whole family with Irish music playing in the background. That or sitting on the banks of the Rhine river, drinking a Kölsch.

Do you have a brewing hero?

Pretty much anyone who has started from nothing and got themselves built up and is making a phenomenal product is always something that you can respect and look up to. You look around here like people that own and run breweries like Steve at Roundabout and Brian & Kyle at Grist House. Locally that’s where I’d go. When you look at pioneers in the industry like the guys at Anchor Steam and the original IPA and Liberty Ale. And then Mitch Steele at Stone, just the different things you can start to do with hops. I never have one specific answer, I’m always in awe of people who have been doing this for so many years and especially the guys who were doing it when this wasn’t a thing. They were literally risking everything and just going “I have no fucking idea how this is going to end up, but let’s just give this a shot.”

What do you drive?

I just got a new Dodge Ram. It’s my delivery truck.

Favorite Pittsburgh bar?

Smallman Galley’s awesome, I love it down there! The concept, the different foods and different types of beers. The Independent is good, they always focus on local beers. It depends on what I’m in the mood for.

Through The Cincinnati Insurance Company, we can offer the right coverage for your brewery, including: • tank collapse and leakage • contamination and adulteration • product recall expense • liquor liability and excise tax bonds • processing water loss expense • key employee replacement expense For program details, please contact your independent agent: Steve Wanovich 412-835-5660 x110 steve@piersonandscott.com 321 Castle Shannon Blvd Pittsburgh, PA 15234

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cooking with beer Words Mindy Heisler-Johnson Photos Buzzy Torek

HOLIDAY SIDES It seems as I get older the time between the Holiday Seasons gets shorter and shorter.

CraftPittsburgh | issue 34

Like, I know there are still 365 days in a calendar year and Thanksgiving and Christmas fall at the same time every year but I will still swear on my unicorn & rainbows Trapper Keeper that it gets here faster. Every. Year.

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That’s not a complaint, though. Outside of the jeans and sweater weather being the greatest weather even and all the sparkly lights and decorations, the holidays provide me ample opportunities to do one of my very most favorite things in the world—cook for people. And I do, it’s kind of my thing.

So with that in mind, and a beer in hand, I headed to the kitchen, intent upon creating some beer-centric, tasty holiday dishes that can round out you holiday feast or make relatively easy, delicious pot-luck and/or host/ess gifts. The keyword there is easy. I see you people who already have entirely too much to do to spend hours hooking up homemade deliciousness—you’re my people! And do I have some noms for you!

Natrona Hot Ginger Beer Cranberry Sauce • 2 - 12oz bags fresh cranberries • 1 - 12oz bottle Natrona Hot Ginger Beer • 1½ cups sugar • 1 orange, sliced & seeds removed • 3 Tbsp Maggie’s Farm Spiced Rum

Put all of that in a pot and bring it to a simmer. Stir it up, crush up the orange a little bit. Let it cook over moderate heat until the cranberries pop and the sauce gets nice and thick and bubbly. Remove from the heat, take out and discard the oranges and stir in the rum. You can skip the rum, but I have made it a rule in life to never skip the rum. Ever. Taste it. If you like it sweeter add more sugar while it is still hot. If you dig it, cool and serve. This can also be all Pinterest-y jarred and stuff if you’re into that sort of thing.

Pumking Pumpkin Pecan Bread • 3 cups all purpose flour • 2 Tbsp baking powder • ½ tsp kosher salt (¼ if reg) • 1 Tbsp cinnamon • 1 tsp each allspice & ground ginger • ½ tsp ground mace (or ¼ tsp ground nutmeg) • 16oz pumpkin puree • ½ cup butter, melted • 1½ cups brown sugar • 2 eggs • 1 Tbsp vanilla • 12oz bottle of Southern Tier Pumkin • 1+ cup pecans

makes two loaves

Heat the oven to 375° and spray two loaf pans with pan spray—go take a break for a few minutes, it takes longer to heat the oven than it does to mix the batter and you want it to go in as soon as it’s mixed. When the oven

is just about hot combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl with a whisk.

In a larger bowl combine all the wet. Add the dry to the wet and mix with a rubber spatula until the whole thing comes together in a rough batter, about 15-20 turns with the spatula, you don’t want to overwork the batter. Divide between the sprayed loaf pans, top with the pecans and get in the oven. Bake for 40-45 minutes—until center springs back when gently pressed and a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in pans for a bit then transfer to a rack to cool completely. These can also be muffins, really good muffins. When they are cooled glaze with this…

• 1½ cups powdered sugar • 1 Tbsp vanilla • 3 Tbsp Maggie’s Farm Spiced Rum • 3 Tbsp soft butter • Little bit of water to thin Mix together with a whisk, only adding the water if you need to. Drizzle over, well, everything? Most definitely this pumpkin bread, though.

Cidergeist, Bubbles Rosé Ale Glazed Carrots & Beets

I know this sounds weird, but color is gorgeous and the beets and goat cheese? Perfection. Consider it to be an elevated, grown-up, alternative to the sweet potato marshmallow mess.

• 1-12oz can Cidergeist, Bubbles Rosé Ale • ½ cup honey • 2lbs baby or heirloom carrots • 2lbs baby beets (canned/jarred/roasted fresh) • Kosher salt & black pepper • Crumbled goat cheese • Toasted pecans The Beets—I did it the hard way—roasted fresh beets, peeled and cut them. But that’s me. Canned or jarred baby beets would not only be so much easier but also perfect for this, just drain them completely before using.

Put the Bubbles and honey in a small pot, reduce until it’s a thick syrup. It won’t take as long as you think and as it reduces it will boil harder so adjust your heat. When it’s, well, basically the consistency of honey, it’s done. At this point you can pause or have your oven heated to 375°. Mix the carrots and beets in a roasting pan and toss with the glaze, season with salt and pepper and dot with a few pats of butter. Roast until the carrots are tender and the glaze is thick again. When done transfer to a serving dish, if necessary, and sprinkle the top with the goat cheese and toasted pecans right before serving.

Sierra Nevada Porter Rye & Sausage Stuffing

This is delicious paired with poultry or pork. The rye bread is perfect with the porter. And I say this as not a huge fan of rye, so there’s that.

• 1 loaf grocery store Italian, cut into cubes • 1 loaf marble rye, cut into cubes • 1 lbs sweet herb sausage (think breakfast sausage) • 1 big spanish onion, diced • 5 or 6 stalks Celery, diced • 2 carrots, diced • 1 Tbsp Herbs de Provence (or thyme) • 1 butternut squash, peeled, diced & roasted • 2 - 12oz bottles Sierra Nevada Porter • 2-3 cups chicken stock • Kosher salt & black pepper to taste Peel and dice the squash. Place in a roasting pan, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt & pepper. Roast at 375°/400° until tender and taking on some color. Cube up the bread and get it in a big bowl. Add the roasted squash to it when it’s cooked.

Brown off the sausage in a saute pan. When cooked add the onion, celery, carrot and herbs. Cook until the onion starts to smell sweet and lightly caramelize on the edges. Season generously with salt & pepper. When cooked add all of this awesome to the bowl with the bread & squash. Deglaze the pan with the beer, using a wooden spoon to work all the yummy bits off the bottom. Bring it up to a simmer then pour over the bread. Use the chicken stock to moisten the stuffing until it is wet, but not soupy. This will fill a 9”x13” pan. Bake at 350° until golden brown on top.

Can also be made into stuffing balls. Or use apple in place of the squash, just saute them with the vegetables. Mushrooms are also a great addition or a nice vegetarian substitute for the sausage - just go heavier on the herbs and pepper.

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CraftPittsburgh.com

home brewing

Words Jack Smith Art Joe Mruk

BRACE YOURSELVES!

WINTER

IS COMING BREWING WINTER WARMER ALE We’re well into autumn but there are still plenty of brewing days left until winter— which is to say solstice. As in Yule. Yule log.

Not a log. I don’t have a log. But if I had a log, not in the sense that you think I said I did…Phew. Good golly. ‘Tis the season to brew winter warmers!

CraftPittsburgh | issue 34

When it comes to winter seasonal beers, do you really want five gallons of overly spiced Christmas beer that you’ll tire of before the solstice even arrives? Me neither. Why not brew something that you’ll want to drink long after all the holiday decorations have been haphazardly chucked back into the attic? Enter the Winter Warmer—a strong, warming ale with rich malt-derived fruit and melanoidin flavors completely devoid of any one-trick-pony holiday spices.

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Winter Warmers are strong ales, typically English in character. They’re bigger than ESB but not as big as barleywine, making them great for after-dinner sipping. Their warming character is great during the cold half of the year, but thanks to their not-too-high abv you don’t need to wait for Saturday night to drink them. They typically come in around 7% abv, plus or minus a percent. Winter Warmer is closely related to English Old Ale. They share a common ancestor in the Burton Ale of the 17th and 18th centuries -- a strong malty pale ale that was the less hoppy big brother of the IPA of the time. Today’s winter warmer differs from old ale in two main ways—malt complexity and age. Old ale is typically a strong pale ale with port or sherry-like notes, brettanomyces, maybe a leathery character, etc.

Winter warmer is typically fresher. Old ales have malt richness, but not to the degree present in winter warmer. Old ales are typically deep gold to amber in color with nutty, caramelly, and sometimes faint molasses flavors.

Winter warmers are deep amber to brown in color and offer rich notes of dried figs, dates, raisins, and plums as well as rich caramel, molasses, and hints of milk chocolate. These flavors can come from darker specialty malts or from dark invert sugar such as Belgian candi syrup. They have a smooth, luscious texture that comes from a combination of a fully, chewy body and low-ish carbonation.

Brew this cozy sippin’ beer now. Come January and February, evenings won’t seem quite so cold and long. Winter warmer is easy to brew from extract or all grain. The mash is simple. Hopping rates are modest.

Fermentation is straightforward. The main concern, the one potential pitfall, is to be sure to pitch plenty of healthy yeast into well-oxygenated wort. This is a bigger beer, so any off-flavors produced by an unhealthy

or sluggish fermentation will be amplified. Make a yeast starter and oxygenate or aerate your wort and you’ll have nothing to worry about.

This holiday season skip the heavily spiced beer with its hard expiration date of December 26th. Brew this rich, flavorful, and, most importantly, unspiced ale instead to keep you nice and toasty during these months when it’s dark when you leave for work in the morning and dark when you get home in the evening.

“Thermal Underwear” WINTER WARMER ALE Batch Size: 5.25 gal.

Boil Time:60 minutes OG: 1.075 FG: 1.018 ABV: 7.5% IBU: 35 SRM: 21 Difficulty: Simple

*Assuming 60% brewhouse efficiency

Grainbill • 7.5 lbs Maris Otter malt • 7 lbs Golden Promise malt • 1 lb UK Crystal 80 malt • 1 oz UK Chocolate malt • 1 lb D-180 Belgian Candi Syrup Extract Brewers: Replace the Maris Otter and Golden promise with 8.75 lbs of extra light British dry malt extract. Steep the Crystal 80 and Chocolate malt in a muslin sack in 1 gallon of 155F water for 30 minutes, then add water, DME, and candi syrup and boil as you typically do.

• 56 grams East Kent Golding (5% AA) @ 60 min • 14 grams East Kent Golding (5% AA) @ 10 min

Mash & Boil All you need here is a simple single infusion mash at a temperature that produces average body. Mash at 152°F for 60 minutes. If you have the ability to do a mash out, by all means do. Perform your normal lauter and sparge process to collect you standard pre-boil volume for getting 5.25 gallons of wort into your fermenter. Boil for 60 minutes, adding hops at 60 and 10 minutes.

Yeast/Fermentation Winter Warmer is an English style. A significant portion of its flavor profile is driven by, or at least accentuated by, an English yeast’s ester profile.

Therefore you shouldn’t use anything too clean. California Ale Yeast would produce a lackluster version of the beer. Any English yeast will work. They all have slightly different ester profiles. Choose one that produces some fruity esters that will compliment the flavors of the malt and candi syrup.

Be sure to consider attenuation as well. Some English strains are low attenuators. This is a high OG beer, so choose one that attenuates a bit more to avoid producing a cloyingly sweet beer. I like WLP007—Dry English Ale Yeast—for this recipe as it meets those criteria perfectly. Most importantly, make a yeast starter. Use an online calculator to determine the correct starter size for producing the roughly 275 billion cells needed

for a good, healthy fermentation of this particular wort. If you have the ability to inject pure oxygen into your wort, do so just prior to pitching yeast. Otherwise, pump air into the wort using an aquarium pump with a sterile filter or at least splash the worth back and forth between a couple buckets a bunch of times. Ferment at 65-70°F until fully fermented. Letting it warm up into the 70s after fermentation is 70% complete wouldn’t be a bad thing. Once it’s ready, carbonate to a lowish 2 volumes of CO₂.

Suggested Pairings As described above, this beer is rich and chewy with the balance toward the malty sweet side. It’s not a sugary sweet beer in and of itself; it’s not cloying. But it certainly is on the sweet end of the spectrum. As such, consider it an after-dinner beer. Pair it with rich winter desserts featuring similar flavors of caramel and dried fruits. English sticky toffee pudding or dulce de leche over vanilla bean ice cream. Pumpkin custard pie with fresh whipped cream. Warm apple dumpling. If you’re looking for a savory pairing, enjoy your winter warmer as an aperitif with a cheese plate containing some strongly flavored cheeses that might overpower “lesser” beers. Aged Gruyere’s nuttiness, the piquant nature of Humbolt Fog, and aged chevre from northern California, or even the in-yourface barnyard character of an English stilton. Bonus points if you have homemade spent-grain crackers.

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

CraftPittsburgh.com

Hops

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Words & Illustration Mark Brewer

Sessions in Succession

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‘session’ beer is a term used to describe a beer that is low in alcohol by volume (ABV). Although we don’t know exactly when the term was first coined, we do know that the term ‘session’ was used to describe the time in which British pubs were open after the first World War ended. These afternoon and evening ‘sessions’ would bring in patrons who would drink as much as they could. Beer with a lower ABV was required so consumers could imbibe throughout the entire session. Today session beers serve the same purpose for those who wish to consume less alcohol over a long period of time. Sometimes lowering the alcohol can mean sacrificing a little color and taste, but, as many of us know, that’s not always true.

Here are three session beers with good color and lots of flavor! All are easy to find at your local beer distributor.

CraftPittsburgh | issue 34

Green Flash Jibe

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India Pale Ale (ABV 4.0%). Golden yellow in color. Retains a limited head throughout your indulgence with some lacing left behind. Floral, ripe fruit, honey nose with aromas of citrus and bready malt. Light bodied beer with a bready malt taste along with a big citrus bitterness.

Moderately carbonated. Finishes with a pungent kick of bitter hops that will linger until your next sip. Pairs well with salami.

North Country Brewing Co. Bucco Blonde American Blonde Ale (ABV 4.0%). Light gold color with a white frothy head that dissipates quickly. Malty, bready, biscottie-like nose. Light

bodied, malty tasting with little to no hop bitterness. Moderate carbonation with a lasting effervescence. Bucco Blonde finishes clean with no lingering tastes. For those of you who are still drinking domestic beer, Bucco Blonde makes for a good transition into craft beer. All natural ingredients without chemicals, GMO’s or preservatives! Pairs well with chili.

Yards Brewing Co. Brawler English Dark Ale (ABV 4.2%). Dark amber color with a modest head that leaves a single white ring around your beer. Light head retention with lacing left on the glass. Rich malty nose with aromas of toffee and pumpernickel. Sweet malt taste with some nuttiness, caramel, toffee and black tea flavors. Medium bodies with no hop bitterness. Finishes with a toasted malt taste left in your mouth. Pairs well with BBQ ribs.

Mark Brewer is the author & illustrator of Brewology, An Illustrated Dictionary for Beer Lovers