Writing this ship, Part VIII (Pittsburgh, Pa.)

(University of Pittsburgh from the air. No kidding, right?)
(Bridges over the Allegheny River. A keen eye for breweries may be able to pick out Penn Brewery on the North Shore.)
All you need to do is Google "brewlounge.com pittsburgh" to find that I've written quite a bit over the years about our sister city on the other side of the state from Philadelphia. I could link you over to any number of articles I wrote about my beer-y travels around the City.

I've been there for work a number of times. Flyers/Penguins, Eagles/Steelers, Phillies/Pirates weekend trips. And as you read this, I'm prepping for my third running of the Pittsburgh Marathon. Suffice to say, I've had a chance to take the pulse of the city, its beer, and the bar scene.

And, although, I'm not a typical proponent of rooting for one's enemy (e.g. would never, ever root for the Giants in the Super Bowl, the Mets in the World Series, etc.), I actually did find myself not hating the Penguins for winning the Stanley Cup the other year. But maybe I won't let our Pittsburgh friend, Brian, hear that. Though, my opinion of Sidney Crosby remains still just as negative.

But, about the beer scene, I've had plenty to say. If you do that Google search I mentioned above, you'll find a bunch of references. My records show, though it seems light, that I've tagged 19 articles with the word Pittsburgh. Here's one that, back in 2009, did a pretty good job of summarizing the beer scene around the 'burgh at the time.

And now? I was last there back in November on a simple one-nighter along the way to Chicago. So it meant time for just a well-executed plan of hitting up Fat Head's, Piper's Pub, and Smokin' Joe's.

They were all predictably excellent stops based upon my past experience and short amount of available time on this one particular evening. A few things I was struck by that are worth sharing with you.

(On the South Side, Fat Head's beer menu never fails to impress.)
(Never any shortage of food at Fat Head's. Here's the 3 Little Pigs plate which, even listed as a "munchie" on the menu, is more than any one average person really needs. But, oh my...)
It seems that the number of Fat Head's-brewed beers on the tap list (from its production facility outside Cleveland, OH if you didn't know) increases every time I visit the pub on Carson Street. This time, it as first time run-ins with both the Sunshine Daydream and Bumble Berry that kept me impressed as always with the brewery's solid brewing record.

(Scotch Egg at Piper's Pub with a locally-brewed East End Snow Melt.)
Across the street at Piper's, they still make a strong case in my book as one of the friendliest pubs in town. Comfortable bar atmosphere, European soccer/football on the television, and interesting and easy conversation with both the staff and fellow customers. A must stop for pub and beer lovers...and Scotch Egg lovers. Also, a dependable source of decent cask-conditioned beer.

Then, a few more doors down Carson Street, Smokin' Joe's still a great place for beer, darts, and pool.

But, the real surprise during this trip came to me after I figured my run-ins with food and/or beer to report back to you were complete. The Pittsburgh airport, what would you expect? Bar Symon? As in the award-winning chef and culinary personality Michael Symon.

How's that for starters? So you know you can expect decent food. But, how about a lineup of beer that included Rogue Dead Guy, Tröegs Dreamweaver Wheat, Founders Breakfast Stout, East End Fat Gary, Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold, Stone Arrogant Bastard, and Bell's Two Hearted Ale?

(The Lola Burger at Bar Symon at Pittsburgh International Airport)
Since I'd just days earlier conquered the Harrisburg Marathon, I felt justly deserving of the Lola Burger (with fried egg, pickled red onions, thick bacon, cheddar cheese, on a challah bun), Rosemary & Parmesan Lola Fries, a superb Fat Gary Brown Ale, and a Breakfast Stout to go. Yes, to go. Because that's the way many airports roll; you just have to ask.

(That reminds me. Have I ever shared with you what is likely the greatest compilation of airport beer information on the Web? I contribute to it as often as I can in order to help the cause.)

Decadent, it surely was. And the service was top notch, speeding the beers and the food even on our barely 30 minute window. If you're traveling through the Pittsburgh airport, you probably can't do much better for both food and beer.



(Looking back at the Armstrong tunnel under Duquesne University from one of many, the 10th Street, steel bridges.)
(Franco Harris at Pittsburgh International Airport)
(Even George Washington at Pittsburgh International Airport)

---

---

Pittsburgh, Penn ... again

Looks like I was just a few weeks early in my visit to Pittsburgh in order to taste the "new" Penn Pilsner being brewed once again back on Penn's home turf in the North Side/Troy Hill neighborhood. Check the Post-Gazette for more details. But while I was there in the middle of December, here is what I did find. I did find (finally) that Piper's Pub is just down the street from Fat Head's on Carson Street in the South Side. I'd, of course, always known this; it's just that I've always found it so difficult to get past Fat Head's. By the time the eating and drinking was done with at Fat Head's, a trip upstairs to the retail shop, oh and maybe just one more, trekking the extra half block down the street has always just seemed so unnecessary. And, I've been told by others wiser than I that this is a mistake that I should not be repeatedly making. While Fat Head's should always remain on any beer drinker's best Pittsburgh Itinerary, it may be time for me to reconsider my first stop in the South Side. Between the soccer (oh, my apologies, I should say football?!), the neighborhood insider ambiance, the friendly but unobtrusive staff, and the interesting but not overwhelming menu, Piper's Pub will be my first stop on Carson Street when I return for the annual Flyers/Penguins hockey trip that I'll be making at the end of March. I can already taste my next perfect Scotch Egg at Piper's. It was during this visit to Piper's that I found what was already reported to be true just a few short months ago---that Philadelphia Brewing had entered the Pittsburgh market. Harvest from the Hood was still on tap (as it was also at Fat Head's) and according to the Philadelphia-transplanted bartender has been well-received by patrons. Oh, and before I move on from Piper's, how remiss I would be if I didn't mention the oh-so-perfect East End Snow Melt coming off the cask engine. Simply,,,wow! This is a great beer to begin with, and it shines all the more (as many beers do when served this way) when served cask-conditioned without the invasive forced carbon dioxide. What else I did find was a pleasant neighborhood-y feeling tavern smack in the middle of downtown a stone's throw from the Convention Center. While there isn't an endless supply of decent beer bars in the heart of downtown, August Henry's just may be downtown's best nowadays. A co-worker and I stopped in long enough to find a tasteful decor of dark, heavy wood, comfortable barstools, and a long mural of the local landscape and skyline decorating the long wall opposite the bar. We had a couple of beers, East End's Snow Melt and Great Lakes' Edmund Fitzgerald Porter. I hadn't made a note of the entire draft list, but in addition to the two I've already mentioned, to know that Great Lakes Christmas and Tröegs Mad Elf had just kicked should give you an idea of why August Henry's should be on your short list of stops if you happen to be staying in a Downtown Pittsburgh hotel looking for decent grub and grog within a few blocks of your hotel. Since this three-night group business trip to Pittsburgh was largely dominated by, well, business, there wasn't much more to report, except.... What I did find when crossing the river and highway to the North Side/Troy Hill neighborhood was not a whole lot of apparent activity at the newly former and new again home of Penn Brewery. Someone had written somewhere online (my apologies for lack of proper credit here) that Tom Pastorius and crew had just mashed in days ahead of my visit. As you can see from the link all the way above (okay, here it is again so you don't have to go looking for it), the Penn Pilsner will be ready very soon and I might add not a day too soon. I had a Penn Dark during one of our dinners out in Pittsburgh. It was one that had been brewed in Wilkes-Barre (The Lion) as any Penn beer brand has been for the last however-many-months-it's-been since the brewery and restaurant were shuttered. Let's just say the beer tasted and smelled at least a notch or two below what I would call acceptable by Penn's standards. So, yes, I'm looking as forward to some fresh Penn Pilsner as much as I am to the Scotch Egg and Soccer at Piper's Pub in March. Since I arrived without warning, all I could do was to poke around to see whom I might find working around the brewery. An electrician was about it. A couple of open doors allowed me (well, 'allowed' may be a too generous of a way to describe them) to poke my head in, but really nothing else much to report sight- or smell-wise. So, I grabbed a few pictures for your enjoyment and teasing. If you haven't been to Penn in the past, I'd recommend keeping your eyes on the Beer Press so that you can schedule your own visit later this coming year. The walk to Penn from downtown is such an easy one. Of course, it depends partly upon where you are coming from downtown. If you're all the way down by The Point/Fort Pitt or over by Duquesne, you might be looking at a 2 mile walk...very doable, of course, on a nice day. If you're closer to the Strip District, you're talking about barely a mile's worth of walking. Walking or driving, you'll want to head across the 16th Street Bridge from downtown. A nice little road sign bearing the word 'Brewery' will point you in the right direction over to Vinial Street. Good thing they never took it down. But, if walking, you can shave a few minutes off your trek by walking through the Heinz Loft property (totally legal and open, not private property) and across a pedestrian walkway which takes you almost to the front door of Penn's Brewery and Restaurant. If you want to see this pedestrian bridge, it won't show up on any map only on satellite image...though, trust me, it makes for a better and faster walk (safer too, when crossing the highway 28 intersection) by taking this pedestrian bridge...and affords a nice view of the brewery and the Heinz property as well. That seems to bring me to a close of my most recent finds in Pittsburgh. I plan to have much, much more to share after the late March trip that I'll be making. 'Til then, why don't YOU take shot at sharing with the rest of us what you like most of Pittsburgh and its beer scene? Comment below!