Posts Tagged ‘craft beer’

March6

Half Marathon Training Update

By: Jake

Well week 1 is in the books and I half wish it didn’t happen.  Leading up to week 1, I was very excited and ready to start.  The first few days of the week would be spent in Minneapolis for work.  The hotel was downtown close to bars and restaurants, but it also housed a decent gym.  Knowing this going into the week I packed all my running gear and told myself to run after training and before being taken out to dinners.  Below is a recap of what actually happened.

Monday:

6am Pittsburgh, 60F/RAIN: Finally make it to work after having to caulk the wagon.  Perfect running weather.  Almost stopped off for a quick run through Brady’s Run Park.

4pm Pittsburgh, 40F: Board plane to lovely Minneapolis.  Probably the smallest plane I’ve been in.  I think they fly bigger planes in the Alaskan bush.

6pm Minneapolis, 20F: Land in the freezing cold, catch a taxi and head to the hotel.  Get to hotel and unpack.  Co-workers ready for dinner and drinks.  No time to run just yet.  I think to myself…”self run when you get back.”

8pm Minneapolis, 10F/Wind: Dinner at a British pub, kinda like Pipers, but nothing close.  I should have known I was in trouble when I heard what their seasonal/”craft” tap was.  ”Yes sir, we have Sam Adams blah blah blah blah”.  I ordered a Guinness.

10pm Minneapolis, 0F/Wind: Coldest 3 block walk ever.  Too cold and tired to run.  Tuesday will be a new day with more time to run.

Tuesday:

6am Minneapolis, -10F/Wind: Wake up and did some core exercises.  Felt great ready for work and a nice run after work.

5pm Minneapolis, 5F/Wind: Work was cool, but I got tired of listening to all the locals say how warm it was.  Headed to the gym for a solid 2.5 mile jog.  Anything over 1mile on a treadmill is torture.

7pm Minneapolis, 0F/Wind:

Dinner at an Irish pub, The Local.  Very cool wood work.  Apparently they sold the most Jameson in the world over the past 3yrs.  If you were to stack the empty bottles end to end it would be over 29,000ft tall.  Still in trouble…nothing special on tap.  The only craft beer there was a Great Lakes Edmund Fitz.  I had a Guinness and then a Summit Pale Ale at the hotel.  The Summit Pale Ale was nothing special.  Mostly watery, with a splash of hops.  Still better then Miller or Bud or Coors.

Wednesday:

3am Minneapolis, -1000F/Wind: Sick

4pm Minneapolis, -9999999F/Wind: Sick, fly home.

Thursday: SICK

Friday: SICK

Saturday: SICK

Sunday: Finally had real food!

Week 1 Recap – Minneapolis has a poorer Craft Beer scene then expected.  Minneapolis is DAMN COLD!  Getting sick sucks.  The 2.5miles was very doable.  Very very ready for Week 2.

Week 1 Totals – Ran 2.5miles, drank 3 beers.

We have received a few suggestions for what beer would be best to celebrate with after crossing the finish line.  Leading the way is the Pale Ale.  Any other suggestions?  Whose ‘Pale Ale’ should it be?  Please don’t say Summit’s.

Posted in: Out and About in the Burgh4 comments

February23

TDY Gears Up for the PGH Half Marathon

By: Jake

Yes it’s true, TDY will be represented in the 2011 Pittsburgh Marathon.  We aren’t running the full marathon this time, whew!!  The Half Marathon appears to be a sufficient challenge to us;  the beer brewing/drinking, adult league soccer players, weekend warriors, backpackers…

The Half Marathon will start just before the American Craft Beer Week kicks off.  The Half marathon starts Sunday morning May 15th.  I can’t wait to cross the finish line and enjoy a nice cold one.  Which makes me think.  What do I want waiting for me when I finish?  Do I want an IPA, Pale Ale, wheat or maybe something a little darker?  This is going to be harder then initially thought.

We have a training plan and an idea of how hard we need to train to finish.  I hope no Kenyans run the half.

Follow our ups and downs over the next 12-weeks or so.  We will follow the training plan, but still find ways to train without giving up good beer.

Any other craft beer drinkers running?  Know of any good training plans or how to eat while training?  The only other marathoner I know, would drink a pot of coffee, run, drink some water, eat Ramen, bike around town and finish the day with a handful of beers.  Sounds like a plan to me!  See ya out there.

Posted in: Out and About in the Burgh0 comments

February19

Cook Forest n’at

By: Jake

Last weekend some of us were lucky enough to escape the city for a long weekend for fun in the snow covered woods.  The plan was to:

  1. Get outside as much as possible
  2. Enjoy a fire in the cabin
  3. Drink lots of good beer
  4. Test out the new Subaru in the snow

Friday morning saw temperatures in the single digits and wind chills below zero.  This was the perfect time for a short drive up to Tionesta for an amazing breakfast.  Last year we stumbled across T&K’s Dinor.  Breakfast is served all day.  This is also pirogie heaven.  For breakfast the hot sausage trash, basically a mixed grill of goodness, was enjoyed with a tall OJ.  A dozen kilbasa and potato pirogies were purchased for later use.

After that awesome breakfast a nice long cross country skiing adventure took place.  You can rent Ski’s at Cook Riverside Cabins.  In winter the Fire Tower road is closed for X-skiers to enjoy.  It was a nice ski to the Seneca Overlook and Fire Tower, didn’t see a single person.  The trail is groomed for x-skiing, in-case you were interested.

After the ski, it was time to open some brews.  Before the trip, a variety case was built which included, Molson Canadian, Yuengling, Voodoo Brown, Harpoon Winter Warmer, Penn St Nick Bock, Great Lakes Christmas, Ithaca Brown, Ithaca Spring Seasonal, Ithaca CascaZilla, Terrapin Hop Karma Brown and a special bottle of Troegs Flying Mouflan.

The first brew of the trip was a nice cold Voodoo Brown.  As the night went on and the fire started fading a few more brews when down with a warm dinner of kielbasa and pirogies.

Saturday morning brought more snow and great skiing conditions.  The Subaru handled the snow as if it wasn’t even there as we headed to Clear Creek State Park.  The skiing was a little sticky but was fun.

The highlight of the trip was waiting for us at the cabin, Troegs Flying Mouflan.  This beer was described on the bottle like this:  ”We classify this beer as pushing Nugget Nectar off the side of a cliff. It is bold and intense–think hops dipped in candied sugar and rolled in dark chocolate nibs. Over time, the Flying Mouflan transforms into lush raisin and chocolate overtones as the hops subside and the rich barley flavors come out in the beer.”

This was very accurate.  It was a hoppy brew at first with a slight follow up of sweetness.  I would describe the sweetness as carmel flavored.  The last taste was that of the chocolate.  It finished dry, but was very easy to drink.

We finished our stay with a hike through the Cathedral section of Cook Forest.  There are several trails in the region that pass through old growth forest.  A great hike in the snow!

It was a great weekend get away.  There is a small bottle shop in Clarion that was closed when we stopped by.  Other then that I suggest the Knotty Pine restaurant or bring your own brews.

Posted in: Beer Reviews, Road Trips0 comments

February6

Super Bowl of Beer: Green Bay vs Pittsburgh

By: Jake

Let’s get down to business.  We have all heard the media break this game down for the past two weeks.  We know Ryan Clark is the sexiest man in the Super Bowl.  We know what shampoo Clay Matthews uses.  We know the Packers coach is from Greenfield.  We know Keisel has a beard.

TDY thought it was time to break down the local breweries and see how they stack up against one another.  Green Bay, WI puts Titletown Brewing up against Pittsburgh’s own, East End Brewing.

*Disclaimer* TDY has never actually had any brews from Title Town Brewing. (You have been lawyered, thanks Joe.) We have asked TDY Wisconsin correspondent, Bobby Generic, to help us break down the Titletown line up.  Most know Bobby from his work as a child actor on “Bobby’s World”.  He’s all grown up and a craft beer lover.

Bobby: Well Titletown has been around since 1996, don’tcha know? It is a microbrewery/brewpub and is located in an old Historic Railroad Depot, don’tcha know? They have a long list of brews to their name: Honey Ale, Pilsner, Barleywine, Stout, Porter, ESB, IPA, Pale Ale, Red Ale, Imperial IPA and a Tripel.

TDY: Wow, sounds like a great place with lots of history.  Out of all those brews what will you be drinking for the Super Bowl?
Bobby: My favorite brew would be the Bridge Out Oatmeal Stout.  It’s an inky-black, roasty, full-bodied and creamy brew, servied on nitrogen and poured through a special “stout” faucet for extra smoothness and drinkability.  It’s perfect for cold weather. It also pairs well with cheese.

TDY: What doesn’t pair well with cheese in Green Bay?  Can you talk to the hoppier beers?
Bobby: Well Green Bay is pretty far up nort’ and isn’t a great location for hop production, don’tcha know?  The Hopasaurus IPA would be what you call a ‘gateway’ IPA.  I’ve had much hoppier and more bitter but it’s refreshing on those warm 60F summer days, eh.  The bigger bolder IPA would be Kurty’s Hop Monster.  It’s an Imperial IPA that smacks you in the nose with fruity, citrus-like hops, attacks your taste buds with intense hop flavor, then soothes your palate with its clean, dry finish, don’tcha know?

TDY: Again, all those beers sounds pretty good.  I wish we could have a head to head tasting.  Recently there has been a rumor floating around that Titletown Brewing uses cheese in their beer.  Much like Budweiser uses rice.
Bobby: Yes this is true.  All the beers include anywhere from 10-35% cheese.  Why not?

TDY: I think we are done here.  Thanks for your time and insight.  Enjoy the game!

I think we all know about East End and their great offerings: Fat Gary, Big Hop, Homewood Reserve, Monkey Boy, Pale Ryder, Snow Melt, Gratitude, Smoke Stack Porter…….plus many more.  Last night we enjoyed a Black Strap Stout on tap.  I would put Black Strap up against any stout.  East End strives for environmental sustainability and does NOT use cheese in their beer.

This is a tough question and feel like it would be a close vote.  Without having tried Titletown and knowing Bobby’s cheese-tainted palate, I have to say East End Brewing wins.

Here we go Steelers!

Follow East End’s road to the White House.  Thanks to East End for making sure the President has good beer for the Super Bowl party at the White House. http://www.facebook.com/EastEndtoDC

Posted in: Beer Reviews0 comments

February1

I AM a Home Brewer

By: Jake

Cool video!  I AM a home brewer.  Inspired by, and in tribute to, the “I am a Craft Brewer” video shown at the 2009 Craft Brewers Conference. This is dedicated to all of the men and women who comprise the American craft brewing movement and to the countless others who comprise the home brewing movement.  So grab a pint of home brew and enjoy the video.

Posted in: Home Brewing0 comments

January10

Planning a Beer Tasting

By: Jake

Here’s a video from craftbeer.com that includes  some great ideas on hosting your own beer tasting.  Give it a try.  The most important thing to remember is, RELAX and enjoy the event.  There is no right or wrong way to host a beer tasting.  Have fun with it!  We have put together a few of these the past year and they have ranged from grilling on the deck while passing a few bottles around to drinking and watching the Pens beat up on someone.  If you have questions we would be more the happy to help you out.  There are a lot of bottle shops around the Pittsburgh area where you can find a plethora of beers to sample.  D’s, Packs and Dogs, Bocktown, Carson Street Deli, Beer Nutz, Rudy’s, Mohan’s, The Bottle Shop Cafe, etc……..

If you want more ideas check Martha Stewart’s website for fun table center pieces; maybe tiny Stanley Cups made out of nerf.  Have fun and let us know what you sampled and the food you paired with it.

Cheers!

Posted in: Beer Reviews, Food0 comments

November18

Beer Spotlight: Mendocino Brewing White Hawk IPA

By: Jake

Well it’s the start of the 3rd period of the Pens vs Canucks game.  Crosby had a nice breakaway out of the box.  Cooke is playing unreal.  Fleury found his game.  Right now it’s 3-1 Pens, hope they hold on.  While watching the game I’m enjoying a Mendocino Brewing White Hawk IPA.  I bought a sampler from Mendocino on my way home from work today.  It’s the first time I’ve noticed Mendocino Brewing around town.  The IPA is the first try.  So far so good.

Appearance:  Dark amber/copper in color with a white 1/4″  head and minimal retention.

Aroma:  The first smell and you get slight hop aroma.  Not sure if it’s an IPA or pale ale.  The hop aroma is mainly floral.

Taste:  The first sip was very smooth and this Drinkability continues till the end.  The taste follows suite of a classic/gateway IPA.  There appears to be more of a citrus and piney taste, then what was revealed in the aroma.  This beer is not overwhelmingly bitter.  The body is mediumish and I feel the hop/malt balance isn’t quit right.

Mouthfeel:  Smooth, light carbonation, crisp and medium body.

Drink ability:  This beer would be very very drinkable on a warm summer evening at a cook out.

So what do you think of the White Hawk IPA?  Have you had this beer before?  Is Mendocino on tap anywhere around town?

Posted in: Beer Reviews, Out and About in the Burgh1 comments

November4

Incline to Brew: IPA – Part 3 Fermentation

By: Jake

Quick review: We covered the IPA ingredients in Part 1. Part 2 explored the cooking process and we had just begun to cool the wort. Now let’s pick up where we left off in Part 3.

Once the wort is cooled to temperature, it’s time to add the wort to the rest of the water in the fermenter.  Before adding the yeast it’s important to aerate the wort in the fermenter.  This can be done by stirring.

Next, it’s time to sample the wort for specific gravity, % sugar and % alcohol by volume measurements.  Use the hydrometer to measure the aforementioned variables.

At this point I like to take a little taste.  This sampler has a very hoppy and sweet taste.  All this sugary sweetness is food for the yeast to eat, which will in return produce alcohol and carbon dioxide.  The CO2 will bubble off and the alcohol will stay for your enjoyment.

This batch used liquid California Ale yeast.  Unscrew the cap and pour the yeast into the fermenter.  Be sure to put the airlock in place to keep contaminates out of your new batch of beer.  Be sure your airlock allows the CO2 to escape the fermenter. Otherwise pressure will build in the fermenter and bad things could happen…..BOOM!

Place the fermenter in an area where the temperature will remain constant around 70F.  Lastly cover the fermenter to keep the light out.

About one day into fermentation the CO2 bubbling off became very noticeable.  This will last for a few more days.  The smell was full of hops.  After about seven days the bubbling stopped and it’s time to sample for final gravity, % sugar and final % alcohol measurements.  My final gravity was right where I wanted it and that means fermentation is done.

Before kegging I put the fermenter in the fridge to cool the batch down to 40F to “kill” the yeast.  This causes the yeast to settle to the bottle of the fermenter and allows for easier transfer into the keg w/o getting much yeast in the keg.  It also aids in clarity and eliminates some of that yeast homebrew taste that is evident in bottled homebrew.

Part 4 will bring us the kegging of the IPA and, most importantly, the tasting. Don’t miss our upcoming first taste video!

Posted in: Home Brewing0 comments

October31

Incline to Brew: IPA – Part 2 The Cook

By: Jake

Picking up from where we left on Incline to Brew: IPA – Part 1 The Ingredients, it’s now time for the cook.  All the ingredients and equipment are prepped and ready to go.

The water is in the kettle and heating up to ~150F.  Once we get the water up to temperature we will steep the grains for about 30mins.  Tim recently constructed a mash tun and I’m excited to see how his latest brew turned out.  That is one of my next projects.

Moving on, as the grains steep a wonderful aroma fills the kitchen.  The smell during the cook is awesome and usually gets everyone excited for good beer.  After the 30mins are over, strain out the steeped grains.  I try to push out extra liquid from the grains before moving on.  The grain is perfect for animal feed and if you know a way to be sustainable and reuse the grain go for it.  Professional breweries sell this to farmers for cattle feed.

Next up is the boil stage.  Once you remove your grains, bring the wort to a rolling boil.  I boiled for about60mins during this batch.  Now that the wort is boiling, I stirred my malt extract in.  I warm my malt extract up on the stove prior to use, this helps pour the viscous liquid.  Along with the malt extract the bittering hops were added.  This is where I added the bulk of my Cascade and Simcoe hops.  Now that all your boil ingredients are in, let it cook and check on it here and there, give it a stir if you want.  But remember “relax, have a home brew.”

The 60min hop addition is the stage in brewing where you get the most bitterness incorporated in the brew.  Adding hops for the last 10/5mins of the boil will add to the beer finish/aroma.  Dry hopping is another option to increase the all around hoppiness to an IPA.  FYI: dry hopping adds little to no bitterness.  It will really add to the nose of the beer.  I chose not to dry hop this time.

With 10mins left in my boil I added the last of the Cascade hops.  By adding Cascade hops at this point of the boil I hope to get a citrus aroma in the finished product.  Again the smell is fantastic.  With the addition of all the hops the brewing aroma has filled the entire first floor.

The boil stage is done.  Now it’s time to cool the wort.  I cooled to about 70F.  This is done to prep the wort for fermentation and yeast addition.  Thanks to my handy dandy mini heat exchanger the wort can cool from a boil to 70F in about 15-20mins.  The heat exchanger is a great upgrade from trying to cool in an ice bath.

Looking back, we’ve talked about the IPA ingredients and the cook.  Any questions?  Remember, “relax have a homebrew.”  Check back for Incline to Brew: IPA – Part 3 Fermentation.

Posted in: Home Brewing0 comments

October26

TDY Plays Cornhole

By: Jake

Summer might be over, but it’s never to late to play a little cornhole.  This was a quick game that mostly was about drinking a few Southern Tier’s Phin and Matt’s, Voodoo’s 4 Season IPA plus a few special guests.

In town visiting was our legal counsel, Joe. So if there are any questions or problems, I will need to speak with my attorney first.

While waiting for Tim, we played a few warm up games.  We were trying to hammer out our own personally unique style.  Some had the underhand frisbee thing going on.  Others used the rainbow technique.  And some still the boring underhand toss with no creativity.   Mark was the most creative while sipping on the last Voodoo Brown Ale.  He has this ballerina type toss that is money every time (B.S. -editor).

Finally Tim showed up, and yours truly was stuck on his team.  All I have to say about the game is that Tim carried our team to a 21-4 loss.  Mark and Joe almost had a whitewash.  Key word ALMOST.  The game took a positive turn when we cracked open the mystery beer of the night.  Southern Tier’s Iniquity Black Ale brought Tim and I back into the game and put an end to the whitewash, along with the penalty that ensues following a whitewash lost on Mt. Washington.

Voodoo has a brilliant idea on brewing IPAs.  Every season they change the recipe to their IPA to match the season.  The Voodoo 4 Season IPA was, what we believed to be, a summer style IPA.  The beer poured a copper/amber color with a little extra head.  While the extra can be a turn off to some, it provides a great opportunity to enjoy the aroma while waiting to take that first swig.  The aroma is full of Northwest hops; a piney, citrus smells rises to the nose.  This beer has great drinkability (TM).  The taste is rather malty for an IPA.  The hop bitterness eventually cuts through the malt and reminds you rather quickly this is a bitter IPA.  Another solid beer from our friends at Voodoo Brewing.

Southern Tier Phin and Matt’s Extraordinary Ale was my personal favorite.  Mainly because I dominated cornhole while sipping on a few of these brews.  This beer poured golden brown with a nice head and good lacing.  The aroma of crisp, fresh citrus hops fills the nose from start to finish.  This is a lighter beer and has a trace of bitterness.  It’s a great gateway beer to the pale ale style.

So the next time you are playing corn-hole or hanging out in a Pittsburgh basement try a Southern Tier Phin and Matt’s or a Voodoo 4 Season IPA or Southern Tier Iniquity Black Ale. Then invite us over for some cornhole.

Posted in: Out and About in the Burgh0 comments

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