Merry Christmas Brews

This time of year, it is time to take advantage of all the wonderful seasonal beers that come out and cannot be found the rest of the year.

Many breweries produce Christmas ales, usually brown to black, often spiced up with a variety of ingredients not found in more traditional beers. Most Christmas ales are rich and hearty beers, with a malty sweetness and spicy hop character. Holiday beers vary in sweetness, body, color, and spicyness, but all are perfect for the season. Best to try a few and find which ones you like.

One of my own personal favorite is the Anchor Steam "Special Ale" (see picture below) sold only November through January. It varies a bit from year to year, which makes it more interesting. It is always dark, heavy, mildly spicy, and plenty tasty. This year's is plenty dark, yet not too heavy, with pleasant spiciness and malty sweetness. Yummy!


If you have a Trader Joes near you, be sure to try their yearly Vintage ale, a usually black and fizzy mildly spicy but full-bodied ale, which will delight your taste buds. Again, it is a bit different each year and this year's is actually much lighter. The color this is more of a deep copper color, as opposed to the usual black. The body is nice although lighter than usual, and the spiciness moderate. It has a distinctly Belgian flavor and a mild but pleasant malty sweetness, it reminded me of a red Chimay. This is a nice beer, and quite different from the previous years'. When you go to Trader Joes, go ahead and buy a few of these guys. It is fun to keep some in storage and keep a couple to let them age a bit. They will develop a fruity complexity with time which is fun to explore after a year or two. TJ Vintage Ales are made and bottled by Unibroue, a brewery located in Quebec which produces some exceptional Belgian-style ales.

Also excellent is this year's Snow Cap Winter Warmer, from Pyramid Breweries. This one isn't quite as thick or dark, but is a very dark brown with a medium-heavy body. The spices are there, but so are the hops. This is great stuff too!

If you like your Christmas beers not too dark and thick, try Bad Elf from Ridgeway Brewing, in the UK. That one is just a lighter brown color and is a bit heavier on the hops (more bitter) while maintaining a holiday flavor. Nice beer.

And then Belgium produces some of the most celebrated Christmas, such as the Delirium Noel. This one comes in a white bottle with a pink elephant on it (serious!). It is a reddish amber color, with a mildly sweet, malty spiciness and is a classic for the style. It is best to consume it in a brandy-type of glass.

There are so many out there, just go and explore. Try a few and find out the ones you like. But don't let the holidays go by without trying some of those delicious beers you will not be able to find in just a few weeks.

So Merry Christmas, and go Beer shopping!

Magnolia Pub & Brewery - San Francisco, California

Magnolia Pub & Brewery is the one SF Brewpub I had never been to, and now it's my main motivation for wanting to get back there. I love the city, and i absolutely loved this place.

Magnolia Pub & Brewery is located in the heart of the charismatic Haight & Asbury District, more commonly known as "The Upper Haight", and generaly associated with the hippie culture of the 1960s. To be exact, the brewpub is located at the corner of Haight and Masonic, in an old Victorian building, which predates, and survived, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The building has hosted a pharmacy, several Cafes, and Magnolia Thunderpussy’s Dessert shop.

Magnolia Thunderpussy (1940-1996) was a popular local exotic dancer with a daytime job of selling "exotic" desserts. Her specialties included the “Montana Banana” (two scoops of ice cream and a banana, with chocolate shavings and whipped cream), and the "Pineapple Pussy" (a hollowed pineapple filled with strawberry ice cream, whipped cream, chocolate shavings, and a cherry). The Grateful Dead song "Sugar Magnolia" was named after the charismatic lady. And so was the Magnolia Pub & Brewery, which opened ten years ago, in November of 1997.

I grabbed a table by the huge windows, which was almost like being seated on the sidewalk, except warmer (it was actually in the pleasant high sixties temperatures; quite sweet). The place has a nice large wooden bar, and funky murals that remind you that you're in the Haight. I ordered a salad which I loved. It tasted really fresh and healthy, with a home-made fresh from the farmers market feel-to-it, and just enough dressing. But the best part is: the beers were excellent!

They had two IPAs. One of them, called Proving Ground IPA, was more of a west-coast style IPAs, and was just excellent. It actually reminded me of Alesmith IPA for its body and hoppy aroma. Great stuff, I’m hooked on it and I just want to go back to San Francisco so I can drink more of it! Two of my other favorites were the Big Cypress Brown, smooth and nutty, and the very tasty winter warmer. The Spooky Tooth Stout was very low alcohol (3.6% ABV) but quite tasty. Finally, the Kölsch beer was not only very nice, crisp, and authentic in taste, but also was served the authentic way, as in Cologne, Germany: in a thin, cylindrical glass. Just for that reason, I had to get one!

Overall I really liked both the beers and the food. The place seemed like a very fun place to kill time with a healthy menu and top-quality beers, in a charismatic part of town. The visit to this brewpub, which was new to me, was the highlight of my trip. Great place, and it is even located walking distance (8 blocks) from another one of my top favorite places in the city: Toronado, San Francisco’s most awesome beer bar!

Magnolia Pub & Brewery
1398 Haight Street San Francisco, CA 94117
Tel: 415.864.PINT Web: http://www.magnoliapub.com/

San Francisco, California

A few days in San Francisco recently gave me the opportunity to visit, or return to, most of the city’s brewpubs.

Thirsty Bear Brewing Company

Thirsty Bear Brewing Company is an unusual combination of Spanish Restaurant and microbrewery. The seasonal was the pleasant multi-grain “Full Belly Ale” (6.7% ABV) which had a nice body, color and taste. Along with a Spanish tortilla (a potato omelet), it made for a quite nutritious breakfast upon arrival in the city. I sampled four of their other beers, including a very drinkable IPA (7.2%), a nice but too-thin brown ale (5.4%), a decent stout (5.6%) and the tasty barley-wine (10% ABV) and I was ready to head on to the next brewpub: nearby 21^st Amendment.

Thirsty Bear Brewing Company

661 Howard Street San Francisco, CA 94105

Tel: 415-974-0905 Web: http://www.thirstybear.com/

21^st Amendment Brewery

This brewpub, named after the1993 amendment, which repealed prohibition (voiding the 18^th), has long been one of my favorite San Francisco hangouts. I sampled the South Park Blonde, a crisp, dry and malty, a very nice “yellow beer” brewed with German hops. The Bitter American (3.6%)was probably my favorite this time: a very low alcohol brew, yet a very tasty and well-hopped session beer. 21A also serves a light but pleasant watermelon wheat, elegantly served with a piece of watermelon. This would be a very nice refreshing beer in the summer. I got to meet Jesse Houck, the head brewer, who came to greet me in a Gordon Biersch shirt. He had brewed for GB for a year, prior to becoming assistant brewer, and then head brewer at 21^st Amendment.

21st Amendment Brewing Company
563 2nd Street San Francisco, CA 94107
Tel: 415-369-0900 Web: http://www.21st-amendment.com/

Gordon Biersch San Francisco

Even though I was on foot, I had sampled enough beers by then that I had to slow myself down. I sat at the bar and enjoyed a glass of the Schwarzbier (black lager) while chatting with a couple of locals and enjoying the fabulous view of the Bay Bridge. The beer was roasty and quite tasty. Although not as smooth as its German-made equivalents, I enjoyed topping off “Day One” with it. The view of the bridge really would make this a great one to go to for happy hour.

Gordon Biersch San Francisco

2 Harrison Street San Francisco, CA 94105
Tel: 415-243-8246 Web: http://www.gordonbiersch.com/

San Francisco Brewing Company

This is a nice low-key place with a nice wooden hundred-year-old bar. I sampled the brews and got to meet both Eric Schiff, the head brewer, and Tom Price, his assistant. Both were home-brewers and had taken over somewhat recently. Eric had taken over as head brewer in November of 2006 and had been there for a year. My favorite brew there was the Earthquake Red (6.5% ABV), a very pleasant ale brewed on the day of a small local earthquake, hence the name. The pale ale was very light but well hopped (arguably more so than the IPA) and made a good thirst quencher.

San Francisco Brewing Company

155 Columbus Avenue San Francisco, CA 94133

Tel: (415) 434-3344 Web: http://www.sfbrewing.com/

San Diego, California

San Diego, California

As far as the brewery scene is concerned, San Diego is undoubtedly Southern California’s hot spot. My wife and I got to visit several breweries on a recent trip. There are many in the San Diego area, and a lot of good ones. I’ll just mention the following: La Jolla Brewhouse, Alesmith, the Firehouse Brewing Company, and Pizza Port.

La Jolla Brewhouse

Located downtown La Jolla where LJ Brewing Company used to be, La Jolla Brewhouse opened its doors in 2003. I got to meet the brewer, Pat Korn (picture below), who used to brew for Karl Strauss breweries, sort of a San Diego institution. The beers had both body and character. Pat seems to be really interested in Belgian beers and most of his beers were either Belgian style, or an interesting blend of British and Belgian influences.

House brews included the Blonde Ale (5.4% thinner but well hopped and very tasty), the Saus en Trop “Belgian IPA” (well hopped, light copper colored cross between an IPA and a Belgian ale), the Double IPA (8.9% well hopped, good body), a pleasant Wit (5.6%), a very nice and full-bodied Red Lion Ale (6.%), and an Oatmeal stout (to name a few).

As far as the atmosphere, the place reminded me a bit of the Santa Barbara Brewing Company: for those that aren't familiar with the latter, it has a convenient downtown location and a sports-watching crowd encouraged by multiple TV screens. Overall, this is a good place to stop at if you don’t mind the louder sports watching crowds.

La Jolla Brewhouse

7536 Fay Avenue La Jolla, CA 92037

Tel: 858-456-6279 Web: http://www.lajollabrewhouse.com

Alesmith

This is strictly a brewery, without a pub or restaurant, but is truly a Southern California institution. It isn’t as commercially aggressive as the Stone Brewery (maker of the famous Arrogant Bastard Ale), but has a real cult-like following among California’s beer lovers. I’d heard about the place for the longest time and finally got to check it out. It more than met my expectations.

Alesmith offers a tour at 1pm on the last Saturday of each month and we happened to be there on the right day! Peter Zien, owner and founder (pictured below), gave the tour himself. This was probably the most interesting brewery tour I ever took. Peter seems really passionate about what he does and gave an amazingly informative tour.

Alesmith opened in 1995, the same year that stone Brewing Company started. This is a smaller operation however, especially since Stone recently expended. Pete really came across as some one whose priority was to make the highest quality beer, as opposed to getting wealthy off of it. The equipment is much smaller than Stone’s, and some of it is actually dairy equipment converted for brewing purposes. But don’t let that fool you: the beers are excellent, some of the best in the state, and since Peter began brewing in 1995, his beers have earned over 400 medals and honors. Top-notch stuff!

We got to sample the following:

Extra pale ale: one of our favorite, very pale in color, with a great head and flavor.
IPA: fruity and tasty, made with seven different types of hops. Excellent!
Evil-Dead red (6.66%): Nice red color, full bodied and packed with flavor. The same beer is called “My Bloody Valentine” in February.
Wee heavy Scottish ale (10%): excellent, a bit smoky, and hoppier than expected (hoppier than most Scottish ales).
Belgian pale Ale: pale in color with a fruity flavor.
Anvil ESB: nice body, copper color.
Horny devil 11%: Yellow Belgian Strong Ale, very flavorful and a bit on the sweeter side.
Grand cru: Belgian Strong ale. Reddish in color, fruity and also a bit sweet.
Old Numbskull Barley-wine (11%): Complex and strong, full of flavor.

I absolutely loved them. All were medium to full-bodied and full of flavor, the kind I love. My favorites were the X Pale ale, the IPA ,and the seasonal Evil Dead Red (6.66%!!!).Literally every beer was top-notch though.

Overall, the tour was fantastic, and I highly recommend the visit to any one who hasn’t been there. Visiting Alesmith is a must if you're a a beer-lover finding yourself in Southern California. Just a note of caution: if you are going to sample the beers (only $5.00 to taste them all, and you get to keep a cool pint glass), have a designated driver! Serious: these beers are strong and the samples poured are very generous in size.

Alesmith Brewing Company

9368 Cabot drive San Diego, CA 92126

Tel: 858-549-9888 Web: http://www.alesmith.com

Firehouse Brewing Company

Just up the road from there is the Firehouse Brewing Co. This is also just a brewery, not a brewpub. It was opened in 2004 by a couple of third generation firefighters with a taste for beer and a hobby of making their own. The head brewer is Nick Herrera.

Originally, they just had one beer, a pale ale. Since 2006 they also have a hefe-weizen, and are about to come out with an IPA. The latter should be ready by the holidays.

Ironically, the facilities seemed much larger than Alesmith. Their beers are poured in an increasing number of San Diego area eateries, and are also bottled. They started bottling in March of 2007 and Costco down in SD now sells cases of their beers. I tasted both the pale ale and the weizen and found them both to be very drinkable, even after spending time drinking Alesmith brews. This is a place worth checking out if you find yourself there, and it is just two minutes from Alesmith. They are open for tours Tuesday through Saturday, 9am to 5pm.

Firehouse Brewing Company

7696 Miramar Road San Diego, CA 92126
Tel: 858.605.1416 Web: www.firehousebrew.com

Pizza Port

If you were only going to visit one brewpub (talking places where you can eat as well) in the San Diego area, this would be a good one to pick. Pizza Port actually has three locations.

The original location is in Solana Beach. This is a small surfer hangout pizza place, close to the cliffs. The owner liked beer and they started selling some homebrewed stuff. Well the homebrew must have been good and made such a good combo with the excellent pizza that business boomed. Now they have a large place in downtown Carlsbad, and another location in San Clemente, which I haven’t been to.

The restaurant in Carlsbad offers over a dozen types of house brews, seventeen the night we were there, as well as an impressive list of guest taps.

On this most recent visit, I only had four beers (well, samplers that is). I tried two different IPAs: the well hopped & lighter but pleasant Wipe-out IPA (7.5%) and the double IPA (8.5%) a stronger version of the Wipeout. I also tried both of their stouts: the Port Truck Stout was a bit on the hoppy side and more of a porter to me. The "Sticky Stout" was drier, more of an Irish stout and was quite good. I couldn't possibly try them all, but would have liked to.

Pizza is excellent, the beers are excellent, and the atmosphere is trendy, dynamic and fun. Great place all the way around. The beers are too numerous to list but there is something for every one, and they are good!

Pizza Port Solana Beach 135 N. Highway 101 Solana Beach, CA 92075 Tel: Tel: (858) 481-7332

Pizza port Carlsbad 571 Carlsbad Village Dr Carlsbad, CA 92008
Tel: (760) 720-7007

Pizza Port San Clemente 301 N. El Camino Real San Clemente, CA 92672 Tel: (949) 940-0005

Las Vegas, Nevada

First, let me begin with a couple of basic non-beer related facts about Las Vegas. The city was established as a railroad town in May of 1905. The name, translated in English, means “The Meadows”. Gambling was legalized there in 1931, roughly five years before the 1936 completion of the nearby Hoover Dam. As we all know, the city has grown like mad ever since.

Big Dog's Brewing Company

Big Dog’s Brewing actually offers actually three locations, two of them quite far from the strip and tough to get to without a car. The one I visited is located on Sahara Avenue, a short bus ride away from the strip. Let me mention here that Vegas city buses are quite convenient, beat the heck out of walking in the heat, or driving under the influence, and are also much cheaper than cabbing your way around town: a 24 hour pass is only $5.00 and will get you all over!

I had lunch at Big Dog’s and found both the food and the beer quite good. The brews included the “leg-lifter light” (indeed very light but nice in hot weather), the Tail-Wager Wheat (nice but much too thin), and a very crisp and tasty K9 Kölsch.

Also brewed on the premises are the Holly Cow IPA, which had a very light body but was well hoped and refreshing (good thirst quencher!), and the Red Hydrant Ale, which had a medium body with a dark amber color. The amber ale reminded me a bit of Newcastle, and actually won the Gold Medal at the 2006 World Beer Cup.

My personal favorite was Black Lab Stout (see picture). Although it had a fairly light body for the style, I found it very tasty. It won the Bronze Medal in the “Foreign Stout” category at the 1996 GABF (Great American Beer Festival).

Overall, Big Dog’s Brewery is a nice spot for a meal, has decent beers, and offers a pleasant break from the Strip’s Mega-Casino madness.

Ellis Island Brewing Co.

The next day, I visited the Ellis Island Brewery, located in the casino by the same name. It is a few blocks east of the Strip, and is also easily accessible by bus. The place has a restaurant (the food looked good and the portions large), but if beer is all you want, you may park your “derriere” at the bar and try all their brews for a mere $1.00 per twenty-ounce glass! And it gets better: they are actually very drinkable!

Ellis Island makes the following brews: A “Light” (which I did not try it, but looked extremely light), a “Gold” (light but pleasant American-style lager), a very decent “Hefe-Weiss”, a pleasant amber ale and a very drinkable stout. Just like Big Dog’s stout, it wasn’t too heavy but was quite tasty.

Incidentally, Ellis Island also makes its own hard lemonade and root Beer.

In addition to the beer being good and almost free, I liked that you could sit at the bar and be surrounded by locals. Ellis Island isn’t a big fancy casino, it is a casual and laid-back place where locals come to relax and gamble, away from the tourists. With $1 beers that size, you’re almost guaranteed to make friends there!

Hofbräuhaus Las Vegas

A few years ago a whole new Hofbräuhaus was built in Las Vegas; it is a smaller but almost exact replica of the one In Munich. It is located on Paradise and Harmon, a few blocks away from the strip (walking distance if you like exercise, or accessible by bus), right across from the Hard Rock Café. It opened 29 January 2004.

OK, it may not be Germany but it is still a blast. Even though my favorite German restaurant west of the Mississippi is still the Suppenküche (in San Francisco, blocks away from the Toronado, the famous beer bar) the food was excellent, a traditional band was playing nightly, and the brews were excellent. Frankly, I did not expect the beer to be half that good, being so far from home. The beer served is the original Hofbräuhaus beer, shipped over from the fatherland. They have the regular Pils-like lager, the Dunkel, and the Weissbier. As a bonus they also had a Maibock; my wife ordered it and it was excellent. Again, short of going to Germany, German beer just doesn’t get any better. Female servers were all wearing their dirndls, and one of them went around selling real German soft pretzels, the best I had on this side of the Atlantic.

There are just a few differences between the Vegas Hofbräuhaus and the original: the Vegas one opted for an indoor biergarten instead of the outside one (no one really wants to be sitting outside when it’s 100F I guess). Also, they actually have three beer sizes. The original Hofbräuhaus in Germany has no wimpy-size beers: when you ask for a beer, you get a liter of it, unless you ask for a Weissbier in which case it comes in a .5L Weissbier glass. The Vegas Hofbräuhaus serves beer in .3L, .5L or 1 liter size. They also serve the Weissbier by the liter if requested, something that would be considered horrible etiquette in Bavaria.

Overall, the place is a lot of fun. Even the gift-shop was great, with lots of German items and reasonable prices; mugs, shirts, hats, flags, Bavarian table decorations etc. In case any one is looking for an outfit or decorations before Oktoberfest time comes around, you can even order on line.

Hofbräuhaus Las Vegas

4510 Paradise Road Las Vegas, NV 89109 Tel: (702) 853-BEER (2337)

http://www.hofbrauhauslasvegas.com

Gordon Biersch Las Vegas

This is very close to both the Ellis Island Brewery and the Hofbräuhaus. It also happens to be one of my favorite G.B. locations, along with the Honolulu G.B.


I got a sampler of the appetizers (all very good) and a sampler of the beers. The Weizen was definitely one of the better US-made weizen beers I'd had. Also, Gordon Biersch serves its weizen the authentic German way, in the right glass, and without the lemon. I like that!


Overall, a good experience with good food and good beer. It is a chain, but still a fun stop on a beer-hunter's itinerary.

Gordon Biersch Las Vegas
3987 Paradise Road
Las Vegas, NV 89109
phone: 702-312-5247
hours:
Sun-Thurs: 11:00 AM - Midnight
Fri-Sat: 11:00 AM - 1:00 AM

Selin's Grove Brewing Co.

There is one more Pennsylvania Brewery I felt I had to mention to end this Pennsylvania series: Selin's Grove Brewing Company, in Selinsgrove, PA.

First the building and setting are really nice which makes it pleasant to step into the place. The brewery is located in a stone house, which was built in 1816 by Simon Snyder, the third governor of Pennsylvania (and PA’s only three-term governor) and became his home. The building is on federal and state historic registers.

I bought a T-shirt there when I visited, quite a long time ago, and the pub’s story is printed on the back:

“In the early 1800s, Mathias App ran a distillery on Walnut Street in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania. Water for the distillery was taken from a well on the northeast corner of Market and Walnut Streets. In those days, the pump for the well was powered by dogs, which were placed inside a running wheel 15 feet in diameter.

It has been told that when stray dogs became so degraded as to molest the local sheep, they were sent to this distillery. Later, the building was used as a brewery and then as a foundry.

Today, you can once again enjoy a pint of fresh beer brewed in Selinsgrove at the Selin’s Grove Brewing Company. No dogs are used for our brewing process”.

This place opened back in 1996 and the owner Steve Leason is also the brewer. Steve has a passion for his work, and it shows. I found the beers to be excellent; flavors were right on for their categories. Although I would have put a bit more "meat" on a couple of them, they were definitely top-notch. In addition, the staff was friendly and personable, and the food was great and healthy. I found the menu quite creative, with lots of vegetarian options, something not always found in Pennsylvania. Finally, there is lots of cool merchandise for sale as souvenirs. Their logo has a dog on it, and they even sell T-shirts for dogs!

Selin's Grove Brewing Co. is undoubtedly one of Pennsylvania’s best brewpubs, and well worth going out of your way for!

Selin's Grove Brewing Co.
121 North Market Street
Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania 17870

Tel: 570-374-7308

http://www.selinsgrovebrewing.com/
Open at Noon Wednesday -Sunday
Closed Mondays & Tuesdays

PS: Selinsgrove, PA is in Central Pennsylvania, due north of Harrisburg, on the Susquehanna River, and due East of State College, PA.

Yuengling Brewery - Pottsville, PA

Ok ok, I know. This isn't a microbrewery. In fact, the beer is just OK but I thought I'd mention Yuengling because it is, after all, America's oldest brewery. It has been around since 1829, and has been ran by the same family for the whole time. That in itself is admirable. This picture shows not the actual brewery but the building Yuengling used to make ice cream during prohibition.

During prohibition, Yuengling survived by making ice cream (in building shown in picture here above), near-beer, and porter for which you could actually get a prescription from your doctor! It was said yo be good for pregnant women. I do personally believe it. Also, when prohibition ended, they supposedly had a bunch of beer suddenly and magically ready... In fact, they immediately shipped a truck-load of it to president FDR...

The tour is entertaining although they hold the corn up to show every one, as if they were proud of having it as a key ingredient. For beer amateurs, I have to make it clear that corn is considered an adjunct, that is something you add in the recipe to save on the cost. In other words, you "add junk". Miller does it, Coors does it (Bud uses rice) and so do most national brands. But the fact that the tour guide holds a jar of it up proudly and shows it to you on the tour is laughing matter to me... If you're going to use corn to cut cost and produce lower quality beer, at least don't brag about it!

Yuengling beers are very popular on the east coast though, and they still beat the big brand competition. They even recently opened a second brewery down in Tampa, Florida. Their porter is alright, and so is their black and tan which is a blend of the porter and their "premium" brew.


I'm not exactly crazy about their beers, but if it's that or the big ugly national brands, I'll pick a Yuengling any day. Also, they have a great gift shop with lots of cool, merchandise. Overall, I'd recommend checking it out if you have a chance. it may not be the best beer you've had, but it's a fun visit. Besides, as I said, it is America's oldest brewery, and yes: you do get a couple of free beers at the end of the tour!


D.G. Yuengling & Son, Inc.
5th & Mahantongo Sts.
Pottsville, PA 17901
Tel: (570) 622-4141
http://www.yuengling.com/

Bethlehem Brew Works (Eastern Pennsylvania)

I thought a quick mention of Bethlehem Brew Works would be in order. Although I have not been there in over two years, I enjoyed the place enough that it should be mentioned.

The beers were good, and so was the food. Although I may have to add further notes on the beers, the main reason I wanted to mention this brewpub was the Steelworkers’ Oatmeal Stout (1.058 O.G., 5.3% A.B.V.). This stuff was fabulous! In addition, I got with it a piece of what turned out to be the best pecan pie I'd ever had. The two combined made the long drive well worth it! I wish I had taken a picture of that delightful combination but you'll have to take my word on that one!

Moreover, the city itself is interesting to visit. Bethlehem, PA was founded on Christmas Eve (hence the name) by German Moravians, a church founded in the Czech Republic. The city adopted the official nickname of Christmas City, USA". It was once a major steel town but has revived thanks to tourism and the town's famous Musikfest, a large yearly music festival.

Bethlehem Brew Works
569 Main St
Bethlehem, PA 18018
Tel: (610) 882-1300
www.thebrewworks.com

The Penn Brewery - Pittsburgh, PA

The Penn Brewery was founded in 1986 in the historic Deutschtown section of Pittsburgh, across the Allegheny River from downtown. Beer had been made at this location since 1846. The brewery's charming old red-brick buildings buildings are actually listed on the National Register of Historic Sites.

Upon arriving there, one notices right away that the place has character. The main hall has an old German beer-hall feel to it, which is a great thing. The long tables and good amount of space may remind you of a smaller version of Munich's Hofbrauhaus, if you've ever been there.

I got to try the three beers that were available at the time: The Penn Pilsner (4%ABW), a light but very nice Vienna style lager, the Penn Gold, a light but smooth Munich-style lager (4% ABW), and the Penn Dark (also 4% ABW), also light bodied for the style but smooth and pleasant. The German tourist behind me agreed: "Ja, ja, it's like having a light bier!"

Although a bit light bodied, the beers were very drinkable, and all are made in accordance with the "Reinheitsgebot", the German beer purity law from 1516, which means that only the four classic ingredients are used: malted barley (and/or wheat), hops, water and yeast. No adjuncts such as corn or rice are used.

In addition, T-shirts are nice, the staff is pleasant, and Nick Rosich, the assistant brewer, came out of nowhere to give us a private personalized tour of the facility while our food was being prepared! Good brewery to visit while in touring America's Steel City!

Pennsylvania Brewing Company
800 Vinial Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15212 USA
Tel: 412-237-9400
Web address: http://www.pennbrew.com

Church Brew Works - Pittsburgh, PA

You want a unique brewpub experience? Head to Brew Church! This is an actual Catholic Church, a beautiful historical one too, that was left behind by the church and rescued by.... beer brewers! God bless them! OK I was more impressed with the looks and the food than I was with the beer, but overall I still really enjoyed the experience. The beer wasn't bad but didn't make me jump off my chair either. I found the brews generally a bit light on both the hops and the body. I enjoyed a couple of them though: the Celestial Gold was light but but well balanced and pleasant, and the imperial stout was quite nice too, a bit sweet but great with dessert, or "in lieu" of it!


Overall, I really recommend the place for its uniqueness. The food was good and the staff great. And heck, how often do you drink beer to the light of stained-glass windows?


The Church Brew Works

3525 Liberty Ave, Pittsburgh PA 15201
tel: 412-688-8200  Web: http://churchbrew.com

Tröegs Brewing Company - Harrisburg

This is strictly a brewery, not a brewpub. Tröegs is located in Harrisburg, the state capital, and can be visited on Saturdays at 2pm. I liked their beers much better than I thought I would and the tour was fun. The Dreamweaver wheat was very nice, so was the Pale Ale. The porter was a bit light but nice. Their signature beer is the Mad Elf, a cherry-flavored Belgian-style strong ale. At 11% ABV, it delivers a very flavorful kick with a nice body. See more about it at: http://www.troegs.com/beers_elf.htm



John Trogner owns and runs Tröegs with his brother Chris. Chris and John opened Troegs in 1997, ten years ago. The brewery distributes beer to many local businesses. They have a very cool gift-shop with nice shirts and other souvenirs, as well as beer to go of course. Unfortunately, in Pennsylvania, you can only buy beer by the keg or case, unless you want to go to a pub and pay an arm and a leg for a sixer. No beer in the grocery stores! Surprising for a state populated by such a huge number of Germans (Pennsylvania Dutch are German, not Dutch... serious!). It's still is a cool state though, once you accept its unique liquor and beer laws.

Tröegs Brewing Company
800 Paxton St. Harrisburg, PA 17104
Tel: 717.232.1297 Web: http://www.troegs.com