Pittsburgh - New Beers & Local Breweries

I met Sam earlier tonight at the other event in town and I have to say that he is a really likable guy. He really seems like a guy that will never sell out and I really appreciate that. He seems very excited about the new beers later this year and not just in the way that he wants to sell more but more in that way that he just wants people to taste them. I'm very glad I got to meet him.

 

This is so Awesome. I remember getting in line for the 1st barrel room release and someone giving us cupcakes. Those were flippin delicious!! Were you handing out cupcakes around 5 or 6 in the morning at the 1st release @tommyguz ???

 

Yeah for sure. They have been made for every release so far

 

Totally. At the risk of showing my fan boy stripes, I can't think of a better face for craft beer. Sam's always come across to me as personable, committed, & savvy. He seems more genuine than Jim Koch, & more down-to-earth than Garrett Oliver, two others who I'd point to as potential "spokespeople" for the industry. That, & I've gone on record as saying that Dogfish Head are the most important brewery of the past 20 years. So yeah, awesome dude.

/spiel

 

Totally agree. People always shit on him for making these totally far out whackadoo beers and not focusing on making a good IPA or whatever. But he makes what he wants to make. And if it gets people away from drinking Bud Light or whatever because it has the Dogfish logo on it and the dumb Grateful Dead bear, then I'm all for it. He was very personable and really cool just hanging out with the people that like to drink his beer. Totally the opposite of a lot of beer snobs and, like Randy said, just wants to sell a lot of beer so he can keep doing the weird things Dogfish always has done.

 

Aside from everything else you guys are saying...^^^this has always resonated with me^^^...I can only hope to one day do whatever the fuck I wanna do and be successful at it. It's not his fault that people somehow developed expectations for his brewery...they are now and have always been a crazy ass enterprise. I may not buy a lot of their beer, but I'm way jealous of DFH.

 

Meh, would have been a lot cooler to meet Shaun Hill or Cory King.

 

Can't speak to Cory King, but there's no fucking way Shaun Hill would ever show up at a chain pizza place in Pittsburgh...you kiddin me??

 

I agree with you all about Sam. He just always seems so happy and wants to interact and talk with people that visit the brewery and just seems like he is having fun. With my in laws being from Delaware and living so close, we always make it a point to go over to the brewery/brew pub when we are around. I always pick up their new beers, whether they sound like something I like or not. He seems to have it together.

Plus who else out there randomly signs bottles and puts them in 4 packs!?

 

I'm a little over an hour from the brewpub. The food is solid, and I always enjoy stopping there. Funny thing is, some of the best Dogfish Head beers I've had there have been brewpub exclusives. A lot of them are more "traditional" than the crazy stuff they bottle. Definitely always worth a stop.

I will never turn down Palo Santo when offered to me, either...

 

Either of you have a chance to try the Hoo Lawd?

 

I think their Rehoboth brewpub is the best brewpub i've ever been to. Great food and always tons of one-off beers. I'm eager to see what the new construction there will bring, but I really like the spot the way it is (even though it almost looks like its going to fall over).

 

sam is the rockstar of craft beer... period

 

So we got a Philly guy now too?? Or are you NJ guy #2? Either way...welcome aboard!!

 

Original NJ guy is still here.

 

Having met both Sam and Shaun, I can easily say that if you take the actual beers out of the equation, that is is way cooler to meet Sam. Sam is like a drunk Keanu Reeves/awesome guy, while Shaun seemed like he didn't want to be where he was and seemed like going to an event for his brewery was beneath him.

 

If you're ever in San Francisco, Lagunitas is still the coolest brewery / brewpub I've ever been to.

 

I'll certainly keep that in mind. As far as my local favorite, if anyone hasn't been out to north country in slippery rock, its by far worth the 1 hour drive to get there. They have the best reuben i've ever had and all kinds of crazy handmade wooden furniture and decor. Their english bitter on cask can be really nice as well.

 

Don't forget about the cellar beers they offer for drinking in house too!

I love the spot too. We always go for lunch during the week when we visit over holidays! Love it when its not crowded in December

 

I always thought the food there was really good there. I would more so go for the food then the beer.