Pittsburgh - New Beers & Local Breweries

Have fun lining up 10 hrs in advance for BF kriek

 

I don't think there is any need to line up. We have a 2 draft maximum, so 20-40 people should be able to get a 16oz pour.

 

I had Hop Fro at fatheads Saturday. Wow was it awesome. So much grapefruit and orange. Heard rumblings that they are bottling soon so that should be a big pickup. Definitely one of the best beers I have had from them. Juju was great as well, obviously.

 

Where is Bullfrog Kreik gonna be on Thursday?

 

The lowlight of my long weekend trip--and not to beat a dead horse, was unsurprisingly Al's of Hampdens. It's a one step forward, eight steps back kind of thing. Had been encouraged by their recent evolution that includes crowlers and the eight ounce pour, the latter a slight consolation in the direction of samples/flights (but whose price point, when compared to the much larger sizes, is obviously meant to discourage/antagonize interested patrons).

But, the head-slapper is they have apparently implemented a "one drink per person at a time" policy, which the bartender insisted was "PA law;" I am very nearly certain this is not true, for I have never seen it enforced, and can't find evidence of it in code or in case law. This house rule, in combination with their one register and diffident bartenders, makes ordering for a group truly challenging, because they also insist on seeing everyone's ID and the person(s) must also be in direct line of sight of the bartender. What. The. Fuck.

My dad was checking out the tanks (one of the farthest points from the register) and tending to my two kids so they didn't have to belly up to the bar, while I went to order. Dude manning the register insisted my dad present himself with ID, but refused my request to order a second beer because my dad had a little less than a third left in his current glass. Pops didn't really feel like chugging beers, so I had to exit line and then come back a later (to wait again in line for the single register, with his ID--by no small amount of grace, the bartender did remember my dad and didn't suspect I was trying to game their system with a fictitious person; I was allowed two beers). It took 30-40 minutes for two rounds of drinks.

I'm once again at a loss to understand the impetus for these hoops. Realize that a private business can implement almost any practice they chose, but Al's seems to like taking a shit on the pursuit of a good time. Not sure if they suffered a big fine for underage drinking or if there are frequent donnybrooks there (both unlikely scenarios given their remoteness); something to explain the draconian policing in their establishment.

Their taplist was solid, almost unfortunately, because looking forward to multiple drinks in one visit is an exercise sure to end in major disappointment. The only other possibility is that Al is a dude seriously against check-in culture, which is a shame because most of Pizza Boy's brews are good or very good. Except for Hater's Tears, which I found uninspiring. They had on a great number of PBs and about ten Tired Hands offerings. We ended up buying a bunch of crowlers, grudgingly, but we had to salvage that leg of the trip when one of my kids started breaking down.

One way to combat these hoops may be to get together a great number of people, one of which would ideally be a firefighter, so he can carry the group on his back when ordering. Also, please ask everyone in your group finish their beers at the exact same time, so you don't have to wait in line multiple times.

tl;dr? Their pizza is still bad.

 

Wow that sounds awful. I can say that I have never had any of these problems in the numerous times I have visited Al's, which is one reason why I keep frequenting there. I am also a big fan of their food haha. Sounds like this might deter you form ever going back, which is unfortunate, but I can't blame you.

 

Al's like a bad ex-girlfriend, who keeps popping up in my bed; I can't shake her (please consider this in the context of before I was married).

My previous two trips were uneventful with regard to awfulness, but I was flying solo and the place was empty. I only wish I could share that experience with others, but it seems rolling deep equals a bad time.

Also, I never had their wings, so...maybe they aren't horrible?

 

Hahaha, noted. The wings are pretty good. I am a big fan of their veal parm sub and cheese steak stuffed pizza. Their bread for their subs is top notch.

 

Usually try to avoid bread. The pizza was my cheat meal; maybe next time.

 

Glad to meet a fellow cheater! haha

 

I've heard so many bad stories regarding the ass backwards methods of service experienced at Al's. It just seems so odd. Like they don't want you to have a smile on your face when you're there. I haven't been to Al's yet (visited that area back in February, but there was the mother of all snow storms and were snowed in), but when I do eventually check it out, I'm going to feel like George Costanza going through the soup ****'s line.

 

If this were true, wouldn't it make flights illegal? (Read: This is not true.)

 

In RAMP class, they tell you to not serve more than two drinks to any one person that comes up the bar. Flights probably qualify as one drink because of the ounce specifications.

 

My experience there was very similar and frankly the beer wasn't good enough for me to go back, considering how crappy my time was there. Al's online antics have furthered my distaste for his brewery and I'd rather spend my hard earned money elsewhere.

That is not to say the beer was bad but surely not good enough for me to return.

 

But, doesn't that pertain only to RAMP certified locations/events? That isn't law, but a certification, correct?

 

Bread is the devil

 

That I'm not sure about actually. Every establishment I've worked for in the city/state has made me go through that awful class though. Pretty sure Al's would want to be certified as well since its protection against being sued for overserving and whatnot.

 

Looks like RAMP is just like Serve Safe? When I took Serve Safe....man was I bored. It is common sense, but I guess some people need that kinda CYOA training.

 

My understanding of RAMP is that it's a voluntary certification, unless an establishment is found guilty of certain offenses, at which point it may become mandatory. While being certified can lead to a decrease in associated fines or liability premiums, I do not believe it provides litigation protection. Also believe signage is required if participating in RAMP, and I don't recall (but could have missed) a RAMP posting at Al's.

 

I heard that if you eat enough gluten, your dick flies off your body.