Pittsburgh - New Beers & Local Breweries

Earlier this year I had a pour of Utopia at the Sidelines in Sewickley. It was $10 for what amounted to a double shot. Not a shabby deal.

As for CoStar, I knew at one point that they always had a dedicated tap for their stuff at Harvard and Highland above Union Pig and Chicken. Not sure if that changed with the new ownership or not.

 

This, minus the family specifics, is exactly how I feel. And it was years in this hobby before I even stumbled across my first taste. So my opinion isn't coming from the perspective of having already had it. I was never very interested in this for the price it commands and I'm even a pretty vigilant ticker...

 

I thought that wasn't allowed? I would definitely have included some. It'd probably be a similar list to @PSU_Mike but I'd probably put Lavery on there since it's 30 minutes north.

 

Where does Troegs fit into the best Pittsburgh breweries list?

 

I'd go Tired Hands, Troegs and then Pizza Boy, but that's just me.

 

The more I think about it, why do we have so much of an issue paying $1/oz for 750's, but don't bat an eye paying over $1/oz for 375's?

 

Liked Tired Hands, but have only been there twice--Troegs Scratch series has been a consistent source of enjoyment for me (though they are not all winners, no doubt).

I did edit (and then delete, because I didn't find it funny upon second read) the quoted post to put PB last. So, we agree there.

 

$12 is more palatable than $25 regardless of the size.

 

I think a better list would be to tier breweries by a range of brewing capacity and then order them by coolest snifter

 

Or who has the best hand drier in their bathroom

 

I'm fairly sure I'll pay $20 for a 2oz pour like I have for the past 2 releases.

 

Or who has the most techy bathroom signage?

See Project #1 - https://brewgentlemen.wordpress.com/

 

Worth it?

Randy - gotta say, I love how you just unabashedly don't give a shit.

 

I second this idea.

 

And you think it's worth it? I've never had it, so could probably be easily influenced to give it a try for $20-25.

 

I've had it several different times and it is a very enjoyable and hot. First time I had it was from the 2009 batch and it was late 2010, I remember thinking "holy shit this is strong". But since than I have assaulted my taste buds with much worse and it doesn't seem as intense

 

I've had it once and it was pretty dang good. Definitely not something I'd seek out or tick over but if it was an option somewhere and I was already there, yeah I'd definitely get it. I'd pay whatever they ask because my philosophy is if I save say $10 on this beer or that beer, I'd undoubtedly spend that $10 on something stupid anyway. While most people may not think that way, I bet there's a good chance that extra $10 doesn't get them anything worthwhile.

 

I did not get a chance to try the Vital IPA, but I've seen it at a few places around the city, so I'm sure I'll be drinking it some time in the future. The reason I did not get to try the Vital IPA is because I liked the Born Yesterday so much that I ordered a second serving of it rather than go for the Vital IPA for my second beer of the night. Wasn't able to get a third beer because my buddy (who drove) made me go to Bar Louie with him to see this bartender that he is trying to get with.

Disappointed that I did not get to try Hop Stalker due to the unanimous high praise from just about everyone that's tried it. That said, Born Yesterday is probably the best IPA (available in Pittsburgh) that I've had all year. I enjoyed it that much.

Regarding Utopias, I would say it's one of those bucket list items, where if it's available in small pours like this, you should probably try it. My non-beer buddy bought a bottle of this from fucking McNeilly's of all places for New Year's last year, and I was able to have a nice sized serving of it. I was indifferent to it and wouldn't be upset if I never tried another taste of it again in my life.

 

Would've done back-to-back Born Yesterdays myself, based upon consensus and my feelings toward the others. Hop Stalker is damn good, but draft > bottle (obvi). McNeillys? GTFOH. Their pricing is all over the place--you recall the cost? Feel the same way about it though.

 

Haven't been there in a while, but as I recall they have like half of the Stone Vertical series collecting dust on their back shelf. One friend who lives nearby, irregularly (but frequently enough to be of note) was getting random free growlers with his purchases--a nice token of appreciation for a proprietor no doubt trying to cultivate patronage, but the beers seemed to be unintentionally aged (old and stale) beers that were on tap previously, but that weren't selling particularly well.