What beer is worth buying in PA?

Without looking at the seek-a-brew map, I doubt there's much you can get in Pittsburgh that you can't get in Chicago. Not sure what part of Pittsburgh he's in, but some very good selections can be found at 99 Bottles (Carnegie), Hal's Bottleshop (North Hills), and some Giant Eagle locations (Cranberry & Robinson have the biggest selections I've seen). Hope that helps.

 

If you want hoppy beers then Fat Heads Head Hunter IPA and Hop JuJu Imperial IPA.

Cheers!

 

Fat Heads was gonna be my recommendation as well, Head Hunter is the jam. The Giant Eagle in Robinson is the best beer store I've found in the Pittsburgh area, although admittedly I am not up there nearly as much as I used to be. D's Six Pax and Dogz is a good bottle shop as well.

 

You'll likely get a better response in any Pittsburgh thread on the Mid-Atlantic forum.

For pure selection regardless of the price (bring KY):
House of 1000 Beers
Dee's Six Packs and Dogs

For a nice balance of price and selection:
Giant Eagle Robinson
Giant Eagle Shadyside

Seekabrew should be a good starting point but remember that not all the beer on that list is available in Pittsburgh. Voodoo just released batches of Good Vibes IPA and Big Black Voodoo Daddy. Both are worth drinking.

A few local breweries that are worth checking out are Roundabout and The Brew Gentleman. Draai Laag is interesting in that everything they do is Belgian-inspired. They are unique and due to their experimental nature are sometimes quite hit or miss. Helltown (an hour SE of Pittsburgh) is great for hoppy beers but they don't can/bottle yet.

And yes, any Fat Head's hoppy beer will be exceptional. JuJu won't be out for a bit but Head Hunter is EVERYWHERE and it's exceptional. You shouldn't have a hard time finding it less than 2 weeks old.

 

Yard's Brawler
Stoudt's Gold

 

Troegs (A PA brewery) makes some great beers. Give any of their beers a shot as I've yet to be disappointed by one