Nate's Beer and Brewing Blog

Earth Bread + Brewery Delivers

2009-10-29T20:24:00.002-04:00

I suppose you could take that title to mean a few different things, but this past Monday evening, it was quite literal! Indiana Homebrewer Co-founder Emeritus Jon (aka santoslhalper) came back to western PA for a few days from Philly. On Monday night, he stopped in Indiana to visit a few of us who remain in town. Jon is now an assistant brewer at Earth Bread + Brewery in Philly.

'Round about 7pm, Jon and the rest of the crew (Dave, Justin, James, and Joe) popped over to my house for a tasting. Jon brought with him four growlers of Earth Bread + Brewery beers: Durham Strasse (a Berliner Weisse), 2bok4sur (a Doppelbock), Resin 2 Smile (an IPA), and Biere de Septembre (a biere de garde).

After those, we opened up a bottle of homebrew from an acquaintance of mine from work - it was superb sour Belgian ale and I hope that we'll get more soon. Finally, we cracked open the last four homebrews that a few of us have been working on with the 10-gallon all-grain system. We had a bitter, a saison, a lager, and pale ale.

All in all, a great evening. A big thanks to Jon for hauling growlers across the state for us. He left with a case of our homebrew, but I think we still got the better end of that deal!

2nd RateBeer Pittsburgh Gathering

2009-10-05T20:46:00.001-04:00

I didn't get a chance until now to write up something about the terrific beer tasting I went to back in August at the Sharp Edge Creekhouse. You can check it out at The Hop Press.

That was a good day!

An Oktoberfest Wedding

2009-10-05T17:50:00.002-04:00

On Saturday, my wife and I went to the wedding of one of her former coworkers/classmates. The reception was interesting in that it was an Oktoberfest theme. After the mass, we all went across the road to the hall, and the attached pavillion.

Before dinner, we all gathered at the covered, outdoor pavillion where a polka band played various German-Polish music. There were hot pretzels with mustards, and a veggie tray, and two beers on tap (Bud Lite and Yuengling, not real German beers).

The reception hall was set up with 10 different rows of tables. Roughly four tables per row. Each two tables were given a German region name, and each table of the region was given a German city name. This was a cool way to seat guests - find your region and city. Once you found your seat, the wedding 'table favor' was a nice dimpled beer glass with your name on a ribbon. Voila, you automatically had a way to get your beer for the rest of the reception.

The food was OK - brats, roasted chicken, potato salad and potato pancakes. And, of course, a German-chocolate cake.

The final touch - it was held in New Germany, PA.

The Hop Press

2009-10-04T21:27:00.003-04:00

There's a new feature over at RateBeer, if you're not a frequent visitor. They've started a new blog/media service called The Hop Press for some of the more frequent contributors, rather than sticking with the weekly articles. It's still in some development, but the content frequency has increased and will hopefully offer more correspondences from beer geeks 'on the street'. The few articles I wrote (about one year) have been archived at Nate's Notes. I hope to add articles a bit more frequently now.

A Busy Brew Night

2009-09-25T21:54:00.003-04:00

Last night was our first brewing night in a couple of weeks and our last for a couple of weeks. Between some conflicts and travel plans, getting four of us together at once gets to be difficult sometimes.

Regardless, last night was productive. Joe brewed up a 10-gallon batch of pilsener, and while he was doing that, Dave and I were packaging a back log of brews. First, we bottled a 5-gallon batch of Joe's first pilsener. Next up was Dave's first 10-gallon batch of a bitter, which we split into half - two cases of bottles and a five-gallon keg. Finally, we ended with my last 10-gallon batch of saison (tasted great!), with five gallons going into a keg, and two cases of bottles.

Had a good brew night and finished all the bottling/kegging within our normal brewing night time. I have to say, I hate bottling and last night was not my idea of fun, but I'll appreciate it more when I can crack open a few of those bottles and enjoy some great homebrew.

My First 10 Gallon Batch

2009-09-01T22:55:00.002-04:00

Short post. Tonight I made my first ever 10 gallon all grain. It was a simple saison recipe that I scaled up from a 5 gallon recipe that I did a month ago. The first batch of saison that I made on July 28 was kegged up two weeks ago and served at a party at our house. With 50 guests, several of them beer lovers and homebrewers, it took all of 3 hours to kill 5 gallons.

So, tonight I scaled up to 10 gallons. The only major changes were, hopefully, improvements. Last time I used a little wheat DME. This time, it was all grain. I used 16 lbs of pilsner malt, 2 lbs of wheat malt, and 2 lbs of honey. I used Hersbrucker and Hallertauer, and a touch of crushed coriander. Pitched with saison yeast.

I doughed in at 5:40 and pitched by 9:50, so not too bad for double the liquid volume!

Another IPA with Erick

2009-08-02T21:30:00.002-04:00

Today I helped Erick make an extract IPA. We started with 1 lb Crystal 60°L and some leftover Belgian aromatic malt, crushed with a rolling pin and steeped for 30 min.

Once that was sparged, we boiled and added 3 lbs. XLDME and 4 lbs LME.

1 oz. Phoenix (60 min)
3/4 oz. EKG (15 min)
3/4 oz. Cascade (15 min)
1 oz. Cascade (1 min)
1/2 oz. EKG (1 min)

O.G. was a little lower than we'd hoped for at 1.040. Pitched at 70°F with 1056 American Ale, and he'll dry hop in secondary with another 1 oz. Cascade.

14 Years and a Good Steak

2009-07-30T07:44:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was my 14th wedding anniversary. Hard to believe sometimes, but then again both of our 20th high school reunions were/are this summer. Anyway, to celebrate we went for dinner last night to Nap's Cucina Mia here in Indiana. We try to get to Nap's once a month and we never have a bad meal there. Nick, the son of the owners, spent a year in Italy for part of his culinary training. The menu is small, compared to other places in town, but the food is just freakin' outstanding. Homemade pasta & sauces, fresh local produce and meats, prepared while you watch (the kitchen is behind the 'bar' and place only seats perhaps 50 people).

Normally we get pasta, but last night I finally got the filet (mignon), frequently a special, and it was without a doubt the best piece of steak I've eaten in town. It's not cheap, but it is delicious. Superb crust, seasoned with salt, pepper, and maybe something else. Rich and buttery on the inside, and almost fork tender.

So if you're local and haven't been, or if for some reason you plan to visit Indiana - do yourself a favor and have dinner at Nap's.

Brewing Update

2009-07-28T23:37:00.002-04:00

So a couple of us have gotten together the last few weeks and brewed some all grain beer. Tonight was my turn as Der Braumeister and I opted to make a saison. Dough-in to yeast pitch was 3:45, and my new mash tun worked really well. Our efficiency was a bit low, but I think that might be a result of the milling.

8 lb 2-row pilsner malt
1 lb aromatic
1 lb extra light DME (boil)
1 lb wheat DME (boil)
1 lb honey (5 min boil)
Hersbrucker (1 oz @60 min; 0.75 oz @20 min; 0.25 oz @2 min)
2 tsp coriander
WL Belgian ale pitched at 70°F

The O.G. was 1.050, which was just a bit lower than I wanted, but that was also because we had a little over 6 gallons, rather than 5.25.

One More Reason to Despise the PLCB

2009-07-12T12:51:00.003-04:00

So we went to State College yesterday to visit the Arts Fest and People's Choice Festival (in Boalsburg) and so there had to be the requisite stop at Otto's for a bite and pint. I enjoyed the Munich Dunkel and a pint of Arthur's Best Bitter, and held back from getting some 2009 Jolly Roger. I was disappointed to see the Triple D IPA gone from the menu, and hope it'll come back again for me to try.

The reason for the snide title, however, is because of the ludicrous classification of Otto's new venture, Keewaydin Cider. It's available in 22 oz. bombers for just over $6, and you can get a taste of it - it's good. However, after dinner as I was about to settle up, I learned that those handy 22 oz. bottles can only be consumed in the restaurant! Why? Because the PLCB considers their cider to be a wine, and therefore Otto's lacks the correct license to sell it for take-out. So Woodchuck and Bulmers and tons of other ciders are fine to buy in sixpack stores - but somehow PA-made Otto's Keewaydin cider is a wine.

I wish Otto's the best of luck in unloading over 700 cases of this stuff by restaurant-only consumption - hopefully they can sell it to other restaurants? Or maybe I'll be able to go to the local liquor store soon and buy some.

Gorillo's in Butler

2009-07-06T10:46:00.002-04:00

For those who might be curious after reading the previous post, we did indeed kick the keg of Belgian ale I took to the family reunion. After it carbed up, you could detect a bit of age (not surprising since it sat in my basement since April 2008) but it was drinkable.

On Thursday last, I drove to my parents' place and met up with my younger brother. We played 18 holes at Hiland golf course, despite some Belgian-like gray and rainy weather. We got pretty wet, but enjoyed playing. It was my first game in 8 years, and the best I could do was bogey 30% of the holes. My aim was off, but I was hitting them straight ... I guess an 8-year hiatus helped get rid of my slice.

Anyway, after golf we drove into Butler to check out Gorillo's Pizza (129 South Monroe St., Butler, PA). Through this and the Indiana Homebrewers Club blog, I was contacted by John Cirillo who owns the place. Since I was going to be very close to Butler, I couldn't not stop in to check it out (the paucity of good beer places in that area is disgruntling when I visit the folks).

I believe it was an old convenience store, and now it has the beer place on the left and a hot dog shop on the right. The pumps have been removed and there is a decent amount of parking. The late Friday afternoon crowd was moving through quickly, with just about everybody picking up 6- and 12-packs of light beers and macro lagers. A few were grabbing tall boys and 40s of malt liquor. OK, so what? Well - the gem of this place is the small selection of craft beers offered at rock bottom prices.

Hoppin' Frog, Victory, Bear Republic, Lagunitas, Voodoo, Chimay Bleu, Ommegang, etc. All priced very aggressively and some were several dollars cheaper than I've found in Pittsburgh or Indiana. In addition, he has three taps and fills growlers of Magic Hat, Shiner Bock, and East End Black Strap. In fact, a growler of Black Strap was going for $6.99!! That's a few dollars cheaper than if you go to East End yourself. Mixed six-packs of craft beers are $9.99.

Although you can sit and have a pint, it's not the best place for ambiance unless you like watching some interesting people. They also have a short food menu. So, if you're in Butler, this is the best place I've found yet to pick up some good beer at great prices.

My First Kegging Experience

2009-07-01T19:52:00.003-04:00

So today, finally, after a long wait to get my equipment and some time, I kegged homebrew for the first time. And I am excited. Ever since my first few batches, I have loathed and continue to loathe one step in all of homebrewing: bottling. I do it; I help others do it. But I don't like it. Hence my excitement for kegging. And actually, the delay in kegging has affected my homebrewing output. I swore to myself that I would not brew another batch of beer after the Belgian ale (sorta Leffe clone) in April 2008 until I kegged it.

Well, short of helping some others brew and teaching the Brewpub and Brewery Operations course, I have not brewed at home since batch 08B03. Sad, I know, but I'm stubborn sometimes.

Anyway ... I've had five Corny kegs sitting in my basement for a while now, gracious gifts from my friend Tom, whose cousin gave him about 40 of the things from the Pepsi plant. A few weeks ago, I placed an order with Leeners.com for some connections, O-rings, and a few other gadgets in order to wash and recondition the kegs. Last week, I cleaned up two of them, then placed an order with BeverageFactory.com for a CO₂ tank, regulator, and a couple of picnic taps. The tank and regulator arrived via FedEx this afternoon, and I got the 5-lb tank filled at the local oxygen gas place for $10.

So, after sanitizing two kegs with iodophor, I racked the beer from the carboy into the first keg that I'd purged with CO₂. After putting some pressure on it, I submerged the bottom quarter of it in a bucket of ice water to try to cool it down as much as possible. For non-chemists, carbon dioxide gas dissolves much easier (i.e., with less pressure) in colder liquid than in warmer liquid. I've got about 10 lbs pressure on it right now and I shake it periodically.

After is cools down some more, I'm going to force the beer from the first keg to the second sanitized keg while holding pressure. This mixing/moving should help carbonate the beer more quickly that placing static pressure on it. My friend Tom does this up to four times (hell, he has enough kegs to do it). Hopefully then, the beer in the second keg will be cold and better carbonated, then I can really shake it up, roll it on the floor, etc. in order to mix in the gas. It should be ready for serving on Friday and Saturday for our family's reunion.

The beer itself? Well, it started out as a Belgian blonde-ish Leffe clone, but after 15 months in the basement, it's gotten a little richer than that. I took the final gravity today at 1.008, that's down from 1.072 - so we're looking at 8.4% abv. And it tastes darn fine ... can't wait to drink it in two days, rather than waiting three or more weeks had I bottled it.

Now all I need is a counter-pressure bottle filler ;)

Asheville, Hilton Head, and the Triangle

2009-06-23T20:30:00.003-04:00

After my diligent blogging in May with the brew course and Pints for Pets, I feel so lazy this month; partly because I was out of town for a while, which is a bummer because Adam and I might have been able to hook up for a pint.

Anyway, I did manage to drink and bring back some good beer because of my travels. My wife and I did a week on Hilton Head with her sister and her family. Amy and Jeremy and our two nephews, Jackson and Jude, had a great time at the beach. Did a lot of biking, sunning, and eating.

On the way there, Dana and I stopped for a day in Asheville, NC. I got to try some beers from Green Man Brewing (Jack of the Wood) and we of course hit the Thirsty Monk for some nice selections on tap. Of particular enjoyment was Ommegang Grand Cru Rouge, a wonderful sour ale on tap.

Before leaving town, I also hit up Bruisin' Ales, the best beer store in Asheville if not the state of North Carolina. I grabbed some Carolina beers and found some others not available easily here, such as a Struise Black Albert.

On Hilton Head, the only brewpub is the Hilton Head Brewing Company, which has been around for quite a while (mid 90s), yet every time we go there it consistently amazes me how they stay in business. The beers are usually mediocre and the food is hit or miss, but the service is usually good. There's just no WOW factor, but I guess as they don't have that much competition beer-wise, they get by.

On the way back from vacation, we broke up the trip again by overnighting in North Carolina, this time in Cary. We lived in Chapel Hill for a year and Cary for two, and this was the first time we'd been back since 1999. Other than some friends, we don't miss the Triangle. We drove around a bit to see what had changed, but didn't spend much time there. Beer highlights included buying two mixed six-packs at Trader Joe's for less than $12, and I also found some goodies at the Whole Foods in Raleigh. It amazes me that Victory Wild Devil sells at Whole Paycheck in Raleigh for $8.49, when it costs me $9.50 here in my own town in the same freakin' state in which the beer is brewed. Maddening.

We did hit the Weaver Street Market in Carrboro on Saturday morning for lunch items for the ride home, including a small piece of chaource cheese that we can't get in PA.

Anyway, the trip was good and I ate tons of great seafood and oddly, drank less alcohol than on any other trips to the beach ... must have been the sobering influence of my nephews :)

In other news, the remaining parts to for my new mash tun came in and so I hope to finish that this week in order to all grain brew a saison or a tripel in the next few weeks. I still have to buy a CO₂ tank and regulator and clean out some kegs in order to keg batch 08B03 (yes, it's been sitting in a carboy this whole time) which still smells terrific. If I mess up the kegging, I won't feel too bad. I'd like to be able to take a keg to my family reunion on the 4th of July!

Finally, Dave seems to have made good use of my brew keg, burner, and wort chiller this past week for a barley wine and second runnings 'table beer'. Can't wait to taste those.

Pints for Pets Was Terrific

2009-05-30T21:41:00.002-04:00

Just a quick post - the 2nd Annual Pints for Pets was terrific (again). The early session was laid back and not crowded at all, although I understand the later session was close to sold out. Tons of great brews available - more than I could try in 3 hours. I tried several good ones, but the stand out beer was Bullfrog Frambozen. It was a raspberry lambic, blended from two separate batches. I felt like I was back in Belgium drinking something special from Cantillon or Drie Fonteinen. Sour, funky, and full of raspberry goodness.

Brewpub and Brewery Operations: Day 15

2009-05-22T13:04:00.003-04:00

We had a packed last day of class! Tom and I met early to chill some beer and get a few things ready for the food-beer tasting. Unfortunately, one of our students opened the fridge a bit fast and we lost two bottles of bitter ... sniffle. Anyway, after that clean up, we started class with the final exam, which covered beer brewing, styles, etc. This took most people between 30-45 minutes to take.

Next, we got to our four group presentations on brewpub or brewery feasibility studies. I have to say all five in the past two days were quite inventive and well-presented. I'd visit all five of them if they were to open (of course it didn't hurt to find a couple of beers named in my honor).

The final bit of class was a beer-food pairing. Most all of the students brought in food dishes ranging from chili or nacho dips to wings, ribs, cheese, and pasta. All in all, a great spread and the beers both turned out well.

Tom said that this was the best group of students in the three years he's taught the course. They did an excellent job, had some fun, learned a lot, and were generally pleasant to work with. Hopefully, I'll be invited back to help out again next summer - and will gladly do so!

Thanks for reading - we now return you to your normally scheduled blogging.

Brewpub and Brewery Operations: Day 14

2009-05-21T19:26:00.002-04:00

Next to the last day! I took up the first half hour discussing more on beer styles, trying to link characteristics to those we'd tried during the course. I showed the students a couple of beer websites (like RateBeer and Beer Advocate that have their own style guides but are both influenced by the Beer Judge Certification Program guidelines.

Next, we had some student presenters give small talks (as make up work for missing class) on various subjects. The first student talked about marketing as it relates to brewpub/breweries. The second gave a talk on the calculation of ABV from specific gravities and its relation to the density of ethanol and water. The third gave some history on just a few breweries/brewpubs in PA.

After this, the students hit the computer lab while Tom and I met with individual groups to go over their feasibility study slides. At 11, we all re-gathered in the main lecture room to listen to one of the five feasibility studies. It was an idea for a brewpub in the North Hills of Pittsburgh. They included initial costs, types of equipment, beer menu (with names), food menu, and an overall plan.

Tomorrow is the last day and we start with the final exam.

Brewpub and Brewery Operations: Day 13

2009-05-20T22:32:00.002-04:00

The majority of today's class was taken up by a great talk from state police Sgt. J. Jones, a member of the Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement, which under no circumstances should be confused with the PLCB. Sgt. Jones talked for almost 90 minutes about all of the considerations of running a licensed establishment, including the rules and regs for serving, open hours, gambling, and ID checks. He finished the talk with a segment on fake IDs and how to spot them. He also passed around several confiscated IDs from different states. It's amazing how poorly some people try to create a fake ID.

After Sgt. Jones left, one of our students gave a brief presentation (as make-up work for missing a field trip day) on safety in brewpubs/breweries. He's a safety science major and so this brought some new viewpoints to the operations side. Next, we assembled everyone in the computer room for more group feasibility project work. Tom and I met with some students about their presentations that are happening tomorrow and Friday.

Tom and I also cracked open a bottle each of the bitter and the lager that we brewed in class. Both had carbed up pretty well and should be good for Friday's final tasting/food pairing. Each could use a little longer to optimize, but we're dealing with a tight schedule.

Brewpub and Brewery Operations: Day 12

2009-05-19T17:48:00.002-04:00

We started today's lecture with a bit of talk on yeast in a bit more detail than I'd covered before during the brewing process.

Our scheduled guest speaker to was Linda Chicka from ARIN IU-28 to talk about alcoholism - including the signs of alcohol addiction, how it affects work/productivity, and what to do about employees under your supervision who may be alcoholics. The facts and figures on the cost of alcoholism to taxpayers and businesses is, if you'll forgive the pun, sobering. It's a hard problem.

Finally, students handed in their brew tour journals from last week's trips. I spent the afternoon reading over those and editing the final exam. Tomorrow, we'll have a member of the state police talk to us for a while, then get in depth with more beer styles.

Brewpub and Brewery Operations: Day 11

2009-05-18T22:37:00.003-04:00

Today was more class time, down in the computer room. First we finished the Beer Clean Glasses video, which explained the proper way to clean and test for cleanliness in beer glasses in addition to pouring a good head. A bit cheesy in its production value, but informative nonetheless.

Following this, we let the students work in their groups on the feasibility studies for their PA brewpub. As they worked, we also brought up some helpful websites for them to look at, including: RateBeer, the U.S. Census Fact Finder, the PA Restaurant Inspection Database, and the PLCB license search. You can find a lot of neat information on these sites, although you may NOT want to know what health infractions your favorite eatery has been sited for!

With a bit of remaining time, I lectured on water quality and its role in the brewing process. Tomorrow we're having an outside speaker talk about alcoholism and dealing with employees who may be alcoholics.

Brewpub and Brewery Operations: Day 10

2009-05-15T20:50:00.003-04:00

After four days of road trips, it was nice to be back in the classroom. We started today with an hour-long debriefing on all the places we visited this week. It was a good chance to have a discussion about the different brew houses, menus, etc. and find out what students liked and disliked.

After a short break, Tom handed out several papers on food-beer pairing, and also an equipment pricing sheet for brewing equipment. After a short discussion, we headed to the computer room to watch a video of a Food Network show on brewpubs, hosted by Al Roker.

Finally, we organized the work groups for the brewpub feasibility studies.

Brewpub and Brewery Operations: Day 9

2009-05-14T22:07:00.002-04:00

The last day of field tripping was also the shortest. Today, we left at 9am and drove to Rivertowne Pour House in Monroeville. We started the visit with a tour of the facility and then headed to a small meeting room for a presentation by brewers Andrew and Barrett (Sean, formerly of Johnstown was also there, but he was brewing).

For about an hour, Andrew and Barrett gave us a talk on all of the considerations you must take into account when opening a brewpub versus a microbrewery - from operating expenses, material costs, employee costs, licenses, utilities, etc. Quite enlightening, and considering some of the archaic PA laws, it's amazing that anyone would even venture into this type of enterprise. Well, kudos to those who do and we're thankful for it!

Afterwards, we enjoyed a great lunch and some beer, then headed home. Tomorrow, we pick up with lecture again.

Brewpub and Brewery Operations: Day 8

2009-05-13T19:50:00.003-04:00

Today was day 3 of 4 for field trips and we found ourselves back in Pittsburgh. We left a bit later today because our morning plan to go to North Country was scrapped. The class has gone there in the past, but this year despite repeated calls, no one would get back to us. Hope everything is OK in Slippery Rock!

So, we left at 11:00 and drove down to the Hofbräuhaus Pittsburgh by 12:30. We were seated at two adjacent tables and enjoyed a great lunch of German fare, with some great beer to boot (well, no one got a boot glass, but that's another story). After lunch, we met with Ed, the head brewer, Eckhard, the brewmaster, and Tom, the general manager. They gave us an informal presentation on the store, the brewing, etc. After which, we got a small brewhouse tour. Interestingly, all the beer is brewed on site here - except for the Maibock (now on tap) and the Oktoberfest. Both, because of licensing issues, must be imported from Germany.

After our tour, we drove across town to Church Brew Works. Here we were greeted by Brant, the head brewer, and given a quite thorough tour of the facility and a great presentation on the brewing process. We even got to see the yeast lab. After a brief taster, it was time to wrestle through rush hour traffic and head back home.

A big thanks to Ed, Eckhard, Tom, and Brant!

Brewpub and Brewery Operations: Day 7

2009-05-12T23:16:00.002-04:00

Another day of field tripping today - this time everyone went to the same places. We left IUP at about 10:30 and drove to Edgewood to visit D's Six Pack & Dogz, arguably the best bottle shop in the Burgh. The students were able to find many more styles and brands of beer that just aren't available to us over here in Indiana, and most walked away with some bottles of good stuff. We also met briefly with the owner (and I just completely blanked on his name - sorry!) and Hootie, "The Executive Director of the Nectar".

Next, we drove over to the Sharp Edge Beer Emporium on St. Clair Street for a late lunch and tour of one of the best Belgian beer bars. Hart, the director of beverage acquisitions for the 4-store chain was there to talk to us about the locations, their beer selection, and all the challenges of running a place in the Pittsburgh area. He was also gracious in giving us happy hour beer flight prices! After a great lunch, we got a tour of the place, including the beer storage area.

Finally, we made our way over to our final stop, East End Brewing. Scott and his assistant brewer (sorry - forgot his name, too!) were on hand to tour us around the brewery and offer up some samples of their beers. When the tour was over, the students (and the instructors) purchased a growler of stuff to go (in my case, two growlers and two bottles). We hit some rush hour traffic but did make it back home in fairly good time.

After a long day on the road, I then had to host the May meeting of the Indiana Homebrewers' Club. Students from the class were invited, but only one showed - not surprising since they'd been with either Tom or me all day: why ruin their evening ;)

Anyway, a homebrewer and former student of mine was the guest tonight and he showed us how to build some nice mash/lauter tuns and hot liquor tanks from picnic coolers using PEX tubing. Other than missing a few pieces not available at Lowe's, I'm just about done with mine. I'm anxious to start the all-grain brewing for the summer again.

Thanks to our hosts today at D's, Sharp Edge, and East End! Tomorrow, it's off to Pittsburgh again for the Hofbräuhaus and Church Brew Works.

Brewery and Brewpub Operations: Day 6

2009-05-11T18:56:00.002-04:00

Today was the first day of field trips. Tom started early and left at 6:45 with his group to go to Red Star Brewing in Greensburg. Afterwards, they were going to go to Rock Bottom in Homestead at the Waterfront.

My group left just a bit later at 7:20 and drove to Marzoni's in Duncansville. Bill was brewing a batch of Avalanche IPA today and we arrived in time to see the transfer of the mash liquor to the brew kettle. Bill graciously and patiently answered several questions from the students, gave them a tour of the facilities, and then took us to the bar for a sampling of the Marzoni's lineup. Today's specials were the Scotch Ale and a great Maibock. After the sampling, several students took turns raking grain out of the mash tun.

We left Marzoni's at about 11:15 and drove to State College. We arrived at Otto's Pub & Brewery at 12:15 and started with a round of drinks and lunch. The Bourbon Barrel Aged Jolly Roger was still on cask, but unfortunately the Double D IPA was off tap for a few hours. After a terrific lunch, we got a tour of the brewing operations. Charlie was off premises today at a fly fishing tournament, so Nick was happy to step in for all of the questions from the students.

A big thanks to all of the brewers and other staff today for their patience and great hospitality.

Zeno's and Otto's Never Fail to Please

2009-05-10T20:14:00.002-04:00

Yesterday, my wife and I went to State College for the first time (together) since last year's Arts Fest. After enjoying a good lunch at Faccia Luna and driving around to see what had changed, we parked downtown and did some walking around and shopping.

Of course, after walking around for a while, one does tend to build up a thirst. So into Zeno's we went for a refreshing draught. I was anxious to try a couple of Zeno's brews - brewed by Otto's. The first was the Rye Ale, a nice specialty grain brew that was very nice - great hoppy character. The second one was a Schwarzbier aka Black Lager. It was a bit sweeter - almost like a porter - than other German Schwarzbiers that I've had, but very tasty. While I was drinking those, my wife enjoyed a glass of Dupont Avec les Bons Voeux saison from draught! Delicious.

As I ordered our first round, I notice a gentleman sitting at the bar taking some notes on the beer he was drinking. I struck up a conversation only to find out that he was another RateBeer user (frothingslosh) from Greensburg whom I'd talked to on the site several times but never got to meet in person. Small world.

We left Zeno's and did some more stuff down town, then I got dropped off at Otto's while my wife did some more shopping at Target, etc. I walked into the bar, only to sit down next to frothingslosh again! Luckily, the Bourbon-Barrel Aged Jolly Roger Imperial Stout was still on cask. Absolutely delicious and sublime. Following that, I had some cask Arthur's Best Bitter.

All in all, a successful beer day. After a quick appetizer, we headed over to see the new Star Trek movie, which was really good despite the fact that neither of us is a Trekkie.