Our trip to Pittsburgh

This past weekend, Joe and I headed to Pittsburgh. One of our main reasons for visiting this city was that we wanted to check out a place called Church Brew Works. It is a church that has been turned into a brewery. All of the brewing is done on the alter and the pews have been rearranged to create seating for the tables. Of course we got a sampler so that we could try all of their beer offerings. Here are our thoughts:


Celestial Gold - Really good! It was malty and fruity. Had a subtle hops after taste. Very clean. Our favorite of the night.

Pipe Organ Pale Ale - Not a Pale Ale. It's an IPA. And a good one too.

Pious Monk Dunkle - Nice amber color. Tastes a lot like a toasted lager. Very smooth, and very good.

Oatmeal Stout - Very malty. Not much aroma. Tastes like Pig Iron Porter.

Rye IPA - Fair amount of hoppiness. The rye flavor was hard to make out past the hops.

Chirstmas in July - Tastes like a gingerbread cookie! Dark and cloudy appearence. Awsome.

Blueberry Ale - Reminds us of our homebrew, only with less fruit flavor.

Cask Conditioned Pipe Organ Pale Ale - Less hoppy than the regular version. But it's still an IPA.

Cherry Quadzilla - Really fruity. Loved it!




During our trip to Pittsburgh, we also discovered an awsome bar called The Hop House which was about 2 minutes from our hotel. The had an amazing selection on tap; many of which we were unframiliar with. Amazingly, we liked every beer we tried.

BLUE POINT
- Toasted Lager - Sour (but not like a "sour ale"). Slight nutty flavor. Yummy.

HACKER PSCHORR
- Weisse Dark - Kind of creamy. A bit sour. Some nutty flavor. Very cloudy. Also yummy.

BELLS
- Oberon - SO good! Very unusual fruit flavor that we couldn't put our finger on. We love it!!!

GREAT LAKES
- Porter - Similar to the Pig Iron Porter.

UNIBROUE
- Maudite - Like Delirium, but a more subtle flavor. Very clean.

SARANAC
- Pomegranate Wheat - I was worried about this one because pomegranate has such a strong, bitter flavor, but this was actaully very sweet and summery with a slight tart after taste.

All in all we had a great time in Pittsburgh. It's a very nice city (although their roads suck!).