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This is another "import" from "south Florida".  It isn't from South Florida - it is actually from Eureka, California.  But thanks to my father-in-law from bringing this one back with him.  I actually believe he was the one that contributed it also (either him or Uncle Wayne - sorry guys there were so many beers can't remember who is who).  Any who, this beer is a completely blind taste for me.  I know nothing about it at all.  It does say on the side of the bottle:
"A smooth, Medium Bodied Nut Brown Ale, Hand mad e in Small Batches".  Well you sold me on the small batches... I love anything that sounds like it is just a for kettles in a corner making small beers that are quality.

I did go out to their site at The Lost Coast Brewery.  Their history is great and the fact that they bought and started in a castle is EXTRA points in my book.  I gotta say the labels extravagant, bright and interesting.  Over all, I was intrigued in sampling this one.  Luckily, it didn't leave me down.  I poured this beer and it exploded with carbonation.  The head stayed with the beer through the whole drink.  The color comes across like a finely stained mahogany table top.  It is a very very pretty beer in the glass.  Is is clear and crisp.  The beer comes through with a great nutty brown roasted malt smell.  The first sip or two gives a very interesting impression.  It is "light taste" but medium bodied if that is possible.  The taste has some really great nutty brown sweet taste in the mouth.  I think that "light taste" is really the extra intense carbonation in the glass.  It is bursting with flavors of maybe some cinnamon and rich malty goodness.  Over all this was a great beer.  I would love to be able to find more of their samples.  I wonder if I can find this up north - anyone see it?

Thank you all for for following me and reading.  Please share with your friends and contribute to my posts.  Let me know if I can change/add/modify my post in any ways!  Suggestions and recommendations are welcomed.  I'm 89 days in and plugging away.  I'm doing this till the end!  And I'd love for someone people to get some entertainment in reading it.

 
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Ah, wheat beers... the grand daddy of beers.  Doing a little research I just read on The BeerAdvocate that this style dates back as early as 1040 AD in Germany in one of the world's oldest established brewery, Brauerei Weihenstephan.  This beer was created because wheat was a major product of the time and as with anything else, if the availability of an ingredient is large - why not use it?  These beers are generally brewed with 50-65% wheat and the rest is using the malted barley.  They are many times left unfiltered to leave the yeast in the beer to continue is magic process.  There are many styles of wheat beers out there.  If you want to learn more about wheat beers - please visit the above link to get more education.

I found a nice new bar in Greenfield PA called Hough's last night.  Actually, found they had a link in BarSmart.com - didn't even know that link was around any more.  Anyway, this bar really had its act together.  The beer selection was extremely nice.  For a Wednesday night the crowd wasn't to bad.  I got a great Burger for dinner.  My father in law was a bit unfortunate with his sausage sandwich (it looked to be a little undercooked).  He didn't notice it till it was to late.  Last I heard he survived!  Anyway... I ordered up this little diddy.  Dream Weaver by Troeg's Brewery.

This was a great beer.  I don't find myself drinking unfiltered wheat's often - so I constantly forget to 'twirl the bottle' at the end of the pour to get all the great yeast to come along in your beer.  It is always upsetting because the yeast is what makes the magic happen.  It is the living being that eats this wonderful sugars and creates the magic of alcohol.  Anyway, on first sip or two of this beer - I found myself thinking it was a little pungent.  But as I drank it the flavors started evening out a bit more.  I'll attribute this to drinking an Oberon right before this (one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE wheat beers ever tasted); unfortunately that left a challenge to my taste buds to recover.  Anyway, I powered through the start of this and I'm glad I did.  By the third or fourth sip I started getting all the great fruity esters that come with the yeasts of this beer.  I definitely tasted some hints of banana and citrus mixed.  I did manage to get a few drops of the nice yeast to drip into my glass - leave lava lamp type glumps of goodness floating around my bottle... a fine living being.  I almost felt like I should name the liquid Frank or Bob.  Anyway, it was really a great crisp refreshing beer.  I will definitely be looking for a few more of these in my travels.

Thanks again Troeg's.  I can't wait to make a visit up to Hershey take the tour.  I saw on Facebook today I believe it was the Tours have or are starting soon!  Count me in!  I'm sad to see you guys not in Harrisburg but Hershey is a great second choice to keep it home - maybe you guys can GROW and buy out Hershey Park and make it right and American once again!

 
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The year is 1554 and somethings that went down of importance was:Jan 5 – A great fire breaks out in Eindhoven, Netherlands.
Jan 25
São Paulo, Brazil, is founded.
Feb 9
Thomas Wyatt surrenders to government forces in London.[1]
Feb 12
– After claiming the throne of England the previous year, Lady Jane Grey is beheaded for treason alongside her husband.
Mar 17
– Princess Elizabeth is imprisoned in the Tower of London.
April 12
Mary of Guise becomes Regent of Scotland.
July 23July 25 – Queen Mary I of England marries King Philip of Naples, the only son of Emperor Charles V, in Winchester, England.
August 2
Battle of Marciano: SeneseFrench forces are defeated by the FlorentineImperial army.
August 12
Battle of Renty: French forces led by Francis, Duke of Guise turn back an invasion of Picardy by Charles V.
(Accordingly to Wikipedia)

All those crazy things and they left out this recipe that New Belgium brewing company LUCKILY recovered from an age old flooded Belgian text.  Quite possibly this style/recipe is arguably the most incredible finding of its time.  New Belgium Brewing has put together a great beer here.  The beer is a darker style beer.  But it is not thick and completely roasty.  It has a nice rounded flavor to the beer.  It had a nice lingering head retention with some heavy bubble.  It definitely has some porter like qualities with out the heaviness of some darker heavier beers.  In general, this beer was a very drinkable very enjoyable beer.  It was darker in the glass but not black.  You were able to see it was clear and clean.  I will definitely like to drink more of these.

Thank you Chris D for this Donation to the Blute 365 Beer Challenge.  Here at 365 we cherish our followers and donators and put them on a pedestal.  With out you guys, I would be drinking many more cheap brews through this blog.  And you guys add the variety of beers to this site that only friends can do!  Thanks

 
So, life has been catching up with me - and this website not "saving nicely for me" is frustrating.  So I had a couple things on here about things - but I'm just going to get right to the beers cause I lost all that on a non-save event.  UGH.  Anyway - so here goes:
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3/26/12 - Breckenridge Brewery - Pandoras Bock.  I love this style of beer.  I did a little poking and found this site Madison Dining that talks about Bocks being Lent beers.  I wish I could get to the link to show you more - maybe you can.  Looked like it was going to be a nice read.  Anyway, this is a Jan-March Beer.  I always love this season of beer.  It is right up my alley - and always a refreshing change from all the dark stouts and porters that came from Christmas.  This beers are crisp and a bit spicey.  They are fully of thick malty goodness in the glass.  There was light head retention in the glass.  I really really enjoyed this beer.  I love the brewery in general and the style of beer so there is no surprise I would love this beer.  I hope to get a few more of these before the season is completely out (as it already may be gone).  I didn't really notice anything to revealing about the smell but I'm never great with this anyway.  In general - I love Bock Beers and I think if you've never tried one - GO OUT NOW AND TRY IT!  Don't wait till next year... find one and drink one and fall in love like I have!

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3/25/12 - Samuel Adams - Irish Red.  This beer poured a nice dark red pour in the glass.  A nice aggressive pour left a pillowy dirty white 2 finger head on top of this beer.  The malt stuck around and clung to the sides of the glass the whole way down the drink.  In general this was a nice beer.  It gave out nice caramel notes.  It had a nice light spicy note to it that I believe came from the hops in the glass.  It had a nice silky texture to the drink as comes with these styles of beers.  This beer was the day after a large drink so I drank this a little later in the evening and enjoyed it slowly.  It was probably just a bit warmer then it needed to be but all told was a nice beer.  As I've found with Sam Adams in general - I have found it hard to say anything bad about their beers.  They make a great beer for every style.  They may not always make the best of the best nor do they often make the most exciting.  But they do make a great quality beer to sit around and drink.  Thank you for a consistent quality in your beer Sam.

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3/24/12 - Troegs Brewery - Troegenator DoupleBock Beer.  At 8.2% alcohol this beer brings A LOT to the table.  The definition as per German Beer Institute Site states a DoppelBock as:
Definition:  Doppelbock (literally "double bock") is a stronger and usually darker version of the Bavarian Bockbier. It is exceptionally malty, with very little bitterness. Standard Doppelbocks may have as much as 7% alcohol by volume. In the strongest versions (around 10 to 13%), you can actually taste the alcohol.
So, it is no surprise this is right up my avenue.  There is not a great head retention on this beer.  But the flavor and the malts SHINE through.  The bitterness levels are low and the beer is smooth.  I do get some nice malty notes of smell from the glass (maybe even some hints of cherry).  In general this is a great beer.  I had to cheat and drink this beer once again tonight as the beer from the picture from Saturday is later in the evening after several others and well, lets just say I knew my notes would not be great.  As I said, my best friend was in from out of town and we received a surprise visit from another one of my friends that lives close by.  All 3 of us had some GREAT catch up time Saturday night.  Good times.

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3/23/12 - Flying Dog Ales - Road Dog Porter.  This was a great beer.  This beer ways in at a nice 6.0% alcohol.  I didn't save great notes from this Friday night - so going by memory.  I remember I liked this beer.  It was a nice roasty malt flavor.  I don't remember to dark and burnt of a flavor but a nice medium roast.  I remember the head retention stayed with the glass nicely and it drank smooth.  I think the one thing I remember for a porter it was a very light beer in texture.  This lightness really made this a drinkable beer.  Made it nice and enjoyable.  A friend of mine recommended this one and though it was good - it wasn't one of my favorites.  Again, I'm not really a porter or dark stout type drinker so this shouldn't surprise.  All told it was a nice drinkable beer.  And the beer was enjoyed as the kickoff to a great weekend with my best man/best friend/buddy from high school.  It was a good time, Friday night was even another Wine Cupcake making session for my wife and a friend of hers.  So the lightness of this beer when really well with the winey goodness of her cupcakes.  Text me if you want her recipes and/or more information on those cupcakes.

Wow, so this was a long post - I'm going to hold of posting today's beer (blogging this on 3/27/12) till at least tomorrow.  But I had an enjoyable weekend and am glad I stayed with the challenge.  I am excited about tomorrow as I am checking out the call from last Friday - again - if the news works out I'll talk more about this later.  There is a lot to be considered and discussed.  In the end if it works out and I move forward with it.  This blog will be the FIRST (well second as my wife will probably be the first ;) ahah) to know!  Thanks for listening and until the next blog!
 
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Blue Moon is doing some things right.  Its sort of a shame it is brewed and owned by Miller Coors Brewing (Don't believe me - check out this site and see there selection - did you know they were all owned by MillerCoors - did you even know MillerCoors were merged?  YEP!).  In visiting the Blue Moon website above I really saw no trace of Coors or Miller in the site.  I know that it is brewed at Coors Brewery in Golden, CO.  I know this because I've toured the plant 3 times.  I actually really enjoy to tour the brewery.  It is quite fascinating and in a really great little town in Colorado. 

That aside, Blue Moon is doing some great things with their beers.  I love the artistic advertising thing they are doing with the beer as well.  Just a few years back at the Arts Festival in Pittsburgh you could actually take a few minutes to add your artistic ability and input into a full length mural of their beer.  It was really a great idea and sort of a living painting as probably 100's of people were involved in that one picture.  Not to mention others in other cities!  It was brilliant.  Because it really did catch my attention.  I think that is when I started noticing the different brews that Blue Moon started brewing.  My wife became a quick fan of their Full Moon (which I'm not sure they make any more - or at least we can't seem to find).  And really that started us trying a few others.

Pale Moon is Blue Moon's version of a Belgium Pale Ale.  Now, in general I think the term of Pale Ale preceded by anything is really a little loose.  There is IPA, DIPA, APA, D(enver)PA,BPA, ect, so therefore the uniqueness of each I believe comes with the uniqueness of the local ingredients that the product is brewed.  That said, this is a "Belgian" Pale Ale brewed in Golden Colorado.  No doubt the ingredients are authentic and of decent quality.  And the attention to detail is definitely reviewed in this beer.  Research and QA dollars on this beer are well spent.  It actually is a really enjoyable beer.  It isn't great.  It isn't outstanding... but it is a nice quality beer.  It has the nice sweet malty characteristic of a Belgian Beer with a nice mellow yet adequate hop quantity to solidify the Pale Ale aspect of the beer.  There is a burnt caramel kick to it which is sort of decent.  It isn't overly hopped for the local/regular beer drinker to turn their nose at.  It is nice and mellow.  In general, the body of the beer was a nice medium body and handled the beer nice.  The head retention was definitely not the best.  Maybe it was my glass... maybe it was the beer.  Sometimes hard to determine.  The had a nice bronze color to the pour. Over all, I thought it was nice.

The unfortunate thing is this is just another one of the "BIG NAMES" breaking into market share of the little guys.  I say this is unfortunate because it makes it tough for the "little guy".  The beer industry and microbrewery seems to me to be some what of a saturating industry.  I've been doing some reading and it seems like there are breweries opening all over the place all the time.  I haven't read the statistics on breweries closing but I assume it is closely linked to the number opening.  It seems like right now it is the thing to do.  God speed to everyone opening breweries and if you need some help in the Pittsburgh Area - I'd love to start learning the industry side of the business.  Sorry, I digress, the unfortunate part of this is that MillerCoors brews this beer and makes it "look/seem/sound/act" like many micro brewed type styles/beers out there.  Taking shelf space (cause they can afford to) from the smaller guys just trying to make a living.  I'm not here to say they need to go; I just think that it is slightly misleading if people don't know/see that it is coming from MillerCoors.  I mean some people that may have tried/drank this beer would have NEVER drank it if they knew a relation.  Not that that is good either - but branding is a big part of this business.  And this one is very misleading.  Its good... just know what you are drinking and who you are giving your money to with this one.  I don't always know this with everything I'm buying and I wish I did.  Thanks for listening.

 
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First off, I'm going to apologize for the pictures lately.  I have to admit, I've been lazy with the new camera so I've been using all iPhone pics.  They come out bright and ugly and slightly blurry and for that I apologize.  But what are you going to do;  I'm blogging for fun right now.  If/when this site ever starts turning a profit I'll get a little more professional.  But as I look this picture is REALLY bad.  I want to change it but again, I'm lazy.  It'll have to do.

As for the beer, Flying Dog - Doggie Style.  What more can I say?  As the bottle says "everyone likes to finish their day with a little doggie style".  Ok, so that is a little crass!  But that is each of their bottles.  It seems to be their style!  I just learned tonight they are in Fredrick, MD.  Which isn't all that far away from Pittsburgh and/or my home town of York, PA.  Actually, I want to talk to my dad because I'm fairly confident I have relatives that are from that area.  My dad's cousin used to run a farm down that way if I'm not mistaken.  And if that is the case - I've hung out in that area a few times a long time ago.  As a kid, I hated some of those trips.  We had family that didn't even have plumbing as a kid.  Then my dad's cousin that was running a farm had indoor plumbing which was great.  But even better he was working a farm - so as a boy I got to go down there and check out the donkeys, feed some of the cattle, play basket ball in the barn, and all sorts of things that came with that.  Some of which scared the living shit out of me as a boy but was all GREAT memories.  Funny thing is I THINK it was Fredrick, MD - but I KNOW if it wasn't Fredrick it was damn close ;) hahah... either way - on to the beer.

On to the beer, I "think" this is a good beer.  I "think" this is a good "classic" pale ale which is what it markets on the bottle.  Honestly, this is the "pale ales" that I have grown not to like.  I believe it has to be the specific hop variety that is used because it is so strong and pungent.  The smell kicks off a strong hop smell.  And the taste is every bit of hop that you can handle.  That said, if you are a hop head - have at it!  Its sweet and tries to bring the malty goodness into it, and I guess to be fair it is there.  There is a base of a good beer - but for me and my tastes there is something stopping me from REALLY enjoying this.  Its nice and crisp and somewhat refreshing.  But it has a huge dry finish to it with the hops.  It leaves me licking my lips and panting like a dog and I guess that is what they are looking for.  Job well done Flying Dog... keep up the good work.

 
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First day of Spring has sprung.  I'm not sure what to think of this March here in Pittsburgh.  They say if March comes in like a lion it leaves like a lamb or vice verso, what happens if it comes in easy and gets hot as a mid-summer day?  I'm not complaining that it is to hot.  The sun has been a nice addition to my days of late for sure.  I think it is giving me the much needed vitamin D that was just what the doctor has ordered.  Its been nice to get the kids out of the house the last few nights and let them play and run and tire themselves out.  They don't seem to fight as much outside as they do while inside.  So, tonight I decided to drink a somewhat fruity beer if you will to sort of support my "summer mood" I feel like I'm in right now.  It really is going to stink when Mother Nature decides to pull the carpet out from us.  What is going to be worse is all the people that cry "WHAT HAPPENED TO THE WARMTH".  Remember people, it is March 20 in Pittsburgh, we've seen snow in April even.  So it can still get cold; and if/when it does we could be in for one last doozy.

Anyway, on that note summery fruity beer.  I'm not a big fan of "fruity" beers.  I've had a few strawberry wheat beers that I like; along with a few honey/orange wheat beers.  But in general, fruity beers are a bit to bitter for me.  Abita Brewing produces a fairly nice (yet fruity) Purple Haze that has the kick of raspberry.  It is tart yet it is a fruit that I don't eat a lot and therefor I'm OK with it being that way in this beer.  The great thing about this beer as I poured it into my glass I almost said I saw a purple hint to the pour.  I don't know if it is the lighting now or not but I don't notice it in the glass as much as I did while pouring.  It has a some what "unfiltered" haze to it.  No doubt this comes from the fruit tannins that can cause some filtered haze in beers.  One reason why brewing fruity home brews can be a little tricky in my experience.  Reading the bottle it has some pilsner and wheat malts used in the brewing.  It also stated that the raspberry puree is added after filtration so that could add some pulp to the drink.  I don't mind this beer.  I couldn't drink many of them maybe 2 but the one is nice by itself.  You can definitely get a huge raspberry fruity smell from the glass.

Cheers to Abita for a great name for a solid "fruity" beer.  Have a great night.

 
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Located about half way north to south of Florida in Melbourne is a company called Florida Beer Company.  I don't know much about the area of Florida nor do I know anything about the company itself.  The website doesn't seem to have much history on it.  There is a great little picture gallery of events to peruse.  One of these times I make it to Florida I'll have to try to pass by it and check it out a little closer.  Last night I drank their Florida Lager - compliments of my wife's Uncle Wayne from Miami (I think I did an earlier blog about cousin's in Miami... same family ;)).  Thanks Uncle Wayne for the shipment of brews.  And thank you to my Father In Law for delivering (and adding to the

The only complaint (if you can call it that) about this beer is that it is has some of the lager style qualities I'm not a huge fan of.  It definitely smells like a lager with that sort of "off" bitter smell that I can't really get to appreciate.  With that smell, I think my mind automatically starts doing that off taste of a typical lager.  But this beer fights back with something that I haven't tasted in awhile.  I'm not sure if it is the fact that it is from warm sunny bright Florida or that they really have a blend on this beers ingredients that adds a bit of refreshing almost fruity clean taste to it.  It is filtered clear and beautiful.  It is a bright yellow (with a brown tint) in the glass that gives an almost glow like the Florida sun setting of the water.  In general, I think if I was sitting at the pool in Cutler Bay, Florida this would be a perfect lunch time brew to go with some nice burgers on the grill.  If I have a few of these I may even be convinced the "cuba sandwhich" cigars my father-in-law loves to smoke from down there are even good!  I guess that makes this beer dangerous.  Haha.

Once again, thank you Uncle Wayne and Billy for the great shipment in from South Florida.  I am not sure which few you bought Uncle Wayne (so I do apologize not calling the appropriate person out).  In general, the package was happily received and I have decided to start enjoying these over the next 2 - 3 weeks.  Of course, I have a few other beers I have to get rid of first.  If you see this beer - and like Lager beers let me know what you think.  I'm curious on other people's take on it.

 
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I am paying tribute to the St Patty Day Boys that come in from out of town to party every year.  One of them brought me a few beers to use for my blog from Virginia area which is wonderful.  I can't thank you Aaron enough for this little care package of mine.  I decided to go with the Belgium Blonde tonight.  It has nothing to do with Irish and/or St Patrick's Day except that it was brought by one of my buddies that comes out to enjoy the weekend in Pittsburgh.

I pour this beer and notice immediately the very unfiltered bottle of beer.  I start seeing and smelling the yeastiness of the beer.  This is something that I like in Belgian Brews.  The smell is nice and sweet smelling in the glass.  I get a bit of fruity esters coming up from the glass.  My initial impression of the first few sips were YIKES.  I'm not sure I'm going to like this beer.  I started drinking it probably about 5 -10 degrees colder then it should have been.  I think this was the initial problem.  Since this is a larger bottle and I'm mostly drinking it myself it has had a chance to warm up.  As it warms the yeasty esters start to shine through.  It starts giving some light hints of banana.  I get some light hits of acidic kick to it.  I'm thinking like a lemony and grapefruit esters burst through.  The malty goodness is there to support the yeast.  Its hard for me to decipher the yeasts spicyness to a hop spice.  I'm sure they are both there and present but they both work so well together that you don't even care to think about it.  All told I would say this is a great beer.  The texture is nice and the yeast flavors burst.  That told I don't think this is a style for everyone.  I can definitely understand some that would not enjoy this beer.  Nice job Hardwood!  Keep up the great brewing.

Here I sit, Sunday night after a LONG St Patty's Day weekend journey.  I'm exhausted.  I got to go out and enjoy my weekend yesterday.  Today we spent the morning PREP'ing the house for an open house.  This even I spent my night fighting with my 6 year old (and when not fighting with her - I found myself fighting with the 3 year old).  It was a challenging evening.  It makes me think what I'm doing as a father.  I like to believe I'm a good father.  I know people tell me I'm a good father but its trying nights like tonight that make me wonder.  I guess it is the growing pains of all.  Until tomorrow - lets hope TOMORROW is a better day.  I also believe tomorrow is St Joseph Day; so I'm praying and hoping and asking anyone and everyone reading this to pray with me to St Joseph (and or whoever else you feel good with) to bring us an offer.  We hoping that all the planets will align and it will happen.  Enjoy the night everyone and the wonderful weather!  Until tomorrow.

 
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Alive Alive'O!  Alive ALive'O!  Sing Cockles and Muscles Alive Alive OH!  She wheeled her wheel barrel, through streets wide and narrow...

This is my city!  Pittsburgh!  I've lived her 11 years and have really grown to love this town.  Its a big town or a little city and the people here are great.  The weather can be cold and bitter and miserable at times but its all worth it for the love this city has for its citizens.  The weather was PERFECT.  Blue Skies!  And green shirts were every where.  My father in law and I got dropped off down town at walked over to meet my buddies at the famous Oyster House.  The story is long and I could go on for hours but I'll say this about the day; we have been going down for 11 years.  We always start at the Oyster House and in those 11 years there are some people we know like BEST FRIENDS and only see once a year.  Its pretty incredible.  The bar is small and friend and the drinks pour cold.  The boys were there before us and already started.  We jumped head first in and got the day going proper.  It was great.  It actually was a fun time.  Met some great new people that I may never see again.  Actually, this years stories were a little light since I was only out for a few hours and ended up losing the crew by 2pm.  I haven't really caught up with them yet to know their stories... but some of the Facebook picks and texts that I've seen assures me they were in good hands and had a great trip.

I was drink Iron City Ambers this day.  I don't know if it was the atmosphere, the taps were clean, the temperature was ICE COLD or the weather was perfect but this beer was REALLY good.  Not good like fine cuisine but good thirst quenching and session-able.  I definitely know we payed to much as these types events often go.  In general, they went down easy and nice.  We held real estate at the bar at Oyster House all day and really just had a great time.  I'm not going to give this beer a HUGE number but in general I was quite happy with it.  Another St Patrick's Day in the books, and great fun was had by all.  Everyone was safe and no one got arrested.  In general that is a huge success!  Thanks again guys for continuing the tradition.  Thank you Iron City for your Pittsburgh Beer.