Here at 365 Beers, we believe that vanity is silly!  BUT, taking care of one self and living a healthy lifestyle is of utmost (sort of) importance.  At least that is what we are trying to teach our daughters.  So in an effort to set a good example, I have installed a top set of braces (bottom to be installed in just a few weeks).  The lovely people of Forest Orthodontics were more then happy to assist!  They were gentle and very professional installing such tools of torture!  I even left the office today with a false sense of security that as I am older and wiser the pain will not be near as bad as it was when I did this the first go round back at age 13.  WRONG!!  Liquid diet for me over the next few days till these teeth die down; perfect for this 365 adventure I am on.

In honor of the construction project going on at 365 Beers - I've decided to dedicate today's brew to that!  Railbender Ale.  I have had a few Erie Brews in the past and was never terribly excited about them.  I must say, I don't know if it was the shock of newly installed braces but this beer was better then I remember.  Not great, but over all not bad.  It is considered a Scotch Ale which I typically do enjoy.  This brew was a little spicy and a lot of sweet caramel malt goodness.  The hops seemed to hide behind the whistle blowing of the locomotive screaming by on the train tracks by the river.  The color was a nice Amber color; it was not a very over red beer.  One distinguishable note about this Scottish Ale is that it was almost session able.  But at 6.5 % as the bottle states of alcohol you'll want to be careful about that unless you are in fact on a train bound for nowhere!

I want to thank the nice lady at Sharp Edge Bistro in Sewickley for helping out today.  At the time, she stated she had none on the shelves.  After a little story about my 365 beer journey and the installation of rail ties in my mouth today she mentioned she would take another look in the back.  This beer was served at room temp and therefore a bit warmer then probably suggested.  Thank you fine ladies of Sharp Edge.  And thank you to Dr Forest for helping me with my vanity issues.

ALL ABOARD!

I've got cabin fever!  Ok, not the kind you are thinking about all coop'd up and no place to go!  This year has been unseasonably warm in this neck of the woods.  We've had a few light dustings of the powdery white stuff.  But not the norm.  Oddly enough, we have relatives visiting from the south this coming weekend to see some snow and there is a huge likelihood that we'll be driving to 7 Springs to show them.  In some ways this makes me sad, I sort of  like snow.  In others (my age is one), I'm happy as I'm beginning to like snow less and less.  The truth is snow is great but we usually get the frigid cold and ice more so then then snow!  And that sucks!

So, on to the Cabin Fever beverage in front of me.  First impressions of this beer not bad; there is a medium flavor of raisin with some burnt/roasty flavor.  Unfortunately, the over powering burntness flavor has me a bit turned off with this one.  It pours a super dark brown almost black color.  I did pour this in a red wine glass which probably should have more of a taller glass such as a pint glass.  I'm thinking this glass shows a bit more darkness to the color then may actually be there.  The head died away a little quicker then I would like.  There is a part of me drinking this that is not sure this fits the brown ale category.  But I've read a few of other peoples reviews on beeradvocate.com so I'm not sure, it just must be my non-expert opinion.  I do get a bit of spiciness that I guess is coming from the rye used in the brewing.  I get small hints of fruitiness with a nicely dry finish.  Over all, it is not a bad beer.  I almost think I would rate this beer higher if served with a nice plate of fine cheeses and dried fruits as the bottle suggests.

My recommendation to the reader is if you are feeling a bit chilly, starting to get a nip of the cabin fever maybe give the brew a try.  I wouldn't drink it alone though for sure (even though I am sitting at the table with no other glasses being drank).  I would do as the bottle suggests and pick up some crackers and cheese - the bottle suggests gruyere & smoked cheeses.  Sitting here thinking of that combination is making me salivate and want to run out to Market District to pick up another 6'r of this and some of those cheeses.  But instead I think I'll curl up under the blankets with the Mrs and catch up on a little missed TV.  The house is quiet now and the weather is cold out.  This opportunity doesn't happen often!

Good night all!  Stay warm!

True German beer is awesome.  In an earlier post I stated that I learned to like good beer drinking Belgium brews.  But when it really comes down to it my German heritage comes through and I like clean, true, German beer.  There is something to be said about a product that can be so vast with just 4 ingredients.  Penn Brewery is a great example of German style brews.  I'm confident that I have not drank a bad beer from them yet.  This beer most recently won silver metal at the Great American Beer fest in German-Style Doppelbock or Eisbock.

From the pour of this beer you get a deep amber almost burnt copper color to it.  The head froths up with a decent white one finger thickness that lasts for awhile on top of this brew.  First sip impression is that there is a malty caramel goodness waiting to be drank.  The styles typically uses a Hallertau hop so I'm assuming this is the variety used in this brew.  The hops are present but hide them self conveniently under the nice semi-sweet caramely goodness.  I drank this beer straight from the fridge and it didn't last long enough to warm.  I get the impression though that this beer would be better enjoyed at a slightly warmer temp.  I believe this is actually the brew I recently drank at Fat Heads in Pittsburgh on cask.  What I remember from that beer was that the warmer temp and lower carbonation made this a very sip able brew worthy of any gold medal.  I see that the brew that took gold in this category was Autumnal Fire Capital Brewery Co. from the GABF Winners page.  I will be adding this beer to my wish list.

The thing I like about this beer is that it is full of "holiday cheer".  At 6.5% alcohol it is warming to the soul and almost as nice to drink as mom's chicken noodle soup is to eat on those cold winter days.

Personal note:  I'm actually feeling the start of something in the back of my head and sore throat so hopefully this brew will help kick it out of me.  If not this could be the start of a 3-4 day tough beer journey.  Have no fear - I shall drink either way but it may not be easy.  Good night and get some rest - Monday is always the hardest day of the week.

I have not lived in Pittsburgh all my life.  But next to my home town of Wrightsville, PA I've lived here longer then anywhere else.  I like it.  Its a no frills kind of a place.  This city loves its football.  And it is also an educated city on Beer.  The German population is strong and it shows if you go over towards the North Side of the city.  This beer is a tribute to the German heritage of this city.  It is a man's man kind of beer.  It is a working class beer.  Reviewing some info on line I found that this brewery was opened in 1861 by a German immigrant by the name of Edward Frauenheim.  It was one of the first breweries in the united states to produce a lager.

Iron City Brewery was formed and ran for almost 150 years in Lawarenceville until recently 2009 they moved the brewing to Latrobe PA.  It happens to be brewed in the same brewery as one time great Rolling Rock beer until they were sold and moved (BOO!).  Though, I can't find any redeeming quality to say about the taste/quality of this beer it as with many other "cheaper" beers serves a purpose.  The reason I got started on this venture was not to find the best/most expensive beer.  It was not to avoid any one style.  It was/is to experience beer in all its glory.  And in my opinion Iron City is a perfect example.  I can't go down to Strip District, to Belle Notte Pizzeria (check the link on urban spoon), or Primanti's with out ordering at least one of these on draft.  Its crisp and "fresh of the tap".  It is refreshing since most of the city that serves this brew takes pride and serves it super cold.  So, here's to you Iron City!  Thank you for coming back and thank you for continuing to brew a beer that is the "official beer of the Pittsburgh nation."

As I stated, drink this beer extremely cold.  As cold as you can find it without freezing.  Now, any one that enjoys a good brew understands that beer like wine all have their own temperatures to be enjoy at.  The reason for this is because you will find "hidden flavors" that come bursting out at different temps.  Its almost like the hops/yeast/barley all know as most of us do that when it is to cold... just stay in side.  Why do you think Coors and the Colorado Rockies beer has the color sensor on the outside to tell when it is super cold.  Its marketing of course.  Genius marketing if you ask me!  The colder you drink a brew the less of any imperfections you will find in any given brew.  Ever wonder why most people want to drink ICE COLD BEER.  Cause the #1 sellers in America are the big brews, the Millers, Coors, Bud beers that if drinking a single degree above 32 degrees starts tasting like the bottom of an ash tray.  Of course, of these beers - they all have their degree of badness.  BUT they all have their purpose as well.  On a hot summer day after mowing the grass, or digging a post hole for a fence post, or even a nice run on the trail - give me the refreshing taste of an ice cold brew.  After scrimmaging in the back yard football or making a triple double on the courts, nothing better then an ice cold Miller.

That said, in tribute of Pittsburgh Steelers starting another journey to the big dance, I chose Iron City.  Its crisp, fresh and local!  The hops do seem to pop out of this beer a bit more then the barley.  Many people say it is undrinkable, and an equal amount of people will ONLY DRINK IT.  If you are one of those beer snobs that REFUSE to drink certain beer that is fine.  To each their own.  I chose to embrace all beer equally!  And find a use for them all.

Thanks for reading - and LETS GO STEELERS!!  Lets beat them Broncos down!!

NOTE: My notes for this mostly came from wikipedia at this link.  Feel free to continue the research and review.

On location for the first beer in 2012, I enjoyed this beer at the Pine in Kennedy Township.  A nice little place that has been making great strides in upgrades and enhancements.  When I first moved to Kennedy, this place was at best a dive bar that my father-in-law and I tried to go in one time.  It was to smokey and sort of dirty the way I remember.  Of course, I'm sure the locals that have been here for ever may have loved it.  Then just in the last few years the bar has gone under new ownership.  They closed it down revamped it and moved the bar to the other side of the establishment.  They setup a nice out side area that is open air in the summer and closed in with heat in the winter (nice touch).  The restaurant is separated from the bar ( originally I think this was to allow the bar goers a chance to smoke their cigs - BOO ).  Now it is a smoke free establishment and the smokers need to go outside ( YAY!)

One other thought before I get to the beer.  There is some sort of serenity or calmness going into a bar alone in the middle of the day.  It usually isn't that crowded.  You can usually pop right up to the bar.  The bar tenders tend to be a bit more social since they are not crazy busy chasing down orders.  I know some people would seem appalled by the idea.  Some may even think that people that do this have "problems".  Well, I'm sure some do.  And some, maybe many like me are trying to get 30-45 minutes of solitude inside their own mind to relax and enjoy the taste of a cold fresh brew.  I don't make this a common occurrence since family (especially children) I get even less time to accomplish this task.  But I will tell you - there is nothing like bellying up to a bar with no obligations to talk to anyone.  If the mood strikes you and there is a conversation worth engaging... have at it - no telling where the morning/day/night may take you!  Ok, enough about that - I just thought that it was worth mentioning 45 minutes alone at a bar relaxed with a beer is sometimes better then most any pampering that you may throw my way.

Now on to the brew; so, Dogfish Head hasn't made a beer I haven't liked.  That being said, not every beer that comes from their shop can be hit out of the park!  This beer at 5.2 % is one that I feel falls short.  OK, hold on - before I get hung on a cross - its good!  I mean it has a small bit of  'woody/toasty' taste to it.  But for calling itself Chicory one would think your fingers and hand would get sticky just from holding the glass because of the sap from the tree.  Not so in this brew.  It is a mild mannered stout for the most part.  Has a sort of dryness to it that I feel is a typical stout quality.  Over all I have nothing exceptionally exciting to say about this beer.  There was no special hop notes for me to speak of, or huge malty goodness.  The texture on the tongue was surprising light.  That was definitely a nice quality to the brew.  All told, it is a good well mannered, well balanced brew.  Nothing to write home about (but I will write this blog about it); and surely nothing to shatter the world.

All that said, I'm a huge fan of Dogfish because of the BIGNESS of each of their brews.  You can't find a "lite" beer on their menu.  From what I can see and tell they don't do "regular" on their menu.  That said, all their brews are not going to pour out of the tap and smack you in the head to say it is there.  They make great beer.  So, when I say this beer is average - it sounds harsh but in reality it is average/standard/regular for Dogfish.  It is still exceptional in the midst of most brews I drink.  So, if you are surprised to see the 3.5 star rating its because it was still really a clean crisp beer.  I would definitely drink it again and again and again.  Thank you Dogfish for your dedication to making everything you do GOOD!

So, here it is 8:45 pm and I'm just sitting down to have my first sip of beer.  Its Friday night so waiting this long for my first beer was not easy.  It was definitely made easier by spending it with my girls doing what the do best - SHOP ( he said with a huge sigh ).  Yes, we had fun; dinner at Chik-chik-filet (as my girls call it); a little grocery shopping; a little Ikea shopping; and capped it off with a little Toys-R-Us shopping.  Boy did T-R-Us go down hill.  That used to be the mecca of all toy stores.  I"m sure my girls still think it is the bomb.  But it looks rather like a bomb went of in it!  UGH.

So, here I sit, resting with a new brew in front of me.  I opted for a 'big boy' bottle 1 pint 6 fluid ounces as I felt I deserved it for the wonderful bit of shopping I've done.  This was a "special" I bought just before Christmas over at the Water Front.  My lovely wife and I had a nice quiet lunch at the bar and had some fine beverages from the bar.  Rock Bottom is a chain brewery found through out the United States.  If I'm not mistaken they all serve similar style brews but with their own brew masters comes there own touches.  I think the first Rock Bottom I ever visited was in possibly Colorado Spring some 8-9 years ago.  I've been to a Rock Bottom that was in King of Prussia (not sure if it is still there or not).  I haven't been to Rock Bottom in Pittsburgh for sometime so I was pleasantly surprised with their beers this time around.  I found this blurb on wikipedia about this style of beer - Marzen:

    "The original Märzen was described as "dark brown, full-bodied". As intended, the beer was often kept in the cellar until late in the summer, and remaining bottles were served at the Oktoberfest. In order to last so long, either the original gravity and alcohol were increased or the hopping was strengthened"

Throwing down a bit of history for you.  I've always favored Octoberfest's and the beers that come with them.  But I will tell you that to me the styles of brews that are meant to be drank at a certain time of year really should be drank during that time of year.  This beer is crisp; full-bodied; and malty like I like them.  This tastes like beer should taste.  It has no hints of flowers or roses or cardamom or strawberries.  I taste a small bit of sweet caramel taste coming from the malt.  The noble hops (I'm guessing since I couldn't find the notes on this particular beer on line), typical to this style, show a low but nice presence in the beer.  They are present enough to balance the malty sweetness perfectly.  The color was an amber brown before I decided to mix the bottom of the bottom and pour out the Bottle Conditioned yeast that floats at the bottom.  I currently sit with a muddy swill of brew that has living yeast floating around and it puts a huge smile on my face.  I am sure there is a Yeast Activist Group out there that would speak out against the use of trapping happy little yeasts in a tiny little bottle but to me - this is where they are happiest.  Its like their own little vat.  If I were a cell yeast, I would happily throw myself into the bottle a sacrifice to all the beer gods out there.

Wow, I just thought of something, I started talking about beers that are meant to be drank specific times of the years and got side tracked.  Sorry about that; my point, this beer is awesome, fantastic, excellent even; but it is the wrong time of year for this beer.  It is crisp, clear (well was before the bottle conditioned yeast), and malty - the time to drink this beer is in October, not January.  Oh, I'll drink it... and I'm happy, but honestly, it leaves my mind and bottle confused as the snow is starting to fall and I'm thinking the the final leaves should really be the ones finding the ground.  As the bottle states "an uncrompromised natural ale" this beer lives true.  If you happen to venture by and they still have any left please do grab one and enjoy.

Until tomorrow; have a great Friday night!

This beer seems better suited to be 'swimming with the fish'.  Although,  I don't think I would even ask Mickey, Minnie and Daisy to drink this (the name of the fish in the tank).  In all seriousness, the website states this beer tastes like chocolate covered cherries.  These have never been one of my favorite candies as there was to many artificial tastes/sweets in the candy.  I disliked this beer enough to go to the O'Fallon's website and see what they said about it.  Granted - I THINK they nailed what they are going for - a CHOCOLATE COVERED CHERRY!

That said, I greatly dislike them so my opinion is biased based on that.Reviewing the beer, well the one redeeming quality of this is that it states it is a wheat beer.  You can sort of get a soft/smooth nice texture from the beer - if you can get past the smell and taste.  The smell - take one chocolate covered cherry, break it open and smell.  This hits you right in the face of that smell.  There is an artificial chocolatey smell with a cherry smack.  The taste is obnoxious.  Initially, you receive a artificial chocolate taste on your tongue that seems to linger through the whole swig.  From there, you start to find the cherry fighting for attention.  It is definitely cherry there but I am instantly turned off by the chocolate flavor in this one.  The texture as I said is nice.  It is light and smooth to the taste like a wheat beer should be.  It finishes with an after taste of that artificial chocolate flavor lingering.  The pour was a red to red brown color with little head that didn't hang out for long at all.

I obviously didn't like this very much.  The reality is their goal was to get a chocolate cover cherry and I think they nailed that.  It really takes me back to the first time I tried a chocolate covered cherry and tasted it for a week.  Now, my wife is a fan of the Choc Covered Cherry and she was not a fan of this beer either.  So, not sure what to make of this.  My brother-in-law stopped over and sampled some and loved it.  I tried incorporating his thoughts but I'm not sure he has met a beer he hasn't liked (except for that one at the Tower that was apparently really skunked - but if memory serves me he still drank the beer entirely)!  Anyway, so that is today's review.  I will definitely not be going out to find any more of these - though I wouldn't mind trying a few more of O'Fallen's brews since this was such a "specialty beer".  Hope everyone has a great night.

So, here it is day 4.  Welcome to the world of Delirium.  I think this was one of the first beers that turned me on to import/specialty/better beer.  Call it what you will.  I remember the year OH SO well, it was 2001, or 2002.  My wife and I were at this Mexican, or Chinese restaurant in Pittsburgh - or was it a small pub in Belgium.  Oh, the truth is, those details are of little importance to the fact that Kasteel and Delirium were ordered and drank!  They were the be all to end all.  From that moment forward I vowed to myself that I will not drink anything that wasn't from Belgium itself.  They make the BEST BEER!

OK, OK, that was years ago and I've come to realize, yes they make awesome beer; really really really good beer.  But to call it the best, well I would have to be from there.  And even at that, the argument would be tough to hold when you look at Germany with the Reinheitsgebot (one day, I'll learn to pronounce and spell that with out looking it up), and not to mention all the endless number of home brewers, nano-breweries, micro-breweries, and macro-breweries in the good ol'US of A!  Anyway, I'm not trying to say any one location produces the BEST BEER in the world; or maybe I'm saying they all do.  In fact, that is why I started this blog there truly is to many brews ( styles, formulas, techniques, ingredients) on this planet to name a location the best beer maker.

Enough about that though, this beer is GOOD!  It pours a very red'sh tint.  I want to call it a dirty red head and I think I just may!  It sort of treats you that way also at the 10% alcohol per volume.  In my mind, this is spicier then the Devil's sister if he had one!  Its feisty in your mouth with hints of caramel, a small bitterness bite and even an ever so tiny hint of a clean woody smoke.  I think I can find some coriander hints floating around in the taste.  But what bites you or pokes you in the ass with the tusks of the little pink elephant on the bottle is that alcohol bite!  Its warm.  Its smooth.  With this level of naughty I doubt it received many presents under its tree.  Anyway, the head that comes to the top was strong and almost eerily a clean white.  It definitely leaves you wanting for more like most red-heads I've met in my past...

I have a second one of these in the basement and I'm debating; should I age it till next Christmas or should I drink it before we get to far from it?  You be the judge and chime in on my FaceBook page or as a comment on this page.  What should I do with my second bottle?

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays - OK, a little late for that but I still have a few Xmas Beers stored away in the beer fridge.  Time to start getting through them before it gets to late.  So, this beer was a gift from the owner of Fat Head's himself - Glenn Benigni.  I was lucky enough to meet him through a friend of mine and avid beer drinker of a newer brew crew of guys.  We get together on occasions to socialize, brew, cook, eat, and of course drink beers.  We always have a great time and good stories to be had.  My friend has known Glenn for some time and was nice enough to introduce me and my wife to him at lunch over my Christmas break.  I have nothing but nice things to say about Glenn; seemed well grounded, had a lot of great stories in the 45 minutes we hung out and generally seemed to care about his customers.  We talked about the new brewery Fat Heads is opening.  He is extremely excited on this venture and had nothing but great things to say about his master brewer.  I can also tell you that WAY BEFORE I ever thought I would get to meet the owner of Fat Heads (10 years ago when I moved to Pittsburgh), I found this brew pub in South Side of Pittsburgh.  I INSTANTLY fell in love with this bar.  If I'm not mistaken they didn't even have their own brew at that time.  It was just a pub of FINE BEER and INCREDIBLY tasty bar food that is EXTREME.  Don't believe me check out their FatHeads Pittsburgh website and menu.

Already a paragraph in and no beer review.  Well, as I said, there is a story to every beer.  Tonight's story is a war story of parenting.  This will definitely be a challenge to get through all 366 days; I just didn't realize the hurdles would would be this early on the track.  This beer was opened at dinner time.  Shortly after a decent meal made by my lovely wife, I sat down to have a few sips of this brew to evaluate.  I definitely got 6-8oz of beer down and then the challenges came.  The challenges of cleaning the kitchen, getting the children to listen, to help clean up and stop fighting, get them bathed/dressed and ready for bed without pulling my hair out (or theirs with the brushing and hair drying, and shampooing - silly girl hair :) haha ).  Basically, most of my parenting 'career' has been a constant check on myself as to what happened/what is happening/what will happen and most importantly how can I improve for the future in parenting.  Also, hoping that my parenting style will of course create a well rounded intelligently strong adult capable of tackling the world with their own bare hands.

Our girls our 6 and 3 and are the most beautiful wonderful happy girls I have ever had the pleasure of spending any time with ever.  This makes those goals above a constant factor in my head that I doubt from day to day.  I count my blessings every day and every night that I am surrounded by the love of such a wonderful family.  As the quote goes, nothing worth having is ever easy.  Parenting is hard.  Its a never ending challenge of educating, pleasing, disciplining, rewarding, crying, smiling, laughing, all in one day.  And then wake up the next morning and do it all over again.  In the end, we just try to lay down at night - pray to god (and/or whatever your belief may be) that we are doing a good job.  Because, its a never ending struggle that is COMPLETELY worth it in the end.

So, that said, Glenn - I apologize I can't give a fair review on this brew!  And I'm sad that I didn't get to enjoy it a bit more then I did.  I did finish this beer a bit later after the troops settled in and the brew sat around and warmed to room temperature.  What I can tell you was that I will definitely be looking to have it again as it did taste solid.  I tasted a nice honey sweetness to it.  The Christmas spices were definitely present but in a very smooth fashion that is not overbearing.  It pours a nice clear red'sh brown color.  Also, the warming of this beer did not in any way hinder the taste of this beer.  It was as good - if not actually a bit smoother and maybe a bit 'bourbon like' at room temp.  Over all very very pleasant beer... just wish the night was a bit more calm and nice to really get to enjoy this beer as it was intended.

NOTE:  As stated above - this beer was a gift from the owner so please take that into consideration.  I am definitely trying to be as unbiased in my review(s) as possible.  And I want to thank Glenn again for the free sample.

This is a one big brew - weighing in at 12% alcohol it packs a wallop.  You can tell how big it is by the shadow on the back wall (guess I have to improve my photography ability through this year also)!

Palo Santo Marron pours a black syrupy goodness into a tall glass.  This is THICK, dark, with a creamy thick head.  This is a beer that you must be careful with or you could get a splinter drinking it has so much wood flavor built in.  I definitely need to work on my nose for this experience.  As I do get some sort of nice floral notes from this but to describe the smell deeper then I would probably be making something up.  This is a BIG Imperial Brown Ale; true to form for an Imperial style.

I have had a few in the past and is definitely on the top 25 list for me personally.  It has a sweet caramel flavor with some hints of vanilla floating through.  The bottle explains these flavors come from the 10,000 gallon wooden brewing vessels in which the the yeast is fed to create the alcohol within this beverage.  I had watched a video on the history of this beer and these vats.  The wood is a Paraguayan Palo Santo wood.  It is an extremely dense wood that adds an extremely complex taste to this brew.  The alcohol definitely kicks you to the curb at the 12% abv.  One 12 oz sitting with this beer and you will be warmed through the night.

I picked this as beer two since some of the voters came back with Dogfish Head as the winner of my voters pool.  In general, I haven't found a DFH that I haven't liked.  I love what Sam has created down in Delaware with his love and dedication to the craft.  I've read a few things on line, watched many Youtube clips, and have been sad not to see the Brew Masters Series come back to television.  I love his concept that every beer has a story/history behind it.  I could say that Sam's concept is probably the inspiration to my blog and possibly the reason I started this.  Thank you Sam Calagione.  Please check out the DFH website when you get a minute.