Day Trippin'

Ah, Winter Vacation. I know that sounds completely back-asswards, but its so true. Oh how I love this time of year. No work, food, fun and frolic with family and friends, a little extra coin in the pocket. . . all three contributing to the western PA Winter Road Trip '07 concerning all things beer in which I was able to partake in yesterday. Nate was gracious enough to drive myself and Justin around to multiple beer-related destinations. Unfortunately Eli and Jon were unable to attend.

We started with a stop at The Commonplace Coffeehouse for an obligatory caffeine fix, then off to North Country for lunch and a sampler. Some tasty stuff. We then loaded up a couple growlers and headed south to Hereford and Hops (Cranberry Edition) for what turned out to be some rather average offerings. There was an interesting "finish" to all of the beers, probably related to the water profile (I only sound smart here thanks to Nate). I must say the Portersville Porter, though, was a tasty treat, being my first taste of a Baltic Porter. This may end up being one of my favorite styles. We'll have to see how it goes.

From H 'n' H, we traveled south to Wexford for a stop at Three Son's Dogs and Suds. Nice bottle selection. Not as wide-ranging as D's SixPax and Dogs, but slightly better pricing. I picked up a few offerings. We then hit Country Wines to procure some homebrew supplies for Nate, then on to East End for Growler Hours. Lots of folks jammed into a rather small area, all clamoring for free samples of the delicious nectar the Scott offers, which included on this night The Bitter End and Snow Melt, plus Three, EEBC's Third Anniversary Ale. I brought home a Grisette growler and one of the Three's for consumption.

There was one last stop to make, which was D's. It was a busy Thursday night, but after a few minutes perusing the Beer Cave, we were able to find a table and grab dinner and a pint. After the much needed sustenance, we finished our shopping in the aforementioned Beer Cave, rounding out a great little road trip to "Da Burgh".

On the homebrew tip, we're about to really get into the swing of things here at Muckney Brewing, starting on New Year's Eve with some bottling and transferring, then some serious brewing starting in January. We're looking at (hopefully) three batches a month. We'll see how it goes.

Stay Tuned.

Cheers,

Dave