The Haul

Everyone who knows football has heard of "The Catch." Anyone who knows Steeler's football knows "The Tackle." Now, in the Pantheon of great moments, I introduce to you: The Haul. Now, I will be the first to admit that a score like this takes teamwork. I'd first like to thank Nate for driving and sharing this great day with me. I'd like to thank Ron, for his vision in opening Vintage Estates Wine and Beer. Finally, I would like to thank RateBeer, a place where I can learn about these wonderful establishments. I'm not going to go through and list all the beers I picked up, because there are a lot. Let's just hit some high points:

• Alesmith Speedway Stout
• Cantillon Bruocsella 1900 Grand Cru
• Rochefort Trappistes 8
• Rochefort Trappistes 10
• Westmalle Tripel
  
• Allagash Musette
• Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti
• Brooklyn Local 1
• St. Bernardus Abt 12

...you get the picture. If you get a chance to head out to Boardman, OH, do it. If you think you got a good price for a beer somewhere in Allegheny County, you are most likely wrong. All the prices were about 1/2 of what I pay here. It is a sobering kick to the reproductive organs when you see a beer you purchased a week prior for 6 dollars less a bottle. Ouch. I really wanted to dig in as soon as I got home. However, some of these will be outstanding with some age on them, so I must be patient. I really can't say too much about this place and how great a store it is. Ron is a great guy and obviously loved to talk about beer. Very knowledgeable about his wine collection as well.

As if the day didn't have enough excitement, we stopped at growler hours at East End in Pittsburgh. Since there weren't a whole lot of people there, we got to sample a lot of the beers and talk to Scott a little bit. We even got a little nipper of the Monkeyboy Hefe that will be released in the spring. All I'll say is I'm lookin' forward to that one. We came home to an excellent Homebrew Club meeting. It was just a spectacular day. I recommend you try it. If nothing else, we are going to have a lot of sampling going on while we are brewing the RIS this Saturday. Luckily, I only have 3 vanilla beans, so I don't think we'll have a repeat of the Dark and Mysterious.

Banzai!
Justin