A Great Tasting in Pittsburgh

On Sunday, August 9, several RateBeerians and a few non-RateBeerians met at noon at the Sharp Edge Creekhouse to enjoy a hot summer afternoon on the patio, tasting beer.

This was the second ‘official’ RateBeer Pittsburgh Gathering, long in coming after the first successful gathering in January 2008.  The success of both of these gatherings was due to the gracious hospitality of the Sharp Edge and its staff – and especially because of Hart Johnson (aka mtoast), who is responsible for making the Sharp Edge’s beer selection what it is today. Hart makes sure we have a place to sit undisturbed, plenty of glasses, water, and some great appetizers – not to mention the beers he contributes to the tastings. Between the two of us, we keep the beer flowing and do our best to prevent palate fatigue.

We decided after this event that we should get together a bit more often than every 18 months, simply for the fact that everyone brought so much great stuff that it was almost to get through all of them. We managed, I’m happy to report, though it took us almost 7 hours!  I tried to write down what everyone brought, but I’m sure I missed a few. Here was the line-up …

1. Yarpivo Originalnoe (cheapdark)
2. Copper Kettle Celebration Wheat (frothingslosh)
3. Odell 5 Barrel Pale Ale (mtoast)
4. Steamworks Third Eye P.A. (mtoast)
5. Copper Kettle Lucky 393 Grand Cru (frothingslosh)
6. Lost Abbey Gift of the Magi (sonicdescent)
7. Marzoni’s Mark’s Mash Hopped Pale Ale (nate)
8. Cuvee De Ranke (cheapdark)
9. Carnegie Stark Porter (??)
10. Dieu du Ciel Aphrodisiaque (beerman6686)
11. Pisgah Vortex I (Josh from B.A)
12. Klokke Roeland (mtoast)
13. Southampton Abbot 12 (??)
14. Baladin Super du Baladin (mtoast)
15. Otto’s Bourbon-Barrel Aged Jolly Roger Imperial Stout (nate)
16. Heavyweight Perkunos Hammer Imperial Porter (frothingslosh)
17. Red Star Santa’s Little Helper (frothingslosh)
18. Bullfrog Frambozen (mrchopin)
19. Captain Lawrence Smoke from the Oak (Rum Barrel) (mrchopin)
20. East End Silent Stout (EastEndBrewing)
21. Schloss Eggenberg Samichlaus Bier (frothingslosh)
22. Three Floyds Apocalypse Cow (beerman6686)
23. Surly Two (treyrab)
24. The Bruery Batch No. 1 – Levuds (mrchopin)
25. Bullfrog Beekeeper (nate)
26. Santa Fe Imperial Yippee IPA (nate)
27. Three Floyds Dark Lord Russian Imperial Stout (mtoast)
28. Lightning Old Tempest Ale (treyrab)
29. Alpine Beer Co. Exponential Hoppiness (beerman6686)
30. Captain Lawrence Cuvee de Castleton (sonicdescent)
31. East End Gratitude (’08 & ‘06)  (EastEndBrewing)
32. Portsmouth Kate the Great Russian Imperial Stout (mrchopin)
33. Hoppin’ Frog Barrel Aged BORIS The Crusher (beerman6686)
34. Boulevard Imperial Stout (mrchopin)
35. Lost Abbey Duck Duck Gooze (beerman6686)
36. East End Toaster – 4th Anniversary Imperial Stout (EastEndBrewing)
37. North Coast Old Rasputin Anniversary Bourbon Barrel Aged Stout (sonicdescent)
38. HORAL’s Oude Geuze Mega Blend (mrchopin)
39. Marzoni’s 5th Anniversary Ice Barleywine  (nate c/o hopsmoker) … not for sale/rating

So – quite an afternoon. There were highs and lows for everyones taste with many oohing & ahhing over the sour ales and impy stouts. A few special treats for me included getting a second taste of Bullfrog Frambozen, East End Silent Stout (Black Strap with La Prima’s Rachel Carson blend of coffee), the iced barleywine from Marzoni’s, the barrel-aged Jolly Roger (which seemed to improve after hand bottling some!), and Duck Duck Gooze.

The one kink in the afternoon was the temperature – we were outside on the covered (thankfully) patio on one of the hottest days this summer in western PA.  But we had plenty of ice and water, and all that sweating probably helped keep us moving. Everyone had a good time, and it was great to put some more faces to RateBeer names in addition to meeting a few BeerAdvocates and nonrating guests.

I’d like to give my special thanks to Hart for organizing the location and the servers, and to Scott Smith of East End Brewing for bringing a few specials along with him and hanging out with us all day.  Hopefully, we’ll be getting together again sooner than 18 months for our next tasting!