For the record I have had this beer before but never a WHOLE beer. The only time I’ve had this previously was at a beer festival so technically I’m still living up to trying something new. In fact the last time I had this was 2006 at the All American Beer Festival during the 2006 MLB All Star Weekend in Pittsburgh.
East End is not only Pittsburgh’s best kept secret but also PA’s. Brewmaster/owner/washer/buyer/marketer/label guy/pimp/anything else for the brewery is Scott Smith. That’s right, it’s a one man show with many volunteers. What holds dear to me is that his brewing system is from the once home of myself, Foundry Ale Works. If you ever get the chance to say hi to Scott I highly suggest you do so. He’s a great guy who loves great beer. Or as his slogan says “Buy a good friend a good beer.”
Big Hop IPA is a super hopped up beer and is the first that came down the lines at East End. This time I’m drinking from a growler (1/2 gallon or 64oz) that was filled during Growler Hours this past weekend so it’s pretty fresh. If you’re following along, I was in Erie last weekend so sickpuppy from Should I Brew That (and my co-host from SIDT) picked one up for me.
The IPA pours a slightly hazy amber hue with little head (remember this is from a growler). After my 2nd and 3rd though I had a nice 2 finger head which died rather fast. Unlike most IPA’s I’ve had before this one has a faint aroma of hops which didn’t bode well with me at first since I like a balance of both aroma and flavor but this beer was packed with hop goodness. You’ll have a nice linger of hops on the back of your tongue so even when you finish a pint you’ll still have the taste to remind you of why this is a quality brew.
All good things said, the only downfall I found was that it seemed to be too carbonated. Not soda drink bubbly but noticeable but it won’t take away from the overall enjoyment of the IPA. When you’re in the area or see East End Brewing at a beer festival it is a must that you check them, err him, out. Thumbs up Scott!
ABV: 5.4%
IUB: 70
Hops: Centennial, Cascade
East End Brewing website
Yesterday you read about the shoplifter that kicked off another holiday weekend in grand old Erie PA, well today is a story to finish off the weekend.
Since the reason for all of us to be in Erie was to celebrate Easter we went to 11:30am mass at the local church. Amazingly we arrived early and found a seat in the back just before the balcony was opened and the sides became over crowded. We were roughly 4 rows from the back when 2 rows in front of us there was half of a pew with open seats and couldn’t figure out why. That was about to change.
An elderly couple came to sit down when this woman with crazy bitch hair lashed out “SEATS ARE TAKEN!!!”. You know the hair I mean. It’s not bed head or sex head but that bad teased 80s’s poof thing that you’d see today at a Dokken or Poison concert doing beer bongs out of used oil funnels. Lushie and I were at first shocked and then found it humorous as she did this to EVERYONE. It got to the point where she had her grade school aged son sit at the end to tell people that the seats were taken. This kinda insanity would never have happen when my dad was alive and the usher. He would have put the smackdown on this right away. Those ushers were a well oiled machine under his watch. This lady obviously had control of the situation.
10 minutes later her 2 younger daughters finally appeared after having been in the bathroom (everyone for 6 pews heard about it). Before they could enter the mom grabbed the son by the collar of his coat/neck/arm and yelled “GET OVER HERE!!!”. Then in one swoop picked the kid up and had him airborne next to her. Have you played Mortal Kombat when Scorpion says “GET OVER HERE!”? That’s what she sounded like.
For the rest of the mass this lady and her kids were fidgeting, talkin and showing off their French manicures. Thankfully mass was only 45 minutes long so we didn’t have to put up with this behavior very long. I did have to laugh, once mass ended they rushed to be the first ones out of church. Just like those people who leave events early to “beat the traffic”. All of us in the pews turned to each other and let out a chuckle. This is why I miss Erie. You can’t buy entertainment like this in Pittsburgh.
On a side note I did get to drive to Presque Isle and see Lake Erie frozen all of the way to Canada. If you get the chance to do so before it melts I suggest it. Wish I had my camera with me to capture some amazing shots but I’m sure there’s some on Flickr. Erie is only 2 hours max from Pittsburgh so all of you yinzers should make a day trip and head north.
With it being Easter weekend, Lushie and I drove up to the frozen north that is Erie PA to spend time with family. That right there may cause some giggles but rest assure this was no boring weekend and you’re about to find out in a 2 part series.
Due to a final (got a 90! wooha!) I had Saturday morning our trip was delayed an extra day. We had planned driving up on Friday so things would actually be ready on time (for Saturday as my mom’s house becomes a warzone for 5 adults and 3 kids) but instead I was in front of my laptop writing my last reviews for the semester. Oh plus I met up with Woy, Victoria and a cast of other for Happy Hour at Mad Mex the night before.
Saturday we rolled in mid afternoon and chilled for a bit. What surprised me most was that we had 4 inches of snow at our house in Pittsburgh but Erie had little to none. Odd indeed. The temp though was as cold as expected pushing the 32F mark. After my brother’s family arrived we did a once over of some things we might need for dinner and headed to Wal Mart in Harborcreek. In case you didn’t know, there are 5 Wal Marts in the greater Erie Area (including Edinboro). Yup… 5.
Most of you know that Wal Mart isn’t exactly on the threshold of the top of the gene pool. This past weekend in Harborcreek it was very apparent. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of normal people that shop there but good lord on this particular day it was booming with oddities. I saw couple people that I have known for years and talked to a little bit but also there were many moments that I was watching the cart because of the homeless crackhead convention walking around. Think I’m being harsh? Keep reading…
As we’re in checkout this older guy dressed like a bum keeps staring at us. At first I’m thinking “please baby Jesus don’t let this be a fan of the show.” until I realize he’s looking right at Lushie’s purse. We keep scanning items on one of those piece of shit self checkout machines and he keeps circling us. Everything was fine but the Smores Skittles fell out of the bag and we put them back in causing the head cashier to give us stink eye. As we’re leaving I see Crackhead getting closer and closer to us. I hold onto Lushie’s purse and tell her that if his hand touches this cart I’m taking him out. Yeah I was lookin to beat someone with our newly purchased “Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?” board game. Fitting since this guy apparently wasn’t.
As we hit the door I hear “Wal Mart Security, sir please stop!” I thought it was me but here they were scoping out the crackhead. We keep walking and saw this guy being asked questions outside while the rest of the security team searches him only to find a big bronze tin. The crackhead then takes off his stocking hat and THROWS it at the young guard. Apparently he thought it was a magic hat that would stop all in their tracks.
We watched the leg race (the guard was laughing as he kept pace while calling the cops on his cell) which wrapped around the parking lot and down onto Buffalo Road. Moments later we saw the state trooper haul ass and catch the guy only yards down the road. The pic above is the crackhead getting caught and being placed in the car.
moral of the story… hats don’t kill people but crackheads running into traffic are worth 50 points.
up next – Easter Mass behind SpazLady
More effort you put into researching teams is equal to the higher level of mental attention you need.
After day one I’m 12-4 in the 2008 Pittsburgh Bloggers March Madness Challenge and 15-1 in the Clarkehead’s March Madness for beer podcasters. Go ahead, ask me how much basketball knowledge I have… NONE. Besides Pitt I could care less if there is ever another basketball game. I do follow the NCAA tourney though every year because it’s my friends that make it a good time. The smack talk is what it’s all about.
The thing that bugs me about the tournament though are the hardcore fans that have to criticize everything you pick. There’s this one guy in my office who, no matter what your reasoning, will say “mmmmm kay and why would you pick THEM?” “mm hmmmmmmmkay!” If you pick an upset and were wrong (like I was with the Winthrop/Washington St game) he’ll say “ummm ok WHAT were you thinking?”.
Most people don’t know this about me but I rarely gamble. In fact the extent of my gambling is the lottery and church bingo. I have no desire to go to Vegas or Atlantic City to the visit casinos (though I’d love to go sightseeing and try the cuisine). For some reason it’s just never appealed to me. Now when I go to Erie this summer I want to take some shots at the horse races because I think it would be a cool thing to experience once. I tried the slots up there and got it out of my system but again I think with the right group of people I can see where it would be a fun time.
So today is day 2 for the tourney and I’m stuck at work. I have a couple projects to work on but this place is completely dead. I enjoy days like this because I can put on my headphones and crank up a few songs or podcasts without someone stopping by for support. Lunch is about to hit and since I am out of Fast Food Fish places to visit this day I’m going to hit our caf and see what they have to offer.
I’ll probably get the fish.
I’ve been waiting all freaking day to get a blog post together and since 90% of my company is gone now to watch the PITT game (go PITT!) I can finally get to typing.
The video above is a tribute to Robert Gordon Orr. *no he’s not dead* who happens to be one of my favorite hockey players of all time. Today Bobby Orr turns 60 so I thought that the video above would be a great way for me to share to those of you non-hockey fans the greatness that is #4.
- Named to the NHL First All-Star Team in 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974 and 1975.
- Awarded the Calder Memorial Trophy in 1967.
- Awarded the James Norris Trophy in 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974 and 1975.
- Won the Art Ross Trophy in 1969-70 and 1974-75, the only defenseman to ever lead the league in scoring.
- Awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy in 1970, 1971 and 1972.
- Awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy in 1970 and 1972, the first two-time winner of the playoff MVP award.
- Stanley Cup winner in 1970 and 1972.
- Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1979… at the age of 31
Honestly I could go on for hours about hockey but the NCAA tourney is on so getting *this* much of your time today is appreciated 
Here is one of the most popular pictures of all time in hockey and I’m sure you’ve seen it. Go ahead and click below to see Bobby’s winning goal for the 1969-70 Stanley Cup.
Ever since I started into craft beers I’ve heard nothing but good hype about Bear Republic and as of a few weeks ago PA finally made it to the distribution list. I did some research and found this listed as a strong ale, red ale and a Scottish ale soooooooo we’re gonna see what I think.
It has a hint of tea that’s close to a red and but is super hopped up. Your mouth is left with a nice pucker and hoppy aftertaste while sits a tad heavy on the tongue. It pours as a dark amber and leaves a new pillow fluffy tan head. The aroma is pretty tight as it’s packed with hops and a faint hint of citrus. If you’re a lacing nut you’re gonna LOVE the beer porn lace this leaves behind.
Overall it’s a delicious red ale but I’m not sold that it’s the cream of the crop as you’d read on Rate Beer or Beer Advocate. It ranks in my top 10 but not numero uno. If you’d like to pick one of these up I was able to purchase this for $6.50 at 3 Sons in a bomber bottle.
Bear Republic website
(pic from my wedding in 05)
OK, his birthday was actually last Friday but he was out of town and I wanted to make sure I got this posted when he was back. Bucco Bob turned the big 5-0 last Friday. Now I try to make it a point not to post much about my family, outside of me and Lushie at least, on here but I couldn’t let this one slide. I’ll be taking him out shortly for some fine craft beverages and to remind him that while someday I’ll be 50 it won’t be for 18 more years Then again I teased him when he turned 30 and here I am at 32. Maybe I should keep my trap shut
Cheers brotha!
There you have it, possibly the last of the Fast Food Fish Friday unless I can sneak one more in for Good Friday. Frankly I’m sick of fish by this point so I found it only fitting that I would end my adventure to a place known for fish, Long John Silvers.
You may recall that my first trip ever to LJS was this past Ash Wednesday and also the first time seeing “Dave”. Well Dave wasn’t here this time but surprisingly I get emails telling me they’ve seen him and to prove to you that he does exist, here’s a pic that was sent to me from the Strom Huelsman Podcast of Dave in action. Dave is a pimpdawg.
Now, your sammich… the bun is exactly what you would expect of McDonalds. Sesame seed bun. In fact it wouldn’t surprise me to find out they’re in bed together doing the nasty. The lettuce was shredded whichI was fine with because it was fresh and crisp and even the tartar sauce was a nice creamy flavor but the fish… SWEET JESUS was it good. I don’t know what batter they use but this was one awesome ass piece of fish. Yes, awesome ass. I snapped a piece of the deep fried cripsy goodness off and could tell that I had finally found my winner. Now because of the options that Sheetz offers I can’t say that it surpassed it so I’ll nail this one down as an A and 1/2 +. The fish was better quality but the overall sandwich experience was much better with Sheetz. Now if you don’t have a Sheetz by you then go to LJS.
Oh yeah, the buttered lobster bites are still hella insanely good.
Long John Silvers website
I’m taking this to video for Lent 2009.
Next Friday, if I don’t do fish, will be a special video treat for the holiday.
cheers!
Don’t rub your eyes, it’s not a mirage. That right there is the holy grail of beer. The rarest of rare (IMO at least). I present to you the 2002 Sam Adams Utopias. Currently on ebay this is going for $400 a bottle. Yeah, 1 bottle. This limited edition beverage was supposed to be a one time deal and each bottle is numbered.
I need to thank Drew for this one. He bought it when it was first released and while on his way here to visit me last week said “there’s no one else I’d rather drink it with who would appreciate it.” Imagine my amazement. Drew and I lived across the hall from each other at Pitt so we have a long history of beverages together.
from samueladams.com
“Truly the epitome of brewing’s two thousand year evolution, Samuel Adams Utopias® offers a flavor not just unlike any other beer but unlike any other beverage in the world. Its warm, sweet flavor is richly highlighted with hints of vanilla, oak and caramel. With an alcohol content of 27% by volume, its complexity and sweet, malty flavor is reminiscent of a deep, rich vintage Port, fine Cognac or aged sherry while being surprisingly light on the palate. And like the world’s finest after-dinner drinks, Samuel Adams Utopias is not carbonated and should be served at room temperature.”
Normally i’d type my review but guess what? Oh we’re not done, there’s VIDEO!
This is posted on the You Tube page for the SIDT podcast since we’re releasing it through the show. It’s almost 10 minutes long so crack open a beverage and enjoy!
OH! Also check out Episode 33 – Kiss our Blarney Stones which was just released also!
Links
Sam Adams website
Beer Advocate profile
Rate Beer profile
