My blog n'at

1999 was the last time I recall drinking Franzia. It was a common to come home from work and find Griff sitting on my porch with a box of Franzia for us to drink while coding or playing Playstation.

To add to our classy style the box Chillable Red was pronounced “shay-aw-blay” and you drink it out of whatever is handy.

I don’t know what made me want to buy it after 12 years. I’m a snob about beer but when it comes to wine I really could care less. I know that Franzia is considered ghetto because its in a box but hey, craft beer comes in cans now too.

Earlier this summer when Ginny asked me if I would introduce her to craft beer I thought maybe she was setting me up for one of those prank shows. Since the day we met its been like a brother and sister bickering when it came to the best fermented beverage. She loves Zima and me… well you know. A conversation wouldn’t last more than a few minutes before she’d get me fired up over her love for the now extinct clear malt beverage (well here in the states at least. you can still buy it overseas). Even if she never said it I know she would shoot me looks saying “Hey Doug, this beer has lime and salt in it. YUM!”

We finally found time in our crazy parental schedules to meet up at Bocktown and let the lessons begin. How’d it go? Well you can either read “PittGirl Discovers Craft Beertopia” online or pick up the August issue of Pittsburgh Magazine which is now available on newsstands.

I don’t think what I did was anything more than what most craft beer fans would do. I absolutely love talking about craft beer and seeing the look in someone’s face when they have that “ah ha” moment. As advocates for craft beer it is up to us to sit down and talk to people less familiar with our favorite beverages and talk them through the beer. What do you smell? taste? breathe in when you drink and see if that changes the flavor.

There is a serious problem right now with, as sickpuppy and I like to call them, “Beer Snob Bitches”. This isn’t the beer geek that has a cellar full of homebrewing gear and aging bottles. I’m talking about the jerks whom belittle you because you’re not “at their level”. They’re all over the place and quite frankly give the rest of us a bad name. So what if you can pick out the yeast strain or all 7 of the hops used? No one cares but you. The elitism in a lot of circles is getting out of hand and it needs to end.

Craft beer is for celebration. Its for the appreciation of hard work, passion and craftsmanship. Craft beer is meant for YOU to enjoy and not for others to tell you what you should or shouldn’t like. There is a handful of new breweries opening in the Pittsburgh region this year and next. This area is a hotbed for incredible homebrewers and now they’re taking the jump from passion into career.

On the flip side I see a lot of reverse asshattery from the macro drinkers. Those who are hardcore Bud/Miller/Coors drinkers who put down craft beer fans because we like a higher quality beverage. They’re usually the ones saying you’re drinking a chick beer or “oohhh you’re all fancy” because they don’t understand craft beer and use the high school thug attitude of what they don’t know must be stupid.

Craft beer is genderless. There are plenty of great craft brewers who are women and in fact when this country was founded who do you think it was making the beer? Take a look at “Put the ‘ale’ back in female.” and read about a view of brewing you may not have considered before.

Will Ginny become a homebrewer? Eh could happen but for now chalk one up for the birth of a new fan. We’re not going to win over the entire beer drinking population but we can chip away at it one at a time.

cheers!

Its day 2 of craft beer week and I issued a challenge on Twitter/facebook in which response has been pretty cool so I’m making the same challenge here. I want you to go out and drink at least ONE craft beer this week. I’d prefer it was someone local to you but in some cases you don’t have much choice. Come back here or go to Facebook and post what you thought of it.

Here are some random beer facts.

• On average I drink 1-2 beers a week and its usually to write a review (with 2 kids aged 2yr and 4mo my time is limited so I make it count)
• I haven’t had a macro beer since December 25th
• My first beer was Golden Anniversary (I still have the bottle) that I swiped from my parents when i was 15.
• My first craft beer was Erie Railbender
• My first night in Pittsburgh my brother took me to Valhalla. It was my first time in a place that made beer and I asked for a Rolling Rock. I was also 22. suck it.
• Favorite beer is Southern Tier Unfiltered Gemini
• Favorite style is a double IPA
• Most expensive bottle I ever drank was $475 (original bottle of Sam Adams Utopias MMII) and of course that was on You Tube
• I have 20 bottles of beer I’m currently aging with the average at 2yrs.
• I once owned a beer fridge but it met an untimely end. Another will be purchased.
• I own a homebrewing kit but have yet to use it. I’m waiting for the rain to stop and Lushie to go away for a weekend because apparently it smells.
• I have ideas/partial storyboards on 3 different documentaries I’d like to film someday. All dealing with beer in Western PA. I fear that Sebak may hunt me down though.

Today kicks off American Craft Beer Week in Pittsburgh and for nothing more than shameless self promotion here is a quick piece I wrote on it.

Pittsburgh is in a unique position. We have 8 breweries in Western PA with most being located in SWPA and there are smaller breweries starting up it seems monthly. Starting a brewery isn’t a fad and takes a considerable investment so each time you hear of one popping up take into consideration that this person believes 100% in the art and craft that they make. Its like any other business, you have a passion for something you think may work and wont invest your future in a halfassed plan. Well you could and if you have that money lets talk because i can help spend it.

Pittsburgh is still warming up to the idea of craft beer in mainstream market. I know Penn has been around for 20 years and blah blah blah but hear me out on this. 5 years ago when I helped launch Should I Drink That it was almost impossible to find a decent craft beer in a bar that wasn’t specifically made for that business. There were bars on the South Side who would stock a few bottles but now we’re seeing craft beer at ballparks and most of your restaurants are at least carrying Victory or some local offering from Penn, Churchbrew or Rivertowne.

This week I ask that you get out and visit some of these breweries or when you’re out to eat give a craft beer a try. If you’re not sure what you might like feel free to ask me either here or on twitter. Join our community on facebook and you’ll really get some good suggestions for fans. There are douchebags out there who will look down on you for what you may currently drink so screw them. This is what YOU like. I can offer suggestions on what you may enjoy drinking but I won’t think anything less of you for not liking it. No matter what you do there are elitist jagoffs who think they’re above everyone else. These are also the miserable pricks who have lost the understanding of craft beer. Drink it and enjoy however you want.

Cheers Pittsburgh! Lets make this a great week.

I’ll make more posts about Pittsburgh and craft beer this week. I’m geeked to talk of how great this city really is when it comes to kickass beer.

I don’t usually write posts as soon as I hear news but this time I have to. Today MegaBus will begin service in Erie and while yinzers may go “Erie? really?” let me point out a few things for you. If you’re familiar with MegaBus you already know that prices start at $1. I’m not joking, ONE DOLLAR! You can’t even get a city block on that much gas in your car. Honestly if you want a great overview of it check out this story from KDKA’s Jim Lokay.

Here’s where it gets good. The total trip is 2 hours long and the drop off point is Presque Isle Downs. It’s a C-A-S-I-N-O with HORSERACING! If you get tired of the casino or you’re like me and don’t gamble, there is Erie’s mass transit which also picks you up at the casino and takes you downtown and to the Bayfront. I encourage anyone who takes the trip to consider making a weekend out of it and in fact the tourism groups for both cities should plan a trip deal around it. “If you’re coming in from “x” via megabus to our city here is what you can do in 1 day..” I think I missed my calling somewhere as a trip planner.

If you’re traveling Pittsburgh to Erie your day can look like this on July 9th for a 1 day trip.

1. Leave from Pittsburgh at 7:15am, arrive in Erie at Presque Isle Downs around 9:35am
2. Stretch, play some slots and hit up the buffet.
3. 3pm is post time for the horse races
4. Catch the 5:40pm EMTA into town
5. 6pm get off at 13th and State Street and walk 2 blocks to BrewErie for dinner and craft beers brewed on site or ride the bus down to the lake and have dinner on the bay while watching the sunset
6. 8pm catch the EMTA back to the casino and you’ll have 1 hour left to gamble before your 9:35pm bus takes you back to Pittsburgh by midnight. If you’re not exhausted yet you still have time to hit up a couple bars in Pittsburgh.

If you don’t want to hit up the casino the EMTA will take you into downtown Erie where you can either walk around or catch a taxi to Presque Isle and spend the day at the beach.  Honestly with this plan there should be some kinda shuttle to Presque Isle from downtown. If anyone in Erie knows of one, leave it in the comments.

total travel price for 1 person – $6.50 (plus bus fare which is $1.10 one way)

If you’re traveling Erie to Pittsburgh your day can look like this on July 9th for a 1 day trip.

1. Leave Erie at 2pm and arrive at 4:10pm in Pittsburgh at 10th St and Penn Ave (Convention Center)
2. Walk around the Strip District or through downtown checking out the city and grabbing a bite to eat
3. 7:05 Pirates vs Cubs
4. Game should end around 9:30-10pm. Post game you can head back into the city for a beverage or a walk around the cultural district. Maybe catch the T for a trip to Station Square and ride an incline to see the city
5. Return to the convention center for your pick up at 11:30pm to return to Erie at 1:45am Sunday

total travel price for 1 person – $6.50

The trip from Erie to Pittsburgh is more ideal if you want to spend a weekend or come down for an event at night and head back. Pirates and Penguins fans will be able to take advantage of this since both PNC Park and Consol Energy Center are walking distance (CEC is a tad of a hike). If there is a show in town that you want to see, the arrival at 4 is perfect to find a place to eat and relax before the curtain raises. If you want good craft beer check out Sharp Edge Bistro on Penn. Its pricey but you’ll have Belgian beers available you’ll never find in Erie.

By no means should you take my suggested schedule as gospel. Everyone has different tastes but this just shows you what is now available at a VERY LOW price if you want to get away for a day or 2.

By the way craft beer loving yinzers, Beer on the Bay is coming up in Erie. MegaBus may give a whole new meaning to beer run and I think SIDT may have a plan for you.

cheers!

It was 5 years ago on May 5th that the first episode of Should I Drink That was released. Since then the show has been downloaded over 1.25 million times,  featured in countless print/radio/tv outlets across the country and are recognized as an entertaining and educational resource for craft beer advocacy.

What started as 2 drinking buddies talking into a webcam one night in 2006 has blossomed into a cult following with fans all over the world. We felt a need for a show where you could listen about craft beer without the snobbishness and ask questions that you may shy away from because some self proclaimed beer expert was belittling you.

We do this show out of passion. Craft beer is meant to celebrate innovation, flavors and exploration of your own palate.  You’re supposed to have fun with it and not be some elitist prick looking down on people. We offer suggestions on what you may or may not like but that is the beauty of craft beer, everyone’s taste is different so don’t ever feel ashamed for what you like. Craft beer is made for your enjoyment, not for judgement.

Because of this show we’ve been able to experience craft beers from all over the world that the average drinkers never will. We’ve made very good friends and love every single one of our fans!

I’ve always beat around the bush and avoided answering a lot of questions about the show. Not because I didnt know the answer or was ashamed, just some things I didn’t feel like sharing or wanted to make shit up. So here you go, answers to a lot of the questions we get. If you have any feel free to leave them for me in comments.

1) Where did the show name come from?
The original name was going to be “monkeys with hand grenades” or “operation: shortbus”. We sent emails back and forth trying to figure out which one was best. We picked “Should I Drink That?” because it was the most popular thing we would be asked at bars. We knew each show would be able to answer that question.

2) What is with your names?
We decided right away to not use our real names. Not for privacy but hearing from “Doug and Brad” is kinda boring and craft beer is about having fun. Its entertaining. Brad has always had a sick sense of humor so sickpuppy just fit. Father Spoon comes from the podcast which inspired SIDT called The Real Happy Hour. I’ve been called “spoon” since college so the “father” part came from a forum post over there where I started forgiving people for stupid things they did while drunk but the penance would be a drink. I still have the fake collar I made and took a pic wearing that coined the name. You can thank a man named Kurt Johnson.

3) How long did we expect it to last?
Not more than a couple shows. We got rocked that first show and sickpuppy had to go close on his new house that next morning. I think we had material for 3 shows and figured after 5 that would be it because we would run out of material. Our stats went from a couple downloads from friends to a few hundred. Every anniversary we say “only one more year…”, Obviously we never listened

4) DFH 120 chug. What don’t we know?
a) Dick Hammer is a real paramedic and no that’s not his name. In fact he didn’t have one until I blurted it out b) The “10 minutes later” was filmed on my shitty digital camera and was 100% real. It really messed with my head. c) That was  filmed on Good Friday and I had fasted the entire day (I’m catholic).  We shot it at night. d) I had threats against me because of it e) Dogfish Head emailed us about it. Sam and his crew said they loved it and invited us to the brewery. Suck it haters! f) There were 18 pages in the ratebeer.com forums wishing I would die or was dead. we have a pdf of it somewhere g) the video has been viewed over 50,000 times. h) One guy on you tube hated me so much because of it he made a series of videos mocking me. Apparently I really pissed him off.

5) Random facts

• Over 1.25 million downloads. Number of those that are my wife – 0.
• I’ve lived in 3 different places in that time. “Studio B” was a running joke with us. We’ve only recorded there once and it was a garage.
• Studio B is in fact being built, thats no shit. I’m trying to figure out the power I need right now.
• I can’t drink most stouts without getting sick.
• Since the start of the show I’ve lost my dad, gained 2 sons, bought a house, won a car and got my first gray hair.
• Because of the show I learned the skills for my current profession
• I wouldn’t be where I’m at professionally and in a new career if it wasn’t for the show.

Its been about a week since news of the impending sale of Iron City Brewing to a NY investment group broke and in that time I’ve heard everything from how tragic it is to “they’re still around?”.  I’m writing a hopefully  unbiased review of the situation for examiner but on here, screw it lets chat and I need to vent.

Iron City makes shitty beer. plain and simple. Flavorless almost transparent swill.

IC had its place in Pittsburgh history and thats where it should remain while today its a shell of what it use to be. Kinda like that aging rocker who puts on the leather pants one more time while his gut hangs over. Iron City should have been put out its misery years ago but because like most things in this town, people can’t get go the past no matter how beaten it is.

Folks, its not even made here anymore. Its in Latrobe.

Iron City tried to reinvent themselves with a new marketing push a few years ago but they never improved their product. Instead they tried to make the already bad product seem cool and hip. The only people who were able to make a shitty beer popular again was PRB and they had a nationally recognized brand to jump from. IC, well if you weren’t from Pittsburgh odds have it you had no clue wtf it was.

People have suggested they try to reinvent themselves. Me? You fix that brewery you abandoned, spend money on improving your product and reposition yourself as a serious brewery. Otherwise, take that puppy out to the field and put it down before it becomes even more of an embarrassment to a failed Pittsburgh legacy.

Last week I spent a couple days in Baltimore so I could accept my award for Silver at the CASE II ceremony.  Let me rephrase that. I got all Smokey and the Bandit on that shit and went there and back in 24 hours including a dinner, ceremony, bar hopping and visit to a kickass museum.

Lets recap.

I won an award for my daytime job and was told myself and my co-worker could travel to accept the award. Gassed up the car, got the XM working again and started out on the 4.5 hour trip.

The Drive
I’ve never been to Baltimore so this was new to me, obviously. We took rt40 most of the way and saw some of the most incredible scenery that PA/MD has to offer. I can only imagine how kickass it is in the summer time. My car almost died climbing mountains.

The Roadtrip Food
We lived off Subway for every meal. Mostly because cold cut combos are like crack to me but also that meant extra beer money.

Baltimore – The first impression
I’m spoiled by being able to drive through Ft Pitt Tunnel and awakening to the glory that is the golden triangle and Pittsburgh. Every trip is like this one. Coming into Baltimore though was more like drivingon into a Detroit and Cleveland bastard child. Demilitarized zone.

Accommodations
We stayed at the Days Inn Inner Harbor and have to say this is the best Days Inn ever made. Talk about luxurious! I wish every one of their hotels were this nice. Its inexpensive and right next to First Mariner Arena plus walking distance to everything we had to go to. $80/night. DO IT!

The Ceremony
I loved being able to talk to others in the same field of work being honored. It was only 2 hours long but we had the best conversations along with the freshest sushi and killer Italian meats. We got the loudest applause out of everyone for our work with the students and the tours. I’m damn proud of how that turned out.

Bar Hopping
It started raining so we didn’t get to hit much. We hit a couple bars before settling on Pratt St Ale House since it was around the corner from us.  This is a must stop for any craft beer fan! The beers on cask were heavily and the samplers were an indulgent delight.

The Photos

Overall
The Inner Harbor is absolutely amazing and I will be going back this summer when I can spend some time to appreciate everything. There’s a fest in August with a bunch of us beercasters that I may have to go for. I wanna catch a game at Camden Yards and hit up the attractions.

I’ve been a known advocate for craft beer for at least the last 5 years because of Should I Drink That but like every fan I have a weakness. Sometimes you just want to tie one on with something cheap that reminds you of simpler times like college or go back to your roots so you remember where you came from. I don’t care what the snobs say, everyone has one and for me that beer is Beast Ice.

I should say “was” me.

I owe it to my readers and myself to stay on course so with that I’m going to try and not drink one macro all year. Why may this seem difficult? We go to a lot of wedding receptions, sporting events, tailgates, private clubs and picnics where that is the only fermented beverage of choice. If I’m at one of your functions and I drink a coke don’t be insulted. Its not you its me

Baby O’s arrival has changed everything. Previously with Teaspoon I was able to put him to bed on a Saturday night around 8 and by the time Lushie was sleeping I could either go out or pick up a cheap case to get ripped while in chat or playing Xbox. Now my time to consume is very limited and won’t be wasted on fizzy yellow stuff.

It comes down to appreciation. My free time is very limited and valuable so I owe it to myself and to my palate to savor these moments. I’m not going to stop writing reviews but may scale down to only doing some choice events. Its mainly the in between time that has changed. I’m not going out making $400 beer runs anymore (or at east that I’m telling lushie about) but I will make a stop on the way home to pick up a beer for after the kids are in bed.

I’m working on finishing up the basement so I have room to start brewing/bottling plus add storage area for the beers I want to cellar. All of these things are to help progress my appreciation for craft beer and its culture. There are so many different aspects that I need and want to learn.

When June comes around and I get my degree I’ll be curious how I’m doing but it comes back to my theme for this year. A year of focus.

July
We did that moving thing which pretty much consumed our entire month and turned in our keys to the skid row of Cranberry. The sky was more blue that day and birds chirp was sweeter. SIDT was featured as a “What’s Hot” on iTunes. I think the summer heat made people delusional

August
I had my first tour of the Pens new home, Consol Energy Center. This was big for me because, well hockey is life.

September
Its official, baby 2 is on the way. We had known for a few months but finally made it public. Steel City Big Pour 4 was a huge event for SIDT. Our second booth allowed us to play more with the live podcast plan. Well recorded live but it was still cool to have beer runners and brewers coming up asking to talk to us. All of this was made possible from our live debut at the Big Tap In back in April which we’ll be doing again in 2011. I did my first solo session at Podcamp Pittsburgh. It was a blast because for once I wasn’t talking about SIDT but social media in higher ed. I love social media. I love to talk about it and I love help people understand it. I should probably be charging for it but honestly with my schedule its more of a hassle to figure out a rate structure. Though, that was 2010 thinking, we’ll see about 2011. Daddy has some diapers to pay for

October
Fun thing about being a dad, taking the kid to the pumpkin farm. Pens open their new barn and while I loved the place there was a lot to work on. I found my first grey hair. *UGH* 5 year wedding anniversary proved that we just lost track of time making babies. I found something in my basement while cleaning that was totally badass. A rather preggers Lushie chased kids down the street for smashing our pumpkin and made one wet his pants.

November
Lushie and Jackson went away for one last weekend so I lived it up and had some of the best Pho in the area after a night at the BEV Lounge. Teaspoon microwaved his sneakers and I haven’t stopped laughing since. Lushie was told to take it easy so I cooked the entire Thanksgiving meal. Everyone survived. SIDT was named a finalist in the Podcast Awards for the 3rd time.

December
Lushie and I took an afternoon to ourselves and visited the Vatican Splendors. Most people don’t think of me as the religious type but hey, you learn something new about me. We took our former landlord to court and won our security deposit back. Funny that we had to “win” back our own money rightfully owed to us. It also taught me about how dishonest and shady people can be even when they swear they’re honest. This Christmas holiday I also got the greatest gift of all, my son Owen. With that I published a log of everything I was thinking from conception to birth. Final cap of the year was getting tickets to the Winter Classic Alumni Game and Winter Classic.

2010 was an incredibly busy year. More than we ever anticipated and I’ve never been so overwhelmed in my life. Its because of everything I have learned this past year that in 2011 I’m going to shift gears and focus more on my family, the house and my career. I graduate in June so that will be one burden off my shoulders. School, work, buying a house, moving, trying to get it organized, having a baby, trying to get SIDT to the next level and getting a side writing job off the ground was intense and I realized I need more balance.

We’ll see what 2011 has in store.

I never thought about it until a few people asked me if I was going to do a recap of 2010 as I did 2009. What the hell why not! Lord knows it was a batshit crazy year!  I’ll break this up into 2 parts so you don’t fall asleep.

January 2010
Still early into my new job and fighting the first of 2 major blizzards I saw RMU pull off one of the biggest upsets in college hockey for last year as they defeated #1 Miami. Even with the storm we had a bigger crowd than previous and I handled the pr/socialmedia for the event. Pho-down, Tweet-up was one of the great times in early 2010. I’m a Pho addict (I get cravings like crack addicts) and this night I went for the kingpin of dishes at my favorite Pho place where I finally had tripe and it was amazingly good. We also started the search for our first house knowing that the incompetence of our landlord was detrimental to our family.

February
Thanks to an article in the Post Gazette I made a $400 craft beer road trip to Boardman to the “#1 Beer Store in the World” Vintage Estate. A trip that would turn into a friendship with owner Phill, the most kickass man in Boardman It is my beer heaven when I need to get away. Snowmageddon brought us Betty White’s Vagina and a certain little Teaspoon turned 1.

March
Holy publicity! First there was the write up in Pittsburgh Magazine and also an interview with the Wench. The highlight though came from an interview I got to do with craft beer icon Lew Bryson about the beer raids in Philly.

April
I ate the Burger King Bacon Cheese Whopper and KFC Double Down without dying, saw the last regular season game at Mellon Arena and had a run-in with some freak ass potential neighbor we called The Sarge.

May
SIDT turned 4, got approved for a house and we had a walk for Teaspoon. Since his bro is a preemie now also the 2011 walk  should be a big one.

June
Highlight of podcasting to date was VIP interview and hanging out backstage with Zane Lamprey. His people came to us Finally became a homeowner when I closed on my first house. Teaspoon whizzed on the floor in a fitting display of how our landlord treated us. Started writing for examiner.com as the Pittsburgh Craft Beer Examiner which couldn’t have came at a more hectic time of my life. I’m not happy with the amount of content that has been posted but that will change in 2011. There is a lot planned for it and I hope yinz check it out.

Tomorrow – July thru December