My blog n'at

Pittsburgh may be down 3-1 in the 2012 NHL Eastern Conference Quarterfinals to Philadelphia but one thing is for sure, they put a humiliating beating on the Flyers on their ice last night.

Odds aren’t in their favor to win the series because overcoming 3-0 in best of 7 is almost impossible. That’s what most people would say about scoring 10 in Philly during the playoffs.

Pens win 10-3.

Game 5 in Pittsburgh tomorrow night.

DO IT!

We may not be Irish but we do like to celebrate it! Today I’m cooking dinner for the family with this kickass recipe for  Beer-Braised Corned Beef from my good friend Phil from My Life As A Foodie. He knows food and great craft beer and I like to enjoy both so what could go wrong right? I’ll let you know how it turns out.

What are you doing to celebrate today? Here is my suggestion.

or El Nino or whatever it is in heaven above that has given this as our 15 day (and month of Feb) forecast:

Now if this holds true it will pose a few problems:

1. Hobos living under the bridges wont know wtf us going on. This will totally screw with their hibernation.
2. The Occupy people just caught a huge break if they’re still camping out. damn.
3. The Mayans probably did predict this & we’re all goners in December.
4. PennDOT will find some reason not to patch holes.
5. If I have to cut my grass I’m cutting someone.
6. I think it’s God’s way of telling me to get outside and exercise or else.
7. I can’t throw any more snowballs at Teaspoon

Plus side if this holds up:

1. I’m wearing shorts to Pens games
2. I don’t have to buy any more salt
3. I can brew outside
4. It buys me time to get the house properly insulated and fix more of whatever Capt. Obvious did.
5. My birthday is going to be very comfortable

When I wrote the “2012: realistic” post I wasnt sure what was going to happen next. I knew what I wanted to start doing but getting there was a mystery. Someone I follow on twitter said she was “streamlining life” and cleaning up her followers. While it may sound crazy, social media has become a key part of the daily life of people.

Organizing the mess
Over the MLK day 3-day weekend, and thanks to finally having a full night of sleep, the organizing bug crawled up our butts and we got to work. Monday I heard a faint cry for help coming from the basement. I went downstairs to find someone had put them self into a corner from falling boxes.

The day was spent with a solid 7 hours in the basement cleaning out junk that moved with us and damn did it feel refreshing. Granted I still have the stuff that Capt. Obvious left here when we moved in but now we have a floor! The Christmas and holiday decorations are in one section, summer and spring have a shelf and an area was reserved for things we still need to go through (mostly photos and things we were too lazy to sort when moving). I’ll still need at least 1 more solid day of it but we are SO close to being done.

The boxes we did go through furnish pictures that I haven’t seen before or forgot that we had. Plenty of wedding items I forgot about and some childhood memories that I didn’t even realize came with me. There’s still a whole shelf of those boxes I haven’t gone through yet and not sure if I should. No one wants to see me in 6th grade  That picture above was when we first moved in almost 2 years ago. The pile has doubled since with a couple holidays and birthdays under our belts plus there are boxes from 2007 in there.

The garbage men hate us. When they came this week we had a mountain of boxes and junk waiting for them. While the next load wont be as bad, it will be heavy. I have some cement and wood that need to find a home.

To finish off our day we upgraded Teaspoon’s room. He’s had a single bed for over a year but now we put the headboard on and raised it up a little bit. I’ve also started hanging framed sports photos in his room which once were in my room. Feels kinda cool seeing him appreciating the same things you did.

The inaugural Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week is now official! Logos and a webpage make things official right? To say I’m psyched for this is a bit of an understatement as I’ve been involved on one of the planning teams for a few months. To see this growing from a small idea to what it is now, is incredible!

Last night was a who’s who of craft beer in Pittsburgh at one of the major planning meetings.  You should see more info coming soon on the website and also details of the newly created Pittsburgh Craft Beer Alliance  (which has already said to be “like a drunkard Justice League”). The week will be April 20-28, 2012 and will feature Pittsburgh finest craft breweries and craft beer restaurants.

Pittsburgh has an incredible food and drink scene that we want the world (and all of yinz) to explore.

That’s all I can tell you for now. In the meantime click the links below to connect with PCBW and if you’re on twitter start following the #pcbw tag.

Website: http://pittsburghcraftbeerweek.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pghcraftbeerweek
Twitter: http://twitter.com/PGH_BeerWeek

cheers!

Last night my father in law treated us to Golden Corral for dinner since he knew with the boys we needed something quick and if it was tasty that would be a bonus. After being stuck in the house all day doing work we just needed to get out for the night.

I have never been to a Golden Corral before. In fact, I’m not even one for buffet style places because I really don’t eat a lot in a sitting (I’m not fat, I’m cultivating mass) but it is fast and easy for the kids plus my good friend Jimmy swears by them. This night would prove to be a lesson in people watching.

If you’ve never been to a Golden Corral before its a buffet style dining establishment where  you can start with salads, go to chicken, steak, seafood/pasta and finish on deserts (for their online menu click here). Sounds pretty basic and kinda like a Ponderosa right? Hold on buccaroo it gets better.

1. the price – children under 3 eat free (score!) and our dinners were about $11 an adult.
2. the food – I never question my F.I.L. when it comes to food. The man has the same palate as me so if he says something is good, I listen. The quality of food was rating high with me. The fried chicken was juicy and crunchy, I asked for a medium rare steak and for one of the first times in a restaurant I actually got it the way I ordered it. Bourbon chicken was a dropkick to the mouth of spice. I never made it past those because I kept going back for steak but the Shrimp Alfredo looked amazing along with mac n cheese.
3. the service – the place was jammed with holiday shoppers and our servers were a level of politeness I rarely see. One kid was being a jag to his table but others we encountered were top notch.
4. the customers – Now there were a lot of normal folks eating but this is where you’re going to get your bang for the buck. You know that site People of WalMart? Well there should be one for here. I don’t know if it was the holiday season but as I was told online last night “you go there when you want to feel better about yourself”. Last night was a collection of 70′s Steelers shirts with matching tats, nascar jackets, missing teeth and some serious hardcore yinzers with 6 kids. Oh yeah and I saw a guy with a Charlotte Hornets Starter jacket and hat. The highlight of the evening was the table next to us enjoying a family meal with a very “manly” aunt who didn’t wear underwear. We all had a show.

I had a fantastic time eating with my family and can see why friends of mine have raved about this place. Strap on the feedbag and go to town Johnny, this is a quality place I’m going back to!

Chris Cornell is my favorite singer of all time. He’s above Eddie Vedder and all others and Friday night I got to spend 2.5 incredible hours listening to him make a guitar sing, cry, love, hate and bleed.

The show was held at the historic (isn’t everything in Pittsburgh historic by this point?) Carnegie Music Hall which is attached to the Carnegie Museum of Art & Natural History in Oakland.

Chris rocked out a set list and took requests from the audience for 2 hours before handing out a solid 30 minute encore. He covered songs stretching across his career from Temple of the Dog, his time with Soundgarden and Audioslave to his multiple solo collections. This wasn’t just a night for the greatest hits but for a man and his guitar to tell the stories behind the songs and why/how they came to be. He covered Led Zepplin and multiple Beetles songs before closing the night with a hair raising, goosebump inducing, tearjerker rendition of Blow Up the Outside World (my favorite song for those of you keeping track at home. Surprised its not Spoonman eh?).

Our view was fantastic also. 1st balcony section 4. No obstruction, just a straight up view of Chris.

In almost 20 years of being a Soundgarden fan this was my first chance to see him live and it was well worth the wait. I wont hold out another 20 years to do it again.

The show was everything I had hyped up in my head and I only wish there was someway to relive it again like I can with Pearl Jam (there are bootlegs of every show. Recording is welcomed!)

Here is the setlist I found online. Looks pretty accurate but take the net for what its worth.

1. Scar on the Sky
2. Ground Zero
3. Hope and Promise Fade
4. Can’t Change Me
5. Be Yourself
6. Wide Awake
7. Fell on Black Days
8. Call Me a Dog
9. Hunger Strike
10. You Know My Name
11. Billie Jean
12. Outshined
13. Sunshower
14. Getaway Car
15. State Trooper
16. When I’m Down
17. Seasons
18. Wooden Jesus
19. Burden in my Hand
20. Mind Riot
21. Like a Stone
22. Doesn’t Remind Me
23. A Day in the Life

Encore:

24. Thank You
25. Black Hole Sun
26. The Keeper
27. Say Hello to Heaven
28. Imagine
29. Blow Up the Outside World

All in all it was a magical night but there were a few problems. Always is eh?

1. No photography – This is an absolute bullshite rule and I don’t mean professional cameras, I’m talking about your cell phones. During the whole show we were constantly distracted by ushers flashing their lights in everyone’s faces telling them to stop taking photos or they’ll take your phone. Even if you were texting (why weren’t you watching the show?) you still got harassed. When we entered the venue the ticket taker asked to see our phones and if they took pictures we would have to hand them over. We chuckled and kept walking.
2. Heat – The seats are small and very close together. With a sold out show it was next to impossible to get air and after almost 3 hours one of the ushers finally opened a door for us.
3. Drunks – I don’t care what state of mind you’re in but if you yell Free Bird over and over you’re going to get beat down. Better yet you shout out after every song the same title for him to play and when he does play it you say “Oh, I meant something else.”
4. Recording – if the artist isn’t going to record the show for later release then why can’t I have a pocket recorder on me? I’m not saying you need to walk in with a studio but I saw a guy with a small handheld in his shirt and you’d think he was strapped with a bomb.  I would love for a copy of last night’s show so I can relive it over and over again. This is where Pearl Jam and KISS do it right
5. Merch – I really wanted a shirt but $30? Didn’t happen. Thought maybe I could get one online a little cheaper and I was wrong, merch from the show isn’t even online. I would have gladly paid for a hoodie or make someone else buy me the shirt for Christmas.

Well there it is, the first batch. This was actually bottled last Wednesday but its taken forever for me to get back online.

The process for doing this was amazing because it couldn’t have been done without video conferenceing. I called sickpuppy over Skype and angled my laptop camera so he could show me what was what and what I had to do. He’s been homebrewing for almost 20 years so having someone with that experience at my disposal was a HUGE help.

The biggest pain of the process was the sanitation. It took what felt like forever to sanitize each of the bottles for a few minutes and then the instruments I would be using. I found out previously that I was going to be short on bottles so I picked up a case of empty 12oz for $11.99 at South Hills Brewing Supply (which is my new frequent stop).

The auto-siphon and bottle filler amused me constantly and while talking to sickpuppy and already I’m thinking how I can upgrade some equipment to make it faster. One thing that puppy had stressed to me was practice practice practice so I can learn my kitchen and my setup to see what works best and most effective. This is where Skype played a key roll also, he was able to see my setup and suggest what to move around.

The final count was 36 12oz bottles and 4 22oz. Stated the whole brewing process at 5 gallons and ended at 4.5 so I’m pretty happy about that. Still no name for the beer and since this batch should be done carbonating next week at the earliest I’ll know then what I may call it.

I’m sure I’m not alone when it comes to fear of the dentist. Prior to a couple weeks ago I’ve been to the dentist twice since I’ve moved to Pittsburgh and for good reason, the person I saw before tore my mouth apart and said I needed $2000 in dental work that I didn’t need.

I never liked the dentists in Erie and I’m pretty sure one of them got their license out of a car in Mexico.

6 years ago I had most of my silver fillings (from when I was a kid) replaced with some white filling material. Well one of those fillings fell out and after I heard good things about a local dentist I decided to go in. He inspected the hole and said that most of the white fillings would need replaced again because they were poorly done but the one that fell out will need some work. Downside was that the next open appointment I could get was in November (I was in early Sept). He said that the hole wouldn’t be that bad and I should be fine. I wasn’t.

Shortly after brew day I started getting really bad toothaches and headaches. I called the dentist office and they were on fall break for the next couple weeks. Called the emergency number and no one called back. Happened to talk to my doctor and he took a quick look to make sure nothing was infected and prescribed a pain killer to help me out.

The pain kept getting worse and on the 11th I could barely talk because the pain was so bad. This day also happened to be Veterans Day so no one was opened. Thankfully we found one that answered their phone and was also close to me so I went in for an emergency check. He took a couple x-rays and then said what I didn’t want to hear. “You need a root canal… NOW!” 2 hours later and the worst pain I’ve ever felt, I leave and all of the pressure and pain is gone. However he didn’t finish the job because he’s not my regular dentist and said the guy I go to should be able to finish it and he didn’t want to interfere with any treatment he was giving me. I was cool with that so instead of putting a crown on he filled the tooth with cotton and sealed it up. Said it will be good for awhile.

This past Tuesday I get back to my dentist for a scheduled appointment and tell him what happened. He said he doesn’t do crowns or finish root canals so I would need a specialist and gave me the name of whom he recommends. In the meantime he fixed a couple of the fillings and sent me on my way.

Called the specialists office and they said they can’t do anything for me. Called back to the dentist office and the nasty woman working the phones says I never had a root canal, I must be mistaken and obviously I didn’t pay attention to her when she told me who to call.

I love this dentist. I fell no pain when he worked and I loved that he explained everything when he was working plus is very relaxing. His staff though is absolutely miserable to deal with which is unfortunate. I finally found someone I like and now I’m questioning if I should go back because his staff is that nasty.

I did find a specialist by where I work that will take care of the tooth in early Dec after and honestly I’m just anxious to get everything finished. I swear that you just cant find good people anymore when it comes to dealing with the public.

Saturday was an absolutely amazing day!  Started with heading down to the Strip District to check out a few beer places, pick up some ingredients, people watch the crazy Steelers yinzers, and partake in East End Brewing offerings from their growler shop in the Pittsburgh Public Market. It was there we met Kris and Andi who were in town to do their own craft beer tour of Pittsburgh. One is from Washington DC and the other Ann Arbor, MI which makes the Burgh the midway point. Good thing to know eh?  Being craft beer cheerleaders for our beloved city we gave them a list of places to go and had a couple beers with them. Amazing ladies and I hope they enjoyed their time!

Back at SIDT Studio B the brewing started to take shape. The fun thing for me was finally understanding the basics of the brewing process happening in front of me. Thankfully I did have someone with me because sickpuppy found an error with the instructions that were sent with the brewing kit and a quick call to Northern Brewer had it resolved. Thumps up for great customer service especially on a Saturday!

The whole process, including running out to find a thermometer which WASN’T included with the kit, took about 4 hours which was perfect. We wrapped up just as the sun set and it was time to transfer to the bucket.

There has been some serious bubble action going on the last few days and I’m looking forward to a gravity reading this weekend to see where we are. One thing the instructions didnt factor in was the need for more priming sugar so I made a run for that last night.

I like where this can end up going as a hobby. I don’t get to drink that much at home so expect to get some as gifts just so I can make a new batch.

We did also record a show when we were done so you can be expecting that soon. Until then I have a lot of reading to do and look into subscriptions

This Saturday I’m doing something completely new and it may surprise you to find out.  I’m brewing my first batch of beer!

A couple months ago I decided that I needed to find a hobby that would be something I could do at home and be relatively inexpensive. Free time to leave the house is hard to come by these days and if I could do it while the kids were sleeping (wait, that sounds shady) that would be perfect. Enter… homebrewing.

A few things have played into why I haven’t brewed before; from the lack of space and time to the kids. Arriving as a housewarming gift, my partner in craft beer adventures, sickpuppy, bought me a starter kit from Northern Brewer. Next my good friend Phil said “You can’t just do it to do it, you’ll know when it feels right.” and he’s absolutely correct. I have that passion to learn now and both of those guys are fantastic brewers.

This Saturday also happens to be national “Learn to Homebrew Day“. Honestly I didn’t even know such a beast existed until sickpuppy told me about it. Since I’ve never done it before I haven’t really paid much attention to homebrewing news.  I checked around the Pittsburgh area but didn’t see anything scheduled (really shocked at this) but I did find out that the guys at Erie Brewing will host an event on Saturday from 9am-5pm at their brewery. For more information you can contact them at info@eriebrewingco.com or (814)459-7741.

So what will I be brewing? I picked up the Innkeeper kit and will be adding in some additional hops. The thing that is attracting me most to home brewing is that, like cooking, you can make any recipe your own plus I can can focus on making what I consider the perfect beer. This batch should be ready by Thanksgiving so I’ll have a treat to look forward to and maybe some gifts for family to try out. A name has been chosen (which is why we’re using additional hops) and I can’t wait to work on a label. You’ll find out soon enough what it will be called.

If you’re in Pittsburgh and maybe this weekend is too soon (or not) to get started here are some local resources that you can use.

Supply stores – This is where you can pick up your starter brewing kits and then the packaged ingredients to get started

• South Hills Brewing Supply (South Hills)
• Country Wines (North Hills)
• Porter House Brew Shop (North of Cranberry)

Homebrewing clubs – Groups of friendly people making great beer and always willing to help out the newbies. Everyone has an acronym too.

• Three Rivers Underground Brewers or T.R.U.B.
• Three Rivers Alliance of Serious Homebrewers (T.R.A.S.H.)