That last bottomless keg of Chocolate Covered Cherry Stout has finally kicked, so while we wait for "the next beer" to be ready, we're tapping a keg of Eye Opener Coffee Porter to hold the spot. It won't last long, so get in here soon.

The "next beer" will be an IPA and I'll tell you all about that in a bit.

Otherwise, the rest of the beers listed below are still on.
See you here soon! Cheers - Scott

On Tap at the Brewery this week: Big Hop IPA, Black Strap Stout, Monkey Boy Hefeweizen, Fat Gary Nut Brown Ale, our Drayman's Heather Scottish Ale, and Snow Melt Winter Ale.  And the still-lasting, last keg of our Chocolate Covered Cherry Stout.  (Cider and Pale Ryder are gone.)
See you soon!
Cheers-Scott

We're tapping our latest Session Ale at the brewery tonight - it #52 Drayman's Heather Ale that you can read about by scrolling down to the previous post.

On Tap at the Brewery this weekend: Big Hop IPA, Black Strap Stout, Monkey Boy Hefeweizen, Fat Gary Nut Brown Ale, and Snow Melt Winter Ale.  And the still-lasting, last kegs of "And sat down be CIDER", our Chocolate Covered Cherry Stout.  (Session Ale #51: Pale Ryder is out.)

In bottles at the Brewery this weekend: Gratitude 2010 (last day will be Sat 2/19/11), Eye Opener Coffee Porter, and Homewood Reserve 2010.

On Tap in at the Growler Shop in The Strip: Big Hop IPA, Snow Melt Winter Ale, Monkey Boy Hefeweizen, and Fat Gary Nut Brown Ale.  We'll also have pre-fills of Black Strap Stout.

See you soon! Cheers - Scott

Session Ale #52 "Drayman's Heather Ale" is a long-boil scottish ale that's been cool fermented, and has 3 separate heather additions.  One for flavor, one for aroma, and another "dry-heathering" done in the fermenter.  This beer is 4.2% abv, fitting nicely into our "Under 4.5%" Session Ale guidelines, that we follow... most of the time.

Some history: You may already know that hops don't grow well in the Scottish climate, so rather than pay the high prices for the hops imported from their "friends" in England, the Scottish crafted their beers to have very low hopping rates... certainly very little hops were used for such frivolities as flavor and aroma hop additions.  At those prices, hops were just used for bitterness, and even then as few as possible.  Local plants were often used as a substitute bitterness source, and since Heather was in abundance, it seemed the likely choice.  So we thought we'd give it a try here.

The long boil used to brew these beers develops more carmelization in the kettle which carries through to the glass.  And the cool fermentation temps give them a bright clear malt profile without all the esters you'll find in an English Ale.

But then again, I generally feel that way about any day of the week that ends in a Y.  Still, if you're with that special someone, sharing a special beer is always extra nice.  And if you're NOT with your special someone, at least you can have that special beer all to yourself!

On Tap at the Brewery this weekend: Big Hop IPA, Black Strap Stout, Monkey Boy Hefeweizen, Fat Gary Nut Brown Ale, and Snow Melt Winter Ale.  Plus this weekend we will likely run through the last kegs of  "And sat down be CIDER", our Chocolate Covered Cherry Stout, and Session Ale #51: Pale Ryder.  So consider this your LAST CALL for those 3!

Next up on tap when something kicks is another Session Ale.  This one is #52 for us, and it's a Scottish Heather Ale just in time for... the next time you come in to get a Growler filled?

In bottles at the Brewery this weekend: Gratitude 2010 (last day will be 2/19/11), Eye Opener Coffee Porter, and Homewood Reserve 2010.

On Tap in at the Growler Shop in The Strip: Big Hop IPA, Snow Melt Winter Ale, and Chocolate Covered Cherry Stout. Plus, a few Fat Gary Nut Brown Ale pre-fills, the last keg of "And sat down be CIDER" at the shop, to be replaced by Monkey Boy Hefeweizen once it kicks.

See you soon! Cheers - Scott

AT THE BREWERY IN BLACK:

On tap, there's Black Strap Stout, Fat Gary Nut Brown Ale, Snow Melt Winter Ale, and our Chocolate Covered Cherry Stout!
And in bottles, there's Homewood Reserve 2010, and Eye Opener Coffee Porter.

AT THE BREWERY IN GOLD:

On tap, there's Big Hop IPA, Monkey Boy Hefeweizen, Session Ale #50: "...And sat down be CIDER",  and Session Ale #51 Pale Rye-der.
 And in bottles, there's Gratitude Barleywine 2010 and a bit of that Wooden Nickel at the deeply discounted rate of 4 bottles for $30! (Details about why we're doing this are down toward the bottom of our F.O.D. page.)

I'll get the beer list for the Growler Shop up here late Thursday Night.  But expect some Snow Melt, Big Hop, and Chocolate Covered Cherry Stout in the mix.

See you soon!  Cheers - Scott

How did Gratitude Release Day go?  Have a look here for the recap, as well as some Gratitude Cellaring tips.

In case you hadn't heard by reading the Post Gazette this morning, Gratitude Release Day is this Saturday, January 22nd.  I hope you'll join us for what should be a lively day of BIG beer at the brewery. Details HERE.

ON TAP AT THE BREWERY:

Big Hop IPA, Black Strap Stout, Fat Gary Nut Brown Ale, Monkey Boy Hefeweizen, Snow Melt Winter Ale, Session  #49: Steam Beer, Session Ale #50: "...And sat down be CIDER" and this evening, the return of our Chocolate Covered Cherry Stout!

We've still got bottles of Homewood Reserve 2010, and Eye Opener Coffee Porter.  Plus, for the for the beer-gamblers among you, we're still moving Wooden Nickel at the deeply discounted rate of 4 bottles for $30! While supplies last - details about why we're doing this are down toward the bottom of our F.O.D. page.

AT THE GROWLER SHOP THIS WEEKEND:

Starting off, we'll pour Big Hop IPA, Snow Melt Winter Ale, Fat Gary Nut Brown, Session Ale #50: "...And sat down be CIDER" -
 and we'll have a few pre-fills of Black Strap Stout on hand as well, so be sure to ask for it if you don't see it.  We may switch this up a bit as the weekend progresses and our supply dwindles.

See you soon!  Cheers - Scott

Apparently, it's legal for us to start selling beer on Sundays at the Growler Shop in the Strip starting at 11am, instead of at Noon, as we previously understood it.  So guess what?  We're now open at 11am on Sundays starting with the next one, January 16th!

Cheers - Scott

AT THE BREWERY THIS WEEKEND... AND BEYOND:

Big Hop IPA, Black Strap Stout, Fat Gary Nut Brown Ale, Monkey Boy Hefeweizen, Snow Melt Winter Ale, Session  #49: Steam Beer, Session Ale #50: "...And sat down be CIDER" and our Steel Cut Oatmeal Stout (which drinks more like a Black IPA quite frankly).

We've also got bottles of Homewood Reserve 2010, Eye Opener Coffee Porter, and a little Illustration Ale too.  Plus, for the for the beer-gamblers among you, we're still moving Wooden Nickel at the deeply discounted rate of 4 bottles for $30! While supplies last - details about why we're doing this are down toward the bottom of our F.O.D. page.

AT THE GROWLER SHOP THIS WEEKEND:

Big Hop IPA, Monkey Boy Hefeweizen, Snow Melt Winter Ale, Session Ale #50: "...And sat down be CIDER".

GRATITUDE 201 RELEASE DAY HAS BEEN SET!

The long wait is almost over, and we've finally got a date set: January 22,2011.  Check out all the details on the Gratitude Release Day Page.

Hope to see you here soon!

Cheers - Scott