Steeling some fun in the Steel City

I’m back on the road again, and this time back to the Steel City. Our meeting was at a different location, so I had a chance to check out a few different beer joints to complement my standard favorites. So we got our rental car and headed off to my favorite place (don’t need Garmin for this destination) in Pittsburgh, Fathead’s (https://www.fatheads.com/).

Great sandwiches and beer, a winning combination. I got the Southside slopes, voted the #5 best sandwich in the USA by Maxim (that culinary giant) magazine. The slopes has kielbasa, fried pierogies, American cheese and grilled onions, and then topped with a horsey sauce. The taste was fantastic, but a little dry (I chose not to douse the combination in Heinz ketchup). Maybe they planned it that way to get you to try the beer. I had the Pillage Porter and the Hop Stalker IPA, both decent examples of their styles. My comrades were impressed (or embarrassed) when I requested the waitress to bring me a sample of the Dark Horse Crooked Tree IPA so that I could do a comparison. The Hop Stalker was good, but not as good, as the Dark Horse. We were staying in Monroeville (literally next to the turnpike toll booths), and 2 blocks from D’s Six Packs and Dogs (http://www.ds6pax.com/) second location. It was definitely convenient, but not nearly as well stocked as their original site in Swissvale. I got a pint of Fuller’s Organic Honey-dew, and a bottle of Rustbelt McPoyle’s Milk Stout to chill with while playing WoW in the room (I do love my laptop).

The next day had us tied up in meetings all day long, and afterwards we all headed over to the Hofbrauhaus (http://www.hofbrauhauspittsburgh.com/) for dinner. I got the pretzels with bier cheese, and the schnitzel cordon bleu which contained even more bier cheese (I like bier cheese). I chose to wash it all down with a litre of the Dunkel (not to light, not to heavy), and we chatted there for ~4 hours. It is really cool to get out of the office to talk families, food, and (of course) beer!

The next day we wrapped up in the early afternoon, and fought the tunnel traffic to get over to the airport. Bocktown (http://www.bocktown.com/) has become our favorite watering hole while we are waiting for an airplane, and we all agreed that it would be a great place for lunch. We split an order of loaded fries, smothered with portabella mushrooms and bier cheese (did I say I like bier cheese?). I got the B.E.L.T.CH (peppered bacon, fried egg, lettuce, tomato, and American cheese) which came on sourdough bread, and I got a sampler. My favorite beer was their infusion (the mixing of of some flavors with a standard beer), and today’s offering was Dogfish Head Midas Touch with ginger peach tea. It was awesome! I also tried a few of the local offerings; East End Monkey Boy (a tasty bit of wit), Full Pint Rye Imperial Stout (interesting combination, but I couldn’t taste the rye), and Penn Chocolate Meltdown (very similar to Ommegang’s Chocolate Indulgence). This place made my day!

I made it home safe and sound. It is always good to get together and talk face to face. And if we have some fun in the process, that’s all the better. – 5737/10355

"Because, without beer, things don’t seem to go as well." – Brother Epp, 1902