There’s no way you didn’t read that in his voice. How can you not read “Oh Yea” and not picture Randy “Macho Man” Savage? Or hear his gravelly voice yelling that? Its one of the iconic wrestling sounds, like Ric Flair’s “WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!” or the glass shattering for Stone Cold Steve Austin’s entrance, or the gong for The Undertaker. You know exactly what’s gonna happen.

Wrestling might be a grown man’s soap opera, and it might also be beautiful, choreographed gladiator like ballet, but its also a wonderful story telling platform and media, and its also a host to some amazing characters, personas, and people. Macho Man Randy Savage is one of those people.

If you were a 60s, 70s, 80s, or 90s child, you can name some of the greats of your generation I’m sure. For the 80s, I can think of Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat, Arn Anderson, Randy Macho Man Savage, George the Animal Steele, Harley Race, Junkyard Dog, Sting, Rowdy Roddy Piper, The Ultimate Warrior. For the 90s you have The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Triple H, The Undertaker, Chris Jericho, RVD, Sabu, Taz, Mick Foley, Kane, Eddie Guerrero, Brian Pillman, Goldberg.

Interesting fun note; Pilger Ruh Brewing’s one co-owner and partner is Anthony Deppen. A professional wrestler who will be performing at Ring of Honor’s Final Battle (2020) this year. (Super cool dude, down to earth, big craft beer fan, and great wrestler.)

But anyway… I digress. We’re here to discuss beer, not wrestling.

No… really, we must. I insist on it!

Oh… we’re doing this bit again, aren’t we? Like I did in The Growfather beer review? I know the average attention span for most readers is only about three minutes…. so….

Sigh. I was gonna say, ‘so I better hurry up and review the beer’…. but… ugh… must we do this bit for a second time? Really?

Double sigh. French sigh – Le Sigh.

Ok, I’m just gonna push through and do the beer review….

Beer: Macho Man
Brewery: Couch Brewery
Style: Wheat Beer – Other
ABV: 5.5%
IBU: None
Untappd Description: Hibiscus Raspberry Lime Wheat

First, I want to thank Bobby Nacho for inviting me out to Couch Brewery on a day when they weren’t even open. He gave me a tour of the place, let me sample all the beers on tap, and even sent me on my way with a four pack – Macho Man, Atomic Clock, Sofia Quemando, and Morning Wood. (This might be the first and last time anyone ever says that Bobby gave them ‘morning wood’……) Anyhoo… you can read about the brewery tour here: Brewery Tour of Couch Brewery. This was part of my trip to Indianapolis, you can check out the article on the second day of my trip (which included the tour of Couch Brewery, me visiting Vandergrift, Pittsburgh, and Washington) here – The Trip to Indianapolis: Day Two.

Couch Brewery is listed as a micro brewery on Untappd. They have 120 unique beers with a global average rating of 3.59 (as of 11.25.20). They are located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Now that the background is out of the way, onto the beer itself….

This has a reddish, light, wheat beer appearance. Its primarily clear but a bit dark red, and so becomes a bit opaque / cloudy / hazy in some light and as you drink it. There is a rich frothy, creamy head to this, that leaves a nice lacing on the glass.

Aroma is very heavy hibiscus, raspberry, and grain. You can very heavy raspberry and hibiscus, with the grain bill giving it a body to cling to. There is some lime aroma though its a bit fainter. Overall its floral, and pretty strong – not overpowering or pungent, but a strong floral smell that’s inviting and wanting you to drink.

I even told him at the bar when we were sampling all the beers, that I wasn’t a fan of hibiscus, that I’ve had it in a few select beers (the most notable that I can think of being Crimson Pistil; and I was not a fan) and never really cared for it. Just a flavor that I have found that I am not too keen on. But oh boy… or should I say OHHHH YEAAAAAAA…… this blew me away. Maybe its the raspberry? Or the lime? Or that its a wheat beer rather than an IPA (like the Crimson Pistil), but I was absolutely blown away by this beer, and immediately loved it. There is a lot of raspberry flavor to this, and a lot more lime than I expected from the aroma. Its got a lot of berry, a lot of floral, and a good bit of lime – giving it almost a zesty, citrus, zip to it, a bit of a kick to it. I do really love raspberries in beer (really, any berries other than strawberries, I love blueberries, blackberries, elderberries, mulberries, raspberries, etc.; just no strawberries), and this uses them very well. This is fruity, and floral, and from the raspberries, a bit tart, not fully diving into ‘tart – sour’ country, but just a wee bit of tartness and zip to give it some added taste. It is interesting for a wheat beer, that other than a little bit of the grain taste; it doesn’t taste like a wheat beer (primarily because of how much the floral and fruit flavors overpower the grain). All in all, this is a wonderful, and delicious, and interesting beer, and shows how you can bend styles to be interesting, new, and still very tasty. And hell, it even turned me into a fan of a hibiscus beer, who knew? I recommend it, and I recommend you check out Couch Brewery too. Especially on Black Friday for their Black Stout AHT 2020 event. You won’t want to miss that or this delicious beer!

My Untappd Rating: ****.50
Global Untappd Rating: 3.81 (as of 11.25.20)

Speaking of Black Friday, do check out Couch Brewery’s website (Couch Brewery) to find out more information on their Black Stout AHT 2020 event. It sounds amazing! You can also fin out more on their Facebook page – Couch Brewery.

You can also find out more about my trip to Indianapolis, and getting to tour Couch Brewery, by the links below:

The Trip to Indianapolis – Full Articles:

• Day One: Thousand Steps Trail, Juniata Brewing Company, Ghost Town Trail, Levity Brewing
• Day Two: Rock Furnace Trail, Allusion Brewing Company, Couch Brewery, Riverview Park, Hop Farm Brewing Company, The Meadows Casino
• Day Three:
• Day Four:
• Day Five:
• Day Six:
• Day Seven:

The Trip to Indianapolis – Recap Articles:

• The Trip to Indy
• The Trip to Indy – Day One Recap
• The Trip to Indy – Day Two Recap
• The Trip to Indy – Day Three Recap
• The Trip to Indy – Day Four Recap
• The Trip to Indy – Day Five Recap
• The Trip to Indy – Day Six Recap
• The Trip to Indy – Day Seven Recap
• Recap and Stats

Brewery Tour:

• Couch Brewery Tour

Thanks for reading everyone. Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving tomorrow, and a safe Drinksgiving or Friendsgiving or whatever you are doing today, and a safe Black Friday on Friday. There is a lot of great local small brewery options for Black Friday; you don’t have to go crazy for the Goose Island (couch AB In-Bev) Bourbon County Stouts. Either way, whatever you do, stay safe and socially distanced! Cheers!

-B. Kline

Please be sure to follow us on our social media accounts – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Influence. Please be sure to also follow, like, subscribe to the blog here itself to keep updated. We love to hear from you guys, so be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you think!

Pilger Ruh Brewing is currently looking for your help. They have finally found the location for their future home, in Pottsville Pennsylvania, they just need your help to get this dream up off the ground and get those taps flowing.

As with any older building, its going to need a lot of renovations, innovations, changes, and modifications to get it turned into a thriving business… let alone a bustling brewery. Which is one of the great thing about craft breweries – turning old buildings into brand new beautiful rustic but modern restaurants and breweries. Look at how Rubber Soul has turned the old police station (borough office building) in Hummelstown into their brewery. Or how Tattered Flag renovated their old building in Middletown. Its a common theme for many breweries; take an old building in a town they like, and renovate and modify it to meet their needs. It preserves the building, gives the brewery a unique look, helps the town, and helps the brewery. Seems like a win all around right?

Right.

So let’s help out Pilger Ruh Brewing get the money they need so they can do the same in Pottsville!

How can you help? Well, its really simple. Similar to a GoFundMe page, they have a indigogo page. You go there, donate what you can, and it all adds up. Want to help Pilger Ruh Brewing out and help them hit their goals and meet their dreams? Click here to donate: Pilger Ruh Brewing IndieGoGo Page.

Why should you help out?

Well…. firstly, you would be helping a brand new brewery start up. You would be helping brewers, community members, friends, and family meet their dreams and achieve their goals. And secondly… you’ll get some perks out of it too!

Some perks include: free t-shirts, hoodies, limited edition glasswear, tickets to conventions, discounts on mug club memberships, getting to name some of their fermenters and tanks, brewing with them, hats, and getting to name some of their beers.

Thats a lot of incentive just right there to help them out.

Want to read their story? (You can go to their IndieGoGo page to read it) or read the following:

“Pilger Ruh Brewing is a new craft brewery coming to Schuylkill County PA! The whole dream started three years ago in the summer of 2017 when owners Tyler Budwash, Anthony Deppen, Conlan Budwash, along with friends Matt and Alex started brewing together.  We quickly joined the beer festival circuit and received great reviews from consumers all over the state.  Our brewery has over 14 years of combined brewing experience and we plan to bring great local beers of all styles to Pottsville PA in 2021!  Co-Owner Tyler has been homebrewing since 2013, started the Schuylkill County Brew Fest, and has been to over 250 different breweries in the US, a graduate of Kutztown University where he has a BA in Political Science.  He currently lives in Schuylkill County with his 2 children and girlfriend Corine.  Co-Owner Anthony Deppen has been homebrewing since 2017, world traveled professional wrestler, currently lives in New Cumberland PA with his wife Cassidy where they are expecting their first child in November 2020.  Head Brewer Conlan Budwash has been the assistant brewer at Snitz Creek the last 4 years, worked at Troegs Brewing Company the last 5 years, lives in Pine Grove, and graduated from the Brew Science course through HACC.

We started this campaign to help raise some money to cover additional renovations to complete our taproom and gain some extra working capital upon opening. (we aren’t asking for a lot).  Getting this brewery off the ground has been financially challenging for us, but we have faith that we can make this work no matter what the situation is. Instead of asking for money outright, we want to offer you a number of different options where you gain something as well.  No matter what you decide to give we are very appreciative of you for that and each and every person that has supported us on this journey.

Our goal is to raise at least $25,000 to complete our renovations (floors, walls, bathrooms, reinforcing the basement etc). As we said earlier, we want to offer you something for helping us.  Some of the perks we have lined up are limited edition glasses, shirts, deals on mug club memberships, naming tanks, brewing with us, exclusive beers, hoodies, hats, free tickets to events ran by us and more!  We set our goal a bit higher than we wanted to, so no matter what amount we reach, ALL proceeds will be going into getting the taproom ready for early next year.

The brewery plans to be very community oriented, which is why we chose to move our operations to Pottsville PA.  We want to bring something new to the area and help it gain more traction and give back to the community as much as we could.  Five years ago there weren’t any actual craft breweries in Schuylkill County, now after we open there will be technically six. Anyone that has had our beers over the last 3.5 years knows what to expect when we open, and that’s quality beers.  Our beers have been speaking for themselves at each and every event and we plan to continue that quality when we open next year.

We are aware that starting a new business comes with a ton of risks, especially when it comes to beer.  I mean we could fail in a year and be gone, but we will not let that happen because we cannot fail and we will not fail.  We chose the not so expensive route for all of our equipment, we bought things that made sense with our budget, not dropping thousands of dollars to look good or buy huge name brands.  This project has been trying to get off the ground  for 2 years now, we were unable to obtain funding from quite some time before we were able to save up a lot of our own money and gain a small SBA loan for our equipment.  Unfortunately COVID19 set up back a few months with getting our plans and permits ready, but we are now ready to go.  We’re very happy to be in the situation we are in now and want to finish up renovations so we can open and start paying back all of our debts.  Every last penny will be going towards the brewery, whether it be our glassware or something as small as a floor mat. 

If our perks aren’t something you’re interested in you can still help.  We would greatly appreciate you sharing our Facebook page and inviting all of your friends to like it.  Give us a Like on Instagram, tell all your friends and family about us, and when we open come say hi!

Thank you!

-Tyler, Tony, and Conlan”

The building’s location is 213 N. Centre Street in Pottsville, PA. They have quite a few renovations they need to do to make the building into a brewery. Namely flooring, walls, reinforcing the basement, drainage, ditches, new bathrooms, etc.

Their current goal is 25,000$. As of posting time (9.23.20 – 10PM) they are up to 3,468$. So there is a ways to go, and every penny will help add up!

You most likely have met, known, or heard of Pilger Ruh Brewing, or the Budwash brothers from the various events and brewfests. They are typically a staple at the Litiz, Mount Hope, Lancaster, and Schukyll Brewfests (they actually run the Schukyll Brewfest). They are also usually seen at Ffej of July, at the Kegs and Eggs at Rotunda, and many other events, brewfests, and charity events. They have been working at Troegs Brewing and Snitz Creek Brewery, behind the scenes things, and as of now, brewing for Snitz Creek. You can also find their own Pilger Ruh beers on tap at the Snitz Creek Annville (the old Funck’s – right next to the Fort Indiantown Gap Cemetery) location.

I’ve gotten to know all three quite well over the years, from different events, from the Central PA Whalerz, from Tyler’s love of the civil war, all three’s love for professional wrestling (Anthony Deppen is actually a professional wrestler – Tony Deppen – who wrestles for promotions such as Ring of Honor [ROH], amongst many others), and their collaborations with Tattered Flag.

They are all a bunch of great dudes, so let’s help them make this happen. The world needs more great beers and more great breweries and brewers. So lets band together and help them out!

You can follow them on their Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

You can read our interview with Tyler Budwash here. Brewer Interview Series: Tyler Budwash.

Some beer reviews of their collaborations:

• Beer Review: Social Distancing
• Beer Review: Should Have Put Him In Custardy
• Beer Review: Abbra Collabra 6-Way Collaboration: Banana Milkshake

So let’s get this done guys! Donate now!

Donation Link: Pilger Ruh Brewing IndieGoGo

Links:

• Pilger Ruh Brewing
• Pilger Ruh Brewing – IndieGoGo – Donations

Lots more stuff happening here with the blog. Look for an interview with Scott Smith (of East End Brewing) soon. An interview with a Cape May brewing scientist. More beer reviews. A Poconos trip soon. (Finally!) The YouTube Video. Highway Manor’s Opening. And lots more. So be sure to stay here and check it all out. So be sure to follow, like, subscribe, and follow us on our social media pages – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. Thanks!

Cheers!

-B. Kline