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12 Pennsylvania Breweries Collaborate on Buckeye Tears

B. Kline — Sat, 30 Sep 2023 06:32:04 +0000

12 Pennsylvania Breweries Collaborate on Buckeye Tears

Twelve different breweries from Pennsylvania are collaborating on a beer together – called “Buckeye Tears” – to be released ahead of the Ohio State vs. Penn State showdown on October 21st, 2023.

Here are the 12 breweries that will serve “Buckeye Tears”:

Acrospire Brewing — Glenshaw
Antifragile Brewing — State College
Blondes and Brewnettes — West Grove
Cellar Works — Sarver
Grist House — Pittsburgh
Hidden Stories Brewing — Millerstown
Locust Lane Craft Brewery — Malvern
Mechanistic Brewing — Clarion
Michaux Brewing — Waynesboro
Moo-Duck Brewing — Elizabethtown
Rough Edges Brewing — Waynesboro
ShuBrew — Zelienople

PSU Alumni

All twelve breweries are owned, or have a head brewer, or are represented in their business by a PSU (Penn State University) alumni. There are several more across the state, but these are the twelve that worked on the beer.

Buckeye Tears

Buckeye Tears is a 4.09%* ABV Cold IPA and will feature a cartoon of a crying Brutus Buckeye mascot. (If the legal department doesn’t hit them with a cease and decease.) The 409 obviously in reference to Joe Paterno’s “win” record (which has since been altered, vacated, and / or adjusted by the NCAA due to the fall out of the Sandusky Scandal).

The beer has been picked up with lots of mainstream news from the east coast sources, as well as national news sources such as Sports Illustrated.

The following is some clips from different website news sources:

While Pennsylvania residents will be able to drink a beverage named Buckeye Tears, it’s been awhile since the Nittany Lions themselves have tasted any. Ohio State hasn’t lost to Penn State since 2016 and has won 10 of its last 11 matchups against the Nittany Lions.

Penn State hasn’t beaten OSU in Columbus, where this year’s game will be played, in more than a decade. 2011 was the last time the Nittany Lions earned a road win in Columbus.
Twelve Pennsylvania Breweries Owned by Penn State Grads Selling a Beer Named “Buckeye Tears” Ahead of Ohio State vs. Penn State Game – Eleven Warriors

The 4.09% alcohol IPA will feature a cartoon of a crying Brutus Buckeye mascot.

In the press release, Breweries in PA said, “Obviously no harm is meant, we just think ‘Buckeye Tears’ is the perfect name for a beer that will honor Penn State heading to the National Championship in 2023! No one in Ohio wants to see that.”
Pennsylvania Breweries Troll Ohio State With ‘Buckeye Tears’ Beer – Sports Illustrated

State College brewery Antifragile Brewing is a part of the alumni creation team, along with Acrospire Brewing, Blondes and Brewnettes, Cellar Works, Grist House, Hidden Stories Brewing, Locust Lane Craft Brewery, Mechanist Brewing, Michaux Brewing, Moo-Duck Brewing, Rough Edges Brewing, and ShuBrew.
Twelve Penn State Alumni-Owned Breweries To Launch ‘Buckeye Tears’ Beer – Onward State

So if Ohio State mops the floor with Penn State on Oct. 21 in Columbus, the Nittany Lion faithful can blame that line in the release.

It’s not known if the “tears” are supposed to be in reference to Ohio State losing to Michigan for a second consecutive time last season, their last-second loss to Georgia in the College Football Playoff or head coach Ryan Day’s toughness rant directed at Lou Holtz last week.

Despite the bold troll, Ohio State has the upper hand in the series, with an all-time 23-14 record against Penn State to hold over the Nittany Lions’ heads. Last season, the Buckeyes ran away with the lead against Penn State in the fourth quarter, going on to win 44-31. Penn State hasn’t beaten Ohio State since 2016 and hasn’t won at The Shoe since 2011.
Penn State alumni-owned breweries troll Ohio State with ‘Buckeye Tears’ drink – Fox Sports

Penn State fans loved it while Buckeyes fans pointed out that they could be in trouble with Ohio State’s licensing department:

“Okay I was going to say maybe we shouldn’t be calling it buckeye tears because they routinely beat us but I think every single one of their fans that have ever existed has commented on this so maybe it’s true,” one Nittany Lions fan replied.

“Have you heard of Ohio State’s Trademark and Licensing Services? You will,” a Buckeyes fan warned with a laughing emoji.

“Penn State is 5-18 against Ohio State this century lmao,” a third said.

It’ll be pretty hard for Penn State fans to enjoy that beer if they get trounced by Ohio State. But if they get the win, it’ll be a whole lot sweeter.
Penn State Alumni Brewery Releasing ‘Buckeye Tears’ Beer – The Spun

Rivalry? What is Ohio State vs. Penn State’s Win-Loss Record?

Ohio State vs. Penn State Win – Loss Record

Ohio State has won six straight against Penn State.

The Buckeyes’ win streak against Penn State started in 2017 with a 39-38 win in Columbus.

Ohio State’s last loss to Penn State came in a 24-21 loss to the Nittany Lions in State College during the 2016 season.

Ohio State has not lost a game against Penn State in Columbus since 2011.
PSU fans release ‘Buckeye Tears’ beer ahead of Ohio State vs. Penn State game – The Columbus Dispatch

In an annual rivalry that always brings intensity to the field, there is now an added element off the field that likely will be a fan favorite for Penn State alums heading into their Week 8 contest against Ohio State.
Pennsylvania Breweries Troll Ohio State With ‘Buckeye Tears’ Beer – WATE State

Despite the bold troll, Ohio State has the upper hand in the series, with an all-time 23-14 record against Penn State to hold over the Nittany Lions’ heads. Last season, the Buckeyes ran away with the lead against Penn State in the fourth quarter, going on to win 44-31. Penn State hasn’t beaten Ohio State since 2016 and hasn’t won at The Shoe since 2011.

Both teams have been firing on all cylinders offensively this season, as they each enter Week 5 top three in the Big Ten in total yards and points per game; Penn State is averaging 449.8 total yards (second in Big Ten) and 40.5 points (first), while Ohio State is averaging 447.5 total yards (third) and 34.5 points (third) per game.

Both teams are also finding success with first-year quarterbacks. Drew Allar (Penn State) has thrown for 903 yards, eight touchdowns and zero interceptions, while completing 67.2% of his passes; Kyle McCord (Ohio State) has thrown for 1,055 yards and six touchdowns, while helping lead Ohio State on a game-winning touchdown drive in the final seconds on the road against then-No. 9 Notre Dame last week.
Penn State alumni-owned breweries troll Ohio State with ‘Buckeye Tears’ drink – Fox Sports

Penn State vs. Ohio State Win – Loss Record

Barstool Sports took exception to the selling of the beer in the first place, with biting commentary:

I mean I understand that involving Ohio State in ANYTHING will drive interactions, clicks, viewers, purchases, etc etc etc etc, but at the end of the day, you can’t straight up lie to people. You can’t stick Brutus the Buckeye on the can of your beer, absolutely sobbing, insinuating that you have beaten us more than once in the last decade. Then again, I guess it’s possible that these “Buckeye Tears” are tears of joy….? That would make more sense. Because excluding the most narrow and ridiculous 24-21 victory (at Penn State, night game, 107000 people, in which they outscored us 17-0 in the 4th culminating in a blocked FG return) back in 2016, I literally cannot remember a world where Ohio State wasn’t curb-stomping this mediocre program.
Not Sure How Penn State Breweries Can Legally Sell “Buckeye Tears” Beer When Ohio State Has Won 10 Of The Last 11 Meetings – Barstool Sports

No Such Thing as Bad Publicity

As you can see, there’s no such thing as “bad publicity” for marketing purposes. Though, to be honest, I question this from the breweries perspectives. I understand the collective group that is helping them get this made, but the individual breweries, I don’t fully get. Maybe they are getting a little bit of national, or regional exposure from this momentarily, but most of the news sources are just covering the trolling done by BiPA.

All of the press release junkets and news sites pretty much read the same. (Links to numerous news sites at the end of this article.) Nearly word for word identical in each article, and only one article directly mentioned the name of the breweries involved. But, all of the articles mentioned that its trolling, and instigating, and quoted BiPA.

I don’t think there will be any harm that will come to the breweries involved, but I don’t think they’ll get the attention that is due them for their work on this beer. People will go out and buy the beer from them, no doubt, and it’ll sell out – guarantee it – but that’ll be the end of it on their level. However, this did get the BiPA group and page some national exposure, some notoriety, and for websites, trolling isn’t viewed as a negative, and with tons of backlinks, now they’ll continue to garner more and more clicks and views. For them, this was all brilliant. They’ve already cultivated a bit of a trolling nature and profile in some ways, so this just further adds to it. What this does for the breweries is just provide them a guaranteed sell out beer. Hopefully the attention is longer and more long – lasting than I imagine here, but I am not so sure. Time will tell.

Time will also tell if this beer will “age well” come October 21st, when they play against Ohio State.

News Sources

Involved Breweries

Brewery	City	Availability
Acrospire Brewing	Glenshaw	Cans Only
Antifragile Brewing	State College	Cans & Draft
Blondes and Brewnettes	West Grove	Cans & Draft
Cellar Works	Sarver	Cans Only
Grist House	Pittsburgh	Draft Only
Hidden Stories Brewing	Millerstown	Cans & Draft
Locust Lane Craft Brewery	Malvern	Cans Only
Mechanistic Brewing	Clarion	Cans & Draft
Moo – Duck Brewery	Elizbethtown	Cans & Draft
Michaux Brewing	Waynesboro	Cans & Draft
Rough Edges Brewing	Waynesboro	Cans Only
ShuBrew	Zelienople	Cans & Draft

Brewery News

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The Battle of the Breweries (2021) – FACEs Conference – Stone Cold Steve Austin Division – Round One

BKline — Mon, 01 Mar 2021 13:38:58 +0000

The Battle of the Breweries (2021)

This is the poll for the FACEs Conference – Stone Cold Steve Austin Division – Round One. You can vote once per day, and you can vote once per poll (there is a poll for each division in round one). Be sure to share and send to your friends and breweries to let everyone vote!

Voting runs until March 7th, 11:59PM (EST).

To read more about The Battle of the Breweries (2021) you can read the initial post here: The Battle of the Breweries (2021) – March Madness – The Beer Thrillers way.

[perfect_survey id=”7320″]

Any questions, concerns, or comments about the brackets, or tournament, or breweries in question, you can leave in the comment section or message us directly through our Contact Page.

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March Madness (2021) – The Beer Thrillers Way

BKline — Mon, 01 Mar 2021 04:30:00 +0000

The Battle of the Breweries (2021)

The Battle of the Breweries (2021) – VOTING LINKS

Since this is the landing page post – survey, I will keep all of the voting links here for quick reference and jumping point, and so they don’t get lost in all the muddle.

HEELs Conference:
* Triple H Division: Round One
* Ric Flair Division: Round One
FACEs Conference:
* Stone Cold Steve Austin Division: Round One
* The Rock Division: Round One

(Updated: 10AM – March 1st, 2021. Continue on for the original introduction to The Battle of the Breweries [2021] – March Madness tournament – article.)

The Battle of the Breweries (2021)

Who’s ready for some March Madness? Like everyone else, in March, that means we need to fill out some brackets! And we here at The Beer Thrillers are no different!

BUT….

Instead of filling out NCAA or college basketball brackets, we are doing our own take on it – The Battle of the Breweries (2021)!

The Battle of the Breweries (2021)

So how’s this going to work? Who all is invited? What all breweries are going to be in it? How many breweries? How’s voting going to work? Who decides whose in and whose out? Whats the seeding? Why is Rick such a jerk to Morty? Why is Jurassic Bark the saddest episode of Futurama ever? Why is it also B. Kline’s favorite episode? What does that say about him? Why is the sky blue?

Ok…. enough with the questions!

The procedure for this ‘tournament’ will be similar to most other March Madness style tournaments. Similar to the ones you’ve seen Untappd and Breweries in PA have done, but with a bit of a twist. Because we here at The Beer Thrillers have a terrible time making full fledged decisions, the list of competitors will be 48 instead of the normal 32.

How did I decide what breweries will be involved? Simple. Only breweries that I have physically visited in person. The voting is based on the brewery and their beers; but to be included on this list, I personally had to have been to one of their locations.

How is seeding decided? Thats also pretty simple, the seeding is based on global average Untappd ratings. So the decision of the seeding is out of my hands. Also, bonus, you can’t get mad at me for the seeding. “Why is X above Y? Why is Z below D?” Its all decided by Untappd.

So whats the tournament structure? One total grouping of 48 breweries (in lieu of teams), divided by two conferences of 24 each, which is divided further into a total of four divisions of 12 each. So break down is simple: 4 divisions of 12 each, with two divisions per conference, of 24 teams in each, for a total of 48 competitors / teams / breweries.

How did we decide on who is in what division? Simple – random number generator. I rolled the dice (a D4 to be exact, thank you to my old nerdy DnD days, I just ‘happened’ to have one of these lying about). Rolled the dice for each brewery to locate them into a division. If one division was understaffed and another overstaffed, I re-rolled until they were evened out.

Let’s Meet Our Competitors

So who all do we have facing off in this crazy free for all of brewing expertise? Quite an assembly of breweries actually. There are a heavy abundance of local (Central PA local) breweries but there is an assortment of breweries from my various travels and across a few states. We have a few breweries from the Rochester area of New York; some breweries from Maryland, a Delaware brewery, some from Ohio, one from Indiana, and one from Kentucky as well.

Surprisingly; it actually took a while to curate the list. At even 48 entries, I still had many more to include, and even removed a few to make it a bit more diverse. I wanted to try and make this as diverse as possible (so removed a local brewery for one out of state, etc.). Possibly in the future, maybe the 2022 iteration of this, or the 2023, who knows, it’ll expand to even more breweries.

This has taken up pretty much my entire night to create the list, and to roll the dice for their divisions, and then checking their Untappd scores to get them into the correct seedings. In the case of matching Untappd scores, I did make my own decision, and that was primarily based on my thoughts of their size, notoriety, branding; so there is a few judgment calls due to a few ties, but there isn’t too many of them.

Conferences and division names…. I had to decide on what to pick. I was going to go by hop names, but I saw at last second, that the Breweries in PA have done that this year, instead of their normal divisions based on geography, it appears they decided to use hop names for their divisions, so thats out. I debated doing Jedi and Sith for the conferences and then doing different Jedi or Sith Masters for the division names…. but… instead decided to go with WWF/E names due to WrestleMania 37 approaching.

So I present you two conferences. One is based on HEELs and one is based on FACEs. The names of the breweries are listed in the order of their seedings, and will have their location and their Untappd (global average) rating behind their names.

The Heels Conference

First up, is divisions one and two of the HEELS conference. Triple H and Ric Flair.

Division One: Triple H

Fourscore Beer Company (Gettysburg, PA) (4.09)
Urban Artifact (Cincinnati, OH) (3.90)
Mad Chef (East Petersburg, PA) (3.79)
Levity Brewing (Indiana, PA) (3.77)
Swiftwater Brewing Company (Rochester, NY) (3.77)
Braxton Brewing Company (Covington, KY) (3.75)
Sun King Brewery (Indianapolis, IN) (3.71)
Highway Manor (Camp Hill, PA) (3.70)
Gearhouse Brewing (Chambersburg, PA) (3.68)
ZeroDay Brewing (Harrisburg, PA) (3.69)
The Ministry of Brewing (Baltimore, MD) (3.64)
Black Forest Brewing (Ephrata, PA) (3.62)

Division Two: Ric Flair

Dewey Beer Company (Dewey Beach, DE) (4.08)
Rotunda Brewing Company (Annville, PA) (3.96)
Yellow Bridge Brewing (Pittsburgh, PA) (3.88)
Troegs Independent Brewing (Hershey, PA) (3.79)
Twisted Bine Brewing Company (Mount Joy, PA) (3.79)
Cox Brewing Company (Elizabethtown, PA) (3.71)
Chatty Monks (Reading, PA) (3.71)
Land-Grant Brewing Company (Columbus, OH) (3.70)
Saucony Creek Brewing Company (Kutztown, PA) (3.70)
Desperate Times Brewing (Carlisle, PA) (3.69)
Couch Brewery (Pittsburgh, PA) (3.60)

The Faces Conference

The faces conference is made up of two divisions led by Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock. First up, is Division Three, Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Division Three: Stone Cold Steve Austin

Ever Grain Brewing (Mechanicsburg, PA) (3.93)
Idiom Brewery (Frederick, MD) (3.90)
Breaker Brewing (Wilkes-Barre, PA) (3.85)
ShuBrew (Zelionople, PA) (3.85)
Wolf’s Ridge Brewing Company (Columbus, OH) (3.84)
Liquid Noise (Marysville, PA) (3.84)
Boneshire Brew Works (Harrisburg, PA) (3.83)
Rough Edges (Waynesboro, PA) (3.82)
Tattered Flag (Middletown, PA) (3.79)
Rubber Soul Brewing Company (Hummelstown, PA) (3.74)
Three Heads Brewing (Rochester, NY) (3.71)
Mount Gretna Craft Brewery (Palmyra, PA) (3.58)

Division Four: The Rock

Cushwa Brewing (Williamsport, MD) (4.11)
Jackie O’s Brewery (Athens, OH) (4.02)
Pizza Boy Brewing Company (Al’s of Hampden) (Enola, PA) (3.88)
Mellow Mink (Mechanicsburg, PA) (3.84)
Moo-Duck Brewing (Elizabethtown, PA) (3.83)
Logyard Brewing Company (Kane, PA) (3.78)
Molly Pitcher Brewing (Carlisle, PA) (3.75)
Olde Bedford Brewing Company (Bedford, PA) (3.75)
Taft’s Brewing Company (Taft’s Ale House) (Cincinnati, OH) (3.72)
Isle of Que Brewing (Selinsgrove, PA) (3.69)
The Church Brew Works (Pittsburgh, PA) (3.56)

Alright, that’s all 48 competitors. Tomorrow the brackets will be published and you will be allowed to vote on the first round matchups. Here’s where things get a bit screwy…. mainly because I don’t do math so good (sigh, sad subject, really, since I work at a job where I do math all day). Well, what really happened, is that I didn’t think through the breakdown. 32 breaks down easily for each round…. 48…. not so much. So…..

Week one will be divisions with 6 matches in each divisions. After that, the divisions will break for week two, and it will be by conference, with 6 matches in each conference. After this, we break apart the conferences, and do another 6 matches. This leaves us with 3 final competitors, for a triple threat for the ending.

So…. I kinda sorta walked myself into a corner…. and kinda… sorta…. walked my way out of it. Glad I chose to use wrestler themed people, so that the finale “Triple Threat” makes more sense.

*Smacks head* D’oh!

But anyway, there will be 7 days of voting for each round. With the final round taking the remainder of the month and ending on the 31st.

Voting

Each day you will be able to come to the site to make your votes in the polls. It will be set-up by IPS, so it limits you to voting just once per day per vote. You can vote as many times as you want per round, but only once per day.

Following each round, I will update the brackets and post them and make up the new polls for voting. Round one begins on March 1st, 2021 and will last until March 7th at Midnight, when it will then become the next round.

I suggest helping your breweries out and sharing the poll pages so that as many of your friends and brewery lovers can vote as well. Good luck to all of the competitors… err… breweries!

As always, please like us and follow us here and on our social media pages to stay up to date on The Beer Thrillers. We have plenty of content to check out, so be sure to stop by often to see what we have coming out. Beer reviews, brewery reviews, travelogues, events, news, and more!

Thanks for reading everyone!

Cheers!

-B. Kline

BREW: The Museum of Beer – Is Set to Launch Their Online Exhibit

BKline — Mon, 07 Dec 2020 03:16:00 +0000

Earlier today I was contacted by Deborah Stueber, the Director for Community Relations for BREW – The Museum of Beer. I messaged her back, an she sent me the press release for their upcoming launch of their online exhibit about Pennsylvania beer history. I was just out in Pittsburgh on my Trip through the Area to Indianapolis on the second day of my trip. I was in Pittsburgh as well, back in August with my daughters on the second day of my trip that took us from Elk Country, to Kinzua Bridge, to Pittsburgh, to Bushy Run, to Flight 93 Memorial, Johnstown Flood, and to home. There is certainly no dearth of breweries in the greater Pittsburgh area, some exceptional ones in fact. Many iconic ones too. You have breweries like Couch Brewery, The Church Brew Works, Dancing Gnome, Hitchhiker, Cinderlands, Penn Brewery, Hop Farm Brewing, ShuBrew, Grist House, Yellow Bridge, Southern Tier (PA), Round About Brewery, Allegheny Brewing, Eleventh Hour, Strange Roots, East End, Iron City, etc, etc, etc, (the list goes on and on). We’ve covered many here on the blog (make sure to check around to see our beer reviews, brewery reviews, and trips into Pittsburgh).

So this is a perfect place for a museum dedicated to the history of beer. (Just wish it was opened when I traveled through!) And this will definitely be a stopping point in a future visit to Pittsburgh.

BREW: The Museum of Beer

The main presser reads: (dated December 3rd, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania): “Brew: The Museum of Beer’s plans to launch an exhibit on the Story of Beer in Pennsylvania in a downtown storefront were temporarily stymied by Covid-19 but, inspired by the creativity and perseverance of the region’s breweries and restaurants, Brew is forging ahead with an online exhibit of the Story of Beer in Pennsylvania. Supported by a grant from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, the exhibit showcases the legacy and significance of Pennsylvania beer, from the origins of Penn’s Colony through the significant craft beer scene today.”

BREW: The Museum of Beer Artist Rendering (found at their website)

The event looks extremely interesting, as a person very interested in the history of beer (and history in general), as well as craft beer, and specifically Pennsylvania and the role beer has played in the Keystone State, this event looks very very very interesting to me, personally, as well as I’m sure it is to many of our readers out there.

The exhibit will include:

Video interviews with many of Pennsylvania’s brewing pioneers, brewers, historians, and collectors
An updated and expanded interactive map of all of Pennsylvania’s breweries as presented by BREW Museum (including pending breweries)
A searchable list of the breweries and brewers who have won awards at Great American Beer Festival in the 21st Century
A beer quiz to test your knowledge of Pennsylvania craft beer – the first 25 participants to finish (and score) will receive a prize

SEE – Pennsylvania’s 2020 GABF Award Winners.
SEE – Pennsylvania’s 2019 GABF Award Winners.

ZOOM QR Code

The presser continues: “To kick off the exhibit, Brew will have live presentations via Zoom by Brew founder Joe McAllister, brewer Paul Young, and special guest, Lauren M. Churilla, Curator, McCarl Coverlet Gallery and Lecturer of History at Saint Vincent College, who will be speaking about the first Benedictine brewery in the U.S. and the controversy it engendered in Latrobe, PA and around the world. The presentations will commence at 7:00 on Tuesday, December 15 and the exhibit will debut immediately thereafter. Once the site is live, the QR code below will take you directly to the exhibit site.”

So be sure to mark your calendars for December 15th (Tuesday) at 7:00PM (EST Time) to be able to visit the exhibit and attend the live zoom. Once its live, the QR code will be usable and will get you access.

The museum for BREW – The Museum of Beer has tons of information and links and ways you can help and support the museum, by donating or by buying merchandise. You can visit their site here: BREW – The Museum of Beer.

You can also follow them on their social media pages:

Check them out, and be sure to like and follow them on their social pages to stay abreast of when their museum opens, when there will be new virtual tours or exhibits or interviews with brewers and brewery workers and brewery news. Check out their available merchandise and see if there’s anything to your liking, and help donate to get this great project up off the ground.

About Brew: The Museum of Beer – Brew: The Museum of Beer is a widely-anticipated Pittsburgh-based museum dedicated to the fascinating, 10,000-year-old story of beer, spanning beer’s role in the origins of civilization to the diversity and aspirations represented in the contemporary craft beer movement. Brew will be a must-see 50,000-square-foot complex capable of accommodating 400,000+ visitors per year. Aside from unique beer artifacts and exhibits, the multi million-dollar museum will also include a 300-seat brewpub, state-of-the art interactive technology, a large event space, gift store, and Beer Hall of Fame. The size and scope of Brew will be comparable to Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

I would like to thank Deborah Stueber for reaching out to me and sending the press release for the exhibit and their online opening.

As always everyone – thanks for reading, and visiting the blog. Please be careful and stay safe. Support your local craft breweries, as this week or the next, there might be new mandates, restrictions, and hardships pressed upon breweries (and bars, and businesses, and restaurants in general). So do what you can to help support each other. Give to food banks, give your time at shelters, do whatever you feel comfortable and able to help support your fellow man right now. We are all in this together – as much as that is a cliche, it is the truth. This week or the next might end up being very difficult for many of your favorite small breweries and businesses, be sure to support and show your support, so that they can stay open once this is all over.

-B. Kline

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Be sure to check out our other articles on brewery openings:

You can read about more brewery closures here:

The Trip: Day 2 Recap

BKline — Sat, 03 Aug 2019 13:10:54 +0000

ShuBrew outside of Pittsburgh in Zelionople

Up bright early to leave Clarion as intrepid explorers on a mission. Started the morning hiking the McConnell’s Mill Creek paths as well as checking out the Grist Mill and Covered Bridge there, as well as the Kiddoo Falls. From there, the first stop as far as breweries go, occurred in a small borough outside of Pittsburgh called Zelionople. Here we stopped at ShuBrew, enjoyed a large ice cream sandwhich and a flight. Then we moved on.

We next traversed Fort Pitt and used the Duquesne Icline to go up to Mount Washington and back down, getting caught in a brief thunderstorm before checking out two breweries in quick succession.

First, was Cinderlands Beer Co.

Cinderlands Beer Warehouse in Pittsburgh

Beautiful place, and absolutely packed (5:30 on a Friday afterall). Sadly, I am neither millenial/hipster enough nor beautiful enough myself to stay in a place like this with so many gorgeous people for too long.

The Church Brew Works in Pittsburgh

So from there, we went to The Church Brew Works, which is a stunning brewery, notable because it is a former church that has been turned into a brewery.

This is an altar I can get behind

After discovering these two great breweries we traversed Pittsburgh, checking out St. Anthony’s Chapel, Forbes Field (Outfield Wall still standing) and the Mary Schenley Plaza and the Memorial Fountain.

Our last stop, was right down the road from our motel, in Delmont.

Live music in Yellow Bridge of Delmont

Standing room only when we first got there (930 at night), Yellow Bridge Brewing was packed. Live music draws them in Delmont right off the highway… that… and the absolutely fantastic beers. After enjoying a pizza and a few beers, we traveled two minutes down the road to our motel and promptly crashed.

Now for day 3 to start, which will bring us to Bushy Run Battlefield, Johnstown Dam Memorial, Allegheny Portage, and Flight 93 Memorial, as well as the breweries Stone Bridge Brewing and Olde Bedford Brewery.

-B. Kline

August Road Trip Series:

Beer Reviews: Saison and Hurry Up And Wait (Newfangled Brew Works)

BKline — Wed, 17 Jul 2019 01:45:00 +0000

NewFangled Brew Works

So an impromptu night out with a friend for a few drinks means…. an impromptu chance to do a beer review (or two). And as you can tell, being an impromptu review session, the pics aren’t quite up to snuff (being out with friends will make it a bit harder to get the best quality pictures, especially because I do more yapping as I drink and forget to grab that nice beautiful shot as soon as I get my beer). But I’ve been wanting to get back to Newfangled Brew Works (was there for their opening and one other time), so I’ve been wanting to show them some love here on the blog and do a review or two of their beers, and the Hurry Up and Wait was a big huge ‘deal’ so that deserves a review.

This is a two-part beer review, so not a full “multiple beer reviews” style post, but two separate beers that I got a chance to have on draft while out with friends and throwing up a review. The Hurry Up and Wait probably deserves its own post, primarily due to the massiveness behind the making of it. But, since that was done by PA Breweries and they have their own blog and Facebook group and page, its probably best that they’ve already done it anyway (and the beer has been out for quite some time now, so a rudimentary posting by me on it should suffice I believe). Just know, if you want a much more in-depth review on the creation of that beer (which was a ridiculous 20+ brewery collaboration with proceeds going to Veterans, which is a fantastic idea) you can track down the creation story and reviews on it by going to the PA Breweries Facebook page or group.

Likewise this won’t be an actual brewery review either, as it was my third (or fourth?) visit to Newfangled and I really didn’t think this was the time to do a write-up for that. But I will throw up some pictures of the place and talk about it a bit.

NewFangled Brew Works logo.

NewFangled Brew Works has been open for a bit now and been pumping out a good selection of clean, crisp, clear beers. They’ve actually been busy enough that they aren’t even getting a chance to touch their pilot small batch system that they’ve gotten and it sits collecting dust, as they try to keep up and meet demands on their regular production beers.

They like to keep their beer names low-key and simple (IPA, Saison, Double IPA, Brut IPA, Stout, (Nitro) Stout, Wheat Ale #1, Red Ale, etc.) so it should never be too hard to remember for those walking over from the development its built in, or those ordering over to the restaurant Koda. So far (according to Untappd) they’ve produced 15 different named beers, which I’ve had the pleasure of having had 9 of them so far. (Two of which were last night). So let’s get into the first one.

NewFangled Brew Works’ Saison

Beer: Saison
Brewery: NewFangled Brew Works
Style: Farmhouse Ale – Saison
ABV: 6.8%
IBU: 25
Untappd Write-Up: Just in time for summer we have a very effervescent saison using Spalter Select and Strisselspalt hops. It pairs well with sunshine on the patio.

Well, we didn’t get a chance to pair this with sunshine due to a massive storm just having rolled through the mid-state (got to drive through a lovely blast of downpour along I-81 to get from the Casino to the brewery), but it did pair nicely with friendship, chatting, and hanging out. Which is the primary purpose of any beer.

I got to meet a friend from/through work Rich Bowra and his son and daughter in law and grandson for a drink (well, two drinks) after work. Luckily for him, looking out the back window of the brewery you can see his house, so he’s in fine walking (or stumbling) distance to get home.

The saison is a nice easy sipping drink. There isn’t really a ton to go on with it though. You get the juniper and it has a nice floral sipping flavor, but there isn’t a ton of flavor.

The clarity is there and its a crystal clear light watery yellow look to it. The aroma is a light airy floral with hint of juniper. There is no head (as there’s not supposed to be one) and it does have the right carbonation to it.

The biggest knock against it is that its possibly too light. There’s not a whole lot of body and there’s not a whole lot of substance and action going on for it. There is a nice underlying dryness to it similar to champagne in a way that brings out the juniper nicely and makes it crisp and a good sipping drink for companionship and chatter.

Overall it is a perfectly serviceable beer that won’t blow anybody’s hair back but will be just enough to sit and sip and chat with.

My Untappd Rating: ***.75
Global Untappd Rating: 3.6 (as of 7.16.19)

Hurry Up and Wait, the massive brewery collaboration IPA made at NewFangled Brew Works

Been wanting to get a chance to review this or at least make a mention of it or two, just due to the sheer amount of breweries involved. This was a gigantic, massive endeavor started by the PA Brewery Facebook group/page and done with 20 some breweries all for Veterans. The proceeds of which went to Veterans and this was created here at NewFangled.

Many of the brewers from the various breweries involved in the project (you can see the guys from Tattered Flag to the right, along with Collusion, NewFangled, and many others).

The Beer Busters Podcast has an article on it here that summarizes some of the content nicely: https://beerbusterspodcast.com/breweries-in-pa-announce-details-of-hurry-up-and-wait-state-wide-collab-brew-to-support-veterans/ . So definitely give that a check-out if you want some more background information on the beer, as well as look up the PA Breweries Facebook page and group for more information.

So here’s a list of all the breweries involved in the project:
Production Brewery: NewFangled Brew Works
Breweries involved: Stony Run Brew House, Burgh’ers Brewing, Tattered Flag Brewery, Cox Brewing Company (CBC), Black Forest Brewery, 2nd Story Brewing, Aston Abbey Brewing Company, Blueprint Brewing Co, Couch Brewery, Collusion Tap Works, GearHouse Brewing Company, Hop Hill Brewing Company, Imprint Beer Co, McAllister Brewing Company, Root Down Brewing Company, Shubrew, Stone Bridge Brewing Company, Ten7 Brewing Company, Weyerbacher Brewing Company, Whitehorse Brewing LLC, Seven Sirens Brewing Co.

So as you can see…. just a few breweries were involved in the creation of this. A very diverse and large assortment of breweries from all over the state, all with Veteran workers. Some of the local to Central PA breweries on that list are: NewFangled Brew Works, Tattered Flag Brewery, Cox Brewing Company, and Collusion Tap Works. Also some big names on that list that many will recognize such as Weyerbacher Brewing and Imprint Beer Co.

A lot of hard work and a lot of planning went into the making of this beer and its great to see how it benefits the community and the Veterans.

Hurry Up and Wait at NewFangled Brew Works

Beer: Hurry Up and Wait
Brewery: NewFangled Brew Works
In Collaboration with Stony Run Brew House, Burgh’ers Brewing, Tattered Flag Brewery, Cox Brewing Company (CBC), Black Forest Brewery, 2nd Story Brewing, Aston Abbey Brewing Company, Blueprint Brewing Co, Couch Brewery, Collusion Tap Works, GearHouse Brewing Company, Hop Hill Brewing Company, Imprint Beer Co, McAllister Brewing Company, Root Down Brewing Company, Shubrew, Stone Bridge Brewing Company, Ten7 Brewing Company, Weyerbacher Brewing Company, Whitehorse Brewing LLC, Seven Sirens Brewing Co., Newfangled Brew Works
Style: IPA – Imperial / Double
ABV: 8%
IBU: 45
Untappd Write-Up: Made with Deer Creek malt and Yakima Veterans Blend hops. Proceeds from pint sales will be donated to PA Veterans Foundation.

This is a great traditional West Coast bitter IPA. It looks, smells, and tastes like the old school IPAs I grew up on before the haze craze took hold. And this stacks up against those and will stack up to any of the IPAs you grew up on as well.

The beer is a beautiful straw colored darker IPA. Has a wonderful foamy head that hangs for a bit as you drink and the golden straw hue is just dark enough to not let you fully completely see through it.

The aroma is exactly what you are wanting from an IPA. A great hoppy nose filling your nostrils with that wonderful hop smell like you’re in the backend of a brewery. (Which is honestly one of the Top 3 smells of the world.)

The drink is smooth and crisp and bitter like a good IPA should be. Has the hoppy bite and a wonderful flavor. A good dry bitter IPA with a good aftertaste that makes you wanting a second, third, and fourth, is a hallmark of a good beer done well and made well. These are the beers made for summer and made for a good long day of day-drinking and chatting and having a good time.

My Untappd Rating: ****.25
Global Untappd Rating: 3.97 (as of 7.16.19)

The Big Boy at NewFangled Brew Works

Now a few words on the NewFangled Brew Works brewery and location.

Its built into a dual building just inside of Union Station development off of Union Deposit road (off of Nye’s Road). It shares its space with a fancy dining restaurant named Koda. As I said for Rich and many of the other brewery regulars, its walking distance to their houses here in the development community (which is perfect, no driving). The restaurant attached (Koda) is fine dining and a bit pricey, but from everything I’ve been told incredible food (I’ve yet to eat there).

The brewery setup at NewFangled

They got off to a bit of a rocky start when they first opened due to some of the issues of the government shutdown at the time, and getting their own beers setup (they opened with many taps flowing, but all from local breweries like Ever Grain, St. Bonifice, Tattered Flag, and Boneshire; rather than their own). But they have since conquered that and are now actually having trouble keeping up with the demands of the regulars.

The bar area when they opened.

They are growing quickly and producing a good number of stable beers. Nothing has been too out there and crazy or ‘hair blown’ but they are producing legitimate, well done, well styled beers, and that is a good consistent presence.

The bar during the installation of tanks.

The bar is long and spacious and with plenty of seats. There is also numerous tables along the windows leading up to the small band stage. They host regular (small, local) bands, as well as do regular trivia nights and many more. They also have two ping pong tables setup, cornhole, and a few other brewery games (like giant Jenga and small games for children).

In the backend corner by the back entrance there is a “taco truck” (though its built into the wall) that has the brewery food. Obviously this is mostly taco and related foods.

All in all, if you find yourself out along Nye’s Road or Union Deposit Road or wanting to check out a new brewery, definitely give NewFangled Brew Works a check. If nothing worse you’ll get some decent food, and a nice atmosphere. The beers are nice, flowing, and everyone is very easy going. You won’t be disappointed.

-B. Kline