{Travel} Road Tripping to Lexington & Cincy

To continue the streak of short, cheap value-conscious trips, Husband and I jumped in my beloved 2006 Jetta and drove to Lexington to meet our friend James, who recently moved to Nashville. {Evidently it shall not be referred to as NashVEGAS, which is likened to calling San Francisco, 'Frisco. Oops.} You may remember James from his guest post during Pittsburgh Craft Beer week last year.  Anyway, according to Meetways.com, Covington, KY is the mid-point between these two fine cities. Covington is across the river from Cincinnati, so we called for a road trip.  

Cincy is about 4 and three-quarters hours from Pittsburgh, so we left around 2pm...to get stuck in PGH traffic! Lesson learned.

Husband and James love craft beverages, thus we made a side trip {or a starting point?} of Lexington, Kentucky. We rolled into town around 9pm on Friday night, amidst the rain. Husband and I had just finished listening to Wave, so we were definitely in the mood for a drink.

{Over The Weekend} Cooking School, Cakes and Cat Tipis

I know it's already Monday again, but I wanted to share my past two weekends with y'all. {This post is weekend #1.} A friend of mine gave us tickets to a Market District Cooking School Class {as her husband was sick and couldn't go}, so we headed out to Robinson Township two Friday evenings ago. The class was structured around tasting the intricacies of wines and beers with food. 

Just Starting

We arrived in the large classroom above the wine and beer area of Market District, and sat down among approximately 30 people. A good size class, I thought. {If the class is too small, it can seem awkward at times!} We were offered appetizers of grapes, cheeses, lobster and red pepper dip, and water crackers.

It's a bit pricey at around $35 a ticket, but you get food, drinks, information and good company. {Go Pittsburgh food community!}

PGH Dining: Rock Bottom

As I said before, I am very backed up on PGH Dining posts.  For example, the post you're about to read was from a dinner we ate in late February.  I apologize for my tardiness!  Rock Bottom is part of the restaurant chain that encompasses Gordon Biersch (Craft Works Restaurants & Breweries), which was one of our favorite "beer and bite" restaurants in Dallas.  Husband and I had no idea when we first stopped in to the location in Pittsburgh's Waterfront shopping area. 

PGH Dining: Church Brew Works

Husband, James and I went to Church Brew Works in late April, on a Sunday for lunch.  You can just imagine the colorful religious jokes that resulted from this. Anyway, we entered the nave {!?} and then the sanctuary {!?}, to be seated in the back.

Church Brew Works 

PGH Dining: Shiloh Grill

It's been a while since I ate at Shiloh Grill, and I'm just now getting to write up a post. This is a shame, because it's worth writing about - the staff knows their beer, and any beer lover would enjoy eating at this establishment before or after taking in the view from Mt. Washington.

If you recall from an earlier post about Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week, I posted several photos of gorgeous, cold beer. {Can you tell I'm writing this on a hot day?} Many of those photos are of the beer selection at Shiloh Grill.

{Guest Post} Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week

Our friend James was in town this past weekend for Pittsburgh's first Craft Beer Week.  How advantageous that our most knowledgable beer buddy would visit PGH while this craft beer celebration was going on! It must have been fate. Either way, since I don't know much about beer {other than it tastes good!}, I've asked him to write a short guest post on the subject. Without him by our side, we would have been full of questions about the beer menus.  Thanks for accompanying us, James, on a week we hope to replicate many times over!  

I was lucky enough to visit Pittsburgh on their inaugural craft beer week. While we didn't do too many of the events, we still had fun. We got a sneak peak of the Dogfish Dinner at Shiloh Grill and went to Hofbrauhaus for their party/trivia event. I also got to try a ton of new beer {he can't get in the South}, so it was a successful trip.

Here is a little Q&A from Ashley.

Questions:

1. What is the difference between craft beer and regular beer? How is the process different?

Craft beer is brewed on a smaller scale with more thought and stories behind the beer. The process of brewing doesn't change materially but the ingredients and the style varies. I would compare it to the local restaurant vs the mega-chain.

2. What are some of the most 'known' craft beers? Or are there any?

Sam Adams' Boston Lager, New Belgium's Fat Tire and Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale are probably the top 3 most recognized craft beers. The more well-known craft breweries are Sam Adams, Dogfish Head, New Belgium, Sierra Nevada, Rogue, Avery, and Stone among others. (Shiner for the people in Texas.)

3. What are the types of craft beer {i.e. hoppy, stout, etc.} What do they taste like?

There are way too many styles of beer. There are also people like Sam Caligione at Dogfish Head that pretty much invents a style each time he brews a new beer. You have your popular styles like Pale Ale (semi-hoppy), IPA-India Pale Ale (very hoppy), Stout (dark and thick), Lager (clear and crisp). I maintain that there is a beer/style for every palette.

4. What are some of your favorite craft beer makers?

My favorite brewery right now is Great Divide out of Denver. They make an incredible stout (Yeti) and even a good fruit beer (Wild Raspberry Ale), among other solid beers. Dogfish Head is another favorite. They brew from the tiny state of Delaware and they are known for stretching the boundaries of beer. Of note is their line of Ancient Ales, recipes researched by historians to get close to historic as possible. Also their Music line, with ales brewed for greats such as Miles Davis, Pearl Jam and Robert Johnson.

James in the background texting his Beer Buds about Hellhound.

5. What are some of your favorite local/PA/PGH craft beers?

Yuengling is a great representation of what a macro pale lager (Bud/Miller/Coors) should be. The Troegs bros also make some great brew.

6. Can you give some recommendations for those of us novices on ordering craft beers we'd like? (ex. if we like red stripe/dos equis/stouts, what should we order?)

My first piece of advice is to try a lot of beer. You will most likely find you don't like before you find the one you love, don't give up so early. If you are used to the lighter macro brews then try a lager/pilsner/golden ale from a craft brewery. If you are a Guiness Fan then go for the stouts/porters/barleywines. If you are a Shiner fan then gravitate towards the bocks/swarzbiers/ambers. If you are a Blue Moon person then try the hefeweizens and fruit beers. The only beers that I suggest new craft beer drinkers avoid are sours and IPAs. They have very strong tastes and can be quite a shock to the palette. Brooklyn Brewery and New Belgium are both great breweries for you to try as they aren't too crazy with their normal selection.

7. How many craft breweries have you been to, and where would you like to visit next time you're in town?

I've been to way too many craft breweries to count. {I see a trend here!} Next time I visit Pittsburgh I want to hit up their version of a flying saucer. I want to see a bar with a diverse selection of east coast brews.

If you aren't a beer fan then maybe craft sodas are your take? If so, then check out Maine Root or Jones (Nationally). For the Texans, hit up Dublin Bottling Works(former maker of Dublin DP) or Armadillo Ale Works.

Thanks, James! 

Readers, if you have questions about craft beer you'd like answered, leave them in the comments!

Seeing the Sights with Our First Guest!

This past weekend {give or take a couple days} was a blast! Husband's BFF came in town, and was our first guest to stay with us in PGH.  It was {for lack of a more grown-up word} awesome to show someone around our new turf. 

 Essentially, this photos sums it up nicely:

Dogfish Head's Ta Henket

Read about the rest of the weekend after the jump!