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The Brewer’s Ball, which raises funds and awareness for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, is this Friday from 6 - 9 pm on the South Side. Enjoy some great beer and food while supporting a worth cause. For those of you who don’t know about CF, check out my article on Brewing Up a Cure or the CFF website. Cost is $60 and cocktail attire is required.
Paul Philippon is the founder of The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery. They say you can't trust a skinny chef, and I think the same holds true for brewmasters. If that's the case, this beer is good.
I was at 3 Son’s last week for the Founder’s tasting. All of the Founder’s beers were excellent, and I definitely recommend trying any of their beers you find. While there, I got the scoop that Duck-Rabbit beer out of NC will be available as of this week in the Pittsburgh market. I have yet to try any, but it is supposed to be good.
The next TRBC tasting is all set for May 14th. We are doing Spring Beers. See MaltDaddy for details and to RSVP. This is a great one to attend if you love Belgians and/or wheat beers.
The wife and I dropped the little one off at the in-laws for a night this weekend, and headed to the East Liberty in search of good food and beer. Our destination was Point Brugge Cafe, a Belgian-inspired restaurant and bar.
First of all, take the GPS and trust it. It may look like you are headed into a residential neighborhood, but the Cafe is there nestled among the houses. Parking can be tight, but we snagged a street spot just a few steps from the packed restaurant. Our wait was about 90 minutes, which was wonderful considering the great beer selection.
The Point listed this as a Golden Strong, but at 6.6% according to Belgoo it is a little weak for the style. Still a great beer.
I started with a Belgoo Magus Golden Strong, followed up by a Gouden Carolous Hopsinjoor. Prices were a little high, but not obnoxious, with both 8% beers costing $7.50. I definitely recommend both beers, especially the Hopsinjoor which had more hop flavor than is common in Belgians.
If you can find it, you have to try the Hopsinjoor
The food was pricey, but very good. I had the Carbonnade Flamanade ($19), which is a traditional Belgian beef dish. The Belgian Frites ($5) are a must try, and the mussels ($11) were excellent. No closed shells, and no grinding bites of sand.
A cold and long work hours have been keeping my postings down. I wanted to give a shout out to a few events coming up in the next few days.
Thanks to the smoking ban, all hip young beer drinking dads can bring the little one to the bar.
Monday - Meet Victory VP Steve German at these events
Thursday
Friday
As reported by the Harrisburg Picayune, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board has reversed course and approved the use of beer vending machines in the commonwealth. The PLCB has abandoned its decades long support of the 3-tier system of distributors, in favor of a new model they hope will bring much needed tax revenue to the state in a time of financial crisis.
Approved Beer Vending Machines
“The Commonwealth is facing a budget short fall of $2.5 billion. The use of beer vending machines will vastly increase beer sales with their ability to reach new markets,” explained PLCB CEO Joe Conti. The vending machines will be placed in obvious locations such as malls and grocery stores, but the real growth markets are expected to be high schools and rehab clinics. Beers from vending machines in these locations will be be priced at a premium due to high expected demand.
“Look, there are already thousands of teenagers drinking in the state. Why shouldn’t we capitalize on something that is going on anyways,” stated Governor Rendell.
Joe Popeleski, head of local 8567 and owner of Pop n’ At beer distributorship, expressed outrage over the decision. “I paid $200K, bribed 2 state reps, and posed for nude photos just to get my liquor license, and now I’m going to lose it all to some vending machine manufactured in Asia.”
