http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer Craft beer goodness to get you over the weekly hump and ready for the weekend Wed, 24 Jun 2009 11:57:41 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Sickpuppy and myself made a trip to Bocktown in the Robinson/North Fayette area of Pittsburgh for a Monday afternoon delight. OK that just sounded bad. We are actually going to be part of the Beer Dependence Day event on July 3rd and wanted to go scope out the area and ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2009/06/24/50-southern-tier-oak-aged-unearthly-ipa/ Last week there was no update. Penguins won game 6 the night before in the Stanley Cup Playoffs leaving me dead to the world on Wednesday. Friday they would win the Stanley Cup 2-1 in game 7 and it was time to celebrate. I had every intention on keeping BlackOps ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2009/06/18/49-brooklyn-black-ops/ Victory Hop Devil is one of my favorite IPA's of all time. Victory decided to take it one step further by messing with a good thing. The story behind this is a riot and I wish I had a recorder when, by chance, I met up with a sales rep. ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2009/06/03/48-victory-wild-devil/ I have 2 6-packs of this aging in my basement. This time I had it fresh from the tap at Mad Mex in Cranberry. Great Lakes Blackout Stout brewery: Great Lakes - greatlakesbrewing.com beer webpage: http://www.greatlakesbrewing.com/beerProfile.php?beer_id=00000010 style: Russian Imperial Stout abv: 9% glass used: snifter awards: Gold Medal, 2008 World Beer Cup | Gold Medal, ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2009/05/27/47-great-lakes-blackout-stout/ Either you love it or hate it when Dogfish Head experiments with flavors. Me, I love it. Correction, I luuuuuurve it. They won't release a beer for the sake of saying they brewed something new if it didn't pass a rigorous tasting first. My palate rests in their brewing. Dogfish Head ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2009/05/20/46-dogfish-head-burton-baton/ As you can see from the picture above I had some fun with this week's selection. I'm always up for cooking with beer and since this past Sunday was Mother's Day I figured it was my best chance to show mom the versatility of beer. Thanks to Tim at The ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2009/05/13/45-stone-brewing-cali-belgique-ipa/ I'm sharing the spotlight this week. Please welcome to the stage fellow Yinz Team softball all star, Uncle Crappy. Crappy stood out at Podcamp Pittsburgh 2 during our SIDT/WMS session on grassroots podcasting as the only person to applaud and cheer as if the Stanley Cup was brought into the ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2009/05/06/44-guinness-250-anniversary-stout/ I'm doing a crossover post with my personal blog since it suits both places. This is the Easter Beer Ham that Lushie and I worked on this year. Its been a couple of weeks since we've made it and the taste of deliciousness is still present. It was difficult to decide ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2009/04/30/the-easter-beer-ham/ I wasn't aware that this was available in PA until I stopped by 3 Sons today with Teaspoon. Oskar Blues is the only craft beer company that, in my opinion, have been able to master the can. Time to see if this lives up to the name. Oskar Blues Mama's Little ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2009/04/28/43-oskar-blues-mamas-little-yella-pils/ When I started drinking craft beers on a regular basis for our show Shipwreck Porter was my first ever "WOW" beer. In fact their owner Tim Suprise was the first major brewery owner I had ever met back in 06.  This is the 2007 vintage that was aged when I ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2009/04/22/42-arcadia-shipwreck-porter/ Live from Los Angeles, an evening dedicated to celebrating the world of craft beer and the American entrepreneurial spirit. With over 95 million beer drinkers, beer is an American icon and is interwoven into our culture, yet the real story of these independent brewers has never been told. Beer Wars introduces ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2009/04/16/beer-wars-the-movie-tonight-only/ I picked up this bottle also at D's 6pk Shop in Regent Square. Unfortunately there was no price on the bottle or shelf (that's common in the beer cave) and was part of a special on mixed 6packs. Never heard of it but they carried the full series so I figured ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2009/04/14/41-left-coast-brewing-black-magic-stout/ I missed posting last week since Teaspoon is officially home with us now and as you can expect things have been hectic. I picked up this bottle at D's 6pk Shop in Regent Square. Unfortunately there was no price on the bottle or shelf (that's common in the beer cave) ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2009/04/08/40-founders-kentucky-breakfast-stout/ My first review back after teaspoon's arrival so I thought that since non-Irish people are wrapping up pretending to be a nationality that I would actually celebrate part of mine, the Polish side. Okocim Beer brewery: Browar Okocim S.A. - www.okocim.pl style: Pilsner abv: 5.5% serving size: 500ml (16.9oz) glass used: pilsner price: $3.50 Overview Purchased at 3 Sons ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2009/03/17/39-okocim-beer/ I'm taking a little bit of a break. As you can see from the picture above, my son decided to come a little early. About 8 weeks early. Teaspoon here deserves some extra attention so Lushie and I are doing just that.  I'll be back in a week or so ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2009/03/04/news-introducing-teaspoon/ When Bar Louie in Cranberry opened I avoided it like the plague. Figured it was like the other locations around town and was nothing more than an overpriced martini bar. One night I broke down and gave it a shot since I was parched. With that came the discovery of... Troubadour ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2009/02/25/38-troubadour-obscura/ I know that Groundhog Day was 16 days ago but the shipment of this traditional lager was delayed getting to my area. The first time I had this was in roughly 2001 and was hands down the worst beer I ever drank. 8 years later it's time for a revisit. Ground ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2009/02/18/37-ground-hog-brew/ I was in Studio A (notice the official bottle opener) to visit sickpuppy when he busted out a bottle of this with a snicker. You're going to find out why. Rogue Yellow Snow brewery: Rogue Brewing - rogue.com style: India Pale Ale abv: 6% (that's loosely based on Plato being 15. Thanks sickpuppy & ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2009/02/11/36-rogue-yellow-snow/ This is a 50/50 blend of unfiltered Hoppe and Unearthly Imperial IPA. Grab on to something tight and hold on. Southern Tier Imperial Gemini Blended Unfiltered Ale brewery: Southern Tier - southerntierbrewing.com style: Imperial Ale abv: 10.5% serving size: 22oz glass used: sniffer price: $12.00 Overview High in the winter sky, two parallel stick figures are visible & known ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2009/02/04/35-southern-tier-imperial-gemini-blended-unfiltered-ale/ This is the second of the 2 imperial stouts that are new to the area from VooDoo Brewing. If you ever get the chance to try Matt's line of beers I highly suggest it. Big Black VooDoo Daddy brewery: VooDoo Brewing - voodoobrewery.com style: Imperial Stout abv: 12.5% serving size: 22oz glass used: pint price: $9.00 Overview This Is ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2009/01/28/34-big-black-voodoo-daddy/ This beer has had much hype coming into our area. VooDoo Brewing is 90 minutes up I-79 from Pittsburgh but I think we were the last market to get our hands on some.  I've met Matt Allyn many times and have the utmost respect for what he's doing in Meadville ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2009/01/21/33-voodoo-black-magick/ I wasn't sure which I would release for this week's edition. I have some VERY special brews that I picked up yesterday at 3 Sons and right now we're debating if it will make a future episode of SIDT. We're recording this weekend so you'll know next week if they ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2009/01/14/32-stoudts-winter-ale/ There was a special at Mad Mex tonight where if you buy a pint of Victory you received a free pint glass (pictured above). What better reason to review a beer than for a free glass! Victory St. Victorious brewery: Victory Brewing - www.victorybeer.com beer website: St Victorious style: Doppelbock abv: 7.6% serving size: 16oz glass used: ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2009/01/07/31-victory-st-victorious/ I love December 31st every year. The wife and I usually treat ourselves to things we won't normally have during the year. As you can see above, I'm going to have a good night drinking martinis. I know, there is no craft beer but I have been known to fancy ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2008/12/31/nye-2008/ I decided to be a nice beer guy and share this with my family last night when we celebrated the holiday at my brother's house. I come from a family of "if it's dark, it's strong" and "why cant you drink normal beer like Bud". I was on a mission ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2008/12/25/30-southern-tier-choklat/ [vimeo width="480" height="360"]http://vimeo.com/2528857[/vimeo] It's Friday and you're at work looking to kill some time before the holiday. Why not do it with beer! Once again the shows at Beer Safari have gotten together for a mega beer exchange. As a member of Should I Drink That, I joined sickpuppy in unwrapping ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2008/12/19/beer-safari-christmas-exchange-video/ It's 8 days before Christmas so you deserve something to kick it up over the holiday. We all have whack jobs in our families and craft beer is what you need to drown them out. I wanted to do more Christmas themed beers this year but most I have had ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2008/12/17/29-rogue-santas-private-reserve/ I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a fan of the Pilsner style. I've had some extremely bad beer in this style and it probably goes back to swill I drank as a lad. Wait, that was Golden Anniversary from my parents basement. If I'm going to review ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2008/12/10/28-victory-prima-pils/ This week we feature a seasonal beer from a brewery back in my hometown of Erie, PA. I know it's early in the site to repeat a beer already but after reading the original review here I felt it needed a worthy review. Plus I thought I reviewed the older, ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2008/12/03/27-erie-brewing-ol-red-cease-and-desist/ Two weeks in a row with Southern Tier! I have a hard time justifying a bottle of beer priced at $17 so after some research I decided to pick it up. The results were, well, read on... Southern Tier Curvee Series One brewery: Southern Tier - southerntierbrewing.com style: American Strong Ale abv: 11% serving size: ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2008/11/26/26-southern-tier-cuvee-series-one-oak-aged-series/ When this arrived at 3 Sons Dogs & Suds I swear that every regular that I talk to told/emailed me that this was a must buy. Gotta love communication like that! I love most Southern Tier products so I was really excited to see something new on the shelf. Wait ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2008/11/19/25-southern-tier-krampus/ Thanks to all who voted for  Should I Drink That?" in the food & drink category! Unfortunately we didn't win this year and while rumors started to surface of us having a fate like Susan Lucci I can assure you that... aw screw it. Have a craft beer and keep ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2008/11/13/2008-podcast-award-winners-announced/ So like an idiot I thought I was over the flu and guess what, I wasn't. No review today because I need to get ready this weekend for the greatest thing to ever grace the shores of Station Square. The 2008 Pittsburgh Brufest will be Friday, November 14, 2008 at Bar ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2008/11/12/event-brufest-at-station-square/ When you're done reading this I want you to go check out the official website for this line of beer. Knightshead is one of the most appealing sites I've seen this year. Only thing missing is the ABV for the beers and they never answered emails asking for it. That ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2008/11/05/24-knights-head-pale-ale/ Voting ends November 6th at 23:59:59 so keep on voting for Should I Drink That?" (that would be my podcast) in the food & drink category! Finalists for the 2nd year, we want to come home with the hardware and can only do it with help from you! You can vote ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2008/10/31/2008-podcast-awards-keep-on-voting-for-sidt/ You can thank that flu thing going around that knocked me out last week for a lack of updates. Still fighting the bugger but at least I can enjoy a beverage now! Le Freak brewery: Green Flash - greenflashbrew.com style: Belgian IPA abv: 9.2 serving size: 22oz glass used: wine glass A purpose of this site is ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2008/10/29/23-green-flash-le-freak/ After much procrastinating I finally purchased this domain over the summer and if it wasn't for Podcamp Pittsburgh 3 I would probably still be dragging my butt moving all of my reviews over to this site. A new design will be coming soon as I transfer from the old domain ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2008/10/16/welcome-to-humpday-happiness/ Last year I had the first ever pumpkin beer that I enjoyed every drink of. Since then I swore it was the Southampton Pumpkin Ale and guess what, I was way off. When I drink a pumpkin beer I like the taste of pumpkin roll. Pumpkin beers are made of ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2008/10/16/22-southampton-pumpkin-ale/ Since word first broke of this special brew from Dogfish Head was coming out earlier this year I knew it would be a must buy at any price. Apparently I spoke too soon. This champagne size rarity came in at $15 a bottle which for a 10% ABV beer is ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2008/10/08/21-dogfish-head-theobroma/ This is one of the gems I brought back from my trip to Oswego for Silent Bob's wedding (i know I still haven't posted pictures) When I select beers for HDH I try to make it something that I haven't already had on the show. I have drank Avery products ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2008/10/01/20-avery-maharaja-imperial-ipa/ The story behind the Dogfish Head 120 Minute Chug [viddler id=7395e5df&w=437&h=370] PodCamp Pittsburgh is a FREE community UnConference, run by and for people who create, enjoy or are interested in learning more about: * blogs * vlogs (video podcasts) * audio podcasts * web video * social and content networks * new media monetization * more! PodCamp Pittsburgh 3 ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2008/09/28/event-podcamp-pittsburgh-3/ I really can't stand Talk Like a Pirate Day. I think it's cheesy and annoying as all hell. I say the hell with it and if you have to deal with people speaking like pirates you might as well drink like one! Here are my suggestions on how you too ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2008/09/19/event-drink-like-a-pirate-today/ Drinking great craft beers while raising money for a good cause! The guys at TRUB are throwing the 2nd annual Brewing Up a Cure with all proceeds going to Cystic Fibrosis. From the Brewing up a Cure website: The members of the Three Rivers Underground Brewers Club (TRUB) invite you to ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2008/09/10/event-brewing-up-a-cure/ I'm doing this to show that not everything I review is good. This is no fluff piece. This is a horrible beer. The great thing about having a place like 3 Sons Dogs and Suds close by is that I can try single bottles of beer before dumping my wallet ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2008/07/09/19-ofallon-wheach/ Yeah, go ahead and make the jokes. It's inevitable at this point. I did it myself. Old Chub holds a place near and dear to my heart. Back when SIDT started we did a show about a favorite drinking game of ours called Beer Hunter (click here for details). I ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2008/07/02/18-oskar-blues-old-chub/ This past weekend my cohort in craft beer went to Baltimore for the 2nd annual Gravy Fest. Since I was stuck here in Pittsburgh finishing my last final he was nice enough (I bugged the hell out of him) to pick up a growler from DuClaw for me. Apparently the bartender ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2008/06/18/17-duclaw-naked-fish/ Pens pre-game (Pens lost 3-2 and the cup 4-2) tonight was at Mad Mex in Cranberry once again and to keep the pattern going it was another IPA. Gordon IPA is from the Oskar Blues brewing company in Colorado. The thing you need to know is that they are the ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2008/06/04/16-oskar-blues-gordon-ipa/ Didn't think I'd get it in did ya? What do you expect when the Pens are playing in the Stanley Cup Finals? *SHEESH* They won tonight btw, 3-2 :) Great Lakes has always been a favorite brewery of mine since I started into craft beer. Yeah i know, it's close to ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2008/05/28/15-great-lakes-commodore-perry-ipa/ It's been a few weeks so what do I do on my first day back... happy hour of course! Lushie and I actually went to dinner at Mad Mex tonight and since it was during happy hour I had to take advantage of the specials. Honestly the $7 for a ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2008/05/21/14-moylans-kilt-lifter-scottish-ale/ For the record I have had this beer before but never a WHOLE beer. The only time I've had this previously was at a beer festival so technically I'm still living up to trying something new. In fact the last time I had this was 2006 at the All American ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2008/03/26/13-east-end-big-hop-ipa/ Ever since I started into craft beers I've heard nothing but good hype about Bear Republic and as of a few weeks ago PA finally made it to the distribution list. I did some research and found this listed as a strong ale, red ale and a Scottish ale soooooooo ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2008/03/19/12-bear-republic-red-rocket-ale/ Don't rub your eyes, it's not a mirage. That right there is the holy grail of beer. The rarest of rare (IMO at least). I present to you the 2002 Sam Adams Utopias. Currently on ebay this is going for $400 a bottle. Yeah, 1 bottle. This limited edition ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2008/03/12/11-samuel-adams-utopias-mmii/ from dogfish.com "An unfiltered, unfettered, unprecedented brown ale aged in handmade wooden brewing vessels. The caramel and vanilla complexity unique to this beer comes from the exotic Paraguayan Palo Santo wood from which these tanks were crafted. Palo Santo means "holy tree" and it's wood has been used in South American ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2008/03/05/10-dogfish-head-palo-santo-marron/ This is a birthday beer from my bro which he picked up from one of my absolute favorite mecas in Pittsburgh. Fat Heads Ale is specially brewed and bottled by Rogue Brewing and sold exclusively in their upstairs 6 pack shop. If you can't make it to Fat Head's but ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2008/02/27/09-fat-heads-ale/ Clipper City Brewery in Baltimore MD brings this week's craft beer from their Heavy Seas series in the form of Holy Sheet Uber Abbey Ale (9%ABV). Right off the bat I thought this to be a find as it was part of the Heavy Seas variety case I picked up from ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2008/02/20/08-clipper-city-holy-sheet/ Tröegs is one of my favorite breweries. Their Troegenator Doublebock is in my top 5 of best beers ever.  It came no surprise to me when I poured this Nugget Nectar that a shift in my standings was due. The Nugget Nectar is listed as a red ale so don't let ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2008/02/13/07-troegs-nugget-nectar/ Last week I brought you the Brother David's Belgian-style Double Ale. This week we meet his bigger and older brother, the Triple Abbey Style Ale. A Triple basically means that it uses three times the malt than that a Trappist. Alcohol level is generally from 8% to 12% and the lighter ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2008/02/06/06-brother-david%e2%80%99s-triple-abbey-style-ale/ I usually catch hell for this but I'm not a huge Belgian fan. Some purists say it's a sin while I say I'd rather have a double IPA any day. BUT I am trying to broaden my horizons with this blog so no style is ever off limits. I'm naming ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2008/01/30/05-brother-david%e2%80%99s-belgian-style-double-ale/ I've decided that Wednesday will be my beer review day for 3 reasons: It's hump day If you like it, you have plenty of time to stock up for the weekend A lot of 6pk shops restock on Tuesday/Wednesday's so if it's in you'll get first crack at it. That said...  Most of my ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2008/01/23/04-new-holland-pilgrims-dole/ I picked up a case of this year's version of Ol' Red from Erie Brewing. For years this has been one of the few beers that I wait to hit the Pittsburgh market since it is a limited brew. This year is 1%  higher in alcohol to push it to ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2007/11/24/03-erie-brewing-ol-red-cease-and-desist/ This is 22oz of deliciousness... 6.2% ABV - Fall Release Poured a light amber color with a fluffy head. Aroma of fresh tea leaves and nice hop flavor that wasn't overpowering... and damn was it tasty :) http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2007/11/07/02-sierra-nevada-harvest-fresh-hop-ale-2007/ I was lucky enough to partake in some fine beverage this weekend as we celebrated Emerson’s bachelor party. For fans of a typical Pilsner, don’t even think about this purchase. Coming in at 110 IBUs this bad boy will punch you in the face with hops. Honestly my mouth puckered ... http://www.humpdayhappiness.com/beer/2007/10/08/01-sam-adams-imperial-pilsner/