Church Brew Works 12th Anniversary

It has been awhile since I've posted anything about beer happenings in Pittsburgh. I have a trip planned in a few weeks so I'll snoop around while I am out there. Meanwhile, starting tonight, there is a week long celebration for the Church Brew Works 12th Anniversary.

The brewery has a very interesting past. The building is the former St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church (1902-1993) in Lawrenceville. The church was decommissioned by the Diocese of Pittsburgh in 1993 and sat dormant for three years. The new owners purchased the property to build the brewery but were sensitive to the community's attachment to the building. They took the time to talk with many of the former parishioners who believed it was better to have the old church renovated than to see it torn down. After extensive renovations the building was restored and the brewery doors opened in August of 1996.

The Church has always been a favorite stop of mine. In 1996 I lived only a few blocks away and remember walking to the bar after work to enjoy the new microbrew thing. Anytime I travel to Pittsburgh part of my ritual is to have at least one beer at the bar to celebrate my return home.

When the Church Brew Works first opened it was part of the microbrew craze taking over the city. The upsurge of brew pubs in Pittsburgh, Valhalla (June 97), Foundry Ale Works (Dec 97), Strip Brewing Company (June 96), were all located within a couple of miles of each other. John Harvard's (August 97) opened around the same time just outside the city. Unfortunately Pittsburgh hasn't always been kind to brewing. Over the years all the local upstart breweries closed for various reasons. The same was true for two chains. Hereford and Hops in Cranberry Township closed in May of this year after a run of almost three years and John Harvard's bowed out recently. Along with Church Brew Works, currently Pennsylvania Brewing Company, Iron City Brewing (formerly Pittsburgh Brewing) and East End Brewing are all operating in Pittsburgh. Rock Bottom is in nearby Homestead and Rivertowne Pour House is 20 minutes east of the city in Monroeville. Plans still seem on for a Hofbrauhaus on Pittsburgh's South Side as reported by Lew Bryson back in October. Only time will tell if Pittsburghers have it in them to embrace another brewery in the city.

Through it all the Church Brew Works continues to create award-winning beers. Almost 60% of their beer sales take place away from the brewery. They are often hard to come by at this end of the state but a savvy beer hunter can find bottles and drafts around Philadelphia. Their larger specialty bottles, often not sold outside the brewery, have been showing up regularly at Capone's bottle shop in Norristown.

The brewery highlights it's 12th Anniversary with some interesting beers and past menu favorites. How often do you have the opportunity to taste rattlesnake and cactus pierogies? Along with their regular house beers there are four specialty beers including MM (12th Anniversary Ale). Draft list as of November 10th

M M
Double Amarillo Black Ale
After twelve years I am proud to unveil our 12th anniversary beer. The brew crew wanted to do something off the wall to help celebrate this momentous occasion. So I give to you MM. This beer can not be categorized into one beer style. It incorporates two styles into one brew. The first style and base of the brew is an Imperial Stout. You will notice that the beer is as dark as our oatmeal stout and has a rich full body. We achieved this with the addition of a significant amount of chocolate malt. The second style of beer incorporated into the brew is a Double IPA. If you smell the brew you will notice a significant hop aroma from the use of the Pacific Northwest hop Amarillo. We achieved this by dry hopping the brew with Ten pounds of Amarillo’s in the fermenter. Upon first sip you will taste espresso and chocolate similar to a good stout. After that the citrus hop bite kicks in and lingers on the palate through the finish like a good IPA. We went all out on this brew to reward our loyal customers through the years. We also are aging 3three barrels of this beer in new American oak casks, so check back in a year to sample this treat.

Specs
OG - 20.0 P/1.080 SG
IBU - 80
ABV - 8.5%
Grain Used - Pale, Caramel, Chocolate, & Roast Barley
Hops Used - Palisade & Amarillo

If my fellow Pittsburghers don't celebrate too much I just might get the chance to enjoy at least one glass of MM on my visit back to the old neighborhood.

CHEERS

HAPPY 12TH ANNIVERSARY!!!