Tuesday, August 13, 2013

It Must be Tough Being a Beer Geek in Pittsburgh...

…or in Philadelphia, Harrisburg or anywhere else in Pennsylvania for that matter.

I just got back from a trip to the Steel City (visiting my grandparents—103 and 99 respectively), and
I've returned empty handed. Plenty of memories, but no beer (technically, we did stop at a Wegmans in Rochester, so I got some beer, but no western PA beer.) Coming from a state where beer is available in grocery stores, gas stations, convenient stores and farm markets, I'm bewildered by Pennsylvania's beer selling laws.

Traveling to a state with some really terrific craft breweries—Yards, Stoudts, and Weyerbacher, to name a few—I was hoping to bring back a few six packs, some one-off bottled oddities and maybe a bomber or two. But, alas, I should have done 5 minutes of internet research and I would have found out that 1) beer is not sold in Pennsylvanian grocery stores.

Okay, I can get around that. I'd go to a beer distributor, they usually have a bit better selection of beer anyhow. In fact, Save on Beer, a distributor on McKnight Road in Ross Township, had a fantastic selection—Imports, American craft, Pennsylvania brews and Pittsburgh local favs—except that 2) beer sold at distributors in Pennsylvania, is sold only by the case or keg.

Okay, that's going to get expensive quickly. 

Fear not, Pennsylvania has a solution. 3) Smaller quantities of beer may be purchased at bars, restaurants and licensed retailers, but limited to 192 ounces per purchase. Here's the thing about that, though 4) most of the beer available at said bars, restaurants and licensed retailers is Yeungling, Coors Light and Iron City, but if you do find that random bottle of Sly Fox, you're probably going to pay a premium for it.

What about a bar specializing in craft beer? True, Pittsburgh has its share of beer bars, but getting to them is another thing, because 5) driving in Pittsburgh is horrible. There are very few highways or interstates. Almost all of the roads are four lanes and riddled with traffic lights. Traveling just under 5 miles, from where we were staying to Save on Beer, took no less than twenty-five minutes. I will admit, Pennsylvania isn't a total loss, 6) there are a few places where six packs and individual bottles are sold, like the House of 1000 Beers in Kensington, PA (1000? Really? That's only 41 cases) but, since it was 30 miles from where we were staying, and I wanted to be back in time for breakfast the next morning, I took a pass. I have also heard that some super markets are being allowed to sell some beer. 

Penn-state legislators realize the ridiculousness of their own laws, too. Back in July the Philadelphia Inquirer ran an in-depth look at what was need to reform the states antiquated liquor laws. A four-hour closed-door meeting at the Capitol in Harrisburg resulted in a failure to agree on a $2 billion transportation bill to which the alcohol reform was paired with. Guess what? The Dems and the GOP in PA can't get along either.

So, lesson—or rather six lessons—learned. It's BYOB in PA.

8 comments:

  1. As a budding beer geek while in grad school in Pittsburgh, I sure was exposed to a lot of good beer, but that was mostly at bars. Granted, I learned how great Bell's and Great Lakes are through getting sampler cases, but the prices for six packs at pizza shops and such was wildly off-putting. It wasn't until I moved to Ohio a couple years later that I really was able to explore the complete world of beer.

    Then again, considering I was a poor grad student, it was probably for the best that I couldn't buy much beer.

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    1. Don't get me wrong there is some really great beer in Pittsburgh. There's also gold in Fort Knox. The trouble with both is getting it out.

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    2. I also remember, right upon moving to Pittsburgh from California, hearing others talk about driving across state lines (about an hour to WV or OH) just to get beer. I had no idea what this kind of crazy talk was about, coming from the free and open wild west, but after a while it made a whole lot of sense.

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  2. I guess you just have to know where to go. Maybe it just seems easier to us here because that's the environment we're used to living in? I just became familiar with my local six pack shops and bars that are craft oriented whenever I needed to find something in particular.

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    1. Growler fill-ups at a Sunoco gas station is easy. Finding beer in Pittsburgh is like landing at Normandy.

      I do blame myself for A) not contacting you and B) not doing my homework before heading west.

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  3. My brother lives in the Philly suburbs (was once less than 10 minutes from Victory), and while the PA purchasing laws are a real pain, there are plenty of craft bars in the area with great selections (for example, he will text me whenever he's drinking Pliny). The best way to drink craft beer in PA is in a bar.

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  4. We also made a trip from upstate NY to Pittsburgh this summer to see the Pirates play. We drank IC light at Primanti Brothers and there were craft brews available outside the stadium for pregame enjoyment. We travel south through PA often to visit family in MD and stop at a beverage center along Rt 15 to pick up a case of Troegs Pale Ale. I find their balance of Crystal Malt and Cascade hops to be particularly exquisite. Buying buy the case does present problems with moderation and I have to limit myself to putting only a couple in the fridge at a time. Cheers to
    PA beers!

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    1. There can be no other beer drank whilst consuming a Primanti Bros sandwich, other than IC. I'm fairly sure Pennsylvania—or at least Allegheny County—has a law on the books about that, too.

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