Church Brew Works Oak Aged Barley Wine

I stopped in to Church Brew Works during Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week to sign paperwork for our rehearsal dinner. While there, I ordered a glass of the Oak Aged Barley Wine. The beer pours a dark brown color with a thin filmy beige head. Bubbles collected on the side of the glass. The aroma consists of raisin, fig, malts, chocolate, caramel. The taste is dry with a dark chocolate base and plenty of raisin, fig, and dark fruits. Oak shines through and dries out the mouth with bourbon accents and a hint of cherry. The alcohol burn lingers and is quite warming. The alcohol content is 9.5% ABV. I’d say this was a rather delicious barleywine with great oak and bourbon flavors. I’ve had their regular barley wine before, and the oak aged version really stepped it up a notch with a nice smoothness, even though it does burn on the way down.

Church Brew Works-Penn Brewery-Hofbrauhaus Inaugural Ale

The final Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week collaboration beer on tap at Bocktown in Robinson that I tried was the Inaugural Ale. The sour mash red ale was brewed at Church Brew Works with assistance from staff at Penn Brewery and Hofbrauhaus. The beer pours a red tinted brown color with a foamy off-white colored head. The aroma consists of cherry, malts, caramel, and chocolate. The taste is dark chocolate with a light cherry tart accent. Toasted malts make their way through this beer before a dry grassy finish takes over the beer. The alcohol content is not available online, but I would estimate it to be about 7.5% ABV. This was my favorite of the three collaboration beers. I think some people expected this beer to be a sour beer, but it only claimed to be a sour mash, providing a light tart hint in the background.

Church Brew Works December 2009

Church Brew Works Bier De Noel

I stopped in at Church Brew Works while in Pittsburgh recently. The first beer I ordered was the Bier De Noel. The beer is a brown color with a light filmy head. The aroma is full of cinnamon and nutmeg. The flavor is sweet with malts, caramel, and toffee and it finishes with an alcohol bite. The alcohol content is 9.5% ABV. I thought that the Bier De Noel was a very satisfyingly spicy beer. The alcohol holds a demanding presence in this beer, but I thoroughly enjoyed the kick that it provided.

Church Brew Works Xmas

The second beer I ordered at Church Brew Works was the Xmas. The beer is a dark brown color and is almost opaque with a light tan head. The aroma consists of cinnamon, nutmeg and malts. The taste is extremely smooth and full of nutmeg and cinnamon. It also has a slight dry finish. The alcohol content is 7.2%ABV. I like the Xmas, but not quite as much as the Bier De Noel. The Xmas has a nice complimentary balance of spices and malts, and no component is overdone.

Church Brew Works

On a Super Bowl weekend, it was only proper to go to a brewery in Pittsburgh. The choice for Church Brew Works was made, located on Liberty Avenue in Pittsburgh. The brew pub is located in an old church which makes for a great setting.

The Beer

My first beer, and favorite beer of the night, was the Sleigh Wrecker.

From 01-31-09

This beer has a very robust flavor, tasting of chocolate and caramel. The beer is a winter warmer and definitely warms you on the inside. I am a big fan of this beer, especially since the hop content is low.

The second beer I had was Halbert's Saison.

From 01-31-09

While not quite as good, the beer had a great flavor. I think it was a little to fruity for my liking, but it was still drinkable.

The Food

I ordered the Pittsburgh Pierogie Pizza for dinner and it was excellent.

From 01-31-09

If you like pierogies, I highly suggest ordering this pizza. It is a very filling meal, as it is a 14" pizza covered with potatoes and cheeze. What a heavenly treat!

Overall

I had a great time at the Chruch Brew Works. The food was excellent and so was the beer. I highly recommend making a trip to the Church.