East End Brewing First

While at the new East End Brewing Company location, I picked up a growler of First, the first beer brewed at the new location. The beer pours a cloudy dark amber color with a lofty and frothy cream colored that leaves behind some lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of toasted malts, caramel, pine, pepper, and hints of smoke. The taste is smooth and dry at the same time with plenty of toasted toffee, caramel, light smoke, and lemon. The finish brings out a peppery spice in the back of the throat and some pine as well. The alcohol content is 5.5% ABV. This was a rather bitter and hoppy amber ale, and I loved the light touches of smoke. I’d highly recommend that East End make this a regular in their lineup.

East End Brewing Blabber & Smoke Rauchbier

I picked up a swing-top bottle of East End Brewing Blabber & Smoke Rauchbier from the brewery to share with friends at our weekly bottle share. The beer pours a golden color with a lofty and frothy white colored head that leaves a few specks of lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of smoke, bacon, barbeque, and charcoal. The taste is smoky and full of flavor. It has bacon, charcoal, and barbeque flavors built on top of a light caramel base beer. The alcohol content is 5.3% ABV. This was a great tasting smoked beer that smelled more smoky than it tasted. As it warmed, the flavors blended even more pleasantly, making for a great drinking experience.

Penn Brewery-East End Brewing-Arsenal Cider House Cheeky Yinzer

I ordered one of the three Pittsburgh Craft Beer Collaborations, Cheeky Yinzer, while at Bocktown in Robinson. This beer was a British Style IPA and was brewed at Penn Brewery with assistance from Andy at East End and Bill from Arsenal Cider House. The beer pours a caramel color with a frothy white head. The aroma consists of caramel, pine, and lemon. The taste has a nice caramel flavor on the front end with a large dose of toasted toffee. A light grassy hop flavor with lemon accents the sweetness nicely. The alcohol content is not available online, but I would estimate it to be about 5.5% ABV. As for a British Style IPA, this beer was a great example. It was fresh and clean with just enough sweetness to play with the grass and lemon flavors.

East End Brewing Old Nebby Stock Ale

I picked up a growler bottle of East End Brewing Old Nebby Stock Ale from the brewery. The beer pours a murky brown color with a bubbly off-white colored head that turns into a foamy head. The aroma consists of caramel, malts, grassy hops, yeast, fig, and raisin. The taste is smooth and sweet with caramel, raisin, fig, and yeast. The finish brings out some grassy hops and the after taste is toasted toffee. The alcohol content is 6.9% ABV. This was a wonderful beer that had a nice sweetness to it, but it was balanced with some grassy hops. It left a nice dry toasted toffee flavor in the after taste as well.

East End Monkey's Uncle

I picked up a bottle of East End Monkey’s Uncle and brought it over to my buddy Matt’s house to share with friends. The beer pours an amber color with a frothy off-white colored head with some lacing left on the glass. The aroma consists of wheat, caramel, and cherry, compiling an overall rather sweet aroma. The taste is very sweet with lots of malts and caramel, hints of cherry, and plenty of wheat in the backbone. There is a nice alcohol warmth on the finish with some peppery hops and a dry toasted caramel after taste. The alcohol content is 10.10% ABV. The Monkey’s Uncle was an amazingly tasty beer with a great sweetness and lots of warmth included.

East End Bigger Hop

I had my friend Eileen get me some bottles of East End Bigger Hop that I used as an excuse to get to Mount Washington in Pittsburgh to proposed to my (then) girlfriend (she said yes!). The beer pours a golden color with a frothy white head that is about a pinky finger thick and leaves some lacing behind on the glass. The aroma consists of a soft caramel undertone with plenty of bitter hops giving off wonderful citrus notes including orange, lemon, tangerine, and grapefruit. There is also some pepper and pine mixed in as well. The taste is bitter with lemon, orange, tangerine, and grapefruit right up front. The flavor transitions into pine and pepper spicy bite before a sugary sweet grapefruit flavor pokes through with caramel undertones. The after taste is bitter and has a spruce flavor about it. The alcohol content is 9.0% ABV. I was always a huge fan of Big Hop and an even bigger fan of Harvest Hop, and I think this beer is up there with those two beers. The citrus notes that this beer hits is perfect and bitters nicely of a soft caramel base, making this beer all about the hops.

East End Pedal Pale Ale

I picked up a growler of East End Pedal Pale Ale from the growler shop in the Pittsburgh Public Market. The beer pours a golden color with a frothy white head that laces nicely on the glass and lingers for a while. The aroma consists of bitter pine and lemon hops with a caramel undertone. The taste is bitter but smooth with lots of caramel building the base and has pine and lemon accents. There are hints of tangerine that come out in the finish. The alcohol content is 5.4% ABV. I love how intense and bitter this beer is. A lot of pale ales can be pedestrian, but the dynamics of this pale ale were much appreciated.

East End Gratitude (Green Wax, 2008)

My buddy Cheezer brought over a bottle of East End Gratitude to share with my friends. This bottle was the Green Wax top, circa 2008. The beer pours a caramel color with a thin filmy tan head. The aroma is strong and consists of raisin, caramel, pine hops, maple, and strong hints of alcohol. The taste is smooth like caramel ice cream topping with a strong raisin spice, maple, and fig. The finish has an alcohol pinch to it with and a dry hoppy after taste. Even after the after taste, the caramel lingers on the tongue. The alcohol content is 11.4% ABV. The Gratitude stands as a benchmark for the barleywine category, and I enjoy every version of it. I think my favorite that I’ve had was the 2005 (not reviewed), but I will take any one of the bottles that I can get my hands on.

East End Brewing Blackstrap Stout

My friend Mike brought over a growler of East End Brewing Blackstrap Stout for the AFC Championship game. The beer pours a black color with a frothy tan head. The aroma consists of lots of dark chocolate, heavy on the molasses, coffee, espresso, and vanilla. The taste is dry and biting with plenty of dark chocolate on the tongue. The finish is drying with coffee, espresso, and molasses. The after taste is dry and has some toasted malt flavors. The alcohol content is 6.2% ABV. I really loved the dry and roasted flavors in this beer, which kept it from being too sweet on the palate. Also, the wonderfully rich chocolate and espresso flavors balanced out the dryness.

East End Homewood Reserve 2010

I was lucky to grab a bottle of East End Brewing Homewood Reserve 2010 from Al's of Hampden, as Al brought back some bottles from Pittsburgh. The beer pours a deep black color with a bubbly brown head. The aroma consists of chocolate and toasted malts with some molasses and caramel. The taste is light bodied and with a solid chocolate base before a sour cherry twist comes out to play. The finish dries out with toasted malts and dark chocolate and the after taste lets the chocolate linger with a coffee accent. The alcohol content is not available online but I would estimate it to be around 9.0% ABV. There is a great amount of flavors in this beer, but I was slightly surprised at the lack of a body. The beer is more like liquid chocolate than a beer, but the sour twist really makes this beer enjoyable.

East End Coffee Porter

I was given a bottle of East End Coffee Porter (known as Eye Opener Coffee Porter, but don't get Scott from East End started on that one) for my birthday from my friend Brad. The beer pours a deep black color with a frothy mocha color head. The aroma consists of rich dark chocolate with hints of fresh coffee roasting in the nostrils and some molasses. The taste is smooth and immediately hits with the rich chocolate that was in the aroma before dark roasted malts kick in mixed with a wonderful helping of coffee. The finish on the beer is dry and some molasses kicks in with a mocha and cream flavor. The after taste has a sweet sugary coffee flavor and the toasted malts linger on the tongue. The alcohol content is 6.8% ABV. The Coffee Porter has a delicate and perfect balance between coffee and chocolate, especially the rich dark chocolate. On a long winter's night, this beer is a perfect chocolaty treat that will satisfy your sweet tooth.

East End Big Hop IPA

I stopped in to Buffalo Blues in Pittsburgh to help patronize their local food and beer initiative. At Buffalo Blues, they feature $3 East End Brewing Company drafts, making a visit completely worthwhile. I ordered a Big Hop IPA to go with my wings. The beer pours an orange color with a thin filmy white head. The aroma consists of caramel malts with fresh lemon and pine hops. The taste is bitter and piney with good lemon accents and a caramel backbone that waits to reveal itself. The beer finishes with a pine dryness. The alcohol content is 5.8% ABV. The Big Hop is a very delicious brew and a great IPA, especially at $3 a pint.

East End Wooden Nickel Saison

I picked up a bottle of East End Wooden Nickel Saison when I visited the brewery in Pittsburgh. I've heard many good things about this beer, so I was very excited to give it a try. The beer pours an orange color with a bubbly head. The aroma is yeasty and Belgian with candisugar, banana, and apricot. The taste is sweet and smooth, with plenty of flavors including raisin, apricot, banana, yeast, and candisugar. The was very little carbonation in this beer. The alcohol content is 7.5% ABV. I was really amazed at this beer as it was not a typical saison. Most saisons are light on the palette, but the Wooden Nickel was much heavier, but was very enjoyable.

East End Illustration Ale

I picked up a liter bottle of East End Illustration Ale when I was in Pittsburgh and visited the brewery. The Illustration Ale is a Belgian Strong Dark Ale. The beer pours a dark brown color with tan bubbly head measures about the thickness of a penny. The aroma consists of chocolate malts, raisin, tea, and light caramel. The taste is sweet and smooth with a good helping of raisin, dry chocolate, toasted malts, and tea. The flavor transitions in a light alcohol bite on the sides of the mouth and finishes with a dark chocolate flavor and yeast. Hidden in the darkness of the beer is a light sour cherry flavor that balances out the sweetness very nicely. The after taste is dry and remnants of raisin and hot chocolate linger. The alcohol content is 9.4% ABV. I really enjoyed the variation of flavors in this beer, from the sweet raisin to the bitter chocolate and sour cherry. Each flavor was well balanced and complimentary of the others.

East End Big Hop Harvest Ale

On my last trip to Pittsburgh, I picked up a growler of East End Big Hop Harvest Ale from the brewery. The coolest part of this growler pick up is that they added fresh hops into the growler before sealing the lid. This way, the hops will be able to soak into the beer and bring out a little more of a hop profile. The beer pours an orange-amber color with a foamy off-white head. The aroma is piney and hoppy with some caramel and lemon hints. The taste is sweet and smooth with caramel with a good delicate pine and pepper hop balance. The beer then finishes smooth with a pepper bite on the back of the tongue. The alcohol content is 7.4% ABV. This has become one of my all time favorite IPAs. The balance that East End achieved with this beer was perfect and the hops bit perfectly on the back of the tongue.

East End Snow Melt Winter Ale

On my last visit to D's Six Pax and Dogz in Pittsburgh, I ordered a pint of East End Snow Melt Winter Ale. The beer is a dark brown color and is opaque. It smells of caramel, toffee, and coffee with slight hop hints. The taste is full of flavors including roasted malts, caramel, and coffee. The alcohol content is 7% ABV. I thought that this beer was very good all around and smooth with slight spice bite. All of the flavors are well balanced and very complimentary of each other.