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.

Rock Bottom-Penn Brewery-Hofbrauhaus Home Opener

Another Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week collaboration on tap at Bocktown in Robinson was Home Opener. This kolsch was brewed at Rock Bottom in Pittsburgh with assistance from staff from Penn Brewery and Hofbrauhaus. The beer pours a golden color with a frothy white head. The aroma consists of light lemon, pepper, and caramel. Overall, the aroma is pretty faint, but that is typical of the style. The taste is clean and fresh with lemon, buttered crackers, and a grassy dry finish. The alcohol content is not available online, but I would estimate it to be approximately 4.5% ABV. I’d say this was a pretty delicious kolsch, although I wouldn’t rank it among my favorites. The slight buttered cracker flavor got in the way of it tasting 100% clean, and I am very picky when it comes to kolsch beers.

Hofbrau Munchen Dunkel

While in Pittsburgh, I stopped in to the Hofbrauhaus and ordered a (large) 1 Liter mug of the Hofbrau Dunkel. The beer pours a caramel color with a lofty and frothy off-white colored head. The aroma is malty with some caramel sweetness and light pine hops. The taste is smooth and sweet with lots of malts and caramel. A slight toasted flavor comes out in the finish which helps to balance the sweetness. The alcohol content is 5.5% ABV. This is a wonderfully crafted beer that is smooth and sweet with a nice hop and toast balance. It is definitely my favorite beers that Hofbrau makes, and is my go-to sessionable beer when I get a chance to drink it.

Hofbrauhaus Pittsburgh

As part of pre-wedding celebrations, I got into Pittsburgh last night and a group of us went to Hofbrauhaus for dinner and drinks. The restaurant is situated into three sections: A quiet room, outdoor seating, and the large dining hall. We chose to eat in the dining hall to be a part of the singing and drinking festivities.

The beer I drank all night was the Hofbrau Dunkel. The color is a dark amber. The aroma hints at the barley used with a sweet undertone. It has a malty taste with hints of caramel. The after taste is toasted. The alcohol content is 5.5% ABV. I enjoyed this beer so much that I ordered two liters of it for our dinner. The picture above it the beer in the signature 1-liter glass.

For dinner we started with the soft pretzels with bier cheese and sauerkraut balls. Both were excellent. I ordered Wurstlteller, which is a sampler of mettwurst, bierwurst, and bratwurst. On the side was German potato salad and sauerkraut. The food was absolutely fantastic and extremely filling.

I enjoyed my first visit to Hofbrauhaus in Pittsburgh. I highly recommend that you make a visit to stand on the benches and sing along to the German polka band that plays every night. It really is quite the fun atmosphere and experience.