December/January GOOD BEER News TWIN PACK: Reverse Keg Ride Results, Holiday Growler Hours, Still time for Christmas shopping, Beer in Grocery stores-EEBC Fights Back!, Gratitude 2009 Update, 5th Anniversary Beer(s), and TWO New Session Ales.

[EastEndBrewing]

Hey there GOOD BEER Fans - Happy Last GOOD BEER News of the Year to
you!

As is our unintentional custom at this time of year, we're more than a
little behind. And when this happens, the first thing to give is
usually this newsletter. But as you can see below, that doesn't mean
there's nothing to talk about. So I recommend blocking out a little
more time than usual this month, cuddling up close with a loved one, a
Growler - or both (or maybe your loved one IS a Growler... and I'm
fine with that), and carefully plow your way through this DOUBLE YEAR-
END edition of the GOOD BEER News. And that means you won't get a
full blown January Newsletter, but maybe a brief "Late Breaking"
message when there's a certain bottled beer release in the making.

There's LOTS to cover here, so let's start by getting started, okay?

GROCERIES AT THE BREWERY? OH, THE HUMANITY!
Last month, beer was sold at a grocery store in Western PA, and
something remarkable happened... small brewers still survived, local
beer distributors that offer better beers haven't closed, and in
general civilization hasn't crumbled. Just amazing. But while the
long term effects of better access to better beer still remain to be
seen, we're going to see if we can shake things up even more and give
the folks at Giant Eagle and Wegman's a run for their money... and
take the game to their field.

We've already sold through our batch of Rachel Carson Blend Coffee
from LaPrima at the brewery, as well as (the beer that we can't call)
Eye Opener Coffee Porter. And now our further encroachment into the
"Fine Groceries" category continues with our Holiday Season release of
our much anticipated Black Strap Stout Cake Mixes. Finally, the
return of the best solution for that leftover cup of Black Strap Stout
at the bottom of your Growler - make a cake with it! Or maybe that's
not a problem for you, and you just need to pick up a second jug?

So, there. Take THAT grocery stores! Now we'll really see if
civilization can crumble. I know the cake is nice and moist.


REVERSE KEG RIDE RESULTS:
No matter how you slice it, the ride from OTB on the S. Side back to
the brewery is up hill. We tried to soften the big long hill through
Panther Hollow by taking a roundabout route through Downtown, The
Strip District, and Bloomfield instead, but there was really no
escaping it. And I apologize to all that rode for bumping up the
mileage from 7 to 11 at the last minute (especially to you, Mr. I'm-
going-to-RUN-the-Reverse-Keg-Ride) I'm just glad the kegs were all
empty.

Here's an approximate map of the route we took if you'd like to re-
create the trip - but maybe without the cranky woman in the black PT
Cruiser: http://www.mapmyride.com/route/us/pa/pittsburgh/105125868242351163

So thanks to all that came out, donated, rode, and enjoyed a pint of
Snow Melt Winter Ale in our delightful back lot/hop composting area.
Thanks also to all of our celebrity keg pullers:
-City Councilman: Patrick Dowd
-City of Pgh Bike Pedestrian Coordinator: Stephen Patchan
-Post Gazette Beer and Food Writer: Bob Batz Jr.
-Venture Outdoors Ambassador of All Things Bicycling: Seth Gernot

And a HUGE thanks to Mike, Marty, and everyone at OTB that filled our
bellies with a hot breakfast (and maybe even a beer) before the big
ride. Go see them at http://www.otbbicyclecafe.com/ They're much
easier to find, now that E. Carson St. construction is finally
complete.

All in all, we had 170 riders and raised roughly $1,100 for our two
charities: BikePgh.org and the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food
Bank. While the turnout was definitely lighter than our Spring Ride,
it was a chilly day, and an uphill ride this time, so maybe that
scared a few of you away. But more importantly, it was a great test
for the charity format and for sure, we'll be doing it this way again
for the Pedal Pale Ale release in the Spring. In fact, we might just
have a little charity fund raiser on the side... who wants to bid on
one of those prestigious Keg Pulling slots?

Be sure to have a look at the picture and video links on the East End
Brewing website...especially the one where the wheel falls off of my
trailer! http://eastendbrewing.com/node/733
So, if you missed the ride and still want to contribute to these
amazing local organizations, here's where to do it:
http://www.pittsburghfoodbank.org/donate/
http://bike-pgh.org/get_involved/become-a-member/


PENN BREWERY RETURNS UNDER TOM AND ANDY!
You probably already knew this bit of GOOD BEER News, but Penn Brewery
is back, already starting to make beer again on Troy Hill. This is
great news for the Pittsburgh beer scene, and the best part, it will
be run by BEER PEOPLE - Tom Pastorius and Andy Rich! Check out the
press release on their site if you haven't caught wind: http://www.pennbrew.com/
Welcome back Penn!


GRATITUDE 2009 UPDATE:
In spite of a long running comedy of errors related to our bottle and
cap delivery, we - actually it was mostly The Worlds Best Brewery
Volunteers doing all the work - managed to fill about 1500 bottles of
Gratitude 2009 last month, and they have been conditioning nicely at
the brewery. Meanwhile, our favorite barleywine artist, Mary Tremonte
has been working away at the new artwork for this years beer, sporting
blue wax this time around in keeping with our Roy G. Biv progression.
I'm hoping we get label art finished, approved, and on the bottles for
a pre-2010 release, but man, it's going to be tight. Watch the
website, the Twitter feed, the neighbor's crop circles, the
scuttlebutt around the water cooler, and this newsletter for word on
the big release day. I'll keep you posted.


SELL-OUTS:
Since last time, we've had to say goodbye to two more beers at the
brewery. The last Growlers of (the beer we can't call) Eye Opener
Coffee Porter have left the building, though you may still find a
little around town. And the last few bottles of our Toaster 4th
Anniversary Imperial Stout went to a happy home this past weekend.
Timing could not have been better on the Toaster, since last week was
our official 5th Anniversary, and we need to make some room for the
new 5th Anniversary Beer... speaking of which.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO US!
That snowy evening at Kelly's Bar and Lounge seems like half a
lifetime ago, but it's only been 5 years. Maybe Brewery years are
like dog years or something? Still, 5 years is not too shabby of a
run - and we're not done yet! The SBA says that 50% of Small
Businesses go under within the first 5 years. Given those odds, all I
can say is WE WIN THE TOSS! So to celebrate, we'll need a beer. And
I have just the thing in mind.

Bubbling away in the fermenter at this moment is a double batch of a
Farmhouse Style Ale, called Saison (pronounced "say-sawn"). If you're
not familiar with the style, it originated in the French speaking
regions of Belgium, where farmhouse breweries brewed a special beer to
provide refreshment to the farm workers during harvest season. Hard
work, but a nice benefits package.

Traditionally, it's a bottle conditioned beer (as ours will be) brewed
using ingredients grown on site (as ours will not be), which could
include a wide range of malted and unmalted grains, spices, and most
significantly, a unique yeast strain. While we don't really have much
in the way of farmland to draw from here at the brewery, we can
replicate the crazy-warm fermentation conditions of the time, along
with a wonderful farmhouse yeast strain, and bring you something
special enough to properly celebrate an important anniversary like
this one. Historical examples of Saison were low in alcohol (think
like 3.5% abv), no doubt to provide more refreshment than intoxication
to the farm hands so that some actual work could get done, but over
the years as the breweries sold more and more of it to the general
public, it crept up to more like 5-8% abv., and ours will land in
about the middle of this range.

Also traditionally, "wood" is appropriate for the 5th year
anniversary, so I'm rather excited (ahem) to tell you that in addition
to releasing some of it AS IS, we're also going to age a bit of this
beer in a virgin oak barrel, and another bit of it in a different
barrel (who lost it's virginity a long time ago) with some special
fermenting agents added to mix things up a bit. If these experiments
go well, you can expect a few different releases before we're done.
Needless to say, portions of this project will take some time. So
while the base beer was brewed on our Anniversary, it'll be a while
before we get it all released and into your hands.


ENOUGH WAITING - 2 NEW BEERS YOU CAN DRINK NOW!
While we've been scheming away on all that 5th Anniversary Brew stuff,
we decided these things are best decided over a couple of beers... a
couple of new Session Ales to be specific.

Session Ale #31: Along Came a Cider - The folks at Trax Farms make
some great cider, all with locally grown apples of course. So we
asked them if they'd be kind enough to blend a special batch leaning
more toward the tart side of things so we could ferment it into a
crisp, tart, sparkling fermented cider using our house ale yeast. Not
exactly a "session" strength beverage by our own standards, as it came
in at just over 6%abv. But it's light, sparkling, tart, mildly sweet,
easy drinking, and on tap now, so be careful with it okay?

Session Ale #32: This is our take on a Belgian Style Pale Ale, with a
gentle malt backbone, european hop varieties, and a distinctive
Belgian character we get from the Trappist Hi-gravity yeast used to
ferment it. But this amber ale is by no means a hi-gravity beer,
coming in at a modest 4.3% abv. We'll be getting this one on tap
later this week or early next. By then, we'll maybe even have a name
for it.


STILL ENOUGH TIME TO GET YOUR GOOD BEER GEAR BEFORE CHRISTMAS!
Did you even know that we have a web store? And that we offer all
sorts of cool GOOD BEER related stuff: Shirts, ball caps, knit hats,
kids shirts, Growler Bags, pint glasses and mugs? Or better still,
for the GOOD BEER Fan in your life, we have Brewery Gift Certificates
and Growler Subscriptions - like our MONTH OF BEER, SEASON OF BEER,
and the much coveted YEAR OF BEER? Well, we do. Have a web store
that is. With all this stuff.

And the East End Brewing "Comfort and Joy Fulfillment Department" at
our GOOD BEER Gear Store (a.k.a. my wife Julie), assures me that we'll
still be able to get it to you before the big guy in the red suit
breaks into your house - but only if you get your order in to us
before the end of the week. Friday at the latest. (And no, I'm not
talking about Fat Gary.) Here's where we keep the store:
www.EastEndBrewing.com/store


DECEMBER HOLIDAY GROWLER HOURS:
If you'd rather just come on in and shop in person for that special
somebody in your life, even if that special someone is yourself -
because sometimes we all just need a beer to get through the holidays,
we've got some special hours to round out the rest of the year.
Regular hours apply unless otherwise noted here:

12/22 Regular Tuesday Night Growler Hours 5-7pm
12/23 Special Wed Night (Christmas Eve-Eve) Growler Hours 4-7pm
12/24 CLOSED for Christmas Eve
12/25 CLOSED for Christmas Day
12/26 Regular Saturday Growler Hours 12-5pm
12/29 Regular Tuesday Night Growler Hours 5-7pm
12/31Special Extended (NYE) Thursday Growler Hours 4-7pm
1/1 CLOSED for New Year's Day (Friday)
1/2 Regular Saturday Growler Hours 12-5pm
Then, we're back to our regularly scheduled program of beer.

Whew! That was a quite a newsletter - and quite a year for East End
Brewing too! As always, thank you for your continued support of
everything we do here at the brewery. Without all of you, none of
this would be possible.

Have a safe and wonderful year-end, filled with all the GOOD FRIENDS
and family you can handle!
--
Cheers,
Scott

BUY A GOOD FRIEND A GOOD BEER (tm)
www.EastEndBrewing.com
http://twitter.com/EastEndBrewing