I’ve mentioned it before, but Cheeks in Uptown is one of my favorite bars of all time.  Not only is it walkable for Gretchen and I (especially when we have our beer shoes on), it also serves only beer from Western PA.  The owner, Cheeks himself, decided to one-up that this year by having a Pittsburgh-only beer-off yesterday.

iron.jpgI knew Pittsburgh had a lot of local breweries like Iron City, Penn Brewery, and East End Brewing Co., but Cheeks decided to give the big brewers a run for their money by inviting local brew-clubs to join the competition.  They brought a ridiculous amount of specialty brews that sometimes seemed to defy logic and/or the laws of physics.  There was a cherry pie beer, an apple strudel beer, a curry beer, all kinds of different winter lagers…the list went on and on.

My favorite, I must admit, was regular ol’ Iron City.  It might not be the sexiest beer around, but I can’t help it–it just tastes like home.  Gretchen, though, loved a new beer by the East End Brewing Co. which was the hoppiest beer I’ve ever tasted in my life.  We wish we could’ve tasted more of the specialty brews from the local brew-clubs, but they could only bring a limited quantity.  The overall winner?  The Brookline Beermeisters, which is a brew-club.  I think the big brewers were a little jealous; they vowed to up the ante next year by working on a secret brew that won’t be unveiled until the next competition.  That exchange brought a huge smile to Cheeks’ face–it looks like he started a new Pittsburgh tradition!

And if you’re looking for the perfect holiday gift, it’s hard to go wrong with beer!