Tag Archives: Drink

Local Spotlight: Full Pint Brewing in North Versailles

Walking into Full Pint Brewing, located off of Route 30 (near Rivertowne), I wasn’t quite sure what to think. I’ve read plenty about the craft beer they produce and how great it is, and visiting the brewery and the pub has been on my Summer to-do list for some time. However, I was kind of thrown by the location and nature of it, in a good way. The brewery and pub are tucked away on the hillside and kind of difficult to see from the road. Walking up to the warehouse, all of the garage doors were wide open. I could see the kettles and busy people working to box the products. The pub area is sort of just a “come on in and check us out” kind of area, and the casual nature of Full Pint is really awesome.

Pub Entrance to Full Pint Brewing

Pub Entrance to Full Pint Brewing

There wasn’t anyone else in the pub except for another guest enjoying a beer at the bar. Because of his friendliness, knowledge of the brewery, and comfortable attitude, I just assumed he was an owner. He wasn’t, but he was still helpful.

Ironically, I found while writing this post, he’s Eric Starkey– the host of the YouTube channel “Beers in the Burgh.” And he did a great spot on Full Pint a couple of months ago which highlights parts of the brewery, the brewing process, the types of beers offered, and some of the owners:

Beers in the Burgh has some other great spotlights on other local brewers. Check out their channel, like them on Facebook, and follow them on Twitter.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to take a tour of my own. The brewery was very busy, probably in preparation for the inaugural “Pittsburgh Summer Beerfest” at Stage AE TODAY and tomorrow, in which Full Pint will be featured. Ticket information is available here.

Decisions, decisions..

Decisions, decisions..

I did sample a few of the beers, however, including the “All In Amber,” “Little Brown Ale,” “Spruce Ale,” and the 2012 Great American Beer Festival Bronze Medalist and 2013 World Beer Competition Silver Medalist “White Lightning,” and ended up having a “full pint” (ouch) of the latter, award-winning Belgian-style white ale.

Along with the open, comfortable pub atmosphere with seemingly limitless drink options, Full Pint will be expanding their pub menu to include food as well. Right now they offer house made pizzas (which one of the founders talks about in the video above-it sound delicious), but a full pub menu will be available August 1.

The wall behind the bar in the pub was stacked with stickers of other local brewers, bars, and businesses from the Pittsburgh area which was another awesome thing about Full Pint: the hometown feel and authenticity of the place. The people I met were nice, knowledgeable, and very helpful. The whole place just has this really unique feel to it. As evidenced above, the names and label designs of the beers are all really cool and creative. The label for “White Lightning” even features a fictional version of one of Full Pint’s founders.

Customers can come in and grab a drink or two like I did, however full purchases of cases, six-packs (custom variety packs are available as well), clothing, and soon to be food are also available. So if you’re ever in the North Versailles area, pop into Full Pint Brewing and see what it’s all about– I know I’ll be going back.

Four Things To Do This Week

Every Monday or Tuesday I’ll run you through a preview of what to do this week. Everything from live music and arts to brunch and more. Here’s your weekly preview.

 

MAKEnight (21+)

Thursday, Dec 6 6p-9p

Children’s Museum Pittsburgh

Eat, drink, and make with us during MAKEnight, a special after-hours event for adults.

  • Experience the museum while making keepsake items in our MAKESHOP and STUDIO.
  • Feast on artisan foods provided by Bar Marco
  • Enjoy a speciality cocktail made by Wigle Whiskey (each guest will receive one cocktail, in addition to other beverages)

Please note that this is a 21+ event. Admission is $12 ($10 for members), which includes light fare, alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, and all materials.

Registration / More Info here: https://www.pittsburghkids.org/events/241

 

 

Battle Of The Bands

Rex Theater

Rex Theater (Photo credit: fimoculous)

Sunday, Dec 9

Rex Theatre, Southside

See local music acts battle for 20 hours of studio time and $500. All ages.

More Info: http://www.gorillamusic.com/

Tickets: $8 each http://www.gorillamusic.com/eagleone/buy-tickets/

 

 

Unblurred Gallery Crawl

Friday, Dec 7 6p-11p (and later)

Bloomfield, Garfield, East Liberty

Penn Ave Arts District features various art-related events along Penn Ave from Brillobox to East Liberty.

More Info (events are listed geographically): http://friendship-pgh.org/paai/unblurred/

 

 

Brunch in Bloom

Main entrance to Phipps Conservatory & Botanic...

Main entrance to Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Gardens (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Sunday, Dec. 9 11a & 1p

Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Garden

Seasonal & sustainable brunch inside the beautiful Phipps Conservatory. Call for reservation.

Reservations: 412-622-6914

More Info: http://phipps.conservatory.org/exhibits-and-events

Black and Currant

That's no grape arbor!  Greendance welcome guests with a kiwi vine (which they someday hope to turn into a new fruit wine!)

That's no grape arbor! Greendance welcome guests with a kiwi vine (which they someday hope to turn into a new fruit wine!)

This past Thursday I raided the wine rack (made of reclaimed shutters and purchased at Fresh Heirlooms – check out the shop on this year’s Joy of Cookies Cookie Tour in Lawrenceville) in search of a few bottles to take along to our friend Anne’s Thanksgiving dinner. Nestled between a Malbec leftover from a wine and cheese tasting and the bottle of mead I had refused to open on our wedding night, I found just the thing: a bottle of Black Currant wine from Greendance: The Winery at Sand Hill on the Southwest Passage Wine Trail. While my explorations of the trail took place with my almost-husband, now actual-husband, almost two months ago, there isn’t really a better time to revisit that trip as the holidays rapidly approach. If you remember, Sunday left me with Ben and Rachael (BK and RK respectively) as we finished watching a rainy concert on a lake at Stone Villa. BK, our designated driver for the day, navigated us to Greendance, our next stop, and parked in a dirt lot a few paces from the good-looking main building surrounded by a lush garden. We tore RK away from the parking-lot-adjacent goat pen and located the tasting room where the winery’s owner, Susan met us.

RK wanted to take a goatie home with her but there wasn't enough room in the car.

RK wanted to take a goatie home with her but there wasn't enough room in the car.

Susan was enthusiastic about explaining the winery’s history and philosphy, which she described to me as maintaining an intimate feeling and a green environment. (To read more about the history of Greendance and Sand Hill Berries visit the Greendance website. Sharon gave a great overview which I am hesitant to paraphrase here, I was tasting a lot of wines, remember). What sets Greendance apart from all of the other wineries we visited is its affiliation with Sand Hill Berries. Sharon described how through partnerships they began to envision a winery using only berries and fruits from the exisiting farm. Slowly that evolved to include grape wines and now Greendance stocks at least 5 varieties from grapes grown on-site. Other grape wines adhere to the requirements that grapes come from within a 350-mile radius. But let me get back to the berries! The above-mentioned Black Currant wine (oh, and there is a port as well) is divine with holiday fare (turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, the fixins). I have to say I was surprised that I enjoyed this fruit wine (do I need to remind you I prefer the dry whites?) but the flavor was deep and not too sweet. I also enjoyed the Vidal Blanc and Pinot Gris, both of which I purchased, but I have to say I SO enjoyed (as did my compatriots) the Black Currant. My suggestion? Head to Greendance (only 29 miles away) before Christmas and purchase some to go along with your holiday dinner! And here is the secret of Greendance: Sand Hill Berries not only contributes to the fruit wines, you can buy homemade pies and locally made ice cream just 20 feet from the winery door!

Sand Hill Berries pie and locally made ice cream available at Greendance

Sand Hill Berries pie and locally made ice cream available at Greendance

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Hit the road, n'at

The Summit InnWanting to wake up in wine country ready to get to some serious tasting, me and the almost-husband (AH) decided to head down to the Laurel Highlands after work on Friday.  With our reservation confirmed at the gloriously historic Summit Inn Resort and armed with the news that the dining room closed at 9pm, we planned to hit the road by 7.  This gave me enough time to properly pack.  For a weekend devoted to wine tasting I reasoned I really only needed five things: sundresses, sunglasses, sunhat, and sunscreen.  Oh, and a swimsuit for the indoor and outdoor pools and jacuzzi at the Summit.  Fortunately, I decided to throw in some jeans and a sweater at the last minute because sadly the weather did not cooperate with my packing plan.  Leaving by 7 allowed me to attend my Friday workout class to prepare for a weekend devoted mostly to eating and drinking.

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