Friday, May 08, 2009

Baseball, Bikes, and Beer in Pittsburgh

Scott Smith may not have set up a beer stand for me in his 'hood when the Marathon passed by last Sunday, but it was probably because he's so tired from all of the activity at the brewery and around town as demand for his well-made local product continues to grow. It's great to see the demand for East End Brewery's beer expand to include PNC Park, where the Pirates play. Talk about getting better exposure in "mainstream" markets. Plus, in the club level? Big Congrats! Speaking of the ballpark, PNC Park has something going on this summer called Beer Passport Nights. Here's a blurb from East End's website describing what and when this is all about. If you live in or are traveling to Pittsburgh this baseball season, keep an eye on the schedule.
To help spread the word that Club 3000 is serving fresh local beer this season, some fresh local brewers (some "fresher" than others) will be there in person, chatting you up, and personally pouring your pre-game beers. On Beer Passport Nights, for $35 - that's 20 bucks LESS than the regular price of a Club section seat, you'll get 1.5 hours of unlimited pre-game sampling of beers from East End Brewing and The Church Brew Works (and possibly beer from a 3rd not-so-local brewery, but don't quote me on that). And of course, a winning baseball game... fingers crossed. * May 16: Beer starts at 5:30, game at 7:05pm * June 27: Beer starts at 5:30, game at 7:05pm * Aug 7: Beer starts at 5:30, game at 7:05pm * Sept 25: Beer starts at 5:30, game at 7:05pm And on one other note about East End, the annual Keg Ride with Pedal Pale Ale is coming up a week from this coming Friday. I'm beginning to think this would have been an easier way to see Pittsburgh than to run 26.2 miles through it, ha! Once again, I'll put my fingers on lazy, cruise control and turn the keyboard over to Scott.
So, maybe you read about the keg ride in the Post Gazette? (See "Pump Up Your Tires") But what the Post Gazette DIDN'T tell you is that for the first time this year, we'll be crossing a river. Don't worry, you won't need a paddle or a life preserver because everybody knows that full kegs don't float. Instead, we'll use a bridge, which in this town, doesn't narrow the possibilities very much. Let's review the particulars: Show up at the brewery at 6pm on Friday May 15th, get signed in, and collect your token. Be prepared to head out at 7pm for a low-speed scenic ride of 6-7 miles, mostly on paved roads, but with some parts on smooth trails. (There will be no "off road" riding - the keg trailer doesn't like that.) So any bike will do. Just follow the keg, or the person in front of you, until we stop. Lock up your bike in the space we've set up for it, and go have a beer on me! The goal this year is to get as many people as possible on this ride, and shatter last year's record of 225 riders. This is definitely a case of the more the merrier - and the more beer we have to pull! So be sure to forward this to anyone you know who you think would enjoy a gentle bike ride on a warm summer evening, ending with a crisp, hoppy pint of Pedal Pale Ale! PEDAL ON, MY PINT-PUSHING PEOPLE!

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Where can you get tickets for the "Beer Passport"?

I'm going to be in town for this Saturday's game and want in!!!

Bryan Kolesar said...

PHP...sorry for the late reply...if you haven't already, I recommend giving the Pirates ticket office a call to see about ticket availability. Hope you have a great time, though the beer might (probably will?) be better than the baseball. in any case, great stadium, great city, great beer.

cheers....and say hi to Scott