Once again, we’re in my favorite week of the year: Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week!

There are special events all over the region, including a lot of special brews and tap takeovers.  Even if you think you don’t like beer, I promise you’ll be able to find a beer that you’ll like.

And, just like last year, the local craft brew community came together and created five special collaboration brews:

• D’Pomme Rye Saison – Rye Saison
• Fear of a Black Walnut – Smoked Black Wanut Oatmeal Stout
• Pennsyltucky UnCommon – PA Swankey/Kentucky Common
• Fakin the Funk – American Wild
• None More Black IPA – Belgian Black IPA

I went down to Rock Bottom to try the Fear of a Black Walnut, and it’s out of this world amazing.  I’m hoping to find all the others, but I’ll be hunting for the None More Black IPA.

There are also a couple other special beers out there from some craft brewing, and I have to recommend the Pittsburgh Left by Southern Tier.

Find out more, find a participating location and check out the myriad of events here.

The Chief, returns for its 10th anniversary production for a short run at the Pittsburgh Public Theater.

And in conjunction, at a special show on Sunday, January 6 there will be a beer and food tasting after the show.

The show starts at 7 p.m. and the tasting will begin around 8:30.

I went to the last special event the PPT did with Good People, and it was a lot of fun, if you can make it, call the theater to reserve your tickets.

Find out more here.

“Good People,” a comedy by David Lindsey Abaire, runs through the end of the week at the O’Reilly theater.  And on Friday, there will be a special night featuring the beer of Great Lakes Brewing, and food from some big names: Cookies & Critters, On Nom Bake Studio and the south side Pretzel Shop.

Tickets are $25 ahead of time, or $30 at the door.  Doors open at 7 p.m. for beer and food and the curtain rises at 8 p.m.

I’m not sure what beers they’ll have from Great Lakes, but I like pretty much everything they make (plus winter beers are my favorite, so it’s a good time to drink), so I’m excited.

Purchase tickets here (use code “LASTCALL”), and read City Paper’s review here.

The Kickstarter for The Brew Gentlemen has started up, check it out here.

Last weekend, I did an awesome activity with Venture Outdoors, we did a hike through the Strip District which was followed by a tour of Wigle Whiskey.

As I learned, about 40 percent of Venture Outdoors activities are somehow connected to food and dink, and I have to say, it’s a great way to get people outside.

We started at the Distillery and then hiked through the Strip, across the 16th Street Bridge and down to Washington’s Landing on Herr’s Island.

Along the way, we learned various historical facts, which was pretty awesome.

The tour of the Distiller was really good, our tour guide was very informative and absolutely hysterical.  We all started with a cocktail, learned the story of Wigle and how whiskey is made.  Our tour ended with a lesson on how to taste whiskey, and of course, a chance to apply our newly learned skills.

Special thanks to Wigle Whiksey and Venture Outdoors.  The trip is done every other month or so, so if you’re interested, you should be able to do the trip once more this year I think.  Check out the rest of my pictures here.

The Brew Gentlemen have teamed up with Tapped, the pop-up beer garden, for the season finale:

The Brew Gentlemen have also teased some upcoming promo materials which will be part of their Kickstarter campaign.

Sadly, I’ll be out of town that weekend, or else I’d head out to Braddock, but I hope it s a great event!

The Stone House in Farmington (Fayette County) is hosting a special night with beer pairings by Stone Brewery.  Stone is wildly popular in the craft beer scene, although I tend to only see the IPAs, so I stay away.  I have recently had the smoked porter with vanilla bean, and it quickly has become an absolute favorite of mine (there is also a pepper version, also very tasty).

I’ve only eaten at the Stone House once, but I liked it a lot, although the parking still confuses me, there is plenty of it, but I never see anyone park on the one side.

If your’e up for a scenic and pretty drive, head on up the mountain and check it out.

Matt and Asa, also known as the Brew Gentlemen, just graduated from CMU and are moving into a location in Braddock.  You can check out pics of their recent renovation work here and here.

I love craft beer, although sadly, I don’t have the time or space at the moment to explore homebrewing.  Although in hindsight that is okay, there is still a lot of beer out there for me to try!

I love the fact though that it’s a small start-up, making use of space in a community that needs the influx of people and businesses.  Hopefully one day soon we’ll be able to go and fill up a Growler from their space.

In the meantime, follow the blog from here, it’s awesome to watch the progress!

Yesterday, Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week kicked off.  Penn, Church Brew Works and Rock Bottom are each making special beers for the events and venues all across the region will be having special events and tastings all week long.

Last night, I headed to my local bar for their Founder’s event, where they had a tapping of their incredible Breakfast Stout.  I left very happy (I haven’t had this awesome beer in a long time) and a free Founder’s glass (and of course, a Penguins win)!

Untappd is also getting into the spirit of the week, offering a special edition badge for anyone who checks in at two officially participating venues during the week.  You have a ton of choices, so get out there and find some of the awesome places in Pittsburgh that celebrate craft beer the entire year!

My friends and I had been using Beerby, which is another beer app, developed and owned locally.  At one point they announced they were closing, so we all moved over to Untappd.  Local money came in and Beerby is still operating, so take your pick.  Beerby has cooler badges (they are all badgers) but Untappd has more features.  Either way though, they are both great, free apps for both Android and iOS to find great beer near you.

I’ll be back with more, and hopefully I can try some of the three special beers, and I’ll check in throughout the week.  Enjoy the brews, be safe, and find some new craft beer around Pittsburgh!

Once again, the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium will be opening its doors to craft beers from around the country and you’re invited to partake.

Friday, September 16, starting at 6 p.m., you can view the animals, eat food and drink some awesome craft beers.  Some of my favorites will be there, including Duck Rabbit, Leinenkugels, Terrapin and Great Lakes, and other awesome breweries, like Duquesne, who I haven’t been able to drink yet, will be there as well.

Also representing Pennsylvania will be Yuengling, Penn and Rivertowne.

You even get a commemorative mug to take home with you!  But more importantly, this event helps to support the animals and the outreach programs of the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium.

Check out more details and purchase tickets here, hope to see you there!