Church Brew Works - Celestial Gold

"Celestial Gold has been known to induce Celestial Bliss!"

The first beer in our eight beer sampler at The Church Brew Works was the Celestial Gold.

The beer sampler description says that this beer is appropriate for a business lunch (woo!) or as an evening sipping beer. This beer has a light, bubbly effervescence and blends a subdued maltiness with a slight hop flavor. It is 10.5°P*, 18 IBUs**, and 4.1% ABV.

Overall average rating: 6.2/10

This beer is clear and light straw in color. The aroma is floral with hops, as is the taste. It tastes crisp with a light front tongue bite from the slight hop finish.

Shawn- This is a great way to start the taste; I really like it a lot as a starter beer. It is crisp and refreshing and has me excited for what's to come, 6.5/10.

Angela- It is a good light, refreshing summertime session beer, 6/10.

Chris- For a session beer, this has more flavor than, say, Budweiser, but it is definitely a hot summer day beer or one to be had with food, 6/10.

*The Plato scale measures beer strength.

**International Bittering Units measure bitterness.

The brewing altar.

(from nomadeditions.com)

On the crossbar in the arch is a Latin phrase that translates to "I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me." This really is a gorgeous building.

Here's a closer look at the brewing equipment:

(from churchbrew.com)



The Church Brew Works

Our first trip to a brewery as bloggers was to The Church Brew Works in Pittsburgh, PA.

(from churchbrew.com)

This brewery, located in the former St. John The Baptist Church, is the first and only Brew Pub in the country to be located in a historic church. The original hardwood floors, stained glass windows, and hand-painted ceiling were renovated in order to maintain their original beauty. Guests can sit in the the original pews in the dining area or sit in the pub/bar area. There is also a Hop Garden, where guests can drink and dine outdoors.

(from churchbrew.com)

The executive chef has taken traditional American food and added an upscale flair, and the menu also features regional favorites, such as pierogies (yum!). In addition to the beer, they also offer liquors, single malt scotches, and a nice selection of wines. As for the beer, Church Brew Works features four house beers - two ales and two lagers - as well as specialty seasonal beers.

The menu includes a page describing every step of the brewing process - it's really neat. The beer sampler included 8 beers - three house beers, one rotating house beer, and four specialty beers. Check back to read more about our experience!

Les Trois Mousquetaires Rauchbier

"Inspired by Europe - Brewed in Quebec - One for all!"

To round out the Canada category, we drank Les Trois Mousquetaires Rauchbier purchased at Vintage Estates.

This beer label proudly displays the musketeers (Athos, Porthos, Aramis, and D'Artagnan - thanks, Shawn & Chris!). This is a Bamberg-style smoked beer ("Rauchbier") which, from my understanding, means the malt has been dried over open flames. It is a dark beer made partly from smoked malt that is aged slowly with a fine yeast sediment. It is 6% ABV.

Occasionally we will be having guests that taste our beers with us, and for this it was our friend Rex. He also works in the culinary field and has an amazing palate - he was picking out flavors none of us could identify.

Overall average rating: 7.7/10

This opaque, black beer has a long-lasting caramel head with definite lacing. Rex smelled the beer first and immediately said it smelled like soy sauce. I agree completely. Shawn & Chris smell it too, but find there is a sweet finish that Chris believes is a dark fruit of some kind. It tastes lighter than we expected considering how dark it is. It has definite coffee and chocolate flavors, as well as a woody flavor with a dark fruit finish. After some investigation into the indigenous trees of Canada, Rex pinpointed the flavor combination - black cherry and dogwood. (To truly get the flavor, after you swallow the beer, lick the roof of your mouth. It seems odd, but it works.)

Shawn- I think the beer has a good taste and a fantastic aroma. It is thinner than I expected. It reminds me of an Edmund Fitzgerald made with better water, 8/10.
Angela- It tastes soooo much better than the smell - I really couldn't get past the soy sauce aroma. Despite the slightly thick mouthfeel, it is thinner than I'd wished it was, 7.5/10.
Chris- To me, it looks like a rootbeer float. This is a beer I would enjoy while sitting by the fireplace, 7.5/10.

Moosehead Lager

With "Quality & Tradition" etched into the green glass, our next beer is Moosehead Lager purchased from Giant Eagle.

This beer is from Canada's oldest independent brewery, started in 1867. Susannah Oland, "the godmother of beer," brought her recipe for a brown October ale to Nova Scotia in 1865. The brewery survived two fires before her death, and then her sons took over the company. This lager specifically is the brewery's flagship beer and is a light and refreshing drink.

Overall average rating: 5.2/10

It pours a clear, straw/yellow color, and it is quite carbonated with no lacing. There is a thick white head that diminishes rather moderately, compared to some of the quickly diminishing heads we've encountered so far. There is a pungent wheat aroma with a hint of hop. It has a light, gentle wheat flavor with a slight front of the tongue bite. It is crisp without a lot of hop flavor - nothing overwhelming.

Shawn- It has a clean, refreshing taste - it's a middle of summer kind of beer. And, as we all know, it is better to drink a Moosehead than to give it *chuckles*, 5/10.
Angela- It is a good summer sessionable alternative to the domestic lights, 5/10.
Chris- It tastes better than the smell and is surprisingly light and refreshing, 5.5/10.

Unibroue Éphémère Apple

Today's Canadian brew is Unibroue Éphémère Apple purchased at Vintage Estates.

Before we go any further, the Unibroue website is one of the most awesome brewery webpages I have ever seen. They provide so much information for each beer - the legend behind the name, what food to pair it with, suggested temperature and glassware, medals won, how to properly age it. It's amazing. Definitely worth checking out.

The name translates to "ephemeral," which means lasting for a short time or transitory. Fittingly, this is a seasonal ale brewed with Granny Smith apples. The image of the fairy on the label is quite beautiful. The ingredients include apple juice, coriander, and curacao peels, among other flavors. It is "a refreshing summer delight in every sip." It began being brewed in 2002 and is 5.5% ABV.

Overall average rating: 6.7/10

The beer pours a cloudy yellow, almost dirty blonde colored. The aroma gives off citrus and wheat scents, as well as apples and honey. There is a fruity taste with hints of honey and wheat, and it bites the back of the tongue.

Shawn- I get a little plantain taste at the end, but this is refreshing and would be good on a hot day. It is almost like a lambic/hefeweizen  blend, if Germany made lambics, 7/10.
Angela- This has a lot of different flavors, and it is definitely a refreshing summertime beer, but it is not something I could drink all of the time, 6/10.
Chris- I find this beer to be constantly developing - at the firs sip, I tasted 2-3 flavors, but the more I taste it, the more complex the flavors become, 7/10.

Labatt Blue Imported

Our next Canadian beer is Labatt Blue Imported, purchased at Vintage Estates.

This was named by the fans of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers football team for the color of the label, and it was introduced in 1951 as Labatt Pilsener. It was also the first brand in Canada to utilize the twist-off cap. This pilsener-style lager is 5% ABV.

Overall average rating: 3.7/10

It is a clear, light yellow beer with a white head. It gives off wheat and citrusy hop (cascade?) aromas. There is a light crystal malt taste with a slight wheat flavor. It slightly bites the side of your tongue.

Shawn- I am a huge hockey fan, and unfortunately the taste of this beer reminds me of hockey games - I love hockey, but I hate the beer they sell for $7/glass. On that note, GO DEVILS!!, 3.5/10.
Angela- This is not a memorable beer; it reminds me of Miller Lite, 3.5/10.
Chris- It didn't leave me with a bad taste in my mouth, 4/10.

Brasserie Dieu du Ciel - Rosée d'Hibiscus

Today's Canadian beer is Brassiere Dieu du Ciel - Rosée d'Hibiscus purchased at Vintage Estates.

This beer and brewery translates to Pink Hibiscus and God of the Sky Brewery, respectively. It is a bottle-conditioned, Belgian-style wheat beer that was born at Dieu du Ciel's brewpub in May 2006. The rose colour comes from the hibiscus flowers added during the brewing process. The floral aroma and flavour is very prominent in the beer. It has won awards at the Mondial de la Bière in Montréal  and is 5.9% ABV.

Overall average rating: 7.8/10

It is semi-clear with a rose color and a light pink head. The first thing Shawn said when he smelled it was "this is f-ing beautiful." It has a floral, citrus, overall beautiful smell. The floral taste has a front of the tongue bite with cherry undertones. It tastes kind of like rose water iced tea.

Shawn- This has an amazing aroma. The more you drink of this, the more you smell.. I can't say enough good things about this. I would recommend this to anyone, 8.5/10.
Angela- I haven't had too many prominently floral beers before, but I enjoy how aromatic this is and what a unique flavor it has, 7.5/10.
Chris- This beer is definitely an aromatic experience. This is a beer to sit and enjoy, not one for a meal because it would be overpowered by food, 7.5/10.

Epic Brewing Co. Big Bad Baptist Imperial Stout

If you have a chance to try Epic Brewing's Big Bad Baptist, do it immediately.

It may be one of the best beers period we have tried, let alone one of the best imperial stouts. It has a lot of that coffee/chocolate flavor without being overpowering. Personally, it reminds me of chocolate covered espresso beans or a 70%+ bar of dark chocolate - yum. We tried it at Beer School when their sales manager Michael - cute with a British accent ;) - shared it with us. It was packaged on September 22, 2011, so it's a brand new release. It is really amazing, go try it today!!

Molson Canadian

Today's beer is Molson Canadian, purchased at Fast Fuel (a local gas station). (The Molson website is pretty cool - very interactive, talking about the products and history as you would expect. If you click on Hockey and then the hockey player, you can practice shooting a puck at a goalie!)

Founded in Montreal in 1786, Molson Coors Canada is the oldest brewing company in North America. Molson itself is the second oldest company in Canada, following behind Hudson's Bay Company. This is made with Canadian water and prairie barley without any preservatives.

Overall average rating: 4.8/10

This is a clear, light straw/pilsner colored beer with a frothy white head. The aroma is crisp with scents of cascade hops, barley, and wheat. The taste is light and refreshing, as most pilsner/lagers are, with a slight metallic after taste even though it came from a bottle.

Shawn-  I like the aroma even though it is a pilsner, although I am thrown off by the metallic after taste, 5/10.
Angela-  It is a good, refreshing beer for a summer day, but I find nothing amazing about it, 5/10.
Chris- There is nothing really memorable about this beer. It is good for drinking in the summertime, 4.5/10.