Hoppy Drinking

Thursday, April 05, 2012


As a marketer, I tend to not buy in to marketing trends. Okay, if the trend if powerful enough, I’ll dip my toes in. Take for instance the push to get people to go green. Well B and I use recyclable bags. Selfishly because they are easier to carry our groceries into the apartment.

Now there is that push to “shop local.” I like this one. I don’t mind supporting local stores and farmers. AND I really don’t mind supporting my local brewers!

Reader Lindsey and I recently sampled and purchased some growlers from East End Brewery – a Pittsburgh micro-brew that was up until recently run by a one man show.



My most recent growler was the Big Hop IPA. I’m not good with tasting words, so I’ll let the East End peeps describe this: “very hoppy, but not especially biter. Balanced with a solid Munich Malt backbone.” It’s also the most popular seller!

Forgive me, but I can’t remember what brew I tasted or had during my last visit to Pittsburgh Public Market, but I’m looking forward to sipping some Monkey Boy soon. Here’s the description from the site:

Monkey-Boy - Swinging from tank to tank around here, we've come up with the perfect way to enjoy a bright sparkling taste of summer, no matter what the season may be.  Now a year round offering, this fresh local hefeweizen carries a distinct banana ester profile, and crisp finish. No bananas were harmed or peeled in the brewing of this beer. It's just a little side benefit that our German yeast strain gives us.

Now that craft beer is booming, East End is looking to expand. And I don’t mind supporting them and I hope that you will too!