Soergel Orchards St. Patrick’s Day Beer Tasting (2016)
A few weeks ago a group one of the moms in our moms group suggested we go to the Soergel Orchards Beer and Cider tasting for our monthly night out. Most of us managed to get tickets in time, but a friend or two narrowly missed out on buying tickets to this sold out event. We all weren’t sure what to expect, and were pleasantly surprised with this well produced event. Very casual, not crowded, come and go as you please from 7 to 10 pm, and fun night of food, talk, with a variety of beers and ciders from local businesses.
I went back and forth on whether or not I wanted to take my SLR for better photos, but just went with my Samsung smartphone and hoped for the best. The pictures turned out better than I thought given the lighting in McIntosh Hall at Soergel’s.
Food: Buffet of Irish Food
The buffet had a variety of offerings such as:
- Soft Pretzel sticks with beer cheese (SO goooooood)
- Mixed sauted vegetables (served with horseradish type dip, and ranch dip)
- Irish Root Soup
- Smoked Cabbage
- Bangers and mash (mashed potatoes and a brown gravy mixed with bite size mild sausage slices)
- Reuben (very good)
- Donuts: Guinness Beer Chocolate Donuts with Jameson Irish Whiskey Glaze (I liked it, but not sure I really tasted the beer or the whiskey.)
- Irish Soda Bread available at tabletops
Drink Offerings
Arrowhead Wine Cellar’s Green Apple Wine made with Soergel’s apples. Very sweet wine. If Applepucker and wine got together this would be it.
Wigle Whiskey
Organic craft spirits made from scratch with local heirloom grains. Wigle was making some cocktails showcasing some of their items. I really liked the cranberry ginger(?) drink they made with their Organic Aromatic Bitters.
We all went back for some shots of the Afterglow Ginger Whiskey. Woooooweee. (I chose to sip mine to explore the different flavors.) Warm, smokey honey flavor, with a strong ginger finish. I found it to be a very nice blend for sipping.
Full Pint Brewing
The Pittsburgh craft brewery that delivers the flavor and flare of true brewing art. I saw Full Pint Brewing had three bottles out, and possibly more in a tub. (Someone in front of me asked to try all.)
When it was my turn, I asked the server what his favorite was as I was not that familiar with their line up. He asked (thank you!) what type of beers I usually like, and then suggested the White Lightning (Belgian style white ale) that was really good. Great flavors and a hint of orange, and nice smooth drinking.
Penn Brewery
Pittsburgh brewers of authentic German beers since 1986. Penn Brewery makes a solid variety of beers. I opted to try the Chocolate Meltdown (made with Betsy Anne chocolate, another Pittsburgh favorite of mine) after Missy basically insisted I try it because it was so good. (I forgot she had it when we went out a few weeks ago after one of our Home Depot classes.)
Oh yes, it was GOOD. The chocolate flavor really came out, but not overwhelming as it was a perfect blend of chocolate and stout flavors.
Apparently ginger is a thing now? Most places had a ginger offering, which is fine since I’ll give anything a go.
Hop Farm Brewing
Hop Farm Brewing Company is dedicated to the responsible use of our natural resources, from production to packaging and everywhere in between. We grow our own hops, by hand, organically and add them to every batch we brew.
Hop Farm had three brews on tap with some interesting names like One Nut Brown. (I thought it might be something Little Nut Brown Hare would like.) Then there was another with sweat and monkeys in the name? I can’t quite remember, but I really liked it even with the funny name.
I took a look at their website for the purposes of this post and I really look forward to visiting their location in Lawrenceville. They have a food menu which is really hard to find when visiting the different brew houses around here. There’s even dessert there too!
Arsenal Cider House
Specializing in wine-style hard apple cider, cider-style and grape wines and mead. Arsenal Cider had two offerings that evening: Picket’s Bone Dry and Ginger Cider. I started with the Ginger and went back for some Picket’s because well, they were BOTH good. I am so excited that Arsenal is in the area with two locations now (Wexford at Soergel’s and the original location in Lawrenceville.)
To find out their daily and seasonal offerings your best bet is to follow their Facebook page.
I truly enjoyed this great night of food and drinks at Soergel’s. I hope they host an event like this in the future, and I for one will surely keep my eye out for it!
*Brewery descriptions in italics from their respective websites. Impressions are my own, and I bought my own ticket to the event.
https://www.thesugarpixie.net/2016/03/12/soergel-orchards-st-patricks-day-beer-tasting-2016/https://i0.wp.com/www.thesugarpixie.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/20160310_190115.jpg?fit=700%2C525&ssl=1https://i0.wp.com/www.thesugarpixie.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/20160310_190115.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1Reviewsarsenal cider,full pint brewing,hop farm brewing,penn brewery,Pittsburgh,pittsburgh drinks,wigle whiskeyA few weeks ago a group one of the moms in our moms group suggested we go to the Soergel Orchards Beer and Cider tasting for our monthly night out. Most of us managed to get tickets in time, but a friend or two narrowly missed out on buying...thesugarpixie thesugarpixie@gmail.comAdministratorThe Sugar Pixie
