Tag: craft beer

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The Library

There are very few places where you can find a happy hour that serves you specials seven days a week. It’s a special special (HA) that calls for fun all week long. Can you think of any places that offer this? Let us know in the comments so we can check these out for ourselves.
I know of one place, which I’m highlighting here. The Library in Southside is not a place to renew your books, but rather an oasis of good food, great beer and cocktails, and you guessed it, happy hour seven days a week. We stumbled upon this place one Sunday afternoon when the Sunday scaries washed over us so badly the only way we were going to get through the day was by drinking it away. We still make it to work on time, so it’s not a problem… At least that’s what we tell ourselves. It quickly became one of our favorite places and happy hours. While neither of us were avid fans of Southside, going to the bars and restaurants between the hours of 10 AM and 9 PM has shown us the light and fun that the neighborhood of bars has to offer.
I’m sorry if you love Southside and this offends you. I’m even sorrier for you that you love Southside.
Back to the point. The Library is located near the corner of East Carson St and S 23rd St, nestled among other shops and bars that have no trouble luring you in for a drink. On a Sunday afternoon/ early evenings, the streets are a little quieter and the clientele a little less rowdy. However this does not stop the traffic for both food and beverage service. People were constantly coming in to pick up their food orders. As the other B&B’er so eloquently stated, when people are coming in to pickup their to-go order and not get a drink, you know the grub is good. Food wasn’t originally in our plan but after watched so many people order it, we had to give it a try. It didn’t hurt that the happy hour special is 1/2 off small plates! We ordered The Pickle King appetizer, a heap of golden brown fried pickles, with some delicious ranch, which we might have liked clean. If you’re thinking it’s hard to mess up fried pickles, you are wrong because you absolutely can and I’ve had a many bad fried pickles, so terrible that I didn’t eat them for a very long time! However, The Library did not disappoint; they sure are the Pickle King. Afraid that the beer and our hunger led to disillusionment with the quality of the food, we decided to give it another try on a second trip. We recently revisited our new favorite Sunday hang out to try to suppress the Sunday scaries again, and this time we tried the Where the Wild Things Are. Any guesses on this app? Chicken fingers. We got to pick a sauce too, and their buffalo Parmesan garlic was everything we had hoped it would be; just spicy enough to make your mouth tingle, with a hearty scoop of parmesan cheese infused into the hot sauce. Does this sauce make your mouth water for wings? Well it just so happens this place has them! Oh, and they’re $14.95 for all you can eat. ALL DAY EVERY DAY. The fengas were also hand breaded and so juicy and delicious. Overall this was another W for us, and two great experiences easily solidified this place as another “go-to”.
On top of these daily deals for your advantage taking, they also have daily specials Monday-Thursday. For just $5.99, Monday’s specials is cheeseburger and fries while Tuesdays gives you 1/2 pound of ribs and fries. Not to mention both Monday and Tuesdays offer half bottles of wines as well! Wednesdays are 1/2 of pizzas and Thursdays their back to the $5.99 special that includes a cheese steak and fries. Add in happy hour with 1/2 off small plates and their drink prices and you’ve got yourself a full belly and happy heart.
What are their drink specials you ask? I guess I’ve failed to mention that while their happy hour includes apps, it doesn’t include drinks. Before you go totally writing off this place and this post, they don’t need to add drinks to their HH specials because their prices are BOMB each and every day, all day. $4.25 drafts. ALL OF THEM ARE $4.25!!! Don’t believe me? Check out their website and it’s the first thing you’ll see. Smackin’ you right in the face is one of the best deals on the Burgh. Not a draft beer kind of gal? Then you’ll have no problem finding a craft cocktail that you’ll love FOR ONLY $5! They have a whole page of their menu dedicated to Mules and Cocktails. Are you like me and irrationally love tequila? Try their Mexican Mule. Truly the drink of the summer.
Their draft list is flavorful and full of variety. You can find a triple IPA from Helltown Brewery (that’s over 10% ABV) or a stout, or just stick to your guns and grab a pilsner or lager. I didn’t have to drive so I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to drink a 10% beer for $4.25. Does anyone else ever find their tongue hurting after a super hoppy IPA? Like almost the flavor of the beer strips all of the flavor feelers on your tongue? I definitely experience this from time to time, but this one had a surprisingly less effect on me. I’ll save the full review for another time, but I just needed back up on the tongue thing. Have I used the word tongue enough times in this paragraph?

Have you been to The Library? Let us know your thoughts in the comments! If this post got you there, definitely tell us in the comments so we can have some semblance of respect for ourselves for writing these blog posts.

Happy hour responsibly 🙂

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412 Brewery – A New Type of Suds

Breweries get a lot of wrap about not having a happy hour. But as Bob Dylan once wrote, “these times they are a changing.” Ron Burgundy actually has heard this quote. I haven’t personally checked with him, but I think he’d approve of this happy hour (although there is no scotch here, sorry).

Pittsburgher’s have a real thing for our area code (just DON’T put it on your helmets). We also have a thing for breweries. When you combine the two, you get 412 Brewery. While their main production facility is in McKees Rocks, their newly opened laundromat-turned-tap room is a chic space located on the North Side. Story time: on our first trip here, we were sitting at the bar when a guy comes in. The bar tender asks if he can help him the patron says, “I did my laundry here last year and just wanted to see what this place looks like now.” But don’t fret because he did end up staying for a pint.

The draft list boasts a variety of styles and strengths and is constantly rotating based on production and consumption. If you stop in on a Friday night, and come back on Tuesday looking for that same beer, you may be SOL. This is great for the visitor that loves to try some new beers and branch out from their normal beer!

While most new restaurants and bars in Pittsburgh don’t offer a happy hour when they first open, this place isn’t making us wait. A short while ago, we asked a different bar if they had a happy hour, they literally said, “we don’t need to offer a happy hour, we’re too new”. Yikes. That’s not the case and 412 Brewery respects that. From 3 – 5 PM on Thursdays and Fridays, you can grab a pint for just $4. They’re only open Thursday-Sunday, so this happy hour is pretty gracious. With 9 taps (8 of their own brews and 1 rotating cider tap), you can try all of them for just $36! This may be a little ambitious but shoot for the moon, people. Even if you fail, you’ll land among the stars *swoon*. Or you’ll land your ass on Western Ave. This seems like a good time to remind everyone to happy hour responsibly.

We spent some time here recently and loved talking with the patrons and beer tenders alike. A wealth of knowledge about beer and Pittsburgh, you will absolutely feel like you belong here. We sipped and tasted a number of beers, and I’m not sure either of us had a favorite. However, I will tell you that their flagship beer, R-U-Ready 4 One-Too, an English Special Bitter a perfect compromise for hop heads, or the IPA hater! It’s definitely special, with a fantastic interplay between hoppy and malty! They are already canning this, so you can take some home with you after your trip to the taproom. Soon they will start canning the 2 Hour Delay, an English Brown Ale that makes even this IPA loving gal want one. Speaking of IPA loving people, there are still options for you with the Boats ‘N Hops Session IPA, to the Hazelicious Hazy style IPA, to the Dankity Dank DIPA, their range is as good as Ariana Grande’s. Let us know which ones you tried in the comments!

If you’re looking to spend a chill afternoon/evening at this tap room but don’t want to miss a meal, then worry not. You can bring food with you or order some after a pint. They even have menus available from local restaurants so you don’t have to bury your face in your phone searching for options. Say what you will about breweries, but one thing they do is support other local businesses, and 412 Brewery is no exception.

Whether you did your laundry here in the past or you’re just looking to try some new beer, head dahn to the North Side to get some brews n’at.