Fathead’s Beer Tasting

As soon as we walked in to Fathead’s last night, we were hit with a wave of laughter, the smell of headwiches (sandwiches the size of your head) and the anticipation of countless microbrews yet to be tasted.

I thought you should really be able to see the awesome list so this pic is supersized.

Now, Fatheads is a Pittsburgh fav for its ever changing beer selection and, of course, anything served with a pound of meat and little fried things is bound to get a ‘Burgher’s heart racing (or potentially stopping). I eyed the beer board with lust, settling on the Terrapin Rye Pale Ale from Athens, GA while my Man got the Southern Tier Creme Brulee Stout from Lakewood, NY.

The Terrapin Rye was a beautiful orange amber color and smelled of  apricots. It lacked much of the aggressive bitterness one expects from a Pale Ale, but had some nice light flavors of bread and apricot without overwhelming the palate. An easy beer to drink and enjoy.

The Southern Tier Stout wafted us with rich butterscotch from a mile away. Some friends said “I can smell you coming even if I don’t know you’re here!” (hopefully she really meant the beer). It was extremely opaque, nearly black, with very little head to speak of. My first taste was of wonderful rich burnt caramel and butterscotch undertones. While the beer was smooth and a bit chewy, the lack of carbonation, evident from the lack of head, made this beer difficult to drink for very long. If you want a similar sensation, go buy some Hersey’s butterscotch ice cream topping and just pour the entire thing into your mouth. It’s like that, but with 10% alcohol (so, clearly better).

Terrapin Rye Pale Ale

Price: $5.50 a glass

Alcohol: 5.5%

Rating:   Me: B     My Man: C+

Southern Tier Creme Brulee Stout

Price: $6.00 a glass

Alcohol: 10%

Rating: Me: C+   My Man: C-