Almost Famous Pickle Beer is the real dill
East End Brewing Co. is in a pickle.
The brewery is once again teaming with Primanti Bros. for the release of its Almost Famous Pickle Beer. Starting Wednesday, Aug. 11, you can grab a puckery pint at many locations of the iconic Pittsburgh sandwich shop and at the Larimer brewpub.
The beer, which has sold-out quickly each year of its production, has a new recipe for 2021. In addition to the usual hops and barley, the 2021 iteration was made with 1,600 pounds of fresh cucumbers that were peeled, chopped, pureed and juiced at East End’s facility at 147 Julius St. The beer was brewed with dill, sea salt, peppercorn and, for the first time, lemon.
Almost Famous Pickle Beer will be available in 16-ounce commemorative cans and also sold in to-go four-packs. Consider it training for Picklesburgh later this month.
Wigle’s Strip District Reserve ready to serve
Want something a little higher in alcohol content? Wigle Whiskey is releasing its Strip District Reserve 6-year American Whiskey this week. With a label designed by local artist David Klug, the spirit is a multigrain whiskey made with a blend of rye, corn, wheat and malted barley with notes of vanilla.
The spirit will be available for online ordering and pickup starting on Friday, Aug. 13 at the Wigle Whiskey Distillery on Smallman Street distillery or at their Ross Park Mall Bottle Shop. Patrons are invited to immerse themselves in a pop-up gallery featuring Klug’s illustrations that same evening at the distillery from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The artwork will be on display through Aug. 15.
Attendees who RSVP online for the kick-off event will receive a free sample of the new libation from distiller Michael Foglia.
Go on a Commonplace Coffee Quest
If caffeinated beverages are more your speed, check out the Commonplace Coffee Quest recently launched by Commonplace Coffee. The contest encourages participants to stop at five of its cafe locations through Sept. 11.
Participants must follow Commonplace Coffee on Instagram and visit the locations throughout the city. At each café, they’ll be given a Coffee Quest sticker to photograph and post to their Instagram story, tagging Commonplace Coffee.
Participants who visit four or five of the shop’s locations will be entered to win prizes including bags of limited-edition Adventurer’s Blend coffee, Commonplace merch and gift cards. One grand prize winner will win their choice of barista training at the coffee headquarters or one-on-one time with Commonplace Coffee founder TJ Fairchild at any cafe location.
“It’s exciting for us to find new ways to safely connect and engage with our community, especially after a year of distance,” says Abby Eckhardt, Commonplace’s marketing & communications associate. “We can’t wait to welcome old friends and new neighbors to explore our spaces and become a part of the Commonplace story.”
Powdermill Nature Reserve bands 800,000th bird
Researchers at Powdermill Nature Reserve, Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s environmental research center, have captured and banded their 800,000th bird — a Cedar Waxwing. The milestone took place during the 60th anniversary of the site’s bird banding program.
“Cedar Waxwings are common at Powdermill and we band hundreds of them each year,” says Annie Lindsay, bird banding program manager at Powdermill. “It was a favorite of our founder, Bob Leberman, and serves as a wonderful reminder of him and the work he did to lay the strong foundation for the research we do at Powdermill Avian Research Center today.”
Based in Rector, Pa., Powdermill Avian Research Center operates the nation’s longest-running, year-round, professional bird banding program. The staff bands about 10,000 birds per year and collects data on another 5,000 recaptures. Powdermill made international headlines in September of 2020 for banding a rare part-female, part-male Rose-breasted Grosbeak gynandromorph.
In addition to the milestone bird band and anniversary, the center anticipates groundbreaking on a state-of-the-art avian research facility later this fall.
