Hitchcock Halloween Party FAQs

Should I Come to this Party?

Yes.

Ok, why?

Well, I mean, it's a Hitchcock-themed Halloween party in an old Iron Furnace...

Fair point: Ok, how much does thing cost?

$35 for general admission; $20 for designated driver tickets.  The difference?  Your general admission ticket comes with three drink tickets (value $5 each) and the ability to buy more drink tickets once you run out.  The designated driver ticket comes with the badge of honor that you are keeping your friends safe, and the (necessary and enforced) commitment not to purchase any drink tickets (oh, and we'll also give you free pop/soda/orwhateveryourregioncallsit).  $15 parking tickets and $5 bus tickets from Squirrel Hill are also available.

Where do I buy tickets:

Here.  We are selling tickets exclusively through eventbrite, which will allow us to scan your tickets at the door.  You'll receive wristbands and your three drink tickets when you arrive at the event.

When do I need to buy my tickets:

As soon as possible -- seriously.  We have limited availability and tickets will be first-come; first serve.  As we're finding out very quickly, throwing the party of a lifetime at an old Iron Furnace requires a lot of planning and is, like, expensive and stuff.  As such, we are capping tickets sales at 2500 tickets, and tickets are moving fast.  There is no guarantee that tickets will be available at the door on the day of the event.  

I like to eat and also I 'd like to drink more than three drinks.  Can I do that at this party?

Yes.  Both food and extra drink tickets will be on sale at the event.  Food will be provided by various food trucks and restaurants that are participating.  Additionally, you will be able to purchase additional drink tickets at the event for $5 each.  

Will I be able to use credit cards or should I bring cash?

We're going to leave this up to the individual food vendors.  We'll swipe cards for drink tickets, we can guarantee that much.  But, you should probably bring cash to be safe. We're not going to be in the most "internet friendly" place, and while you will have phone reception, there is a very real possibility of credit card terminals going offline.  Cash hasn't gone offline for the Weimar Republic collapsed, so it's a safer bet.

Let's get down to brass tacks here, mister.  What type of booze will be there?

Brew Gentlemen beer; craft beer from some of Western PA's other fine breweries; several different punches from the Independent, including several punches made from Maggies Farm Rum.   In short, nothing but the best for you folks.  That jungle juice you used to drink in college was effective when it came to helping you make out with that lamp post that one time, but our beer and punches will help you make out with actual people.*

How Do I Get There?

One of four ways:  (1) you can drive to the venue and park ($15); you can buy a bus ticket to and from the Independent in Squirrel Hill ($5); you can park at the Waterfront and take a shuttle form the Pump House (Free); or someone can drop you off and pick you up.    Tickets for parking, the bus, and the shuttle are all available online.  You'll need to purchase and present a ticket to take the bus and shuttle, even for the free shuttle.

I'm from Pittsburgh, and therefore I demand to know:  how dare you charge for parking!?

We are encouraging responsibility, both with respect to the environment and with respect to encouraging designated drivers.  If you ride share with just two other people, parking costs $5 each, which is the same cost as the bus from Squirrel Hill.  Moreover, believe it or not, we will lose money on $5 bus rides and on free shuttle rides (that's not difficult to believe), so we are asking people to pay for parking to offset the cost of group travel in exchange for their convenience.  Our philosophy:  the fewer cars on the road, the better. 

I like your commitment to the environment, what else are you doing to help?

All of the energy for the party will be provided by Zero Fossil, which runs on entirely sustainable energy sources.

This Squirrel Hill Bus of which you speak, can I be late for it?

No.  Be there by 7:15 or don't be there at all.  We're leaving without you.  No refunds.  No traffic excuses.  No nothin'! 

I took the Squirrel Hill Bus, can I go home, like, whenever?

No.  You are committing to staying for the duration of the party, until 1 a.m.  

What about the Shuttle from the waterfront?

That will run back and forth all night.  So, while you are at the mercy of when the next shuttle arrives and leaves, you will be able to leave early or arrive late.

What are the Carrie Furnaces?

They are beautiful monuments to this region's industrial might during the first half of the 20th century.  The original blast furnaces, AC power house, and buildings from this old Iron Mill have all been made National Monuments, and are stewarded by the amazing folks at Rivers of Steel Heritage Foundation  Whether you do it before or after the party, you really, really, really need to tour the Mills with these folks.  More information on that here.  Also, we'd like to note that $1 from every ticket sale is going to Rivers of Steel to help preserve this beautiful space.

What Does One Wear to an old Iron Furnace?

I would recommend a costume, at least for the party.  And, yeah, you should consider tying it into the theme.  You can be a Hitchcock character.  You can dress in 50s or 60s garb and fit in.  And yes, you can be a big, giant bird if you'd like, just please refrain from attacking people.  

What Does One NOT wear to an old Iron Furnace?

Better question.  The most important thing to ensure your comfort and safety is footwear.  The grass courtyard isn't a perfect pitch, and you'll want to be sure that you've got some ankle support for the terrain.  And, inside, portions of the floor are rough concrete or even dirt.  Your feet are going to get dirty one way or the other, but it would be good to cover them.  Also, remember, this event is rain or shine, and while there is plenty of cover in the AC Powerhouse where some of the bars and the dance floor is, the food is all located outside.

I'm a terrible drunk and like to climb fences and disobey signs.  Should I do that at this party?

No.  You'll die.  Seriously, you'll die.  This is not the time or the place to "explore."  Don't think of making a private bathroom for yourself in the blast furnace.  Get out of your mind the (probably reasonably true) notion that it would be fun to have sex somewhere private in an old Steel Mill.  Don't even think about leaving the marked premises.  Let me reiterate:  you'll die. 

My friend is under 21, can she come?

No. Sorry, only 21+ for this event.  No exceptions.

I have this really wonderful cat.  She's a gray tabby, but has these really cute white paws.  Can I bring her? 

No animals, unless a service animal.  

Should I check back and read this again?

Yes.  I'll be updating it frequently.

Yours,

Pete K. of the Independent Brewing Company

*  Nothing against lamp posts -- they're just not human, though.

A bit more on our Hitchcock Halloween Party at the Carrie Furnaces

Dear Friends of the Independent:

As many of you have already heard on twitter, Facebook, at our bar or in the Brew Gents taproom, we are throwing a Halloween party with the Brew Gentlemen Beer Company at the Carrie Furnaces (an absolutely beautiful old Iron Mill located in Swissvale, near the Rankin Bridge), on Saturday, November 1, 2014 from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m.  Tickets, on sale now, are $35 and there are a variety of ways that we are making it possible for you to get to the event both for free and for an additional cost, including a bus to and from the Independent.  Also, please visit our Facebook page for the event, and feel free to invite anyone and everyone you know that is over the age of 21 and that can behave themselves in a relatively responsible, adult fashion. 

I write now to ensure that everyone who reads this feels personally invited to this event and so that I can fill you in on some of the details behind the event.

The Venue Itself:

The Carrie Furnaces are not abandoned.  They may no longer be in operation, but they are beautiful monuments to this region's former steel industry.  And, in fact, the furnaces are a National Landmark site with a rich history that is actively being preserved.

From Ron Baraff, Directors of the Museum and Archives of Rivers of Steel, the nonprofit stewards of the Carrie Furnaces:

"Originally opened in 1884 as an independent iron mill, the site was sold to Carnegie Steel in 1898 to produce iron for the Homestead Works across the river.  The Carrie Furnaces  #6 & #7 , opened in 1907 and were closed 1978. The furnaces produced the iron that was then transported over the Hot Metal Bridge to the Homestead Works and converted into steel in their Open Hearth department. The iron made at Carrie became the steel that built the Empire State Building, the USS Missouri, the Panama Canal locks and gates, the Bay Bridge and more. The remaining Furnaces (#6 and /#7) were designated as National Historic Landmark site in 2006." 

These furnaces may double as the perfect, suspenseful backdrop to a Halloween party, but our intention is that this party is one thrown out of respect for the furnaces' history and for the people who are working so hard to preserve that history.  Which brings me to why we chose "Hitchcock" as our theme.

Why Hitchcock:

Halloween is a time to be creative.  And, yes, it's an appropriate time to be scary and provide thrills.  But, in this historic space (indeed in this National Landmark) and in the presence of great beer, food and punches, we don't want to provide those thrills at the expense of good taste.  After brainstorming for a theme, we felt that Hitchcock was perfect because: (1) the 1950s and 60s heyday of Hitchcock was also when iron manufacturing at the furnaces was at its peak, and (2) Hitchcock's directing epitomizes what we thought we could do with this space.  The blast furnaces (which provide a backdrop to our food truck corral) and the AC Power House (the site of our dance floor) loom over the surrounding terrain so dramatically as to provide the perfect feeling of suspense.  Hitchcock didn't rely blood and guts to keep you riveted to his films.  He was a master of building suspense and an ominous feeling that something was about to happen.  Hitchcock once said, "there is no terror in a bang; only in the anticipation of it."  We hope to use the space to build that anticipation.  And, as with all Hitchcock films, we'll have a few surprises and MacGuffins up our collective sleeves.

Why We're Doing this:

At the Independent and at the Brew Gentlemen, there is a common feeling that by brewing or serving good beer, by offering good food and mixing great drinks, by partnering with local businesses who are doing great things, and by bringing people together for an event, we can improve ourselves and our surroundings.  We can make Squirrel Hill, Braddock and the Pittsburgh area overall a better place.  With this event we want to work together with Rivers of Steel to create an amazing Halloween experience at an iron mill.  We want to partner with ZeroFossil Energy Outfitters to throw a party in a sustainable and responsible way.  We want to partner with the numerous food trucks that night to ensure that everyone can buy something great to eat to go with their booze and beer.  And we want to invite you to make sure that we make this a place where you have the Halloween experience of your life and enjoy the fruits of our collective labor.  It would have been easy for us to each keep our parties at our respective establishments.  But we wouldn't have done something special for the region and for you, and with both of our respective companies, that's what we alway want to do.

Thanks and we hope to see you on November 1st,

Peter Kurzweg 

The Independent Will Air Tonight's Pirates Game

No.  We're not putting the TVs back in and renewing Fanattics' cable subscription.  Yes.  We are going to play tonight's Pirates playoff game, which we will stream to a flat screen television through my espn.com account.

We stand by our position that televisions, for the most part, ruin good tavern experiences.  And after tonight's game, we will return to our televisionless tavern lifestyle.  However, at the end of the day, if a newly-minted 21 year-old walked into the Indie tonight for her first legal beer, she would have witnessed exactly one season of Pirates playoff baseball in her life.  These things don't come around often.  I'd like to think we'd televise another moon landing.  Pirates playoff appearances are just as rare.

We considered sticking to principle, but rigid adherence to any principle in spite of clear and convincing equities that make its application inappropriate under the circumstances is the type of thinking that causes wars.  We're peaceful people; not war mongers.  And we also happen to be very big Pirates fans.

Accordingly, if you're looking for a place to watch the game in Squirrel Hill tonight where you can drink fresh craft beer, then we'll have a television for you.  But rest assured, other than Pirates playoffs or moon landings, you're not going to see a television in this place.

Sincerely,

Management.

This Weekend of September 26th at the Independent

Autumn in Squirrel Hill:  the leaves are changing and so is the complexion of our tap list.  Last weekend, we said farewell to our final two hefeweizens of the season; this weekend, we will welcome several pumpkin beers* (All Saints Brewing, Milkman Brewing)  and a host of other beers that pair well with crisp autumn air.

Hop Farm Hoptoberfest is this Saturday (2-5:30 p.m.)

We're partnering with the Brew Gents to raise money for the Children's Foundation of Pittsburgh through Hop Farm Brewing Company's Hoptoberfest, held at their brewery in Lawrenceville.  Brewers and restaurants are teaming up to pair seasonal beer with seasonal food.  We're serving black bean and squash tacos, topped with beer-braised veal sausage from Parma Sausages in the strip.  The Brew Gents are serving their "root" beer, a root-vegetable saison, which has a bunch of roots like sweet potatoes, carrots and beets in the mash.  Who says fall beers need to have pumpkins in them!  Tickets are still available and can be purchased here:  http://hopfarmbrewingco.com/Events.htm

Painproof Lucky Back in the Lab Saturday evening

If by "Lab" you mean, "behind our bar," and by "back" you mean, well, "back."  Lucky is mixing up something for Saturday.  Being that it is Thursday, none of us (including Lucky) have a good idea of what that is, but suffice it to say, it will take the shape of multiple cocktails, all of which will be boozy, delicious, well-garnished, creative, and carry with them the distinct possibility that the man serving them will have recently hammered a nail deep up one and/or both of his nostrils.**  

Sunday Secret Vault 6-10 p.m.

We have a very, very special guest DJ on Sunday night for the vault.  He's good looking.  Charming.  Highly intelligent.  And, reportedly, has huge, huge feet.  It's the one .. the only ... ME!   Yes, that's right, our far more qualified (and, indeed, more handsome, intelligent, large footier, etc.) Paul Rosenblatt is presenting at the Pittsburgh Biennial at Space this Friday night, which is taking quite a bit of his time, and for good reason.  You should absolutely attend if you can: http://pittsburghbiennial.org  But on Sunday, you're left with me.  

Paul was going to do a "goodbye to summer," surf theme, which we're going to hold onto for a few more weeks until he can do it.  It's a brilliant theme, and it's why Paul is much better at doing this than I am.  

That said, I think I've come up with a pretty good replacement theme on short notice, which is: "Top Five Play Through Albums."  These are the five albums that I feel are the most complete albums ever made. How do I define a "complete" album?  1.  No throwaway tracks; 2.  the B Side could be the A Side;  3.  The album must feel cohesive (I'm not looking for a concept album here necessarily, but, when you hear any given song form that album, you should know, immediately that it is on that album). A few of my five aren't very deep cuts.  Others are pretty damn deep.  Either way, if you care about this type of thing, I expect that I will anger you very, very much by my selections (or, alternatively, my failure to select).  So join me Sunday night after the Steelers game, for an evening that is sure to turn into a very nerdy version of Mike Tyson's "Punch Out!"

What I'm Drinking

Speaking of goodbye to Summer, give Four Season's Session 4.0 Beer a try.  Nice, light, floral, and at 4.0% abv, it's the perfect beer to start or end your evening.  Cling to summer for another weekend while you can.  "Winter is coming."  

See you at the Indy!  Oh, aaand ... you're going to want to keep your Saturday, November 1, 2014 open.  You'll also probably want to start thinking about a costume.  #BuryTheLede?

Pete K.  

*  The absurdity of the pumpkin beer phenomenon is, well, absurd.  Every year pumpkin beers come out a bit earlier.  This year, June marked the release of a certain celebrated "king" of pumpkin beers. Now, I'm no farmer (although I do play one on TV), but even I know that pumpkin patches are still pretty green and not very orange in June.  According to"allaboutpumpkins.com," the domain name for which has all the indicia of reliability, most folks don't even plant their pumpkins until June and May is the earliest anyone does it.  Now, I'm not one to disparage a good beer, and that certain king of pumpkin beers is certainly a good one.  But, come on man.  Pumpkin beer before pumpkins are in season?  In the word of the great Charles Barkley, "that's terrible."  

**  There is also a distinct possibility that the nail hammering will be incipient at the time of service.  

This Weekend at the Independent (September 19)

This weekend at the Independent includes a Sunday Evening Bike Corral Benefit to raise money for Amazing Bike Camp, a transition to the fall food menu, and four new daily cocktails for your enjoyment.

New Cocktails Friday and Saturday

 As part of our transition to fall, we have no fewer than four new daily cocktails that we released this week, and we'd like to give them a good spin this weekend.  Yes, that means no inventive shaking and stirring by Adam, Lucky, or another cocktologist this Saturday.  But fear not, these are some of Adam's best work, and you'll be hard pressed to think of a better cocktail served to you faster this weekend.  In addition to the two draft cocktails, we proudly present:

The Rust Belt (Barreled):  Peated scotch is front and center in this lovely twist on the Rusty Nail, which will make even the most fervently anti-scotch drinker a believer.  Those Scots leading the failed independence vote will find solace in this fantastic drink.  

The King Creole (Barreled):  Take a trip to New Orleans.  Rum meats rye.  Peychauds meets angostura.  Throw a little Chartreuse, absinthe, and Carpano Antica in the mix, and you've got a regular old party down in the Treme, just you and your baby.*

Allegheny Rum Punch (Bottled, corked, and made for two):  On a hot date this weekend?  Split a bottle of Allegheny Rum Punch, which uses three locally made rums from Maggie's Farm, Wigle, and Boyd & Blair respectively.  The server will bring the bottle to your table and uncork it, just as he or she would a fine wine.  Centuries ago in this country, Bottling and corking punch was what you did when you couldn't finish your punch (a problem that I've never had).  We're bringing that tradition back at the IBC, one happy couple (or one hammered single dude) at a time.

Cocktail Week Cocktail:  The Chartreuse Grasshopper.  Think the grasshopper is an overly-sweet, girly drink.  Not this one.  This is a cocktail that members of both sexes with good taste will enjoy.  Rich flavors of mint, cream, and herbs.  And, yes, Chartreuse, which is, in highly technical terms, really effing good.  Enjoy your grasshopper, grasshopper?  Please VOTE for this cocktail as one of the five best cocktails that you had during Craft Cocktail Week, here:  http://www.pghcocktailweek.com/

SUNDAY EVENING:  Bike Corral Ramble:  Bike Ride Benefit for Amazing Bike Camp.

Those large stainless U brackets taking up your parking space?  Oh those are our new bike corral.  Ditch the car dude, and ride your bike to the IBC (although please don't ride either your bike or your car home if you're drinking).  

This Sunday, the IBC teams up with Kindred Cycles of the Strip District to host an inaugural benefit ride.   At 5:30, those on the ride will leave Kindred Cycles, 2515 Penn Avenue in the Strip District, with an eye towards finishing at the IBC around 6:30.  The ride will be a route that tours Pittsburgh's new bike infrastructure, i.e. the bike lanes, bike corrals, and racks that have graced our fair city en masse over the last several weeks.  This ride will be at a beginner pace, but there will be hills, as, yes, this is still Pittsburgh, bike lanes or not.

Can't make the ride?  Then meet us at the bar, which will open by special occasion at 6 p.m.  We're going to be serving small plates that are super vegetarian friendly, and we'll be donating $1 for every beer served to the Children's Institute's Amazing Bike Camp, which helps kids with special needs ride on two wheels.

This is a rain or shine event.  Even if it rains too hard for your biking tastes, don't let that hurt your tastes in beer and good food.  We'll be open at 6 p.m.

For more information, and to RSVP (although you don't have to) please visit Kindred Cycles' Facebook page for the event:  https://www.facebook.com/events/1695748280650281/

What You NEED to eat this Weekend:

We're transitioning to fall, and Mo's BeerPark Sandwich is one killer item that will be on the Fall menu.  Roasted pepper, smoked gouda, Arsenal Cider carmelized onions, arugula pesto on a ciabatta roll.  $10.  Add (and really, you're going to want to do this add) beer-braised veal sausage for $3.  Served with fries.  As Emeril Lagasse would say, "this is really quite excellent."

Alright folks, see you at the Independent

Pete K.

*  There's pride on Bourbon Street.**

** There's no pride on Bourbon Street.

New Sunday and Monday Hours at the IBC

A reminder that we are closed for Brunch on Sundays, but we are now open for dinner, beers, and cocktails on Monday evenings.   

Sour about losing brunch?  Fear not!  Every Monday evening, our menu will include several brunch items, because:

a) who doesn't love breakfast for dinner?;

b) Mondays aren't fun and you need comfort food for dinner; and

c) if you're one of our service industry friends, then you probably missed brunch on Sunday because you were working.  

For the time being, we will only open on Sundays for special events, like this week's MoLOCALar cocktail event from 6-9 p.m. or our frequent Sunday Secret Vault events.  If we're open for a special event, we'll have a limited menu, like Charcuterie plates, so you'll be able to fill your belly with something other than booze.

We're going to start bringing brunch back as a once-every-month, special brunch event, with killer brunch specials and live entertainment.  

Somehow, we've managed to be in this business for seven months now, and, at least since Matt biked by the place at 7 a.m. this morning, we've managed not to burn it down.  We're constantly working to evolve to become a better tavern, and that means serving you better.  We think that shifting our hours is the best way to do that, and we hope that you do to.

To celebrate this inaugural Monday dinner, Matt and I are going to give away our most recent batch of home brew, a West Coast IPA, that we made with dear friend-of-the-bar and our home-brewing partner, Jeff Shook.  We only have five gallons of it, so it will go fast (unless it's terrible, and then, um, we'll just be embarrassed).  

Pete K.  

This Labor Day Weekend at the IBC

Just when you were settling in for a quiet Friday evening to start off your "productive" holiday weekend, Four Seasons Brewing Company and the Independent Brewing Company conspire again to give you a vicious Saturday hangover.  Your garage organization project can wait until next weekend.  To paraphrase Cesar Chavez, "you shouldn't work on labor day weekend; even if it's, you know, something you've been putting off for a while, or whatever."  Wise man.  

Habanero Beer

This time we're tapping a very, very limited supply of Four Season's Habanero Oatmeal Stout.  How limited?  5 gallons worth.  We're tapping it right at 5 pm., serving it right out of the firkin on top of the bar, and we're selling it for $4 a pint until every last drip is gone.  It's pepper season, and those habaneros were young, hot and fresh* when they went into the brew.  Get ready to spice it up a notch.

Food!

Like your beer to pair well with food?  So does Chef Mo', who is serving agave-roasted pork served with saffron rice, and pineapple-tomatillo and corn salsa.  Tomatillo and corn grown locally.  Pineapple -- not so much, but it's still very tasty.

But wait, there's more!  

We're also running a brown-ale braised veal sausage special tonight, which is served over tumeric grits.  A man or woman of your particular taste and style would do well to pair that with the Milk Man Peppercorn Rye.

Saturday Cocktails

Guest bartending this Saturday is Fredrick.  If I started to go into his qualifications here, you'd still be reading this Sunday morning after he's long gone.  Suffice it to say he's made high-quality cocktails in many bars, in many cities, some of which aren't in Western Pennsylvania.  

Now, he has his own company that presses vinyl for artists.  And, yeah, as you probably already inferred, he has a sick vinyl collection, and yeah, he's bringing some choice notes to pair with his cocktails, which, if rumors are to be believed, will include six different daiquiris.**  So, you know, this will probably be a "good" time.

Sunday Brunch

Folks:  we're doing two more Sunday brunches -- this week and next week -- and then we are going to be transitioning from those hours by opening on Monday evenings.  We've had a lot of fun with brunch, but it hasn't been high demand, and, moreover, we know that a lot of our friends in the service industry could use a beer on Monday evening.  Our last two brunches we're going to have some fun.  Chalkboard menus.  Really exploring the studio space.  Good times.  In sum, you have two weeks to say goodbye to your old friend, IBC Brunch.  But, don't cry too hard. Instead, get ready for Monday night supper and beers.   We're going to keep running brunches on a once-a-month basis.  It'll allow our kitchen to be more adventurous with the menu and allow us in the front of house to do more adventurous things with beer pairings, etc.  We'll keep you posted.

Alright folks, come and get it.  

Pete K. 

* Young, hot and fresh.

**And I only thought you could make five!

This Weekend (the 45 Anniversary of Woodstock) at the Independent

Ice Buckets

The "Ice Bucket Challenge" fundraiser that has swept the nation over the last week has made it's way to the Independent tonight.  Matt Katase of the Brew Gentlemen Beer Company challenged me in this video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54LWtBjQh-4

For those of you who haven't been keeping up with this awareness campaign and fundraising phenomena, the Ice Bucket Challenge requires the person challenged either to donate to the ALS Association or dump a bucket of ice water over his head, on video, and within 24 hours of the challenge.  The IBC, with me as its proxy, accepts both challenges.  Accordingly, (1) I will douse myself in ice water this evening while at the bar; and (2) a dollar from every beer that we sell tonight will be donated to the ALS Association. 

Now with respect to the former component of my pledge, I don't want to oversell my performance.  The Brew Gents opted to empty a mash tun, as opposed to a bucket, on Matt's head -- this is bad ass and way, way cooler than I can ever attempt to be.  Putting aside the fact that I don't have a three barrel mash tun, I also don't have the cardiac strength to survive three barrels of ice water.  As such, much like anyone who has ever slept with Tom Cruise, I'll be opting for something ... smaller.

Woodstock Anniversary

This weekend marks the 45th anniversary of the Woodstock Music & Art Fair, and, unlike most of the 44 prior anniversaries, this one is special in that it happens to fall on the same weekend days on which the festival was actually held, to wit, Friday, August 15th through Monday, August 18th. 

As a tavern that fancies itself a destination for good music, it feels like we should do SOMETHING to celebrate the anniversary of this great musical and cultural event.  And while you're no doubt chomping at the bit to see me drop acid, roll around in the mud, and get naked (all the while sporting a belly considerably larger than that of the then six-month pregnant Joan Baez), I'm a father now, and I've moved on from that type of behavior.*  

But the very least we can do is celebrate the music of Woodstock with an all-woodstock vinyl night. No, this doesn't mean that I'm picking up one of those terrible comps with live performances from that weekend on it.  It means that I'm playing studio vinyl from the artists who performed that weekend.  Think Jimi Hendrix, the Who, the Grateful Dead (but that LP will be cut-off halfway through when I overload the speakers), the aforementioned Ms. Baez, and a number of deeper cuts that have long-since been forgotten by all but those of us who collect music compulsively.  

Free Beer at Orr's Jewelers

Don't like paying for beer?  Then stop by Orr's Jeweler's on Forbes Ave. for some free tastes this Saturday between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.  I'll be there myself, pouring samples of local beers from growlers and waxing poetic about things like yeast strains, hop varieties, and Breitling watches.**  

Alright folks.  See you at the Indie. 

Pete K.  

*  Unless it is ice-bucket related nudity.  

** I know virtually nothing about the last of these three things, but by the end of the afternoon, I'm sure I'll pretend to be an expert.

This Weekend (August 1) at the Indepedent

Who is this Friendly Person Who Seats Me?

Oh him? That's Lex, our new host.  After six months of disorganized and chaotic weekend dinner service, we finally caved and hired a host for Friday and Saturday nights.  We avoided a host for so long because I tend to cling to the notion that humans can live in harmony without a centralized power directing them.  This notion, like the similar notion that LSD will steer human beings into a further evolved state of consciousness, was mostly abandoned by 1970 in Richard Nixon's America.  And, at least when it comes to busy dinner service on a weekend evening, Nixon was probably right: the silent majority would like to be seated by a human in charge, as opposed to fighting each other for a table.

As with all new processes, there may be a period during which we're working out the kinks in the new host system, but we believe that this move will translate into far superior customer service.  And yes, this now means that if you get to the Indie looking for food when all the tables are filled, we can now take your name, give you a wait time, and serve you cold beers to keep you occupied while those jerks with reservations for six at six finish up  (are they just going to TALK all night?)

P.S. Check out the new host table when you walk in the door. It's old enough to have played the broadcast of a famous December 8, 1941 speech orated by a much better president than Richard Nixon.  

P.P.S.  We now have high chairs. While holding your 9 month old in one arm and your beer in the other is an art form, it's an art that you shouldn't have to practice in our tavern.

Tell me more about yeast?

Yeast does so much more for beer than just create alcohol.  It can also be used to provide the aroma and flavor to a beer, both of which traits you may have noticed in your last Hefeweizen (those Banana and Clove tastes and aromas you noticed weren't from bananas and/or cloves; they were the result of esters and phenols produced by yeast during fermentation.  In some beers we want no yeast taste (lagers); in others we wants some (certain British ales); and in others we want lots (Hefeweizens, and many Belgian styles).  Did somebody say "Belgian?"  The guys down at Grist House Brewing (Millvale) did.  They brewed two Tripels, which were otherwise the same exact recipes except for the yeast used in each.  One used an Abbey yeast.  One used a Trappist yeast.  We have both and we're going to be putting them on side-by-side sometime this evening.  You'll have a special opportunity to see how two different yeasts can impart two different flavor profiles to two beers that are otherwise identical.  

Saturday Cocktails -- Guest Bartenders 

This Saturday we have two guest bartenders:  Max Stein (of Butcher and the Rye; Meat and Potatoes) and Wes Shonk (Wigle Whiskey; formerly of Butcher and the Rye).  Both of these men are badasses.  Both of these men are tall.  Both of these men are men.  You're in good hands my friends.  

Good talk.  I'll see you out there.*

Pete K.  

*  I couldn't end without a footnote.  

This Weekend (July 25th) at the Independent

Gin and Jazz.  

No -- not a Kenny G. remix of the Snoop Dogg classic,* but, instead, two of the bedrock components of the speakeasy of the roaring 20s.  Gin cocktails, Champagne, big jazz bands, swing rhythm, flappers, bow ties, secret passwords** and candlelight.  We'll celebrate all of these on Saturday night, when Adam and Max bring you "Speakeasy Night" from behind the bar at the Independent.  It's going to be classy, and you know that, because Max even made a flyer that contains some words in French.***  (See attached)  So if you like 20s jazz, champagne, cocktails, and generally embrace the notion that our current stock market boom could never end, then you'll love speakeasy night on Saturday.

What are those new taps?

With great pride and joy we now serve beer from Grist House Brewing in Millvale and Milk Man Brewing in the Strip District, two more wonderful additions to the Pittsburgh craft beer scene.  Come give these guys a try at our bar, and be sure to make your way down to their breweries during growler hours to support our newest local brewers.  Thanks to the boys from both Breweries for dealing with my constant pestering to get these beers on tap ASAP.  Again, we're in a golden age of craft beer here in Pittsburgh.

Currently we have the Camp Slap Red Ale on tap from Grist House.  With a healthy dose of dry-hopped citra hops, it first tastes like a west coast IPA, but then finishes like a red ale.  Tasty, tasty stuff.  From Milk Man, we have their first brew of their Single Hop Series, which features Nugget hops, and does so admirably.  Clean flavors make this beer special.  And, while those two kegs will go fast, fear not.  We've got bullets in our chamber from both of these breweries, a Black Rye IPA from Grist House and a Texas Brown (called "Dahntahn Brahn") from Milk Man.  

You serve wine?

Yes.  Yes we do.  I'm long overdue to promote it.  Keeping with our overall feel and philosophy,  we serve local wine made by Tim at Pittsburgh Winery in the Strip District.  Tim makes the wine in his beautiful cellar (if you haven't been there, go....like right now) from imported grapes.  Accordingly, you're getting a locally crafted wine that can compete with the best wines form the regions from which he imports.  We have a Malbec, a red Zin, and Sauvignon Blanc****  Tim also is in the running for "coolest dude in Pittsburgh," which is a prestigious award that I'll never win.

Ok folks:  that's the scoop on this weekend.  See you at the Independent!  (Well, in this case I won't.  I'll be doing the Bourbon Trail of Kentucky with my wife and 9 month old daughter...what?  she's teething!*****)

Pete K.  

*  With so much drama in the IBC?

**  The password is our open doors.

***  Additionally, a cat will immediately class up any function.  Voir:  Attachement deux ("Trop de gin.  Je suis fatigue.")

****  More French!

*****  We don't put bourbon on our daughter's gums.  Truly, we don't.   

Independence Weekend at the Independent

CITIZENS: 

We shall close our doors on Friday, July 4 to celebrate the day that rich white men grew so sick of paying taxes that they instead formalized a Declaration of Independence from their taxing body.  These colors don’t run, except from reasonable tax raises after long, costly wars (see: French and Indian War and Iraq...both times).

BUT FEAR NOT!

We shall be open Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday for our normal hours.  In fact, we’re declaring this weekend Independent’s Weekend:  a weekend long party dedicated to, well, local, craft beer.  What’s special, you ask?  Very little, actually.  But the name was catchy and you won’t have to go to work until Monday, so it’s a good excuse to drink exclusively craft beer for a weekend.  Declare your personal independence from bad beer!  Your right to do so is  inalienable.  

TONIGHT!

Join us for Independent Brewer's Happy Hour.  All beers $5 from 5 until 7.  That'll teach your employer to  give you a day off!

SATURDAY!

Lucky the Painproof Man tends bar with a very special guest, Nikolai Konick of Washington, DC, to bring you "Rock N Roll Agricole Night."  Flyer attached.  Cocktails will feature the delicious flavors of Rhum Clement.  

O' SAY CAN YOU SEE! (on the horizon that is)

Next Saturday, July 12, the Independent Brings you Lebowski Night.  What:  cocktails, lot's of cocktails, each named after a different Lebowski character, and STYLED after a different Lebowski character (let the speculation begin).  Vinyl!  Lot's of vinyl!  All (ok, nearly all) with some loose relation to the movie (e.g. Credence tapes, Dylan deep cuts, Kraftwerk).  Most importantly, there will be no Eagles.  "I hate the fucking Eagles, man."

This Weekend at the Independent (June 26, 2014)

Folks:

This weekend, at the Independent...

THE CARPET BAGGER SPECIAL

It is mostly with fear and loathing that I announce that I have a bachelor party for a college friend coming to town this weekend, and, yes, it will be a shit show, and, yes, at some point, that shit show will land at the Independent.  Disastrous.  There is an upside to this absolutely terrible prospect.  Ken (the bachelor  -- he looks JUST like that guy on the TV show!) just opened Conshohocken Brewing Company, outside of Philadelphia, with a shiny new 15 barrel brewhouse, a lot of know-how (the former head-brewer of Yards is on board), and a set of brews that is getting ridiculously good reviews after Philly Craft Beer week.  

Now, I know, Eastern, PA, right?  That doesn't fit our definition of local, which has always been "Western, PA."  Fair point.  So why do it:  (1) Ken's a very good friend and he opened a brewery in my home state; (2) Ken is kind of like the Lebron James of drinking, if Lebron James was three inches taller, could jump higher, shoot better, and had four more titles under his belt.  When Ken opens a brewery, you buy their beer.  Period.  (3)  This gives us another opportunity to bring you a beer that you won't find anywhere else in Pittsburgh; (4)  We're going to be calling this the "carpet bagger special," and we're going to feature it periodically (i.e., whenever I go to Philly or whenever Ken comes to Pittsburgh, we'll haul some kegs).  In other words, this decision isn't a break in philosophy, it's a brief dalliance with a good friend.*

Ken is dropping off the kegs tonight, and you should expect to see them come on one-by-one over the weekend.  

QUIT FIRKIN AROUND!

On Saturday, our good friends at Four Seasons Brewing want to give their new Firkin a whirl (it's filled with their High Hopes, IPA, a crowd favorite) and gave us the honor of serving it.  We'll serve it at cellar temperature (55-58 degrees), tap it on the bar, and pour beer into your glass right through its bung hole.**  We tap it at 9 p.m.  Don't miss it.  

SUNDAY SECRET VAULT

We're extending sunday hours, with a special (and hopefully weekly) event that we're calling "Sunday Secret Vault."  If the title gave you the expectation that we're turning the bar into a Sunday night porn theater, you're not far off.  It won't feature smut videos, though.  It's audio porn.  Each week, we're going to bring in a curator to play records that are scarce and interesting.  The idea is that Sundays are generally quiet, and a great time to listen to music, without having to hear the crowd.  It's a great time to learn more about music and to expose yourself*** to genres, styles, artists, and eras with which you are not already familiar.  This Sunday, Jeff Myers, digital marketing genius, jazz-guitar extraordinaire and all-around brilliant media mind will be curating.  He's bringing the deep cuts.  We're going to bring a ridiculous special from 6-9.  All beers are $4.  Boom.  You only need to bring yourself (and, since we won't be serving food, some dinner you picked up or whipped up, if you so choose).  This should be the laid-back, interesting and nerdy Sunday night you have been craving ever since Game of Thrones wrapped up for the season.****

Ok kids.  I have a bachelor party to attend.  Lock up the women and children, unless they're my wife and daughter, in which case I'll be checking in hourly in hushed tones, from bathrooms of various drinking establishments.  

Pete K.  

*  This line probably isn't going to get you very far in your marriage.  I mean, feel free to use it -- It's well-written, and if said sincerely and in an Arkansas drawl, it may just work.  But much like your stock broker, I don't guarantee results, unless it's with regard to my unconventional, by-any-means, tough-but-fair police work.  ("You're out of control, Kurzweg!  I get results!  Give me your badge and your gun -- You're on unpaid suspension!  Fine!  But City Hall can't stop me from bringing down this cock-fighting ring!  Not while I'm still breathing!")

** This isn't a joke.  That's what the tap hole on a firkin is actually called, a "bung hole."  Although, let's all take this moment to remember the great Cornholio, the highly-caffeinated alter ego of Beavis, of Beavis and Butthead fame, who only wanted some TP for his bung hole.  "ARE YOU THREATENING ME!"

*** Still not a porn theater

****  OMG!  So good, right!

The Death of International Fries Night

Friends:

Like all good things, International Fries Night must come to an end.  Tonight will be the last night that we pile perfectly cooked fries on a plate with yummy, loosely-nationalistic toppings heaped atop.  The revolution was fought.  The revolution was lost.  There are no winners.  The victims are all of us, who gained 5 - 15 pounds.  War is hell.

But, International Fries Night does not die in vain.  It was always something that we knew we wanted to eliminate, a delicious and easy place holder while our kitchen ramped up to full service.  You may recall, initially we served only dips and chips on Tuesdays, and then only International Fries on Wednesdays.  When we added Wednesday to our full dinner service schedule, IFN moved to Tuesdays.  And now, starting next week, our dinner menu will extend all the way to Tuesday night.   We are very excited to now serve a consistent, high quality dinner menu every night that we are open (Tuesday through Saturday), along with Saturday and Sunday Brunch.  Four months after we've opened, we are very proud of the progress of our kitchen.

That said, International Fries Night was good times and we should say goodbye.  So, tonight, we say goodbye to our five favorites:  Indian, German, French, Spanish, and Jamaican.  As always, each big heaping plate is only $7.50.  And we'll have "Kick these Kegs" $4 beer specials running throughout the night.  

See you at the Indie!

Pete K.  

This Weekend (June 12th-15th) at the Independent

Hi Folks:

Knowledge is, indeed, good, as Animal House reminded us with the laconic motto of Faber College, to wit: "Knowledge is Good."  As such, it would only be right and just for us to reward the purveyors of knowledge in the City of Pittsburgh with a beer special at the end of their school year.  Spread the word: tonight, starting at 3 p.m. (teachers shouldn't have to wait to start drinking), any Pittsburgh Public Schools employee with valid ID drinks $4 pints of beer, any beer, until we close.  Congratulations on another year in the books, Pittsburgh Public, and thanks for all that you do to serve our community.

Whether you join us tonight or later in the weekend, you'll see that we bought a new toy.  it's a two-tap mini-kegerator that we have obtained to expand our tap list.  Now, if you're one of our yelp reviewers, you're probably saying or blogging something like:  "why do you need more taps.  I thought you said that 12 was all you need for a well-curated beer selection. You're a liar (and your food is overpriced)."  I'm no liar (and our food is fairly priced).  We are using our new taps for cocktails -- not beer, but draft cocktails.  In fact, last night, we put on our first draft cocktail, Adam's El Diablo, which the New York Matinee called "a playful but mysterious little cocktail."**

Why do I prefer thee, draft cocktail, over your predecessor, bottled cocktail?  Let me count the ways;

1.  Better, more consistent carbonation:  Not all of our bottles were well carbonated.  Some leaked over time.  Some lost carbonation when they were cooled, and reheated.  We don't have that issue when we're pouring from kegs.  

2.  Eco-Friendly:  No more bottles and bottle replacements and energy to wash (and dry) the bottles.  We're keeping our bottles (Adam may use them to do some "cocktologist's private stash"*** cocktails down the line.  But, even though we recycled them, and reused them, they are less eco-friendly when you factor in things like replacement and cleaning.

3.  Cooler (literally and colloquially):  We keep the keg temperature at just above freezing, and that temperature doesn't rely on how much ice is in the ice bucket above the bar.  And, yes, they look cooler when we pour them.  More fizz.  More bubbles.  

4.  Price:  We're selling them at the same  price per volume, but you won't get the extra "side car," i.e. the remainder of the drink after filling the coupe glass from the bottle.  This cuts down on waste (and avoids the inevitable warming of the remainder in the bottle), and allows us to charge $8 as opposed to $10, which is great, if you just want one cocktail (highly discouraged).  

In other news.  Our food is great, and with summer upon us, it is becoming more locally sourced every week.  A must try for any locavore is the Summer Farm Fresh pasta.  The New York Matinee called it a "playful but mysterious little dish."****  The vegetables change daily and reflect what Mo bought at the farm or market that morning.   

Finally:  Beer, like knowledge, is also good.  If you haven't tried the Brew Gentlemen's "Build and Destroy," a wheat stout, then you must.  It is a really unique beer.  And, at 8.2% abv, you'll be ready to build and destroy after a few snifters of it.  What you build is your business.  But please don't destroy anything in our bar (or, actually, really anywhere else).   

Pete K.

*  Or maybe it's just an email.  I don't know.  In fairness, my understanding of newspapers comes mostly from the movie "Fletch."

** If you get this, I like you.  

***  Working title for my porn movie (What?  They're giving me a directing credit.)

****  Couldn't help myself

This Week of June 3, 2014 at the Independent

Friends:

In this week's edition of "This Week at the Independent," we're serving Campari Cotton Candy, selling Negronis for charity, helping raise money for Colfax K-8's PTO, featuring a live blue grass band, getting irate about the economic origins for the Irish Potato Famine and trying to make a difference, and yes, you read that first one correctly, we're serving Campari Cotton F&*king Candy.  

Tuesday:  International Fries Night (Support the Greater Pittsburgh Areas Food Bank)

Tonight's International Fries menu welcomes Irish Fries.  These fries feature corned beef, cabbage, and stilton cheese, heaped upon our perfectly cooked, fried potatoes.  

I'm sure you're waiting for some off-color remark where I riff on the Irish Potato Famine to promote our fries.  You won't get one from me, though.  The Irish Potato Famine killed an estimated one million people, and displaced an additional million.  Those are sobering statistics.  Worse yet, Ireland was exporting more than enough grain during the famine to feed the entire country.  But grain was a cash crop, and the capitalist pigs who owned the land weren't willing to part with it to feed the starving masses.  The next time someone refers to the Irish Potato famine in your presence, correct them.  It was no famine  It was capitalist genocide.  

In light of this history, we're donating one dollar from the sale of every plate of fries tonight to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food bank.

Wednesday:  Support Colfax K-8; Listen to Live Bluegrass

Public Schools matter to us at the Independent.  This week, on Wednesday, we're helping to raise money for our local K through 8 public School, Colfax.  One dollar from every alcoholic drink will benefit the Colfax Parent-Teacher Organization, which uses the money they raise for things like making sure kids have field trips, have a chess club*, having a community garden, and other important activities that enrich our children's education, but might not be in the school budget.

Additionally, we're going to have a live bluegrass band, "the Braddock Brothers," beginning at 9 p.m.  The Braddock Brothers features Colfax-Dad-extraordinaire Steve Jacobs on the Saxophone. Think of him as Colfax's own Duke Silver.   Another Dad extraordinaire is the Independent's own, and my brother, Matt Kurzweg.  He doesn't play the saxophone, but he does like beer, which should help boost the numbers.  

Saturday Night Negronis

Adam continues to push the cocktail envelope (I like to call it the "cocktailope").  It's Negroni week around the world.  Participating bars all sell Negronis and pledge one dollar to a local charity from each sale.  We are pledging to the Rainbow Kitchen in Homestead.  As hopefully you've had the pleasure to know, we already sell carbonated, bottled negronis as part of our everyday cocktail menu.  They are phenomenal.  Perfectly balanced bitterness from the Campari, nice boozy punch from the gin.  You should try one -- it's great for sidewalk sippin'.  But Saturday, Adam is going to feature three different types of Negronis that he'll be making that evening, including one using Campari Cotton Candy, which he's whipping up on his newest toy, a cotton candy making machine.  So, yeah.  We're serving Campari Cotton F&*king Candy on Saturday.  

Ok guys.  Lots of drinking for good causes this week.  Hope that you can join in the fun.

Pete K.  

*  This may shock you: I was an active member of the chess club all the way through the day I graduated high school.  You can't overstate the importance of a good chess club to a school.  Chess club taught me a lot.  How to think.  How to be patient.  But I will mostly remember it for how it taught me to dress.  I've been dressing "Chess Club Chic" ever since, and it's made all the difference.

This Week at the Indy (May 27th Week)

Hi folks:

Due to a lack of time and creativity, I'm presenting this week's update in Q&A format.  

1.  What's that new bravado I'm sensing behind your bar (does Mick Jagger work here now)?:

That's not Mick Jagger's signature cock strut you're seeing.  That's Adam's award-winning cocktologist strut.  Adam's had quite the week.  Last Sunday evening, he won first place in the "Secret Tiki Jet Pilot Competition," which earned him not only the respect of the top tiki-philes in this city, but an amazing trophy that exceeds two feet in length and features a solar-powered hula dancer on its base.*  Then, this morning, he was named by Pittsburgh Magazine as one of the six "brainiest bar-tenders" in the city, earning recognition for his boundary-pushing cocktails.  Additionally Lucky the Painproof Man, who has now been featured on three of our Saturday cocktail nights (with many more to come), was also on the list, giving the IBC 2 of the 6 brainiest bartenders in Pittsburgh.  For a "beer bar," that's pretty damn impressive, and we couldn't be more proud of Adam and what he's done with our cocktail program.  Come visit Adam this Saturday for a celebratory drink.  

2.  How Can I Help Good People Help a Great South African Neighborhood (and have a great time doing it)?

That's easy:  come to the Independent on Friday, meet Jody DiPerna and Linda Dukess, learn about Kliptown, South Africa, learn what they're going to do to help Kliptown, donate $10 or more, get a free beer from us as recognition of your awesomeness.  The Kliptown Photography Project (http://www.kliptownphotography.com/) is bringing digital photography to the people of Kliptown with the intention of empowering its youth.  Kliptown is poor -- unimaginably poor, in fact. Jody and Linda are great people who visited Kliptown several years ago and were unable to leave without promising to do something.  When they returned tot he States, they started the Kliptown Photo Project.  We're going to do our small part to help by giving away some free beer to help entice your donations.  Additionally, we're going to celebrate South Africa that evening, with a special South African food menu and South African music.  It's going to be a great evening, and a party with a purpose.  Please join us.   

3.  Where are those church pews and tables that were uncomfortable and made me feel fat after 5 beers and a plate of fries?  

They're gone.  We knew you didn't like them.  We didn't either.  Changes had to come.  We don't just arbitrarily stay the course in the face of overwhelming evidence that the course sucks.  This isn't the Bush Administration.

4.  Whoa, those tables and chairs out front -- can we sit in them? 

Yes.  Well, probably.  We should have our outdoor seating permit from the City this afternoon.  Once we do, we open our "beer garden."** 

5.  Can we expect that you will throw a Big Lebowski theme night in the relatively near future?  

Does the pope s%*t in the woods?

6.  Is there a better time to drink beer in Pittsburgh?  

No.  With the opening of the Brew Gentlemen in Braddock and Grist House in Millvale, the list of beers brewed locally just keeps getting better and better.  That makes our job easier (and our beer list better).  We have the Brew Gents on tap now, and we should have Grist House by week's end.  But, just because you can get them here, don't forget to make it down to those two wonderful brew houses.  Both of those breweries are owned and operated by young folks who have put a lot of time and effort into perfecting their spaces and their systems.  And both of them have brought new energy to neighborhoods that needed a pick-me-up.  Go visit them when you can slip away.  Meet the brewers.  Buy some growlers.  Help keep pushing the local craft beer scene forward by buying local whenever you possibly can; whether at our bar or at the breweries themselves.

Pete K.

*  She's mechanical -- not a very small, solar powered human.  I know, right?  It confused me at first too.

** It's a sidewalk, dude.  But, it's a very pleasant sidewalk indeed.  

Derby Menu

Kentucky Derby Brunch Menu

Fried Green Tomato 7

Topped with a poached egg & spicy pepper coulis

                                                                   Julep Salad 7

Dried cherries, mixed greens, goat cheese & granola

with a honey lime mint dressing

Kentucky’s Hot Brown 10

Roasted turkey or tofu, tomato & arugula, layered atop toasted brioche

smothered in a mornay sauce 

Whiskey Shrimp n Grits 12

Sautéed spiced gulf shrimp over cheesy turmeric grits & finished with whiskey sauce

Mac n Cheese 10

The Independent’s signature local beer sauce

topped with a herb cornflake crumble

add: bacon 2 or fried egg 1.5

Jockey’s Omelet 10

  Spinach, tomato, & black eyed peas

add: andouille sausage 2

Beignets 6

 Bourbon chocolate ganache

Derby Dinner

Brew-ssels sprouts 5

Fried and tossed with house made porter mustard, & topped with gorgonzola

Julep Salad 7

 Mixed greens, dried cherries, goat cheese, granola,

 honey lime mint dressing

Southern Vegetarian 9

 Pablano roasted and stuffed with black eyed peas, quinoa, rice, onion & tomato

baked with brie

Bourbon Braised Pork Taco 13

 pickled vegetable & queso

Whiskey Shrimp n Grits 12

Sautéed spiced gulf shrimp over cheesy turmeric grits & finished with a whiskey sauce

Big Hat Crab Cakes 15

Served with a porter mustard cream

Mac n Cheese 10

The independent’s signature local beer sauce

topped with a herb cornflake crumble

Add: bacon 2

Beignets 6

 Bourbon chocolate ganache

April 23rd through May 3

Howdy folks:

As many of you know, Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week begins this Saturday.  At the Independent, by our chosen "theme," we celebrate "Pittsburgh Craft Beer Perpetual Existence." If we merely served local beer next week, we would only meet the status quo we've already chosen for our tavern.  Bold moves are required.  And we're just the men and women to make them.  The next two weeks are chock-full of beer events and a Kentucky Derby Party.

First, a few notes:  (1) you may notice that we have "stuff" on our "walls" now (insert collective "finally..." sigh)..  That stuff, is awesome art from Alternate Histories, http://alternatehistories.com/ .  Check it out.  We're really proud to have it on our walls.  (2)  International Fries Night now occurs on Tuesday.  Wednesdays now have full dinner service.

Onto our events:

Saturday, April 26:  Four Seasons/Full Pint Roggenweizen (Pron.: Rogue N Vizen) Release Party.  

Four Seasons and Full Pint put their collective brewing minds together and brewed one hell of a collaboration beer for Craft Beer week.  It's a Roggenweizen (which, when said in a faux-German accent, quickly, and with the authority of an old, German braumeister, is the greatest word in the history of human language).  Roggen means "rye;" "weizen" means wheat.  This is a beer that in taste and appearance looks very similar to a traditional German Hefeweizen.  The yeast is doing the heavy lifting in this beer, lending banana and clove tastes into the pale and easy drinking beer.  But, in addition to simply wheat and barley malts, this beer also has a good dose of rye in its grain bill, which gives is a bit of spice (and a fantastic head).  This is a beautiful beer on its own, but what's more?  Our Vice President and Member in Charge of Advanced Cocktology, Adam, will be using it to make a delicious beer cocktail.  This beer deserves a party, so we're throwing one.  DJ Helmet is spinning tracks (and keeping it all vinyl) all night.  We might not be a bar with dancing...yet....

Tuesday, April 29:  Introducing the Brew Gentlemen Beer Company

I don't think there has been a more anticipated beer experience in the craft beer community of Pittsburgh than the opening of the Brew Gentlemen Beer Company.  That anticipation has been based on three things:  (1) Matt and Asa are smart young guys with great marketing and great beer taste (they are both cicerone recipients, which is the beer equivalent of having a sommelier license); (2)  They, and their head-brewer Brendan, have goals that are no less ambitious than revolutionizing beer; and (3)  those of us who have been lucky enough to sneak a taste of their test batches over the last year, know that they have the goods.  

We are honored to pour four of their first batches of beer on Tuesday, April 29th.  That happens to be International Fries night, and, as we are dealing with cicerones, we'd be remiss if we didn't pair their beer with the amazing food of Chef Mo'.  We met last night, and we're rolling out four international "fries" (potato croquettes count as fries, right?) to pair with their four beers.  Come see what the hype is about.  Don't miss this event.

Thursday, May 1:  East End Brewing and Lavery Brewing Company Collaboration Beers Celebration

Anyone who know us, knows that East End was our first love in Craft Beer.  They were early to the Pittsburgh scene, and inspired us to start drinking craft beer and to start home brewing.  We owe them a lot.  Lavery is newer to the scene, but is a fantastic brewery in Erie, PA, making carefully crafted beers, that are quickly becoming known as some of the region's best. These two breweries collaborated for two brews: one, a Chili-smoked amber ale, brewed in East End's Larimer brewery and the other, a farmhouse saison, brewed at Lavery's Erie Brewery. '  We're honored to have both breweries and their brewers in the house next Thursday to celebrate these beers in the best possible way:  by drinking them!  Come meet the brewers, taste the beer, and talk to the brewers about the beer.  I'm sure more than a few of you want to know more about smoked-chili amber beer, and what it took to make it.

Friday, May 2:  West vs. East:  Full Pint (Pittsburgh) vs. Free Will (Outside Philly), 9 p.m. to Midnight

At the Independent, we only serve beer brewed right here in Western, PA.  We're Pens fans and Pirates fans, and while we may have good friends in Eastern, PA, it doesn't mean we don't hate the Flyers and the Phillies.  Full Pint is a great Pittsburgh Brewery.  Free Will is a great Eastern, PA brewery that shares a great friendship with Full Pint (they share hops, swap other brew ingredients, and generally cavort together).  But that friendship ends at the door of the Independent on Friday, May 2.  In the spirit of Eastern and Western PA's ongoing competition, the Independent will put on tap its first beers from Eastern, PA, but only so we can pit them against our Western, PA favorites.  We'll have four beers on tap from each brewery -- four styles and one from each brewery.  Your incredibly difficult and unpleasant job (it's tough for you here at the Independent) is to drink those beers and compare them.  We'll make life even more difficult for you by serving late night snacks with your beer.  In the spirit of East vs West, Mo's putting together a Philly Fries and a Pittsburgh Fries for your enjoyment.   

Saturday, May 3:  The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved  12 p.m. to 1 a.m

"What I was trying to find in Churchill Downs that weekend was a 

symbol, in my own mind, of the whole doomed atavistic culture that 

makes the Kentucky Derby what it is."

-- Hunter S. Thompson, The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved, http://brianb.freeshell.org/a/kddd.pdf

Bourbon.  Big hats.  Seersucker.  Bourbon.  Mint Juleps.  Decadence.  Southern Cuisine.  Bourbon.  We'll be celebrating (and simultaneously loathing) all of these things at the Derby.  Day drinker?  We kick it off with Lunch/Brunch beginning at noon, with a special Derby day menu to form the proper base for your day drinking.  Your attire should either be "infield" or "grandstand," a celebration of Kentucky casual attire or the attire of the Kentucky Gentry.  Either way, it should be spring-appropriate. Your choice. We don't have televisions, but fear not, we'll play the Derby in the most exciting medium to experience it (other than live), with a live radio feed of "the call."  Our vinyl will play everything from standards to "southern" rock. Dinner will begin service at 5 p.m., and will also be a celebration of Southern cuisine.  We'll be serving the Brew Gentlemen Beer Company's "White Sky," a Chai-Spiced wheat beer to wash down your food. This is going to be a blow out.  This is going to be an experience.  This is going to be an annual party.

"For a confused instant I thought that Ralph had brought 

somebody with him--a model for that one special face we'd been looking 

for. There he was, by God--a puffy, drink-ravaged, disease-ridden 

caricature...like an awful cartoon version of an old snapshot in some 

once-proud mother's family photo album. It was the face we'd been 

looking for--and it was, of course, my own. Horrible, horrible..."

With that, I'll leave you, dear reader.  See you soon.  

Pete K.

April 18, 2014 Weekend at the Indie

Welcome to yet another installment of my weekly* email regarding the Independent, a/k/a "the Indie," a/k/a "the IBC," a/k/a "that place from before, with the people, and that one beer, remember?"

First, we've been here a while and people are beginning to notice.  Some people even say nice things, like this review at Pittsburgh Magazine.  http://www.pittsburghmagazine.com/Best-of-the-Burgh-Blogs/After-Dark/April-2014/Bar-Exam-The-Independent-Brewing-Co/  We particularly liked this paragraph, because we think it "gets us:"**  

"With its decidedly spartan layout, bevy of local beers and wines and casual demeanour, Squirrel Hill’s newest watering hole is manna from heaven for anyone nearby who’s looking for a great drink and a pleasant conversation sans pretention or distractions — except for perhaps the soothing crackle that accompanies the old records being played from behind the bar...

Combine the design of the place with the laid-back approach to service, and anyone stopping in will immediately relax. Just walk in, grab a table and start consuming the sounds of Jimi Hendrix, Rick James or any other artists whose records are in the bartenders’ sizable collection."

The feeling described therein -- substance over form, but without being a jerk about it -- is exactly what we were looking to create, and we're proud that Pittsburgh Mag picked up on it.  We're also happy that someone used "spartan" to describe our decor***, and not our underwear.  

Some commentary, alas, hasn't been as positive.  Take for instance twitter follower ("tweeter?"), @markorobert77, who writes:

"@IndependentPGH you are a shitty little dive which will go out of business by the end of the year."

We  don't agree, Mark.  But we do respect your tweet as the high-caliber, critical commentary that is your trade, as evidenced by the tweet immediately prior:  

"Damn, those totino' pizza rolls are popping."

Bravo, Mark -- that's some hard-hitting stuff.

But we celebrate the bad comments with the good.  And, in this instance, we'll literally be celebrating New Year's Eve with a "Go F*&k Yourself, @markorobert77 Party."**** Totino Pizza Rolls will be on the house right after the ball drops.  

But enough about us.  Let's talk about you.  This weekend, as we prepare to update our inventory for spring, we're going to wet your whistle with a celebration of spirits and beers at lowered prices.  The Ardbeg, Brugal 1888, El Tesoro, Scorpion, and Dutch's Peach Brandy are all selling at $2-$3 lower than their original price.  We'll also drop the price of a number of beers to $4 this weekend to make some room in our kegerators for the "collaboration beers" for Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week" and the seasonal Hefeweizens we intend to pour once the weather is consistently nice, a/k/a "Hefeweizen weather." (There's not joke here.  It's just what I like to call nice weather)

With regard to food, our weekly taco is a Roasted lamb, cauliflower puree topped with pepper, herb and pine nuts.  That just sounds awful, right?*****  We also have a Friday-night special for the vegetarians and vegans:  Falafel bites with hummus and tomato, cucumber, pita, on a salad.  That small plate sells for $7.

If you're looking for value, you'll find it at the IBC this weekend.  We won't be selling Totino Pizza Rolls.  But we will be supplying you the same great taste, at the same great price!******

IMPORTANT NOTE:  We will be CLOSED for brunch on Easter Sunday.  

Faithfully Submitted,

Pete K.

*  Read:  "occasional."

**  Like your high school prom date that your parents never liked.

***  Another appropriate adjective would be "nonexistent."

****  This wasn't my idea.  I really wish I could take credit.  

*****  Or, at least, not as good as Totino Pizza Rolls.  

******  The taste will be better; the price will also be higher with respect to most, if not all, products sold.