Around the Rivers

News Nearby: Sidelines Beer House Opens in Sewickley

A ribbon cutting celebrating Sewickley's newest sports bar is scheduled for noon on Friday.

It’s no coincidence the sign at the front door invites patrons to "seat yourself wherever you’d like."  Bob Miller wants “Sidelines Beer House” in Sewickley to feel inviting to customers.  “Sewickley needs a neighborhood bar and that’s what we are,” said Miller of Pittsburgh, owner of the new business. Sidelines held a soft opening Tuesday, but the business will celebrate a grand opening on Friday with a ribbon cutting at noon. With hours of operation from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily, the casual and affordably-priced sports bar allows patrons to grab a bite to eat at just about any time of the day. The kitchen closes at 1 a.m. Sidelines’ executive chef Brad Murray, who runs the back of the house, said the menu offerings — wings, burgers, wraps…

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Why Drink Cask Ale? Here's a Primer on What it is and Where you Can Find it

Tim Russell describes how the cask ale movement is bringing more of the traditional beers—those that were packaged in a way prior to the introduction of modern refrigeration—to the city of Pittsburgh.

It’s smooth. It’s flavorful. It’s warm. It’s alive. It’s real ale. The Campaign for Real Ale, or CAMRA, defines real ale as “a natural product brewed using traditional ingredients and left to mature in the cask from which it is served in the pub through a process called secondary fermentation.” In other words, from fermentation vessel to glass, real ale contains living yeast and is never pressurized by a CO2 tank. CAMRA was created by four Englishmen whom grew tired of fizzy beer with no character and little flavor while they were on holiday in Ireland. Today, the organization is a hundred-thousand members strong and considered the most successful consumer rights group in Europe. One of their main objectives is to campaign for the …

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