Give me a real beer and sandwich

New Holland Ichabod Ale, originally uploaded by straylight6.

By Scott Beveridge

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Give me a beer that tastes like, well beer, at happy hour and I'm happy.

No. I don't want one of those girlie beers flavored with apples, oranges, lemons or limes. The worst, in my opinion, have been brewed with cloves and should be used for a higher purpose to oven roast an Easter ham. When I am feeling most like a beer snob, I'll reach for a venerable, high-test coppery and malty India Pale Ale.

But, I must say it caught my attention over the past week as my twitter feed became filled with tweets about pumpkin beer on tap at Bocktown Beer and Grill. It wasn't hard to miss them among the F-bombs posted by beered-up Steelers fans who were angry about their beloved team's 17-14 loss Sunday to the Baltimore Ravens.

Bocktown can be found in the real world at a nearly-abandoned strip mall in the otherwise bustling Robinson Township shopping sprawl district off the Parkway West. Its a locally-owned and bit pricey small place with a large selection of specialty beers on tap and a great food menu.

Its owners have surfaced as being masters of the art of using social media to boost business, a move that has helped to keep the room filled with customers on most nights.

Speaking of that, a tweet from Bocktown just moved on my twitter feed and it reads as follows:

"If you make it to Bocktown today or tomorrow, try a fun pumpkin beer flight! Ichabod 4 ways: Plain, infused with..."  followed by a link to its Facebook feed about that beer being infused with Old Whiskey Hollow soaked oak.

Whatever it takes to get people here, but Bocktown is certainly worth the trip for anyone hankering for polite conversation among friends and strangers and something to drink other than Coors Light.

Tonight, New Holland Brewing of Michigan has beeb giving away samples of its pumpkin beers. I try two of them and decide they don't taste too pumpkin obnoxious and that I probably would drink two with dinner had I not already decided on an IPA.

The brewing company's T-shirts are much more attractive, as they bear over black cotton a headless horseman holding up a pumpkin in his right hand. I would have bought one of them had the creative geniuses at that company thought to have stocked some to sell at this party.

Then I am gently interrupted by the guy to my left dressed in a starched shirt and looking over the menu with his pretty, thin girlfriend who appeared hungry.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but what are you eating?" he said. "She thinks its really looks good."

"Oh it's no bother," I respond. "It's the adventureland burgher. It's delicious. Everything on the menu is good, especially the steak sandwiches."

He goes back to her because I could hardly turn my attention away from my food basket.

This has to be one of the best burgers I have ever tasted. It's set atop a nest of creamy coleslaw, special sauce, pickles and onion crisps.

It certainly would not go good with a fruity beer.