schooled.

If you skipped class last night, you missed a good time.

Mrs. Crappy and I attended this fall first session of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s Craft Beer School on Tuesday, mostly because of the co-host: our own Father Spoon, of the infamous Should I Drink That? podcast. Spoon and our mutual friend Tony Knipling of Vecenie Distributing in Millvale had some winners picked out for us, and were pretty entertaining along the way.

The beers and my Twittered notes from last night (along with some additional comments):

• Victory Festbier: Hoppier than expected at the start. Crisp finish. Very good. (The folks at Victory love their hops, and it’s unusual for the style to have them so prominent. But it’s not over the top, and it’s a nice changeup from some of the malty beasts we usually see this time of year.)
• Dogfishhead Punkin Ale; Mild, balanced flavor. Real pumpkin ale, not just spiced. (That sounds like a slam on the nutmeg-y beers that start showing up in the fall; it’s not. I love most of ’em, but Punkin is near the top of my list.)
• BrewDog Punk IPA: This one is a challenge; thump of hops, rich underneath. I like; I am in the minority. (Seriously. I was the only one at our table who liked this. It’s an unusual flavor for an IPA, and it’s not dry at all — I’d like to have another taste of this one.)
• Troegs JavaHead Stout (debuted in our backyard): It kicks ass, but you knew that already. (This is the one that Dahcheet brought from Harrisburg for us to sample at the Pizza-Off, a couple weeks before it had it’s first official appearance in the Burgh. The coffee flavor is enormous, but, surprisingly, not out of balance. If you like the coffee-flavored stuff, you need to give this a try.)

We also had good food, a taste of another — very different — pumpkin beer afterwards, a little time with two of our favorite Jens (Jenn and Jenda) before they had to split for Stomp’s opening show. Can’t beat a night like that.

If you missed it last night, you have another opportunity in a month. Spoon may not be the host — unless the trust asks him back later — but you’ll still get good beer, good beer knowledge and an excellent night. My advice? Don’t skip class ever again.