A few years ago, when the Lake Erie Ale Trail was initially advertised, I traveled and visited the breweries (and wrote about it here). All of the breweries but one–Erie Brewing Company— because it was only open on the weekends. The weekends are my busiest time! Recently, I saw that Erie Brewing had opened a new facility at 6008 Knowledge Park (near Penn State Behrend), so decided to finally check it out.
The outside is very modern, and has some patio seating (which is dog friendly). The inside is very modern and comfortable with several bars and seating areas. While I was there, the upstairs was closed for renovation; there is apparently a patio that is being closed in so it can be used in more seasons.
We decided to sit outside, and the waitress explained that she can serve us beer or wine (from local 6 Mile Cellars). Any food orders are made by circling items on the menus found at each table, and then bringing the menu to the food window inside. The food is provided by John’s Wildwood Pizza and includes pizza, hoagies, wraps and appetizers.
Once the food is paid for, you are given a buzzer, and when it goes off, you go and pick up your food. We ordered a slice of pizza, a steak hoagie, a pound of “famous” waffle fries with barbecue dipping sauce, and cinnamon sticks with a cream cheese dipping sauce. \
While waiting for the food, I ordered a flight of 5 samples of beer that was currently on tap. The waitress told us that the DeRailed was one of the most popular, so we included that, Bay Blonde, Cherry Bomb, Sour Island Hops, and Ol Red Cease and Desist. The flight came in a cute carrying carton. It wasn’t labelled in any way, so we had to refer back continually to the order ticket to identify the drinks.
Our two favorites were the Derailed Ale and the Cherry Bomb. The former is a cherry cream ale–smooth and sweet with a light cherry taste. The Cherry Bomb tasted much of sour cherry–no beery taste at all. It was sweet and tart at the same time.
The Bay Blonde was a mellow ale with a slightly bitter aftertaste. Ol Red Cease and Desist was the strongest (10%) with a strong caramel malt flavor. We found the Sour Island Hops undrinkably sour. I usually like citrus/grapefruit blends, but this was exceedingly sour.
Back to the food: the pizza crust was wonderful; the sauce and toppings unremarkable. The hoagie was large and full of tasty steak, the bite of some hot peppers, and lettuce. The pound of fries had to be more than that…the serving was huge! A bit salty for me, but not overly greasy, and really not in need of any special sauce. The cinnamon sticks were the same tasty pizza toast with a cinnamon sugar topping. The icing was just that–topping! Sweet and delicious.
