Our trip to The Church Brew Works

How cool it was to take a tour of the store room where the barley and hops are kept and realize that we were actually at the side alter of the old St. John the Baptist church In Pittsburgh PA. We then entered the old Alter area where, though still painted and arched as of long ago, the brewing and holding tanks of copper replaced the gold which used to be present. There were pews in the waiting area , bathrooms and at a few long tables but most had given way to elevated chairs and tables. The Sacristy had been turned into a Men's room but the thing that captured my attention was the confessionals, that still had the same doors as I grew up used to, which were converted to a supply closet behind the bar.
The Bus trip was a definite success. There were the elderly ladies who left the church after a morning of making pirogi, to shower, change and come back. There were the retired couples who started the sponsoring group " married couple's night out" and there were a handful of young couples, such as Mike and I ( yes in these groups we are usually the youngest) who were aboard the full bus. Father graced us youngens in the back with his humor as he " kept an eye on us". Getting through the Pittsburgh rush hour traffic proved to be a treat as there was an accident which closed a road in our way as well as the usual stop and go traffic.
Once there most of us broke into groups for the tour while a few decided that sampling the "fruit" was more up their alley. Either way we all ended up in line for the buffet dinner. Too bad that the reservations were made under church group and management must have thought that we were all a bunch of old ladies who , like the Pope, don't eat in public ( I learned this fact on the trip, Thanks Father lol. ) because they ran out of food a couple times. When the veggie trays were empty before the food was served, we were told that there was nothing that they could do however attitudes changed when the buffet trays were empty after only half of us getting our plates.In the end they did cook more food and we were all fed. To my surprise the food was pretty decent. I am not a rice pilaf fan but after picking the red peppers out ate a portion. The veggies were wonderful. warm but not over cooked. The pasta looked gross( I usually don't care for pasta anyway so it could be just me ) so I didn't even taste it. the chicken in the first batch was very dry but I tasted Mike's after the cooks made more and despite the tomato glaze it was pretty good. After ,we were all served Brewmisu (tirmesu) for desert which is the first that I have ever actually finished after tasting.( I'm not at all a coffee, especially espresso drinker)
After , well during, dinner many ordered the six beer sampler of their brews. I do not drink beer but Mike had one and informed me what was good and what was not so much. To Mike's amazement they had one brewed with espresso beans . He of course had to order more of this one but unfortunately it was not one that they had bottled for to go purchase, so we, unlike others, did not bring any home. We did, however buy the T shirts, to wear to Mass Sunday and a Frisbee for the kids. I figured that glasses wouldn't even make the bus ride home let alone our house so decided against it.
The bus trip home entertained us with a video of " a different kind of marriage seminar "being played on the bus. It was surely good but sitting in front of Father and listening to his humorous comments was priceless !
By the end we all decided that a wine tasting trip would be a must do. I will have to watch the bulletin.