John Harvard's Brew House
N 40° 25.768 W 079° 48.595
17T E 600947 N 4476105
One of nine brewpubs in this micro-chain, John Harvard's in Monroeville got the nod as top Pittsburgh brewpub in one respected survey.
Waymark Code: WMW7M
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 10/23/2006
Views: 72
I don't often get to the far eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh, and had never been to this brew pub. So, I feel truly blessed that my geocaching colleague Bjorn74 pretty much demanded that I join him for dinner and microbrews at John Harvard's when he was in town recently.
We had a great time. Maybe it helped that we mentioned we'd be writing up the place for waymarking.com? In addition to excellent service from our lovely and beer-savvy waitress Jessica all evening long, the manager stopped by with some $5.00 coupons for our next visit.
I liked the layout of the brewpub. The front features a loud, happy and smoky bar for those who enjoy such things. Back in the restaurant section, we were able to enjoy a nice dinner in relative peace and quiet, not having to raise our voices to have a nice geocaching and waymarking conversation.
We both enjoyed our dinners, selected from a menu that ranged from burger and pizza choices below $10, to standard dinner entrees in the $12 to $18 range.
But we came to sample beer. The beer selection covered the entire spectrum, so that is what we did -- we each ordered a sampler of 11 beers and were treated to a bonus 12th high-gravity something or other that wasn't even on the menu. Our sampler included "Holy Helles," Scottish Ale, "Ripple's Red," Pumpkin Spice, Vienna Lager, Kulmbacher Black, Dry Irish Stout, Pilsner, Alt Bier, India Pale Ale and an extremely hoppy Cask Conditioned beer.
The surprise hit of the night was the Alt Bier, a copper colored ale with hops so aggressive they leaped out of the glass with their weapons drawn. I was also pleasantly surprised by the Pumpkin Spice, made with local pumpkins in the mash. It reminded me of mulled cider. The Black and the Irish Stout also were very good. I was disappointed, however, by the Scotch Ale, which lacked body, and by the India Pale Ale, which was a bit too complex in its bite.
But with so many to choose from, any beer lover is bound to find something they like here. For more information, check out John Harvard's website here: (
visit link)