2024-08-20 19:25:02
Pennsylvania Brewery Running Series
Multiple locations. breweryrunningseries.com/locations/pennsylvania
The PA Brewery Running Series is taking Pittsburghers on a different kind of beer run. The event series invites beer lovers to get outside and run for beer, tackling “5k-ish run/walk courses” that start and end at local breweries. Upcoming fun runs will take place Saturdays through the late summer and fall, including on Sat., Aug. 24 at Fermata Brewing Company in Ambridge, Sept. 7 at Strange Roots in Millvale, and Oct. 12 at Inner Groove Brewing in Verona. All participants receive a local craft beer at the finish line, a choice of collectible pint glass or other swag, and access to post-run live entertainment, food, and festivities. A portion of each race’s proceeds support local nonprofits including 412 Food Rescue and Special Olympics Pennsylvania Three Rivers Region. Visit the Pennsylvania Brewery Running Series website for tickets and event details.
Playa Bowls
1707 Smallman St., Strip District. playabowls.com
The Terminal will soon add a beachy new spot to the Strip District. Playa Bowls, described in a press release as “a hotspot for cool, refreshing superfruit bowls,” will, on Sat., Aug. 24 at 11 a.m., hold a grand opening celebration with a ribbon cutting ceremony and free bowls and T-shirts for the first 50 guests. This is the New Jersey-based chain’s first Pittsburgh franchise location, opened by Erie, Pa. natives Brandon Minnick and John Bongiorno. The new eatery will offer a “fruit and vegetable-centric menu” with bowls, juices, and smoothies, and marks “a symbolic return to The Terminal’s roots of serving as a bustling wholesale produce market.” Follow the Playa Bowls Pittsburgh Instagram for updates.
Eleventh Hour Brewing Co.
3711 Charlotte St., Lawrenceville. 11thhourbrews.com
Run to another brewery when Eleventh Hour Brewing celebrates its seventh anniversary. The Lawrenceville spot is marking the milestone with a weekend of beer releases, music, new merch, and food trucks. The event kicks off on Fri., Aug. 30 with a ticketed Kölsch service in the brewery’s German village, where patrons will be served the traditional ale with a personalized coaster. The official anniversary party takes place on Sat., Aug. 31 with new beer releases, including a BYS barrel-aged stout, Triple Jack IPA, and a special seventh anniversary-edition fruited sour. PGH Dumplingz, Driftwood Oven, and PGH Sandwich Society food trucks will also be on-site. Join them on Sun., Sept. 1 for Korean-style corndogs and street food from The BoonSeek and a back-alley DJ party. Follow Eleventh Hour’s seventh-anniversary event page or its Instagram for details and updates.
Pittsburgh Soul Food Festival – A Soulful Taste of the Burgh
Market Square and Boulevard of the Allies, Downtown.
facebook.com/ASoulfulTasteOfTheBurgh
The Pittsburgh Soul Food Festival – A Soulful Taste of the Burgh, returns Fri., Aug. 30-Sun., Sept. 1 to Downtown for Labor Day Weekend. The free outdoor community event, which celebrates local Black chefs, artists, and entrepreneurs, features rib and mac-and-cheese contests, live entertainment and cultural activities, a DJ line-up, and more than 100 vendors. The list of food operators presenting “mouth-watering, savoring, and delicious meals” includes Z-Best BBQ, Leon’s Caribbean Restaurant, Gibson’s Takeout and Catering, Early Mae’s Bakery (who is already preparing their peach cobbler), and more.
Festival organizers announced that the Pittsburgh Soul Food Festival was recently recognized as one of the seven best Black festivals in America, promoting Pittsburgh “across the nation as a Black tourist destination city.” The festival takes place in Market Square and along Boulevard of the Allies this year, leaving PPG Plaza, where it’s been held since 2019, following a dispute with the site’s ownership company.
CP Photo: Mars Johnson
Enjoy Wrestling hosts the Gargantuan Battle Royale during the TacoMania block party at SouthSide Works on May 5, 2024.
Beers of the Burgh x TacoMania Super Fest
301 E. Ohio St., North Side. beersoftheburgh.com
Pittsburgh is closing out its outdoor festival season extra strong with a food-filled wrestling event. On Sun., Sept. 1 from 12-6 p.m., Beers of the Burgh partners with Enjoy Wrestling to present TacoMania Super Fest in Allegheny Commons Park. The supersized event promises an “unparalleled line-up of local food vendors and live on-stage mayhem” and the “ultimate taco fest experience,” gathering a dozen of the city’s “top-tier taco spots.” Visitors will also experience live music (including mariachi bands) and two hour-long matches by the local indie wrestling promoter. Food trucks will serve tacos, margaritas, and desserts and include Brisketburgh, Dos Reyes, El Sabor, Tocayo, Kona Ice, and more. Guests are welcome to bring blankets and camp chairs to sit in the park. Entry is free.
Union Forge Vodka
unionforgevodka.com
Union Forge Vodka, which recently expanded statewide, invites Pittsburghers to savor a last sip of the season. The Philly-based brand launched its second annual A Taste of Summer contest in partnership with the United States Bartenders’ Guild, challenging local bars and restaurants to create the best summer cocktail using Union Forge Vodka. The winning location in each city will receive a cash prize and Union Forge trophy, and proceeds from each specialty cocktail sold will be donated to the nonprofit Children of Restaurant Employees.
Guests can try summer cocktails from 13 Pittsburgh spots and vote for their favorites into September. Made in PGH checked out the local line-up, which includes Burgatory’s Forged in Fuchsia, a purple cocktail crafted with Union Forge vodka, butterfly tea, and elderflower, and garnished with a lemon slice (available at all six locations). Sly Fox Brewery at the Highline offers the fruity Watermelon Forge, made with Union Forge vodka, fresh watermelon juice, and lime, while Downtown’s The Warren mixes up the fuller-bodied London Sun, combining Union Forge vodka, Earl Grey tea, honey, and Crème de Violette liqueur. Other participating locations include The Standard Market & Pint House, the Omni William Penn Hotel, Mineo’s Pizza House, and more. View the complete list of Pittsburgh Taste of Summer locations on the Union Forge website.
East End Brewing Co.
eastendbrewing.com
East End Brewing wants everyone to vote for its Big Hop Harvest Ale in USA Today’s Best Fall Seasonal Beers Readers’ Choice poll. Described by the brewery as “truly our most seasonal beer in the truest sense,” the citrusy, bright orange brew is made from locally-grown “wet hops,” only harvested in August, and is released annually to celebrate autumn’s arrival. It will return to East End soon, but in the meantime, fans can vote for Big Hop Harvest twice a day through Sept. 9. Winning beers will be announced on Sept. 18.
Dunkin’ Spiked
dunkinspiked.com
If the reappearance of Halloween candy and Spirit stores has you taken aback, Dunkin’ only adds to the fall madness with the release of boozy pumpkin spice lattes. The chain announced that a Dunkin’ Spiked Pumpkin Spice Iced Latte, its first-ever limited seasonal offering, will be available in Pittsburgh starting this month. The new Spiked PSL has 6% alcohol and features “a perfect balance of sweet, pumpkin, vanilla and fall spice flavors” for a “spiked, deliciously decadent and ready-to-drink format perfect for day or night,” according to a Dunkin’ press release. The drink follows the brand’s existing line of Spiked Ice Coffees launched last fall. Pittsburghers will be able to pick up the new PSL flavor at Dunkin’ stores and in cans at area grocery stores. Find it on Dunkin’ Spiked’s online map.
