Bottle Shop, Bottle Shop...Oh Bottle, Bottle Shop...Bottle Shop...ba dump, bump bump
Pennsylvania has some odd laws when it comes to the sale of alcohol. If you’re visiting from a more enlightened state, you may be surprised to find that the beer and liquor you’re used to picking up at your local grocery or convenience store is not available at these same locations in PA. There are “state stores” and “beer distributors,” and up until recently, even these wouldn’t be open on a Sunday. You can’t (or at least, you’re not supposed to) have wine shipped in from out of state directly to your house. You have to have it delivered to a state store for pickup. There are, perhaps, a number of reasons for these legal inconveniences, but more than likely, it’s about somebody (other than the consumer) making a buck.
Be that as it may, one of the more annoying consequences of Pennsylvania’s convoluted and antiquated alcohol laws is that those wishing to pop down to the store and pick up a six-pack of beer (to take back to the hotel or over to their friend’s cookout, for instance) can’t. They have to stop by the beer distributor and buy it by the case. If you’re only visiting for a week, and don’t have a drinking problem, a case is, perhaps, overkill. Not to mention, you’re locking yourself into a single brand, so you’d better really like that Iron City you thought you’d try…just to see what it’s like. See, what did I tell you? Annoying. But, of course, as with any good law, there’s a way around this. And so, in steps the bottle shop.
A bottle shop sells beer by (wait for it) the bottle. Simple, right? The law allows this if a certain percentage of an establishment’s business is serving food. So, you serve up dogs and kielbasa in your place, and you can sell beer for take-out. It’s a nice work-around. And by allowing customers to purchase beer by the bottle, of course, people can concoct their own six-packs, combining their favorite Belgians with micro-brews they’ve never even heard of. I’m noticing more bottle shops springing up around the Pittsburgh area, these days, but the local favorite seems to be D’s Six Pax and Dogz in Regent Square, just east of the city.
As the name indicates, D’s is about beer and hot dogs. And really now, who could ask for more than that. It looks like your typical dive. Very casual. Nothing fancy. Well, nothing fancy, that is, until you stroll through the dining area and enter the “Beer Cave” in back, lined with what D’s claims is over 1000 brands of beer. This is where the fun begins. Grab an empty six-pack holder, and start filling it with any combination of bottles you desire. Pilsners and ales and reds and stouts and porters and IPAs and…well, I’m guessing you get the picture. Don’t be surprised if thirty minutes later, you still haven’t decided which ones you’re taking home. And D’s always has six beers on tap, so don’t be shy about sitting down at the bar and ordering something that sounds interesting to go with the bacon cheddar dog I highly recommend you try.
If you find yourself in the South Hills suburbs (my neck of the woods), then stop by Barley’s and Hop’s, the newest, and perhaps the best, addition to the South Park Shops in Bethel Park—about a half hour or so outside downtown Pittsburgh. With a huge offering of domestics, imports, and microbrews as well as tastings every Thursday night, Barley’s and Hop’s is worth the trip. Visit their Web site, and you’ll find a fifteen-page beer selection list which Barley’s claims is only indicative of about 80% of its choices! Treat yourself to a Wynchwood Scarecrow, an Eku Pils, or a Dogfish Head IPA (because it’s as fun to choose your beer by its name as it is by its label). And don’t forget, you can round out that six-pack with another three unique choices.
Sure, your visit to Pittsburgh might mean getting acclimated to the PA alcohol laws, but a visit to one of the local bottle shops will make you glad you came.
