The Best Brews: Winning beers from Rhea’s office beer exchange
Rhea has a lot of beer lovers, and we’re lucky to be headquartered in a city like Pittsburgh that has a great craft brewing tradition. One of our favorite ways to celebrate the great beer in our area is to host office beer exchanges.
Each participating beer lover brings in a case (or four six-packs) of their favorite craft or seasonal brew, and we trade so that everyone can go home with their own variety pack.
This October, we held one of these exchanges, collecting a range of offerings that included fruited sours, IPAs, ciders, stouts, pumpkin ales, Oktoberfest specials and more.
Then, we gave everyone a couple of months to drink their beer, decide on their favorites, and put in their rankings.
So what were Rhea’s favorite beers this fall?
In Third Place: McKenzie’s Pumpkin Jack Hard Cider
Our team seemed to really enjoy this festive seasonal cider, which ranked higher than any of the other pumpkin entries in the exchange. Pumpkin jack is a hopped, spiced cider from McKenzie’s Beverages, produced in New York. (Contributed by our admin, Megan Seivert)
In Second Place: Heavy Seas Impending Doom Hazy Tangerine Double IPA
IPAs can be a divisive beer choice, but this juicy double IPA from Heavy Seas Brewing in Baltimore, Maryland was a real hit with our staff. With an ABV of 9.5% it was one of the strongest beers in our selection, but it’s most noteworthy for the strong, real citrus flavor that shines past the bitterness that’s typical of an IPA.
(Contributed by project manager Zach Wicks)
In First Place: 18º44′ Smoothie Sour
The winner, by a wide margin, was the 18º44′ Smoothie sour with Coconut, Pineapple, Orange, Milk Sugar, and Nutmeg, produced by Pittsburgh’s own Hitchhiker Brewing Company in collaboration with another local favorite, Maggie’s Farm Rum. This 8.0% ABV sour is inspired by the Painkiller cocktail and packs a serious punch of sweet and sour tropical flavor.
(Contributed by draftsman Brian Owen)
For bringing in the top-ranked beer in the exchange, Rhea team member Brian Owen won a $50 gift card and our eternal gratitude.
To see more ways that Rhea’s staff celebrate their love of beer, check out this bridal shower we hosted earlier this year for three of our employees at a local brewery.