{"id":542,"date":"2018-03-22T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-03-22T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/beerme\/?p=542"},"modified":"2018-03-22T16:36:50","modified_gmt":"2018-03-22T20:36:50","slug":"east-end-is-grateful-for-volunteers-were-grateful-for-barleywine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/beerme\/pittsburgh\/east-end-is-grateful-for-volunteers-were-grateful-for-barleywine\/","title":{"rendered":"East End is grateful for volunteers. We’re grateful for barleywine."},"content":{"rendered":"

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And everyone is grateful for Gratitude. Especially on Gratitude Day.<\/p>\n

East End’s mostly-annual release of its Gratitude barleywine started more than a decade ago, as a way for the then-young brewery to thank its customers.<\/p>\n

These days, Gratitude release day is a full-fledged Pittsburgh beer holiday, the first day of its kind around here, with the possible exception of the yearly release of Penn’s St. Nikolaus Bock.Customers line up for bottles of the fresh Gratitude, to both drink now and to stow away for a few years. And they also show up to get their hands on vintage bottles that have been stashed away by the brewery for special occasions.<\/p>\n

What’s the big deal? Like other barleywines, Gratitude is a big beer, and because of its ingredients and its alcohol, it ages extremely well; after a few years, some of the flavors that are more prominent in the younger versions — especially the hops that are easy to find when Gratitude is fresh — drop away, revealing a complex liquid that often reminds me of a rich brandy. East End owner Scott Smith said his favorite versions of the beer come in two varieties — as fresh as possible or aged four or more years.<\/p>\n

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