Beers from the Pennsylvania Brewing Company have always been a challenge for me. Not to drink, mind you, as I very much love and enjoy their brews and have for years. No, the challenge has been to find them more than anything else. They weren’t available in Rhode Island when I lived there, and traditionally have been even less accessible here in Georgia.

Pennsylvania beer and I go way back. Much of that has to do with the fact that my father hailed from Philadelphia and slapped a bottle of Schmidt’s Bock Beer in my hand around 1983 or so. In 1988, I vacationed just outside of Philadelphia and discovered such treats as Dock Street Amber and William Penn Colonial Lager. As the Pennsylvania beer scene expanded in the ensuing decades, so did my love for the beer.

Which brings us back to the beers of Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Brewing Company, and Penn Dark in particular. I’ve always loved this beer, but have to admit a good 15 year gap in being able to enjoy it. I first tried the beer sometime in the mid-nineties, and was pleasantly surprised recently to see it show up at Total Wine stores here in Georgia last year.

About the beer: Penn Dark is a Munich Dunkles in style of alcohol content 5% by volume and packing 25 IBUs to balance the soft dark malt. Munich, Black, and two-raw barley malts make up the grain bill and Perle hops are also employed in the brewing. The beer has won numerous awards, including three bronze and one silver medal at the Great American Beer Festival in the style of Munich Dark. The beer is pricey at $9.99 a six-pack, but certainly worth it for me.

Penn Dark pours to a deep mahogany color with a very thick and creamy head formation and a delightful nose of toasted nuts and dark malt. Taking a sip, I’m immediately struck by how smooth and creamy this beautiful brew is. The vibrant toasty nuttiness, light chocolate, hints of dark soft malt and molasses dance across the tongue in waves; it’s the nutty malt flavor that lingers longest for me and really defines the beer. The soft creaminess carries all that into the finish, which is balanced by the gentlest grassy hop buzz. Still, the beer finishes lightly sweet.

I love this beer. It’s amazingly drinkable and decadently delicate. A good Munich dunkles should be exactly like this, and I’ve never tasted better that didn’t come from Germany. Penn Dark truly sets the example for the style, and is a beer not be missed, no matter how hard you have to look for it.  



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