Rooney's Lager

If you can walk by a beer called "Rooney's Lager" and not at least consider buying it, then I submit that you a.) are lacking in true Steeler fandom, b.) are not a real Pittsburgher, and c.) may not even have a heart at all. Seriously, this is why it pays to take a chance every once in a while, especially on a local product. 

At $5.99 for a six-pack, I fully expected this beer to be one of those light American lager beers that we know and love and which have formed the backbone of our beer drinking culture, but which are ultimately forgettable flavor-wise. Also, the name doesn't really help. Although it is named after the legendary Rooney family (owners of the Pittsburgh Steelers) and bears some amount of history with it, in a weird way the name almost turned me off. I thought for sure this was some "white-label" promotion done by the Pittsburgh Brewing Co. in which they slap a new label on a six-pack of Iron City. I could not have been more wrong. Rooney's Lager is a unique brew in its own right. 

You don't find too many "hoppy" lagers out there, but this is one. For a lager, it has a very big, crisp flavor, thanks to a combination of Saaz and Tettnang hops. Tettnang is a new one on me, by the way, but you learn something new every day, and if it makes a good tasting lager like this, count me in. 

4.5% ABV means you can easily put down three or four of them and just be slightly buzzed. I think they call this a "session" beer, because you can drink a bunch of them in one "drinking session." It's not like some Russian Imperial Stout that's going to make you think you're drinking port wine and knock you on your ass after half a bottle. 

Besides all that, it's locally made by the Pennsylvania Brewing Company, right here in Pittsburgh. This beer will be accompanying me on many pleasant, Pittsburgh evenings this Spring and Summer, I can already assure you...