Lagerheads in Coal Center, PA

Monday is a long day at school for me. I have 4 classes at California University of Pennsylvania, and a 2 hour window between the 3rd and 4th. Yesterday, I decided I'd drive the mile or so down the road to Coal Center and stop in at Lagerheads, a bar a few friends and I occasionally would drink in when we were working toward our Bachelors Degrees.



Lagerheads is a red brick building on the corner of Spring St & Water St in Coal Center, PA. The establishment is a split with one side being the bar, the opposite being the restaurant. It has a log cabin look inside, but modernized, and mixed with brick & painted walls. There is a rectangle bar with 3 sides of seating available, offering about 18 stools at the bar itself.

Surrounding the bar are around 8 bar stool tables with 4 stools to each table. The place has a bunch of flat screen tv's, but I didn't find them terribly distracting. On to the beer!

Back in 2005-2006, when I was working toward my B.A. in History, Lagerheads was a typical dive, offering nothing but the most popular macros. Of course, they did have Yuengling Traditional Lager so I typically went with that. If I recall correctly, they used to offer it on tap for a buck.

Well, times have certainly changed, and so has Lagerheads. I was pleasantly surprised by the beer on tap I didn't recognize, and the Samuel Adams, Sierra Nevada, Terrapin, & Rogue in the cooler. I first went with the mystery brew on tap after I was told it was Shock Top, a beer I had heard of before, but had yet to try.

Shock Top Belgian White (Anheuser Busch, St. Louis, Missouri)



On-Tap, poured into what must have been a 10 oz mug (I'll explain later).
Shock Top Belgian White is a cloudy witbier. Rimmed top, not a lot of foam/head. Couldn't really smell anything at first, but the mug was frozen. The look: Orange-hue White

Tastes like sweet citrus--sort of like Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy meets Blue Moon's Belgian White. It offers a tiny bit of lacing, nothing to brag about. Wheat tones dry the mouth while citrus refreshes & body (medium) rounds it all out. The citrus is probably an orange, either a navel or valencia.

My brew was served at what felt like 40 degrees F. As it warmed it smelled like a peeled orange 4-5 feet away.

Next was a brew from Terrapin:

Terrapin Golden Ale (Athens, GA)



Poured 12 oz bottle into a....what the hell? The mug is without a doubt less than 12 oz. I'm willing to bet it was only a 10 oz mug because I had around 2 oz in the bottle that I couldn't fit into the mug. Head did not play a role in that dilemma. Moving on:

Golden look. Extremely malty smell and taste. Plenty of toasted malts. The qualities of the smell and taste are very contrasting in the face of the golden look of the brew.

It tastes like it smells, and smells like a beer kit with additional hops. The hops offer a dryness to the heavily malted taste. Maybe some chocolate raisin in the malted taste.

Not a lot of head, not a lot of lacing. A very pleasant feel to the beer. The alcohol doesn't get angry if lounging in your mouth for a few seconds.

Lastly, a brew from Rogue:

Santa's Private Reserve (Newport, OR)



Poured a 12 oz bottle into an insufficient 10 oz mug. Trust me, I'm right on that assertion.

Amber brown look. Excellent foam! Smells like X-Mas hops and friendly malts. Very roasted/hoppy flavor. A good amount of bitterness. Definitely a Christmas beer. I'd call it a Christmas version of an IPA.

A seething mouth feel; any sip demands to be swallowed. Bage-nougat looking foam. More on the taste: chocolate raisin covered in bitter, floral hops. Solid medium body. Respectable rim retention.

I couldn't drink too many, but Rogue's Santa's Private Reserve is a quality beer.