The New Yorker unveiled a craft beer map using stats from 2012 Brewers Association data. It reveals Pennsylvania has the sixth-most craft breweries, hosting 102, which means there are four craft breweries per 500,000 people. The state is second in craft beer production at 1,626,116 barrels of beer in 2012. 

California is the leading state for number of craft breweries and production.

For the "You Learn Something New Every Day" file:

The Red Robin restaurant chain, which has seven area locations, is rolling out what it's calling, and trademarking as, "Can-Crafted Cocktails." 

In topless, reusable beer cans.

The aluminum cans were made for the company by MillerCoors.

The mostly-burgers chain is using them to serve two drinks:

· Coors Light Can-Crafted Cocktail – Coors Light, ginger liqueur and lemonade topped with fresh squeezed lemon

· Blue Moon Can-Crafted Cocktail – Blue Moon Belgian White, SVEDKA Clementine vodka, orange juice and fresh lime juice

We're told they're "Too cold to hold," which also is trademarked.

They cost $4.99 each.

You can even buy one of the empty cans to take home for an additional $5.

Red Robin master mixologist Donna Ruch, who helped develop the vessels and the drink in them, said in a press release, “Souvenir glassware is a big part of Red Robin’s heritage, and it was important to me to create something unique that could only be found at our restaurants. My vision for the Can-Crafted Cocktails was to craft a craveable adult beverage in a one-of-a-kind glass that would catch the eye and act as a conversation piece for our guests.  The Can-Crafted Cocktails definitely have that wow factor.”

Red Robin photo

Meagan Seastedt is a brewer for Rivertowne Brewing Co. and she's organizing a showing of the 2011 documentary about women in the Northwest's beer industry, "The Love of Beer."

We're going to write more about the event and the film in Thursday's Food & Flavor section, but for now, we wanted to share the cool poster she sent.

Which gives you a head start on tickets.

June 6 update: Here's the PG piece.

On this post-holiday slow news day (or am I just a slow news person?) comes word of a new beer bottle opener that even a one-armed bartender can use.

Meet the GrOpener.

I'm told about it by my Denver beer PR guy Marty Jones, who is friends with the developer: Denver-based photographer Mark Manger.

Marty emails: "Mark's device is loosely based on a primitive bottle opener he saw while doing Peace Corps work in Africa" in the 1990s.

Marty, who gave a specially mounted one as a prize to Wynkoop Brewing Co.'s Beer Drinker of the Year Warren Monteiro, even sent along video of an amputee bartender, Denver's Tim Fink, using the simple device: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n43O6gOMrCg&feature=youtu.be

GrabOpener's website says that the product uses the force from the grabbing motion to help remove the bottle cap. "This device does not require a lot of strength, but a firm grip is necessary. It is not a helpful tool for grandma’s arthritis or for a kindergartner. Think a firm, but not crushing, handshake."

GrOpeners are made in Denver from Utah-made aluminum and come in a variety of colors for $18 or $22 for hardened versions.

Cheaper in the long run than the one-handed bottle openers we had where I grew up:

One's teeth.

GrOpener photo

Alley Brewing's Chris Leber, left, and Josh Hays.

Going back to August 2011, I've been trying to keep an eye on another of the region's many start-up and would-be-start-up breweries, Alley Brewing. The three 20-something homebrewers who aspire to be pros have since poured tastes at quite a few places, and recently did their first big event -- Rivertowne Brewing's Pro-Am Rendezvous during Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week (above).

Now the Alley Brewing guys have me smiling at a promotion they're calling "McKeesport's First Ever American Craft Beer Week Events."

I wrote about a few other local ACBW event's in this morning's Beer column, but didn't find out until after that went to the presses yesterday about these:

• From 7 to 10 p.m. on Thursday, May 16, at McKeesport's Cal's Cantina, there will be free samples of Alley Trolley 68 Belgian Tripel, ASL Blonde Ale and Brick Alley IPA, served with food specials.

• From 6 to 9 p.m. on Sunday, May 19, also at Cal's, is to be the "first ever American Craft Beer Week Tasting in McKeesport’s history," Alley Brewing announces on its Tumblr page. "Our goal is to gather up to 10 local breweries to come to Cal’s Cantina and pour their beer for this special event. The tasting will be $5 for your sampling glass and you can sample local brewery offerings and enjoy pizza and wing specials from the kitchen. Our focus is to feature established local craft breweries as well as up and coming breweries from the area."

As Alley Brewing explains, "Hand-crafted artisan beer used to be a staple of the Mon Valley in the early 1900s, but has yet to prosper since the old Tube City Brewery closed many years ago.  We wanted to bring local craft beer back to the community ..."

They're also doing that with their highly localized names and labels. "Brick Alley," for instance, is McKeesport's legendary red-light district, and was originally the operation's name, until the brewers learned that a Connecticut tavern owns and protects it.

I had a great chat with one of Alley Brewing's principals, Chris Leber, last night. Chris, whose day job is at a chemical and environmental marketing firm, said they still haven't even started the state and federal licensing process, but they are brewing regularly at his home in Cranberry. He and his two partners, Eric Bedont and Josh Hays, grew up together out in the Mon Valley town of Port Vue, and they started brewing together after they graduated from college in 2009. A brewpub is their ultimate goal.

A Kickstarter.com campaign could be in the nearer future, along with the requisite Bob Batz Jr. story in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

But American Craft Beer Week 2013 seems like as good time as any for a bigger coming out. As of last night, they had a commitment for a keg from Jeff Guidos at All Saints Brewing near Greensburg, and the good guys at Butler Brew Works are in. Hopefully, some other local brewers, would-be and established, will come out, as well as enough craft-beer customers to show Cal's and McKeesport what this craft-beer thing is all about.  People in McKeesport want craft beer, too (I mean you, Steve "Conan the PG Librarian" Karlinchak).

For more information on the events or the brewery, you're invited to email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Chelsea Leber photo, top; Alley Brewing image, below

PA Brew Tours, which we wrote about when it launched in January, has added another tour to its offerings: One that goes to both Penn Brewery on the North Side and the Church Brew Works in Lawrenceville.

Jake Voelker's company will do the driving and guide you through both historic breweries.

This Pittsburgh Brewery Tour launches on Friday, June 21, at the Pittsburgh Public Market in the Strip District, where tour-goers will meet up at 1 p.m. and then head out at 1:30 p.m. You return just before 5 p.m. Tickets are $49.

Check out the company's website for its other offerings.

Larry Roberts/Post-Gazette photo of Penn Brewery's Steve Crist cleaning the kettle last month.

Have you ever been to a beer swap?

I know several people who organize beer-trading gatherings, including the nice guy who won the rare bottle of Utopias I raffled off during a guest-bartending gig during Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week: Tim Fakos of Scott. At the bottom of this post is a photo from his holiday-time swap.

If you'd like to try it, you could check out the free Open Mic and Craft Beer Swap, held every other Sunday through the spring and summer at, of all places, the Bridgeville Public Library. It invites, "Bring your favorite craft selections to share with other beer aficionados while listening to local musicians!"

The next one is from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. this Sunday, May 5, with sign-up to trade or to perform starting at 6:15 p.m.

Library board of trustees secretary Mike Aquilina tells me that this is a new program that kicked off April 7 and has been a hit. "Jim Wisbon and Kim Losego, who head up our Arts Committee, came up with the idea," Mr. Aquilina explained in an email. "Both are musicians who had observed that there was a lack of venues in the Bridgeville area that welcome local amateur artists. The library's mission is to be a center of lifelong learning in the community, and we're very excited to expand this to the performing arts."

He says anyone is welcome to perform, and while it's been music so far, it could be spoken word, comedy, whatever.

"The craft beer swap is an opportunity for craft beer 'newbies' to get introduced to the choices beyond Bud/Miller/Coors, and for beer aficionados to share their favorites," he says. "We had a good mix of the two at our last event and everyone had a great time."

Mike Aquilina photo, top; Tim Fako photo, bottom

Did someone say "draft pick"? Good luck with that today.

There's another BIG menu for this, the last day of Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week.

There are several standout events, including the annual East End Brewing Pedal Pale Ale Keg Ride to deliver that beer by bicycle to a "secret" bar and then share it with the riders (and proceeds go to two good causes).

But that took off this morning. My event of the day would have to be the first-ever Pittsburgh Cider & Mead Festival from 1 to 4 p.m. at the old Pittsburgh Brewing plant in Lawrenceville to benefit that neighborhood's historic Arsenal Park. I wrote about the fest here this week. Above is the menu. Bill Larkin of Allegheny Cider House & Wine Cellar, which organized the event, says you can still get tix at the door, and reminds everyone to bring their IDs.

You couldn't ask for a nicer day, so get out there and get to something today or tonight on the full PCBW events calendar. Your choices include a very cool sour-and-funky beer fest and some beer-and-cheese tastings (including one in Mars) and a beer dinner in Homestead. Happenings are spread out from a Butler County golf course to a Beaver County classic beer bar to a ski resort in Somerset County.

And as always, we love for you to share photos of your day's festivities, or from anytime from Craft Beer Week, here.

Arsenal Cider flier

Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week is in full swing, and while some are probably still smarting from missing out on Friday's sold-out Beer Barge booze cruise on the Gateway Clipper, there are still plenty of events worth checking out.

When I found out Wild Purveyors in Lawrenceville would be pairing Pennsylvania cheeses and wild foods with beers from the East End Brewing Co., I knew that was the event for me: the promise of cheese, beer and ramps within walking distance of my house. (Like everyone else, I'm obsessed with ramps this time of year because they're one of the first true signs of spring -- we can all take a break from root vegetable soups and stews for a few months.)

Wild Purveyors and East End did not disappoint during the two tastings held Tuesday night. For $15 in advance or $20 at the door, tasters got two hours to try four beers, each with a food pairing.

East End's Big Hop cozied up with spring rolls that contained a mix of spring and winter vegetables -- wild nettles, ramps and garlic chives with pickled beets and radishes. The beets bled through the transparent wrappers and made the greens look even greener.

Up next, more ramps: East End's Monkey Girl Dunkelweizen was teamed with "ramp hammocks" -- wild ramps topped with egg salad, cured trout with wild aromatics and cracked pink pepper.

That wound up being my favorite pairing of the night -- I could've consumed an entree-sized ramp hammock, and though I normally shy away from German beers, the Monkey Girl was delicious.

The savory cheese pairings occupied two long tables in Wild Purveyors' second room.

Cavan Patterson, who owns Wild Purveyors with his brother Tom, said the trickiest thing was figuring out what to pair with East End's Pennsyl-tucky Uncommon, one of the five "Collaboration Beers" made for PCBW. He said he tried a variety of cheeses with the unusual beer, a mix of Pennsylvania swankey (spiced with star anise) and Kentucky common ale, but nothing seemed quite right. In the end, though, he nailed it with a dollop of sheep's milk ricotta on baguette topped with a bit of maple syrup.

The last pairing was a pile of Birchrun bleu cheese paired with East End's chocolate-covered cherry stout. The savory cheese and desserty beer were the perfect end to the tour (not that we didn't go back through to sample the other food and beers again.)

If this post has your thirsty for East End brews, Scott Smith will be pouring samples tonight at Whole Foods in East Liberty from 5 to 7 p.m. The brewery will also host growler hours at the Julius St. location from 4 to 8 p.m.

The big event is Saturday morning, when 650 riders celebrate the season's first kegs of Pedal Pale Ale. Sign in starts at 9:30 a.m. and the ride leaves at 11 a.m.  Buy tickets before the event here.

Ih search of dinner plans? Wild Purveyors and Lancaster Brewing join Bigelow Grille Downtown for a pairing dinner tonight at 6 p.m. Click here for info.

Wild Purveyors photo

Today is another huge day for Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week, but the event I have to pimp is one I'm going to be part of.

It's my own fault: Since the first week last year, I was yapping to several people about how I wish someone in my town, Mt. Lebanon, would have done some kind of event. "Look at Philly Beer Week and how widespread its events are."

This winter, while talking at Lebo's Uptown Coffee about the Farm to Table Pittsburgh Conference, I made my complaint to FTT's Erin Hart, and before I knew it, she had arranged for Farm to Table to organize a little string of events at several venues around town.

What could I say when she asked me to be part of one?

It helps that a portion of proceeds will benefit the Mt. Lebanon Uptown Farmers Market (it opens Saturday, May 11, from 9 a.m. to noon).

I'll be giving all my tips, if I get any, to the cause when I guest bartend at Bado's on Beverly Road from 8 to 10 p.m. tonight. During that time, there'll be a Samuel Adams promotion, and owner Frank Badolato says I'll be pouring pints of beers o' summer Summer Ale, Porch Rocker and Blueberry Hill Lager as well as as limited-release Griffin's Bow barleywine.

I know I'm not that much of a draw, so in addition to myself, I'm bringing a bottle of beer to raffle off.

And not just any bottle of beer, but a bottle of Sam Adams Utopias.

The 24-ounce decanter of the 2012, 10th-anniversary vintage of this 29-percent-alcohol barleywine retailed for $190, and was selling for $250 or more. Only about 15,000 of them were made.

For your chance to win it, try some other Sam Adams and other craft brews, and enjoy some Craft Beer Week camaraderie, stop in at this cozy neighborhood restaurant bar and say hi.

You'll still have time to hit other great events, which you can find listed here.

And please share your photos here. I'll post one or more tonight.

Samuel Adams photo