Birmingham Bridge Tavern & Beer Reviews

So Saturday morning Jon woke up wanting Fish & Chips from the Birmingham Bridge Tavern. I LOVE LOVE LOVE their Jerk Chicken Wings, so I was more than happy to head over there for a late lunch. We invited Ericka & Drew (you might remember them from most of the gatherings at my house!) As it turned out, they had car trouble and couldn't make it.

Jon & I walked about 8 or 10 blocks from our house to the BBT (Birmingham Bridge Tavern) and took seats at the bar.

Kristin was are bartender. She's the owner's girlfriend and totally cool!

While Jon was perusing the beer selections, I asked if they had any brewed iced tea. She said that it would be a couple of minutes, but she'd make me some and disappeared off to the kitchen! What a sweetie!

By the time she returned, Jon had decided on a Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout.



It was a very dark brown with a slight reddish tinge that you could only see if you held it up to the light.

The darkish foamy head dissipated pretty fast.

Let me start by saying, I'm not a beer drinker. I took a sip... and I've actually progressed a little past my standard answer of "it tastes like beer".

Ok, to me it did smell like beer. My first sip tasted sweet and almost mapley. Jon said, it's not maple, it's sweet from the malt. It had a bit of a bite but from the roasted roasted barley, not hops. Even though it wasn't a 'thick' beer, it had a lot of mouth feel.

Jon really liked it. Ummm... it's beer, so I'll definitely pass.

Then onto the next beer!
Jon decided he'd like to try a Baltika 8 Wheat Beer



Big fluffy head, that didn't last very long. Jon said it smells like the floor of a beer cooler... but said that's not a bad thing (really? doesn't sound so good to me!)

Jon took a sip and said, "mmmmmm" "It's interesting"

Ok... it kinda smelled & tasted like beer to me.

Jon: you can tell it's a wheat beer, but not German yeast, it's like an American wheat.

I thought it was a little citrusy. We both noted the lack of banana flavor you usually get in a wheat beer.

Would he have this one again? Probably not. It was ok. But not a winner.

And for his next beer! (hey we walked... plus I was only drinking iced tea... plus there is food coming up)

He chose a Barley Wine. I have NEVER tried a Barley Wine that I like. I take a sip and usually make a squinchy face that feels like I'm turning my face inside out. This was no different.

He picked Heavy Seas Below Decks Barley Wine



You can't really tell from the picture, but it's a nice dark copper color.

Jon didn't really have anything good to say about this Barley Wine.

He's made better Barley Wine. It's weak for Barley Wine. No mouth feel. Malt flavor doesn't last. It tastes watered down. It has a yucky aftertaste.

He definitely won't be having this again.

Ok... those are the beer reviews... although Kristin did create a beer drink for us that I'll add to the end.

On to the food!

Unfortunately for Jon, they were out fish. He usually gets the fish & chips when he goes. (he goes more often than I do, with his band)

He decided to get a burger with onion rings. One of the things he likes best about the BBT is that the food is always very hot. Lots of time pub/bar food could be hotter. But at the BBT, everything is piping hot! His burger was great. He usually gets a side of Thousand Island dressing, which you can see dripping down his hand. Also, all of these pictures were taken with Jon's phone and don't begin to illustrate how good everything is!



The onion rings were so crispy and delicious! It's a huge serving and even when we were full, we kept eating them! We did bring the left overs home and later on, a couple minutes in the toaster oven and they were still perfect!


I love their House Saland & French Onion Soup. I get it every time I go. At most places I try to try something different every time. Not here. I have my favorites and stick to them!

Yum! Hot melty cheesy French Onion Soup!


And my favorite favorite favorite... Jerk Wings!!! Every single time I drive by, I say, "I want some Jerk Wings" They come in as the #7 wings on their scale of 1 - 10. I think Erik the Red is #10... the hottest. But the Jerk Wings are so deliciously different, I always get them! They're not really 'saucy' like other hot wings. They are always piping hot and crispy!


And because I LOVE their Jerk stuff so much!! I got an order of Fried Pierogies w/Jerk Sauce to go! Into the toaster oven with the onion rings... Snack Time is ON!


We were talking to Kristin about drinks made with beer and she was wondering how a Hoegaarden would taste in a glass that had been swirled with Raspberry Schnapps. So she pulled out 3 glasses and poured some Raspberry Schnapps into each one. She swirled it around, dumped it and poured in the Hoegaarden. Wow! They were tasty! Even a non-beer drinker like me liked it!

So my last pic of the day... from the kinda blurry camera phone is ummmmm... I don't think we named it! But you can see the slight tinge of pink from the Raspberry Schnapps.


Their website is currently down... but you should definitely stop by for wings & beer! You won't be disappointed!

Birmingham Bridge Tavern
2901 Sarah Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15203
412-381-2739