Bryan the brewer is going to be Bryan the yeast grower and seller.

	Lake Fong, Post-Gazette Bryan Pearson has left the Church Brew Works for a job in Colorado. Click photo for larger image.

Bryan Pearson, head brewer at Lawrenceville's Church Brew Works since it started in May 1996, has moved to Colorado to buy into a buddy's business that produces yeast for breweries.

He said he's also looking forward to "spending a lot more time in the mountains skiing and hiking and playing with the dogs" and with his girlfriend, Corina Maldonado, who lived in Colorado Springs before she joined him in Highland Park.

Mr. Pearson, 38, who was born in Utah, also lived in Colorado for a while as a child. He came to Pittsburgh from a brewpub in Houston just as Sean Casey was transforming the former St. John the Baptist Catholic Church into a brew pub.

During his decade at the brewing helm, Mr. Pearson collected seven medals from the annual Great American Beer Festival in Denver, most recently a gold in 2005 for his Mad Brewer Maibock.

In addition to those other GABF medals (two gold, two silvers and two bronzes), he won bronze medals at the World Beer Championships and the Real Ale Festival, plus regional awards.

"It's nice to win even the smaller competitions," he said. "It's nice to have that bit of approval from your peers."

The affable Mr. Pearson made many friends in the business and in this area, including Mr. Casey, who praises him for his environmental awareness.

Mr. Pearson aims to keep his local ties alive. The company he's joining -- BSI (for Brewing Science Institute) in Divide, Colo. -- already sells yeast to some craft breweries in the region, and Mr. Pearson plans to grow that East Coast trade, too.

He's not sure if he'll continue brewing but might work part-time for a Rocky Mountains brewpub. One reason: "I'm used to having draft beer at home," he says with a laugh. "The idea of going out and buying beer is just so foreign to me."

Filling his shoes at the Church is former assistant brewer Brant Dubovick, who will be assisted by Matt Moninger as well as Donald Caldwell and Steve O'Neill. They're working in the basement of the old school behind the Church that has become the expanded brewing and bottling operation.

The place will be celebrating its 10th anniversary tomorrow night through Nov. 19.

Watch out for the return of rattlesnake and cactus pierogies and past favorite entrees. Mr. Dubovick is unveiling a batch of Thunderhop India Pale Ale. It's to be available by the case this winter, too.

Rugby Club Brewfest

Pittsburgh Rugby Club's Brewfest is coming up on Nov. 17 at the Boardwalk in the Strip District. You can eat and sample in your souvenir glass many brews from area and national brewers for the $25 admission ($30 at the door) and some proceeds benefit PLEA, or Programs for Living, Education and Advocacy. For tickets: www.pghrugby.com.

Books on beer

Two new books about beer give props to the oft-maligned mainstream regional and national breweries, while another maintains that by supporting small brewers you can save the world.

A fun, breezy read is "Great American Beer: 50 Brands that Shaped the 20th Century" by Christopher B. O'Hara (Clarkson Potter, $16.95).

That's because it's mostly pictures -- of classic advertisements, cans and other collectible material. Mr. O'Hara covers the history of American beer in 19 pages of text and timeline, then spotlights individual regional favorite brands, from Black Label to Schlitz, describing each's slogans and songs.

He includes as one of his "Pioneers of Beer" Iron City, as well as Pittsburgh Brewing Co.'s "Old Frothingslosh," the "pale stale ale with the foam on the bottom." Other Pennsylvania brands he includes are Rolling Rock (pre-move to New Jersey), Straub and Yuengling. It's all enough to elicit a drooly smile from anyone with a nostalgic streak, especially collectors of breweriana. And it opens with a great quote by Charles Bukowski:

"We are here to drink beer. We are here to kill war. We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that Death will tremble to take us."

A more in-depth history is offered by "Ambitious Brew: The Story of American Beer" by Maureen Ogle (Harcourt, $25).

She depicts the dramatic beginnings of the breweries that became "Big Beer" and brings to life characters that she shows were no less passionate about beer than pioneers of the craft beer revolution of the past 20 years, which rose against the relatively bland, corn- and rice-enhanced corporate beer.

Ms. Ogle argues that this new American-style lager beer was for a time an improvement over many early brews, and succeeded, even in "lite" styles, as much because people genuinely liked it as because of mega advertising.

Interesting brew for thought for even the most hard-core microbrew fans, who might gravitate toward "Fermenting Revolution: How to Drink Beer and Save the World" by Christopher Mark O'Brien (New Society, $18.95).

The director of the Center for the New American Dream's responsible purchasing network, he brings a new-school, green (as in environmentally sustainable) perspective to the world of suds, and shows others how to become "beer activists."

His "Twenty Four Point Action Plan" includes "Buy Local Beer," "Compost Packaging" and "Encourage Mega-Brewers to Do Better."

Being released tomorrow is the pocket- or Christmas stocking-sized "The Beer Guide" by RateBeer.com (Savory House Press, $9.95). Despite its size, the guide claims to cover more beers than any other -- 2,700 plus -- using descriptions by RateBeer's 30,000 members, which were edited by the Web site's long-time editor, Josh Oakes. The guide also includes advice for pairing beers with food, and vice versa.

Have a beer, draw a model

Finally, this isn't about just beer, but good craft brew is one of the draws of the "Drink & Draw" nights at the Brillobox in Bloomfield. The event gives artsy attendees the chance to draw or paint (but no oils, please) live (and costumed) models. Cost is $10, and drink specials run $3. The next session is scheduled for Nov. 28. For more, visit www.myspace.com/brilloboxdrinkanddraw or call 412-621-4900.