PHOTOS BY KRISTY LOCKLIN

Fries and coleslaw is the quintessential Pittsburgh food partnership. On April 12 — 412 Day  — yinz guys will get a beverage to match.

Pittsburgh Brewing Company and Turner’s teamed up to produce IC’d Tea, a 4.2% ABV blend of Iron City Beer and Turner’s Iced Tea. Both local liquids have cult-like followings so their alliance is tantamount to the merging of two empires, n’at. It’s the alcoholic version of the December 1979 issue of Sports Illustrated featuring Willie Stargell and Terry Bradshaw on the cover!

Mixing the two beverages is the perfect summer sipper. (Sales of I.C. Light Mango, my go-to adult libation, are up 130% over last year.)

At PBC’s brand spankin’ new production facility in Creighton, they filled 41,000 15-packs of 12-ounce cans, 170 quarter barrels and 170 half-barrels of Steel City champagne for distribution across the region. I wouldn’t be surprised if the stuff starts shooting up from the Point State Park fountain. 

The beer-maker doubled the amount after some jagoff spilled the tea about the collaboration on social media. Bottomline: this libation is going to redd up on the already booming local beer market, especially when 24-ounce IC’d Tea tallboys debut this summer.

So, what does it taste like? 

I got an early, unmarked sample of the stuff, poured it into an Abjuration Brewing beaker (for scientific testing purposes) and determined that it tastes like a lot of things to me, but mostly nostalgia. 

It reminds me of being a kid and sneaking a sip from an unattended Iron City during a family reunion. Surprised by the strange, yet intriguing taste of beer, I’d take swig from my ever-present carton of Turner’s. In Pittsburgh, this is the childhood equivalent of chugging a boilermaker. 

Obviously, I’m not the only Western Pennsylvanian in history to make this boozy discovery. PBC President Todd Zwicker says the two iconic companies have been trying to create the yinzer elixir since 2019, but had to wait until the 170,000-square-foot Creighton plant was complete. 

IC’d Tea is a great name, of course, as it gives a nod to both beverages. Not to be a nebnose, but I heard rumors that Primanti Bros. is coming out with a cocktail featuring the IC’d Tea as an ingredient. 

Call it what you want, but I’m referring to the magical Pittsburgh potion as a Shandy Van Slyke. 

I’m not much of a sports fan, but I have a soft spot for the 1991 Pittsburgh Pirates, who battled the Atlanta Braves in the National League Championship Series that year. Andy Van Slyke, Bobby Bonilla, Barry Bonds, Doug Drabek, Mike “Spanky” LaValliere, Jay Bell, Jose “Chico” Lind; I loved those guys and loathed Sid Bream. 

Like a lot of Pittsburghers, I cried when Three Rivers Stadium was demolished. The smell of decades worth of spilled beer still hangs in the air over the North Shore. 

But, this isn’t a beer to drown your sorrows in; it’s made for good times, backyard barbecues, tailgate parties and lazy, porch-sittin’ Sundays. If you really want to show your Pittsburgh pride on 412 Day, I suggest pairing your IC’d Tea with an Isaly’s chipped ham pizza. 

I found the idea on Isaly’s Facebook page and stocked up on supplies, including Mancini’s pizza crusts, at my neighborhood Giant Eagle. Top the dough with a  ¾ cup of Isaly’s barbecue sauce, 1 ¼ cup of cheddar cheese and ¼ pound of chipped ham, chopped coarsely. Bake that bad boy at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. 

I threw fries on top of mine, cracked another Shady Van Slyke, put on “Dawn of the Dead,” George Romero’s locally shot horror masterpiece and chowed dahn like a zombie. I capped off this Monongahela Monster of a meal with a slice of 5 Generation Bakers’ swirl bread. Isaly’s, Iron City, Turner’s tea and Jenny Lee? Now that’s a Grand Slam.