If you’ve followed this blog for long, you might have
noticed that I don’t offer much commentary on the Pittsburgh beer scene. I’ve mentioned different local bars, beers, or
breweries, usually as illustrations or part of a story - the overwhelming
majority of my craft beer experience has been here. I seldom share opinion or critique on the
state of Pittsburgh’s beer scene. In
part, I’ve been busy. I don’t get out as
much as I used to, & these days have fewer “real life” experiences pounding
the pub pavement than in the past. I get
most of my interaction on-line – forums, social media - & there are enough
local & vocal personalities buzzing to feel like I’m keeping abreast of
goings-on.
Like the rest of America’s craft beer culture, Pittsburgh’s
seen a steep incline in activity, & the slope gets higher & higher. More bars & bottleshops popping up or
getting in on the game. More
breweries. Penn & Church Brew Works
were long the stalwarts, the latter opening in 1998, the former in 1987; Rock
Bottom came along in 2002. When East End
started up in 2005, I can’t say it opened the flood gates, but it gave others
the idea that, hey, we can do this too, paving the way for Rivertowne in 2007,
Voodoo in 2008, & Full Pint in 2010 (I’m obviously including greater
southwestern PA in the “Pittsburgh scene”).
Then in 2011 we welcomed Helltown, All Saints, & Draai Laag. Roundabout, CoStar, Hop Farm, Four Seasons, &
ShuBrew started up last year, & now in just over the past month we’ve seen four new additions in
Hitchhiker, Brew Gentlemen, Grist House, & Milkman. Many of those already in operation have
expanded in different ways – East End’s new brewery & soon-to-be-brewpub;
Rivertowne & North Country adding both production breweries & canning
lines; Voodoo’s brewpub & exploding barrel program, & talk of a second
location in the city. This is just a
microcosm of the greater American scene, & expansion’s afoot all over the
friggin’ place! I’ve gotta be forgetting
a few, or sleeping on the details (not sure when North Country or Timber Creek
opened, exactly). And there’s always
that red-headed stepchild…
One refrain that’s repeated a lot among the geekhood is
“When?” “When is that beer gonna come
along to really put Pittsburgh on the map?
Where’s our Heady? Our
Hunahpu? Our Kate the Great? WE NEED TRADE BAIT!!!” East End’s Gratitude releases have been a big
event, attracting scores if not hundreds of attendees (though this is a fairly
recent thing, & has met with its share of complications), & Voodoo’s
Barrel Room releases bring the hordes.
Hop Farm’s Margot release was a draw, too, yet the beer geeks still seem
unsatisfied. Where’s that WORLD CLASS
BREWERY we’ve been waiting for? When’s
Fayette County going to get a Hill Farmstead?
I’m not sure what it is the natives are so restless
about. Is it a pride thing, like having
a brewery featured in GQ is like another Super Bowl ring? Do we want other on-line geeks storming our
borders? Are we so ready to have our
spot blown up? Is it about trade
bait? I used to bemoan the scarcity of
local whalez, too, until I stopped caring about that stuff & started
appreciating what’s around for me to
drink. Not a ton of imperial stouts,
wild ales, west coast IPAs, etc. But you
know what? Brown used to be one of my
least favorite styles, but I came to realize that three of my favorite brown
ales are brewed locally (East End Fat Gary, Helltown Mischievous, & Full
Pint Little Brown). Munich Dunkels
typically don’t make the hardcore salivate, but I really dig Penn Dark &
Church’s Pious Monk. Dunkelweizen is not
something I usually go wild for, but I tried the All Saints/Helltown Dark Angel
collab during PCBW & was really impressed – such depth of flavor &
character coming from such a humble beer.
There’s been chatter for years now about The Bubble. Is this rapid expansion sustainable? When will it pop? What will the fallout look like? The US is able to keep more than twice the
number of wineries in business as it currently does breweries. Why?
Because most wineries are small & local, serving a slice of the
public that looks the same. There will
definitely be big craft breweries to carry us into the future, no doubt, but I
think the local boys are part of that movement, that evolution. I think things will be more sustainable once
we all calm down & appreciate what’s around us.
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