Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh sprang to life as a fort and a river port, and for well over a century, it was a bustling, choking hub of wealth and industry. And then it all fell apart. The rotten capitalists who made the city—Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, John Hartwell Hillman Jr. and Andrew W. Mellon—have long since died off. So have the coal and steel industries they built.

Maybe it’s a cruel metaphor that one of Pittsburgh’s signature downtown buildings, the US Steel Tower, was built with exposed steel beams that were designed to rust. Or maybe it isn’t. Under that thin layer of rot, the beams are rigid. Strong inside. And so, while most of the industrial plants that defined Pittsburgh’s identity closed shop long ago, the city they left behind retains a surprising vitality. Old money rubs shoulders with unemployed roughnecks, who now live alongside the musicians, artists and other creative types drawn to Pittsburgh’s grizzled architecture and (relatively) cheap living.

The same goes for the city’s beer scene. Most of the old German breweries are long gone. But Iron City, the oldest (and biggest), is enjoying a modest resurgence. Add to that a crop of serious young brewers and a mammoth lineup of bars boasting huge craft beer selections, modest prices and liberal liquor laws that let bars serve bottles and mini-kegs to go, and you’ve got, perhaps surprisingly, one of the country’s best beer towns. Let’s pull up a stool, peer past the smokestacks and ketchup, and have a closer look.

Many of the immigrants who built Pittsburgh built their homes on the steep hillsides of the city’s South Side, overlooking the Monongahela. Today, those clusters of old, dense, ethnic neighborhoods are home to the city’s liveliest collection of restaurants, shops and bars. The old Duquesne Brewery isn’t one of them—it closed in 1972, and for years, sheltered groups of squatters. It’s now the Brew House, home to artist lofts and a gallery. We’re not sure which is the better experience: gawking at the view from the top of Mount Washington, or hanging out at the coolers at Smokin’ Joe’s, Fat Head’s and Piper’s.

The old industrial neighborhoods of East End-North, on the banks of the Allegheny River, also drew scores of Eastern European migrants. They came for the work, but stayed for the beer. The Iron City brewery, founded in 1861, remains a Lawrenceville institution. The neighborhood around it has changed drastically—the old warehouses are being transformed by art studios and the new money that chases after them. Change is hard to miss: In 1996, the former St. John the Baptist parish became the Church Brew Works. Sinners still flock to the building, but now, they’re laying pints, not knees, on the pews.

Pittsburgh’s North Side is another intriguing study in economic sea changes and adaptive reuse. In some spots, it was home to the city’s industrial gentry. In others—along the Allegheny and Ohio rivers—it was pure brick and mortar industry. And now? The former Stearns & Foster warehouse has become the Mattress Factory, which stages room-sized contemporary art installations. An abandoned mining supply warehouse contains the largest collection of works from Pittsburgh-native Andy Warhol. And the historic Eberhardt and Ober Brewery, a longtime city landmark, now houses the Penn Brewery. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Rivertowne Pourhouse
A bit of a hidden gem on the outskirts of Pittsburgh. With the way this beer tastes, though, expect Rivertowne’s profile to rise rapidly. Eighteen taps and a cask complement a serious battery of high-def televisions.

The Church Brew Works and Restaurant
As the name would have it, this brewery sits inside an old Catholic church. The bar was hewn from old pews; the brewhouse sits behind the altar. Is it the coolest brewpub in the world? Quite possibly.

East End Brewing Company
East End is a little brewery making some big noise. Big Stouts, aggressive IPAs, Belgians, session beers, one-offs of Gose and Kvass—they do it all, and do it all well.

Pennsylvania Brewing Company
Pennsylvania’s oldest craft brewery makes traditional German-style lagers and ales. A tower of Great American Beer Festival medals can’t be wrong.

Pittsburgh Brewing Company
Pittsburgh’s iconic brewery has boomed and busted several times since its founding in 1861. Its newest ownership group, a Connecticut private capital firm, has worked to reinvigorate its flagship brand.

Sharp Edge Beer Emporium
Sharp Edge has built a small empire in western Pennsylvania. Anti-imperialists shouldn’t fret: This empire is built on Belgian beer, not the bones of oppressed nations. Menus vary slightly by location, but expect high-quality taps, mammoth bottle lists, and tasty pizzas, burgers and wings.

Barley’s and Hop’s Bottle Shop [closed]
A quality beer store that doubles as a bar. Grab a bottle from the cooler, have a seat, and enjoy it with some wings and a hockey game on TV. Repeat as necessary. Then grab a few to take home. It’s the stuff of genius.

Fat Head’s
Incredible selection (50 taps and 200 bottles), fanatical patrons and servers who know what they’re pouring make Fat Head’s one of Pittsburgh’s top beer destinations.

6 And Save
Another wonderful beer store/beer bar mashup, 6 and Save pours from 10 taps and stocks several hundred bottles—100 of them Belgians. Crack open a few cheap micros from the coolers, or mix-and-match a take-home six-pack. Or both! Yeah, probably both.

D’s 6-PAX & Dogz
Not much in the way of naming subtlety here: These guys do awesome hot dogs (and sausages and kielbasa), and they do beer (900 bottles, including a cellar list, to drink on site or take home). A more formidable combo has never been assembled.

Piper’s Pub
This Scottish-leaning pub boasts a healthy tap list and a pair of casks that often pour rarities and specialty brews (one recent highlight: oak-aged Big Hoppy Monster). And Scotch. Boy, do they have Scotch.

Kelly’s Bar and Lounge
Punks and artists plus micros plus a diner plus a jukebox loaded with jazz equals some good-ass times. Enough said, no?

Fuel and Fuddle
Pitt kids fill up on gourmet brick-oven pizza and do battle with the mug club at this Oakland eatery. The highlights of the tap list are two exclusive house beers from Tröegs.

Smokin’ Joe’s
Classic, old-school details (tin roof, massive carved bar) meet WiFi and pizzas and cheap burgers. Add in 60 taps and 250 bottles, and you’ve got a can’t-miss late-night destination.

Point Brugge Café
Affordable Belgian cuisine à la bière in Point Breeze. A nice selection of Belgian specialty ales and mussels, and plenty of high beer culture. And frites! Always with the frites.

Gooski’s
Less of a dive bar than a Polish Hill institution, Gooski’s marries craft beer and ping pong tables, mill workers and punks, loud music and good company. Bonus: tasty beverages for next to nothing. ■