Brews Brothers Six-Pack Emporium

Eatery, Beer-to-go

315 Mount Lebanon Blvd
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15234-1504
United States

(412) 561-2075 | map
brewsbro.com
PLACE STATS
Average:
3.86
Reviews:
14
Ratings:
22
pDev:
19.43%
View: Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
 
Rated: 3.37 by Octoberist from Pennsylvania

Sep 16, 2018
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Reviewed by Craighead from Georgia

3.41/5  rDev -11.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.25 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.25
Vibe: The vibe here is actually kind of nice here. It's a six pack shop where you can also pop open a bottle or pour a pint and enjoy on site.

Quality: The quality of the stuff on the shelves can be a little outdated, but they do have fresh beers in stock. They have a rotating growler stand (usually 4-5 beers), so it's a nice change.

Service: The service here is friendly, and they seem genuinely interested in making the environment enjoyable to be in.

Selection: Somewhat of a typical six pack shop. The selection isn't huge, but they do have more craft than AB products. Middle of the road, but they do have potential. The prices are six pack prices, and the singles are even higher, but you can usually walk out with a decent six pack and maybe a pizza roll.

Food: They have some snacks - not rating it down because of it.

Overall: Is this place "Very Good" and on the border of a 4.0 score? No, but it's certainly decent. Is it a place to stop if it's on your way and you need some beer? I would say so. It's a convenient place to stop if you are on that side of town, and it is a place with potential.
Jan 25, 2018
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Rated by Rodosman from Pennsylvania

4.15/5  rDev +7.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4 | selection: 4.25
Very nice selection and helpful staff. Ive scored many a hard to find beers at this location.
Jan 03, 2016
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Reviewed by Edwardrm from Pennsylvania

4.85/5  rDev +25.6%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.75 | service: 5 | selection: 4.75
Great selection. Owner is amazing. The best Friday night in the Burgh is at the little known tap room in the back. Friday night bottle share allows you to sample beers unavailable in our area. People bring in bottles brought home from business trips and vacations around the country to share with others. Have had the rarest of brews during these bottle shares such as Pliny the Elder, Head Topper, Bourbon County, KBS and Alesmith Speedway Stout. Friendly bunch of guys always welcoming. Bring your favorite bomber to share.
Sep 29, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by dbauer78 from Pennsylvania

Jun 23, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by hophead869 from Pennsylvania

Jun 17, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by jhungryman from Pennsylvania

Jun 13, 2014
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Reviewed by thecheapies from Pennsylvania

3.47/5  rDev -10.1%
vibe: 3.25 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4
Congested storeroom with slanted aisles. Goodies in the single bottle coolers can be found, on occasion.

Six taps for drafts or growlers, but aisle design makes drinking and browsing difficult. Patio is nice for sunny days. Back bar/lounge area is dark and weird.

Out-of-date beers are a nuisance, at times. Be careful what you buy.
May 24, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by CAD22 from Pennsylvania

May 22, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by BerJedi from Pennsylvania

Feb 26, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by Mark5252 from Pennsylvania

Oct 22, 2013
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Reviewed by waltmanb from California

1/5  rDev -74.1%
vibe: 1 | quality: 1 | service: 1 | selection: 1 | food: 1
Hello All,

I must confess that I have never been to Brew Brothers...you see the thing is, my bank's fraud department just called me notifying me that my Debit Card number was manually entered into one of Brew Brothers credit card machines earlier today (presumeably by one of their employees) and that shortly thereafter was used for about $875 worth of purchases on Walmart.com. I've never been to Pennsylvania. Thank God for having a good bank. Too bad Brew Brothers has employees with such poor values!!!
Jul 13, 2013
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Reviewed by MikefromDormont from Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +3.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4
Brews Brothers has been a go to bottle shop for me since I live a couple miles away. Since it is in PA, the prices are expensive when compared to beer stores in neighboring states. This is a good place to pick up a single bottle of a beer that you've not tried before to see if you like it. Their growler prices are decent and they fill growlers other than their own.

When you enter Brews Brothers, you encounter shelves with six packs and four packs. Coolers line the back wall with single small bottle coolers to the right, some taps for growler fills to the left of these coolers and coolers for six packs and four packs to the left of the taps. To the far left of the store are the large bottle (bomber and 750 ml bottle) coolers. The owner opened a tap room at the rear of the store. In the tap room, there is a bar with more taps and there is a large screen televison and tables with chairs.

My only complaint is that the prices are not marked on all their beers (this seems to be common in Pittsburgh). All in all it is a decent bottle shop
Apr 26, 2013
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Reviewed by RblWthACoz from Pennsylvania

3.99/5  rDev +3.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.75 | service: 4 | selection: 4.25
This is a nice clean spot with a good selection. Quite a few singles available, and the good part is they don't have crazy stupid prices like D's or Gateway. I have seen some out of date beer here, but nothing overly excessive. I find that Pittsburgh may be the last to get deliveries in the country; or it doesn't move quick enough through the distributors.
Jan 11, 2013
Photo of sgerwel1985
Reviewed by sgerwel1985

3.95/5  rDev +2.3%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 3
Atmosphere- Nice laid back place. They have a front porch you can sit on and enjoy a few brews, which is REALLY nice.

Service: About average, can't say i have ever had any suggestions or comments from the people working there other than "that's a good beer." Would be nice to have an exchange with someone who appreciates beers and maybe have them open your eyes to a new beer. But i guess that is just me being a bit picky.

Selection: Seem to have a rather robust selection, can't say i have "drank everything" they have. So that's good for them. I know the local groceries stores in our area are starting to carry some craft beers, and i can proudly say "i have had everything" they offer.

Food: I see during the summer/spring they offer a BBQ guy outside, i have YET to try it.

Value: Reasonable, they are a small establishment and i understand that. They do charge a LITTLE more than i can get elsewhere, but that isn't a big deal. I like supporting places like this. It would be nice if they accepted Amex.
Sep 04, 2012
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Reviewed by bamadog from Ohio

3.94/5  rDev +2.1%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4
A clerk in a distributor recommended this place because it could sell beer by the single or six-pack as opposed to having to buy a case. He did warn that it was a pricier establishment, and he wasn't kidding.

Atmosphere: It's kind of like walking into a 7/11 that only sells beer, so it was cool, but not like walking in to a chill store with cool wooden shelves that really thrives on the craft business.

Quality: They had good stuff all around, considering that it's a smaller store. A decent selection of imports, particularly from Belgium, and a good number of solid Pennsylvania beers.

Service: Although the kid looked stoned out of his mind and confused when I put two six-packs down at once (because he had to make two separate sales for them because of Pennsylvania's archaic liquor control laws), he was funny and still cool. One of the beers I was getting wasn't marked, and he quickly found the price by getting a hold of the owner who was also there and working with people making recommendations, so I thought that was pretty cool too.

Selection: As mentioned above, their selection was good -- a lot of the BMCs and macro-style lagers that are prevalent in most stores, they had a good number of American crafts (particularly PA beers) and imports.

Food: N/A

Value: Definitely pricy, and more than I would like to pay, even for good craft beer. I definitely amended my selection based upon their higher prices, but for the benefit of being able to not have to buy a case, I guess I would consider it again.
Jun 08, 2011
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Reviewed by radioscooter from Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -9.3%
vibe: 2 | quality: 4.5 | service: 2 | selection: 4.5
Found this place solely because of a tip on BA. About 6 miles from my house and I had never heard of it.

Another little, strip mall type, PA bottle store with a couple 6-pack fluid oz. takeout cap. (though like all others, they let you thwart that legally with multiple trips to car)

Place has some taps, but you can tell by the selection and by the selection of the beers in the cooler that they're skewing toward a Pittsburgh-2-years-behind-the-trend thing. It's mostly over-hopped trend style beers that peaked a while ago, and their current day offerings.

The negatives are that it's run and staffed by doofy, fratboy type guys who are only remotely friendly to their friends or possibly other frat boys. I'm not saying they literally are fratboys - they're older than that - but that's the type and you know exactly what I'm talking about.

I've been there 5 times in the past month, and have gotten 3 different clerks and they're always equally gruff, unhelpful, condescending and opinionated. That last part is okay - I like beer store people to have opinions, but combined with the other attributes - not a love connection.

The whole atmosphere is pretty much like a street hockey game and you, the customer have just interrupted it by driving your car through where they're playing.

On my 5th trip there - each time spending over $40 - I asked nicely if they had any empty cases I could beg (I rarely buy full cases anymore and I wanted one to organize some loose bottles at home) "Nah, man. Can't help you. If you want, you can poke around in the dumpster out back. There MIGHT be some there." Really? You're a BOTTLE store...

Okay, so you're not going there for the service and the prices are higher than expected as well. So what are the plusses? For starters, the selection is pretty varied and revolves well. I think they bring things out of the cellar pretty often.

They've got some Belgians, but nothing that isn't available elsewhere cheaper. But nice for this neighborhood to not have to journey to Market District for them.

I happened upon a few gems there that were hidden away among the riff-raff - Bitches Brew in the bomber cooler at regular price (in February mind you, well after they've been relegated to desirable trade and higher ebay value) BrewDog Arran Paradox and Thomas Hardy's 2008 in the cooler. Both under $12 These are all harder to find around here.

So it's a place with some nice surprises. It's worth stopping by weekly later in the week.
Mar 13, 2011
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Reviewed by Morey from Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +3.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4
This place is a beer to go place for the most part. Went there recently while visiting family in Pittsburgh.

They have a bomber cooler filled with Hopsickle, Yeti, Rastafar Rye, Rogue beers...etc. Pretty good stuff, but some of it is out of date.

They have some warm sixers...Sculpin (I bought the last one), Black Cannon, Titan...among many others. They also have two coolers filled with craft sixers. More good stuff in those.

They have 4 coolers dedicated to mix and match. I grabbed 2 Insanity (last years), 2 Heresy (last years), 1 Stoudts Fat Dog, 1 Founders Imperial Stout, 1 Anderson Valley Imperial Ipa, 1 Stoudts Winter Ale, 1 Bells Java Stout, and 1 Old Horizontal.

So, I bought a 6'er of Sculpin, a mixed 6, and a mixed 4 pack and my total was around $70! That's expensive. I don't care what beers that I bought. $22.99 for the Sculpin alone.

I'm glad that I got the beers that I did, but I won't be paying those kind of prices again.

Save On Tobacco & Beverage in Mentor, Oh is an hour's drive, and I'll be going there from now on.
Feb 24, 2011
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Reviewed by toolbrew from Indiana

4.7/5  rDev +21.8%
I'm out in Pennsylvania for work and have quickly become famiilar with this state's laws concerning beer. Brews Brothers is about 20 minutes from where I am staying, but it was well worth the trip. I walked in and there were about four tables by the windows to sit and enjoy a brew. The store was all beer. Warm six packs on small shelves, several coolers full of cold six packs, and then a few coolers full of single bottles. There was also a cooler full of bombers on the other side. Several taps - maybe 8 - were available for growler fills. Daves Pale Ale and Dogfish Head are what stood out to me today. Two six-pack limit. On Fridays, Saturdays, and certain other days they sell fresh barbecue after 4pm.

I put together two six packs and it ran about $40. The most extravagant purchase I made was a can of Ten Fidy ($5). It's expensive, but I consider it saving me money if I had to buy a full six-pack or even a full case of each beer.

I will visit this place again.
Nov 07, 2010
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Reviewed by GreenChimneys from Pennsylvania

4.65/5  rDev +20.5%
Contrary to the previous reviewer, this place is worth a special trip. They carry 500+ beers: there is truly something for every imaginable taste. There's a 3-door cooler alone devoted to bomber bottles.

Since the end of last year, Brews Brothers added six taps and began the sale of growlers. Recently, they began selling the six selections as pints as well. Recent selections included Brooklyn Pennant Ale, Troegs Sunshine Pils, Great Divide Yeti Oak Aged Expresso, Southern Tier Iniquity Black Ale, Dogfish Head Burton Baton & East End Big Hop. Of course, with the popularity of draft beer, these selections change out weekly. Since the initial review, 2 taps have been added (for a total of eight) which feature the products of two local craft brewers, East End and the resurgent Penn Brewery.

The owner and staff are both friendly and knowlegeable. There are frequent free beer tastings offered (which are announced via email). As an added bonus, there is fine BBQ offered each weekend: a pig roast each Friday, with brisket, chicken and pulled pork available on Saturday and Sundays (thanks to "Two Li'l Pigs BBQ").

To top it off, the owner is a big blues afficiando. As you sit enjoying a quality beer either inside or on the outside deck, you also get to hear some tasty music from his impressive CD collection.

As for the pricing issue mentioned by the previous reviewer, I think he may, as an Ohioan, be unfamiliar with the Pennsylvania liquor laws and pricing structure. I find the prices more than fair given the quality and selection of the beer.
May 11, 2010
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Reviewed by asabreed from New York

3.85/5  rDev -0.3%
I was in Pittsburgh with my fiance the other day because we had to get our marriage license, and I noticed this place as we were driving back. Since it's only about two miles from her house, we decided to check it out.

I think it used to be an old bread company that they turned into this shop, and there's plenty of space. I feel like they could almost move some things around to have another warm shelf with nice bombers and micros and things, but alas.

A nice selection overall. They have to have the BMC stuff, so there's plenty of that, which makes sense considering they have to make a buck. There were three other customers while we were in there, and they all got some kind of BMC brew. As far as craft and micros go: Victory, Erie Brewing Company, Great Lakes, Founders, Otter Creek, Great Divide, Stoudt's, and others I can't think of. Many from the region of OH and PA of course, but there were plenty of others also.

What was most disappointing was the 6-pack I got, which ended up being $31. Though I got two bombers also, even if they were $8 a piece, that still makes the other beers $3.50 a piece, and I didn't get anything like Founders Double Trouble or Weyerbacher Insanity, which I could see paying that much for. And yes, speaking of which, the prices weren't labeled. But since I probably won't ever go back since we're moving to NY, I figured I'd give them some business and not gripe about it. Plus I got stuff, mostly, that I hadn't seen before.

A pretty decent place overall. Nothing fantastic or worth going out of your way for, but with Barleys & Hops and Brews Brothers only a few miles from each other, it's nice to be able to have those places right there if you feel like picking up one or two or six or more.
May 29, 2009
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Reviewed by IronCitySteve from Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +3.6%
This place has been up and running for more than a few months now. It is rather convenient to where I live, so I have made several stops here.

The people are really friendly and the owner is always willing to help you out and chat you up about some the beers and some of the things in the works, which is refreshing.

They have two coolers. One long cooler which houses cold six packs. You are not able to mix and match from the section. The left half of the cooler has all macro brew selections. The right half of the cooler has a decent assortment, although not a large assortment of 4 packs and 6 packs of craft brews.

They also have a smaller cooler that houses individual 12 ounce craft beer bottles and some select bombers. Here you are able to mix and match.

They also have several shelves of warm craft beer and macro beers. Again, you are not able to mix and match from this selection.

This place is just up and running so it is certainly understandable that the selection is not overwhelming, but I enjoy going there. They offer some new releases and a steady selection of other fine craft beer. The staff is extremely courteous and easy to talk to.

They also serve hot dogs and some other foods and you are able to get one beer and sit outside on the small patio and enjoy a beer. The only knock on this is they give you plastic cups to drink your beer out of.
Apr 06, 2009
Brews Brothers Six-Pack Emporium in Pittsburgh, PA
Place rating: 3.86 out of 5 with 22 ratings