Pittsburgh Area Breweries-in-Planning

Yep. Thought it was pretty good stuff. Not the most mind-blowing from Helltown; but good.

I hit up Hitchhiker and Grist today. Hitchhiker is pretty nice looking, though only having 3 beers on tap was kind of a buzzkill. I understand the reasons why though. The crowd while I was there was not quite my style, to be blunt. I think it looks great in there though.

Grist was decent. Kind of a basic setup, I felt. The crew at the top of the stairs on the way in could have used a less surly and more inviting demeanor I would say. I felt like I was getting stared down, which I was.

Me neither, but I am going to suck it up and give 'em a shot anyways.

Was still on when I popped in just before 3 today. I liked that one and wouldn't mind having it available again. A lot of Steve's one-off specials have been quite good. They also put on a roggenbier today as well, in case you didn't see that.

 

What is everyone's apprehension about brew gentleman? I ask because I know nothing about them.

 

a) Braddock
2) stupid hipster attire for the bartenders
three) seemed to be more of a contractor/architecture firm than a brewery - i appreciate the hard work you put into making a place look cool but i dont need tweets about drywall everyday for a year
d) following the same old boring: brown ale, weak ipa, chai-romemary-scented-candle wit beer formula

 

Also my thoughts on Grist House:

o Cool outside atmosphere/deck - Portland vibe
o Love the food truck integration, I never get to see the dam good tricks around here because of stupid laws
x BORING ass lineup (brown, red, APA, apricot wheat) though dude I chatted with briefly mentioned they are shooting for 10 taps
o Thought the APA was pretty tasty though
x Millvale, no other reason for anyone to go there unless you want your eardrums blown out by a show at Smalls
o wear a fucking helmet if you have to take a piss, worst urinal placement ever

 

I'll pretty much agree with what Stigs said. They have USB outlets and purse hooks under their bar. Does your bar have USB outlets?? (That's a quote, by the way. I didn't pull that out of thin air.) I hear they have told people they are doing stuff that, like, God, nobody is doing with beer. Nobody.

I feel like they are following the Kevin Sousa style of doing things (sans creating your own Wikipedia page where you say you are a leader in the American modernist cooking movement - that statement since deleted). I say I'm awesome, so that means I am. Lots of style over substance. Though reality has called since Kevin Sousa has now been pushed out of his original restaurant and his others are not really doing well or happening places; and he can't hire or keep people for the life of him.

You can be arrogant all you want, but you better be the best there is. Period.

 

I thought the usb chargers were a nice touch. I'd go to Braddock if they had interesting beers and I think a lot of other people would too but their lineup doesn't compel me to even want to try anything. Not sure about Grist House. I may at some point check it out however they seem to be doing the same boring lineup most places already have.

Does anyone know anything about the place Voodoo is opening in Homestead? Is that still in the plans? Is it just for growler fills or will it be for pints as well? If they opened an extension of their brew pub here they would kill.

 

Not sure the exact location, but my understanding is that it will be "a brewpub." They're gearing up for big things in the 'Burgh.

 

That is great to hear. It'd be nice to get growlers of good vibes any time I'd like.

 

Unfortunately, it seems like there isn't a single unique aspect about any of the countless brewpubs popping up around Pittsburgh. I had the same feeling about Hitchhiker's. It was cool to check on for a single visit, but there is absolutely nothing that would compel me to go back again. $6 for an IPA? No thanks.

 

Well, East End is in Homewood. Homewood makes Braddock look mild by comparison. Sadly, I'm only like 8 blocks from Home(y)wood. But I will make it my life's work to exterminate the hipsters. I'm talking concentration camps and torture by blaring top 40s radio. That's why I hate the entire state of Vermont.

When I see a brewery with an English IPA as one of their year rounds, that means either one of 2 things. Either they are going against the grain by making cutesy finesse beers or they are looking for macro conversions. I think in this case, they are going for the former.

Ok, I hate them already. I was curious about them and they were on my radar when I heard their brewery was a level 2 cicerone. But with an arrogance this strong, I'm not interested either.

Well, it looks like I need to change my pants. Got me a little excited...

 

How much douche could a douchebag douche if a douchebag could bag douche?

 

Just to be clear, I am not in the loop or officially in the know on any of what Voodoo is doing. It just came up out of the blue one day at work as they are/were considering utilizing our services for some promotional matters. Just want to make sure I am not misleading anyone or anything.

 

I asked Voodoo about the brewpub on their facebook and got the response:

"rumors are just that"

And then they deleted it.

 

The fact that they deleted it leads me to believe that it's probably true.

Otherwise, why would they care enough to actually delete it?

 

My thoughts as well. I saw the notification and saw what they responded with. My first thought was nice non-answer. I then went back an hour or 2 later to see if anyone else commented and saw they nixed it. But they are pretty good at evading questions. They posted picture of barrels a few weeks back and I asked what was in them to which they responded "beer" which annoyed me. A simple "we aren't ready to disclose to the public" would have been a better retort.

 

Hmmm, I wonder if they have someone else managing their facebook account than they do email. Every time I send an email I always get a cordial, informative response...

 

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...94348464.82996.305706522795288&type=1&theater

 

I know for sure that they are opening something. I just wasn't sure if it was another pub or just a small taproom for growlers. They just told me retail location. I'm assuming it has a ways to go before opening though since they are being coy about it and there isn't much else to go on.

 

so since we've been asked about this endlessly since pittsburgh craft beer week, we will say this. we are currently exploring the possibility of opening a retail location in homestead. it's not going to be a pub, if it's going to be anything at all. we have been coy about it because there is nothing more to say about it right now. and we don't want to add more fuel to the fire at this point (hence deleting the facebook post). when there is something to say about it, we will be sure to let you all know.