Headed to Pittsburgh from Chicago in June what are some good brews to look for to bring back or places to get some good beer. Thanks
You should move this to the regional forums. There are a lot of good places that'll be recommended and hopefully the jaded locals help you out as opposed to telling you to do your own research.
Sup. Well, there are about 30 breweries within an hour's radius of Pittsburgh these days. But here are my suggestions, for what it's worth: Brew Gentlemen Love what these guys have done and are doing. I enjoy Build & Destroy; it's a wheat stout. A lot of their limited releases are quite good as well. I suggest you drop a line on this thread to see what is going on the week you are visiting. You just never know. Draai Laag The dark horse brewery of Pittsburgh, imo. When they are on, they are on! When not...they're still pretty good. Belgian-ish ales, done in their own style. Unfortunately really limited amount of hours open for operation, but if you can pull off a visit, I think it's worth it. Church Brew Works One of the "old school" brewpubs in Pittsburgh. The decor is sometimes more interesting than the beer, but they do put out some cool stuff here and there. It's worth a visit for at least one before moving on. Draai Laag is a very short drive from here. Try the Thunderhop Extreme Double IPA if you see it on. Voodoo The brewery is about 90 minutes north, but they have a bar in the Homestead area. Sometimes they have some really crazy stuff on, others not so much. If you are thinking about going, drop a line here and we will let you know if something crazy is on. East End Been around for over 10 years at this point, I think it is. They may have Gratitude still available when you get there. If so, I definitely suggest getting some. Fat Head's Saloon They brew in the Cleveland area, but also have a pub in the South Side area. I enjoy visiting the South Side on the weekends as much as I enjoy sticking the end of a fork in my pee hole. But if it's during the day, I am down and fine with it. A lot of the hoppy and interesting offerings make it here. Head Hunter, Head Shrinker, and on and on. If you go, Piper's Pub is very close and very worth a visit. It's an English style pub. Helltown Helltown! Helltown! Helltown! Seriously. If you see a hoppy Helltown offering and pass up the chance to try it, we will never be friends. Ever. Anything hoppy by Helltown is quite good. So is the Mischevious Brown Ale, I thought. Idle Hands seems to be the most prevalent of their beers around the Pittsburgh area. If you want to buy to take home, I suggest: Atlas Bottle Works - very close to Roundabout Brewery, Hop Farm, and Arsenal Cider if you want to do a 2-fer, 3-fer, or 4-fer. Draai Laag is also close to here. As is Grist House Brewing. Any of the Market Districts have a good selection. Specifically the ones in Settler's Ridge, Waterworks and the East End. Not sure if you will have a vehicle to get you there, but they typically have a lot. D's has a good selection, but a mixed reputation around town. Sometimes their prices are obscene and significantly more than NYC or San Francisco. I can't bring myself to go there anymore. Hopefully that helps.
I must agree that the Lawrenceville scene is very pleasant. Folks are nice, beer is good. Full Pint taproom was a hoot my most recent trip into town. ask for some local knowledge and you'll have lots of fun. Helltown? Hell, yes!
If you head down to the "South Side", you can hit my #1 favorite place to eat-and-drink the Burgh, "Fatheads". The Pittsburgh Location is the "original" location, but they opened up a second location in Cleveland, in a larger (more "industiral park") type area, where they have room to brew. I think they make a LOT of great beer, 7-10 of which will be featured at any one time in the Pittsburgh location. If you check out their website, they've won a lot of hardware, from some pretty big competitions (GABF, World Beer Cup, etc). Headhunter IPA is my favorite beer... The upstairs is also a takeout bottle shop and gift shop, so it's kind of a one-stop-shop for you to get some gear and brews to take home with you as well, if interested. And as far a greasy bar food goes, Fathead's is hard to beat, IMO. While in the area, "Smokin Joe's" and "Piper's Pub" are both about 2 blocks away from Fathead's, and worth a visit if you want to bar-hop a bit. Piper's has an English theme to it, lots of European soccer, an impressive single-malt scotch list, and a good craft beer list too... Smokin Joe's has a great beer list as well. There's a few other places on the South Side, probably within 10 blocks or so... I've been hearing a lot about "The Library" lately, but I haven't made the visit yet, myself. There's an excellent beer bar/pizzeria in Bloomfield called "Caliente". In terms of finding *Rare* beer in the Burgh, I think they're king these days. Nice little cooler selection there, too, and you can take-out from there as well. It's pricey.... but you'll find some gems, as long as you're willing to pay... Down in the North Shore, Beer Market can have a fun vibe, particularly on gameday, if you want to catch a baseball game. And if you are searching for a good bottle shop, I'd recommend you check out Dee's in Regent Square, Whole Foods up in Wexford, or House of 1000 Beers out in New Kensington. All three of which will be a little bit of a drive if you're staying *downtown*, so I think I'd recommend you check out the cooler/take-out situation at both Fathead's and Caliente first, and if you still find yourself *wanting* for more beer to bring back to Chicago with you, then start planning accordingly for any/all of these three bottle shops. Caliente would be up 28, for example, so House of 1000 Beers would be further up that direction. On your way back to Chicago, Whole Foods may be not much of a detour for you off 79, if you intend to head North before West on your way back to Chicago... etc. If at all possible, though, I'd instead recommend you head West-before-North on your way back, and plan to swing through Vintage Estate in Boardman Ohio on your way... definitely worth a stop, in my opinion. Both for the on-draft selection, and the take-out bottles... Prices are great, too. They have little snacks you can pick at, and flatbread pizzas too, but they just opened up a second location across town (still in Boardman) called "magic tree", with a full restaurant menu, in case you want more in the way of food.
I stopped at Dees last weekend for the 1st time in months and I see no reason why I would ever go back there again. The selection is barely better than MD Shadyside @ 1.5-4x the cost. They did still have a bunch of Hop JuJu left although I'm not sure what that would taste like now.
Thanks for all the help guys had a great time in Pittsburgh. I was able to hit fatheads, as well as East end Brewing. I also was able to get to D's nice place little pricey. Was able to trade for some voodoo stuff and sample some of the church brewery stuff
Good thread. Looking for some guidance on the latest happenings and taps. Will fly in tomorrow, June 23. Have a car. Staying downtown, not far from the convention center. Depart Thursday. All business is downtown. I've done Sharp Edge on Penn and Church Brew Works before, but not adverse to revisiting. Thinking about hitting Voodoo in Homestead "on my way" to my hotel (I have no business to conduct on Tuesday). More about picking up a bottle(s) to take home or having just one on tap (driving ya know). Then maybe Fat Heads on Wednesday evening. Thoughts? Suggestions? Additional must stops (walking, running or car) to fill in the blanks?
If you have a car and no set plans on Wednesday evening I might hit up Brew Gentlemen. They have been taking risks and putting out some decent beers. They sometimes have food trucks and usually post on social media if they do. You can have a beer there and make your way into the city towards fat heads and have dinner there on the way to your hotel.
since Draai Laag's taproom is only open from Thursday to Saturday you should try to find some of their bottles in a shop. They make awesome brews.
Sludgeman, check out Sienna Mercato. Will probably be a couple blocks from you on Penn Ave. 20-30 taps and a rooftop biergarten that is some of the best outdoor drinking in pgh.
I did not get to go to voodoo but I was able to trade with some guys in Pittsburgh for their high end beers good vibes and big black voodoo daddy. But I hear it's worth going if you can. I liked East End at least last week they still had bottles of gratitude to sell. Fat heads ton of their good ones on tap was not impressed with what they had to take out though. But food and beer on tap were good here
