Pittsburgh Breweries - 2018

Not from the south hills but: Spoonwood is the only other brewery in that area I believe (similar concept as Mindful, but better IMO). Bridgeville has the Railyard Tap Room (mixed reviews on food, but excellent beer selection, 50+ taps), Mac & Toz (half off all beers at HH), and the Crafty Jackalope, which I enjoy. I also enjoy Bado's Pizza in Lebo.

 

How is Spoonwood a similar concept as Mindful? I was at Spoonwood a few weeks ago but didn’t notice guest taps or a bottle shop.

The South Hills Whole Foods is a great place for beer, both to-go and drafts.

 

Very large brewpub that's just as much a restaurant as it is a brewery. I think those two are the only two around here that fit that bill. That said, you're right in terms of there only being Spoonwood taps. I probably should have said "setup" rather than "concept". Good call on WF.

 

I see what you mean, both are pretty huge spaces. The pizza at Spoonwood is really good, haven’t been impressed with the food at Mindful yet.

 

I've never been to The Korner Pub in Mt. Lebo, but I know they serve craft, including some locals. I think it's on the corner of 19th & Bower maybe? Go there and report back

Yard in The Galleria has a big tap list, but The Galleria is a bunch of snooty posh brats. Tasty pretzels though!

 

Visited Spoonwood today. Wasn't impressed by the beer. Food smelled good, but we just had yummy pasta at Armstrongs.

Now I'm sitting in the top tier Hitchhiker, but they're out of Friend or Foe D:

But who'dathunk a Straweberry margarita gose would actually be good.

 

Thanks for the info everyone. I will check out these places for sure!

 

Heading to Pittsburgh next week for work. I saw Dancing Gnome is doing a can release at 4 pm on the Thursday I am there. What is the line situation? Do the cans usually last into the evening? TIA.

 

Depends on the beer and timing of the release (weekday/weekend).

Below is from their newsletter today:

Thursday is the release of our collaboration with HopCulture, Spaghetti Dinner. This 8.8% DIPA is hopped aggressively with Nelson, Galaxy, and Citra hops, with the pleasant addition of Muscato grape juice during fermentation to both enhance and compliment the aforementioned hops. Massive notes of white grape, peach, mango, tangerine, and pineapple with a medium-heavy mouthfeel and perfectly dank bitter finish. This beer is bonkers, and takes things up a notch.

We'll have ~60 cases, and VERY LIMITED draft. It will definitely be a half pint only, but probably won't last long. Can limit will most likely be two 4-packs per person.

60 cases is a low output for them, plus this is a new collaboration beer. Based on this, I would think you'd need to be in line (i.e. get there before 4) for this one. If you can't make it there by then, I would follow them on IG as they try and keep the line situation up to date.

 

Any recommendations for places near the westin convention center?

I'm going to go back to Church Brewworks. Ate there back in 2005.

 

As far as walking distance goes, there's really no breweries, but some places with good craft lists are Bill's burgers (located in the Westin), Sharp Edge Bistro on Penn (people are meh on this place, but they do have a solid HH, belgian focused), Il Tetto (the heated rooftop bar of Sienna Mercato), Proper Brick Oven Pizza (my personal favorite, great pizza, solid draft list), and City Works in market square (looking at a 10-15 minute walk for that).

Southern Tier and Rivertowne in the north shore (between the two stadiums) and East End's Taproom in the Strip District are probably the closest breweries. Easy uber ride, but too far to walk.

I would be remiss to not mention Gaucho Parilla Argentina, which is probably the consensus lb-for-lb best restaurant in the Burgh and is walking distance from the Westin (a longer walk). BYOB there.

There are a ton of breweries if you're able to drive up route 28 (Lawrenceville / Millvale / Sharpsburg).

 

Condado Tacos right across from the Westin usually has a good draft list too. Tacos are good and you can’t best the prices, HH gets pretty busy though

 

I'll be in Pittsburgh later this month with my wife and 12-year old in tow. Any recommendations for a brewery or restaurant where I can try a couple of Pittsburgh's best beers and they can get good food in a not-crazy-crowded atmosphere?

We're staying near Station Square, but have a car and don't mind walking or taking a cab. Thanks in advance.

 

Since you’re in Station Square, you’ll be very close to the South Side. Piper’s Pub, Urban Tap, Fat Heads, Carson Street Deli all have good taplists and good food. Piper’s is probably the most recommended and for good reason. Note that South Side can be a little busy/rowdy later on weekend nights and also Piper’s gets busy for brunch if there’s soccer on.

Smallman Galley in the Strip and Federal Galley in the Northside would be good options for what you’re looking for. Both are restaurant incubators so there are 4 restaurant concepts in each location, everything I’ve tried at both has been really good. Both have good taplists and bar programs overall, Smallman usually has more local drafts however. Smallman can be very busy for brunch but the Strip is a cool place to checkout.

As mentioned above, Proper Pizza downtown has a good list with locals and also has great pizza.

Most breweries use food trucks as their kitchen so they rotate depending on the day, I’d recommend checking their social media feeds to see what will be there. Cinderlands in Lawrenceville has a full kitchen but it’s a fairly upscale/adventurous menu.

There’s a few good BYOB restaurants in Lawrencevile that you could take a crowler/growler too. Driftwood Oven pizza just opened a block down from Cinderlands, Roundabout is nearby for crowler/growlers as well. Piccolo Forno (BYOB) is nearby in Lawrenceville and has great Italian food. Bierport in Lawrenceville sells singles/6 packs to go and has a good amount of local beers. I think they are a little overpriced, but that option would be cheaper/about the same as paying for drafts.

A little farther from you is Independent, they usually have Dancing Gnome, Brew Gentlemen, Grist House on tap and had a full kitchen. Would be about a 20 minute drive from Station Square.

 

I'll second that Piper's recommendation, as they usually have an excellent representation of local breweries on draught, but, yeah, if you're looking for "not crazy", going on Saturday or Sunday morning during footie isn't a good idea. However, they serve an awesome brunch on both days until 3, so if you go after noon, you should be OK. That said, during the week it's pretty chill.

 

Pittsburgh's best beers are typically hard to come by unless you go directly to the brewery but offerings are beginning to expand. Atmosphere will vary depending on the time in which you go (avoid happy hours, weekend nights in the south side, etc.). Some things that come to mind:

Piper's Pub - It's a soccer pub but that's really only until early afternoon. Excellent draft list including locals and solid food at reasonable prices (english focused but they have a broad menu). Bar in the front but there's casual dining in the back that would be fine for your family. Place only gets great reviews. Fathead's is a popular place across from Piper's as well, but that place can really get busy, so depends on the time you go (lunch is fine). They do serve non-Fathead's beers but not a lot of local stuff (more regional / international). Both are an easy cab drive down Carson St. South Side is fine during the day, but there are a ton of bars down there so keep that in mind on Thurs/Fri/Sat evenings. Double Wide might be an option too, good place for kids, although you can't really find the best Pittsburgh beers there. Urban Tap is solid.

Mount Washington - You can take the incline up from Station Square which is a must for any first-timer, especially with a kid. I'm not as familiar with the restaurant scene up there, but I know Shiloh Grill would be a good place for your requirements (casual, good food and beer). The Summit is another trendier place nearby but that place is a bit smaller and the menu is more limited.

Downtown - see above for discussion on places downtown. A couple options for you would be in market square (which is a fun area for kids): City Works and The Yard. Again, depends on what time you go to these places, but generally weekends aren't too bad downtown, although it's becoming more of a popular destination.

Most breweries have food trucks too, which you can access on their websites (Dancing Gnome, Hitchhiker (Sharpsburg location), Grist House, etc.). Lengthier cab rides obviously. The Independent in Squirrel Hill is probably the best place where you can try a variety of great Pittsburgh beers.

Hope you have a nice time.

 

FTFY.

 

Thanks. This is very helpful.