Southern Tier to open second brewery in Pittsburgh

http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2016...-lounge-to-make-pittsburghs-north-shore-home/

 

I am from the Philly area and I think it is great that Southern Tier chose Pittsburgh for a second brewery location. We have things so good from a beer availability perspective in Southeastern PA that it is good that Pittsburgh gets some craft beer 'love' as well.

At the end of the day we are all Pennsylvanians united by the most backwards and stupid state alcohol laws in the nation!!

Cheers!

 

I suspect that part of the choice of Pittsburgh has to do with a few things.

First, is the fact their beers are already fairly well known there so they can look forward to reasonable and possibly increasing sales there. I'll be surprised if the brewery didn't also have a brewpub type facility as part of it where locals can have a decent meal and get a chance to try a lot of fresh beers that either won't be distributed or are undergoing pilot brews to assess customer acceptance.

Second is Pittsburgh as a location that could serve as transit hub to support increased distribution and expansion of their distribution footprint.

 

Pittsburgh is also decently located logistically, if they're going to do any production brewing there.

 

Pittsburgher here, born and raised. Been away for 10+ years, but I spent some time with the folks about 2 years back, and I have to say, the "craft beer culture" is there, but it's weak at best. There are some breweries, but nothing that stands out, at least for my personal pallet, or my friends for that matter. Aside from a few exceptions, our cookouts, bonfires etc were usually complimented with Bell's, Founders, Fat Heads or GLBC beer and not anything made right in the tri-state area. I can remember (barely...) many nights guzzling down 2HA and Headhunter like it was going out of style though. Again, that was just us, a very small sampling of the general beer drinking population. Where I'm going with this is, maybe a decent sized independent brewery in a high visibility location is what the area needs. I would love to see Pittsburgh beer scene explode by the next time visit the ol' stomping grounds. I would love to have a stash of local beer hiding in the trunk on my next trip to Pittsburgh Raceway Park too.

 

I know this is going to sound really convenient, but the scene here has really sprung to life over the past two years since you were last here - brew gents, Voodoo Pittsburgh, Fat Heads, Draai Laag (just signed on with Shelton bros), and Roundabout are pretty widely recognized as very good to great breweries in the area (i could be convinced to their in east end I guess just based on longevity and gratitude alone)...with some other up and comers as well. It's very recent development, but I'd say those 5 are putting us securely on the craft beer map.

 

The thing with Pittsburgh, and I know a lot of us out there will agree, we have a rich history of breweries and distilleries. As much as I hate iron city, they are still a macrobrewery that is in Pittsburgh. They have a rich history. We also have the rye distilleries that used to be massive along the rivers before closing.

They just had a big beer festival at the convention center and all over Facebook I saw friends of mine that went down to it to enjoy beer. Granted, the whole list of breweries there wasn't anything to cry home about, but it was good to see some of my friends who aren't big beer drinkers, enjoying good craft brews.

I know it would be a big ask for a brewery like Founders or Cigar City or Ballast Point to start a brewery in Pittsburgh. Southern Tier though is a big get. I know they will have a ton of people there. Within the next couple years though, I am positive some of nano breweries that started will begin canning and bottling and shipping it around. A brewery like Hop Farm or The Brew Gentlemen would be great to see distributing around the area. Pittsburgh started later than other cities in terms of the brewery boom, but we will get to a good point soon

 

I love me some fat heads but most people I have come across on here distinguish it as an Ohio brewery. I know it started in Pittsburgh and I will always attribute it as a Pittsburgh joint, but people in Ohio swear its Ohio born and raised. I think Pittsburgh is in a good place. Can only get bigger.

 

Based on the location and the video posted above, it would seem that this is much more of a pub/destination drinking spot than brewery. I'm sure brewing will be done there but that's not the main focus. This was not done to greatly increase capacity.

 

Word. The street is there is going to be a brewpub in Charlotte in the not too distant future.

 

Southern Tier is one of my favorite breweries! Awesome that they are setting up a location only 25 minutes from my house!

 

yes, we are honored to have them right here in da burgh! Now I don't have to drive 2 hours to get to Lakewood, NY, although I might go back there again anyways.

 

as soon as they brew a beer that's worth caring about, i'll dial in

 

ouch

 

Fixed that for you.

 

https://smartasset.com/mortgage/best-cities-beer-drinkers
this kind of surprised me but I do think it has improved over the past few years. not only some decent breweries but also some good craft beer bars

 

Don't forget - Pittsburgh is the biggest market in the country for pumpkin beers.

 

Pittsburgh is a great town, good people with great work ethic. Great place to start a business. Good news!

 

haha, really? had no idea

 

Agreed. One of my least favorite breweries.

 

The only heaps of hate I've seen on this site are maybe certain breweries and distributers who maybe deserved it. For you to go post a hatred for a city on this site, is totally out of line and disrespectful.

 

So sorry.

 

This is a great idea. People need to recognize Pittsburgh as a great beer city on the rise and this can only help. And I love Philly, its sports teams and its fans.

 

Does Pittsburgh have a large rail system. That would be a great way to distribute across the country.

 

Wow. You must drink really impressive beers.

Live, 2XIPA, 2XStout, 2XPresso, Choklat, Mokah, 2XSmash, Gemini, Unearthly, Backburner......are all very good beers. No, you don't have to wait in line, pre-order, buy tickets, or pay an outrageous amount for them. So if that's what you're looking for, Southern Tier isn't for you. And that's ok.

I think most of the hate comes from the fact that people don't like Pumking and can't stand the cult following it has. I get it, but ST is a quality brewery.

 

Good for them and good for you guys. Also in that article was a new cigar bar...bonus!

 

http://www.stbcbeer.com/capabilities-view/the-rumors-are-true-stbc-is-coming-to-pgh/

 

Good find. This blog post resolves some of the ambiguities that existed in the news report.

@JackHorzempa since ST and Victory are now partnered, this is looking like the type of facility you've visited around here. Seems like ST will have had some friendly coaching, etc.

 

Pittsburgh is not the best beer city but to have fat heads, southern tier and voodoo that is 3 good breweries. With church brew not having the best beer but a great place to have a beer and food. Then the up and coming Breweries like the brew gentlemen it is moving in the right direction

 

Yah, Southern Tier is really good and consistent.

 

I've lived in Pittsburgh my whole life, I'm not the least bit excited about this. Not only does Southers Tier make bad beer (not even one worth drinking), they appeal to people who don't know good beer. The amount of "beer experts" that are going to pop up in Pittsburgh will be obnoxious.

 

So you're the real deal then, I can assume? The kind without the quotation marks?

 

Nope kbuzz I don't claim to be an expert at all just a guy who loves beer.

 

Fat Heads Saloon is from Pittsburgh. Fat Heads Brewery is from Cleveland.

 

I don't live in Pittsburgh. Where's all the good beer at?