Fury Brewing Co. opens in North Huntingdon

Another new regional brewery, and the third one in the Westmoreland County township of North Huntingdon, holds its grand opening this weekend with several brews with interesting names.

Nuts of Fury is a brown ale that has notes of nuts in its flavor. Sid's 1K is an India pale ale that honors Sidney Crosby scoring his 1,000th point this season. Carson Street Kolsch is “the perfect light and refreshing beer on a hot summer day.”

Other opening brews include a B.I.G., strong bitter named Notorious ESB, a stout named Stealth, and an Irish-style red ale called Craic, which is an Irish term for fun and enjoyment.

While some new breweries specialize in a certain style or styles of brews, Fury aims to offer something for everybody in a welcoming tap room it has created from a shell of a storefront on Route 30.

“We pretty much are going to go against the grain,” says Tom Jenkins, the president and director of operations in the new business that he runs with his vice president — and best friend — Stephan Hoffer and their friend Ryan Slicker. Mr. Slicker is the head brewer, but the other two guys brew, too. That’s how they met each other, when they all worked for Verizon.

Aside: What is it about Verizon and craft beer? Several other breweries are co-owned or staffed by former Verizon employees, including Shubrew, Butler Brew Works and Hitchhiker.

Mr. Jenkins — who’s 35 and lives in Elrama, Washington County — now works for FedEx, but he traces Fury’s beginnings to when he worked Downtown with his almost-brother, Mr. Hoffer, with whom he home brewed. “I was more into the flavorful, richer variety — not so hoppy,” says Mr. Jenkins, “where he was into big IPAs.”

They were pouring for an early charity event when they brought in another Verizon brewer, Mr. Slicker, who’d won some awards. The reaction at the event was great. Mr. Jenkins says they started to think, “Hey, maybe we have something the public likes that we can sell.”