Insurrection AleWorks new taproom, Sobel’s Tap Garden, Maggie’s Forbes rum
Insurrection AleWorks’ new location is going to be ... in the Strip District.
The Heidelberg brewpub opened in November 2015 in an unlikely location: nextdoor to the police station in the borough just southwest of the city. It greatly expanded the brewery into an adjacent lot last year and wanted to expand to a satellite location. Co-owners Matt Messer and Brad Primozik have found a space — at 1812 Penn Ave. — and have been working on it.
“We wanted to be in the Strip from the beginning,” says Mr. Messer. He found the storefront on a drive home from a February neighborhood meeting, where he was disappointed to realize a location on Walnut Street in Shadyside wouldn’t work out
— even though some news outlets reported a taproom there as if it was a done deal.
He’s very happy to be going into this space, formerly a Peruvian boutique, just a door down from Roland’s. The plan is for it to start out as a retail location, selling cans to go, and then when COVID-19 restrictions lift, to open to customers as a taproom with seating for 15 at the bar and 25 at tables and a back booth. They’ll have a dozen drafts on tap, plus a local cider and cocktail, and they’ll serve local wines. It won’t have its own kitchen.
“We’re going to be in the middle of the Strip District,” says Mr. Messer. “It’s a big food court.”
Otherwise, the look and feel will be reminiscent of Heidelberg, from whence they’ve been teasing the new location on their social media.
They started there with a 3.5-barrel brewhouse, but post-expansion, Mr. Primozic brews on a 15-barrel system with four 15barrel fermenters and a canning line. The original brewhouse is dedicated to dedicated to wild ales, which age in several big oak vessels called foudres.
The brewpub is offering online ordering of beer and food for pickup and is also delivering beer to customers’ homes. It’s located at 1635 E. Railroad St., Heidelberg, PA 15106. Learn more at www.insurrectionaleworks.com. Another brewery taproom has been delayed due to the COVID-19 crisis, but Sobel’s Obscure Brewing has a backup plan for this summer: A Pop-up Tap Garden it wants to pull together in and outside a warehouse, also in Jeannette, at 108 S. 4th St.
Jackie Sobel says until they can get their brewery and tap room competed, they want to serve eight beers on tap, plus canned beers in a no-frills warehouse setting, with seating spilling out an open garage bay into adjacent lawn. “We’ll have picnic tables outside as well as a bar and tables inside,” she says. “We ought to be able to host up to 60 people at a time to start with.”
They’re planning to have food trucks and acoustic musicians, too, and be open Friday through Sunday as soon as they are allowed to and run through September. Meanwhile, they’re selling beer to go from the warehouse. The main brewery and taproom they hope to have complete by year’s end. Learn more at http://www.sobbrews.com. The region’s drink producers have been impressive in how they’ve pivoted to handle COVID-19 challenges, such as being able to sell drinks to-go only. The midMarch closure of all the state Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores and online store caused the demand for spirits to boom. At Maggie’s Farm Rum in the Strip District, Tim Russell and his team couldn’t make enough, so he’s come up with another creative solution.
While waiting for his own rum to be ready, he imported some from the Virgin Islands and is reselling it with a spare label as Forbes white rum. He’s also giving $2 from the $19 sale of each bottle to food charities — more than $2,000 so far. While keeping all but tasting room servers working, the distillery also has continued to support its animal charities.
Bottles can be preordered for pickup or delivery (for a $5 fee) or in-state shipping via https://www.maggiesfarmrum.com.
You can explore the region’s breweries as well as wineries and distilleries at the Post-Gazette’s interactive drink maps at https://newsinteractive.post-gazette.com/ drink-map.