Brewing up craft beverage events around Pittsburgh
PITTSBURGH – Travelers who enjoy local craft beverages — and who doesn’t? — should consider visiting our Yinzer neighbors soon. ● Pittsburgh is hosting two big events in the next few weeks featuring craft beverages of all kinds. ● The Craft Beverage Expo (visitpittsburgh.com/restaurants-culinary/cbx/), a yearly trade show, will be hosted in Pittsburgh for the first time March 29-April 2. And, for the first time, the show will also feature a special event for consumers:
the Craft Beverage Experience on March 31 at the
Also, the city will celebrate Three Rivers Beer Week (threeriversbeerweek.com/) April 12-16, featuring dozens of events led by the nearly 50 member breweries of the Pittsburgh Brewers Guild.
As its name implies, the Craft Beverage Expo goes well beyond craft beer to include every kind of beverage made with local love and care, including spirits, cocktails, mocktails, wines, meads, ciders and even coffees, juices and soft drinks.
Although general admission tickets to the Craft Beverage Experience are a relatively pricey $65, guests will get their money’s worth, with unlimited samples of more than 100 local craft beers, spirits, wines, ciders, sakes and more, plus light appetizers, “Tipsy Talks” and a commemorative sampling glass.
And if you bring your own designated driver, he or she can score a ticket, which excludes alcohol, for $10. Tickets are limited and can be purchased online.
Even if you can’t make the event, you can still check out the many Pittsburgh businesses celebrating the expo with specials and events throughout the week.
Places on the must-taste list include Wigle Whiskey Distillery (wiglewhiskey.com) where visitors can learn why western Pennsylvania is often called the “birthplace of American whiskey,” explore the history of the Whiskey Rebellion and enjoy fine spirits and food.
Cocktail lovers should definitely check out Kingfly Spirits (kingflyspirits.com), located in a magnificent old post-and-beam structure that was once a commercial carriage house and now is a great venue for the distillery’s frequent live music and comedy events.
Kingfly features house-distilled spirits and liquors produced by passionate young head distiller Raoul Segarra and ably assembled by a great team of behind-the-bar mixologists. (The Kingfly Manhattan, made with Kingfly Bourbon and house vermouth, is divine. Order it on the rocks, if so inclined.)
And if it’s too early for spirits, or liquor is just not your thing, swing by one of the three locations of Live Fresh Juicery (livefreshjuicery.com), featuring cold-pressed juices, house-made nut milks and butters, and smoothies and smoothie bowls. (My favorite is Just Beet It, which hints at a pleasant earthiness and presents bold garden flavors often missing from more highly processed juices.)
Three Rivers Beer Week is hosted at individual brewery tap rooms and beer pubs throughout Allegheny County, each with its own specialties and vibe.
Trace Brewing, (tracebloomfield.com) embraces the aesthetic of the former brass and bronze foundry where it makes its home, with the brewery production floor opening directly onto the tap room. And Trace opens early with a coffee bar overseen by nationally ranked barista Joe Burns, who is also a co-owner of local roaster Ghost Coffee Collab (ghostcoffeecollab.com).
As its name implies, Necromancer Brewing Co. (necromancer.beer) specializes in bringing back from the dead neglected or forgotten beer recipes or styles such as Grisette, once a favorite of Belgian coal miners. The task is ably accomplished by Head Brewer Lauren Hughes, one of the few queer-identifying brewers in Pittsburgh. (Necromancer is also known for its welcoming and inclusive taproom.)
One of Pittsburgh’s oldest craft breweries is East End Brewing (eastendbrewing.com), where owner Scott Smith has been making beer for more than 18 years.
East End is also the home of Barmy Soda (barmysoda.com), with quality craft soft drinks brewed for the younger — or less boozy — crowd by East End’s Head Brewer Brendan Benson.
And East End Chewing recently opened in the brewery’s tap room, offering some of the best thick-crust pizza in the city.
Other great brewery stops include 11th Hour Brewing Co. (11thhourbrews.com), a family-run brewery headed up by Matt Mcmahon, chairman of the Pittsburgh Brewers Guild; and Pittsburgh’s first craft brewery, Penn Brewery (pennbrew.com) — located, appropriately enough, in a lovely old brewing complex dating back to the mid-19th century.
Steve Stephens is a freelance travel writer and photographer. Email him at sjstephensjr@gmail.com.