Post-Gazette Blogs

Bigger means better for Erie’s Lavery Brewing

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A quick glance at the Lavery Brewing brew house in downtown Erie doesn’t reveal any obvious problems.

You’ll have an easier time figuring out the issue if you take this approach: When was the last time you saw Lavery beers on the shelves or in your favorite bars here in Pittsburgh?

Chances are it’s been quite a while.

Lavery will start 2018 with a hefty expansion to its brewing capacity and if all goes well, it will have fixed a biggest challenge: it can’t make enough beer.

Jason Lavery, who founded the brewery about eight years ago with his wife Nikki, said the brewery initially had a hard time finding customers in its home market, so it immediately began shipping beer to Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and a couple of out-of-state destinations. That worked well, until the locals caught on and demand for Lavery in Erie — especially in its brewpub, which opened a few years ago — began to spike.

Now, Lavery said, the brewery sells nearly every drop in makes in Erie County, which means there’s no Dulachan IPA, Ulster Breakfast Stout or Liopard Oir Farmhouse Ale for the rest of us.

Advice: Either take a road trip to Erie, where Lavery’s beer is readily available — and if you make a stop at the brewery’s pub, you’re going to find some stuff you won’t see anywhere else — or hold on for just a few more months. Lavery said he thinks his beer will start showing up in Pittsburgh again by the start of summer.

Category: Erie, Region | Tags: , , , ,

New brewery, old world styles at Cobblehaus

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If you’re spending a lot of time in Dusseldorf, it’s probably a good idea to get to know the local beers.

We don’t necessarily have to travel to Dusseldorf to get to know the styles native to that German city; we can just go to Cobblehaus Brewing in Coraopolis instead.

Owner and brewer Scott Mills got to known the beers of Dusseldorf thanks to a good number of work-related trips there years ago. And that’s one of the reasons why Cobblehaus emphasizes European beer styles — that’s what he likes.

When you stop at Cobblehaus, start with a glass of the altbier, called Olde Towne. It’s a style native to Dusseldorf, it’s the recipe that Mills has been tinkering with the longest … and thanks to the clean, well-balanced flavors, it’s also been the brewery’s best seller. And if you go soon, you’ll be able to get another Dusseldorf treat: the seasonal sticke Altstadt, typically released in the late fall, with boosted flavors and ABV; it is a rich, warming treat, especially good for a chilly November day.

The other spot on the map Mills likes is Belgium. Give the Tin Man saison a try — it has a little more heft than many saisons, but you’ll also notice a little citrus melding with the style’s earthy base. And check back later this year; a Belgian quad will be released in time for the holidays.

And finally, you don’t have to stay in Europe — there are excellent beers on tap that will be more familiar. Five O’Clock porter has huge coffee flavors while maintaining a lighter body; Moon Hop IPA uses crystal malts for a unique twist on the style.

Ready to go halfway around the world and back? All you need to do is get to Coraopolis, and Cobblehaus Brewing.

Category: Allegheny County | Tags: , , , ,

Pittsburgh is more than craft beer

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Yinz cannot live by craft beer alone.

Which is a pretty good reason to organize a Pittsburgh Libations Week.

You’ll have to wait for another year for an actual week with actual events, but chances are pretty good that you’ve already heard something about Pittsburgh Libations Week, as Jason Cercone works to get it going.

Mr. Cercone has been involved with the region’s craft beer scene since he founded his Breaking Brews news and marketing service several years back. As he became more involved with the scene, he began noticing connections between the area’s breweries and those involved in other facets of the adult beverage industry. Moreover, he started noticing the quality of what was available: ciders, meads, wine, distilleries and a thriving cocktail culture.

Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week was already several years into its successful run at that point; while Mr. Cercone was an enthusiastic supporter — he’s emceed several PCBW events and hosted others over the years — he thought the rest of the industry deserved some time in the spotlight as well.

If goes as planned, the first Pittsburgh Libations Week will be held a year from now. But Mr. Cercone is starting to fill his calendar with promotional events — some to raise money for his event, some to raise money for charity and all to raise awareness about PLW and the industry behind it — like the Uno tournament coming up at the Wigle Barrelhouse on the North Side Oct. 29.

And as a perfect distillation of Mr. Cercone’s vision, the Uno event will feature cocktails made with local beers and Wigle spirits … because, as he hopes to show, we’re all one big happy family.

Category: Region | Tags: , , , , ,

A sweet start for Greensburg Craft Beer Week

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The first-ever Greensburg Craft Beer Week got off to a good start on Monday … especially for those of us with a sweet tooth.

I started in downtown Greensburg, where Hugo’s Taproom — a cozy neighborhood pub with good-looking food and a great-looking tap list — hosted a beer and chocolate pairing. The beer was provided by Quinn Brewing, which brought along four rich, malt forward selections to compliment the chocolates. And the chocolates gave us a preview of McFeely’s Gourmet Chocolate, a shop that’s set to open a Greensburg location soon.

The pairings all worked well; my favorite was definitely Braddock’s Golden Ale — a soft, approachable beer that Alan Quinn said was the brewery’s “regular beer” — and a dark chocolate-jalapeno bark.

From there, I stopped at Tapped Brick Oven and Pour House, to get a little dinner and to get a taste of Foster Pumpkin Project, a pumpkin beer made by the folks at Tapped and Delmont’s Yellow Bridge Brewing. I also followed up my delicious thin-crust pizza with a #gbgcbw dessert pairing: beers from Fat Head’s and desserts from Sweet Tarte’s Bakerie; my choice was the Goggle Fogger hefeweizen and a slice of bananas Foster cheesecake.

And then I waddled out to my car and drove home.

The dessert pairing and the pumpkin collab will be available at Tapped all week, and there are plenty more events to entice a drive to Greensburg. Take a look at the schedule, and then head east this week … it’s worth the trip.

Category: Region, Westmoreland County | Tags: , ,

Greensburg gets its own craft beer week

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Jeff Guidos, owner of All Saints Brewing, discusses the collaboration beers he’s readying for Greensburg Craft Beer Week.

Don’t think Greensburg has enough going on to sustain its own version of a beer week?

Think again.

GBG and the surrounding area is home to some of the best breweries in the region, from long-timers like All Saints to brand-new places like Yellow Bridge. There’s an established group of taverns and restaurants that put craft beer front and center. And there’s a growing enthusiasm for better beer, in Greensburg and throughout Westmoreland County.

Still not buying it? Consider this: organizers of the first Greensburg Craft Beer Week, scheduled for Oct. 9-15, was originally going to be held over a long weekend; since the event was announced, though, the list of stuff to do has ballooned to close to 40 events — as of press time, that is — spread out over a full week.

The week had been a longtime daydream of Jenn Weir who, as a brewery rep, had firsthand experience with successful craft beer weeks in Pittsburgh and Cleveland. The daydream was set in motion more than a year ago when Weir, now with Greensburg Beverage, discussed her vision with Jess Hickey of the Downtown Greensburg Project; Hickey has been organizing the event since.

What’s to come once the week begins? The full events listing is here, but the highlights include several beer dinners and events that pair beers with desserts, doughnuts and even cigars. If you’re feeling active, there are brewery-hosted yoga classes and a bike tour. And there are some definite headliners: Art on Tap at the gorgeous Westmoreland Museum of American Art, a Friday the Firkenteenth party at Tapped and a tasting tent at Seton Hill University’s homecoming tailgate party.

And yes, there is beer — local breweries have teamed to make four collaboration beers for the week. All Saints owner Jeff Guidos said he’s worked with Noble Stein to brew a red IPA and with Rivertowne to brew a double IPA, the first time he’s made a high-gravity IPA. Fury and Levity will release a Baltic porter brewed with rich plums and on the week’s opening night, Yellow Bridge and the folks at Tapped will release a pumpkin pie beer — based on the restaurant’s pumpkin pie recipe — to benefit the Foster Love Project.

Let’s see: A great local craft beer scene? Check. More events than one person could attend? Check. Collabs? Check.

Greensburg Craft Beer Week? Check … as in, make sure you to Greensburg and check it out.

Category: Westmoreland County | Tags: , ,
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