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A good start for Helicon

Posted December 8, 2016 • 0 comment

It’s natural to expect that a brand new brewery might have some growing pains. Going from a homebrewing scale to a 15-barrel brewing system isn’t an easy transition, and that says nothing of all of the other tasks that come with opening and running a beer-making business.

Unless, apparently, you work at Helicon Brewing in Oakdale.

For Chris Brunetti and Andy Weigel, the first brew day on their new system wasn’t ideal — it took more than twice as long as it should, for one thing.

But it’s tough to argue with the result: 001 Pale Ale, a nicely balanced American pale that has become the brewery’s best-seller in its first month in business. Close on its heels: 002 India Pale Ale, a juicy New England style IPA that can make even a cold December afternoon feel like a day in the tropics.

Add to that — among others — a blonde ale, an imperial stout and what is sure to be a long list of Mr. Weigel’s lagers — all good enough to prompt a cult-like following among Pittsburgh’s homebrewing community — and you get the sense that Helicon is going to do just fine.

The brewery’s distinction of being the first in western Allegheny County — it’s just a few minutes’ drive south of the shopping areas in Robinson and North Fayette — will likely help as well, although that wasn’t part of the business plan; that’s just where Mr. Brunetti was able find space. It should work out well in the future, too; the parcel in Oakdale, the site of a former dog food factory, is big enough to accommodate the owner’s plans for a restaurant and other businesses.

And the fact that the Panhandle Trail runs right along the property means there should be a ready-made audience for a cold beer or two in the warmer months.

But don’t wait until then to give Helicon a try. You’d miss out on one of the region’s best new breweries.

Category: Allegheny County | Tags: breweries, brewpubs

Giving thanks

Posted November 23, 2016 • 0 comment

Brian Eaton at Grist House: Thankful for session beers.

If you’re here, it’s probably safe for me to assume that you’re thankful for craft beer.

It’s also safe to assume that the folks who work in the business — from distributors to brewers to bar managers — are pretty thankful for craft beer as well.

I asked a handful of our friends in the business to explain what they’re thankful for this Thanksgiving week … and I got anything but a bunch of canned, boring responses. And I added my own two cents at the end; spoiler alert: I’m mostly thankful for you guys, because you’re why we continue to do the show.

Have a great Thanksgiving weekend, everyone.

Category: Allegheny County, Pittsburgh, Region | Tags: beer festival, breweries, brewpubs, session beer

Bonus Beer Me: What does a beer museum need?

Posted November 10, 2016 • 0 comment

We won’t promise that this counts as a preview, but when we asked Matt Sherwin and Joe McAllister, two of the founders of Brew: The Museum of Beer, for their thoughts about what a beer museum should include, we were definitely intrigued by their answers.

Category: Region | Tags: brewpubs, museum

A bit of Colorado in Allegheny City

Posted October 20, 2016 • 0 comment

Allegheny City’s Al Grasso and Mike taste the brewery’s Nova Gose.

Sure, we have some good-sized hills on the North Side. But no one’s ever going to mistake it for Colorado’s Front Range.

Nevertheless, the small-town breweries that Amy Yurkovich, Al Grasso and Matt Yurkovich came across while they lived in the mountains were the model for Allegheny City Brewing, the brewpub the trio just opened on Foreland Street. And thanks mostly to the Yurkovich siblings, both native North Siders, Allegheny City made that neighborhood its home.

The business model that the trio put together while the still lived out West was simple. It didn’t involve grand plans for packaging or distribution; instead, Allegheny City would serve the purpose of the tiny tap rooms and brewpubs they loved in Colorado. Those places served as community centers as well as breweries, providing a place to stop and relax with neighbors for a bit between work and home.

And while the North Side has its share of bars and restaurants, it didn’t yet have anything like the kind of establishment they had in mind. They’ll soon have small-brewery neighbors — War Streets Brewing and Spring Hill Brewing are both preparing to open on the North Side as well — as well as one well-established big one; that, they say, just adds to the sense of home town North Side community.

Even after just three weeks, they’re already seeing regulars coming back for a pint or a growler fill. And that’s understandable: the tap room is warm and comfortable and the beer is well done. A couple favorites from my stop this week: Funkhauser farmhouse ale is evenly split between citrus and spice with a touch of Belgian funk at the end, and Nova Gose, a perfectly rendered take of the old German style, with sharp lemon tartness, coriander and a hint of salt.

If the goal for the trio was to establish a neighborhood brewpub — and a community to go with it — they’re already a success. And if you’re a neighbor — on the North Side or perhaps a bit further away — you should give Allegheny City a shot.

Category: Allegheny County | Tags: brewpubs, North Side

A trip to the North Country

Posted August 18, 2016 • 0 comment

It’s hard to think of Bob McCafferty running an empire of any kind — he smiles and laughs too easily.

But Bob and Jodi McCafferty are more than a decade into North Country Brewing, a craft beer business that started as a brewpub in an old Slippery Rock mortuary. It now includes a production brewery that distributes to three states and a second brewpub at the site of what was Butler County’s first craft beer bar.

The canning operation began a few years ago, when it became apparent that there was a market for the brewery’s well-established staples: Buck Snort Stout, Slimy Pebble Pils or Station 33 Firehouse Red, for example. That’s proved to be a smart move. Sales in Pennsylvania have been solid enough that North Country also started sending beer to Florida, where Western Pennsylvania expats and snowbirds have made it popular. And the brewery recently expanded its distribution area to include eastern Ohio.

The most recent change didn’t come from the business plan. When the Harmony Inn began serving better beer in the mid-1980s, it didn’t take long for the McCaffertys to become regulars. And when they needed money — and time — so they could begin renovations of the Slippery Rock property that would become the original North Country, they both took jobs at the Inn.

So when that business was teetering on the brink a few years ago, the McCaffertys stepped in; they bought the building in 2013, remodeled it inside and out and opened it again a year later. It has the similar feel to the version of the Inn Bob McCafferty loved 30 years ago, and the North Country updates — including Big Rail Brewing, a nano brewery in the basement serving both as an incubator and as a provider of house beers — don’t disrupt that vibe. It’s a restoration that feels like it could hang on for another century.

If Mr. McCafferty is an emperor, he’s a benevolent one. And his empire is doing all of us some good.

Category: Butler County | Tags: breweries, brewpubs, canning