Pittsburgh: A Craft Beverage Destination

With 50+ craft breweries, it’s no wonder that Pittsburgh has been continually ranked as the best city for beer drinkers by SmartAsset, further solidifying it as a must-see destination specifically for craft beer enthusiasts. Whether you’re looking for a refreshing IPA, a flavored stout or a creative sour, visitors will find no shortage of unique brewery options in Pittsburgh.

Penn Brewery, the oldest and largest craft brewery in Pittsburgh, specializes in German-style beers brewed in the tradition of German immigrants, while Strange Roots Experimental Ales Brewery is a unique style brewery that specializes in foraged ingredients, spontaneous fermentation and experimentation.

East End Brewing Company in the Larimer neighborhood is another great longstanding option. Co-owner Scott and Julie Smith opened the brewery in 2004, which now also features East End Chewing, a restaurant within the brewery serving rustic, thick-crust pizzas that pair perfectly with their brews. East End Brewing’s You Are Here series is an ongoing project, started in 2019, to craft a beer for each of Pittsburgh’s 90 neighborhoods. Additionally, East End is also the home of Barmy Soda Company, which has since expanded its sales beyond the brewery to other local bars, restaurants, cafes, universities and grocers.

Multiple new breweries opened in Pittsburgh over the past year, ensuring there’s always somewhere fresh to pour and explore. Just opened Bonafide Beer Co. in the Strip District was established by two familiar faces in the greater Pittsburgh beer scene, Christian Simmons and Travis Tuttle, out of friendship and a vision to produce authentic experiences for their patrons. The refined taproom and cocktail bar makes for a great place to sip and enjoy Bonafide’s modern take on everything from IPAs to Scottish ales, Irish dry stouts and American lagers.

Also recently opened in 2021, Trace Brewing in Bloomfield made an immediate impact, being named to Hop Culture’s nationwide Best New Breweries list. In addition to beer, Trace brews coffee from Ghost Coffee Collab, which is roasted by nationally-ranked barista and their Head of Coffee Joe Burns. Trace also offers a six-month vocational program that helps to fuel the area craft beverage community. Trace is also known for its particularly welcoming spaces, encouraging diversity within their communities and across the industry.

Pittsburgh’s craft beer community at-large is garnering national attention for promoting inclusivity. A 2021 article in Forbes said Pittsburgh is “leading the world in brewery diversity and inclusion.” From Barrel & Flow Fest, the nation’s first Black brew festival, to the Pittsburgh Brewery Diversity Council, which organized an ongoing project – She Knows Beer – that supports women’s causes and much more, Pittsburgh’s craft breweries are a welcoming, diverse community.

The Pittsburgh Brewers Guild makes it easy for visitors to explore the many area breweries with the Pittsburgh Brewery Guide. The guide includes details like outdoor seating, pet-friendly and menu offerings along with a brief background on each brewery. Seven suggested trails are geared to help visitors plan excursions to various areas of the city. Of course, visitors also can create their own trails for a truly unique Pittsburgh experience.

Not a beer drinker? Pittsburgh has plenty of other craft beverage options, including several local distilleries, cideries, wineries and more.

Learn about Pittsburgh’s unique spirits history at Wigle Whiskey, the first distillery in the City of Pittsburgh since Prohibition. Visitors to the Wigle Distillery Bottle Shop + Kitchen in the Strip District can enjoy dine-in food, cocktails, whiskey flights and tours before purchasing one of the Wigle’s many award-winning bottles to take home.

Also located in the historic Strip District is Kingfly Spirits, a family-owned craft distillery and tasting bar offering a variety of unique spirits inspired by international spirit making, ingredient sources, culture and rituals, as well as Allegheny Distilling, the creators of Maggie’s Farm Rum, the first commercially available, Pennsylvania-made craft rum since Prohibition.

New to the craft beverage scene is Black-owned Noire Expedition. Owner Kenyan Hicks strives to tell the Black American story across generations through locally made spirits – a story that is currently printed on every bottle of Noire Expedition American Gin, a floral and citrus forward gin that is already being stocked in bars across the city and beyond. Black woman-owned TLC Libations is also new to the Pittsburgh craft beverage scene focusing on unique bottled cocktails brewed with locally sourced ingredients. TLC Libations' signature pre-mixed cocktails can be enjoyed by the bottle, keg or by appointment at their OASIS Taproom in East Liberty.

From the Pittsburgh Winery, an urban winery located in Pittsburgh's historic Strip District, to Narcisi Winery, a family-owned winery in the outskirts of Pittsburgh offering views of the rolling hills of the countryside, and more, Pittsburgh has an array of delicious wines made right in the area. Uniquely housed in a 19th century firehouse below the largest collection of Roberto Clemente’s memorabilia, Engine House 25 Wines is an urban wine cellar that helps to fund the Clemente Museum by contributing 21% of wine purchases. Both the museum and the wine cellar were developed by executive director and wine maker Duane Rieder through a passion for making good wine and preserving the memory of his childhood hero, offering a unique experience to blend the best of both worlds with tour and tasting.

Meads, otherwise known as honey wine, and ciders are also popular throughout Pittsburgh. Many area bars and breweries also have at least one cider on tap, but there are also a number of notable businesses that focus specifically on cider. Arsenal Cider House & Wine Cellar, Inc. is located just a few steps from the historic Allegheny Arsenal in Lawrenceville. The family-owned, U.S. Civil War thematic winery specializes in artisanal hard apple cider, cider-style fruit and grape wines and mead, all of which are crafted from regional fruit. Threadbare Cider and Mead also produces high-quality craft ciders and meads on-site made with local apples and honey. With locations in Mt. Lebanon, Washington and Cranberry, Kingview Meadhouse & Winery offers more than 50 varieties, from dry to sweet and simple to complex.

Sake, a Japanese alcoholic beverage made from fermented rice, is becoming increasingly popular in Pittsburgh as well, and the Pittsburgh Sake Company is anticipated to bring Pittsburgh its first sake brewery – and Pennsylvania’s second – to the area soon.

And for those looking for non-alcoholic options, many area breweries, bars and restaurants offer non-alcoholic beers and craft mocktail options, like Two Frays Brewery in Garfield, Bridges & Bourbon Downtown and The Open Road, which stocks many local businesses with their non-alcoholic beverages. Or fuel up on various local coffee, tea or juice options, including de Fer Coffee & Tea, Fuku Tea, Live Fresh Cold Pressed Juice + Smoothie Bar and many more.