Beer in the Pittsburgh area - pubs and bottles

[jfkriege]

I am going to be in Pittsburgh for about 5 days in the next month. I would love to hear of any good pubs or restaurants in the area to get a couple nice beers.

In addition, I am coming from Indiana, and would love to know if there are any bottles / bottle shops I should be looking for from breweries we cant get here (especially sour beers).

Joshua

 

[Seven]

Church Brew Works: Website
Beer Nutz: Map
Penn Brewery: Website
North Country Brewery in Slippery Rock: Website

 

[gak27]

Fat Head's: http://fatheadspittsburgh.com/
Barley's and Hop's: http://www.barleysandhops.com/

Not sure where you'll be staying; the second place is about 1/2 hour south of the city...

 

[faithinchaos]

definitely fatheads on the south side. if you're lucky they will have some headhunter in bottles.

can't recommend the church brew works, beer is bad.

 

[jfkriege]

I will be staying quite close to University of Pittsburgh.

 

[millsware]

Check out East End Brewery. http://www.eastendbrewing.com/

No bottles, but you can sample and pick up a growler.

Also, Point Brugge http://www.pointbrugge.com/ has great food and a good selection of beer, especially Belgians.

Both are near Oakland and really close to each other.

 

[SimonSays]

Hough's in Greenfield is by far my favorite bar within the city limits. They've got 60-odd beers on taps and a few hundred bottles, all for pretty good prices. They've also got great food and free darts/shuffleboard. You could probably walk there in 20 minutes from Oakland.

Piper's pub in the south side is a great place as well, both for whiskey and beer, and one of the few places around here where you can get beer on cask.

If you're coming from Indiana via the turnpike, you may want to swing by Vintage Estate Wine and Beer in Boardman, OH, just off the turnpike. Great bottle selection, and a cool little attached bar as well, I usual hit it up whenever I'm driving back to Michigan.

Also, you should probably check out the Hofbrauhaus down in the SouthSideWorks, always a good time.

 

[bad coffee]

The sharp edge, if you want to get out of the city. It's up in Crafton.

http://www.sharpedgebeer.com/

 

[biochemedic]

can't recommend the church brew works, beer is bad

Aagh...church brew is awesome! If nothing else, a brewpub built in a old church is an amazing re-purposing of space...their copper-accented brewery up where the dais/alter was previously is beautiful! Admittedly, their stock brews aren't anything to write home about (certainly not "bad"), but their seasonals are generally incredible, and they always have some sort of different stout on tap...I've had a number of incredible stouts there. Check out their current specialty brew list....

The food there is also top notch...you could go there every night for a week and have something different and great. The cinco fromagio pizza with pine nuts is incredible...

I agree with many of the other suggestions, and can concur with Fat Heads in the Southside (multiple taps with great brews, and really good bar/grill type food)...they have a bottle shop on the top level, so you can find some of the locally available brews as individual bottles (although it's slowly changing, in PA you generally can only buy beer by the case)

Both Fat Heads and Church Brew are within easy shooting distance of UPitt...

As far as regional stuff that might not be available where you are, I'd think about looking for Troeg's stuff (although I don't think they specifically have any sour brews...)

 

[Atvar]

http://www.ds6pax.com/

Ate here not long ago, it was pretty good. They advertise having over 1000 varieties of beer available, a ton which are in the bottleshop in back.

Southern Tier is another brewery that you might have an easier time finding in Pittsburgh vs. Indiana.

 

[Yukmay]

Hough's in greenfield. Enormous selection.

The Sharpe Edge is the belgian go-to spot. They have something like 20+ belgians on tap. 4:30 to 6:30 all are half off. Located in shadyside/east liberty.

 

[matt_mcdermit]

I second D's Dog and Six Pack shop in Regent Square. The beer cave in the back is amazing and you can mix and match your six packs. Not to mention some of the best food in the city. Also Bites and Brews in Shadyside has a cool deli style menu with a decent amount of beers on tap. Shadyside is just down fifth ave. from Oakland, within walking distance.

 

[Jota21]

If you're staying in Oakland (u. of Pgh), then you can walk to a place called Mad Mex. There are a few of them around, and it's been a while since i've been to the one in Oakland, but they always have a good draft selection and tasty (americanized) Mexican food.

If you're going to drive but want to stay close to oakland, then def. check out Houghs, Fat Heads, and East End Brewing.

Are you looking for a quiet place to enjoy a craft beer, or are you more into the night life of a more crowded bar with a lot of commotion?

 

[faithinchaos]

Dz is good, but expensive, for both dogs and bottles.

point brugge is a great place to eat and has great beers (though not 1000 different kinds).

they just opened a second restaurant in highland park on bryant street, park bruges, which is equally good.

the church brew works is good if you want to see a brewery in a church. the food is ok, but the beer isn't good.

 

[mlg5039]

Another vote for Fat Heads in the southside.

Highly recommend spending several hours there.

 

[Tombstone0]

If you're going to be anywhere near Robinson Center (near the Airport) check out Bocktown. They have 16 taps of craft beer and a few hundred bottled beers in cases like in a liquor store on one of the walls.