We’re just one day away from the start of Three Rivers Beer Week, presented by the Pittsburgh Brewers Guild. It runs from April 10 to 14, and the event schedule includes old favorites and new things to do.
“This year’s event is exciting for many reasons, but what excites me the most is the sense of community that surrounds Three Rivers Beer Week,” says Melissa Larrick, the guild’s executive director, citing “breweries working together to showcase and celebrate each other’s craft, the opportunity to form new partnerships outside of our industry all the while bridging the gap between brewery workers and brewery goers for a kickass, weeklong party.”
Some daily highlights:
Taps and Tapas, hosted by Church Brew Works in Lawrenceville, on April 10, 7 p.m., will include an array of small bites, paired with beers chosen by head brewer Matt Monninger.
Abjuration Brewing in McKees Rocks is bringing back its Ice Cream Mixer on April 11 from 6 to 9 p.m. This year’s ice cream sour flavors, created in collaboration with Cookie Cookie Ice Cream, include Blue Moon, made with blue moon ice cream (not the beer, as lead brewer Dave Hallam is quick to point out); Sesame; and Raspberry Mango Marshmallow.
On Friday, April 12, the schedule gets busier: Beers of the Burgh, the yearly local festival, along with Grist House, Brew Gentlemen and Hitchhiker Brewing, are hosting a beer market to celebrate their mutual 10th anniversary that evening at Bay 41 in Lawrenceville. There’ll be food trucks, vendors and a beer sampling, including a taste of 10-4 Imperial Barrel-Aged Stout, a blend of the three breweries’ best imperial stouts. More details and tickets.
Saturday, April 13, the popular Lawrenceville Brewery Crawl returns from noon to 10 p.m. Five Butler Street taprooms (Burgh’ers, Long Story Short, Coven, Lolev and Hop Farm) and Eleventh Hour (just off Butler) are featured. When you stop at Eleventh Hour, be sure to wish the golden retriever mascot and co-worker Archer a happy birthday.) Over in Blawnox, IPAs from Pittsburgh to Philly take over the taps at Old Thunder Brewing.
Beer Week ends on Sunday, April 14, with the annual Brewers Olympics at Grist House in Millvale. Workers from local breweries, randomly assigned to teams, compete in brewery-centric events like keg rolling.
More Beer Week events are being added daily, so check the website for more information.
In other Brewers Guild news, supporters of Pittsburgh beer can now become Friends of Pittsburgh Beer. It’s a new membership program sponsored by the guild. For a yearly fee of $99, you will receive invitations to exclusive parties, drink tokens to use at guild breweries, discounts on tickets for Beers of the Burgh, set for June 8, and more.
Two Frays resurrects Necromancer brewer
The sudden closure of Necromancer Brewing in February surprised almost everyone, including the staff. Almost a dozen employees lost their jobs, and plans for a second location at the former Hough’s in Greenfield were scrapped. What’s not surprising is that Lauren Hughes, Necromancer’s award-winning head brewer, quickly landed at another local brewery.
Two Frays in Garfield recently announced that Hughes has agreed to head the brew team there. Mike Onofray, who co-owns Two Frays with his wife Jen, says they’re “excited to have Hughes join the Two Frays team and help elevate our beer and brand to the next level.”
“Lauren brings new experiences, perspectives and energy at a time when Two Frays is growing and inventing, which means even more fun, new and tastier beers and collaborations in the near future,” Onofray adds.
Anna-Lena Kempen and Jesse Maggard were also brought on as assistant brewer and wholesale manager, respectively.
Hughes says she’s glad to be back to work – “I love brewing” – and considered several local breweries but decided Two Frays was the best fit.
“I really love their culture. They care about the community,” she says. “I love everything about it.”
Necromancer was resurrecting old beer styles, but Hughes says she’s glad to brew somewhere that offers a little bit of everything. However, grodziskie, roggenbier and other ancient brews may not be gone forever.
“They won’t be a special focus, but they might come up,” Hughes says.
Lagers, West Coast IPAs and British beers are among Hughes’ personal favorites, “mostly because I like to make them.”
The Greenfield resident notes that Two Frays offers an opportunity that Necromancer, on busy Babcock Boulevard, did not: “I may be able to bike to work.”
Altered Genius’ trail mix
Altered Genius Brewing in Ambridge has opened its second location, the Trailside Taproom in Imperial, “literally on the Montour Trail,” says co-owner and brewer Mike Haas. In addition to the beer garden, there’s an indoor area with room for more than 90 people.
There will be 24 taps, more than the Ambridge taproom. Trailside Taproom also will offer pre-made cocktails, soft drinks and sports drinks. Food trucks will be set up a couple of times a week, and packaged wraps and sandwiches from the Ambridge kitchen will be available.
Haas says he’s looking forward to hosting live music, but “the big draw is the trail” and the walkers and cyclists who’ll pass by or stop in. “We had a couple of people who rode down from Sewickley.”
Grist House in Valencia
Steve Scherff, Grist House’s taproom manager, says The Beer Crib, the Millvale-based brewer’s new tap house at Freedom Farms in Valencia, has been doing good business since it opened last month. They’re considering adjusting hours and opening earlier to sync with Freedom Farms’ Farm to Fork Kitchen.