The Ultimate Route 28 Brewery Crawl

Let’s start with the obvious – two things that don’t mix? Beer and state highways.

So, while there’s an amazing collection of local breweries all located anywhere from 100 yards, to 3 miles off of the popular (but polarizing) Route 28 highway in Pittsburgh, we would never suggest drinking and getting behind the wheel of a car.

However, if your little sister is free, or if you have a good friend who is willing to be designated driver, there is an impressive collection of breweries perfectly poised on what we are calling, The Ultimate Route-28 Brewery Crawl.

We’re not sure one human could complete this in a day, but it’s a worthy quest for one or two months.

Your prize? Tasting some of our city’s best beer, meeting new people, warm & fuzzy (emphasis on the fuzzy) memories, and extra time to finish that podcast or audio book when you undoubtedly sit in traffic on 28.

Are you ready? Here is….

The Ultimate Route-28 Pittsburgh Brewery Crawl

Stop One: The Leaning Cask Brewing Company

Springdale, PA

Leaning Cask is located in Springdale, PA, a tiny northeastern suburb 15 miles up 28 from Downtown Pittsburgh.

Leaning Cask is unique to other breweries in Pittsburgh because the space works to emulate a English pub. The theme carries over to their beers, which are created with a fusion of British technique and American flavors. Each beer has a quirky name (ie: Goldendoodle Golden Ale, Scottish Terrier Ale, and Beagle Bitter).

The brewery offers standard taps, nitro, and a casked beer served from a traditional hand pump that was imported from England. Many of their beers are served slightly luke-warm, truly creating the English pub illusion.

The Leaning Cask Brewing Company (850 Pittsburgh Street, Springdale)

Stop Two: Hitchhiker Brewing Company

Sharpsburg, PA

The second (and newest) location for the very popular Hitchhiker Brewing is in Sharpsburg in the former Fort Pitt Brewing building. You can’t miss the space – you’ll first notice it while driving down 28.  It towers over the neighborhood and features a gigantic smokestack.

The inside is big enough to accommodate all of Hitchhiker’s fans, with big tables, a long bar, and a separate brew room.

The brewery opened their first location in Mt. Lebanon in 2014. While the Mt. Lebanon location is known for its IPAs, porters, and wheat beers, head brewer Andy Kwiatkowski told the Pittsburgh Tribune Review that the new Sharpsburg location is going to focus on producing sours, saisons, and IPAs.

Hitchhiker Brewing Company (1500 S Canal Street, Sharpsburg)

Stop Three: Dancing Gnome Beer

Sharpsburg, PA

Just half a mile down the road from Hitchhiker is Dancing Gnome Beer, which opened a year ago and quickly drew a ton of attention to the Sharpsburg neighborhood. Dancing Gnome focuses on hop pronounced styles and works to perfect their creations. The brewery frequently releases canned beer. Pittsburgh beer fans flock to the brewery on can-release days, where the beer often sells out in hours.

Dancing Gnome Beer (925 Main Street, Sharpsburg)

Stop Four: Draai Laag Brewing Company

Millvale, PA

Get back on 28 South and get off at the Millvale exit. As soon as you enter the neighborhood, you’ll spot Draai Laag. The brewery has a great outdoor patio, as well as a spacious indoor taproom.

While many breweries promise “unique” beer, Draai Laag actually delivers. The space focusses on creating complex beers by infusing traditional brewing elements with their own artistic vision. Draai Laag utilizes spontaneous fermentation whenever possible, and integrates local micro flora into their brews. The result? A beer that truly taste like nothing you’ve ever had before. Sometimes sour, sometimes earthy, but always delicious.  The best part? They sell bottles you can take home for later.

Draai Laag Brewing Company (501 E Ohio Street, Millvale)

Stop Five: Grist House Craft Brewery

Millvale, PA

A five-minute walk from Draai Laag is Grist House, a brewery famous for its dog-friendly beer garden. Oh, and they’re also pretty well known for their delicious brews.

Grist House has a passion for producing great, local beer that is only matched by their passion of introducing it to as many people as possible. The giant space features two bars, an indoor taproom, a deck, and a large beer garden. They also have a consistent line up of some of the best food trucks in the city.

Grist House Craft Brewery (10 E Sherman Street, Millvale)

Stop Six: Allegheny City Brewing

Northside

Get back on 28 and get off at the Northside. You’re now in the home stretch. Allegheny City Brewing is a gem hidden in Deutschtown.  The cozy space has tons of board games, a rotating selection of food trucks, and extremely friendly staff and regulars. Their draft list is constantly changing, but always tasty. If it’s on the menu, don’t miss their sour beer. Either way, you can’t go wrong with anything on draft.

Allegheny City Brewing  (507 Foreland Street)

Stop Seven: Bier’s Pub

Northside

Last but not least is Bier’s Pub, the new home for War Streets Brewery. After years of trying to find a permanent home in the Northside, War Streets Brewery recently took over Benjamin’s – a popular burger and brunch bar on Western Ave.  Fans of Benjamin’s don’t need to fret. War Streets still plans on serving their delicious burger and brunch menus.  Only now, you can pair them with a freshly brewed beer.

According the The Incline, Jake Bier (hint: the name), owner and brewer at War Streets, is excited to finally have a home for War Streets, and be able to consistently serve beer to their loyal fans. At the time of print, War Streets had just received their new equipment, and were planning starting to brew soon.

Bier’s Pub (900 Western Avenue)

The crazy part? For the sake of your liver, we left several awesome breweries off this list. If you’re truly looking to take this road trip to the next level, consider adding:

• Couch Brewery -(1351 Washington Blvd.)
• Hop Farm Brewing Company (5601 Butler Street)
• Roundabout Brewery (4901 Butler Street)
• Full Pint Wild Side Pub (5310 Butler Street)
• Eleventh Hour Brewing Co. (3711 Charlotte Street)
• Penn Brewery (800 Vinial Street)
• Southern Tier Brewing Co. (316 N Shore Drive)

And even with that, we probably still missed some – leave it in the comments below!

Remember – please drink responsibly, and don’t even think about taking this on without a solid, safe and sober driving plan.