By all accounts, Yetter’s Candy in Millvale is an old-fashioned place. Vintage signs. Handspun shakes. Frosted glasses. Leather barstools behind a long counter. Homemade candies individually tied with a ribbon.
But if you saw Yetter’s at Grist House Brewery this summer, you might have noticed them serving something that’s completely… radical.
“It started on a whim,” says Jeff Carr, whose grandfather founded Yetter’s in 1950. He is the third generation to operate the Millvale shop.
“I was looking to do something different, and I had an idea to mix their dark beer with a milkshake.”
At the time, Carr had recently moved back to Pittsburgh from California, where he had been working as a bartender. After spending some time at Grist House, which had just opened in the neighborhood, he had a hunch that a beer milkshake might just be crazy enough to work.
He started to experiment.
“I was pleased,” Carr says of the first time he tried the shake.
Since then, these elusive shakes have developed a slow, but steady following. Yetter’s hosts popups at Grist House, and has sold their the shakes at neighborhood events like the Millvale Music Fest.
On first inspection, a beer-shake might not be for everyone (“There is still a mental roadblock for some,” says Carr), but we’re here to say: it works.
They currently offer two flavors: a Porter or Brown Ale with Chocolate, and a Sour Beer with Vanilla, using what whatever is currently on tap at Grist House.
I’ve tried both, and it’s interesting, because it immediately hits you that it’s a milkshake… but then finishes tasting like a beer. I was surprised when I found myself reaching for the shake again, and again (and again!)
In particular, the Sour Beer Milkshakes have been a surprising hit, both with customers, and the creator.
“I’ve gotten partial to the sour, and it’s funny because I can’t stand sour beers,” laughs Carr.
Yetter’s is known for their famous confections like chocolate pretzels, covered cherries, and nut clusters, which are all made in house using the same recipes since 1950. But we can see a day, not too far off, when they might be known for their boozy milkshakes, too.
Yetters is done scooping at Grist House for the summer, but they will be at the “OK Tea Beer Fest” event at Tupelo Honey Teas on October 5, “whipping up their Millvale Famous Beer Milkshakes.”
Updates on where to track down the beer milkshakes can be found online.
Yetter’s Candy (504 Grant Ave)
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