The region gets another brewery as Koehler Brewing Co. opens its second one Thursday in Ellwood City.
The iconic Erie brand — it operated from 1847 to 1978 — was resurrected complete with its labels in 2017 by Bruce Koehler of Cranberry when he opened a brewery and tap room in Grove City.
Mr. Koehler used to live near the original brewery but has no idea if his name is related. “It’s just something I grew up with, and I had an emotional attachment to it,” he told the Post-Gazette at the time. “I’m trying to bring it back the best I can.”
It’s been such a success that he’s opened a second, 15-barrel brewhouse at this new location —130 Wampum Ave., a former supermarket and flea market in this mostly Lawrence County town. It, too, has a taproom and bar and food trucks for people who want to drink their beer there.
The website is http://koehlerbrewingcompany.com.
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BrewDog, the punky Scotland-based brewery that is opening taprooms all over the world, is going to open one in East Liberty by this fall. BrewDog USA’s DogTap will serve its brews and food at 6144 Centre Ave.
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Hardwaters Brewing, one of two breweries aiming to open soon in Cambridge Springs, Crawford County, will at least be delayed after its building was gutted by a fire Sunday night.
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The Project Coffee Hopz India pale ale made with Sheetz Sumatra by Rusty Rail Brewing Co. that we wrote about last week? The public can try it — and vie for pint glasses, koozies and other swag — from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday at the Sheetz store at 4599 Library Road in Bethel Park. The beer will be available for sale at 55 Sheetz stores starting on May 21 until it sells out. It’ll be priced at $7.99 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans. Sheetz warns that would-be tasters should get there early and expect lines, which won’t bother the company one bit.
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Meanwhile, this year’s East End Brewing/Black Brew Culture release for Fresh Fest, the black beer festival, hits Friday with its own hoopla during a Silent Disco at the Ace Hotel in East Liberty. The brew, For the Culture 2.0, is a brut India pale ale. Info and tickets: https://freshfestbeerfest.com/ftc-silent-disco.
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Cool beer and bikes event Saturday, but you have to register by Friday: “Ale on the Trail” offers three rides — of 12, 25 or 47 miles — on the Armstrong Trail starting in Kittanning. Riders pay $35 and a long-sleeve performance shirt and bike frame bag, with proceeds helping to fix the Iron Bridge over Crooked Creek. Everybody’s welcome at the after-party offering craft beer, food trucks and music. Register online at www.bikereg.com/acmh. (Sponsors are the ACMH — Armstrong Center for Medicine & Health — Foundation and the Richard G. Snyder YMCA Campus.) ACMH Hospital Marketing Supervisor Tim Lehner says ACMH “is keenly aware of the importance of the Armstrong Trail, and wants to support and ensure the future of this vital link on the trail.” Plus, biking is healthy, right?
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Also Saturday — with Breakfast Buffet imperial coffee stout, How Many Planets? double IPA and Whole Punch: Hawaiian Punch — Hitchhiker Brewing celebrates turning 5.
Explore area breweries on the Post-Gazette’s interactive map at https://newsinteractive.post-gazette.com/drink-map.
Bob Batz Jr.: bbatz@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1930 and on Twitter @bobbatzjr.
First Published: May 16, 2019, 11:47 a.m.
