PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

Allusion Brewing Co. is starting a new chapter in the North Hills.

On April 12, the business opened a second location in McCandless that’s three times the size of the original spot in Vandergrift, about 40 miles outside of Pittsburgh.

Beer-lovin’ bookworms will enjoy Allusion’s decor; the tap handles are stacked with tiny tomes, flight trays are stored in an old library card catalog and shelves are lined with great literary works. The bar top is worth reading, too. It’s covered with pages from books that are alluded to in the beer names. All of this bookish branding helped them win big at the 2024 Craft Beer Marketing Awards.

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

As You Wish, for instance, is a black IPA as well as a line from William Goldman’s novel “The Princess Bride.” I’m a big fan of the liquid, print and film versions.

Allusion’s Vandergrift spot at 143 Grant Ave. has a small menu, but the McCandless taproom will rely on food trucks to feed customers until kitchen renovations are completed. The spacious digs at 1701 Duncan Ave. in the Duncan Manor Plaza once housed Blue North restaurant. (Blue North owner Grainne Trainor runs G’s on Liberty in Bloomfield.)

In addition to ample bar seating, there are tables, high tops and six lounge areas with comfy couches. Allusion will work with local artists to display artwork at each section and will soon host live musical performances.

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

Since launching their labor of love in October 2020, Ross residents Robert and Monica Buchanan and their business partners John and Lorissa Bieranoski (who live outside of Vandergrift), have racked up a lot of industry awards. The business also won Best Local Brewery in our Best of the ‘Burgh reader’s poll in 2022 and 2023. They’re in the running again this year.

Many of the customers who packed the new space over the weekend were Vandergrift residents who wanted to show their support.

Chris Miller, who visits the Grant Avenue location once a week, came bearing a handcrafted gift: a wooden American flag with the Allusion logo etched on the bottom.

“Everyone is very friendly here, and they make great beers,” he says.

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

Although the brewing equipment is located in Westmoreland County, Head Brewer John Bieranoski says he’ll set up a small-batch system so Allusion can join the Pittsburgh Brewers Guild. He’s a graduate of the Siebel Institute of Technology, Chicago’s famed school for budding brewers, and uses a lot of historical recipes to recreate beers from the past. Infinite Improbability ESB, which launched the same day as the new taproom, is a traditional English Special Bitter.

The name is taken from “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.” The beer is out of this world.

Allegheny City Brewing

This spring, Allegheny City Brewing will debut a 2,400-square-foot taproom behind the current space at 507 Foreland St. in Deutschtown. The two-story structure is going up on the lot between The Farmer’s Daughter Flowers and Fig & Ash on East Ohio Street.

The place has already gone to the dogs.

Since its inception in 2016, the brewery has invited patrons to hang photos of their pets on a wall of the Foreland Street building. On April 14, they held a Dog Wall Migration event so folks could move the pictures to the new site. Even a few cats are represented.

Once it’s completed, the taproom will have seating for 94 patrons inside the main bar area and second-floor mezzanine. The building will be set back from the street, leaving room for an L-shaped patio with picnic tables and fire pits. A wraparound deck on the second story will offer views of Downtown and the dog-friendly beer garden.