PHOTO COURTESY OF TRACE BREWING

Happy Brew Year! Pittsburgh will be awash in beer 2024. Here’s some booze news you can use. But, please do so responsibly. 

RENDERINGS COURTESY OF LAB 8 ARCHITECTS

Allegheny City Brewing

ABC’s 2,400-square-foot taproom is under construction behind their 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. It’s expected to open in mid-2024.

It will have room 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.

Allusion Brewing Co. 

Vandergrift-based Allusion Brewing Co. is about to start a second chapter.

The business, which won Best Local Brewery in our Best of the ‘Burgh reader’s poll in 2022 and 2023, is opening a location in the Duncan Manor section of Allison Park this spring. The North Hills site is being remodeled to look like the Westmoreland County space at 143 Grant Ave. and will offer the same menu and events such as live music, trivia and Old Fashioned Nights. It’s expected to open in early 2024.

Burghers Brewing

Now that Burghers’s long-awaited space at The Highline is finally open on the South Side, co-owners Fiore Moletz and Neil Glausier are focusing on their flagship eatery in Millvale. The’re revamping the former PNC Bank building at 400 Grant Ave. into a 13,000-square-foot restaurant and production facility.

It’s slated to open this summer. In the meantime, you can also visit Burghers in Zelienople and Lawrenceville. 

CoStar Brewing

The nano brewery that started in Highland Park is finally getting a big building across the river in Etna. You’ll soon be able to sip a Hopland Park Pale Ale on-site.

Etna, 325 Butler St.; costarbrewing.com

PHOTO COURTESY OF GREENHOUSE CO-OP

Greenhouse Co-op

If you’re a drinker with a green thumb, head to Greenhouse Co-op, a cidery that sells greenery at 557 Greenfield Ave. in Greenfield. 

In 2022, the Higgins family — married couple William and Tammy, and William’s sister, Darien — left Austin, Texas, on a soul-searching road trip and decided to lay down roots in Pittsburgh.  

The business sprouted up at the end of December in the space once occupied by Copper Kettle Brewing Company. Ross-based Necromancer Brewing Co. is opening its second location next door in the former Hough’s, a longtime craft beer destination. 

How’s that for growth?

Hazel Grove Brewing

The owners of Hazel Grove Brewing hope to get into the groove by April or May. 

The 6,400-square-foot building at 4605 Irvine St. in Hazelwood is undergoing a makeover from warehouse space to a large taproom with a lounge area, a 15-barrel brewing system and a courtyard with firepits.  

Pittsburgh Brewing Co.

If yinz are into pumpin’ “Ahrns,” perhaps its time to try something a bit heavier. 

Pittsburgh Brewing Co. recently opened Iron City Distilling, a 6,500-square-foot distillery that sits behind its 170,000-square-foot suds factory in Creighton. The facility includes a steam-heated rickhouse big enough to store 4,500 barrels. That’s a lot of booze. Master distiller Matt Strickland will make whiskey, bourbon, rum and gin. There are a limited number of bottles available in the on-site gift shop.

The brewery is preparing to host an Irish City bash on the property from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on March 16. The event is for folks 21 and over and will feature food trucks, live music, a cigar bar, yard games and the limited release of a specialty brew. Tickets are available online. At 10:30 a.m., there will be a free, all-ages parade featuring live bands, bagpipers, floats and the Pittsburgh Brewing Co. beer wagon pulled by horses. 

Necromancer Brewing Co. 

Necromancer Brewing Co. dabbles in the strange and unusual with their monster-centric branding and frequent resurrection of historical beer styles such as the Kentucky Common Ale. The Ross-based brewery is conjuring the Midnight Whistler in the former Hough’s Taproom in Greenfield. The name is both a reference to Bigfoot and the Burton Ale they released last year. 

There’s no opening date yet, but the Sasquatch side-hustle will be located next door to the Greenhouse Co-op cidery that sprouted in December. You can bet the British-style pub will have spooky vibes, a cask ale program in the lower lounge, 18 taps, cocktails and mocktails, food, live performances, sports on the big screen and a daytime coffee concept to snap you out of zombie mode.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE SMILING MOOSE

The Smiling Moose

For more than 20 years, The Smiling Moose has been a punk rock fixture on the South Side, dishing out a full menu of delicious eats that leave patrons grinning from ear to ear. 

In 2021, owner Mike “Scarfo” Scarlatelli opened a suburban version on Rowan Road in Cranberry and started making beer on a one-barrel system. 

In November, the Moose made tracks to a Grove City spot that has a 15-barrel brewhouse. There you’ll find a limited menu of chef Scarfo’s favorites including mac-and-cheese, Southwestern-style nachos and pasta salad that I guarantee is better than your grandma’s recipe. Thanks to a deal with Vecenie Distributing Co., cans and bottles of Moose-brand brews are now available throughout Pittsburgh. Now that’s something to smile about!

Tortured Souls Brewing Co.

The wait has been pure torture, but this New Kensington brewery is finally slated to open this month at 715 Craigdell Road. 

Scott and Angela Wyman’s new haunt is located in the former Breakaway Bar and Grill and will feature a 3.5-barrel brewing system, 12 taps, cocktails made from spirits produced in Pennsylvania and a menu of New Orleans eats from chef Mike Barnes, who runs Roux Orleans in Homewood. 

Trace Brewing 

Bloomfield’s Trace Brewing is creating a buzz in Uptown. 

The company plans to unveil Trace Echo, a taproom at 23 Miltenberger St., by March. The satellite site will operate under the same coffee-and-beer service model with the caffeine boost provided Ghost Coffee Collab, Trace’s current cafe partner. 

There will be apartments above the 40-seat taproom and the property will have a three-season beer garden with a food purveyor on site. In addition to coffee and beer, Echo will serve kegged beverages from Pittsburgh Winery, Goodlander Cocktail Brewery, cold brew and other local libations.