A weekend auction at the old Iron City Brewing plant in Lawrenceville gave beer buffs and beer makers a chance to bid farewell to the 140-year-old city landmark and to bid online or in person for pieces of its history.

The two-day event, organized by St. Louis-based Schneider Industries, kicked off Friday morning with around 450 industrial items up for bid, followed yesterday by a mishmash of memorabilia ranging from old beer taps to collectible posters and beer cans.

A predominantly male crowd attended the industrial portion of the auction, with many bidders coming on behalf of other breweries or manufacturing companies to seek out deals on keg equipment, motors and spare parts.

Others who saw the auction as the end of an era came to say goodbye or to carry away their own tangible remembrance. Iron City shuttered the Lawrenceville plant in July and is now brewing at the old Rolling Rock plant in Latrobe.

"I'm partly here for nostalgia purposes," said Steve Panos, 28, of Squirrel Hill, who works as head brewer at Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery in Homestead. "We wanted to poke our heads around one last time before it's completely gutted."

Another local brewer saw the auction and plant closing as a lesson in business management.

"It's hard to see it go," said Scott Smith, 43, of Mt. Lebanon, who owns the East End Brewing Co. "But you definitely have to scale your production to meet your demand."

While attendance on Friday was moderate, Dan Rosenthal, Schneider Industries chief operating officer, said around 70 bidders representing breweries around the world participated online. Nearly 320 mementos, aimed at a more colorful crowd, also were set aside and went on the auction block yesterday.

Iron City applied for a permit last week to demolish five four-story buildings on the Lawrenceville site. Tim Hickman, Iron City president, said he hopes the items sold will help keep people's memories of the brewery alive.

"We're "trying to give a piece of history back to the community," he said.

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