Hop to these places for more hops
Share with others:
Western Pennsylvania is blessed with several other beer-making destinations, each a drive north of Pittsburgh. Hitting all or several of them would make for a fine road trip.
BEER IN A COFFIN COMPANY
Caskets are one of the things once sold in this 200-year-old building, which has been gorgeously restored into one of the comfiest and prettiest brewpubs around: the North Country Brewing Co. The local hardwood and stone decor exudes a rustic "up North" vibe, echoed in brews such as Buck Snort Stout. Now five years old, the place is making some exciting expansion plans.
141 S. Main St., Slippery Rock; 724-794-BEER; northcountrybrewing.com.
BEER IN A BANK
A bank long ago occupied this stately 1870 brick block (where John D. Rockefeller once had an office). It eventually became Four Sons Brewery and now is inhabited by Blue Canoe Brewery, which is a perfect spot to eat and drink after a day on Oil Creek or the adjacent bike trail. It's hosting several local brewers at the Drake's Folly Beer Festival on Aug. 14, with two tasting sessions -- 1 to 4 and 5 to 8 p.m. ($25).
Blue Canoe also serves the brews of Voodoo Brewing Co. in Meadville, which is not (yet) a brewpub but which distributes its beer across the commonwealth.
113 S. Franklin St., Titusville; 1-814-827-7181; thebluecanoebrewery.com.
BEER IN A BARN
Brian and Minnie Sprague started their Sprague Farm & Brew Works in a former dairy barn, in the loft of which last summer they opened Bierhalla, a place where visitors can sit and clink glasses of their brews. It's open 3 to 9 p.m. Thursdays and noon to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; Julie's Bierhalla Kitchen is open until 8 p.m. on those days. Take home a growler of one of the seasonals, such as Blissberry 27, a wheat ale made with black raspberries.
22113 U.S. Routes 6 and 19, Venango (north of Meadville); 1-814-398-2885; sleepingchainsaw.com.
BEER IN A TRAIN STATION
Too bad you still can't take a passenger train to Erie's grand Union Station, where the Brewerie brews and serves its beer, indoors or outdoors in its track-side beer garden. It also serves the bottled brews of other Pennsylvania breweries, including the nearby Erie Brewing Co., which itself opens for Friday tours. Its gift shop, which does tastings and sells beer to take away, is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. (Amtrak does still stop at the 1927 former New York Central station but only on the east-west Lake Shore Limited route.)
First Published August 5, 2010 12:00 am
