In Greenfield, BYOB: brew your own beer
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Matt Hough in the new brew-your-own beer space at the Copper Kettle Brewing Co. next to Hough's in Greenfield. -
Matt Hough in the new brew your own brewing room at the Copper Kettle Brewing Co. in Greenfield. -
Matt Hough in the new tap room at the Copper Kettle Brewing Co. in Greenfield. -
Pittsburgh Brewniversity.
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A local brewery just opened that's different from most, in that it invites you to come in and brew and bottle or keg your own beer.
The Copper Kettle Brewing Co. opened -- softly -- Wednesday on Greenfield Avenue in Greenfield, adjacent to Hough's, whose owners announced last spring that they were going to open Pittsburgh's first "brew-on-premises" business.
They believe it's the only one in the state, says Matt Hough, president of the new operation, which he's running with his brother, Greg, in a space that was Greenfield Hardware. They and their family also run Hough's, which they've been transforming from the former Pickles into a clean and well-lighted craft beer destination.
As Matt Hough puts it, "We're trying to make it THE place for beer."
Complementing Copper Kettle Brewing's handsome new facade are big new windows looking into Hough's big main bar, where you can buy 200-plus types of bottled brews and eight drafts. Earlier this year, the family opened a gleaming lower-level bar with 53 additional craft taps. That part of Hough's opens into the adjacent brewing space, and brewers will be welcome to go back and forth between the two.
The brothers already have test-brewed several dozen batches on the brewing system, and have been serving several of their Copper Kettle brews in Hough's to give patrons a taste of what they themselves can do.
The brothers say their brewery license will allow them to continue to sell beers they make at Copper Kettle at Hough's.
But the premise of a brew-on-the-premises is for members of the public to be able to use the Copper Kettle's kettles, and its recipes, and all the provided ingredients needed to make them, to brew their own beer to drink at home.
It works like this:
Customers make a reservation to brew. Up to five people can brew together on one of six 50-liter copper-jacketed stainless steel kettles, which are heated by steam from a boiler in the basement. (The kettle system originated in Canada, where brew-on-premises are popular because taxes on beer are high. The brothers bought the system from a man in Columbus, Ohio, a state that has several brew-on-premises places.) The kettles are mounted along one wall, surrounded by slate-look porcelain tile and black-and-white photos of Pittsburgh, some of the nice touches in the airy, tin-ceilinged space.
First Published January 5, 2012 12:00 am
