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East End Brewing – February 2020

East End Brewing Company

East End Brewing Company is currently celebrating their 15th anniversary, reinforcing both the brewery and founder/owner Scott Smith as icons in the Pittsburgh craft beer scene still today.

With demand constantly growing and the guys at East End Brewing at near full capacity, it’s a good time to have a good beer from East End Brewing and like Scott suggests, you should probably get one of those good beers for a good friend, too.

The first beers to roll off the line for East End date back to December of 2004 in their original location in Homewood, AKA Pittsburgh’s East End. If you were lucky enough to visit the brewery then, you’ll remember the green keg that say outside the brewery door to let you know they were open for business, which at that time was solely filling East End Brewing Co. glass growlers, which let you take home ½ gallon of fresh craft beer.

As laws changed and overall loosened for brewpubs, East End was able to start selling pints as well as growlers and bottles. With the craft beer movement in full swing, things were a little tight at their East End location, not only in the “taproom” but in the brewery itself. Production was churning out amazing beer as quickly as they could, and still just met demand for kegs, growlers, and bottles.

In 2012 Scott and East End Brewing made the move from their Homewood location to their current spot in the Larimer neighborhood of Pittsburgh. Completed in November of 2012, the new location doubled EEBC’s capacity and gave them the chance to have a real respectable brewpub as well as enough space for a number of different events.

Today, East End Brewing Company continues to lead the pack with beer quality, consistency, and overall experience. Scott is one of the nicest, kindest, and most dedicated brewers/owners in craft beer today not only in Pittsburgh, but anywhere. From his personal life to his brewery life, Scott Smith and East End Brewing Company is about as stand-up as you can get.
You Are Here Neighborhood Beers
Cementing their love for Pittsburgh and for making exceptional beer, EEBC recently launched their Neighborhood Beer project, aptly named You Are Here. The project looks to highlight each of the distinct, diverse neighborhoods in Pittsburgh, all 90 of them. That number is up for somewhat of a debate, but thanks to the City of Pittsburgh offering their input, Scott and EEBC settled on 90. You can see the full list at eastendbrewing.com/you-are-here-beers.

At time of publication EEBC has 18 beers either released or ready to be released. Those are:
• Allentown – Imperial Shandy, June 1, 2019
• Overbrook – Pale Ale, June 21, 2019
• Central North Side – Czech Style Pilsner, July 25, 2019
• Troy Hill – Sour Cherry Gose, August 9, 2019
• East Liberty – Cream Ale, August 13, 2019
• Crafton Heights – NE Style IPA, Sep 7, 2019
• North Shore – Vanilla Cream Latte Ale, Sep 18, 2019
• Polish Hill – Oktoberfest Lager, October 11, 2019
• South Oakland – Tulsi Pale Ale, October 12, 2019
• Fairywood – Coconut Stout, Nov 8, 2019
• Garfield – Hazy IPA, Nov 14, 2019
• Northview Heights – Barrel Aged Stock Ale, Nov 19, 2019
• Saint Clair – Chamomile Saison, Dec 7, 2019
• West End – Keller Pils, Dec 11, 2019
• Larimer – Local American Ale, Dec 20, 2019
• Mount Washington – Bock Beer, Dec 21, 2019
• Knoxville – Hazy Pale Ale, Jan 16, 2020
• Friendship – Mexican Lager, Feb 7, 2020

East End is planning on releasing a unique beer for each of the 90 neighborhoods in EEBC’s signature cans, so be on the lookout at the brewery and at pop-up style can releases around town in these special neighborhoods so you can try the beer tied to your favorite neighborhood, or as Pittsburghers love the neighborhoods themselves, show them all a little love.
Year-Round Beers
Even though there’s an influx of new beers with the Neighborhood Beer Project, East End is still doing what they’re known best for, and that’s brewing their core lineup of beers. Personally speaking, these beers are the primary reason I got into craft beer and I still love them today.

Each of these beers (except for Little Hop) are available in 12oz cans, making them not only great beers but better for the environment and your fridge, too.

Big Hop American Ale
Easily the most recognizable beer sold by East End Brewing, Big Hop is a 5.8% ABV American Ale that drinks a lot like an IPA thanks to the Centennial and Cascade hops used. To keep things balanced and not too bitter, Big Hop has a solid Munich Malt backbone that grants a malty breadiness to the beer while keeping the hops flavor and aroma front and center.

Big Hop is available in growlers, crowlers, kegs/draft, and 12oz cans.

Little Hop IPA
As you may have guessed, this is a slightly smaller version of EEBC’s flagship beer. Little Hop is lighter on the hops and ABV at 4.4%, but the flavor and aroma from this beer is something to be reckoned with. Unlike Big Hop, the hop varieties used for dry hopping this beer change with each batch, so this is one beer you definitely need to try more than once.

Little Hop is available in growlers, crowlers, and kegs/draft.

Monkey Boy Hefeweizen
Changing things up from the first two year-round beers, Monkey Boy is a German-style Hefeweizen that tastes like summer regardless of the time of year. This 6.2% ABV beer features a distinct banana ester profile and a clean, crisp finish. Even though there are no bananas or other additives in this beer, the flavor and aroma will put a smile on your face and have you coming back for more.

Monkey Boy is available in growlers, crowlers, kegs/draft, and 12oz cans.

Fat Gary Nut Brown Ale
Originally brewed as a part of EEBC’s Session Ale series, Fat Gary is a 3.7% ABV brown ale that despite its color is light in body and easy on the tongue. Dark malt character shows through in this beer with a light sweetness and overall crushability. If you have friends that aren’t sure about craft beer, this is the one they need to try today.

Fat Gary is available in growlers, crowlers, kegs/draft, and 12oz cans.

From their success in 15 years of brewing to the attitude Scott and everyone else at East End Brewing Company show their communities and customers every day, we wish everyone at East End Brewing Co. cheers to another 15 years.