Penn Brewing Saga Finally Resolved

Penn Brewing's beer may now be produced in the eastern part of the state, but fans of its restaurant will be happy and relieved to know that the North Side eatery will continue operating.

Founded in 1986 by Tom Pastorius, Penn Brewing offered Pittsburgh its first taste of locally-made microbrew, made by an authentic German Brewmaster and distributed from its brewery on Vinial Street right on the North Side. Besides the brewery, the facility included the aforementioned Hofbrau restaurant that paired its many beer offerings with authentic German cuisine. The building housing the restaurant/brewery is a historic landmark built in the early 1900's (in what was then Deutchstown). The beer garden outdoor courtyard is paved with cobblestones constructed in the same period.

Both the beer and restaurant quickly became successful, winning many prestigious awards for its beer, most recently two medals at the Great American Beer Festival: a gold for its Kaiser Pilsner and a bronze for the more robust Oktoberfest.

Penn Brewing's successful enterprise spawned similar local microbrew/restaurants in the 1990's: Lawrenceville's Church Brew Works and the Strip's Valhalla and Foundry Ale Works. While Church Brew remains open, Valhalla and Foundry Ale Works have both shuttered: Valhalla is now the upscale wine bar/restaurant Eleven and Foundry Ale's site has morphed into offices for a local nonprofit.

Penn Brewing CEO Len Caric (Pastorius, retired in 2003, remains a financial stakeholder) revealed in an article in the Post-Gazette that plans had already been made to relocate main production to Lion Brewery in Wilkes-Barre. The switch became necessary when the North Side facility couldn't keep up with increasing demand. When production switched over to Lion in early 2009, the North Side site planned to focus its attention on developing additional varieties of beer, while continuing to operate the restaurant.

However, it seemed this plan was not to be, as Penn Brewing received some bad news in late 2008 from its landlord, E&O Partners. According to Caric, E&O increased the rent by 360%, increasing the cost per square foot as well as adding to the lease square footage (such as the outdoor beer garden and loading dock facilities) that had never been included in the square footage calculation.

However, thanks to efforts of many, including David Malone of E&O, Penn Brewing's Caric, and Northside Leadership Conference's Executive Director Mark Fatla, a new, five-year lease (with an option for a five-year extension) was recently inked. While the restaurant closed briefly, it re-opened March 3. And although most of the brewery equipment had been sold in anticipation of the closing, Caric stated in a March 1 news conference that he intends to rebuild the brewery and return to making beer onsite.

What you won't read in the press is how generous Penn Brewing has been to local charities. For PSVN's fundraisers as well as countless other charity fundraisers, Penn Brewing generously donated kegs of beer, which were always cheerfully delivered and set up by one of the Penn Brewing salespeople. Penn Brewing proved that with the right plan and a high-quality product, start-up companies can succed, and indeed thrive.

While I don't drink much Penn Pilner these days, it really would have been a shame to see Penn Brewing's operation completely come on the North Side. I'm glad that both sides were able to reach an agreement and that the I raise my glass to more beer and schnitzel over at Vinial Street. Salut!