Top local spots
The places I land at most often when I want a drink:
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Buffalo Wild Wings— West Mifflin, PA
judgment-free zone, tap list deeper than the menu. drank here before the fire and again after it reopened.
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Mulligan's Sports Bar & Grill— West Mifflin, PA
the kind of spot that has every Pittsburgh game on every TV.
Southern tier old man winter, yumm .
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Primanti Bros. Restaurant and Bar— Pittsburgh, PA
fries-on-the-sandwich Pittsburgh institution since 1933. the beer list keeps up.
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Burgh's Pizza & Wing Pub— Bridgeville, PA
South Hills standby — 24 drafts, 100+ bottles.
Good Hot and Spicy pizza
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Tavern In The Hills— Pleasant Hills, PA
neighborhood restaurant + tavern in Pleasant Hills — comfort food with a Polish lean.
Hand grenades for dinner
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Yoli's Cucina & Crafthouse— Jefferson Hills, PA
Jefferson Hills Italian — started as a pizza shop honoring grandma Yolanda, grew into a full crafthouse with a real beer menu.
Yoli’s , good food tonight
Top of the list
Beers I rated 4.5 or higher. The five-star ones get the bigger box — those are the ones I'd order tomorrow.
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5
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5
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5
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5
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4.75
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4.75
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4.5
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4.5
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4.5
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4.5
Style spread
What I actually drink, sorted by how often it appears in the log:
Breweries on rotation
Tally of where the beers in the log came from. If you see one of these on a tap list, I've probably already ordered it:
Mindful Brewing CompanySouthern Tier Brewing CompanyNew Belgium Brewing CompanyBJ's Restaurant & BrewhouseTröegs Independent BrewingDogfish Head Craft BreweryPizza Boy Brewing Co.Spoonwood Brewing Co.Evil Genius Beer CompanyVictory Brewing CompanyFat Head's BreweryLagunitas Brewing Company
The rest of the PA rotation
Other places in the area I've drunk at:
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Chimera Brewing— Pittsburgh, PA
the old Mindful Brewing space, reopened under new ownership in 2024 with a Greek-myth flip.
top pour here: Bobby Bochet
— Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy
· 4.5/5
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Bacon, Bourbon & Beer— Washington, PA
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Crafthouse Stage & Grill— Pittsburgh, PA
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Gianna Via's Restaurant & Bar— Pittsburgh, PA
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BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse— Upper Saint Clair, PA
top pour here: Piranha® Pale Ale
— Pale Ale - American
· 4.25/5
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Texas Roadhouse— Pittsburgh, PA
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The Yard Galleria— Pittsburgh, PA
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Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery— Homestead, PA
Homestead waterfront chain-brewery with the river view.
top pour here: Uppity Jag-Off IPA
— IPA - American
· 4.75/5
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Someone Else's Bar— Castle Shannon, PA
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Armstrong's— Pittsburgh, PA
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Atria's Restaurant & Tavern— Pittsburgh, PA
(Pleasant Hills location closed; chain still operates elsewhere.)
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City Works Eatery & Pour House— Pittsburgh, PA
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LongHorn Steakhouse— West Homestead, PA
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Old Mexico— Pittsburgh, PA
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Old Mexico Restaurant— West Mifflin, PA
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Pittsburgh Grille— Pittsburgh, PA
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Red Lobster— Pittsburgh, PA
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Spoonwood Brewing Co.— Pittsburgh, PA
Bethel Park — small, hop-forward, very Pittsburgh.
top pour here: Wishing Machine
— IPA - Imperial / Double
· 4.5/5
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Steel Cactus— Bethel Park, PA
(Bethel Park location appears closed; chain still operates other PGH spots.)
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The Church Brew Works— Pittsburgh, PA
brewery in a deconsecrated 1902 church. the altar is mash tuns. iconic.
top pour here: ThunderHop IPA
— IPA - American
· 4/5
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Walnut Grill— Pittsburgh, PA
(Bethel Park / Cool Springs location closed; chain still has other PGH spots.)
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Penn Brewery— Pittsburgh, PA
North Side German brewery, lager-forward, oldest craft brewery in Pittsburgh.
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The Tap Room @ The William Penn— Pittsburgh, PA
downtown hotel bar in the Omni William Penn.
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The Tap Room— Pittsburgh, PA
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Forbes Tavern— Pittsburgh, PA
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Mullen's Bar & Grill— Pittsburgh, PA
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The Getaway Bar and Grill— Pittsburgh, PA
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The West Sports Bar— Pittsburgh, PA
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Gordon Biersch Brewing Co.— Pittsburgh, PA
(closed — was a downtown German-style brewpub.)
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Damon's Sports Bar & Grill— Pittsburgh, PA
(chain mostly defunct.)
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Proper Brick Oven & Tap Room— Pittsburgh, PA
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Hofbräuhaus Pittsburgh— Pittsburgh, PA
South Side Bavarian beer hall — copy of the Munich original, in-house lager and weisse on tap.
On the road
Beers I've had that didn't come out of a Pittsburgh tap. Grouped by where the trip went:
Virginia Beach trips
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Calypso Bar & Grill— Virginia Beach, VA2 check-ins · 07/25/23
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11th Street Taphouse Bar & Grill— Virginia Beach, VA · 07/21/22
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Lager Heads— Virginia Beach, VA · 07/22/21
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Murphy's Irish Pub— Virginia Beach, VA · 07/17/21
West Virginia
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Quaker Steak & Lube— Charleston, WV5 check-ins · 10/28/23
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Char House on the Boulevard— Wheeling, WV · 04/30/22
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Uncle Pete's— Wheeling, WV2 check-ins · 10/02/21
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Quaker Steak & Lube®— Triadelphia, WV · 10/01/21
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FireSide Grille— Hurricane, WV2 check-ins · 06/29/19
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Mountain State Brewing Co.— WV
South Carolina (Myrtle Beach)
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Thorny's - Food • Sports • Fun— Myrtle Beach, SC · 07/29/18
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Key West Grill— Myrtle Beach, SC · 08/01/17
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Liberty Tap Room & Grill— Myrtle Beach, SC2 check-ins
Tennessee (Pigeon Forge)
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Smoky Mountain Brewery— Pigeon Forge, TN2 check-ins · 07/24/19
Ohio
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The Galley— Marietta, OH · 04/28/23
New York
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Peek'n Peak Resort and Spa— Clymer, NY · 05/05/17
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Dorrian's Red Hand— New York, NY
Upper East Side bar — the name lives in the beer list too via Dorian's Red Ale.
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The Craft Kitchen and Bar— Williamsville, NY
Buffalo-area gastropub. Local Big Ditch on tap.
Massachusetts
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Lir— Boston, MA
Boylston Street Irish pub.
PA
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Erie Brewing Co.— Erie, PA · 08/12/20
Maine
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Airline Brewing Company Pub— Ellsworth, ME
