Sunday 7th of April 2013 11:18:17 PM

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I stopped here with some friends and got there just as they were opening the building at 11am. It was obviously very quiet when we got there, but the bartender was friendly and helpful.

They serve both a half sampler (5 6-oz samples) or a full sampler (10 6-oz samples). As I was driving, I had to settle for the half size. There were a lot of lighter beers - a couple lagers, a gold ale, and a pale ale. I was allowed to swap out the Penn Dark for the seasonal Marzen, which I liked.

My friends who had the full sampler most enjoyed the Nut Roll Ale, which was described as a "holiday spiced ale". I'm curious as to why they still have it available in April if it's the seasonal though.

The food we had was very good. I had the schnitzel - the portions were huge and I cleaned my plate.

On a disappointing note, they were out of pint glasses, so my collection is still lacking Penn Brewing glassware.

Thursday 3rd of December 2009 07:30:20 PM

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I stopped at the Penn Brewery tonight and was disapppointed to discover that they are "closed to the public for several months."

I walked all around and found the entrances in locked chains, despite people apparently working inside the brewery. A rather gruff individual in an office mentioned the above "closed" statement, it's too bad because years back they made some fine pilseners.

I would call or check with the brewery before attempting to visit. Hopefully it will reopen.

Friday 4th of April 2008 04:48:43 PM

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I'm very surprised that this hasn't been reviewed yet. It's a bit of Pittsburgh landmark.
Beautiful neighborhood, and an even more beautiful building. Walking in from the street, you enter a courtyard between brick buildings with the long tables like you see at Oktoberfests, all under an array of lights and plants.
The bar itself is up a small stairway and inside the building on the left. Inside, the open, transparency of the brewery behind the glass dominates the place. The relatively small bar extends out from this and there are several tables (same, Oktoberfest style), scattered around the room. The night I went, there was no one at the tables inside, but the bar was full.
I sat along at a table and had the pilsner, and this is the big weakness of Penn Brewery: I don't like pilsner, but I had no other choice, really. It's light, lighter, or nothing. Granted, the pilsner was done well, lots of flavor, but I would have liked to have drank a bit more of a variety there.
The food, although I didn't have any, was supposed to be fantastic, and it looked so. They were on several lists as the best German restaurant in the city, and I can see why.
I would go back just for the food, because that seems to be their focus, and this makes more sense with their small selection of beers: who wants a bratwurst served with a stout?
I had tons and tons of trouble navigating Pittsburgh's streets to nowhere and deadly curves, but this place was still relatively easy to find. Right off a major road, relatively close to Downtown.