Alex Eats Too Much Favorites: Grist House Craft Brewery

I visit a lot of breweries in Pittsburgh. Without a doubt, the one I visit the most is Grist House Craft Brewery in Millvale. I spend many weekends there meeting friends, trying new foods from food trucks, watching Penn State games and attending great events.

First opening in 2014, this family operated brewery was in a small warehouse with a small taproom and beer garden. I don’t think I discovered them until a couple of years later, but I instantly fell in love with the variety of beers, especially their IPAs, sours and special release barrel aged imperial stouts. Since then, the house next door has been knocked down, and a large taproom with a patio has been built. Now, they now have multiple locations, including their new base of operations, Grist House Command in Collier Township, Grist House Beer Market in Saxonburg, and Grist House Beer Crib at Freedom Farms in Butler.

The main reason Grist House is my favorite local craft brewery is their beer. They have a pretty heavy rotation of different beers based on seasonal availability of ingredients and what makes sense to drink at certain times of year. They do have some year round beers too. The beer they are best known for is their Hazedelic Juice Granade. It’s a hazy New England Style IPA with lots of citrus notes. It’s the easiest of the IPAs to drink. I tend to enjoy all of their NEIPAs. However, I look forward to their special release of Barrel Aged Imperial Stouts. The Fire Fest Reserve, which is an Imperial Stout released every December, is a blend of beer aged in different whiskey barrels. This always has nice notes of whiskey and sweetness. They have other Imperial Stouts throughout the year, like their Anniversary release in May and a few other special occasions. They also have a great selection of different sours. The Kaboom Candy, Kapow Candy and Kablam Candy variants are like explosions of fruit flavor and some sweetness to offset the sour. They typically also always have on tap many lagers, ales, and a Kolsch, among other beers.

The other reason I love Grist House is the vibes. I have been to three of the four locations and it’s always a good time. Each has a different vibe and food offerings.

The original Millvale location is best known for the giant beer garden, where they have regular themed events. Fire Fest in December is probably the biggest, where they light a ton of fire pits and have activities throughout the day. They have an anniversary party and an Après Ski Brunch, which are also quite big. The largest activity might be the regular Penn State Football watch parties. Grist House Millvale is the official watch location for Penn State Football in Pittsburgh. The owners are Penn State alumni and they have a lot of merch for sale with a Penn State theme. With all these activities, I have spent many afternoons and evenings at Grist House Millvale.

Grist House Command is the newest location, located in Collier Township, and also has an amazing backstory. The brewery is a massive building that was previously a US Military Nike Missile Command. They have spent years retrofitting the building so they could relocate their brewing operations and expand their supply and distribution capabilities. The building also features multiple decks overlooking a valley, from which you can see all the way into the city on a clear day. There are two really cool event rooms and a snack bar serving some great burgers, hot dogs and other snacks.

The Grist House Beer Market is an exciting taproom in Saxonburg, PA, attached to Spankle’s Market. They share the space with Pocha by Kye-Won Korean Restaurant. This was a surprising combination of businesses. After visiting, I’m glad they are together. Pocha serves some of the best Korean food I have eaten in the Pittsburgh area.

The Grist House Beer Crib is another really cool spot in Butler, PA, at Freedom Farms. I have not been to this one, but it is a tap room with a greenhouse with seating inside. They also have farm-to-table food from Freedom Farms.

Next time you’re thinking of exploring the Pittsburgh craft brewery scene, make sure to include Grist House at one of its several locations.