Published by Jeremy. Last Updated on March 23, 2023.
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BrewDog appears to have closed in 2023.
BrewDog is an international brewery and gastropub chain that has expanded into many cities thanks to its crowdfunding system called Equity for Punks.
This crowdfunding system is a lot like a Kickstarter in that there are numerous perks for investors, such as free beers and discounts, while also retaining ownership (while shares can be sold, there is currently no open market for these nor does BrewDog appear to be going public anytime soon- so we look at it mostly as a perks system). The system has allowed the brewery chain to expand at a rapid pace and through it, they opened a Pittsburgh taproom in East Liberty in early 2020.
I visited this one shortly after opening and share a bit more about what it is like in this review!
BrewDog's Pittsburgh Draft List is Comprehensive
The draft list at BrewDog is fairly comprehensive with two dozen taps. During my visit they had options ranging all the way from IPAs to high ABV and flavored stouts and everything in between (even non-alcoholic beer!). Sours were noticeably absent, but a placeholder was noted on the board suggesting they would be available somewhat regularly as well.
My spread included Hazy Jane (a New England IPA), Pulp Patriot (a milkshake IPA), Choco Libre (a flavored nitro stout with a spicy chocolate kick), Tiramisu Crew (a flavored nitro stout), and Self Assembly Pope (a coconut and vanilla porter). For a larger brewery chain, these beers checked a number of boxes in being fairly inventive and clean iterations for each beer. The flavors could've been a bit more intense as some of the themed brews were only mild in each sip, but for such a large spread of beers, I'm not going to complain about that at all.
In fact, most ran between 7-9% ABV and offered a nice little alcohol kick as well!
While this one is a chain and most of the beers follow previously developed recipes, there is a small on-site brewhouse where locally made brews will be coming out in the future. For that, we're quite excited over this one's future prospects.
A Large Gastropub Menu Rounds Out a Visit
For my entree during my first visit, I opted for a classic- the fried chicken sandwich. This one used breaded chicken thigh with an andouille-pimento cheese, a habanero ranch, lettuce, hot mustard bbq, and a pickle plus a serving of sweet potato fries on the side.
The first thing you likely noticed about this one is that the chicken thigh is monstrous and offered a really nice crunch thanks to the crispy exterior. Based on the description of the cheese (which was more like a spread) and the habanero ranch, I do have to admit that I thought this one would be spicier than it was and thought it could've used a bit more of a kick in the seasonings. But beyond this, I really enjoyed the generous amount of chicken in this one.
Likewise, I have little commentary on the sweet potato fries as they are one of my favorites to order at any restaurant. My only concern here was that I wanted more for the relatively small portion compared to the sandwich. We've been accustomed to large side portions for far too long such that this appears smaller in comparison.
Overall, for a chain making an expansion into the Pittsburgh marketplace, we were pleasantly surprised by BrewDog. The large draft beer list, creative flavors, and local production will ensure several return visits from us, and their location in East Liberty fills a need for a craft brewery in the neighborhood as well.
BrewDog Pittsburgh Outpost was located at 6144 Centre Avenue in East Liberty and closed in 2023.
Looking for more Pittsburgh breweries? Click the previous link to check out our guide!