Pittsburgh-Area Brewhouse Rated PA's Best Craft Brewery

PITTSBURGH, PA - Asa Foster and Matt Katase have gone from nearly being expelled from Carnegie Mellon University to running what has been named Pennsylvania’s best craft brewery. Brew Gentlemen in Braddock won that honor from Thrillist, the website specializing in food, drink, travel and entertainment topics.

The two men had an epiphany while CMU students, eschewing their career tracks of art and math to pursue the goal of opening a brewery. After almost being kicked out of CMU for brewing on campus, the pair graduated from CMU in 2012, converted an old electrical supply store on Braddock Avenue into the brewery and taproom and opened Brew Gentlemen in May 2014.

What does Thrillist like about the brewery?

“It’s upstarts like the Brew Gentlemen who have proven themselves to be a special kind of standout, showing an abundance of savvy and maturity for a bunch of young guys who launched barely a year and half out of college,” Thrillist contributor Zach Mack wrote.

“Their portfolio offers no gimmicks, attempts at trend chasing, or half baked efforts: Instead, you’ll find things like a uniquely refreshing cucumber wheat beer, a brooding and complex Mexican Coffee oatmeal stout, and a bevy of “elegant IPAs” (in the brewer’s own words), just to name a few.”

According to Thrillist, Brew Gentlemen’s breaks from traditional styles pay off as a solid accompaniment, with their rotating annual barrel-aged releases and Mise en Rose blended farmhouse ale series elevating the program without an ounce of pretentiousness.

You can see Thrillist’s list of each state’s best craft brewery here.

Feature photo via Brew Gentlemen; exterior photo via Google Maps.

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