Pittsburgh Craft Beer Bars: Which Ones Are Best?

PITTSBURGH, PA - One of the great things about best of lists is the ire and arguments - er, spirited debate - they can inspire. Take this list of Pittsburgh’s best craft beer bars that you’re about to peruse.

In attempting to determine which places around town that specialize in serving craft beers, we turned to the folks we usually do - Yelp users who aren’t shy in sharing their opinions. They are entitled to those opinions, of course, but being craft beer enthusiasts ourselves, we found a number of glaring omissions on this top 10 list.

No Fat Head’s on the South Side? Absurd. No Urban Tap in Shadyside with its 124 taps or Hough’s in Greenfield with its 73? Preposterous. No Blue Dust in Homestead, where you can watch the trains go by just feet away from you while you sip you suds? Grrr. No D’s in Regent Square, where your beer goes best with one of the best hot dogs in the city? Really?

But if we can dissent, so can you. If you think some of the bars on this list is bogus, let us know in the comments section. If you want to suggest, as we did, bars that should have made the Yelp cut, let us know that as well. Without further adieu then, the top 10…

1. Carson Street Deli and Craft Beer Bar, 1507 East Carson St., South Side
This place impressed a visitor from California who Yelped:”The draft beer selection kicked (butt). There were even a couple of cask-conditioned beers. Wrote another reviewer: “Absolutely love this place. Always new draft beers to try, so I usually get a flight so I can have a variety. Good bottle selection to take out a 6-pack.” Everyone raves about the food here as well, if you’re into that sort of thing.

2. The BeerHive, 2117 Penn Ave., Strip District
“This place typically has a great selection and does honeycombed samplers with samples large enough for sharing,” wrote one positive Yelp reviewer. Opined another: “The beer selection at the BeerHive is the best in the Strip...BeerHive represents from local to Pacific Northwest.” If that’s the case, and given the place’s name, we expect they would have on tap an offering from Seattle’s Urban Family Brewing called Pollinator.

3. Proper Brick Oven and Tap Room, 139 Seventh St., Downtown
Noting this place’s extensive tap selection, this Yelpster wrote: “They arehappy to let you explore with a taste or two before your final selection. My selection was the black pepper Paloma.” Yum. “This place was seriously awesome,” another wrote. They have a rotating beer list which in my opinion is tops. Every time you go you'll see something different and that's awesome.”

4. East End Brewing Taproom, 102 19th St., Strip District
“They have a large selection of beers to choose from (and they) are very reasonably priced, most ranging around $5-6. They offer growlers and crowlers,” wrote one Yelp user. Another liked the T-shirts and other souvenirs for purchase and also noted, “Very nice selection of beer… Drinking Along Came a Cider and C.R.E.A.M. now. Wonderful place to stop after a big meal at Primanti's, which is just a block down.”

5. The Foundry Table & Tap, 381 North Shore Drive, North Shore
We’re surprised to find this place ranked this high because most of the reviews centered around The Foundry’s food. However, one Yelpinator wrote, ”They have a lot of beer to chose from, and a list of signature cocktails that could satisfy anyone's cravings.” Works for us.

6. Sharp Edge Bistro, 922 Penn Avenue, Downtown
This high ranking also somewhat surprising because of largely mixed reviews, although one reviewer wrote, “You would be hard pressed as a beer drinker not to find something here that would please your palate.” Another liked the bistro’s “crazy number of beer options.”

7. Industry Public House, 140 Andrews Drive, North Fayette
“ There are tons of great beers and the draft list is always changing so you never know what you are going to get, which is great,” raved one Yelpster. Wrote another: “We enjoy the variety of beers (60 beers on tap). The bartenders will provide you tastes prior to purchase.”

8. Independent Brewing Company, 1704 Shady Ave., Squirrel Hill
This place only has on draft beer from western Pennsylvania breweries, which many people find cool, including this Yelperrific reviewer: “You can try all the local beers but not have to go to the individual breweries. Just don’t try to drive home afterwards.”

9. The South Paw, 2210 East Carson St., South Side
While there are plenty of rave reviews about this place’s wings, but comments about its craft beers curiously are absent. Considering the number of places above that didn’t make the top 10 ranking, as Yoda might have said: “Mystified, we are.”

10. Hop Farm Brewing Company, 5601 Butler St., Lawrenceville
“The brew list had such a variety,” one Yelpster wrote. “Nice to see after all the breweries focusing on various types of beer (sours, IPAs etc). The vibe was chill and homey.”

Photos via Yelp.