USA, PA: Erie Brewing Co. moves to new 20,000-square-foot brewery and brew pub

Erie Brewing Co.’s new address is Harborcreek Township, GoErie.com reported on June 14.

The company has moved from rented space in Erie’s Veshecco Industrial Park to a 20,000-square-foot brewery and brew pub on Knowledge Parkway at Station Road, near Interstate 90.

The new facility will open on June 15 with a variety of beers and wines on tap and food available from John’s Wildwood Pizzeria. The popular Edinboro-based pizzeria opened a second location at the brewery last week.

“It’s been hectic, but it’s exciting,” Erie Brewing owner Rob Lowther said on June 13 of the move and opening. “We’re hosting a private event, our third, tonight to allow our people to practice interacting with customers. So far, everything’s gone pretty well.”

Visitors are astounded by the views, both of the brewery through huge interior glass windows and of Lake Erie in the distance from an upstairs patio, General Manager Giselle Main said. The brewery was built into a hillside with a mezzanine level with an outdoor porch facing the lake.

The brew pub also has a bar; tasting tables; booths; private party rooms; a second mezzanine bar, and a second ground-level patio. Many features were custom built, including the bars, woodwork, steel signs and a fireplace with steel hood.

“People walk in, look around and look kind of awe-struck,” Main said. “It’s an eclectic design, part industrial and part classic with an artistic twist added in. To see all those creative designs compiled into a unique space to hang out it in ... it’s not something you see everywhere.”

A dozen craft beers and four wines will be on tap at the new brew pub.

“We’re sticking to local, Pennsylvania wines and getting other businesses’ names out there,” Main said.

Brew pub customers can order food from the pizzeria, pay for it, and keep a running tab for beer and wine, Main said. The pizzeria, owned by John Bellucci, has its own entrance for sit-down and takeout service.

Erie Brewing broke ground in July. Visibility, parking, lack of space and high taxes had become issues at the Erie facility, Lowther said last summer.

Erie Brewing was founded as Hoppers Brewpub in Erie’s Union Station in 1993. Owned by Lowther since 2012, the company brews more than 6,500 barrels of craft beer annually for distribution in six states. Year-round brews include Misery Bay IPA and Mad Anthony labels. Seasonal brews include Johnny Rails pumpkin ale.

The brewery had been located on Veshecco Drive since 1999. It had a tasting room there but no brew pub.

Bellucci opened John’s Wildwood Pizzeria in Erie in 1979. The business has been located on Erie Street in Edinboro since 1987.

Brew pub and pizza shop hours will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 4 to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday, including opening day; from 11 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday, and from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday.

Those hours could change depending on customer demand, Main said.

15 June, 2017