Pittsburgh's East End Brewing celebrates 15 years of beer

East End Brewing Company in Larimer turns 15 on Thursday and its owner is celebrating by honoring local craft brewers this week.

“When I first started this business I didn’t think I would last 15 hours or 15 days let alone 15 years,” founder and owner Scott Smith said. “It is quite different than just being at home making beer.”

Smith is marking the 15 years with a guest tap takeover at the brewery, which started Tuesday, to showcase the first 15 craft brewers in Allegheny County. Coincidentally, the brewpub pours from 15 taps.

One tap is for a special brew connected to East End: Gratitude Barleywine, a pre-mixed cocktail that includes East End beer that Maggie’s Farm Rum in the Strip District has been aging into a whiskey. The other 14 taps are pouring the work of fellow brewers.

No. 1 is Penn Brewery, founded in 1986 on Pittsburgh’s North Side.

“Scott is a pioneer of Pittsburgh’s craft beer culture, and he’s been incredibly active in promoting the local beer scene by coordinating collaborative events with Penn and other breweries,” said Linda Nyman, marketing director from Penn Brewery. “He’s also taken on leadership roles for the Brewers of PA organization and other industry groups. We raise a glass to his anniversary.”

The other beermakers are: Church Brew Works, Rock Bottom, Hofbrauhaus, Strange Roots Experimental Ales, Red Star Kombucha, Aurochs, Costar, Roundabout, Hop Farm, Hitchhiker and The Brew Gentlemen.

East End Brewing’s venue on Julius Street also has a dining space, Larder. He teamed with acclaimed chef Justin Severino to open the restaurant in July.

East End came on the Pittsburgh beer scene as a one-man show, Smith said, and it was the first small-scale “production brewery” in the area.

“With an ever-shifting business model and an ever-shifting local beer market, East End has managed to continue to grow each year, even though it hasn’t increased its distribution territory,” he said. “Local is who we are, and who we’ve always been.”

All the parts and pieces are coming together for next week’s #First15 Anniversary celebration, running all week long! (?Click the link in our profile for the full story?)

But until then, we’re already starting to… https://t.co/XtuL2k3lGk

— East End Brewing (@EastEndBrewing) December 5, 2019

And with most celebrations, there will be a sweet treat. At 7 p.m. Thursday, guests of the brewery can enjoy a cake made by Eliza Bowman, owner of Prohibition Pastries in Point Breeze. She and Smith have worked together in the past. Bowman said one of the ingredients for the chocolate cake will be East End beer.

“Scott has been so supportive and has helped me a lot, especially when I first started the business,” Bowman said. “He always gives a shout out to our business. It’s a great partnership. I am happy for his success.”