Pittsburgh Brewing Co. puts its name on brewery being developed in East Deer

Those traveling along Route 28 will see a new addition to the East Deer brewery being developed as the new home of Iron City Beer.

Company spokeswoman Anna Angotti said signage displaying “Pittsburgh Brewing Co.” was installed on the sprawling, 140,000-square-foot facility over the weekend.

“We are making small progress every day,” she said.

General Manager Todd Zwicker said more signage, such as a logo, will be added to the building’s roof ridge. He estimates the building will have more branding by early November to help catch the attention of the 48,000 cars that pass by it each day.

“It’ll be very recognizable and highly active with consumers,” he said.

Pittsburgh Brewing Co. has continued to make progress to its production site. It previously housed Pittsburgh Glass Works, which closed in 2018. It originally was Pittsburgh Plate Glass’ (later PPG Industries) Works No. 1.

Zwicker said the brewery is aiming to open next year.

Zwicker said all the equipment has been ordered, and the company hopes to conduct test brewing by the end of the year. The company did not provide an estimate on how many people it would employ when it opens.

Since its Lawrenceville location closed in 2009 after 148 years, a third party has been brewing the company’s beer at a Latrobe facility owned by Wisconsin-based City Brewing Co.

Company spokesman Ben Butler said the new East Deer facility will allow for more brewing barrels, producing 150,000 barrels a year. That’s 50% more than the Latrobe location.

Pittsburgh Brewing said it also plans to use an old boiler house on the site to make whiskey, with a focus on rye whiskeys and bourbons. Up to 20,000 square feet will be used to store and age the liquors, the company said.

Zwicker said the company hopes to open an adjoining restaurant, outdoor event venue, beer museum and marina.

The company’s plans have attracted Arnold Mayor Joseph Bia, who recently took a tour of the facility. Bia expressed interest in the brewery’s marina idea, pitching the possibility of having a water taxi to gain traffic on the waterfront.

While there are no finalized plans, Zwicker said the company is not counting it out.

“There’s a lot of things that have to happen before that,” he said.