pennslyvania

Pittsburgh, PA

pittsburgh is a fun city on three rivers full of breweries!

On a Pennsylvania trip? Check out my Philadelphia recommendations here.

Adventures & Ales Top Pittsburgh Recommendations: 

  • Dancing Gnome Beer: A great brewery located in Sharpsville (near Hitchhiker). They have tasty beers that are mainly IPAs. No dogs allowed onsite. ​

  • Hitchhiker Brewing: Hitchhiker is a good brewery with locations in Sharpsville and Mt. Lebanon. In Sharpsville they have an open air taproom and a back patio. Be sure to try their Sours.

  • Cinderlands Beer Company: Cinderlands has three locations—the Warehouse in the Strip District has a nice upper patio, cocktails, and food along with their tasty beers.

  • Trace Brewing: A chill spot in the Little Italy neighborhood with coffee as well. They have a very small tap list and offer full pours only, but the beers are solid.

  • Four Points Brewing: A nice spot on the North Side with solid beers and an IPA-focused menu.

  • Espresso y Mano: A good spot for coffee in the Lawrenceville neighborhood.

  • Eleventh Hour Brewing: A nice brewery in the Lawrenceville neighborhood. They have solid beers and a nice patio. It has “neighborhood brewery” vibes.

Hitchhiker Brewing

Pittsburgh Tourist Spots Actually Worth Visiting: 

  • ​Duquesne Incline: A cool old cable car that goes up an incline to a nice viewpoint. It’s a unique experience and you can see the entire city and rivers. It is $5 round trip to ride and parking at the bottom is $8. Sit towards the front (closest to the city) for the best views.

  • There are numerous riverside trails and greenways in the city since there are so many rivers so be sure to go for a nice riverside stroll!

Other Pittsburgh Things To Do:​​

  • Coven Brewing: A solid brewery but they have a tiny tap list (3 beers on tap when I visited).

  • Brooklyn Bagel at Arsenal: Solid bagel spot in Lawrenceville—if you order online be sure to check your order is correct before departing. 

  • Late Addition Brewing & Blending: A smaller brewery on the North Side with 10 taps.

    • Live Fresh is a solid spot next door for juices, smoothies and açaí bowls.

  • Aslin Beer Company: The Pittsburgh location of Aslin is located in the Strip District Terminal, a mixed use facility with a lot of shops and different businesses. Their beers are always good but nothing too special. They also offer food and coffee at this location.

  • Strange Roots Experimental Ales: A brewery on the North Side with a unique tap list. They have an abundance of outdoor space and Pittsburgh Sandwich Society inside.

  • Warhol Museum: I would skip this unless you’re a big art person. Parking in the designated lot is $8, admission is $25, and the museum itself is quite small and a little boring.

  • Mike’s Beer Bar: This spot has 500 beers, 80 taps, a full food menu, and a front patio space. It is located across from Pirates Field so it’s popular on game days. Unfortunately I found the service here to be atrocious.

  • Randyland: An interesting art installation at a house. It’s colorful but I personally did not find it worth my time.

  • William Penn Tavern: A sports bar in Lawrenceville with chill vibes.

Philadelphia, PA

In West Philadelphia born and raised [in the brewery] is where I spend most of my days!

Philly Tips: 

  • Philly is a really cool city with lots of distinct neighborhoods to explore. It exudes gritty vibes.

  • Driving here is not enjoyable, avoid it if you can.

  • On a Pennsylvania trip? Check out my Pittsburgh recommendations here.

Adventures & Ales Top Philly Recommendations:

  • Human Robot: A stellar spot for Lagers in particular, but they of course make other styles too. They have a few locations across the city—the OG has Poe’s Sandwich Joint inside with tasty, massive sandwiches.

  • Other Half Brewing: Other Half is one of the top breweries in the country, and their Philly taproom is cranking out some delicious beers. They have a nice patio space and inside they are set up for bar seating and watching sports. They also have a small food menu and cocktails. Parking in this area can be very annoying.

  • Bart’s Bagels: Superb bagel sandwich spot in West Philly. Their menu has a ton of options. Highly recommend.

  • Venture an hour north of the city to Brick Farm Tavern: This lovely restaurant and farm has fresh Troon on draft and tasty eats. Worth the drive x 100.

  • Fermentery Form: Brave the creepy alley you have to walk down to get here for the delicious beers! I am forewarning you that it is literally an alley with no sign for the brewery, just go with it!

  • Crime and Punishment Brewing: Located in the Brewerytown neighborhood (perfect fit, I know), this brewery is legit. Their beers are fantastic. They’ve got a small food menu with some amazing perogies if you’re hungry as well!

  • Evil Genius Brewing: Hilarious beer names, a cute outdoor space, and fun vibes. They’ve got a small food menu to keep you satisfied. Located in the Fishtown neighborhood.

  • Monks Cafe: A Belgian beer bar with some amazing beers on tap. Dirty glassware, pretentious staff.

  • St. Oner’s: The downtown taproom for Tired Hands located in Fishtown. They have a good, IPA-heavy tap list and a small food menu. Their taproom is small but beers are tasty.

  • Carbon Copy: A solid brewery in West Philly with a pizza-focused food menu. They are housed in a cute building.

Evil Genius Beer Company

Philly tourist spots actually worth visiting:

  • The Rocky Steps: You gotta run up ‘em!

  • Philly Magic Gardens: Artsy space, $10 entrance fee

  • Love Sign: Duh, it’s a must! There are actually a few scattered throughout the city, the main one is in JFK Plaza near City Hall

  • Rittenhouse Square: A lovely park

Other Philly things to do:

  • Love City Brewing: Cute brewery with industrial vibes and rotating food trucks that pull inside through the back door.

  • Kismet Bagels: Solid bagels downtown.

  • Humble Parlour Brewing: This brewery has great reviews but unfortunately they ran out of beer when I was in town.

  • Passero’s Coffee: Great coffee shop in downtown Philly. The staff is super friendly and I am still dreaming of the lavender honey latte I had.

  • Urban Village Brewing: I expected to not be very impressed with Urban Village’s beer because of the brewpub vibes, but I was pleasantly surprised. It’s located in the Northern Liberties neighborhood, a trendy area worth wandering around, and they were cranking out some delicious stuff. They’ve got cool flight boards made from used barrel that let you sample every beer on the menu, a cute outdoor space, a solid food menu, and great happy hour pricing!

  • Second District Brewing: A little bit of a pretentious vibe, but worth it. They’ve got a small food menu (again with amazing pierogies—who knew Philly was the pierogi hot spot?!)

  • Ground Rittenhouse: A cute plant shop and café that is dog-friendly downtown.

  • Yards Brewing Co.: A huge space for this commercialized brewery. Average beers, full food menu

  • Philadelphia Brewing Company: Basic beers that weren’t too impressive, but their Peacock Room is a cozy little spot to play games next to the fire

  • Bluestone Lane Coffee: A cute coffee shop in the city center

  • Saint Benjamin’s Brewery: Very brewpub vibes but also grungy at the same time. They’ve got a full food menu with some delicious options like mac and cheese egg rolls

  • Mainstay Brewing: Solid beer spot.

  • Federal Donuts: Hot, fresh, and delicious donuts!

  • Brewery ARS: This brewery has a couple of locations in South Philly and Fishtown. They have solid beers.

  • Bar Hygge/Brewery Techne: This spot is definitely more of a restaurant, but they do make their own beer. It’s a cute, cozy spot with 7 of their own beers on draft. They’ve also got cocktails and wine, and a full food menu. I’d recommend getting a board to kick things off!

  • Avoid at all costs: The Maj Hotel. I cannot begin to explain how horrendous my stay here ended up being. 0/10, run by scam artists.