Sterling Pig: These Pigs Don’t Fly, But They Do Brew

A Visit to Sterling Pig Brewery

by Shane Fisher

Sterling Pig 6At the bottom of busy State Street in Media, PA lies Sterling Pig Brewery. The cozy brewpub offers eight taps, barbecue and wood fired pizzas that welcome you with their aroma before stepping inside the building. Inside, you are drawn in with even more inviting aromas of smoke and the glow of the golden pizza oven will increase your appetite upon arrival. One thing is for sure: “The Pig” won Main Line Today Magazine’s “Best Brewery of 2016” for a reason.

The brewpub is the brainchild of Loïc Barnieu, chef and owner of four downtown Media restaurants. Barnieu, originally of Burgundy, France fell in love with food at a young age, growing up at his grandfather’s bakery and enjoying meals from his other grandfather who was a chef. Throughout the years, he has grown an appreciation for different cuisines and has brought them to Media in his four restaurants. Each restaurant brings the town different cuisine from Spanish-Italian at Picasso, French and wine bistro at La Belle Epoque, Mexican at Diego’s, and the American barbecue and gastropub style food at Sterling Pig Brewery, which have earned many local accolades.

Sterling Pig 2Barnieu enlisted Great American Beer Fest award winning head brewer Brian McConnell of Rock Bottom Brewery and John Harvard’s Brew House to create the beers to accompany the plates coming from the kitchen. With over 14 years of experience as a professional brewer, McConnell is versatile in his brewing style and is not afraid to branch out. The tap list has featured wide variety of lagers and ales from Belgian saison and tripel, French biere de garde, German schwarzbier, and Scottish wee heavy and a variety of IPAs. While each beer is unique in their own right, McConnell believes in the philosophy that each beer should be not only balanced, but feature the best, most fresh ingredients possible and it shows in each sip.

Now that we’ve introduced the brains behind the operation, let’s discuss brews.

Sterling Pig 5

Sterling Pig features three year-round offerings:

Shoat – A crisp American hybrid style pilsner that’s crisp and extremely sessionable

Snuffler – The house IPA features nice citrus and tropical notes. It’s a regular’s favorite and is the growler fill of choice around here. If you’re lucky enough, they may even have it on nitro, which backs off some of the hop bitterness and makes it even more crushable.

Sterling Pig has also begun selling both Shoat and Snuffler at Philadelphia Union games, so be sure to grab a pint while watching some high-energy soccer!

Big Gunz – The double IPA that doesn’t drink like a double IPA. This beer features piney, fruity and citrus aromas and a great body. Be sure to pick up a bottle of it to take home as it is one you’ll want to have waiting for you when you get home.

As mentioned before, the tap list features many different styles of beer that rotate into the remaining four taps, with one being a different nitro beer, which are always delicious. Along with the Sterling Pig’s beers is a guest tap featuring Gardners, Pa Big Hill Ciderworks Standard cider, a crisp, sweet and light cider, as well as wines from Karamoor Winery of Ft. Washington and Penns Woods Winery of Chadds Ford.

My girlfriend Natalie and I first went to Sterling Pig in December 2016. She was nervous on our first trip, as she wanted to try a new place and didn’t know how it would end up; she wanted to impress me. We went in and loved the atmosphere, were greeted with awesome staff that have since become friends of ours, and we enjoyed the flight and food we had. Since then, I have had my fair share of Sterling Pig beers, and have enjoyed every one.

The time spent by brewer Brian McConnell in selecting his ingredients shines through in every pint poured. It’s not all about the beer with McConnell, as he is actively harvesting talent in house with the likes of Chris Devito, who has paid his dues at the front of the house and believed in the product every step of the way, working his way up to pursue his passion built from home-brewing by interning at an award winning brewpub in his local community.

My personal favorite beer is the Baltimore Pike Porter, which is a nicely roasted straightforward porter that is absolutely delicious. Any time I stop by and see that it’s on tap I’m instantly excited.

Sterling Pig 4For the summer months, and when you’re craving something different from your usual IPA or dark beer, their wheat beers Orange Street Wheat and Sommerlieben are just what you need. While that may be a great break from your tried and true IPAs, their “This Little Piggy” single hop IPA series is one of my favorites. Each features a great showcase of the hop’s flavor and aroma capabilities and also teaches you more about the brewing process and how the different hops affect the flavor of the beers. For fall, their Gourdfather pumpkin ale is big, easy to drink and tastes great; with or without the cinnamon sugar rim (try it with the cinnamon sugar, trust me).

Along with their year round and seasonal offerings, Sterling Pig has also collaborated with local coffee roaster Burlap and Bean of Newtown Square. Last March, the two collaborated on a brunch and bourbon barrel aged coffee porter named Notorious P.I.G. to tease their new location across the street in an old renovated car mechanic shop. The beer was delicious and I am looking forward to more collaborations coming soon when they become formal neighbors.

Sterling Pig 3
Notorious P.I.G.
With all of the possibilities in Media, PA, one thing is for sure; when you leave the busy downtown and head down to the end of State Street, you will find an inviting environment that will leave you wanting to come back as a regular, as it has made me. Also, keep your eyes peeled as Sterling Pig have increased their reach; you may just see them at your local craft beer haunt.


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