Allegheny County will soon add to its lead for craft breweries as Drowning Fish Brewing Company plans to open in September of 2021 in Bethel Park. The brewery will be opening at 5454 Library Road in what was once the former Duke’s Station Bar & Grille.
We sat down with owners and head brewers Mike Ameel & Don Tomino to understand what locals can expect when Drowning Fish officially opens the doors of their 2,000+ square feet brewing facility.
The duo originally met over 20 years ago, and have been honing their craft brewing skills as members of the Three Rivers Alliance of Serious Homebrewers….or TRASH as the group is more commonly known. Don and Mike have been members of TRASH for quite some time and have both been getting noticed for their beer, winning many different awards. Don for his IPA’s/ Fruited beers and Mike for his English/ Belgian styles.
The two decided it was time to go pro and hence Drowning Fish was born.
The main operations of the 75 seat brewery and taproom will be their 10 hectoliter (a little over 8 barrel) brew system that was once owned by local favorite Voodoo Brewing.
The brewery plans to offer a wide variety of craft beer options; with a strong focus on traditional styles. As mentioned above Don and Mike have seen a lot of success in the full range of craft beer from IPA’s to Belgians and everything in between. They are now looking forward to transitioning that success into the commercial world of beer making.
Beer will not be the only handmade item on the menu. While they will offer a limited food menu to start, the plan is for Drowning Fish to provide much more robust offerings of in-house food in the future through their onsite kitchen. They shared with us that they would like to offer “elevated bar food”. Which will include gourmet paninis, their own smoked meats, bourbon buttermilk chicken, hand-cut fries, desserts, and more. With the addition of a pizza oven, they will also have scratch-made pizza available as well.
As of this writing, the plan is for Drowning Fish to be fully opened in September of this year. The brewery will have growlers and Pizza to go along with onsite consumption of beer and a limited food menu. No grand opening date has been planned, but check back soon as that information becomes available. Also, make sure to follow the brewery on Facebook to keep up with their growth.
