Welcome to our “Meet The Brewer” series! Where we interview brewers in Pennsylvania, from breweries small to large. Let us know if you know anyone who should be featured, email us at [email protected].

BrewDog Pittsburgh opened in February of 2020, in the East Liberty neighborhood of Pittsburgh. BrewDog, known for its provocative marketing, was founded by James Watt and Martin Dickie in Fraserburgh, Scotland in 2007. They now have 50 bars across the globe, opened with backing from over 97,000 craft beer lovers who help crowdfund each location. Paul Young is the head brewer at Brew Dog Pittsburgh. Read more to find out his the first beer he ever brewed, where he sees the craft beer industry heading, and more!

What was your introduction to craft beer?

I went to college in New Orleans in 2001 and quickly discovered Abita Amber, Turbo Dog, and Purple Haze. I knew I liked those and I wanted to find more beers like them.

How did you get started as a brewer?

While in college my roommate bought a homebrew kit. He tried it once and gave up. I tried to recreate Abita Amber and got close on my first try. After Hurricane Katrina, I returned home to Louisville, Ky, and my brother and starting brewing at home non-stop. In 2009, I opened My Old Kentucky Homebrew, a home beer and wine making supply store with a Brew-On-Premises. I was open for about seven years and when the store closed, I pivoted into full-time brewing.

What style allows you to be the most creative, and why?

I don’t brew it nearly enough, but probably Saison. I think of the Saison style like jazz music. Sometimes it’s about playing notes that don’t make sense on paper but flow fluidly in practice. Like Jazz, a Saison can be a lot of things and still be a Saison, and that reminds me of why I love beer in general.

What was the first beer you ever brewed, and what did you learn from it?

An Abita Amber clone was my first, but it was my third beer, a Robust Porter, I learned my biggest lesson. New Orleans gets quite warm, and I did not know how that would affect fermentation. The day after brewing I came home to an apartment smelling strongly of Porter. The lid of my bucket was clear across the room and there was sticky foam everywhere. I cleaned up and called my home brew store. The owner told me a lesson I will always remember, “the day you have to mop your ceiling is the day you are a brewer.”

Where do you see the craft beer industry heading in the next few years?

I believe younger drinkers are returning to traditional styles. Newer beer drinkers are coming into a scene that is full of choices that are very far from traditional styles and even further from the Natty Ice and Red Dogs of my college days. When I was getting into craft beer, non-traditional ingredients and twists on styles were few and far between, but now it’s not unlikely someone’s first beer could be an 11% Pastry Stout. So, at some point, when they come around to a Pilsner or an Amber or a Doppelbock – which might seem new and different to them – they might not know why they like it, but I believe because of our civilizations irrefutable 14,000+ year connection to beer that newer beer drinkers will gravitate towards well brewed, traditional styles.

Describe what it’s like to be a brewer in Pennsylvania.

There are a lot of different directions breweries are taking and I love that there is a healthy level of competition that keeps us on our toes and keeps us thinking about we should brew next.

What is the inspiration behind your beer names?

It will usually be a reference to an obscure music lyric or movie title or 90’s Saturday morning cartoon. If I come up with something and my wife asks, “Is this something nerds will get?” then I know I’m on to something.

What is your favorite beer to drink right now?

I will always default to Bell’s 2-Hearted, but I am loving BrewDog’s Double Punk right now. It is a West Coast-style double IPA with all my favorite hops, it is super quenching with a clean finish.

What is the most important lesson you learned in the beer industry so far?

We are all in this together. If I brew a beer that’s not up to appropriate standards it not only gives myself and my brewery a bad name, but it could soil the opinion of someone on a particular beer style who might avoid it at other breweries. I believe we all have a responsibility to our customers to provide them a product that is both quality and consistent.