Sep 21, 2016 By Joe Carei for The beer Cheese 4 min read

At one time, there were nearly a dozen breweries in the Fayette County area. They have since disappeared along with the coal mines and coke ovens. But, with the revival of smaller breweries and craft beers, it may just be a matter of time before we see beer brewing again in the area.

Not long after opening Church Brew Works, in 1996, Sean Casey came down to my restaurant in Brownsville to do a beer tasting. After the tasting was done, and while we were chewing the fat he said, “Mark my words, western PA will be a beer brewing area again.” At the time, he and Penn Brewery were the only ‘micro-breweries’ at the time. Iron City, Stoney’s and Rolling Rock were the beers of the area and barely holding on.

At first, it looked like that prediction would never come true. At the time, there were approximately only 40 breweries left in the U.S. and it looked like brewing in Western Pennsylvania wouldn’t even make the turn of the century. Then Rolling Rock moved to New Jersey and Stoney’s was the only brewery south of Pittsburgh in western Pennsylvania. The rules and regulations for brewers were so strict, that Jim Koch (Samuel Adams Brewery), the original craft beer guy, once told me that it’s hard to come to PA to brew and couldn’t see how anyone else could or would want to.

The turn of the century came and went: Iron City and Stoney’s survived and slowly but surely small breweries started to crop up around the area. Regulations were relaxed to encourage growth. Ten years later, the craft brew boom started in full swing. To clarify: A microbrew is defined by limited production, craft brews are defined by ingredients. Now the Pittsburgh area is home to over two dozen breweries and they are starting to creep down towards us. Critically acclaimed Helltown Brewing (Helltownbrewing.com) in Mount Pleasant and Bloom Brew (bloombrew.com) in West Newton are bringing craft brew closer.

The consensus of opinion is that if someone was to start a craft brewery, in the area, it will be well received. “It has been the subject of conversation many times,” says Ben Venick, owner of Rizz’s restaurant in downtown Uniontown, “if someone was to create it, we’d certainly serve it.”

With the success of Helltown and Bloom Brew, a local craft beer may certainly be a reality in the near future. Beer brewing enthusiast Elliot Galand has mulled the idea with Laurel Highlands Brewwerks, but has yet to pull the trigger. “It is a sizable investment, but I think it would be well received by the area. I think we are ready for a craft beer to come from this neck of the woods. My problem is finding the correct space and obviously making sure we can be financially viable.”

Roxanne McCarthy is anticipating locally brewed beers. “I really think that it would take off,” said McCarthy, “just as in ‘Field of Dreams,’ if you make it they will come…” McCarthy owns Dr. McCarthy’s Kitchen in Hopwood and her nephew owns Ridge Runner Distillery, craft spirit distillery in Farmington.

If you think that you may want to become the next craft beer brewer and trailblazer, there is a place to practice. Copper Kettle (557 Greenfield Ave. Pittsburgh) is the place to go. You can make an appointment to brew beer in their facility, from scratch, they provide recipes…return in three weeks, taste, and you may realize you are a brewmeister.

For a comprehensive list of western Pennsylvania craft beers and locations, visit www.pghcraftbeers.com. For tours and festivals visit www.pabrewtours.com or like their Facebook page.

Making beer is time consuming, so we included a couple of easy recipes with beer.

2 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

½ bottle beer(3/4 cup) drink the rest

¾ cup milk

12 oz (3 cups) shredded cheddar cheese

¼ cup parmesan cheese

2 teaspoons dijon mustard

½ teaspoon pepper

¼ cup chopped green onion

Melt butter with flour and cook a minute. Whisk in milk and beer. Whisk in cheeses until smooth. Add rest of ingredients. Serve with pretzles, bread or your favorite snack.

Beer batter

1 cup flour

1 cup beer

1 teaspoon baking powder

Salt and pepper

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

Dash cayenne pepper

Whisk all ingredients together. Dip whatever you want to fry in flour then beer batter. Enjoy.