The Philadelphia region in the mid-90s became the focal point of Pennsylvania’s emerging craft beer industry, and given our tendency to ignore the other side of the state, it is too rarely mentioned around here that the opening of Penn Brewery in Pittsburgh in 1986 by Tom Pastorius and his wife marked the first microbrewery in the state. Stoudts became the first brewpub a few months later).
Pastorius succumbed to cancer on September 6. His impact on craft beer in these parts is hard to overstate. The embracing of German style lager beers by both Penn and Stoudts helped set a standard for those brews that remains unmatched elsewhere in the country. The birth of Stoudts Microbrew Festival in 1991 and the Penn Microfest three years later also established the primary tradition by which early craft brewers were able to share their beers with the public and strengthened the cooperative we’re-all-in-this-together spirit which is still at the heart of the industry.
We lost a good one last Thursday and we lost him way too early. Raise a pint of good lager in his honor first chance you get.
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Or a wheat beer. Penn Weizen & Stoudts Heifer-in-Wheat are two of the best wheat beers made in America – and have been for a long time!
Definitely. Thanks for the update.
I recall Tom coming into Cafe Nola & asking for a Pennsylvania Pilsner. Being my normal wiseass self of a bartender and aging never heard of that beer, I served Tom a Rolling Rock.
Ah, the sins of our callow youth…
Tom was so ahead of his future in Pittsburgh, and I will always remember him for his opening day hospitality of offering me a case of Penn Pilsner fresh out of stock, what a place it was back in 1986
Kind thoughts and words for the family.