Hazelwood Brew House Fulfills an Unusual Vision and Features Two Craft Breweries

Jody Dzadovski (l.), and Abstract Realm’s primary owner, Jason Short, with a freshly brewed Taniwha 6% ABV, a triple dry hopped extra pale ale made with New Zealand hops. (Photo: Rick Handler)

Most entrepreneurial dreams are fleeting, but those that survive the cold, wake-up splash of reality often become fantastic, frightening or just fraught with failure. Such might have been David Kahley’s 2018 dream of renovating an historic brewhouse in Hazelwood. He, nor anyone, could have known then that COVID-19 would shut the world down for nearly two years, that the proliferation of craft breweries in the Pittsburgh area would multiply like rabbits, or that the promise of Hazelwood’s long-dormant brownfield would still seem as fallow as it appeared five years ago. But Kahley, President and CEO of The Progress Fund, a not-for-profit revolving loan fund for mostly rural economic development projects, had the support and conviction of the Richard King Mellon Foundation, including a grant of $4.5 million, “to assemble real estate holdings, rehabilitate historic properties, and construct new industrial space in Hazelwood.”

The historic Hazelwood Brew House. (Photo: C. Prentiss Orr)

“The Progress Fund has had inordinate success,” said Kahley, “with providing capital for local breweries and distillers. In fact, our portfolio has funded 24 craft ventures over the years.” So, central to Kahley’s dream was rehabbing a building first constructed in 1905 for the Hazelwood Brewing Company. Three stories tall, the original business was a hopping success until Prohibition turned off its taps in 1920.

Nathan Johnston, New France’s head bartender with a just pulled draft of Joie De Vivre, a 5.5% ABV Belgian white with coriander and orange peel. (Photo: Rick Handler)

Now, since opening “softly” in mid-June, the new Hazelwood Brew House, still three stories tall, is home to both New France Brewing Co. and Abstract Realm Brewing Co. Each independently pours a wide “flight” of craft ales, lagers, stouts, and light beers, all mashed and brewed on site. There’s room for a third brewer to join the mix, as well as an associate food purveyor. (In the meantime, a cycle of eclectic food trucks satisfies the hungry.) The new facility looks nothing like the building Kahley and his crew cleaned out starting 2018. There’s a wide, multi-tabled outdoor patio, served by both brewers and a food truck at its entrance, two stories more of tables, and a second floor on which two more bars serve happy customers. And while the brewed barley beckons the thirsty, there’s a grander reason to seek out these new suds in Hazelwood: the Brewhouse features a rooftop, open-air patio.

Nighttime view from the roof top terrace looking upriver towards Pittsburgh. (Photo: C. Prentiss Orr)

What few Pittsburghers might have known to see from Hazelwood’s vantage point is a spectacular view of our own emerald city. Like Oz looming beyond the poppy fields, Pittsburgh’s skyline is a treat to behold from the third story patio. But spread at its feet are some modern marvels of the city. Closest is the test track for autonomous, self-driving trucks recently operated by Aurora (and originally built for Uber.) It’s a cool configuration, but it’s going away soon. Within a year, this section of Hazelwood Green is due to become a new, state-of-the-art community field and youth-recreation complex operated by the Steelers Charities and branded with the Steelers logo. “How’s that for dumb luck?” posed Kahley. Activities slated here will include youth football, clinics with current and former Steelers, boys and girls flag football, soccer, and the renovation of a 10,000 square-foot building onsite for indoor sports and recreation.

Beer drinkers huddle up during a game of team trivia. (Photo: C. Prentiss Orr)

Beyond this, CMU is developing a 150,000 sq. ft. facility for robotics testing, including a 60,000 sq. ft. cage for advancing drone technology. And just beyond that is Mill 19, once a minor subsection of the old J&L steel plant, and now a hub for CMU engineering programs. The building is remarkable for its rooftop whose reflective solar panels nearly disguise the massive structure from the brewhouse view. Mill 19 is acclaimed as the single largest installation of solar panels on a slant roof in the world. At last, Hazelwood is happening. But few would know that without seeing it firsthand from atop the new Brewhouse.

Hazelwood has always been a family neighborhood, and the Brew House intends to continue the legacy. “Some projects don’t come about for so many reasons,” admitted Kahley, “but the city and Hazelwood have really embraced our work. We’ve finally arrived.”

The Hazelwood Brew House is located at 5007 Lytle Street at the corner of Tecumseh (which crosses Second Avenue.) Open Wednesdays through Sunday. For beers on tap, check out the respective brewers’ websites; New France Brewing and Abstract Realm Brewing.

Hazelwood Brew House will be celebrating Oktoberfest September 20 through 22 with music, food, contests, and yes plenty of freshly brewed craft beer.

The first floor patio at Hazelwood Brew House. (Photo: Rick Handler)

C. Prentiss Orr is a Pittsburgh-based writer who covers film, live theater, and other topics for Entertainment Central. He is the author of the books The Surveyor and the Silversmith and Pittsburgh Born, Pittsburgh Bred.

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