Penn Brewery is getting new owners after a difficult year that saw the Pittsburgh brewery file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and face uncertainty over the future of its historic home.

John Graf, CEO of Priory Hospitality Group, longtime Pittsburgh beer industry veteran Eric Heinauer, and an unnamed third partner are taking over the 40-year-old brewery.

The new ownership group told TribLive that they plan to preserve Penn’s German brewing traditions, while making some improvements to the brewery, restaurant and biergarten.

For Heinauer, the deal is a return to familiar territory. He first started working at Penn in 1996 and spent about 12 years with the brewery over two separate stints.

“You could take this place and put it in Regensburg, and nothing would change except for the language,” Heinauer told TribLive. “This is that authentic.”

The new owners also plan to continue brewing traditional German-style beers, keep Penn’s historic German brewing equipment in use, and bring more focus back to the food program.

Penn’s Oktoberfest celebrations will continue this month, with the new ownership taking over as the brewery prepares for one of its biggest events of the year.

How Penn Got Here

Penn Brewery filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on March 31, 2026, listing liabilities between $1 million and $10 million. First Commonwealth Bank was the brewery’s largest creditor, with a claim of about $5.1 million.

Penn said the bankruptcy was intended to help restructure its debt while keeping the brewery and its Troy Hill Biergarten operating.

The situation became more complicated when Arkham Realty, a separate real estate company connected to owner Stefan Nitsch, also filed for Chapter 11. That put the historic brewery property at risk of a sheriff’s sale.

The brewery ultimately avoided the auction, but the financial pressure continued. Penn’s Chapter 11 case was dismissed in August as the business moved toward a sale.

Now that sale has moved forward, bringing Graf, Heinauer, and their unnamed partner into the picture.

A Look Back at Penn Brewery

Tom and Mary Beth Pastorius founded Penn Brewery in 1986, during the early days of Pennsylvania’s modern craft beer movement. Pastorius had spent time in Germany and wanted to bring traditional German brewing to Pittsburgh.

Penn eventually made its home in the historic Eberhardt & Ober brewery complex in Troy Hill, a property with brewing roots dating back to the 1800s.

The historic Eberhardt & Ober brewery complex dates back to the 19th century and became Penn Brewery’s longtime home.

The restaurant opened in 1989, and Penn became known for German-style beers such as Penn Pilsner, Penn Dark, Penn Gold, and St. Nikolaus Bock.

Penn Brewery’s beers have earned a total of twenty awards over the years, including medals at the Great American Beer Festival and World Beer Cup.

Penn has faced major financial and ownership trouble before.

In 2003, Pastorius sold a majority stake in the brewery to Birchmere Capital. By 2009, brewing had stopped at the Troy Hill location, production had moved to Lion Brewery in Wilkes-Barre, and the restaurant had closed.

Pastorius and local investors Linda Nyman, Sandy Cindrich, and Corey Little eventually bought the brewery back, bringing brewing and the restaurant back to the historic location.

That group operated Penn for more than a decade before selling the brewery to Stefan Nitsch in 2022.

Nitsch purchased Penn Brewery in 2022, after previously having a connection to the historic property through his real estate business, Arkham Realty.

Now, four years later, Penn has another new ownership group.

For a brewery that has been part of Pittsburgh’s beer scene since 1986, the latest change marks another chapter in a long history of German beer, local ownership, and more than a few close calls.

This time, the goal is to keep Penn Brewery moving forward while holding onto what made it a Pittsburgh institution in the first place.