Allusion Brewing Company first opened in Vandergrift in October 2020 and has been busy brewing as much as possible ever since.

The time has come for Allusion to expand in a few ways. We recently spoke with co-owner John Bieranoski to see what changes were coming and when.

We first learned that the brewery has purchased the building next door, giving them an additional 2,000 sq/ft of space. The building was previously used as an office for the Vandergrift Improvement Program, a non-profit group in town.

John then explained to us that the expansion would be coming in 3 phases.

Phase 1 is to increase the brewing equipment and tank space to brew. They are going from a 5 BBL to a 7 BBL hot liquor tank and mash ton, keeping their 5 BBL boil kettle, and adding three 10 BBL fermenters. All of this gives them the ability to brew any size batch of beer from 3-10 BBLs. This phase also includes building a new 20×20 cooler to house the increase in beer.

In addition to the system upgrades, they plan on increasing the number of cans as well. This includes getting more cans out around the Pittsburgh area as well.

Allusion Brewing is currently in Phase 1 as of this writing in May 2022. (Photos courtesy of Allusion Brewing)

Phase 2 will be the buildout of additional seating in the new space they are adding. They’ll be looking to add about 70 more seats to make a total of 100 at the entire location. Semi-outdoor seating will also be available, and some additional windows will be added.

Phase 3 will be the build-out of a full restaurant-style kitchen. Not many details are available on the plans for the restaurant, as John and the team are still working through ideas and details for this phase.

Make sure you follow Allusion Brewing on Facebook and Instagram as they work their way through their expansion phases!