Arboretum Trail Brewing Company is one of the latest breweries to offer beer in Pittsburgh. However, the Veteran owned brewery isn’t opening a taproom right away, and instead opting to brew beer for distribution immediately.

We spoke with the two owners of Arboretum Trail; Ben Steffen and Dan Schultz, to learn more about their operation, and when beer fans can expect to see their product. When we spoke on March 8th, the two were in the middle of their first-ever brew day to dial in their new brewhouse.

The duo will be operating on a 3.5 barrel brewhouse, which is situated at a facility in the Pleasant Hills borough of Allegheny County. In mid-April, they are looking to take delivery of 3 stainless steel fermenters and 1 brite tank, to scale up brewing. Once these are in place, we are told the brewery can start delivering kegs to bars, as well as possibly some cans and special releases. The end goal for the two is to have a taproom in roughly 2 years.

Read our conversation with Ben Steffen below:

BIPA: What stage are you currently in?

Ben: We are right at the finish line, and will have our LCB license in the next week or two. We also have some labels approved for cans in the future.

BIPA: Where did the name come from?

Ben: Well we originally were going to go with another name, but decided against it. Pleasant Hills Arboretum is right by us, and we loved the name Arboretum Trail Brewing Company. After we get up and running, we may have some initiatives geared towards the Arboretum.

BIPA: What styles of beers will you focus on?

Ben: We will have a true variety of beers that we will make. Right now we want 50% hoppy ales. We also love hoppy lagers, regular lagers, and saisons. Homebrewing I have made a lot of recipes and I will be making all sorts of styles, including blonde ale, cream ale, honey brown ale, and coffee porter. If things go well, we will can some of these.

BIPA: Will you release crowlers/cans there as well?

Ben: Yes, we will release 16oz cans occasionally, we already have the labels approved. We have been talking with some bottle shops around the city and will work to get those out when possible.

BIPA: How can the community support you?

Ben: Towards the end of April we will have merchandise. It will be a starter pack with t-shirts, stickers, and a variety four-pack of beer, so keep an eye out! Also, follow us on social media and our website for when we release new cans.

BIPA: Anything else our readers should know about the Arboretum Brewery?

Ben: I started out as a homebrewer, and I worked together with Dan. We made a few beers together and decided this was something we wanted to do professionally, so we became partners. The brewery is 18 months in the making!

Thanks to Ben and Dan for talking with us about Arboretum Trail Brewing Company. Make sure to follow the brewery on Facebook and Instagram to see updates.