Back in March of this year, we spoke with the Pittsburgh Brewing Company (makers of Iron City Beer) as they embarked on the building of a 170,000+ square foot brewing facility. (You can read more from that conversation here). This massive expansion will allow the brewing company to accomplish many different goals and increase overall beer production.
But producing more beer wasn’t the only driving factor with the addition of this facility. As we learned the opening of this new brewing operation would give Pittsburgh Brewing Company an opportunity to get creative with their offerings as well. Whether that is looking at the return of past brands, growing on existing brands, or (in this case) the release of special limited edition beers.
And what better way to celebrate a special limited release than with a coach that brought a Super Bowl to town? The brewing company announced over social media that they will soon be releasing special, limited edition cans celebrating iconic Steelers coach Bill Cowher.
In a press release about the news from the brewing company, Coach Cowher had the following to share: “Iron City is an iconic brand which is representative of the people and culture of Pittsburgh. Being a native Yinzer, I am honored to be featured on their cans in support of the Cowher Foundation. Ron Mahoney’s illustration captures one of my favorite photos from my coaching years.”
“When Coach Cowher was being interviewed at his Hall Of Fame induction, he mentioned that he left a can of Iron City in the Coaches Room refrigerator,” says Todd Zwicker, president of Pittsburgh Brewing. “Coach Tomlin confirmed it was still there. I thought that was very unique and how great it would be to produce a Coach Cowher can.”
As we shared in the past, special projects like this are just one aspect of the new Pittsburgh Brewing Company expansion. In addition to special releases, the brewery also plans to increase overall beer production. This new facility will allow them to double regular production, producing as much as 200,000 barrels in one year. The new facility also has plans for a brewery store, museum, restaurant, marina (as it overlooks the water), and even its own Distillery. As of right now, the space has just started producing beer with many of the plans mentioned above coming in the future.
According to posts by the brewery on social media, the special Bill Cowher themed cans will start making their way to distributors during the first week of October. As of this writing, there is no confirmation on which distributors will have the beer, so it is best to follow Iron City on Facebook and Instagram as updates become available.
