Welcome to our “Meet The Brewer” series! Where we interview brewers in Pennsylvania, from breweries small to large. Let us know if you know anyone who should be featured, email us at [email protected].

Helltown Brewing first opened its doors in 2011 and has been expanding ever since. With the initial brewery and taproom in Mt. Pleasant, Helltown has 3 other PA locations: Houston, Export, and 1700 Penn Ave in Pittsburgh’s Strip District. Pat Harris is the head brewer of Helltown Brewing. Read more to find out how he got started as a brewer, the most important lesson he’s learned so far, and more!

What was your introduction to craft beer?

​All of my formal work experience in craft beer has been with Helltown. I started here in late 2016 (or early 2017?). In terms of drinking craft beer, my first experience was probably stealing stouts, porters, and imports from the beer fridge when I was a kid. And I really got into it in college at the singular craft beer bar in the town where I went to school.

How did you get started as a brewer?

​When I was in high school my dad saw an advertisement for a homebrew kit associated with a brewing competition. He thought it would be one of those cool father-son bonding experiences for us to do together so he bought it and we brewed a little 5-gallon batch. Once he realized that he couldn’t brew on Friday and drink it on Saturday, he kind of lost interest. Being a little delinquent, I was more than happy to keep brewing without him. I kept the hobby up with varying degrees of success and failure for the next 10 or so years until I had the opportunity to work at Helltown and make it a full-time gig.

What style allows you to be the most creative, and why?

My first reaction is to say IPAs because there are so many yeasts and hop varieties and combinations that it’s mind-boggling at times. But, the reality is I feel most excited to brew what some people here affectionately referred to as “old man beer”. I love trying to make a passable version of high-quality, traditional-style beers like a German Pils or Rauchbier. Even if they aren’t the sexiest thing on the tap list, the task of adapting our techniques and ingredients to styles that have been brewed and perfected by experts for literally hundreds of years is really challenging and fun.

What was the first beer you ever brewed, and what did you learn from it?

​I have no recollection of what the first beer I made was if I were to guess I’d say a pale ale or amber ale out of a kit. However, I do remember being pleasantly surprised it wasn’t terrible. I definitely learned more from some of the subsequent batches that were very bad though. The fact that it’s not hard to make good beer, but rather, that it is just very easy to make bad beer is the most basic lesson I’ve learned over the years.

Where do you see the craft beer industry heading in the next few years?

With the craziness of this past year and the strange trends we are still seeing, I am very reluctant to claim any kind of foresight about the near future of the industry. What I’m hoping for though is that beer drinkers rediscover quality beer-flavored beer. We’ve seen the pendulum swing from the most IBUS to the highest ABV barrel-aged beers, to the haziest orange-juiciest IPAs, to fruit bomb malt liquors. There is so much great beer that is underappreciated which once people get their hands on, they tend to really appreciate. That being said, we are not planning on eliminating our NE IPAs anytime soon.

Describe what it’s like to be a brewer in Pennsylvania.

​I imagine similar to being a brewer in Ohio. In all seriousness, there are a ton of breweries here putting out quality beer, and I think that really requires everyone to bring their A-game, which in the end creates this rising tide that helps everyone involved. Occasionally I’ll be traveling and find myself in a craft beer desert, and it makes me realize how easy it is to take for granted the volume of great beer available here every day.

What is the inspiration behind your beer names?

There is a whole range of things: Nerdy pop culture, music, cars, animosity and frustration, the dark arts, ancient aliens. All the basics.

What is your favorite beer to drink right now?

Right now, I’m all about a more nuanced, less aggressive beer. I will without shame say our Helltown Latis IPA is one of my go-to beers right now, as is the old standby Prima Pils. Maybe not my “favorite” beer but with the oppressive heat upon us already I’m drinking more redneck Corona’s than I would care to admit. That’s Highlife with a lemon in it for the uninitiated, preferably a can.

What is the most important lesson you learned in the beer industry so far?

It’s just beer, and if it’s not fun, (at least most of the time) then something is wrong. I’ve had several people tell me similar things over the years and with all the difficulties we as a brewery, an industry, and society have gone through recently, I’m really starting to lean into that thesis. Also, never add unfermented fruit to beer unless you have a pasteurizer.