You can add Neshannock Creek Brewing to the list of breweries that will soon be calling Pennsylvania home. The brewery, which is the brainchild of Eric Fulkerson, will soon open its doors in a more than 130-year-old building in New Castle, PA.

We recently spoke with Eric to learn more about how Neshannock came to be and his passion for the craft brewing space. As the story goes his first exposure to brewing craft beer came 15 years ago when he bought his dad a homebrewing kit for him to enjoy. Fast forward 5 years after that and Eric himself began down his own homebrewing journey.

He has since taken this decade of experience and put it into the future home of Neshannock where he will be the owner and head brewer. The nano-brewery will operate on a 1 barrel brewing system out of a 1,000 square foot space located at 20 S Mercer Street in New Castle, PA.

The 130+ year old building was one of the city’s very first hotels and sits adjacent to The Henry Banquet & Event Center which is a 3,000-square-foot event space featuring its own kitchen that Fulkerson confirmed would be utilized by the brewery for special events.

As a 30-year Stationary engineer by trade Fulkerson has been involved in the build out of the taproom himself. Having amassed a wealth of knowledge in HVAC, plumbing, electrical work and more has allowed him the skills to bring a specific vision of how he would like the taproom to look and feel for customers to enjoy.

The exposed brick of the original building will line the walls with copper highlighting the ceilings. The bartop, which is custom-made, will feature a mock creek running through it to pay tribute to the Neshannock Creek which is where the brewery gets its name. (Fulkerson originally grew up along the creek).

You can get a look at how the construction of the space has progressed below:

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Pictures courtesy of Neshannock on Facebook

As Fulkerson confirmed he is “trying to bring back the history of the building.” Restoring the building is all a part of the main plan that is driving this brewery. “I am community focused. I want to bring the community together and get this town back to growing again” Fulkerson said about what motivates him to open Neshannock. Restoring this space is a step in the direction of building a sense of pride for local businesses in town.

The plan for Neshannock is to offer a variety of diverse, yet approachable beers. Fulkerson imagines that most beers will fall somewhere around 5-6% ABV and also has plans for barrel aging. One beer that Fulkerson has already become quite synonymous for is his “Crick Water” Cream Ale. A beer that, as we learned, has become quite a hit with the locals. So much so that the website address CrickBeer.com is owned by Neshannock. The plan is to make this a regular offering while also brewing a Coffee version as well.

In addition to beer, Neshannock will offer a variety of locally made wines and spirits. A small food menu will be available as well as food trucks. As of this writing the plan is to open in early Summer 2023. You can follow Neshannocks progress directly by visiting them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.