As the saying goes, everything old is new again. And that is the case as the team at Velum Fermentation brings brewing back to the corner of Mary and 21st Streets in the South Side Flats of Pittsburgh; the former home of Duquesne Brewing.
The brewery, which will officially be located at 2120 Jane Street, is the brainchild of Nate McLaughlin who has an extensive background in the brewing industry. He brought his sister-in-law, Jenna McLaughlin, into the project as the General Manager as they both share a passion for all things fermentation. They originally started homebrewing together when they lived in Bellingham, Washington. We sat down with the duo to learn more about the future brewery coming to Allegheny County.
Nate’s background in brewing begins with how many of us would dream. In 2010 he quit his job with the goal to pursue a career in craft beer. Originally from Franklin, PA he enrolled in a six-month brewing certificate course at UC Davis and flew off to California to pursue his dream.
He took an internship with Deschutes Brewing (Bend, OR) and was eventually hired full-time at the brewery spending a few years honing his craft. He has spent the past 12 years at a variety of different brewing locations across the country to continue to get to where he is today. Most notably working in Pennsylvania at Victory Beer and more recently being a part of the team that helped launch Pitt Street Brewing in Greenville, NC.
Jenna, who is married to Nate’s twin brother, took a different career path to get to Velum. A path that local customers should find very exciting. Having graduated with a degree in Molecular Biology, Jenna has spent the majority of her career in the Genomics Science space.
In 2020 she would go on to earn a certificate in Brewing Technology through the Siebel Institute. She has combined her expertise in biology with an emerging interest in the brewing industry by implementing quality control measures and supporting barrel projects. Her official capacity with the brewery will be responsible for all managerial and operational needs as the General Manager. Consumers should also look forward to the level of brewing quality she will provide to Velum through her professional past.
As mentioned above, Nate and Jenna originally met in Washington state. Opening a brewery in Pittsburgh was not an accident. When Nate was looking for a city to start his own brewery he wanted a city and space that was large enough to create something exciting and allow room for growth. He also wanted a city with a growing and emerging craft beer scene, somewhere that he felt was not oversaturated with craft beer. And Pittsburgh was decided on.
(Photos courtesy Velum Fermentation)
The brewery will operate off of a 30 barrel brew system with four 60 barrel fermenters. Nate’s background has touched such a wide variety that he would like to brew almost every style imaginable. The plan is for Velum, in addition to a variety of craft beer styles, to also offer non-alcoholic, gluten-free, low ABV, and kombucha options as well.
Along with the brewing equipment mentioned above, the brewery will also install a Wild Goose four head canner which will allow them to release cans almost immediately.
As for the space, the duo shared that they intend to build a community center, focused on arts and the wide variety of individuals that make up the craft beer scene. The building they will operate within is over 35,000 square feet. They plan to fill the space with arcade games, bocce ball, and more. As Nate informed us, “we want to fill the space with a lot of entertainment. I like to have fun things to do while having a beer, and want my customers to have that as well.” The space intends to be family-friendly, offering a variety of activities beyond just beer.
They do not plan to offer their own food to start. The current goal is to offer food trucks. As Nate shared, “Pittsburgh has an amazing food truck scene, so we are excited to work with as many as possible.” And then eventually they would like to open an onsite kitchen of their own. The brewery even has a restaurateur identified as someone who can bring this dream to reality.
Velum is currently in the construction phase. However, they plan to begin brewing test batches by late February, with several soft openings to take place soon after. Keep up with their growth by following them on Instagram and Facebook. And stay tuned for more details as they get closer to opening.
