Brewery Profile

Copper Kettle Brewing Co

In Pittsburgh’s Greenfield neighborhood, Copper Kettle Brewing Co. has been part of the city’s beer landscape in an unusual way. Rather than beginning as a standard production brewery with a fixed lineup, it opened in 2012 as a customer-focused brew-on-premises facility beside Hough’s Taproom. Visitors originally encountered a space built around participation, with patrons using the equipment to make their own beer. That operation ended in December 2023, so the address is now best understood as a brewery in transition rather than a conventional tasting room. The ownership group has announced plans to remodel and rebrand the space as a traditional brewpub with a newly installed five- or ten-barrel brewing system.

Travelers exploring breweries in western Pennsylvania often look for neighborhood-scale stops that show how beer fits into local dining, bar culture, and reuse of existing spaces. Copper Kettle’s former model offered a hands-on version of that experience, while the planned brewpub points toward a more familiar visit built around house-brewed beer served on site. The addition of a coffee roasting operation is also part of the announced plan, which may broaden the daytime and non-beer appeal once the project is complete. For visitors who like seeing how breweries evolve, this is less a finished destination to evaluate by a flagship beer and more a case of a Pittsburgh beer business changing formats after more than a decade in the neighborhood.

Before planning a stop, confirm the current status directly, since the former brew-on-premises operation has closed and the remodel is part of the next phase. The adjacent Hough’s Taproom is tied to the same broader update, with announced changes including new seating, a revised draft wall, and an expanded food menu with lunch service. Until the brewpub relaunch is complete, the taproom is the place to confirm the day’s pours, food availability, and whether any brewing-related activity is open to visitors. Anyone heading to Greenfield specifically for Copper Kettle should check recent hours and project updates rather than relying on older descriptions of the make-your-own-beer format.

Copper Kettle Brewing Co. (CKBC) began operations in 2012 in the Greenfield neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, initially functioning as a customer-focused brew-on-premises facility adjacent to Hough's Taproom. This model allowed patrons to utilize the equipment to brew their own beer until operations ceased in December 2023. Following its closure, the ownership group announced plans to convert the space into a traditional brewpub featuring a newly installed five- or ten-barrel brewing system. The facility is scheduled for a complete remodel and rebranding, which will include the addition of a coffee roasting operation alongside the brewing activities. This transformation is part of a larger strategy by the owners, who are also updating the adjacent Hough's Taproom with new seating, a revised draft wall, and an expanded food menu including lunch service.

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557 Greenfield Ave, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15207-1093

Website: https://www.post-gazette.com/life/drinks/2018/09/27/houghs-greenfield-brewpub-copper-kettle-brewing-bloomfield/stories/201809270003