Acrospire Brewing Co. opens a taproom in Shaler

Inside the “A” in the logo for the newest place to grab a beer in Shaler, an image of a shoot of a grain of barley is visible.

The name of the establishment is Acrospire Brewing Co., and it’s inspired by ingredients in the beer.

The word acrospire means the first sprout appearing in the germination of grain.

“If you look closely, you can see it,” said Eric Truscott of Shaler, who co-owns the brewery with Kevin Murphy of Shaler and Greg Long of Fox Chapel.

The Acrospire taproom opened in May in Mt. Royal Shopping Center, located in the former 412 Bar and Grill space. Prior to that it was the Shaler Lounge, which was there for many years.

“We have big shoes to fill,” Truscott said.

The owners remodeled the entire space, creating a tap room that can accommodate 88 people. There is plenty of seating and lots of natural light. On nice days, two garage doors can be opened to create an outdoor feel.

It’s much larger than Acrospire’s original 800-square-foot space, which was also located in Shaler and sold cans and growlers. The idea to open a brewery came from discussions on a 150-mile bicycle ride from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, Md., on the Great Allegheny Passage for Truscott and Long in 2017. Long pulled a cooler of various beers he made on a trailer on the back of his bike. The cyclists took breaks to “hydrate” with beer.

“By the end of the trip, we were talking about opening a brewery,” Truscott said. “People have told us they are so glad we are here.”

They worked through the details after the trip which led them to that first space on Butler Plank Rd. They found out this space was available last year. It’s a little over 3,000 square feet. Part of the décor includes a wooden door inside that’s decorated with stickers from other breweries.

They plan to host bingo games and live entertainment as well as a special event for Shaler Area High School’s annual homecoming.

Dogs are welcomed outside and they plan to add outdoor seating.

The beer is brewed in-house — there are 15 taps. They will have four of their flagship beers available year-round – Honeycomb, an oat honey ale; Serendipity, a west coast IPA; Mighty Fortress, an Imperial IPA; and a caramel porter.

The plan is to mix up the other choices based on customer feedback including several seasonal beers throughout the year.

Long is the brewmaster. A chemist with more than two decades of experience making beer, you can see him on Saturdays and often Fridays brewing beer — all of which will be done on-site.

They brew two to three times a week in barrel and a half-batches. You can smell the beer when Long is brewing, Truscott said.

“We have a variety, which I think customers like,” said Murphy, who is a customer turned co-owner.

“For us, it’s a passion,” Truscott said. “Greg loves brewing beer. He wants people to enjoy beer. Breweries have become like the neighborhood bar. Everybody knows everybody. Employees know what you like when you walk in the door. It’s like (the sitcom) ‘Cheers.’”

In addition to beer, they’ve included a cocktail from Maggie’s Farm Rum Distillery in the Strip District and two canned cocktails from Quantum Spirits in Carnegie. Pennsylvania craft spirits will be on rotation. As for food, the brewery serves snacks and hosts food trucks.

Acrospire is a member of the Pittsburgh Brewers Guild which offers a Pittsburgh brewery trail guide where people can create their own or choose a pre-made experience of the more than 40 breweries in Western Pennsylvania.

Truscott said the guide has led many new customers to Acrospire. He said the fact that Western Pennsylvania has so many beer options is wonderful.

“What is that saying, ‘A high (rising) tide floats all boats,’” he said.

Acrospire has been a great addition to the Pittsburgh beer scene since they opened their doors in 2000, said Jen Walzer, owner of Inner Groove Brewing in Verona and Allentown and a board member of the Pittsburgh Brewers Guild.

“Having a great team and quality product, it is no surprise of the new expansion,” Walzer said. “We’re looking forward to seeing what they are up to next.”

One of the things they are up to is hosting a Christmas in July event on July 29 with a Pittsburgh cookie table and an ugly T-shirt party (instead of an ugly sweater).

“I want this place to look like the ‘Christmas Vacation’ house,” Truscott said. “I want it to be over the top with Christmas decorations. We like it here. We are here for the long haul. It’s a wonderful area and there are a lot of beer aficionados.”

Acrospire Brewing Co. is located at 1702 Mt. Royal Blvd. Hours are 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, noon to 10 p.m. Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday