Passionate beer makers bring Drowning Fish Brewing Company to Bethel Park

A friendship that began decades ago over a mutual affinity for homebrewed beer has culminated in the opening of a new brewpub in Bethel Park.

Don Tomino of Pleasant Hills and Mike Ameel of Bethel Park plan to open the doors to the Drowning Fish Brewing Company along Library Road by May.

Tomino and Ameel met at a homebrew club about 25 years ago, after the two individually sought out beer-making as a hobby. Since then, both have competed in local brewing competitions and won several awards for their beers.

For Tomino, who used to own Memories Studio and a beer distributor, it all started when he tasted craft beers and loved the various flavors. His wife, Pam, bought him a book on beer that focused on varying styles.

“There was a short chapter in the back on making your own beer. So I started making some at home, and the first batches were really pretty bad,” he said, laughing.

He kept at it and eventually joined Three Rivers Alliance of Serious Home Brewers, or TRASH, where he learned more and more about the art and science of brewing beer.

Ameel’s love for making beer came out of an enjoyment of cooking. A civil engineer by trade, Ameel said he likes following recipes to “see what comes of it.”

“If I see a recipe I like, I’ll cut it out of the newspaper. I have a giant shoebox of recipes. I tweak some over the years, scrap others or keep the ones I like,” he said.

The brewpub is located at 5454 Library Road in Bethel Park, in the bar that most recently housed Duke’s Station.

Tomino and Ameel will have 12 taps in the bar of varying styles of beer, including porters, stouts, blonde ales and IPAs. One of the taps, Tomino said, will be dedicated to cold-drip coffee.

Tomino and Ameel like drinking traditional beers — porters and stouts during cold months and IPAs in the summer.

While Tomino has won some awards for his fruit-flavored IPAs and there might be one or two on the menu from time to time, don’t expect those beers to dominate the menu.

“I don’t like walking into a place where everything is fruit-flavored — I like the more traditional styles. But we’ll probably have hazy IPAs, too. If something sells well, we might add it to the regular beer menu,” Ameel said, adding his Belgian heritage influences his style.

“If I had to pick one (beer) to drink for rest of my life, I’d go with an IPA. Mike is good at Belgian beers. He usually differs from what I like to make, I think that gives us good variety,” Tomino said.

Tomino said the Drowing Fish name came to him during a brainstorming session over some beers with his daughter.

“I was trying to come up with the goofiest name I could. So I said something about a drowning fish. She laughed and said she liked it,” he said.

After presenting the name to friends and Ameel — who all liked the tongue-in-cheek humor of it — it grew on him.

The Drowning Fish will also have a small food menu, courtesy of some of Ameel’s favorite recipes. Dishes include chicken and waffles, fries, artisan-style pizza and panini sandwiches. Tomino said the food’s ingredients will be locally sourced as much as possible. And the beer will be brewed in-house in the pub’s basement, which has 13-foot high ceilings and enough room to store an eight-barrel system with four fermenters.

The space will seat around 70 people in the dining room. The owners are hoping to allow outdoor seating, which will be located in the parking lot.

The brewpub is looking to hire servers and line cooks. Anyone 18 or older and senior citizens are encouraged to apply, Tomino said.

When it opens, the hours will be 4 to 10 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, 11 a.m. to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays. It will be closed Mondays and Tuesdays.