Drink beer, get a free koozie from Allegheny County breweries

Craft beer enthusiasts can drink their way to a free koozie while exploring Allegheny County’s 34 breweries.

A new collaboration between VisitPittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Brewers Guild will offer the free koozie (the insulating covers for a can) to anyone who collects five stamps for buying five beers from guild breweries around the county.

Cards are available at the breweries or at a VisitPittsburgh Welcome Center. The nine centers are located at attractions around the city, from the airport to Downtown to the Duquesne Incline.

The cards are an adjustment to an existing Brewers Guild promotion, the Pittsburgh Brewery Guide and its corresponding website (pghbreweryguide.com), which was launched last year. The guide cost patrons around $10 and required a visit to all 34 breweries to earn a prize. The card from the guild and VisitPittsburgh is free and requires only five stamps.

Brian Eaton, chairman of the Pittsburgh Brewers Guild and founder of Grist House in Millvale, said the cards are geared toward weekend visitors and business travelers in the city — people who don’t have the time to visit all 34 breweries to earn the prize.

Eaton said the goal is to inspire both visitors and locals to branch out and visit breweries they wouldn’t normally go to, motivated by the free prize.

The cards are more appealing to tourists and are less of a commitment for locals, said Josh Lipke, co-owner of Leaning Cask Brewing Co. in Springdale and member of the Pittsburgh Brewers Guild.

“We are definitely excited about them, and I think it will be a really cool thing for people to do,” Lipke said. “It’s just really accessible.”

Eaton said the card was launched purposefully on Tuesday, in time for the influx of visitors for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Craft beer is a major draw for tourists to Pittsburgh, said Tom Loftus, chief marketing officer of VisitPittsburgh. Visitors are looking for cities where there is a lot to do in the way of sports, food, arts and culture. Promoting the county’s breweries is key to the success of Pittsburgh tourism, he said.

“For us, it’s a no-brainer,” said Loftus. “Craft beer is driving tourism across the country.”

The original Pittsburgh Brewery Guide was also a huge success, said Eaton. After its launch last year, member breweries reported seeing more and more patrons carrying the guide. The card is expected to have similar results, Eaton said.

Once cardholders collect five stamps by ordering a beer at a member brewery, they can bring their completed cards to a Welcome Pittsburgh Information Center and Gift Shop on the first floor of Fifth Avenue Place or to the Welcome Center inside the East Lobby of the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

For Eaton, the partnership with VisitPittsburgh on the promotion is an important step for the region’s craft beer community.

“It really shows that the official tourism bureau for the city is interested and tied into beer tourism and the kind of impact that can have on a city,” Eaton said.