USA, PA: Necromancer Brewing Co. plans to open in North Hills before the end is over

Before the year is over, Ben Butler and Aaron Easler plan to raise the dead, NEXTpittsburgh reported on September 12.

At an as-yet-unnamed location in the North Hills, where suds-makers are scarce, they’re planning to open Necromancer Brewing Co. to resurrect forgotten beer styles. They won’t be summoning spirits, just historical knowledge and brewing know-how.

There will be several core offerings, including a New England IPA, a Belgian witbier and a grisette, plus 15 other specialty beers in rotation.

When the space debuts, it will be a pickup site for 16-ounce cans in four-packs and cases. Necromancer also will handle retail accounts for local bars and restaurants and will deliver beer to doorsteps within a 25-mile radius.

As the COVID-19 situation improves, the partners plan to open a large taproom, restaurant and production facility — also in the North Hills — by 2022.

“Right now, we’re focused on making really good beer and without putting anyone in danger,” says Butler, who, along with Easler, runs the Millvale-based marketing firm Top Hat.

The marketing company specializes in beer branding. They’ve created more than 200 unique beer can designs for seven regional breweries in areas from Alaska to Florida and helped to revitalize hometown favorite Iron City Beer. Those client experiences, combined with a love of the beverage, inspired Butler to become a certified cicerone, the beer industry equivalent of a wine sommelier.

Armed with his newfound expertise, Butler approached Easler about starting their own brewery, one that didn’t crank out trendy beers du jour but brought ancient recipes back to life. That is, he explains, how the American craft beer revolution started in the 1980s — reviving old standbys such as India Pale Ale for a new generation.

Brewmaster Lauren Hughes is up to the task.

The award-winning homebrewer went pro at several local establishments, including Penn Brewery. Lately, she’s been researching time-honored recipes that, for one reason or another, have fallen in and out of favor with the drinking masses.

“It allows me to flex my brewing muscles and take a crack at a style that no one has done in many years,” says Hughes, a member of The Pink Boots Society and Master Brewers Association.

The self-proclaimed hophead is excited for folks to try her hazy IPA, as well as lesser-known but historically beloved varieties such as Kentucky common cream ale and Schwarzbier, a black lager.

“It’s a bit risky,” Butler says of the decision to unearth long-buried recipes, “but we’re ready to plant our flag in the ground and show you a world of different styles.”

E-malt.com, the global information source for the brewing and malting industry professionals. The bi-weekly E-malt.com Newsletters feature latest industry news, statistics in graphs and tables, world barley and malt prices, and other relevant information. Click here to get full access to E-malt.com. If you are a Castle Malting client, you can get free access to E-malt.com website and publications. Contact us for more information at marketing@castlemalting.com .