The Northside | North Shore Chamber of Commerce recently traded business suits for brewing boots during a special brew day at Penn Brewery, where Chamber board members, past Members of the Month, and the winning designers of the Chamber’s beer can contest, Fine Humans Creative Agency, came together to brew a beer with a distinctly Northside connection.
The result is 1897, a limited-edition American wheat beer brewed with cinnamon and named in honor of the Chamber’s founding year.
Hosted on-site at Penn Brewery, the brew day gave participants an opportunity to learn about the craft brewing process firsthand while rolling up their sleeves and taking part in the production of the Chamber’s signature beer.
Penn Brewery’s three-vessel brewing system allowed participants to follow the process from grain to fermenter.
The process began with the mash, where the grains were mixed with hot water to convert the natural starches in the malt into fermentable sugars. The mixture was then moved through the lauter stage, separating the liquid from the spent grain. The resulting sugary liquid, known as wort, was collected and transferred for the boil.
During the boil, hops were added to contribute bitterness and aroma to the beer. Following the boil, the wort entered the whirlpool, a process that helps separate the hops and other solids from the liquid. It was at this stage that the beer’s signature ingredient — cinnamon — was added, giving 1897 its distinctive character.
The wort was then chilled and aerated before being transferred to the fermenter, where yeast works its magic, converting the sugars into alcohol and creating the finished beer.
For the Chamber, the experience was about more than brewing a beer. It was an opportunity to celebrate local businesses, bring members together, and showcase the craftsmanship and history that make Pittsburgh’s Northside a special place.
The 1897 beer can design was created by Fine Humans Creative Agency, the winner of the Chamber’s beer can design contest. The design, paired with the cinnamon wheat ale brewed by Chamber members on-site at Penn Brewery, creates a limited- edition product that celebrates both the Chamber’s history and the neighborhood’s brewing heritage.
Preorder 1897 and support the Chamber
Beer lovers can get their hands on this limited- edition brew while supporting the Northside | North Shore Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber is holding a pre-sale fundraiser, with a portion of the proceeds from the beer sales benefiting the Cham- ber.
1897 is available for preorder as a limited-edition six-pack, with pickup beginning Aug. 27 at Penn Brewery.
To reserve your beer, visit the Penn Brewery online ordering system and select the 1897 Limited Edition Northside Northshore Chamber of Commerce 6-pack. When ordering, customers are asked to enter their name and phone number in the Special Requests field.
The Chamber encourages residents, businesses, and visitors to support this collaboration and raise a glass to the organization that has been connecting and supporting the Northside business community since 1897.
Penn Brewery celebrates a gold-medal winning tradition
The Chamber’s brew day also provided an opportunity to celebrate Penn Brewery’s continued success on the national and international beer competition stage.
Most recently, Penn Brewery’s Eisbock earned a Gold Medal at the U.S. Open Beer Championship in Cincinnati, Ohio. The beer was submitted for a blind tasting competition, where judges evaluated it alongside entries from breweries competing in the same category without knowing the brewery behind each beer.
Producing an Eisbock is a challenging brewing process. The style is created by freezing the beer and removing a portion of the water in the form of ice, concentrating the remaining beer and intensifying its flavors, alcohol content, and body. The process requires precision and careful attention to balance.
The gold medal marks a back-to-back win for Penn Brewery in 2025 and 2026, adding another accomplishment to the brewery’s long history of award-winning beers.
Penn Brewery Biermeister Chris Rudolph is already looking ahead.
“We’re going for the trifecta for next year,” Rudolph said.
The brewery also celebrated a win at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver last fall for its Oktoberfest beer, adding to its reputation for producing traditional German-style beers alongside its broader lineup of craft offerings.
Raise a glass to local
The Northside | North Shore Chamber encourages the community to visit Penn Brewery, support a local business, and experience the brewery’s beers and hospitality firsthand.
Penn Brewery’s bar is open Thursday through Friday from 4-8 p.m., Saturday from 3-8 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m., with a limited bar menu available.
The brewery will also celebrate Oktoberfest Sept. 18–20 and Sept. 25–27. Friday and Saturday celebrations will run from 5-11:30 p.m., while Sundays will feature a Family Day from noon to 7 p.m.
From brewing a limited-edition beer with Chamber members to bringing home gold medals from national competitions, Penn Brewery continues to be a part of the Northside’s vibrant business and cultural landscape.
The Chamber’s 1897 beer offers the community another way to celebrate that connection—one cinnamon wheat ale at a time.
Cheers to local business. Cheers to local beer. And cheers to 1897!
