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| - I saw Church Brew Works on some sort of Buzzfeed-type list which coincided nicely with a visit to Pittsburgh happening a week later, and so I decided to give it a shot. I figured the chances of me catching fire in a deconsecrated church were much lower than in a regular church, and there was beer. Check and check.
Overall? Novel, but overrated. Everything from the exterior of the building and the faux-billboard sign to the bar and brewing equipment in altar/sanctuary area inside the church is a bit of a head trip to see and experience, but once you get past the novelty of it all, the food and beer itself is pretty average. A colleague I was visiting in Pittsburgh put it best by saying 'it's a place you only visit once, usually with friends from out of town'.
A group of colleagues and I visited Church Brew Works on a Wednesday at 7pm, and the beer wasn't the only thing that was hopping here (it was pretty busy). We were seated immediately (reservation), however it took us about 20+ minutes to get the first round of drinks after we ordered them. I don't know what took so long - perhaps he had to climb all the way up to the belfry to fetch them? Regardless, instant strike one. They have about 15 beers to choose from - 25% seasonal and 75% fixed) and you can also order sampler flights of up to 8 beers. I sampled 4 or 5, and really didn't find any of them to be very impressive. The rotating coffee stout I ordered was pretty boring, although I did enjoy the pale ale. Unfortunately it took me another 20 minutes to get it after ordering. Seriously, what's the deal with a brew pub not being on top of drink orders? Strike two. I will say that despite the delay, our server was very friendly and helpful.
We ordered food, and I got the bison corn dogs (yum!) and the boar jambalaya (meh). I've never eaten either meat, and I was happy for the opportunity. The corn dogs were breaded and cooked perfectly, and came with honey mustard and ketchup condiments. The jambalaya was not very impressive. Actually, it was boring. It was more of a rice dish than an actual jambalaya, which was disappointing. My friend really liked the pierogies, and all of the desserts were well-received. I liked the bread pudding that I sampled off of someone else's plate.
The server split the check 10 ways for us without asking, so that was a nice plus. I found some of the dishes to be a bit overpriced for what they were, but perhaps you're also paying for the novelty of it all? (and maybe the heating bill for a church in late November).
I recommend visiting this place for the novelty, but a place with 'Brew Works' in the name needs to have better beer for me to give it a better review.
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