Necromancer Brewing Co. to open a second location inside former Hough's Taproom in Greenfield
A week after Hough’s Taproom in Greenfield closed after 17 years, another establishment will welcome patrons to take a seat at the bar.
Necromancer Brewing Co. plans to open its second location in the vacant spot on Greenfield Avenue by Sept. 1.
“The owners at Hough’s have passed the torch to us, and we couldn’t feel luckier,” said Necromancer owner Ben Butler. “For us, we’re thrilled to bring you a Necromancer spin on the lovely bones — pun intended — of Hough’s. Our mantra for this project is, ‘British Pub, but make it Necromancer.’”
When Necromancer opened two years ago on Babcock Boulevard in Ross, it began by resurrecting brews of the past such as Kentucky Common, a pre-Prohibition dark cream ale and Grisette, a Belgian mining town fresh table beer, and others.
The vision for the Greenfield location is an extension of the brewery’s reach in Pittsburgh, but also a totally different experience, Butler said.
The plan is to consistently have English styles available such as Necromancer’s World Beer Cup winning English Style Pale Ale, or Indiana Brewer’s Cup Dark Mild.
The entire space will be utilized including the drop-down area, which will feature a pool table, lounge seating, a fireplace and a regular cask ale program at a secondary bar. With cask ale, yeast is added to create carbonation naturally, rather then by fermentation. Once tapped, it’s fresh for about 24 hours.
Production will continue at the Ross location, which is currently undergoing an expansion of its taproom.
The canning system was upgraded a few months ago and a larger brewing system and fermentation vessels are set to be online by the end of June to handle supplying both locations.
Hough’s owners shared a Facebook post last week that the time has come for Hough’s to close it doors.
Necromancer posted on Facebook thanking Hough’s “for pouring their heart and soul into the Greenfield community.” Terms of the deal were not released.
Butler said his mission is to continue the care Hough’s had for the neighborhood. A certified cicerone — the beer industry equivalent of a wine sommelier — Butler is the founder of Top Hat, a Pittsburgh-based creative branding agency known for collaborating with the craft beer industry.
Top Hat handled the re-branding for Iron City.
In the Greenfield spot, Necromancer plans to have 18 taps featuring its beer and other local breweries as well. Butler said they can extend the brewer’s license to the new location, which will require specifications of selling their products and others made in Pennsylvania. And that fits the mission of Necromancer to support local businesses.
There will be cocktails and mocktails, too. It will also feature a daytime coffee program.
There will be live music and other entertainment. Butler and his staff are still working on a menu. A name will be announced closer to opening.
Next door, Greenhouse Co-Op will produce small-batch cider. A date for that debut has not been released.
Necromancer’s head brewer and head of sales live in Greenfield and alerted Butler about the space being available.
“They told me to come check it out so I did,” Butler said. “I have been in search of a second location for a while. We wanted a neighborhood bar. We really liked this place.”
When Butler opened Necromancer, the brand started with the idea to resurrect dead beers.
“The name came from that concept,” Butler said. “In this case, we’re seeing ourselves extend into resurrecting a bar.”
JoAnne Klimovich Harrop is a TribLive reporter covering the region's diverse culinary scene and unique homes. She writes features about interesting people. The Edward R. Murrow award-winning journalist began her career as a sports reporter. She has been with the Trib for 26 years and is the author of "A Daughter's Promise." She can be reached at jharrop@triblive.com.
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