church brew works

a unique brewpub in an even more unique location. solid beer offerings, creative menu, and did i mention the pizza? dollar for dollar, one of the best pizzas that money can buy in the area. 👍🍺🍕

what a rad place. great food for a really solid price. not a place you see everyday, but one i wish i could. only drawback is there is no gluten free beer.

what a wacky place! i always loved coming here and still do... i always make a point of bragging about it and bringing my friends here, and when we're finished, they understand why! i never really had a taste for ipa's until i went and tried a fresh pint of renegade black ipa... my favorite and my gateway into the wide world of the horridly hoppy! the pierogie pizza is a must try especially with bacon unless you really hate feeling a hair overstuffed... only complaint was the lack of tvs at the bar; had to contort a bit to get a view of the baseball game given our seats... otherwise, never fails to send me home ecstatic!

awesome beer in a unique atmosphere. despite the disaster that was my break up with my ex last summer, i still keep coming back to the place we first met in person- cbw! i ridiculously love their thunderhop ipa and it is always my go-to beer if none of the seasonal varieties peak my interest. i'm not a fan of the celestial gold but my (new-er) bf, who is not much of a beer drinker and prefers wine or mixed drinks, enjoyed it and said it's "perfect for non-beer drinkers". since i last reviewed any of the menu options, i have sampled a lot, hence the need for an update!
as far as apps go, the spinach, feta, and smoked gouda dip is great for sharing and has that oozy, cheesy "comfort" taste to it. this is always a winner in my book, particularly because gouda and feta are my two favorite types of cheeses. the chips are, well, just chips. maybe warmed pita bread would be a tastier substitution to the chips in the future. the bruschetta is also a solid appetizer to share. the ratio of toppings to bread (which usually annoys me when ordering bruschetta because i constantly feel like i'm left with either a lot of topping and no crostinis or the exact opposite) is perfect!
in addition to the wild boar bbq pizza (which will always be my favorite pie at cbw), i've also had the pleasure of enjoying the artichoke, spinach, and feta pizza and the chicken and sundried tomato pizza. both were very flavorful and served pipping hot right out of the oven. the ingredients were very fresh and evenly distributed throughout the pie. the sundried tomato pizza i enjoyed actually was "on the house" because the bartender (such a quirky guy but well-meaning) clearly forgot to ring in the order (the big clue was when it had been 25 minutes and he asked what we had ordered again). being the pizzas here are a bit on the pricey end, i greatly appreciated this generosity particularly considering the inconvenience as well.
i've also had the opportunity to sample some of their sandwiches, and i was pretty impressed with those as well! i've tried the buffalo burger, the chicken and brie sandwich, and the pulled pork sandwich. the buffalo burger, cooked to a perfect mr, was so flavorful in it's natural juices that i did not use any condiments or have any add ons (like bacon or sauteed mushrooms or onions-perhaps next time since all of a sudden that sounds amazingly delicious!) with the chicken and brie sandwich, i loved how the brie complimented the granny smith apple slices on the sandwich! it was cheesy yet not overly so-very delicious! the pulled pork sandwich was very tasty too-particularly the bbq sauce which i believe to be the same used on the wild boar bbq pizza!
and just a general statement on the atmosphere-pretty freakin' awesome! how many people can say they have drank beer in a decommissioned catholic church?! for that fact alone, you should take my word and check out cbw for yourself!

was visiting this past weekend for a concert and decided to try this place out, as recommended by a coworker. the beer was tasty and unique (i'm a craft beer lover) and my friend and it split two appetizers, the spinach gouda dip and the traditional perogies. the dip was delicious, and i only wish it would have come on a larger bowl! the perogies were somewhat bland, but still tasty. overall, i love the atmosphere of this place as well as the unique beer and tasty food. if i'm ever in the area again, i'll be back!

nice for group. best bets mussels, beet salad and great 7 onion soup. good pizza and perogi. beer great.

they built a craft brewery inside a fully restored roman catholic church. the church brew works isn’t some gimmick though, over the years they’ve become a pittsburgh staple while achieving the holy trinity of restaurants: fantastic food, great drinks in a unique and beautiful location. plus, they brew beer on an altar!

nestled in pittsburgh’s historic lawrenceville neighbourhood, the church brew works opened in 1996 as the first and only brew pub in america to be located in a historic church. craft beer fans and christian historians gather in the pubs holy dining room to indulge in a thirst quench and cheers to their own personal pittsburgh pilgrimage. renovations to the 8,000 square foot former st. john the baptist church breathed new life into this turn-of-the-century architectural wonder. the refurbishment was so impressive that pittsburgh history and landmarks foundation bestowed an award of merit upon the church brew works for its adaptive reuse of the space. the original douglas fir floors, stained glass windows and hand-painted cypress ceiling were all painstakingly renovated to showcase their original beauty. cbw has also been awarded “best large brewpub in america” at the prestigious great america

first visit. food was excellent and well priced. service was quick and prompt...

hungry for a late-night bite to eat after visiting friends and their brand new baby, we headed to church brew works. it came recommended to me by marissa at the modern austen, and dan remembered that it was a pretty cool place with good pizza.

still mediocre. stopped for a quick dinner today. bartender is quirky and condescending as usual. ordered 4 cheese pizza which was soooooo salty it was almost inedible. won't eat the pizza again there. had the chips and hot smoked gouda dip which was very good . beer was ok, but nothing to write home about as always. the place has a distinctive smell to it, mix of sulphur and old beer. i keep trying to give this place a fair shake but i just can't keep going back .

used to be good/not anymore. i was there on tuesday and was very unhappy with the quality of the food. one of our party had the salmon dish . the salmon was good but it was served with some kind of greens that were an overcooked, slimey ,greasey mess. that ruined the taste of the salmon. i ordered a dish that i thought would be stew like dish made with wild boar. it turned out to be canned pinto beans with some kind of tomato sauce and a little bit of shreaded meat. who knows what kind of meat and the dish looked like dog food right out of the can without any flavor.i could have prepared this dish at home for less than two dollars.
when we first entered we were given a menu and there wasn't much of a selaction to choose from. we ordered from this menu and a little while later we started to see the other patrons being served items that we didn't have on our menu. if you are going to have two menus, you need to give the patrons both of them.
on a positive note, our waiter gave us good service.
i have dined here many times in the past,but your current dinner menu is terrible.

i'm not quite sure if there's a better way to get my attention than creating a brewery in a church . it's kinda edgy and combines two things i enjoy: craft beer and theology. kinda. tony and i were at a conference in pittsburgh, so, of course, we used it as an opportunity to try a new restaurant. church brew works is located on liberty avenue (just down the road from my father's former workplace). the brewing is done, literally, in the alter of the restored roman catholic church. their menu is kind of all over the place, from pierogies and cheesesteak to steamed mussels and buffalo meatloaf. the last one was interesting because i haven't seen it anywhere else. plus it looked to be one of their specials. but first - an appetizer. they have "untraditional pierogies" as a daily special with different fillings. that day was chicken and black bean pierogi with a curry bbq sauce. it was good. it was different. the sauce was a little sweet, which was nice with the savory filling. the meatloaf

use to be good, not any more!. i was there 7 years ago and the beer was good. went today , and the beer was watered down! even my 22 year old son, who doesn't drink beer that often, noticed how watery the beer was! are you kidding me! the menu claims the won beer awards in 2012, not with this beer!

fire the chef, keep the brew master!. had a pretty horrible eating experience at cbw. we had 2 appetizers and 2 main dishes and 2 of them were mediocre, the 2 main courses were outright inedible. overcooked, tasted stale, no flavor etc. good they have some decent beers but overall the quality of food was not justifying the pretty steep price.
advice to management: get one of these restaurant 'turnaround' chefs in, fire your chef, create a small but high quality menu and ensure highest quality of food all the time. this might save you from the inevitable demise.