Just type “brewery” and “Phoenixville” into a search engine, and you might be surprised at how many establishments you find. “Downtown Phoenixville has more breweries per square foot than anywhere else in America. It’s true!” said Laura Vernola of Steel City Coffeehouse & Brewery. While Steel City has long been a popular coffeehouse and music venue — 20 years, in fact — its brewhouse addition is relatively new.
Laura and Ed, her husband and business partner, purchased Steel City in 2016, becoming the venue’s fifth proprietors. The decision to add the brewhouse came after. “About two years ago, we were introduced to the Stoney Creek Homebrewers, a social club focusing on the education and promotion of the hobby of homebrewing,” Laura explained. “We got invited to a member meeting, and there we met Seth Clearwater and Josh Weikert. They both expressed interest and began teaching us about the niche and need for craft brewing, as well as about equipment and proper glassware. Soon after, we hired Seth as our head brewer, and Josh as our brewery consultant.”
Prior to Steel City’s beer-brewing efforts, guests enjoyed a BYOB policy that added libations to the table during musical acts. “While a good portion of our guests enjoyed the BYOB aspect of our business, we had many that expressed their desire to not have to BYOB in order to enjoy an adult beverage or two during any of our concerts and events,” Laura added. “With Phoenixville becoming a destination for beer lovers, it just made sense for us to add beer to the list of housemade creations that Steel City is becoming known for.”
One of the interesting connections within Steel City’s business model is that it’s known for brewing coffee as well as beer. The coffeehouse adds something unique to the space, which means you can get a handcrafted espresso during the day, but also enjoy a cold draught at night. “We’re essentially a coffeehouse/cafe that transitions to a listening room in the evening. The heart and soul of Steel City has always been the arts, and the local, regional and national artists that we support,” Laura said. “In the same way the artists pour their hearts into their work, we put our heart and soul into everything we create at Steel City — our beer in particular. We believe it creates an atmosphere of creativity and positive energy which everyone loves.”
It’s clear that Laura and Ed’s passion and focus and the local community influences their menu as well. Items like the seitan cheesesteak flatbread offer up hearty vegan fare and share the menu with a number of great options for meat eaters, too. “We designed our menu based on community requests and the lifestyles of our customers,” Laura noted. “Sourcing locally was an important piece to us: Our gluten-free offerings are from Rose’s Gluten Free Bakery, our vegan pastry is from Crust Vegan Bakery and all of our vegan and vegetarian dishes are made to order in-house. Although we don’t source 100 percent of the menu locally, we do try our best to bring in the highest-quality products that we can.”
Laura and Ed’s plans to continue building on the Steel City brand paint an exciting picture for the future of this longtime Phoenixville hangout. “We believe that the concept of brewing coffee and brewing beer in the same location is exciting, yet relatively untouched,” said Laura. “Steel City Coffeehouse has been at the heart of Phoenixville for more than 20 years now, and we hope that Steel City Coffeehouse and Brewery will be here for at least 20 more. We all know that many adults prefer to enjoy a beer or alcoholic beverage in the evening, especially if they are enjoying some time with friends listening to some incredible music.”
The Brewers of Pennsylvania is a nonprofit trade association that brings together leaders of Pennsylvania-based breweries in order to promote and protect the brewing industry in the state. Established in 2011, the Brewers of Pennsylvania serves the consuming public of Pennsylvania by encouraging brand diversity in the market. We believe in the nobility of brewing and hold dear the great traditions and history of Pennsylvania brewing.
Featured image: Chorus Photography; other photos, top to bottom: Clean Production Co., Jackie Botto
