Dancing Gnome Brewery has carved a significant place in the hearts of craft beer aficionados, not just in Pittsburgh but across the wider beer landscape. This brewery stands out for its exceptional range of beers, consistently delivering quality and flavor across diverse styles. For those who appreciate a brewery that evolves and mirrors the ever-changing tastes of the craft beer community, Dancing Gnome is a must-know destination. From chasing the hazy IPA craze to embracing nuanced flavors and traditional brewing methods, Dancing Gnome’s journey resonates with many beer enthusiasts.
Dancing Gnome’s trajectory mirrors the personal evolution of many beer drinkers. Many started with an intense focus on New England-style IPAs, eagerly anticipating each week’s hazy releases. However, palates often mature, leading to a deeper appreciation for balance, drinkability, and the heritage of classic beer styles. While the love for a well-crafted hazy IPA remains, the beer fridge starts to host a broader spectrum of brews. This very progression is embodied by Dancing Gnome Brewery.
Andrew Witchey, the founder and current Director of Operations at Dancing Gnome, experienced this exact shift. Back in 2016, when Dancing Gnome first opened its doors in Sharpsburg, PA, the beer menu was a reflection of Witchey’s own preferences at the time – hazy IPAs. But as his palate expanded, so did his ambition for the brewery, leading to the diverse and impressive beer selection Dancing Gnome offers today.
Dancing Gnome exemplifies the ideal modern craft brewery. While they continue to excel in the IPA realm, including a variety of West Coast-inspired options, their offerings have broadened significantly. Their flagship pale ale, Lustra, has become a benchmark for everyday drinkability – a beer that would be a constant presence in any fridge if consistently available nationwide. Furthermore, Dancing Gnome has gained recognition for its rotating selection of German-inspired beers, demonstrating their mastery across styles. Even the packaging, the iconic 12-ounce stubby bottles, adds to the brewery’s distinctive charm.
Excitingly, Dancing Gnome Brewery will be among the esteemed breweries participating in the 2024 Rochester Real Beer Expo, taking place on Saturday, June 8th, at Innovative Field in downtown Rochester. This festival is set to host over 75 breweries, alongside cideries, non-alcoholic options, and even local coffee roasters. Dancing Gnome will be one of three breweries representing Pittsburgh, joining the ranks of Old Thunder and Cinderlands from the previous year. This event offers a fantastic opportunity to sample the exceptional beers from Dancing Gnome and other top breweries.
## Explore Pittsburgh’s Beer Scene: Breweries and City Highlights
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For those seeking an elevated experience at the Rochester Real Beer Expo, VIP tickets are highly recommended but selling quickly. This year, ticket prices remain unchanged, offering excellent value. For ticket details, visit: https://www.ticketreturn.com/prod2new/BuyNew.asp?EventID=343454.
The Rochester Real Beer Expo is organized in collaboration with BASWA (Business Association of the South Wedge Area), serving as their largest annual fundraiser, making it a great way to support a community-focused organization while enjoying exceptional craft beer.
The following section presents an edited transcript of a recent conversation with Andrew Witchey, providing insights into the story behind Dancing Gnome Brewery. For those unfamiliar with Dancing Gnome’s beers, the Rochester Real Beer Expo promises to be an exciting introduction.
An Interview with Andrew Witchey, Founder of Dancing Gnome Brewery
Cleveland: Thanks for taking the time to chat! Let’s start from the beginning: What sparked your journey into the world of beer, and what were the initial ideas that led to the creation of Dancing Gnome?
Witchey: My fascination with beer truly began in the early 2010s. Growing up in a family that appreciated food and culinary arts, I naturally gravitated towards craft beer when I started exploring alcoholic beverages. I was drawn to the culinary aspects of beer. It started as a hobby, enjoying different beers and constantly seeking out new ones, initially American craft beers, but gradually expanding to historical and traditional styles from Germany, the UK, and Belgium. My job at the time involved travel, and I used my free time to visit breweries, engage with brewers and owners, and immerse myself in beer bars. I simply loved the brewing scene and wanted to be a part of it. This led me to change my career path. I enrolled in the Intensive Brewing Science and Engineering program at the American Brewers Guild in Vermont. This formal education marked my serious entry into brewing, and I began homebrewing as part of the learning process.
My homebrewing was more focused on practical learning than extensive recipe development. I was essentially doing small-batch commercial-style brewing for educational purposes. After completing the program, I started looking for opportunities in the beer industry. Pittsburgh at that time, while growing, didn’t have a huge craft brewery presence. The existing breweries were smaller and more traditional. I recognized a gap in the market. Being young and feeling I had little to lose, I decided to take the leap and open my own brewery rather than work for someone else.
I developed my business plan in 2014. Securing financing and finding the right location took about a year, followed by 8-10 months for build-out. Dancing Gnome officially opened in October 2016. We operated from that original location and then began working on a second site, just 500 feet away, in 2019. Despite delays due to COVID, the second location opened in October 2021. Now, we operate both locations, though only one is currently open to the public for taproom service.
Cleveland: Sharpsburg might not be the most obvious location for a brewery to those unfamiliar with Pittsburgh. What led you to choose Sharpsburg for Dancing Gnome?
Witchey: It was a combination of opportunity and timing. Initially, I was determined to be located in the heart of Pittsburgh. At that time, there weren’t breweries within the city center itself; most were in the outskirts. Even when breweries like Roundabout and Hop Farm opened in Lower Lawrenceville, that was still considered the city’s edge. I was specifically looking in the city center, but it wasn’t working out. I explored numerous properties, but they were either unsuitable or required extensive and costly renovations. Viable locations came with prohibitive rents. My real estate agent suggested expanding my search area, and I was surprised by what I found. When we saw the Sharpsburg location, I genuinely liked it. However, initially, I was looking to purchase a building, and they were only offering a lease.
I put it on hold, but after six months of continued searching without success and with my financial situation evolving and costs increasing, I decided to reconsider leasing to allocate resources to renovations and equipment. When I revisited the Sharpsburg space, it was still available. It turned out another brewery had initially signed a lease but the deal fell through. The space itself was perfect, not originally a brewery but a plumbing showroom and warehouse. The layout was ideal: the front section for a taproom and the back for the brewery operations. Within weeks, I was signing the lease.
Growing up in the AK Valley (Allegheny-Kiski Valley), Sharpsburg was always a place you could easily pass through without noticing. The advantage is its accessibility from various directions, despite ongoing construction. Being its own borough, separate from the city of Pittsburgh, is also bureaucratically beneficial. We operate under Sharpsburg regulations, not Pittsburgh city ordinances. Our water source is also different; we use Hampton Shaler water, which is remarkably consistent, minimizing the need to adjust our water profile for brewing. Finally, while Sharpsburg wasn’t widely known, it didn’t have negative connotations either. I was confident we could draw people to the location.
Cleveland: The name “Dancing Gnome” is quite unique. Where did that name originate?
Witchey: (Laughs) I wish I had a more elaborate story! It was a process of elimination, really. I had a long list of potential names, and I would regularly review and discard options that didn’t quite fit. “Dancing Gnome” consistently made the cut. It embodies the ethos of passion and dedication in everything we do. I’m not a fan of the cliché “work hard, play hard,” but it’s the closest concise way to describe it. It’s about bringing passion to both work and leisure. Since we all have to work, why not care about it, do your best, and find fulfillment in your work? Similarly, when you’re enjoying yourself, be fully engaged and passionate about it. That’s the underlying spirit of the brand.
To me, the gnome figure represents this. Gnomes are these mischievous characters that might cause a little chaos in your garden, but ultimately, they are tending to it and ensuring its flourishing. They’re playful but also diligent.
On a personal level, it’s a bit quirky, and I consider myself a bit weird. I felt the name would be memorable, for better or worse. Interestingly, we don’t incorporate gnomes into our branding, which many find unusual. In the early days, we received many questions about it. Now, eight years in, it’s less of a point of inquiry.
Cleveland: When I first visited Dancing Gnome, the brewery was strongly associated with hazy IPAs. You’ve since evolved, significantly expanding your beer styles and now excelling in traditional styles, especially German beers. How did this evolution unfold?
Witchey: We brew what we are passionate about and what we genuinely want to drink. We dedicate ourselves fully to the beers we produce. I respect breweries that offer a vast number of styles, but that’s not our approach. Our focus became centered around German styles and continental lagers – Czech, Austrian, but primarily German. We also continue to utilize American hops. That’s really our focus: German and American styles. I also have a love for English beers, particularly ESB. However, achieving the quality I deem necessary for an English beer has been a challenge. We recently released an ESB in bottles that I felt was finally at the level we strive for. However, English styles don’t sell as quickly as others in our market. We will continue to brew them, but if we were solely an English-style brewery, we wouldn’t be sustainable.
Dancing Gnome began as a hazy IPA brewery because that’s what I was personally enjoying at the time. I immersed myself in craft beer early on, following breweries like The Alchemist, Hill Farmstead, Bissell Brothers, and Trillium from their beginnings. I visited them, tasted their beers, and followed online discussions. Brew Gentlemen, in nearby Braddock, was also starting to explore hazy IPAs. While there was some influence locally (referring to Roundabout Brewing), no one was heavily focusing on haze. It was the style I was passionate about brewing. Our original website even stated “unapologetically hoppy.” We intended to be a brewery for those already deeply invested in craft beer, not trying to convert those new to craft beer, but catering to enthusiasts.
As my palate developed and my beer education deepened – brewing has become my life’s dedication – our brewing direction evolved. We decided to commit to lagers. We invested in lager tanks and embraced traditional lager brewing techniques. We are deeply passionate about crafting authentic and high-quality lagers, adhering to traditional methods as closely as possible.
Dancing Gnome Brewery’s evolution and dedication to quality make them a standout in the craft beer scene. Their participation in the Rochester Real Beer Expo offers a perfect opportunity to experience their exceptional beers firsthand.
