Craft beer and classic American pizza close by. That's brilliant! The new industrial-looking brick building with stainless steel beer tanks in its window, at 4729 Burnet Road, will soon be opening as Pinthouse Pizza. On behalf of Allandaleites who enjoy good beer, we welcome your arrival and look forward to the opening! Pinthouse Pizza is going to be the kind of place you can ride your bike to and bring the kids.
I met with four of the five principals of Pinthouse Pizza along with the General Manager Pete Rush at the brew pub during the later stages of construction in mid-September. While brewer Joe Mohrfeld (not one of the principals but certainly a critical partner in the operation) had already nailed down the beer recipes using Pinthouse's 10-gallon test batch system, he was anxiously awaiting receipt of the final permit before getting the brew process underway to fill the tanks.
While it is a craft beer place, the
owners want residents to know their intent is to make it family
friendly, an after-game destination for both big- and little-league
players. Making it appeal to families is important: three of the
five owners have kids, one of the others has one on the way, and they
chose to locate on Burnet Road in part because the demographics of
the area fit their target market of young families and young adults.
It also helps that three of them live nearby. I think they are going
to discover a number of craft brew lovers in the area as well. While
proximity and demographics were factors, recent developments along
Burnet Road also influenced their location decision. Is Burnet Road
shaping up to be the SoCo of the north?
The five Pinthouse Pizza principals are Ned Lavelle, Kyle Detrick, Tyler Norwood, Ryan Van Biene, and Nic Van Biene. When asked how they came together on this venture Kyle said, “we have been friends for a long time, some of us most of our lives. We were all working other jobs that didn't suit us as well, or were less fulfilling than we'd like so we decided to do something together that we'd all enjoy and be proud of … after milling ideas around for a while Pinthouse Pizza was born.” Tyler and Ned live in Allandale, Kyle lives in Rosedale.
Now to the pizza. Pinthouse Pizza will be serving up a range of classic American-style pizzas using dough they make daily topped with as many locally sourced and organic ingredients as possible. They are going to keep it simple. According to the owners, Pinthouse Pizza is not designed to be a gourmet gastro pub but a “casual craft beer and pizza restaurant that serves up straightforward honest food.” Expect to find classic American pizzas (pepperoni, sausage, and cheese) on the menu, as well as some interesting fun pizzas like Steak & Fries or Macaroni & Cheese pizzas. Salads and appetizers will also be on the menu. As for the atmosphere, Pinthouse Pizza will have a casual dining room with picnic tables for seating. It is not a sports bar, but it will have TVs mounted strategically on the walls, and the owners have purchased the NFL package for people who want to watch the games.
The BEER! On opening day, Pinthouse Pizza will have its four mainstays: an IPA (Man O' War IPA), a pale ale (Iron Jenny Pale Ale,) an Irish stout (Bearded Seal Irish Stout), and a session beer (Calma Muerta Session Ale). Expect them to be well-crafted beers! Pinthouse Pizza's brewer, Joe Mohrfeld, is the former head brewer for Odell Brewing, one of Colorado's most well-respected microbreweries located in Fort Collins Colorado. Austin is most fortunate to have his talents contributing to the evolution of Austin as a top beer city. In addition to its four mainstays, Pinthouse will keep it interesting with up to eight rotating taps of seasonals and limited-quantity beers. It will fill the remaining taps, 45 total, with selections that range from other local craft brewers (Real Ale, 512, Live Oak, Hops and Grains, etc.) to non-local beers that best represent the various beer styles. These guys know about good beer. Not to be snobby but don't expect to find mass-market beers at Pinthouse; they specialize in making and serving craft brews.
Pinthouse Pizza will be open seven days a week from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., Monday through Friday and from 11:00 a.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays. Get thirsty my friend and get your bike tires pumped up. They will be opening any day now!
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