Helicon Brewing

We visited helicon for the first time. It is such a fun little neighborhood place. We recently moved just over the hill from there and it will quickly become a frequently visited place. The service was great. We loved the beer that we had and they have food trucks since they don't actually have a food menu. I read that they also let you get food from local spots, but I'm not sure on that. There are good places right across the street from them. They have a ton of pinball machines, which are so much fun and bring back the nostalgia of the video arcades from back in the day. The crowd seemed to be a local crew, but very friendly. We are definitely gonna be back.

Stopped to try their beer on a recent trip to Pittsburgh, as my husband and I enjoy finding local craft brews when we travel. For a weekend afternoon I anticipated it would be a bit busier. Two (2) bartenders were working-male was very accommodating but the female seemed annoyed to wait on anyone who wasn't a "regular". Had the kids with us and they really enjoyed the pinball machines, but most are $1.00 a play, so we blew through $ in no time

Helicon Brewing is brewery #234 for me. Helicon is in a big industrial building with a large dedicated parking lot, which is always nice. It's not much to look at on the outside.Inside the taproom is big! They have a pretty cool bar area that is kind of S-shaped. The area behind the bar area has individual tables and a whole bunch of pinball machines and video games. No, pinball machines are not video games. No food onsite but they did have a food truck that pulled in after I arrived. The place was starting to fill up pretty good, which isn't surprising on a Friday night.No flights here but they do have 5 ounce samplers so I built my own. Hey, I make shit happen in the face of beer adversity!The Vienna lager had a nice toasty aroma and flavor. Nice traditional beer which I approve of.The Schwarzbier lager is dark in color of course with a bitter chocolate flavor at the end. Nicely dry.The American IPL is described on the menu as having notes of "smooth peach". It's definitely there in both the aroma and flavor. Nice beer!I decided to add on the American IPA before moving on. This one has a bit more hip flavor and bitterness than the IPL did but not overpoweringly so. Moon Breaker DIPA was up next. Why is this the only named beer? Is it that special? This was a good DIPA. I could drink a few of these really easily. It was a good beer but I'm still wondering why it alone earned a name. The oatmeal stout was pretty decent. I'm a bit jaded by nostalgia on oatmeal stouts though. You know what they say about you never forget your first and always use that as a comparison? Yes, it applies to beers too. That said, this was eminently drinkable.Honestly all of the beers I had were well done. Just solid, well executed beers with no fluff. I appreciate that and the brewer here knows his/her/their/theiyr're business. (Yeah, that last one was to piss off the grammar and gender nazis.)If anyone is a glutton for punishment, please, follow my brewery, and distillery, reviews from across the U.S. and beyond! https://www.yelp.com/collection/-8iscFkpiiCI563-FDfwGg and if anyone is wondering who SWPFTD is you will have to check out my review of Black Market Brewing Co in Temecula, CA to understand. Yes, you will need to read into it a little to get the joke but I have confidence in you!

Great place to drink and enjoy some pinball!Been here many time and the craft beer is delicious! I like the Mead from APIS Meadery that they have also!!! Service if fast and friendly!

Beer is good Service is hit and miss. Some of the bartenders are great, others not so much. Owner of the brewery is a drunk.

This is a fun brewery with an interesting twist. They not only have in-house brewed beer, but also a room filled with pinball machines. It gives off a fun atmosphere and an activity to do whether you are there alone or with friends. I was surprised that many of the games were $1 to play. Seems pretty high from other pinball bars I've visited. The pinball room takes up most of the indoor space, but there is a small bar with some seating available. Most space is outside, where there are picnic and high top tables. People also brought lawn chairs so they could relax outside. There are only a few in-house beers, but they all sound delicious and I ordered the raspberry wheat ale. It was a nice mix of sweet and bitter, while also mainly tasting like a refreshing beer. They don't have a kitchen, but they do bring in food trucks regularly if you get hungry. I liked it and hought it was a nice place to enjoy nice weather and relax.

Great atmosphere, great outdoor are for the nice weather. Beer and alcohol choices good. Depends on trucks there that day for food. Enjoyable

Helicon is huge! But very awkwardly laid out. There is ample field parking (seemed a bit chaotic) where people sit outside in their own chairs with coolers. Even though signs say no outside drink, we saw a handful of people bring their own. Not enough tables for the amount of people either. The beers were all good - I liked the raspberry wheat and the addition of food trucks is smart.

NOTE: I posted this review of the new McDonald Helicon location, but Yelp, in their infinite wisdom, decided to move it (and photos from the McDonald location) over here to this page . . . --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Brand NEW Second location for Helicon Brewing in McDonald, PA, located in the old Grand Movie Theater. Two bars on two levels, air conditioned, pinball, pool tables, dart boards, amusement games, and of course beer, wine, cider, mead and craft cocktails. Much smaller, and more intimate than the original location in Oakdale (and not as many pinball machines as Oakdale) ... Cheers!"

Great place to chill and play pinball! Other games are also welcome here and they have Dungeons N Drafts once per month!