Pine resident opens West Deer brewery

As is abundant among Western Pennsylvania beer drinkers, Paul Copelin tended toward a certain locally produced brand of low-calorie lager.

“He is a Pittsburgh dad to the fullest, and he’ll never really try a lot of craft beer,” Pine resident Angela Bogacz explained about her father. “So I said, ‘Dad, I’m going to make a beer just for you.’ We came up with this formula. He tried it, and he was like, ‘Oh, my gosh. I will actually drink that.’”

The applicable beverage is the aptly named Granddaddy Lager, one of the initial offerings of Bogacz’s new business venture, Dough Daddy Brewery in West Deer.

“Even though it’s a light lager and it tastes kind of like a domestic, it’s getting people to try something different than just your run-of-the-mill domestic,” Bogacz said. “That’s been one of our biggest sellers since we opened because people are like, ‘I want to try stuff, but I don’t know where to start.’”

She tells them: “Start right here.”

If her surname and what she calls the brewery sound familiar, Angela is the wife of Caliente Pizza & Draft House owner Nick Bogacz, and Dough Daddy has been the name for beers brewed especially for the restaurant’s various locations: Aspinwall, Bloomfield, Crafton, Hampton, Monroeville, Mt. Lebanon and Sewickley.

“I have always wanted a brewery. For probably 10 years, I was looking and searching. I was going to build one,” said Angela, a Hampton native. “I just wanted to make good beer, drinkable beer, for everybody.”

For Dough Daddy, she took over the tasting room and beer garden previously occupied by Strange Roots Experimental Ales, which continues to brew alongside Dough Daddy.

“They’re great at what they do,” Angela Bogacz acknowledged. She especially cited Strange Roots’ sour ales, which frequently are served by Caliente.

Regarding her offerings, a variety of beer styles complement the signature Hazy Dough Dazy, a relatively mild New England India pale ale as far as the bitterness produced by its hops. Joining Granddaddy Lager in the first group of barrels on tap are the likes of Traveling Wit wheat, Sunset Serenade red ale, Pine Creek porter and vanilla porter, and Dark Side of the Dough stout.

Then there’s Dough Mommy seltzer, also made on the premises.

“I wanted to do a seltzer because if someone comes in who doesn’t drink beer, we can offer something like that,” Bogacz said. “And that’s been a huge seller, too.”

Along with liquid refreshments, brewery patrons can enjoy Caliente food selections, along with entertainment including trivia nights on Tuesdays and musicians booked every Friday through October. Bogacz is working on hosting Saturday shows, as well.

“Our family is huge on live music,” she said. “We go to as many concerts as possible. So I want to be able to bring the music to our customers, too.”

Dough Daddy opened May 24, with Bogacz cutting a ceremonial ribbon, and she summed up her experience as a brewery owner thus far:

“This is a fun endeavor for me.”