Lavery Brewing Co. portrays the inviting atmosphere of a local restaurant mixed with your classic sports bar, making it perfect for a casual night out.

This micro-brewery located at 128 W. 12th St catches the eyes of passers-by with the appealing outdoor hanging lights aesthetic .Open Monday-Saturday from noon to 10 p.m. and Sunday noon to 6 p.m., the brewery offers a variety of lunch and dinner options. The fall menu was released just last week and offers a selection of pub-style appetizers, sandwiches, burgers, tacos and pizzas.

I visited Lavery Brewing Co. when the summer menu was out and was impressed with the wide range of flavors and dishes they offered. The pizzas are especially unique because the crust is more like fluffy pita bread than traditional pizza crust. President and Founding Brewer Jason Lavery said the “Pickled Rick” pizza is one of his favorites with miso ranch sauce, mozzarella cheese, dill pickles and everything bagel spices.

In terms of drinks for those who are 21 and older, they offer both mixed drinks and a variety of beers to choose from. The fall season brings ingredient and flavor inspirations like pumpkin, cinnamon, apple and caramel.

Lavery said they accomplished their original goal to offer products exclusively in Erie County. He said any restaurant or bar with a “good beer selection” in Erie has Lavery on tap. IPAs and lagers dominate the draft menu and are personal favorites of Lavery, who uses travel experiences from Belgium and Germany to influence his creations.

Lavery especially enjoys his Oktoberfest Lager, which can be described as malty and toasty. These IPA experiments lead to some unusual combinations like the “Calypso Calypso IPA”, with pear, wild berry and vanilla, or the “Double Dulachan IPA”, with ripe papaya, rasp-berry and pineapple. Luckily, you can ask for samples to get a taste of as many items as you’d like. Lavery’s local focus goes be-yond his own sales.

He purchases from local meat vendors and sources malt to make the beer from CNC, located in Pennsylvania.

Apart from contributing to the community as a local business owner, Lavery and his fam-ily volunteer for L’Arche Agency, which works with disabled individuals. Lavery’s wife Nikki is currently the Board Chair for the organization.

Lavery Brewing Co. is the ideal small business story—a family interested in making a difference in their community. Anyone passionate about sup-porting these ideals and hungry for some delicious food and drinks should stop by.

No matter what kind of drinks and snacks you like, Lavery has something that you are bound to love. I will definitely return to try the fall menu selection and some autumn-inspired beers. And I definitely recommend the Lavery Brewing Co. for anyone who is looking to try a new local restaurant.

Learn more about Lavery on their website at https://www.restaurantji.com/pa/erie/lavery-brewing-co-/.