By BOB BATZ JR. From Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A lot of eating and drinking establishments aim to be destinations. But few are as ambitious about it as Mastic Trail Brewing.

The big brewpub and restaurant, which soft opens on Friday, takes its name and theme from a nature trail in old-growth forest on the Cayman Islands of the Caribbean Sea.

Caymans lover and brewpub owner Ben Williams aims to bring that Caribbean vibe to Western Pennsylvanians at his new concept, which is transforming the former North Hills Pittsburgh Moose Lodge 46 on Saxonburg Boulevard just off Route 8 in Shaler, of all places. 

At the start of giving a tour last week, the Fox Chapel entrepreneur said, “I want guests to feel like they’re on vacation when they’re here. Which, with COVID-19, I think it’ll be a good thing.” That is, thanks to the coronavirus, people can’t yet fly to the actual Grand Cayman, as he hopes to do again as soon as possible. 

But they can step in here through the front door and be standing in surf and sand, which are replicated in vibrant blue and gritty texture on the epoxy floor. The epoxy top on the old rectangular bar is embedded with more sand and seashells and lit with LED lights. A 125-inch projection on one of the colorfully painted walls shows scenes of tropical plants and animals, fish and sunsets. 

“What I call our window into the Caribbean,” said Mr. Williams, a most chill host in a tie-dye T-shirt and holding a Mastic Trail glass of one of the beers he made on his small home-brew system. The brewpub will soft open with three of those, including a vanilla coconut oatmeal stout and a banana wheat, and supplement with other Pennsylvania brews until they’re making bigger batches of their own on a 10-barrel brewhouse in the back. For starters, due to Allegheny County’s ban on on-premise alcohol consumption, Mastic Trail will start out selling drinks to go. 

More on the brewing later, but as he explained, “The whole concept is, not everyone is a craft beer fan,” so not all of the 20 taps will be dedicated to that. Mastic Trail also will serve a wide variety of rum and other tropical drinks, both in the front beach bar and, when it’s completed later this month, the big dock-themed room in the back, where the brewhouse will be separated from a big U-shaped bar and tables and chairs by nautical pylons and rope. A small bar in the opposite corner, dubbed the Crow’s Nest, will be dispensing more experimental beers as well as merch such as glassware, shirts and maybe even Speedos.

Workers removed the social club’s old dance floor and stage, but one corner will be home to live acts such as the Jimmy Buffett tribute band booked for the grand opening on July 11. 

By later this month, Mr. Williams hopes to fire up the brewhouse, most of which he purchased from Dead Armadillo Craft Brewing in Tulsa, Okla. This week, he hired well-known and well-regarded brewer Barrett Goddard, formerly of Full Pint, to run that. Mr. Williams said most beers will be “middle of the fairway” — not too crazy. 

The revamped kitchen is run by Justin Lewis, whose previous credits include Legume, Verde and Dinette. He says the menu will be Caribbean-infused but approachable, including such items as jerk wings and jerk chicken and seafood entrees and West Indian-style curries but also sandwiches and salads. The menu is to gradually grow. 

Director of Hospitality Ops is the title of Ryan Dodge (Chipotle, Pittsburgh Athletic Club, Nordstrom Restaurants), who will oversee the resort experience, which includes shuffleboard, darts, pool tables and pinball games in the former game room out at the beach section. He says they’re starting with a staff of about 15, but, “We’ll need to double or triple that” as business grows. 

The 7,000-foot space is “so different than when the Moose had it,” sums up Mr. Williams, but the 200-some-member club still meets there, and Mr. Williams is not just a member but also on its board. One beer he’s planning is a basic blonde called Surfin’ Moose, the sales of which willl go to the club. “It’s important to me to give back to the community.” Another house beer, an amber ale conditioned on mango and papaya, will raise money to protect Caribbean sharks. 

He declined to say what he’s spending on the project, but acknowledges, “I’m spending a lot to make the guest experience the best it can be.”

Now using the title “Chief Fun Officer,” the Robinson native spent most of his career in the Scranton area, where he was an executive for building products, financial and other companies. It was on a business trip to Brazil that he started thinking about starting a craft brewery there and got serious about it after attending the 2019 Craft Brewers Conference. He just “lucked out” to find this building available when he was looking for one in the Pittsburgh area, where he looks to be continuing his own “staycation” while providing a fun and relaxing escape for others, even if they don’t want to go all the way to the Caymans. 

“There will be a few times when we bend the Caribbean rules and put the Steelers on,” he says. 

He loves Mastic Trail’s easy access to North Side stadiums, Downtown and the North suburbs, as well as its sprawling parking lot. He’s working with Shaler officials to add outdoor seating out there later this month.

Hours to start are 5 to 9 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, 4 to 10 p.m. Friday, noon to 10 p.m. Saturday and noon to 8 p.m. Sunday.

Mastic Trail Brewing is located at 1044 Saxonburg Blvd, Shaler, PA 15116; learn more on its Facebook page or by calling 1-570-290-0825.

Explore the region’s breweries as well as wineries and distilleries on the Post-Gazette’s interactive drinks maps at https://newsinteractive.post-gazette.com/drink-map.

Bob Batz Jr.: [email protected], 412-263-1930 and on Twitter @bobbatzjr.

For more on this story go to; https://www.post-gazette.com/life/food/2020/07/02/Mastic-Trail-Brewing-Caribbean-Cayman-Islands-Shaler-Moose-Pittsburgh-craft-beer/stories/202006030092