How Pittsburgh ranks for brewery, winery and distillery

Ordered across metro and micro areas, Pittsburgh, PA comes in 15 of 443; SBA approved 49 loans there from FY2017 to FY2026, worth $32.2 million. Measured against the nation, Pittsburgh's brewery, winery and distillery share is 1.75x the share seen nationally: Pittsburgh leans toward the class. Ranked inside Pittsburgh, the class sits 8 of 39, a strong local line. Each Pittsburgh project county is in PA.

In Pittsburgh, the median loan is $300,000, while the central half spans $50,000 to $739,000. Our median is 1.03x the median nationally for the class, so Pittsburgh loan sizes track the norm. Pittsburgh programs split 37 to 7(a) and 12 to 504, shaping each request. In Pittsburgh, 504 paperwork centers on buildings and machinery. Franchise share of loans in Pittsburgh is 0.00%, a read on branding. For Pittsburgh borrowers, that is context only.

Where Pittsburgh brewery, winery and distillery loans sit, and with whom

Among 7(a) loans in Pittsburgh, the holders SBA lists are 13 loans worth $2.3 million at The Huntington National Bank; and 5 loans worth $914,000 at KeyBank National Association. On the 504 side of Pittsburgh, 7 loans worth $11.1 million at Empire State Certified Development Corporation; and 5 loans worth $2.4 million at Regional Development Funding Corporation. Each Pittsburgh row is an SBA record. The Pittsburgh lenders named hold or held them. The Pittsburgh table describes files, not practices. No Pittsburgh row says what a lender requires. In Pittsburgh, by county, 33 loans sit in Allegheny County, PA, then Washington County, PA at 5.

Year by year, Pittsburgh shows 6 loans and $2.7 million in FY2019, 6 loans and $6.2 million in FY2020, 7 loans and $3.0 million in FY2021, 10 loans and $6.6 million in FY2022 and 6 loans and $7.3 million in FY2023. FY2017, FY2018 and FY2024 through FY2026 stay blank for Pittsburgh on thin counts, which makes Pittsburgh's gaps silence, not nil. The FY2017 to FY2024 approvals recorded in Pittsburgh saw cancellation after approval of at least 18.2%. Pittsburgh carries no printed charge-off floor. In Pittsburgh, a thin cohort means unpublished. Counts for Pittsburgh use the July 2023 delineation, so each Pittsburgh loan is placed by county, and Pittsburgh excludes any county it cannot match. The code only says the borrower produces beer, wine or spirits, so a pour room, tasting bar or event hall is hidden in Pittsburgh; the class holds only those three.

Pittsburgh: testing a brewery, winery and distillery project

Pittsburgh: this brewery, winery and distillery record sets context; a study supplies proof. A Pittsburgh study begins by testing visitors a taproom can truly draw. Each Pittsburgh study must establish state rules on selling direct. In Pittsburgh, the study must show existing producers by volume and style. In Pittsburgh, we start by examining how inventory is financed for months. In Pittsburgh, a study has to test tanks, stills and packaging line cost. Pittsburgh tests demand, cost, coverage and value. A Pittsburgh study guarantees nothing to lenders.

SBA beverage manufacturing (breweries, wineries, distilleries) loans in the Pittsburgh, PA Metro Area

Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026	49
Gross dollars approved	$32.2 million
Median loan	$300,000
Middle half of loans, from	$50,000
Middle half of loans, to	$739,000
SBA 7(a) loans	37
SBA 504 loans	12
Franchise share of loans	0.00%
Rank among metro and micro areas for beverage manufacturing (breweries, wineries, distilleries) loans	15 of 443
Rank of beverage manufacturing (breweries, wineries, distilleries) among the classes in this area	8 of 39
Location quotient (share of loans against the national share)	1.75x
Median loan against the national median for the class	1.03x

Cancellation and charge-off

Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor)	18.2%
The same, counting loans still undisbursed as cancelled (a ceiling)	withheld
Charged off to date, FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed loans (a floor)	withheld

Both rates are floors. SBA withholds the status of open loans, so a loan counts as charged off only once SBA reports it; a rate needs at least 30 loans in its cohort and is otherwise not reported.

SBA beverage manufacturing (breweries, wineries, distilleries) loans approved in the Pittsburgh, PA Metro Area, by fiscal year

Fiscal year	Loans	Dollars
FY2017	withheld	withheld
FY2018	withheld	withheld
FY2019	6	$2.7 million
FY2020	6	$6.2 million
FY2021	7	$3.0 million
FY2022	10	$6.6 million
FY2023	6	$7.3 million
FY2024	withheld	withheld
FY2025	withheld	withheld
FY2026	withheld	withheld

Most active SBA lenders

SBA 504: lenders by loans approved (the current holder of each loan, as SBA reports it)
Lender	Loans	Dollars
Empire State Certified Development Corporation	7	$11.1 million
Regional Development Funding Corporation	5	$2.4 million

SBA 7(a): lenders by loans approved (the current holder of each loan, as SBA reports it)
Lender	Loans	Dollars
The Huntington National Bank	13	$2.3 million
KeyBank National Association	5	$914,000

Lenders with 5 or more loans here; a lender with fewer is not listed, and loans SBA or a receiver holds are counted but never listed as a lender.

Where the loans are, by county

County	Loans
Allegheny County, PA	33
Washington County, PA	5

Counties with 5 or more loans; smaller ones are not listed.

Metro is the CBSA (metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area) of the loan's project county, July 2023 delineation (OMB Bulletin 23-01). The county is matched by name (manifests/ld2/county-cbsa-map.csv); a loan whose county cannot be placed in a 2023 CBSA is left out of every metro.

The code says the borrower makes beer, wine or spirits; a taproom, tasting room or event use is not visible. The class holds breweries, wineries and distilleries only; the rest of manufacturing is not in it.

Shared code: Wineries are in this class.

A value marked withheld rests on fewer than 5 loans, or is withheld so that such a figure cannot be derived from other published figures.

Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, 7(a) and 504 loan-level FOIA files (data.sba.gov), as of 2026-09-30; areas from the U.S. Census Bureau CBSA delineation, July 2023 (OMB Bulletin 23-01); Loan Analytics metro cell MA-38300-C08.

Related feasibility study pages

Loan Analytics prepares the feasibility study a lender reads before it commits: for a beverage manufacturing (breweries, wineries, distilleries) project in the Pittsburgh, PA Metro Area, financed under SBA 7(a), SBA 504, USDA Business and Industry or a conventional bank loan. Tell us the project and the lender's deadline, and we reply with scope, timeline and fee.

Daniel Smith, MAI

Brewery, Winery and Distillery Feasibility Study in the Pittsburgh, PA Metro Area