# 2021 FALL ARCADE ROAD TRIP STOP 3: HELICON BREWING - OAKDALE, PA

**Source:** Knapp Arcade  
**Type:** article  
**Published:** 2021-11-05  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.knapparcade.org/2021-fall-arcade-road-trip-stop-3-helicon-brewing-oakdale-pa

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## Analysis

Travel blog documenting a visit to Helicon Brewing in Oakdale, PA, a brewery with an extensive pinball collection. The author highlights the venue's exceptional condition and remarkable collection of Limited Edition machines, including recent releases like Stern Godzilla (2021) and Mandalorian (2021). The piece provides a detailed machine inventory and describes the social atmosphere during a league night visit.

### Key Claims

- [MEDIUM] Helicon Brewing has more Limited Edition pinball machines than Brooklyn's Sunshine Laundromat speakeasy — _Author's personal observation during visit; comparison based on recollection of previous venue_
- [HIGH] Helicon received Mandalorian Limited Edition right after release in summer 2020 — _Author's direct observation; specific machine mentioned as recent acquisition_
- [HIGH] Stern Godzilla Limited Edition was on-site during the Fall 2021 visit — _Author's direct observation during visit; recent 2021 release_
- [HIGH] JJP Guns & Roses machine went down during visit and was quickly repaired — _Author's direct observation; demonstrates active maintenance at venue_
- [HIGH] Heighway Pinball's Full Throttle was non-functional and is characteristically unreliable — _Author's direct observation with humorous commentary about the machine's typical condition_

### Notable Quotes

> "Helicon is a slice of heaven for someone like myself...delicious beer surrounded by the best collection of pinball machines that I have ever seen at a brewery."
> — **Knapp Arcade (author)**, Opening section
> _Establishes this as a standout venue in the author's experience_

> "Helicon has even more LEs than Brooklyn NY's iconic Sunshine Laundromat speakeasy (which sadly has still not reopened)."
> — **Knapp Arcade (author)**, Collection description section
> _Places Helicon among the most LE-rich pinball venues; notes cultural landmark status of Sunshine_

> "Every new pin that comes out seems to end up at Helicon."
> — **Knapp Arcade (author)**, Collection description section
> _Indicates owner Chris Brunetti is actively purchasing new releases as they launch_

> "And all of the pins were working great when I was there. JJP Guns & Roses went down and someone was instantly on it fixing it."
> — **Knapp Arcade (author)**, Operational quality section
> _Highlights venue's maintenance infrastructure and rapid response capability_

> "The only game that I recall not working off of the top of my head was Heighway Pinball's Full Throttle...and that doesn't count because its natural state is broken."
> — **Knapp Arcade (author)**, Operational quality section
> _Humorous critique of Full Throttle's reliability; references known community sentiment about Heighway quality_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Helicon Brewing | organization | Brewery in Oakdale, PA with extensive pinball collection; described as having exceptional LE inventory |
| Chris Brunetti | person | Owner of Helicon Brewing; described as having assembled a top-notch pinball collection |
| Knapp Arcade | person | Content creator/blogger conducting arcade road trip; author of this venue review |
| Rob | person | Travel companion on arcade road trip with author |
| Kickback Pinball Cafe | organization | Pinball venue visited earlier in road trip; previous stop before Helicon |
| Sunshine Laundromat | organization | Iconic speakeasy in Brooklyn, NY with significant pinball collection; noted as having fewer LEs than Helicon; noted as still closed |
| Stern Pinball | company | Manufacturer; multiple machines in Helicon's collection |
| Jersey Jack Pinball | company | Manufacturer; multiple machines in Helicon's collection |
| Spooky Pinball | company | Manufacturer; multiple machines in Helicon's collection including Halloween CE |
| Chicago Gaming | company | Manufacturer; remake titles in Helicon's collection |
| Heighway Pinball | company | Manufacturer; Full Throttle machine at Helicon noted as unreliable |
| Pittsburgh, PA | location | Geographic hub; Oakdale/Helicon is positioned near Pittsburgh |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Limited Edition pinball machines and FOMO collecting, Venue management and machine curation
- **Secondary:** New release adoption and rapid acquisition, Machine reliability and maintenance infrastructure, Pinball league night social dynamics
- **Mentioned:** Heighway Pinball quality concerns

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.92) — Author expresses strong enthusiasm for Helicon Brewing, describing it as their favorite brewery and praising the pinball collection, venue management, and atmosphere. Only slight criticism is humorous ribbing of Full Throttle's unreliability. The tone is celebratory throughout.

### Signals

- **[collector_signal]** Chris Brunetti appears to be actively acquiring new releases immediately upon launch; machines like Mandalorian and Godzilla obtained near release dates (confidence: high) — Author notes Mandalorian arrived 'right after it came out' during summer 2020 visit, and Godzilla (2021) was present during Fall 2021 visit
- **[community_signal]** Helicon Brewing hosts active pinball league night, indicating strong local community engagement (confidence: high) — Author arrived on Friday league night and encountered 'so many people around'
- **[technology_signal]** Heighway Pinball's Full Throttle machine is non-functional and community perception is that it is characteristically unreliable (confidence: medium) — Author's humorous comment that Full Throttle's 'natural state is broken' suggests widespread known issues
- **[venue_signal]** Helicon Brewing positioned as a premium pinball destination comparable to or exceeding Sunshine Laundromat in LE density (confidence: high) — Direct comparison statement that Helicon has 'even more LEs than' the iconic Brooklyn speakeasy
- **[venue_signal]** Helicon Brewing characterized as exceptionally well-maintained with rapid maintenance response (JJP Guns & Roses repair during visit) (confidence: high) — Author's direct observation and comparison to other high-end venues

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## Transcript

If you're looking to procrastinate on this beautiful Friday afternoon, you're in luck...I have tons of pictures of glorious pinball machines (and beer) for you to check out. Stop 3 on the Fall Arcade Road Trip (TM) was my favorite brewery in the World, Helicon. Residing just outside of Pittsburgh in Oakdale, PA, Helicon is a slice of heaven for someone like myself...delicious beer surrounded by the best collection of pinball machines that I have ever seen at a brewery. Helicon's owner Chris Brunetti has truly put together a top-notch establishment. The place is super clean, has amazing beers on tap with cool bartenders, has super neat brewery decor and the pins, Oh the pins.

Helicon's pinball machines are in fantastic shape and they have so many Limited Editions. Helicon has even more LEs than Brooklyn NY's iconic Sunshine Laundromat speakeasy (which sadly has still not reopened). Aerosmith LE, Batman 66 LE, Ghostbusters LE, Halloween Collectors Edition, Led Zepplin LE, Mustang LE, X-Men Wolverine LE, Wizard of Oz 75th Anniversary Edition, Stranger Things LE. Crazy. Every new pin that comes out seems to end up at Helicon. When I visited there last summer, they had a Mandalorian Limited Edition on site right after it came out and this time they had a Stern Godzilla Limited Edition on the floor. And all of the pins were working great when I was there. JJP Guns & Roses went down and someone was instantly on it fixing it. The only game that I recall not working off of the top of my head was Heighway Pinball's Full Throttle...and that doesn't count because its natural state is broken.

After getting a late start due to alarm technical difficulties and beer consumption, Rob and I spent the morning at the Kickback Pinball Cafe (see the previous review here):

We went straight from Kickback to Helicon, arriving there at around 6 PM or so on Friday. Friday night is league night. It's not as easy to take pictures when there's so many people around, but on the plus side we got to meet and hang out with a lot of super cool people. Since we headed straight to Helicon, we never bothered to pick up dinner. Skipping meals to play pinball was sort of the theme of this trip LOL. We ended up each eating a bag of Dirty Potato Chips at like 9 PM...and consuming much beer. I wanted to try every beer that Helicon had on tap that evening but I ended up deciding that discretion is the better part of valor if I wanted to be in decent shape the next day and finished one beer short.

Here's Helicon's current pinball lineup, courtesy of Pinball Map:

AC/DC (Premium) (Stern, 2012)

Aerosmith (LE) (Stern, 2017)

Attack From Mars (Remake) (Special Edition) (Chicago Gaming, 2017)

Avengers: Infinity Quest (Pro) (Stern, 2020)

Batman 66 (LE) (Stern, 2016)

Beatles (Stern, 2018)

Dirty Harry (Williams, 1995)

Doctor Who (Bally, 1992)

Freedom (SS) (Bally, 1976)

Full Throttle (Heighway Pinball, 2015)

Ghostbusters (LE) (Stern, 2016)

Godzilla (Pro) (Stern, 2021)

Guns 'N Roses (Data East, 1994)

Guns N' Roses (Standard Edition) (Jersey Jack, 2020)

Halloween (CE) (Spooky, 2021)

Iron Man (Stern, 2010)

The Jetsons (Spooky Pinball, 2017)

Jokerz (Williams, 1988)

Jurassic Park (Pro) (Stern, 2019)

Led Zeppelin (LE) (Stern, 2020)

The Machine: Bride of Pin-Bot (Williams, 1991)

The Mandalorian (Pro) (Stern, 2021)

Medieval Madness (Remake Royal Edition) (Chicago Gaming, 2015)

Mustang (LE) (Stern, 2014)

Pirates of the Caribbean (LE) (Jersey Jack, 2018)

Pro-Football (Gottlieb, 1973)

Rick and Morty (Spooky, 2019)

Robo-War (Gottlieb, 1988)

Spring Break (Gottlieb, 1987)

Star Trek (Pro) (Stern, 2013)

Star Wars (Pro) (Stern, 2017)

Stardust (Williams, 1971)

Stranger Things (LE) (Stern, 2019)

Surf Champ (Gottlieb, 1976)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Pro) (Stern, 2020)

Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (LE) (Jersey Jack, 2019)

The Wizard of Oz (75th Anniversary) (Jersey Jack, 2013)

Wrestlemania (Stern, 2015)

X-Men Wolverine (LE) (Stern, 2012)

Below are a short video of the place and my usual ton of pictures. There's actually a funny story behind the video. After having several beers I accidentally filmed the walk-though in Slow Motion and spent the next fifteen minutes grumbling to myself and trying to figure out how to Un-Slow-Mo it. Thanks for reading! Have a great weekend everyone. The write-ups for stops 4 and 5 of the trip are coming next week and man they are two super cool places so make sure to stop by KnappArcade.org or the Facebook Group often to check them out.

_(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v1)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: effe99ad-63bb-472b-a47b-68753c803d67*