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The Top 5 Oktoberfest Beers in Pennsylvania

B. Kline — Sun, 07 Sep 2025 15:11:56 +0000

The Top 5 Oktoberfest Beers in Pennsylvania

As the air turns crisp, leaves shift to fiery reds and golds, and pretzels, bratwurst, and lederhosen begin appearing across Pennsylvania, one thing is certain: Oktoberfest season is here. And with it comes a flood of Märzens and Festbiers—those malty, toasty, smooth lagers that define the season.

Pennsylvania, with its deep German brewing roots, doesn’t just celebrate Oktoberfest—it owns it. From Philly to Pittsburgh, Hershey to Pottsville, PA breweries churn out some of the best seasonal lagers you’ll find anywhere in the country. Whether you’re a malt-forward Märzen loyalist or a fan of the lighter, crisp Festbier, the Keystone State has you covered.

So, grab your stein, dust off your dirndl, and let’s dive into the Top 5 Oktoberfest Beers in Pennsylvania (plus a few honorable mentions).

The Top 5 Oktoberfest Beers in Pensnylvania Are….

(See our recent article: Embracing the Season: The Return of Fall Beers)

1. Tröegs Oktoberfest Lager (Hershey, PA)

Tröegs doesn’t do anything halfway, and their Oktoberfest Lager proves it. Brewed with a traditional decoction mash (a rarity in American brewing), this Märzen glows copper in the glass and bursts with notes of caramel, toasted bread, and gentle floral hops. At 6.1% ABV, it’s rich without being heavy, making it dangerously drinkable by the liter.

This one isn’t just a local favorite—it consistently earns national praise as one of the best American Oktoberfest-style lagers brewed today. If you’re hitting Tröegs’ beer hall this fall, a stein of this paired with their pretzels and beer cheese is mandatory.

2. Human Robot Festbier (Philadelphia, PA)

If Tröegs is about tradition-meets-accessibility, Human Robot is about absolute technical precision. Their Festbier, brewed with a double decoction mash and lagered cold and long, is a masterpiece of restraint and balance.

Think: buttered crackers, honey sweetness, and a touch of noble hop bitterness that keeps it endlessly refreshing. Beer geeks have been raving about it for years, and Untappd scores back that up—it’s one of the highest-rated Festbiers in the country.

Pro tip: If you’re in Philly this fall, don’t just drink it—drink it fresh at Human Robot’s biergarten.

3. Victory Festbier (Downingtown, PA)

Victory has been around long enough to be considered a Pennsylvania institution, and their Festbier is a shining example of why. It balances malt depth (think chocolate, caramel, and dried fruit) with an earthy hop character that makes it richer than most Oktoberfests.

Wine Enthusiast gave it a 90-point rating, and for good reason—it’s hearty, bold, and just different enough to stand out from the crowd. If you’re into darker, maltier lagers that still stay drinkable, this is your pick.

4. Boneshire Brew Works Pigtoberfest (Harrisburg, PA)

Harrisburg’s own Boneshire Brew Works has quietly built a reputation for balanced, flavorful lagers, and their Pigtoberfest is no exception. Malty and smooth, with just enough hop bitterness to keep it crisp, this beer captures the essence of the German Märzen style. It’s a perfect companion for bratwurst, pretzels, and festive gatherings.

5. Penn Brewery Oktoberfest (Pittsburgh, PA)

Over in the Steel City, Penn Brewery has been flying the German beer flag for decades. Their Oktoberfest has the pedigree to prove it, too—it’s a Great American Beer Festival medal winner.

Brewed with caramel and roasted malts, it’s a clean, medium-bodied lager that leans traditional. At 5.5% ABV, it’s smooth, approachable, and exactly the kind of beer you want in your stein while polka bands play and sausages hit the grill.

Honorable Mentions 🍂

Pennsylvania has so many stellar Oktoberfests, narrowing it to just five is almost unfair. A few more worth tracking down this fall:

Love City Brewing – Love Fest (Philadelphia): Weyermann malts give it a nutty, bready character with a kiss of caramel sweetness.
Neshaminy Creek – Creekfestbier (Croydon): Toasty, crisp, and bone-dry—a Festbier lover’s dream.
Sly Fox Brewing – Oktoberfest Lager (Malvern): Caramel and spice on the nose, crisp and malty on the palate. A yearly favorite.
Yuengling Oktoberfest (Pottsville, PA): Crisp large scale Oktoberfest

Final Thoughts

Oktoberfest season in Pennsylvania is something special. Between its rich German-American brewing heritage and its thriving modern craft beer scene, the state produces lagers that stand toe-to-toe with the best from Munich.

Whether you’re looking for tradition (Tröegs, Penn), precision (Human Robot), wide availability (Yuengling), or malt-forward richness (Victory), there’s an Oktoberfest beer here for you.

So, this September and October, skip the pumpkin spice latte and raise a stein of copper-colored lager instead. Prost!

See More Articles About Fall and Pumpkin Beers

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Human Robot Announces RoboMania Promo Battle

B. Kline — Thu, 04 Apr 2024 00:59:14 +0000

Human Robot Announces RoboMania Promo Battle on April 5th

RoboMania at Human Robot

Human Robot Beer has announced on their Instagram, in celebration of WrestleMania XL (40) being in Philadelphia, that they are hosting “RoboMania” a ‘promo battle’. In partnership with The Full Pint, they will be hosting the event at Human Robot Beer on April 5th at 4PM.

The event organized and ran by The Full Pint will be held at the 5th Street Alleyway of Human Robot location.

The Announcement

To celebrate #wrestlemania40 in Philly (less than two weeks away), we will be holding ROBOMANIA PROMO BATTLE at the 5th Street Alleyway of Human Robot. Hang out with the good brothers and sisters of Human Robot and The Full Pint, come dressed in your best wrestling gear and get ready to cut your best promo. Event begins 4PM on Friday 4/5, whatcha gonna do???

The Full Pint / Human Robot Instagram

WrestleMania XL

WrestleMania XL (40) will be in Philadelphia on Saturday – April 7th, and Sunday – April 8th. Both nights it starts at 7PM and potential end-time is midnight. The events will take place at the Lincoln Financial Center. (The Linc.) Night One is being headlined by Roman Reigns and The Rock (The Bloodline) vs. Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins. Night Two is being main evented by Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes.

All of Our Nerd Content

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I know ya’ll here for the nerd reviews. So check out our other nerd reviews below:

Star Wars:

Futurama

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Magic the Gathering:

New Belgium Teams Up with Magic the Gathering for Vastwood Seer IPA

Zelda:

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Beer Review: Peace Among Worlds (Cushwa Brewing Company)

Space Balls:

Beer Review: Moon of Vega (Equilibrium Brewery)

Game of Thrones:

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Back to the Future:

Beer Review: Back to Reality (Three 3s Brewing Co)

Scrooged:

Beer Review: Scrooge IPA (Iron Hill Brewing)

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A Christmas Story:

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Matrix Monday

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles:

Beer Review: Terpenes in Time (BAREBottle Brewing Co)

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Beer Review: Azathoth (Edmund’s Oast Brewing Company)

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MAPS OF BREWERIES

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Human Robot Expanding to Jenkintown

BKline — Mon, 22 Nov 2021 21:30:00 +0000

Human Robot’s logo

Finally the cat is out of the bag

And so it’s official now – the cat is finally out of the bag (proper) – Human Robot is expanding into Jenkintown. Today around 1PM Human Robot announced their expansion into Jenkintown via Facebook and other social medias.

We’ve been holding our mechanical breath waiting for today 11 22 21.The Sentient Androids are proud to announce to you the acquisition of @humanrobotjenkintown Look for The Haus to open 2 22 22
humanrobot Facebook page

Expansion

Photos courtesy of Human Robot’s Facebook page

So its officially official now and the cat is out of the bag. Human Robot is expanding to Jenkintown. Jenkintown is about a 33 minute drive from their current location in Philadelphia. (North 5th Street to York Road.)

You can see that here on Google maps:

Google Maps – Human Robot (current location to new location)

It is great seeing breweries expanding and thriving, especially in these tough times. While the pandemic is over, there is still lots of factors that are rough for the industry right now (fluctuating costs of ingredients, foods, metals and aluminum for cans and other equipment), as well as staffing shortages and things like that.

So its great to see small breweries growing and expanding. Providing more for their communities and the communities giving back. We would like to congratulate Human Robot on their expansion and wish them the best of luck and can’t wait to come out and visit them on 2.22.22! Save the date!

Small Brewery Sunday

Make sure not to miss out on the giveaway we are launching later tonight (edited here to add in links), to help promote Small Brewery Sunday. Check it out here:

Small Brewery Sunday Giveaway 2021

Thanks For Reading

As always everyone, thanks for reading. Check out the giveaway and join in. And make sure to check out Human Robot. Also, check out our latest travel blog posts, they were a lot of fun!

Cheers!

-B. Kline

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Human Robot: The First Milk Tube Race in the World: USA vs. The World – Oktoberfest Invitational Beer Fest

BKline — Thu, 09 Sep 2021 12:59:00 +0000

Human Robot presents: “USA vs. The World” An Oktoberfest Celebration, including the World’s first Milk Tube Race

Oktoberfest

Ahhhh, its that time of the year again! Oktoberfest time! And many breweries across the country (and the world) are starting to do their big celebrations. Most being in September and October. Human Robot in Philadelphia Pennsylvania is doing their own unique take on an Oktoberfest on September 18th, 2021.

Obviously, most know Oktoberfest for Germany’s Oktoberfest, the largest in the world, or even Cincinnati’s Oktoberfest due to their strong German heritage and traditions. But, Human Robot wants to take that concept of Oktoberfest, and ramp it up, and throw in the Czech pouring tradition of the “milko” or “milk tube”, which has become the latest craze and fad in the craft beer industry.

The Milko aka Milk Tube

“Milktube” by Human Robot

So what exactly is the “milko” or the “milk tube” or the “milko pour”? Why does it look like a badly tapped keg and poured beer at a frat party? Pilsner Urquell has a wonderful article on their site / blog about the milko pour: “The History of the Milko Pour“. Its a one minute read, but very informative, I highly recommend checking it out and reading it (obviously after reading this…. or go there, read that, then come back here, either way.)

Quoting from their article:

Mlíko, which is the Czech word for ‘milk’, is one of the classic Pilsner Urquell pours. It’s probably unlike anything you’ve ever seen or tasted.
……
The Mlíko is a special treat. It’s not the kind of beer you’d order again and again while you’re at the pub with friends. In traditional Czech pubs in the 19th and early 20th centuries it was served as a dessert, or as an elegant drink for women who weren’t big beer drinkers. Sometimes the bartender would give a Mlíko as a nightcap after the bill was paid.
…….

To pour a Mlíko, the Tapster opens the tap just slightly, letting the glass fill to the top with foam. Some of this foam settles, becoming beer – you get a full glass but you only pay for a half.
The History of the Milko Pour – Pilsner Urquell

It has certainly become the ‘in’ fad right now in the craft beer world. First, you had New England IPAs, then Milkshake IPAs and heavy fruited smoothies, then hard seltzers, now, its the milko pour!

Several breweries across Pennsylvania have latched onto it and started doing it. Most notably Human Robot. Breweries in PA did an article discussing the technique and some of the breweries that do it in PA, another notable brewery (and local to the blog here) is Wolf Brewing out of Mechanicsburg PA.

Human Robot

Human Robot has become notable for being one of the first breweries in the area and first in Pennsylvania to be doing the ‘milko pour’. So with all the popularity and the craze going on, it’s perfect timing to do their Oktoberfest Celebration, and to include the milk tube as a big part of the festivities.

Human Robot has been a premier brewery in the Philadelphia beer scene since their opening in 2019. Well known for their fantastic beers, wonderful brewery, and fantastic ownership and staff.

An Oktoberfest Celebration

Human Robot is celebrating their Oktoberfest on September 18th, 2021. Hopefully this will become an annual tradition. The press release for the event reads:

Human Robot is set to host the inaugural USA vs. The World Oktoberfest Invitational on Sept. 18th, 2021 at Sunflower Philly, featuring breweries from around the globe doing their best take on classic German styles of beer. The beer fest will feature the host brewery’s celebrated lagers as well as a Sitchfaß of Oktoberfest beer, which will be available in limited supply during the event in addition to elusive offerings from notable American & European breweries.

Live music will be provided by local favorites Snacktime Philly, Grave Bathers for metal-flair, and DJ The Touched spinning a twist on tradition with German house and metal. Not only will there be a sampling of some of the best lager beers made in the US and Europe, the event will feature friendly competitions including The World’s First Milk Tube Race!

USA vs. the World offers FREE admission, though guests can attend and purchase beer tokens on a pay-as-you-go basis for $7 a piece. Discounted token packages plus limited edition Beer Steins can be purchased online ahead of the event and are available now at humanrobot.com. Food trucks will also be available pay-as-you-go with a diverse selection of tasty German culinary favorites to pair with all that great beer.

Breweries include: 2nd District, Bonn Place, Burial, Folksbier, Human Robot, The Seed, Threes, Von Trapp, Ettal Dunkel, Hofstetten’s Kuebelbier, Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Maerzen, Mythos Spezial Maerzenstyle plus more to be announced. Check Instagram for updates.
Press Release for Human Robot’s Oktoberfest Celebration

This looks like an amazing event. Food trucks, milk tube race, breweries that are hard to get and all kinds of fun activities. What could be better? Add in that its Human Robot, so you know the event will go smoothly and be lots of fun, and will have amazing brews on hand. This definitely sounds like one event you don’t want to miss.

“We are stoked to have such a high calibur lineup of breweries joining us for our first Oktoberfest. Our friends in the industry are sending us incredible beer from all over the world – some new ones, some old favorites – and we can’t wait for everyone to come try them at Sunflower. Philly is a lager town and we want to keep that tradition going. We’ll have Tin Hoagie, Polotmovy, Czech 10 and our new Oktoberfest at USA vs. the World. We’ve got a mix of everything for you that day – oompa music plus metal, you know? You won’t want to miss it.”
Jake Atkinson (co-owner of Human Robot)

About Human Robot and this article

A word about this article – this is a sponsored article from Human Robot via House of Hobbs Brewery Marketing. The Beer Thrillers was contacted by House of Hobbs Brewery Marketing to do a press release for this event. The information provided above was given by the brewery through the marketing for the press release and for the purposes of this article.

For more information on Human Robot:

Established in 2019 by three industry veterans—Kenny Correll, Chris Roller, and Jake Atkinson – Human Robot brews both traditional European-style beers as well as experimental, flavor-bending, IPAs, stouts, and “splash” ales, with fruitful aromas, full mouthfeel, and tons of flavor. Human Robot is making waves in the Philadelphia beer scene and has been rated in the top-10 Pennsylvania breweries on Untapped. Human Robot, located at 1710 N. 5th Street in Philadelphia, PA, is a destination for day-drinking as well as lively night-time activity. Human Robot has also quickly become one of the most-frequented meeting spots for industry comradery. The brewery often collaborates with Sunflower Philly, a venue and park located across the street from the taproom, offering a large variety of bands throughout the summer months. Human Robot offers outdoor seating on its wooden deck, referred to as “the Pirate Ship” and is available for semi-private events.
About Human Robot – Press Release

For More Information:
INSTAGRAM @humanrobot
WEBSITE www.humanrobot.com
1710 N. 5th St. Phila, PA

Extra Links / The Beer Thrillers

Thank you for checking us out here at the blog. Be sure to like and subscribe to our social media pages. (Links provided on the side and below.) I would like to thank Human Robot and House of Hobbs Brewery Marketing for reaching out to us to do this article. If you would like to contact us for writing and other information, you can use our Contact Us page and I will respond as promptly as I am able to.

There is a lot of exciting stuff coming down the pipe lines here at The Beer Thrillers. Podcasts, streaming, videos, more and more articles, beer reviews, brewery reviews, book reviews, hikes, and so much more planned. So be sure to be on the lookout and make sure you check everything out!

There is quite a few other celebrations in the area coming up. On October 2nd – Boneshire Brew Works is hosting their annual Pigtoberfest. Make sure you check that out, and on October 3rd – Rubber Soul Brewery is doing their “Year One Anniversary Bash“. Be sure to check that out as well.

Links:

Thank You For Reading

Thank you for reading everyone. Enjoy the upcoming Oktoberfest season! Cheers!

-B. Kline

You can check out our different directories here: Beer Reviews, Hike Reviews, Book Reviews, Brewery News, Brewery Openings, Brewer Interviews, and Travelogues.

The Beer Thrillers are a blog that prides itself on writing beer reviews, brewery reviews, travelogues, news (especially local to the Central PA brewery scene), as well as covering other topics of our interests – such as hiking, literature and books, board games, and video games which we sometimes stream with our friends over at Knights of Nostalgia. We are currently listed as #7 on FeedSpot’s “Top 100 Beer Blogs” and #9 on FeedSpot’s “Top 40 Pennsylvania Blogs”. Thank you for reading our site today, please subscribe, follow, and bookmark. Please reach out to us if you are interested in working together. If you would like to donate to the blog you can here: Donate to The Beer Thrillers. Thank you!

You can also check out our partnership and affiliation with Pretzels.com, where ordering pretzels and using our affiliate code will help you get wonderful pretzels and help us maintain and keep this blog running. Thank you!

Beer Review: Dreams of Orgonon (Human Robot)

BKline — Fri, 09 Oct 2020 13:34:38 +0000

Dreams of Orgonon by Human Robot (at Highway Manor Brewing Co.)

When I was at the grand opening of Highway Manor they had several Philly area brewery beers on tap (Rainey Cellar, Brewery ARS, Naked Brewing, and Human Robot). You can check out all of them in a short review of the beers as well as a brewery review of Highway Manor here. All of them were delicious, but this one I felt deserved a more full fledged beer review than just the mini review I gave.

Here’s the mini-review I gave:

“My Untappd Rating: ****.5
Global Untappd Rating: 4.15 (as of 9.28.20)

This was extremely tasty, juicy, dank, and delicious. Everything you want from a New England IPA, this had in spades, plus some. All around amazing beer and went fantastically with my sandwich. By this point I had moved to the center table and sat across from the one swing. I was informed by Johnny (Johnny Compton III – owner / brewer at Highway Manor Brewing) that a friend of his bought everyone a round. I was then joined by a couple – Lucas and Kaitlin who sat next to me.”

So, now, let’s give it a more full fledged, in depth review.

Dreams of Orgonon by Human Robot

Beer: Dreams of Orgonon
Brewery: Human Robot
Style: IPA – New England
ABV: 6.6%
IBU: None
Untappd Description: Deliciously dreamy juice bomb brewed with sweet golden promise malt and hopped intensely with Citra, Mosaic, and Idaho 7. Its like the sun coming out…

This was my first beer from Human Robot – and hopefully, all fingers, toes, and things crossed, it won’t be my last.

Firstly, unlike my brief description, I’ll do my typical three paragraph breakdown (appearance, aroma, taste). (Oh, you didn’t notice thats how I do my reviews? ….well, now you know my system. Deconstruct away!)

So let’s start with the appearance then. I know its a bit hard to tell in the picture due to the pink fluorescent light / glow, but this is a bright golden orange hazy IPA. It has that orange juice look and glow to it that most (well done) New England IPAs have. A nice foamy head too, with lots of dispersed bubbles, and good lacing left on the glass. This already looks good before even getting to the nose.

The Citra, Mosaic, and Idaho 7 hops gives this an amazing hop aroma. Citrusy, mango, mellon, rind, and a small dosage of orange notes I pick up. Some Earthy / grassy tones, but very extremely subtle. This smells like its going to be juicy, it looks to be dank, and I gotta believe its gonna be delicious….

…..and huzzah… it is! It is extremely…. extremely… extremely delicious! So juicy, so dank, so hazy, so strong, so citrusy, so mellon-y, so mango-y, so tasty, so so so so so tasty. This is bright, strong, beautiful, bold, and powerful. Its extremely juicy. This could be a shot of orange juice in the morning (and would be a hell of a lot better and tasty than any orange juice OJ I ever had). The citrus notes are very strong, and they lead into the mellon, mellon rind, mango notes, always love that combination in an IPA – especially a juicy New England IPA, it just seems to fit and blend so perfectly together. This went down extremely well, and absolutely helped me crush a lot of my turkey sandwich (pictured with the beer). Also at only 6.6% its pretty damn crushable itself. I could see a crowler of this going down smooth and easily in the backyard or at a picnic or mowing or just hanging out with friends… or… well, anywhere / anytime. This is the perfect epitome of the style and is why people like New England IPAs; juicy, dank, hazy, no crazy hop bite, smooth, nice foamy head, nice taste, nice flavors, no after taste, no lingering dislikes, no off flavors, this is just an extremely well crafted beer that hits all the right spots. Can’t say enough great things about it.

My Untappd Rating: ****.50
Global Untappd Rating: 4.16 (as of 10.9.20)

Definitely add this brewery to your list of breweries to watch out for and to check out, especially if you are in the Philly area. I know they’ve skyrocketed to the top of my ‘must visit’ breweries list.

Well, I’m now off to drive to Ming’s to go with Ming and Don to Wellsboro PA to visit the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon, and we are most likely going to be stopping at (at least one) a brewery for the dinner. Most likely going to be New Trail in Williamsport, but I might be able to convince them to also stop at Bullfrog Brewery or Bald Bird’s on the way back through. We’ll see. I’ll be sure to have it on The Beer Thrillers Facebook page, as well as our Instagram, so be sure to check them out to see what breweries we hit today.

Please be sure to follow us on our social media accounts – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Influence. Please be sure to also follow, like, subscribe to the blog here itself to keep updated. We love to hear from you guys, so be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you think!

Until next time, cheers everyone!

-B. Kline

Brewery Review: Highway Manor Brewing Co.

BKline — Mon, 28 Sep 2020 13:00:00 +0000

Highway Manor Brewing Co. opened their doors (finally!) for in-house service Saturday, at 11AM (September 26th, 2020). You can read our preview article here: Brewery Opening – Highway Manor.

From Highway Manor Brewing Co’s Facebook page – a screenshot of our posting about their brewery opening

Saturday night after work got over (7PM) I got the pleasure to get to Highway Manor Brewing in Camp Hill. I left work at 7 and got there at about 7:25-7:30. There was still a decent crowd at the time when I got there (inside tables were full and the tables with the swing seats were full). I ordered the Mr. Blackberry and a Turkey Sandwich to start.

Mr. Blackberry by Highway Manor Brewing Co.

Beer: Mr. Blackberry
Brewery: Highway Manor Brewing Co.
Style: Sour – Other
ABV: 5.2%
IBU: None
Untappd Description: None

First time having this, I’ve had several other Highway Manor beers at various brewfests (Lititz Brewfest, Lancaster Brewfest, possibly Little Big Beer Fest or the Mount Hope RenFaire Brewfest), and this was just as good as all of those. This was super tart, delicious, fruity, with a great berry flavor.

On Untappd I gave it a ****.25
The global Untappd rating (as of 9.27.20) is: 3.73

Soon my food was arriving, and I had already drained my Blackberry sour, so I needed a new beer to help eat the food. (By the way, the entire food menu looked amazing, the turkey sandwich was phenomenal. Top of the line, high quality food, and very cheap, and with huge portions.)

Once my sandwich arrived I needed another beer, and decided to try some of their guest taps that they had running (they had five drafts; all guest taps). I’ve heard nothing but amazing things about Human Robot but haven’t had a chance yet to try anything from them, so I decided to try out their IPA – Dreams of Orgonon.

Dreams of Orgonon by Human Robot

My Untappd Rating: ****.5
Global Untappd Rating: 4.15 (as of 9.28.20)

This was extremely tasty, juicy, dank, and delicious. Everything you want from a New England IPA, this had in spades, plus some. All around amazing beer and went fantastically with my sandwich. By this point I had moved to the center table and sat across from the one swing. I was informed by Johnny (Johnny Compton III – owner/brewer at Highway Manor Brewing) that a friend of his bought everyone a round. I was then joined by a couple – Lucas and Kaitlin who sat next to me.

They were both wearing ‘cat’ pants (pants with dozens of cat faces all over them), and quickly from talking to them I realized Lucas was Johnny’s friend. I thanked him for the beer, and for the rest of the night there, talked with them while we all drank, as well as talked with a few others who were there and one or two that came and went.

Compton Pilsner (a collaboration by Raney Cellar Brewery and Highway Manor Brewing)

Beer: Compton Pilsner
Brewery: Raney Cellars Brewing Company
Collaboration with: Highway Manor Brewing Co.
Style: Pilsner – Czech
ABV: 5.4%
IBU: None
Untappd Description: A traditional Pilsner with Mr Johnny Compton from Highway Manor Brewing. Saaz Hops from start to finish on this Pils.

As I’ve said in the blog here before when doing reviews, pilsners are a style that can be very hit or miss for me. This was a complete hit for me. Blew me away how wonderful the flavor was, how crisp it was, no lingering aftertastes (which I sometimes get from pilsners and why they are often a miss for me). This is just a fantastically brewed beer.

My Untappd Rating: ****
Global Untappd Rating: 3.88 (as of 9.28.20)

Throughout the night I had been texting with the group text of guys from my work, a group of us that regularly meet to play the Game of Thrones board game (and other games) and just group text each other about all kinds of things, from beer to philosophy, to politics, to work, to movies, shows, nerd culture, etc. My one friend and co-worker in the group text decided he would spend the night throwing out some new “blog names” for me instead of using The Beer Thrillers. At this point, I’d like to take a divergence from the brewery review and highlight the best that D. Pezzuti had to offer:

Benjamin Buzzin
Get Ben’t
Bend Over Bens Benders
The Curious Cases of Benjamin Buzzin

We then discussed doing a segment of beer reviews of Nitro stouts and rate them in the style of WCW Nitro Years. With five star Nitro stouts being WCW Nitro ’97 and one star Nitro stouts being WCW Nitro ’01. We also discussed calling the faithful to the blog “Hopamaniacs”.

Anyway…. back to the program…

Time for another beer, this time I went for another guest draft – this time from Naked Brewing; Thank Frank.

Thank Frank by Naked Brewing Company

Beer: Thank Frank
Brewery: Naked Brewing Company
Style: IPA – American
ABV: 5.6%
IBU: None
Untappd Description: West Coast IPA hopped with Citra & Amarillo.
Refreshing and perfect for those warm September days. Notes of dank citrus & delicious sticky resin.

A traditional hoppy IPA, this was a change of pace from the crisp pilsner, the juicy New England IPA, and the super tart and delicious sour Mr. Blackberry. This was a good, hoppy, bitter, earthy IPA, old west coast style old-school vibe to it.

My Untappd Rating: ****
Global Untappd Rating: 3.75 (as of 9.28.20)

It was starting to get late, I had thought about meeting two friends (D. Arndt and Youngblood) at Ever Grain before Ever Grain closed (at 11 – just like Highway Manor) since they were doing their Anniversary weekend, but Youngblood’s comedy (stand up comedy) bit went on longer and they wouldn’t be leaving their show til just before 11 anyway. So I stayed til closing getting to talk to Lucas and Kaitlin and others.

At this point, we also got introduced to Johnnie’s dog – a great dane and black lab mix – named Luna. Absolutely beautiful and wonderful dog. Fun and playful and nice drinking companion (no, I didn’t give the dog any beer).

So for my final beer of the night, I tried another brewery I never had before but have heard nothing but great things about – Brewery ARS.

Unfortunately for this, I do not have a pic, as just as I was ordering, my phone died and I did not have a charger on me. (9 hour day at work, plus driving using my GPS, plus texting, plus Untappd, and other apps, for notes, etc., really drained the battery).

Beer: Embrace the Day
Brewery: Brewery ARS
Style: IPA – Imperial / Double New England
ABV: 8.7%
IBU: None
Untappd Description: Hazy Double IPA :: mosaic, simcoe, falconer’s flight, el dorado

Another juicy, bright, delicious New England style IPA; this time a DIPA. A great beer to end the night on. This was super easy to drink, juicy, and went down fast (also perhaps because it was the end of the night and my fifth drink, but who knows).

My Untappd Rating: ****
Global Untappd Rating: 4.09 (as of 9.28.20)

Before leaving, I said my goodbyes to everyone, and got to talk to Johnnie Compton a bit more. He is a great dude, knows his saisons, knows his yeast, knows his beer, and very down to Earth. Thanked me for coming out, and sent me on my way with a few (free) bottles of Mr. Peach and Mr. Plum. Which I will be diving into on the next stream with D. Scott for The Knights of Nostalgia.

I will discuss the aesthetics of the brewery now. The building is small, but well laid out (even with the current COVID restrictions), it has two rooms for dining tables, and then an open patio like area. Kind of reminds you of a house in the suburbs with the patio garage area.

The swings are really neat. I am wondering if they may become a problem with an ‘intoxicated’ person, but at a brewery, I highly doubt this will come up, but you never know. The tables and seating area though is gorgeous, both indoor and outdoor. Indoors, it has a rave like vibe with the glowing lights and the glow in the dark paint. (Make sure to check out the bathroom to really see what I mean.)

Lucas summed it up when we were discussing the brewery and the area, that its a “Philly bar in Camp Hill, turned saison bottle brewery.” And thats probably the most apt way to describe it. Johnnie and I were discussing how it was like opening during COVID and everything, and he was saying how nuts he was for opening a brewery primarily based on bottles rather than draft, and to do it during a global pandemic on top of everything.

The food menu on Saturday night looked fantastic. Lamb, turkey, vegetarian or vegan sandwich, and many other options, all for 8$ or less. Not sure if that menu is permanent or if it will be changed or updated or switched, but Johnnie did say he’s hoping to have food trucks in their parking lot area and grass field area across from the brewery on weekends.

The following pictures I took Saturday night while I was there:

Highway Manor Brewing Co. (Pictures by: The Beer Thrillers) (Include: Highway Manor Brewer and Luna)

The following pictures are courtesy of Highway Manor’s Facebook page:

Highway Manor Brewing Co. Grand Opening – September 26th, 2020 (Photos courtesy of Highway Manor Brewing Co. Facebook page)

This will certainly be a stop I will make regularly when on the West Shore, and will be perfect when hitting the area to do a brewery lap. Other great local breweries include Ever Grain, Mellow Mink, Hemaur Brewing, and Pizza Boy (as well as Liquid Noise which is a bit further, but still in the general area). So lots of great options all in the area.

I personally highly recommend checking the brewery out, and trying their wonderful tremendous beers. Especially if you like farmhouse ales, saisons, tart beers, sours, lambics, or all things similar. They also will have a rotating guest draft list that looks great for the area (Johnnie said he would like to keep it relatively full of Philly area beers), so that looks great – getting to try Philly beers and Philly breweries without the 2 hour drive to Philly. The brewery has a super cool vibe. There was a food menu for kids though it might not be 100% the most kid friendly; its certainly not anti-kid, but the venue vibe seems to be aimed away from parents. It is also dog friendly.

Highway Manor Brewing Co.

Be sure to check out some of our other brewery opening articles:

Thanks for reading everyone and hopefully someday I’ll see you at Highway Manor and have a beer together. Until then, virtually, cheers!

-B. Kline

(Post Script: This was meant to go up Sunday night, but everything kinda got pushed back and thus why its gone up this morning, Monday, September 28th. My parents celebrated their 40th Anniversary on Sunday the 27th, and originally – pre-COVID – we were all going to go to the Bengals vs. Eagles game at the Lincoln Center in Philly; since they are big Eagles fans and I’m a Bengals fan, but unfortunately that didn’t get to work out. Instead, we got to watch the overtime – because the game in regulation time was not aired locally – and we got to see possibly the most apathetic overtime ever played. Six punts by the two teams combined in the 10 minute overtime. Neither team trying on their last plays to score. And on top of all this, the Phillies still had a chance to make the playoffs, and all they had to do was win, against a team that was locked in at their seed, and that they had just lost to twice, ….and of course they couldn’t do it. So despite it being an 8-team playoff for each conference, the Phillies *STILL* couldn’t manage to get in. So disappointing. But needless to say despite all this, the article is now up, just a bit later. Enjoy!)

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