A Look Into the Future

Let’s take a look into the future and see what the crystal ball sees. Its the start of a new year and with that comes ideas of what the future might hold. People start resolutions (and quickly drop them), people try new habits, people (the horror… the horror…) do “Dry January”, people work out more (for a week or so), etc.

Every year its a time of reevaluation, looking at the past – in this case the year of 2022 – and looking into the future – 2023 and beyond. Seeing what the new trends will be, and having interviews and articles like this let us take a gauge of all of that. It also then lets us look back at the end of the next year to see what we got right, what we got wrong, and why. Its a great launching point for speculation and thought, as well as serving as a great look back and retrospective and way to see the changes in trends, in the business, in brewing and craft beer in general.

Tyler Budwash – co owner of the Pilger Ruh Brewing Company out of Pottsvillle Pennsylvania, was nice enough to reach out to me with his chats and interviews with some of his friends and co – workers in the industry. He chatted with the brewers from Robin Hood Brewing Company, Bright Path Brewing Company, Mount Gretna Craft Brewery, Copperz Brewing Company, as well as the labelist and artist for Rotunda Brewing Company, and they all graciously allowed us to share their thoughts on 2023 and beyond.

I want to say thank you to all involved for this. I will make sure to thank you each individually at the end of the article. Also, if you like the breweries involved here in the article, be sure to check to the bottom where I will have a list of other articles with each of the breweries involved. Thank you.

Robin Hood Brewing Company

Caleb Peachy is the head brewer of Robin Hood Brewing Company. As per Untappd, they are a Brew Pub out of Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. They have 212 unique beers with over 33,000 ratings and a global average rating of 3.7 (as of 1.4.23). Their Untappd description reads: “Robin Hood Brewing Co. is a small-batch brewpub in Bellefonte, PA specializing in IPA’s and high quality experimental brews.”

When asked about future trends, Caleb Peachy said:

I think we will still see the trendy beers continue to be king. Such as the hazy IPA’s and fruited sours. But I do think we will start to see some fatigue with the hazy’s. Instead of having all IPA’s on tap, taprooms are going to need to have a variety. We will also continue to see breweries push creativity with what can be put into beers. I’d personally like to see more west coast IPA’s and easy drinking lagers become popular throughout the year. Nothing beats a crispi boi anytime of the year. 

Caleb Peachy

For more information on Robin Hood Brewing Company:

• Robin Hood Brewing Company (Untappd)
• Robin Hood Brewing Company (Official Website)
• Robin Hood Brewing Company (Instagram)
• Robin Hood Brewing Company (Facebook)

For more articles about Robin Hood Brewing Company, see the end of this article.

Pilger Ruh Brewing Company

Tyler Budwash is the co – owner of Pilger Ruh Brewing Company. According to Untappd they are a nano brewery out of Pottsville, Pennsylvania. They have 159 unique beers and over 6,000 ratings with a global average rating of 3.87 (as of 1.4.23). Their Untappd description reads: “Community Crafted Nano Brewery in Pottsville PA with 12 rotating taps, local wine, spirits, and cocktails. Beer to go available. Ask about our food menu!”

I’m not sure how the conversation went, but I like to think Tyler Budwash asked himself out loud what his thoughts were going to be on the trends of 2023. This is what he had to say:

Well let’s start with saying, I don’t think hazy IPAs, fruited sours, pastry stouts, or seltzers are going anywhere and we can officially say lagers are “back”. So in 2023 I think we will continue to see more approachable beers hit taps, as in lower abv and more of the classic styles returning. I’d personally like to see more milds.

Tyler Budwash

For more information on Pilger Ruh Brewing:

• Pilger Ruh Brewing (Untappd)
• Pilger Ruh Brewing (Official Website)
• Pilger Ruh Brewing (Instagram)
• Pilger Ruh Brewing (Twitter)
• Pilger Ruh Brewing (Facebook)

For more articles on Pilger Ruh Brewing please check the end of this article.

Bright Path Brewing

Alex Franco is co – owner and brewer at Bright Path Brewing Company. According to Untappd they are a micro brewery from Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania. They have 20 unique beers and 2,900 ratings with a global average rating of 3.7 (as of 1.4.23). Their Untappd description reads: “Small craft brewery located in Jim Thorpe, PA focusing on lagers and session ales.”

Tyler Budwash asked Alex Franco what he foresees in 2023, and this was his response:

For 2023 I think lagers continue to grow but I hope that beer drinkers catch up to brewers. Hazy IPAs are everywhere and hard to distinguish between most of them so I hope beer drinkers start to see the wide array of beer styles and branch out to try different things.

Alex Franco

For more information on Bright Path Brewing:

• Bright Path Brewing (Untappd)
• Bright Path Brewing (Official Website)
• Bright Path Brewing (Instagram)
• Bright Path Brewing (Facebook)

For more articles on Bright Path Brewing, please see the end of this article.

Mount Gretna Craft Brewery

Brad Moyer is the brewer of Mount Gretna Craft Brewery. According to Untappd they are a micro brewery from Palmyra, Pennsylvania. They have 193 unique beers with a total of 19,000 ratings and a global average rating of 3.64 (as of 1.4.23). Their Untappd description reads: “Hand-crafted beer inspired by a place where people share culture, art and ideas amid the lakes, trails and forest – historic Mount Gretna.”

When asked by Tyler Budwash what he saw coming in 2023, Brad Moyer said:

I think the thing I see most coming is diversification of Beer styles there’s been a lot of breweries recently, who hang their hat on 1 to 2 styles and that’s all they do. Now I’m not saying that they don’t do them well , it’s just people are demanding more these days and we are seeing a resurgence of lots of lagers and other styles that were one time not so sexy to brew. In a market where there is literally a brewery every 5 to 10 miles you have to be doing something that sets yourself apart and if you hang your hat only on, let’s say hazy IPA people will come but ultimately will want different choices and venture up the road.

Brad Moyer

For more information on Mount Gretna Craft Brewery:

• Mount Gretna Craft Brewery (Untappd)
• Mount Gretna Craft Brewery (Official Website)
• Mount Gretna Craft Brewery (Instagram)
• Mount Gretna Craft Brewery (Facebook)

For more articles on Mount Gretna Craft Brewery, please see the end of this article.

Rotunda Brewing Company

Stevie Glick is the artist and can labelist for all of the beautiful can art you see from Rotunda Brewing Company. Their logos, artwork, and can labels adorn their social media and their promotional material as well as both brewery locations (the brewery and restaurant in Annville and the brew pub in Hershey). Rotunda Brewing Company is a micro brewery out of Annville Pennsylvania with 458 unique beers, 83,000 ratings and a global average rating of 3.94 (as of 1.4.23) according to Untappd. Their Untappd description reads: “Stop by at 11am on Saturdays to get your RBC 32 oz Crowlers TO GO! Quantities are limited and go fast! We are conveniently located at 245 West Main Street, Annville PA. Parking is available in the back. Call us today with any questions as we have a very knowledgeable staff on hand that can handle any beer questions you may have!”

When confronted by Tyler Budwash and asked about the future, this is what Stevie Glick had to say:

I don’t see much changing at all honesty.
Maybe everyone fine tuning their skills with heavily fruited sours.
We’re adding nitrogen to a lot of things – especially the Swheat Tart series 

I most definitely see the bigger craft brewing company’s from the surrounding states are either setting up shop in PA or are finally getting some stretch with distro into their surrounding states. 

Covid brought us Aslin Brewing Company, Trillium Brewing Company, and Other Half Brewing; and that’s amazing but may also bring the little breweries competition selling out of six pack shops. 

I’m hoping to see more collaborations between little brewing companies and bigger ones. 

And lastly. no one’s ever going to stop trying to push the boundaries of what should or could be in beer or what can be made from it – so who knows maybe a new unique style may pop out again that no one thought of. 

Stevie Glick

For more information on Rotunda Brewing Company:

• Rotunda Brewing Company (Untappd)
• Rotunda Brewing Company (Official Website)
• Rotunda Brewing Company (Instagram)
• Rotunda Brewing Company (Facebook)

For more articles on Rotunda Brewing Company please see the end of this article.

Copperz Brewing Company

Justin Kershner is the brewer for Copperz Brewing Company, a brew pub out of Hamburg Pennsylvania. Based on Untappd they have 38 unique beers, 2,100 ratings, and a global average rating of 3.68 (as of 1.4.23). Their Untappd description reads: “Opened in December 2021, our 5bbl brewhouse supplies 10 rotating taps with a wide variety of styles. Full kitchen offering great food and a limited bar featuring PA liquors.”

When asked by Tyler Budwash what he thinks 2023 will hold, Justin Kershner stated this:

Ha, I wish I knew where it was heading. That’s kinda the fun part right? We don’t know. Just gotta roll with it.

Justin Kershner

For more information on Copperz Brewing Company, check out their social media pages:

• Copperz Brewing Company (Untappd)
• Copperz Brewing Company (Official Website)
• Copperz Brewing Company (Instagram)
• Copperz Brewing Company (Facebook)

More Articles

Looking for more articles we’ve written here on The Beer Thrillers about the above breweries? Check these out below:

Robin Hood Brewing Company

• Our Trip up to Bellefonte and Beyond (Hiking James Cleveland Trail, Visiting Axemann Brewery, Robin Hood Brewing Company, Short Bus / The Bus Brewing Company, and Shy Bear Brewing Company) (December 10th, 2021)

Bright Path Brewing Company

• Visiting Jim Thorpe with Friends (Bright Path Brewing Company and Stoker’s Brewing Company) (June 25th, 2021)
• Brewer Interview: An Interview with the Bright Path Brewing Brewers
• Bright Path Brewing Company Opens in Jim Thorpe

Pilger Ruh Brewing Company

• Pilger Ruh Brewing Needs Your Help
• Brewer Interview: Tyler Budwash (Pilger Ruh Brewing)
• Beer Review: Social Distancing (Tattered Flag, Abomination Brewing, and Pilger Ruh Brewing)
• Prototype Brewery Invitational
• Beer Review: Should Have Put Him in Custardy (Tattered Flag) (Collaboration)
• Beer Review: Abbra Collabra 6 Way Banana Split Milkshake IPA (Tattered Flag) (Collaboration)

Mount Gretna Craft Brewery

• Multiple Beer Reviews: Kettle Sour Gose, ESB, Dandy-Lion Saison, TropiKolsch (Mount Gretna Craft Brewery)
• Hike: Governor Dick Tower Trail (Manheim, Pennsylvania)
• A Word From Brad Moyer of Liquid Noise Brewing (when he worked there) (COVID-19) (2020)

Rotunda Brewing Company

• Drunk Phils Fans and Rotunda Brewing Company Team Up With ‘Jam The Batter’ Collaboration
• Beer Review: Irish Car Bomb Nitro Stout (Rotunda Brewing Company)
• Beer Review: Juicy Fruit sWheat Tart (Rotunda Brewing Company)
• Beer Review: Mango Guyabano sWheat Tart (Rotunda Brewing Company)
• Brewery Opening: Rotunda Brew Pub
• Brews and Bands for Bart
• Looking for good local stouts or green beer this St. Patty’s Day?
• Valentine’s Day Beers

Copperz Brewing Company

• Hike: Pinnacle Rock (Hamburg, Pennsylvania)

Brewer Interviews

One of my favorite (B. Kline writing here) features of the blog, and one of my favorite things to do is get to interview brewers, people in the industry, and just people in general for the blog. The following is a list of interviews we’ve done for the blog.

• Brewer Interview: Tyler Budwash (Pilger Ruh Brewing)
• Brewer Interview: Rod Stahl (Axemann Brewery)
• Brewer Interview: Sean Gorzynski (Logyard Brewing)
• Brewers Interview: Alex Franko and Dillon Smith (Bright Path Brewing)
• Interview: Ryan Galiotto (Fueled by Hops)

Thanks For Reading

Firstly I’d like to thank Tyler Budwash who reached out to me and did ther interviews and talked to his friends and co – workers. He messaged me wanting to do this end of the year / looking forward to 2023 and reached out to the fine folks above about it. We are always glad here at The Beer Thrillers to showcase and support the brewers and breweries that don’t always get ‘mainstream’ attention, and the attention and support they deserve. Especially with some of these being local and Pennsylvania based breweries, its nice to give them the attention and shout outs that they don’t get from other blogs and sites and groups on the web. Thank you Tyler for reaching out to them and for writing the article. (I, as B. Kline, did just editing, and adding this ending to the article.)

With that, I would like to thank Caleb Peachy, Brad Moyer, Alex Franco, Stevie Glick, and Justin Kershner for answering Tyler’s messages and questions.

Peel back the cover of the blog a bit, I started editing and formatting the article this morning at 8AM to try and have it done by 9AM so I could get ready for work… when 9:20AM rolled up and I realized “oh crap I’m gonna be late” and had to put it on hold to after work. So my apologies for not getting this out this morning, but I jumped on it right after work, and despite WordPress’s best attempts at being super slow and glitchy for some reason at just the moments I didn’t need or want it to be, here it is.

I hope you all enjoyed the article. Please make sure to stop out at these great breweries. We will be definitely hitting some of these places in the near future.

Let us know in the comments what you think will be the trends of 2023 and going forward in the world of craft beer. Think it will eventually become “The Year of the Lager” despite a big blog and group saying for four years that it will be? Think we’ll get even heavier stouts? More fruity sours? Who knows! Let us know your thought and opinions.

Also, please like, subscribe, and follow the page. Also make sure to check out our social media pages and follow us on there. Thanks so much for reading!

Cheers All! And a very Happy New Years!

-B. Kline

As always, thank you everyone for reading! Leave your likes, comments, suggestions, questions, etc, in the comments section. Or use the Feedback – Contact Us – page, and we’ll get right back to you! You can also reach out to us at our direct e-mail address: thebeerthrillers@gmail.com

Thank you for visiting our blog. Please make sure to follow, bookmark, subscribe, and make sure to comment and leave feedback and like the blog posts you read. It will help us to better tailor the blog to you, the readers, likes and make this a better blog for everyone.

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

Please be sure to follow us on our social media accounts – Facebook, Facebook Group, 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!

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Setting up the Interview

With the upcoming “One Sweet Afternoon 90’s Throwback Party” brewfest, I decided to reach out to Ryan Galiotto, owner and head of Fueled by Hops, and ask him some questions about a whole host of things. He was gracious enough to answer our questions and talk to us, so please, enjoy the following interview.

The Interview

After the first question, I will abbreviate ‘The Beer Thrillers’ to TBT and will abbreviate Ryan Galiotto to RG (as per standards with written interviews).

The Beer Thrillers: Who “is” Ryan Galiotto? Where did you grow up? Education? Interests? Hobbies? Etc.
Ryan Galiotto: I consider myself to be just an average guy who likes beer. I grew up in Easton, PA, just down the street from Weyerbacher Brewing, before moving to Pittsburgh (so I’ve covered both ends of PA). After I finished college, I moved to Chicago which is where I fell in love with beer. Since 2007, most of my hobbies revolve around craft beer. Well, that and spending time with my wife and daughter.

TBT: How did you get into beer? First remembrances of beer? Favorite initial drinks/beer?
RG: I was in Chicago and lived very close to a Goose Island location. I made my way throw their beer list before moving on to Fat Tire, Dogfish Head and all the popular craft breweries of that era. Once I discovered Garret Oliver and Brooklyn Brewing, I was absolutely hooked. I couldn’t believe that Brooklyn Brown Ale could taste as well as it does (and I still think that).

TBT: Progression into craft beer – what was your first craft beer? First breweries you went to?
RG: I can’t recall the first, but it was probably Yuengling. My early memories though revolve around Goose Island and Dogfish Head, which were also my first breweries.

TBT: How did you become interested in beer more than just a drinking habit? (ie. the site/writing/etc)
RG: I ran a craft beer bar back in 2008-2009ish. We handled about 125 brands of craft beer back then which is a TON of beer for that era. The idea for Fueled By Hops was actually born back then, however, I shelved it. I wanted to learn everything about beer at that point before I started any kind of business. Fast forward to 2017-2018ish and craft breweries were popping up around me, I knew it was time to act on my idea.

TBT: How did Fueled by Hops begin? (When did it begin, who all was involved, what all did you do, etc.)
RG: It all started on March 9, 2019 when I was drinking a Hitchhiker Brewing BA Woke. The idea was already created long before, but I didn’t know how to execute it. After noticing a lot of beer groups on Facebook (most of which were very toxic), I decided to start my own and get rid of that toxicity. We started with 8 members, and three of them were my brother, my brother-in-law, and my wife along with some other friends I met at breweries.

TBT: Where did you envision Fueled by Hops going or becoming when you first started it?
RG: I always just wanted a beer blog and cool community that hosted meetups and stuff. I never really evisioned it getting much bigger than that. However, after I incorporated, I started seeing different avenues where we could grow and started pushing the brand in those directions.

TBT: How has Fueled by Hops grown since it first started? Who all has helped out? What all has changed? What was it like Day 1 til today?
RG: We’ve grown our Facebook group from 8 members to 5,300 today. We probably could have many more members, however, we’re trying to make sure the group doesn’t get too large and lose it’s “good vibes only” nature. So it’s a slow grind up. Since Day 1, we’ve added on a merch store, multiple podcasts, a blog (which is now defunct) and have hosted a bunch of cool events and festivals. Most of this is all handled by myself and my business partner, Nick Adams.

TBT: Where do you foresee Fueled by Hops going/doing in the future? What all would you like to do with it? Bucket list goals for it?
RG: It’s weird to say but I think I see us growing in to a “beer-focused” media company. Some would argue that we’re there now, however I still want the “community” to be the front-facing part of the brand. I want to eventually release more podcasts and social content for the beer nerd. It may not all be about beer, but it’s certainly going to be relevant to people just like me. As long as the brand serves my beer friends well, I really don’t care how large it grows. I think that attitude helps the brand maintain it’s vibe as it scales up.

TBT: Talk us through the Best Brunch Ever brewfest. How did it come about, who all was involved, how did you brainstorm it, how successful was it?
RG: Best Brunch Ever was thought up actually AT Drink The Cookie Table. Nick and I were just walking around and said “hey, we should do this with brunch foods”… and then we just ran with it. He and I work well together and we really complement each other’s creative sides. So, Best Brunch was in my opinion, one of the most creative beer fests in a segment of the beer industry that’s becoming dry. It was also incredibly successful, selling out one session in just a day.

TBT: Was there any other brewfests before it? Or any other big events you had done before Brunch?
RG: There was one festival before it: Drink The Cookie Table, our ode to the Pittsburgh cookie table concept where all the beers were focused in the “dessert” direction. We called it “The sweeeetest event of the year”. It was our first festival and also our first sellout event. For being our first festival, I think we nailed this one. It’ll always be special to me. In fact, it’s actually being written about in a book releasing later this fall.

TBT: Moving onto the new brewfest – One Sweet Afternoon, how did it come about? What all ideas did you have behind it? Why Erie? etc.
RG: We wanted to move away from the “food” concept and do something our followers would love.  So we had the idea to do a throwback event and being as most of us were kids in the 90s, it was a natural fit.  All the beers at this event will themed around being a kid in that decade:  cosmic brownies, Ninja Turtles, East Coast Rap, Nesquick, and sooo much more.

We deemed this one a “party” rather than a festival because it seems like our events have more of a Party vibe to them.  When we plan fests, we don’t just plan them for beer nerds.  Our motto is:  you don’t need to be a beer nerd to enjoy our events, but if you’re a beer nerd, you’ll enjoy our events!

We chose Erie because that’s the second largest following of our brand.  It wasn’t fair for Pittsburgh to get all the love so we wanted to a big festival for the Erie market (which we love).  It’s also smack in between Pittsburgh, Buffalo and Cleveland, three great beer markets.  It just made sense.  As a result, we were able to assemble an amazing list of breweries from those regions.

TBT: How do you see One Sweet Afternoon doing? How is attendance looking currently? Are tickets still available?
RG: With this event being in a new market, we expected attendance to be lower than our Pittsburgh festivals. With that said, tickets are moving nicely and this will be a nice crowd.

TBT: Any future brewfests planned?
RG: After OSA, we’re going straight into planning Drink The Cookie Table 2! More details will follow on this one.

TBT: Any future events planned?
RG: We always have events on the horizon. Follow us on Instagram @fueledbyhops_ for those details!

TBT: What do you foresee coming down the pipelines in the remainder of 2022, and looking forward – in 2023, 2024, and even 2025?
RG: That’s hard to say, but I do want to focus more on charitable giving. Right now, we run a scholarship program for the Point Park University Brewing Science Academy. This program helps a member of an under-served / marginalized community learn how to brew beer professionally. I’d like to host some events that will allow us to expand this program.

TBT: What are your favorite breweries? Favorite beers? Favorite styles?
RG: My favorite brewery of all time is The Answer. I’ll drink anything from there. Other than that, my favorite beer of all time is Brooklyn Brown Ale.

TBT: Trends – where do you see the future of craft beer going? What trends do you see on the horizon?
RG: I think the term “craft beer” is dying.  Let me explain…  I’m not saying the industry is dying, but rather that it’s maturing in to just “beer”.  Two years ago, we all chased ‘hype’ beer but now we ‘expect’ good beer when we go to a brewery.  In my opinion, COVID really shifted distribution of beer and now good beer is readily available at our local distributors and breweries.  As a result, the ‘hype’ has died down.

I think the focus is going to shift more on the experience the brewery can deliver rather than the beers it makes.  Look at breweries like Trace Brewing bringing in DJs and drag shows, or The Answer who’s hosting hip-hop nights during the week, or Hop Farm that hosts comedy shows.  Breweries are going to need to work a little harder to get consumers in their tap rooms.

But I’d really like to see more ‘niche’ breweries, rather than those that try to make every style of beer.  I think Golden Age Beer coming out and focusing on just lager was a very progressive move.  I know if I want a great lager, I’m going to Golden Age, just like if I want great pizza, I go to Fiori’s in Pittsburgh.  Focus on what you do best and own it.

TBT: Where do you see the future of online medium for craft beer – podcasts, Youtube videos, blogs, websites, etc?
RG: I think social media and online mediums are going to always be pivotal to this industry.  I just wish the major networks were more friendly to the beer industry.  We’re seeing Instagram and Facebook take down posts and actual whole accounts of breweries, and it’s just not fair.  I think industry leaders need to lobby these social networks to allow our breweries to operate online without fear of ‘getting in trouble’.

Otherwise, tag me in your favorite beer podcasts because I listen to a TON of them.

TBT: Finally – Any plugs? Merchandise? Ticket links, etc?
RG: Head over to OneSweetAfternoon.com to grab tickets to our next festival. They are still available! And all of our latest merch is at FueledByHops.com. As an exclusive for Beer Thrillers, we’re dropping TWO surprises tees this week!

TBT: Any final comments?
RG: We’re two guys running a business and throwing events that cost us more than the cars we drive (no joke!). Your support allows us to continue to innovate and evolve the beer industry. Every ticket sale, t-shirt sale, glassware sale etc, just helps us continue our mission. Remember to SUPPORT SMALL!

Thank You Ryan

I’d like to take the time here to say thank you Ryan Galiotto for so graciously answering our questions and taking time out of his busy schedule for us here. Be sure to check out the brewfest “One Sweet Afternoon – a 90’s Throwback Party” on September 17th, in Erie Pennsylvania. For more information, check out our article here: One Sweet Afternoon – a 90’s Throwback Party Brewfest.

Fueled by Hops

For more information on Fueled by Hops, you can check out their social media pages at the following:

• Official Website – Fueled by Hops
• Facebook – Fueled by Hops
• Instagram – @fueledbyhops_
• Twitter – @fueledbyhops
• One Sweet Afternoon – Event Page

Fueled by Hops Related Articles

The following is some Fueled by Hops related articles here on The Beer Thrillers:

• Best Brunch Ever – Brewfest
• One Sweet Afternoon – a 90’s Throwback Party – Brewfest
• Interview: Ryan Galiotto (Fueled by Hops)

Other Pittsburgh Related Articles

For those interested in Fueled by Hops and native to the Pittsburgh area, here are some other Pittsburgh related articles:

• Arboretum Trail Brewing Is Opening Their Doors
• Aslin Beer Company Coming to Pittsburgh
• Brewery Tour: Couch Brewery
• The Trip to Indy – Day One Recap: On The Move Towards Pittsburgh (Juniata Brewing Company and Levity Brewing Company)
• The Trip to Indianapolis: Day Two: Rock Furnace Trail, Allusion Brewing Company, Couch Brewery, Riverview Park, Hop Farm Brewing Company, and The Meadows Casino and Racetrack.
• The Trip to Indy – Day Two Recap: Landfall in Pittsburgh and Shenanigans (Allusion Brewing Company, Couch Brewery, Hop Farm Brewing Company)
• Beer Review: Macho Man (Couch Brewery)
• BREW: The Museum of Beer – Is Set to Launch Their Online Exhibit
• Untappd (Next Glass) Purchases Hop Culture
• Cinderlands Beer Company is Expanding to Their Third Location
• Grist House Shipping Statewide in Pennsylvania
• Couch Brewery Announces Upcoming Closure
• Allusion Brewing Company Wins Two Awards
• Tortured Souls Brewing Company Kickstarter Campaign
• Penn Brewery Announces Sale and Retirement
• Troegs Brewing and Wigle Whiskey Team Up to Bring Peach Whiskey Back
• Aslin Beer Company Confirms Their Expanding Into Pittsburgh
• Punk in Drublic – Pittsburgh Brewfest
• Voodoo Opening Brewpub in North Shore of Pittsburgh on August 27th

Interviews

The following is some of the interviews we’ve done through the blog:

• Brewer Interview: Rod Stahl (Axemann Brewery)
• Brewer Interview: Tyler Budwash (Pilger Ruh Brewing)
• Interview: Ryan Galiotto (Fueled by Hops)

Thanks For Reading

As always, thank you everyone for checking out the blog and reading. And a special thanks to Ryan Galiotto of Fueled by Hops for doing the interview with us. Be sure to check out some of our recent articles about our trips to Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Canton, and other spots in Pennsylvania and Ohio; as well as our book reviews, beer reviews, and lots of other news articles. There are a ton of great articles (over 550+) to check out here on the blog, so be sure to search around and look through the different category heads – you’ll find them on the right. Thank you so much everyone for reading! Hopefully you’ll get to check out the “One Sweet Afternoon – 90s Throwback Party” on September 17th in Erie. Sounds like it’ll be an absolute blast!

Cheers!

-B. Kline

As always, thank you everyone for reading! Leave your likes, comments, suggestions, questions, etc, in the comments section. Or use the Feedback – Contact Us – page, and we’ll get right back to you! You can also reach out to us at our direct e-mail address: thebeerthrillers@gmail.com

Thank you for visiting our blog. Please make sure to follow, bookmark, subscribe, and make sure to comment and leave feedback and like the blog posts you read. It will help us to better tailor the blog to you, the readers, likes and make this a better blog for everyone.

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Sometime around last summer, last fall area, we had gotten an e-mail from Axemann Brewery about checking them out and doing some beer reviews. As with most things in the world – timing is just a crucial thing to everything. We didn’t get up to Bellefonte until later that year (December 10th), got to do a little hiking, check out Axemann, as well as a few other breweries in the area (Robin Hood Brewing – as well as hitting some breweries on the way back home to Hummelstown – Short Bus Brewing and Shy Bear).

Unfortunately it didn’t work out with us getting to do a sit-down with the brewers and owners of Axemann Brewery, but we were still able to conduct an interview over e-mail for everyone. We are definitely planning on coming back up to the Bellefonte area for some hiking and brews though. And that time we will make sure we get to do a sit-down with them.

The Battle of the Breweries (2022)

Also, if you’ve been living under a rock, or not really checking out our blog – you might not know it, but Axemann Brewery has reached the final four of the tournament. This was a 128 brewery tournament similar in vein to March Madness, that has condensed down into a final fatal fourway. (Because we don’t do anything normal on this blog.) Pitting Axemann Brewery up against Bunnyman Brewing, Gearhouse Brewing, and Von C Brewing.

You can go and vote here: The Battle of the Breweries (2022) – Finals Fatal Fourway.

The Interview

(For ease of interview and reading, after the initial question, I will be referring to ‘The Beer Thrillers’ / myself as ‘TBT’ and Rod Stahl as ‘RS’. This keeps the interview reading in line with how most online interviews are written out as per New York Times style, and makes the ease and flow a lot simpler.)

The Beer Thrillers: Who all is involved with Axemann Brewery?
Rod Stahl: I’m Rod Stahl, the founder and owner of Axemann along with my wife Dorothea who
helps to manage administrative processes including accounting and purchasing. Steve Hirlinger and I worked on the recipe for Blue Stripe, our flagship beer, for about six years before the brewery even opened, and he nailed it. Steve helped plan and design the brewhouse and continues to mastermind brewing formulas. Joe Jaglowski and Jeff Brungard are also instrumental members of the brewing crew. Joe has been managing the production operations and inventory since we opened. Cristina Barnes manages the marketing department for Stahl Sheaffer Engineering, of which I am a co-owner, and she began assisting with labels and marketing materials years before the brewery opened. She continues to lead marketing efforts for Axemann. Mike (Mo) Olmstead is our General Manager. He has more than 15 years of experience managing bars, and he has done a great job with hiring and training staff, setting up and running the taproom, and coordinating events.

TBT: How did it all come to be? How did you decide on the name ‘Axemann Brewery’?
RS: People seemed enthusiastic about the beer when we were home brewing, and we started taking it to festivals. I had a dream of opening a production brewery mainly for distribution with a small tasting room, but somehow it evolved into a 27,000 square-foot multi-level space. We decided to name it Axemann Brewery because we are on Axemann Road, which in turn derived its name from the Mann Axe dynasty that originated near here. If you visit the taproom, you’ll see original Mann axes repurposed as handles on our front doors. (You can see them in the picture we took that is at the top of the article, from our Instagram.)

TBT: In that same vein, why was the area (Bellefonte) chosen for the brewery? How did you pick
out the brewery location?
RS: It was a long search, but when I looked at this facility, I realized it was a great location. It’s bigger than I anticipated, but very cost effective. The historical features of the building with the streamside location and an active railroad made it possible to create a unique experience in this region. We loved the industrial feel of the building and maintained and repurposed many of the fixtures, including the original doors from the lockers of the Cerro Metal Factory employees. We wanted people who spent their careers working here to come in and recognize pieces of their personal or family history. Plus, Bellefonte is undergoing a renaissance, with more planned development along with a distillery, cideries, and our brewery. It’s a great destination. And our location gives us access to the phenomenal natural spring water of Big Spring!

TBT: What are your favorite brewing styles? Your favorite beers to make? Your favorite
Axemann Brew?
RS: I’m really proud of our German beers that are authentic to the style. My favorite is Blue Stripe, and like I mentioned, our head brewer did a great job – people who are familiar with the kolsch style often comment that it’s one of the best.

TBT: How did you get into brewing? What are some of your non – brewing hobbies?
RS: I lived in Harrisburg in the mid 1990’s, and a colleague in the engineering industry there
introduced me to brewing. Since then, I continued home brewing for many years with a dream of one day opening a brewery. Gradually it became a more realistic goal. Running and mountain biking are pretty serious hobbies, and I enjoy the physical part of keeping Axemann running, like building tables, assisting with brewing and canning, and addressing all of the issues that come up when you run a business in an old industrial building.

TBT: What from your past experiences has most prepared you for the brewery and brewing life?
What do you recommend for other brewers / home brewers or people looking to get into
brewing, or running/starting a brewery?
RS: Having an engineering degree and co-owning Stahl Sheaffer Engineering definitely helped me prepare for setting up the brewery and running this business. All of the years I’ve spent sampling and enjoying different brewing styles and craft beers didn’t hurt either! My wife and I have traveled to the west coast and other parts of the US and different countries in Europe. Finding brewpubs and trying the local beers is always a priority.

TBT: How was the opening of Axemann Brewing? How did things go at the beginning? How was
everything throughout the pandemic and COVID-19? How did you handle things in the
brewhouse and in the sense of upfront (financials, marketing, etc)?
RS: After more than a year of construction and several years of brainstorming and planning,
we were finally set to open in April 2020, so the timing of the pandemic was particularly bad. However, we were able to start packaging beer to meet the increased demand of distribution for people who had nowhere to go to buy beer on tap. So the production side of the business carried the weight until we officially opened the taproom in July of 2020. Of course capacity was limited, but we used that as an opportunity to really nail down our systems and serving processes. Given that our space is so large – we can accommodate over 500 guests – we were able to provide more than the required social distancing and ensure that our guests had the best possible experience. And we have garage doors along the stream side of the building that we opened up as much as possible to maintain a circulation of fresh air. The brewhouse maintained operations with a limited number of employees who were able to work apart from each other due to the large space.

TBT: Where do you see Axemann Brewing going in 2022? What is a 5 year goal for Axemann
Brewing and a 10 year goal for Axemann Brewing?
RS: We are currently looking at opportunities for one of more satellite locations within Pennsylvania. Within 5 to 10 years, we hope to have an expanded distribution footprint throughout the Mid Atlantic states. We currently have several different distribution agreements that cover approximately 40 counties in PA. We are also making changes and constantly updating our craft beer selections in the Taproom to grow our reputation as a destination brewery.

TBT: What are some of your favorite breweries? To visit? To drink? What are some of your
favorite styles to drink? Favorite beers to drink?
RS: Besides Axemann? Troeg’s and Appalachian Brewing Company are favorites. I also really enjoyed the Santa Fe Brewing Co when I was in New Mexico last year. As I mentioned I prefer the authentic German styles. I really like a lot of the Founders beers as well as Oskar Blues and Harpoon.

TBT: What are some trends you foresee on the horizon for craft brewing? What would you PREFER
or RATHER see become more popular – as far as styles go, or brewing processes, etc?
RS: I see brewing trends going back to traditional and authentic styles but with a craft quality in regard to the hops and grains versus mass production. That is a strong focus of ours, and it is noticed by our beer aficionados, whether an IPA, pale ale, German sour, or kolsch.

TBT: What breweries have you done collaborations with? And would like to do collaborations
with in the future?
RS: We haven’t done a beer collaboration yet, but we have discussed potential collaborations and look forward to it. We are currently brewing a barrel-aged series with a local spirits distillery.

TBT: Do you think there is such a thing as a ‘craft beer/brewery bubble’? Do you see more
breweries opening in the future or more breweries closing up? What are some things you’d
like to see breweries in your area do, or Pennsylvania in general?
RS: The number of new breweries is still high but growing at a slower rate.

TBT: And lastly – is there anything else you’d like to talk about or mention? Any pictures or
promotional material you’d like to include? Any upcoming events or brewery activities or
beer releases you’d like to talk about?
RS: We currently host a cornhole league, open mic nights, and a weekly trivia night as well as special events to raise funds for non profits. We are planning for more outdoor activities, and more events. Our taproom features a game area with shuffleboard and giant jenga as well as cornhole. We release small batch brews periodically (Bierfass Friday), and assess how they are received to potentially add them to our regular lineup. We will be having our third annual Oktoberfest this year. Watch for details!

The Wrap – Up

I would like to thank Rod Stahl very much for taking the time to answer our questions and to do this interview with us. As well as Christina Barnes for reaching out to us in the first place. We greatly enjoyed our visit last December, and can’t wait to come up and get to hang with you guys and drink some beers.

For those who haven’t been to Axemann Brewery, it is a fantastic brewery and facility. You can find it in Bellefonte, PA at this location:

• 2042 Axemann Rd Suite 125, Bellefonte, PA 16823

Be sure to follow Axemann Brewery on all of their various social media platforms and stay informed:

• Facebook – Axemann Brewery
• Instagram – Axemann Brewery
• Untappd – Axemann Brewery
• Website – Axemann Brewery.com

More Interviews

For more interviews, click here (more will be forthcoming too!) :

• Tyler Budwash (Pilger Ruh Brewing)
• First Sip Brew Box Has Teamed Up With Kweza Craft Brewery (Rwanda) (Interview and Article)
• Brewer Interviews

Thanks For Reading

Thanks for reading everyone. We always greatly appreciate everyone taking their time to check out the blog. Hopefully you enjoyed the interview. It was great getting Rod to answer our questions! If you can think of any breweries (or are a brewer yourself) that we should interview next, let us know in the comments!

Also, make sure you don’t forget to vote in the Brewery Battle, which ends on Good Friday (April 15th, 2022) at 11:59PM EST. You can vote by clicking here: The Battle of the Breweries (2022) – Finals Fatal Fourway.

As always, thanks for reading and happy drinking!

Cheers Everyone!

-B. Kline

As always, thank you everyone for reading! Leave your likes, comments, suggestions, questions, etc, in the comments section. Or use the Feedback – Contact Us – page, and we’ll get right back to you! You can also reach out to us at our direct e-mail address: thebeerthrillers@gmail.com

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Welcome to our first of the brewer interview series that I am introducing to the blog. This is going to be a new section to the blog that will include interviews with head brewers, assistant brewers, beer scientists, home brewers, fellow beer bloggers, and other craft beer industry workers. This has long been a segment and series I wanted to introduce to the blog, but finally got off the ground. If you are a brewer or industry worker and would be interested in doing an interview, contact us through the CONTACT PAGE (link here or see above in the menu).

Our very first interviewee for the segment is Tyler Budwash of Pilger Ruh Brewing. Tyler is a great guy, I’ve gotten to know him through helping out with Tattered Flag’s canning line where Pilger Ruh has done a few collaborations, as well as several brewfests, Ffej of July, and discussing Civil War battlefields with him; as well as the Central PA Whalerz.

Our interviews will follow a pretty simplistic and easy formula for everyone we interview. Topics will be introduced in bold and underline, questions will be asked in bold, and answers will be in regular font. TBT stands for The Beer Thrillers. The interviewee’s name will be initialized in his answers. (Example: TB = Tyler Budwash).

Starting off with the simple, softball, questions:

TBT: What is your name and do you currently work for a brewery?

TB:  My name is Tyler Budwash, I currently work for the Social Security Administration, but will also be working at my brewery when we open.

TBT: What is your brewing background?

TB: I got into homebrewing in early 2012 (Mr Beer Kit). At the time I wasn’t aware that alot of extract beer is kind of gross the way it is so I had some okay beers but quite a few misses before I got into all grain brewing in 2013 or so. I then stopped brewing all together in late 2014 as I was preparing to have my first child and didn’t get back into it until 2017. Both Conyngham Brewing and Rotunda let me come in and collab on some beers for my fest (Schuylkill County Brew Fest) and I haven’t looked back since.

TBT: What are your interests in and out of the industry?

TB: Pro Wrestling, history, weight lifting, Carolina Panther Football, coordinating events.

TBT: How did you get into beer? What were your ‘starting beer’ days like? What were the first craft breweries you tasted / visited?

TB: My starting beers were Miller Lite, Yuengling Lager, Budweiser, and Hurricanes. Some of the first “craft beers” I got into at the time were Sam Adams, Magic Hat, and Saranac..I always got variety packs to try as many different beers as I could. This was pre – Untappd days so I wasn’t even getting any check-ins/badges! As far as actual breweries that I first visited…it’d have to be ABC in Harrisburg, Troegs, and a brew pub in Myrtle Beach that’s now closed called Liberty. ABC and Troegs definitely got me more into the scene. I ended up going to a ton of beer fests just to see what else was out there. I had no idea there were as many PA breweries as there were and this was back in 2013.

TBT: How did you get into brewing?

TB: The love of beer, beer fests, and starting my own festival all gave me the itch.

Brewing Specific:

TBT: What is / will be your full job at Pilger Ruh Brewing?

TB: We didn’t give ourselves any fancy titles yet, but I’ll be Co-Owner/Brewmaster? I’ll basically be running the day to day activities (brew/personnel scheduling, event coordinating, ordering etc) while our other Co-Owner Tony Deppen is more of the big picture. My brother Conlan Budwash will take the Head Brewer position and he’s also a minority owner.

TBT: What do you like to brew? What styles do you like most?

TB: I like brewing stouts, whether it’s going to be heavily adjuncted or straight up. I also like brewing Pilsners, they’re not an easy beer to brew so I enjoyed the challenge.I’m going to sound just like every other beer boi out there right now but I enjoy my hazy IPAs and fruited sours, but again my palate had come full circle and I’m enjoying alot of Pilsners, hefeweizens, and kolsches as of late.

TBT: Who are some of your favorite current brewers and breweries? What do you like about them, why do you like them, etc?

TB: This is a loaded question. Favorite brewers? My favorite brewers are the friends I’ve made over the last couple years, so it’d  be Dave Morrow (Chatty Monks), Justin Hoak (Tattered Flag), Derek Wolf (Wolf Brewing), Brad Moyer( Liquid Noise), and Eric Stubbs (Rotunda). I’ve been picking their brains for years now and they’ve all been nothing but great to me and Pilger Ruh. Favorite breweries… I’ll do it like this. Locally I really like Tattered Flag (great beer and chicken sammiches), The Millworks (I love the not so over the top styles and of course their chicken sammiches), Hidden River (awesome beer and ambiance) , and South County (they knock everything out of the park and I miss the Gelato line beer shares). Outside of this general area I really like The Veil, Urban South Htx, Dancing Gnome, Cinderlands, Cushwa.

TBT: What styles do you think you do best? What are some of your hardest styles to nail down? 

TB: I’ll have to go back to stouts as the styles I do best, along with sours, and Pilsners. Believe it or not IPAs were very hard for me to nail at first (oxygen and shit). Luckily that’s no longer an issue.

TBT: What do you think are defining qualities of a good beer?

TB: Your water. Does it match your description?

TBT: What do you think are defining qualities of a good brewer?

TB: Being able to adapt, never think you know everything because you never stop learning.

TBT: Same vein as the last two – what do you think are defining qualities of a good brewery?

TB: Good beer, ambiance, and friendliness.

Pilger Ruh Brewing Specific:

TBT: Tell us about Pilger Ruh. What is Pilger Ruh Brewing? How did it form? Who all is involved? What are the plans for the brewery/etc?

TB: Pilger Ruh started when myself and 4 others wanted to start a homebrew club. At that point we were going by Keyhop Homebrew Club. One thing led to another and we found ourselves on festivals around the state.Right now, as I said earlier it’s myself, Tony Deppen, and my brother Conlan as the three owners/brewers. We have 2 others (Matt and Alex) who have been helping us along the way.Plans for the brewery, well we are going to open on a 5 barrel system in a 2400 square foot building in Pottsville PA. We’ll have 12-15 rotating taps from Milkshake IPAs to Dark Milds. We will be focusing on the popular hype beers but will have something for everyone.

TBT: Where do you foresee Pilger Ruh Brewing in 5, 10, 15 years from now?

TB: I hope to see ourselves growing with production, and paying off all our debts ASAP as possible. Buying a canning line. My personal goal would be to open a second location, where we’d get a bigger system.

COVID-19 and Beer Industry Specific:

TBT: How has COVID-19 impacted Pilger Ruh Brewing? Impacted your brewing and impacted your current work?

TB: I’ve been working from home since mid March. I actually get less work done with the brewery than I do when I’m at my office. It impacted the brewery by the cancelling of all the beer festivals, closing on our loan, but at the same time it bought us time as I wouldn’t want to open during this pandemic.

TBT: How do you think COVID-19 has impacted the beer industry as a whole? Specifically the craft beer market, and even more so in PA?

TB: It shows that people care about their local breweries and that you better have a crowler machine or canning line. I guess now you have to have your permit to sell food.

TBT: What do you think will be the big trends in the foreseeable future?

TB: People reverting back to easy drinking beers and doing everything you do to sours to some classic styles (blondes, hefes, wits).

TBT: What are some trends you think have benefited the craft beer industry?

TB: Seltzers, low cals, all around light beers. I feel fruited sours and IPAs bring people in, but there’s only so many you can drink. I can drink PBR all day.

TBT: What are some things, aspects, or trends of the craft beer industry you don’t like, or think has been a negative on the craft beer market?

TB: Oh God, well you’re in some of the same beer groups as me so you can see whatever negatives there are. I think as a brewery you always got to put your customers first, never think you’re above them or anyone. There’s lots of people making good beer, it doesn’t mean you have to be a douchebag about it.

TBT: Is there such a thing as the “craft beer bubble” and if so, do you feel like it’s going to burst – soon, in the future, or is currently happening?

TB: Are we seeing the bubble burst right now?  Look how many breweries in the last year or so that closed because they got too big too quick, got locked into a distributor contract, or there was no market for their beer. One thing I want to absolutely avoid is distribution. If we ever did distro our beer we will do it ourselves. Too big or too small may be an issue going forward.  However, I do think there could be a brewery in every other town and everyone could be successful. You have to pick the right location and know your market.

TBT: What are some ultimate goals you have for Pilger Ruh Brewing, for your own brewing, etc?

TB: I want to help build a community around us in Schuylkill County. We owe alot of breweries collabs, but I want to bring non beer people into the scene and get them involved. I want to show my area that a brewery like us can succeed. I want us to be able to give back to the community, make it better for others, and leave the area better than we found it.

TBT: What do you foresee being the big changes happening to the craft beer market in 5, 10, 15 years?

TB: More breweries getting bought out by the big guys and competing for shelf space while we sell all of our beer from our taproom. More seltzers and easy drinkers, fruited sours/hazy IPAs will still be here.

You can follow Pilger Ruh Brewing on their following social media platforms:
Facebook: Pilger Ruh Brewing
Twitter: @PilgerRuhBrews
Instagram: Pilger Ruh Brewing
Untappd: Pilger Ruh Brewing

For articles on or about Pilger Ruh Brewing here on The Beer Thrillers, you can check out:

• Beer Review: Social Distancing (Abomination Brewing, Pilger Ruh Brewing, and Tattered Flag)
• Beer Review: Should Have Put Him In Custardy (Tattered Flag and Pilger Ruh Brewing)
• Beer Review: Abbra Collabra 6 Way Banana Split Milkshake IPA (Tattered Flag, Pilger Ruh Brewing, Rotunda Brewing Company, Collusion Tap Works, Snitz Creek Brewing, Abomination Brewing, Wolf Brewing Company)

This article has impeccable timing on its release, as today is Tyler Budwash’s birthday. So make sure you give him a big Happy Birthday.

Make sure to check out our growing Brewer Interview series. A. Parys is currently wrapping up his interview with a beer scientist from Cape May Brewing Company, so be sure to check that out. If you would like to be interviewed or know of someone who would like to be or would make for a good interview, be sure to either comment here or contact us using our CONTACT PAGE.

Cheers Everyone!

-B. Kline

Coming soon, in the upcoming days we will be introducing a new segment to the blogs – Brewer Interviews. This segment is pretty straight forward. We, The Beer Thrillers, conduct an interview with a brewer (or brewers). Be it in person, over the phone, or through e-mail. Local to Central PA or far away, the game plan will be interview all types of brewers from all different types of breweries.

I think it’ll be a fun and informative new segment to the blog. We’ll get to hear from new voices, different people, and all learn all kinds of things about the different brewers, breweries, and brewing methods. Plus, it’ll provide some exposure to the brewers and breweries (as well as ourselves), so it seems like a win all around.

I know A. Parys is already working on an interview with a beer scientist from Cape May Brewing Company. I have talked to Tyler Budwash of Pilger Ruh Brewing, as well as several other brewers, so we are set to go with some exciting interviews to kick this new segment of the blog off.

Similar to how our beer reviews are prefaced such as: “BEER REVIEW: X (X)” where X is the title of the beer and (X) is the title of the brewery, the new brewer interview series will be similar. They will be titled, for example: Brewer Interview: Tyler Budwash (Pilger Ruh Brewing). So you know who the brewer is, and what company he is brewing for (at time of interview).

This is likely to expand greatly, and will include all manner of people working in the beer and craft beer and specifically brewery industries. From brewers to owners, to bartenders, to beer scientists, lab workers, hop farmers, home brewers, you name it. As well as expand regionally, going from the Central PA area to cover all sorts of areas, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, Vermont, and the list will just continue.

Of course, if you are a brewer and would like to be interviewed, please contact us, you can contact us through the page here – CONTACT PAGE – or you can contact us on our FACEBOOK page through the messenger system. Or even contact us through TWITTER message or INSTAGRAM message. All will work. (Best results will be the CONTACT PAGE and FACEBOOK MESSENGER).

Hope you guys will find the new segment fascinating and interesting. And hope to hear from some brewers interested in being interviewed. Cheers everyone!

-B. Kline