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Highway Manor Brewing Temporarily Closed For Remainder of 2023

B. Kline — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 14:48:00 +0000

Highway Manor Only Temporarily Closed

Closed? Permanently Closed? or Temporarily Closed? I guess it all just depends on who you ask. If you ask the owner of the brewery the answer would be “Temporarily Closed”; if you ask Google the answer is “Permanently Closed” and if you ask Facebook it would be “Complicated”.

After our piece – Highway Manor Brewing Has Seemingly Been Closed – was published on October 26th, 2023, PennLive’s writer Sue Gleiter followed up and released her article on October 30th: Brewery in Cumberland County is closed for now.

Unable to get a response myself from Johnnie Compton III (who had previously reached out to me about the opening of Highway Manor – Highway Manor Opening in Camp Hill – as well as to do beer reviews for them); Compton did respond to Gleiter, giving her quotes for her article.

Despite no public announcement of any kind on any social media platform, despite the Google page listings and searches showing a “Permanently Closed” section for the brewery, and despite some really odd and troubling comments by people online, Johnnie Compton III tells Gleiter that Highway Manor Brewing is only temporarily closed, and that he is planning on re – opening in 2024.

Their liquor license as per PLCB ended in December 2022, and Compton is saying that he will be renewing it start of January 2024 and plans to reopen the brewery starting 2024.

Controversy

Firstly, let’s go over again the controversy during COVID. As stated in the previous article – Highway Manor Brewing Has Seemingly Been Closed – Highway Manor Brewing had some “controversy” over signs they had on their door.

On December 27th, 2020; PennLive ran an article discussing how Johnnie Compton III took the sign down; primarily at the urging of his daughter.

In the most recent of pandemic-related controversies, a West Shore brewery owner has taken down a sign that brought allegations of racism to his door.

Johnnie Compton III, owner of Highway Manor Brewery in Camp Hill, said once the COVID-19 regulations hit his business, he and his staff put up “funny signs” to alert customers to their new methods of operation.Controversial sign on central Pa. brewery gone after owner says joke was ‘misconstrued’

The second shut down for restaurants, businesses of the social sort, casinos, etc; was done as a way to curtail problems with COVID – 19 that might arrive during the holiday seasons of Christmas and New Years Eve after Thanksgiving.

Johnnie had stated that he and his staff enjoyed putting up signs on their door, as well as internally during the tumultuous 2020 as a way to bring levity to the time. And with the second shut down, he was ‘agonizing’ over what to put up next when he thought of his “TO GO ONLY – BLAME CHINA” sign; thinking it was funny.

I’m sick of hearing about COVID.Johnnie Compton III – Owner and Head Brewmaster for Highway Manor Brewing

The sign was originally posted on Wednesday, which was the 23rd. Compton stated that only the day of the PennLive article did the sign go viral on social media. (But it seems the sign was both up longer than Wednesday, despite the article and Comtpon saying so, and that it made the rounds of social media sooner than had been stated as well.)

While talking about it with his staff, someone made a joke about the coronavirus coming from China, which Compton said is a simple fact. With that, came their latest sign:

“TO GO ONLY BLAME CHINA” with the taproom’s hours and Compton’s phone number listed alongside it.

While the sign went up on Wednesday, Compton said it was only in the last day or so that the sign began making its rounds on social media and people began complaining about it, with some calling him a racist.

One post viewed by PennLive said the person was trying to support local businesses when they saw the sign. “So ignorant and xenophobic,” the person wrote, adding they would not be returning.

Compton said people have been messaging and calling him, including a woman who called him at 9:30 p.m. Saturday to call him a racist.

In the end, he said he decided to take the sign down.

“People are misinterpreting it, clearly,” Compton said.Controversial sign on central Pa. brewery gone after owner says joke was ‘misconstrued’

Writing controversial signs certainly isn’t new for Compton at the brewery; previously he had written one sign saying: “Wear a mask by order of the Big Bad Wolf.”

For more information on the controversy, you can read the full news article here: Controversial sign on central Pa. brewery gone after owner says joke was ‘misconstrued’ by PennLive.

Comments, Reactions, etc.

After our story was posted and went onto social media, there were numerous remarks, replies, and comments from several people about the brewery. Most of them pretty troubling or at least interesting to say the least. Here is some snippets of some of the comments.

I stopped in a few months ago and the doors were locked and the lights were off.. no mention on FB that they were closed that day. Kinda figured this was coming.
Redditer – Mustang46L

I remember when they were only selling their beers in Philly and NYC. When we asked him why we can’t get it in Harrisburg, he said “Harrisburg isn’t ready for my beer”. Then he proceeded to show his ass during COVID times.

So I am not taking this as a huge loss.
Redditer – Ed5275

Guy has very questionable hygiene with his beer production. Also that manor was more of a crackhouse.
Redditer – clownus

This is my shocked face😐. Johnny has not exactly built up goodwill with anybody, always looks for shortcuts and has gone out of his way to piss off customers. Pretty talented brewer but just a terrible person and businessman.
Redditer – Live_Podcast_Junkie

I went there once last year and actually had a pretty good time with a few good beers and I tried going there earlier this year once and all the lights were off like they were closed at like 8 pm on a Saturday night which I thought was weird but the door was open.. I yelled in asking if they were open but got no response and left. It was definitely interesting.
Redditer

Google says open….. sign on door says open!!!! But closed!! UPDATE YOUR HOURS!!!!!! May actually have good beers ….. but I will never know!!!!! 5pm on a Monday!!!!!
Google Reviewer – Josh Elkins (3 months ago)

I’m confused why a brewery would put themselves in a position to only target a certain percentage of consumers in the area. We do not drink sours so will never visit and that could be the thought of other beer lovers. Just my opinion but it cuts revenue a good bit and that’s bad business. I’m sure the place is creative but as of posting this, the place looks abandoned and there are tons of others around.
Google Reviewer – Amanda McBride (5 months ago)

I really debated putting this review up, but I feel like people need to know about the owners of this establishment. An incident occurred while I was there that they drove their forklift into my unoccupied, legally parked car. They then tried to buy me off (at a discounted price of repairs, of course) and threatened my safety when I reported it to the police and insurance company. This establishment is shady at best. If you want to worry about damage to your vehicles and being threatened by the owners- then this is your place.
Google Reviewer – Lisa Rose (1 year ago)

I went there last Saturday around 1:00 PM and it was a confusing experience. The hours on the building said they were open, the door was unlocked, but no lights were one. There was a Futon mattress on the floor in a side room and no one was around. It looked abandoned, or closed for a while at the least. Not sure if this is closed permanently or what.
Google Reviewer – Matt Hendrick (8 months ago)

Stating its a Temporary Closure

In the PennLive article, Johnnie Compton III tells Sue Gleiter that its just a temporary closure. That he’s currently helping his family’s business – Miracle Steel, Mechanicsburg PA.

Highway Manor Brewing Co. at 2238 Gettysburg Road in Lower Allen Township appears to no longer be in business and is listed on Google as closed, but owner Johnnie Compton III said he decided to take a year off and will reopen in January.

“I was too busy,” Compton said, noting he’s noticed a rash of other breweries closing and many struggling to find enough employees.
Brewery in Cumberland County is closed for now – PennLive

The PennLive article doesn’t give much more information than that quote – which was added in the update to the article (original publish time was October 30th, 11:35 AM, and the updated time was October 30th, 5:53 PM). The updated edit byline states that the article was updated to include his quotes.

The remainder of the article goes on to discuss the start of Highway Manor Brewing, how it got its name, and how Johnnie Compton III got involved in sour beers and brewing.

Currently the business has made no public announcements of any kind about the business itself. Be it closed, temporary closed, or permanently closed. Their social media is still quiet, and their last Facebook post still remains the April 16th one. Their official website is still active, even including their “hours of operation”, with no word on any sort of closure.

For More Articles on Highway Manor Brewing

Highway Manor Brewing Has Seemingly Been Closed
Highway Manor Brewing Temporarily Closed For Remainder of 2023
Brewery Opening: Highway Manor
Brewery Review: Highway Manor
Beer Review: Dreams of Orgonon (Human Robot) (had at Highway Manor Brewery)

For More Information on Highway Manor Brewing

The following comes from Untappd. Highway Manor Brewing is listed as a micro brewery from Camp Hill, PA. They have 54 unique beers and over 27,000 ratings, with a global average rating of 3.69 as of 10.26.23. Their Untappd description is blank.

You can follow them on the following social media platforms:

The brewery’s location was: 2238 Gettysburg Rd, Camp Hill, PA 17011.

Brewery News

Interested in finding out about many other brewery openings, new locations, closings, movings, and in general brewery news? You can check out our links below:

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Beer Review: Life Sentence (Tattered Flag)

BKline — Mon, 01 Nov 2021 22:58:00 +0000

Life Sentence by Tattered Flag Brewery and Distillery

Getting Hitched… Tying the Knot… A Life Sentence…

So many different terms and words and ways to describe getting married. Justin, the head brewer for Tattered Flag wanted to celebrate his nuptials just like anybody else, so he brewed up this New England IPA to commemorate the grand occasion.

This fine beer was released on October 21st, a day ahead of Justin’s wedding (October 22nd). I got to try it a week ago at their Halloween Party the night of (what was supposed to be) the Hummelstown Halloween Parade.

Tattered Flag Facebook post

Tattered Flag’s Can Releases

Most Fridays (not all, but a lot) Tattered Flag does releases, and they have several locations you can pick their beers up from, or even get them sent to you in the mail through their Supply Drop. They currently have five easily accessible locations in the Central PA area in various places (Middletown, Dauphin County; Penn National Hollywood Casino, Grantville, Dauphin County; Gettysburg Pennslvania, and Lancaster City in Lancaster County in Pennsylvania).

The Review

Beer: Life Sentence
Brewery: Tattered Flag
Style: IPA – Imperial / Double New England / Hazy
ABV: 8.7%
IBU: None
Untappd Description: Hazy Double IPA hopped with Citra Incognito and intensely dry hopped with Citra, Galaxy, and Sabro cryo for aromas of cantaloupe, citrus, over ripe peach, and papaya combined with vibrant flavors of grapefruit, oaky citrus, peach sorbet, and strawberry candies

Ok, bear with me here, but its been a bit of a while since I’ve done a beer review (glad to be getting back into the swing of doing them). So, just like my old reviews did – I’ll continue the trend – aroma, followed by appearance, and then finish my review with the taste descriptions and any conclusion and final thoughts I want to express. So lets get to it.

This is a super bright green, hoppy, fresh New England. It is hoppy, it is strong, it gives you peach and candy aroma. Its like opening the brite tank of an IPA in progress, or just ripping open a bag of hops about to be added to the boil. Its that bold, bright, and fresh. The aroma definitely leaps at you.

The appearance is a murky, hazy, turbid, frothing sea of hop juice. The sea was angry that day my friends. Filled with hops, it looks every bit as green and hop juicy as you expect. It doesn’t have the full haze – orange glow that most New England IPAs have, this has a bit of a greener hoppier look to it, but its still certainly hazy, opaque, juicy, and still looks very delicious.

As soon as you take your first sip, you are immediately drop kicked in the teeth, the gums, the lips, the mouth, the whole oral area by hops. This is every bit as green, as bold, and powerful, as fresh, as straight from the tanks as a beer can get. You are getting hammered and walloped by a massive dose of hops right out of the gate on this one, and it doesn’t let up at all, until the last sip. Which, warning ahead, leave some in the can, as there is some sediment, and there is a bit of trub with these cans. I think this could be the only point of contention with this beer, it maybe could have used a little bit of extra time in the tanks before being canned; but I still think it is every bit the powerful hoppy New England IPA that people will want. Its not the full on juicy easy sipping hazy New England IPA, insomuch as its a hoppy, bite, powerful, hazy New England IPA. This is certainly a strong hoppy NE – IPA; which might put off some, and there is certainly a hop bite and even hop burn, but overall its an extremely good NE – IPA. You have an incredible aroma; a very hop forward and hoppy tasting IPA with notes of peach, papaya, and gummy candies, that blend together nice, with the added boost of the hop bite.

My Untappd Rating: ****
Global Untappd Rating: 3.17 (as of 11.1.21)

November

As in tradition here on the blog, in honor of NaNoWriMo, I will be posting a blog post every day. It will consist of who knows what all – beer reviews, book reviews, hike reviews, board game reviews, news articles, travelogues, brewery news, brewery openings, brewery closings (hopefully not), and anything else under the sun. So be sure to be checking in with us daily to see what all we got in store for this month!

Cheers everyone and see you tomorrow!

-B. Kline

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