There’s a satisfying little rebellion in drinking a rye-forward brew from a namesake West Coast IPA house: it feels like Sierra Nevada nudging tradition and saying, “Let’s spice things up.” Rye Torpedo is that nudge — a confident, approachable IPA that leans on an assertive rye backbone and classic piney-hop character to deliver something familiar with a wink. It’s not a revolution, but it’s a deliberate, well-executed spin that rewards repeated sips.

Rye Torpedo by Sierra Nevada

Appearance: Poured into a tulip, Rye Torpedo shows a clear amber-gold hue with a faint copper tint and a steady, off-white head that leaves a tidy lace as you work through the glass. The carbonation sits lively but not aggressive; at rest it presents the kind of clarity and color that says this beer knows its job and plans to do it without fuss.

Aroma: Upfront, the nose is a textbook Sierra Nevada blend of citrus rind, resinous pine, and floral hop perfume — think grapefruit peel, orange blossom, and fresh-cut spruce. Beneath that, the rye steps in with a subtle spiciness and a whisper of black pepper and dry biscuit that keeps the aroma from falling into one-note hop territory. There’s also a soft, bready malt sweetness that grounds the hops without weighing them down. It’s inviting and balanced: aromatic enough to promise a hop-forward ride but tempered by cereal warmth and rye tang.

Taste: First sip delivers the expected punch of citrus and resin, but the rye is the star of the mid-palate. It brings a peppery, slightly nutty snap that complements rather than competes with the hop bitterness. The bitterness is firm — assertive, but clean — and it plays nicely off a modest caramel malt base that gives the beer some chew and body. Hop flavors range from grapefruit and tangerine to a sapmy, piney undercurrent; they’re classic West Coast but tuned so the rye can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them. The beer never feels overly sticky or sugary — instead, it’s brisk, with the rye adding a dry, spicy dimension that keeps each sip lively.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied with a crisp, dry finish, Rye Torpedo offers a pleasant contrast between weight and snap. There’s enough malt to give it substance, but the carbonation and rye’s dryness push it toward a finish that cleans the palate rather than clinging to it. That crispness is one reason the beer drinks easier than the hops’ aromatics might lead you to expect; you can comfortably have two without feeling overwhelmed.

Balance and complexity: Where Rye Torpedo earns its four stars is in the way it balances familiarity with a little adventurousness. Sierra Nevada doesn’t try to complicate the beer with exotic adjuncts or gimmicks — it pares the recipe down to a solid malt bill, a healthy dose of rye, and a hop program that leans classic. That combination produces more nuance than a straight IPA: you get peppery spice, piney resin, citrus tang, and just enough malt sweetness to keep things grounded. It’s not a hyper-complex craft IPA in the avant-garde sense, but it’s thoughtfully assembled and nuanced enough to reward repeated drinking and discussion.

Drinkability and food pairing: With its medium body and dry finish, Rye Torpedo is highly drinkable; it pairs especially well with spiced dishes and smoky proteins. Think pepper-crusted steak, grilled sausages with mustard, or a smoked gouda sandwich — the rye and hop bitterness will stand up to bold flavors without getting lost. For lighter fare, it also complements sharper cheeses and bright salads with citrus-forward dressings. In short, it’s versatile at the table and dependable in the hand.

Packaging and presentation: Brewed by a stalwart of American craft brewing, Rye Torpedo wears the Sierra Nevada badge with quiet confidence. Whether from a can or on draft, it pours true to style and carries a familiar label of quality — no theatrical packaging required. That steady presentation is part of the appeal: this is a brewery that knows how to execute a concept without needing to shout about it.

Who it’s for: If you like West Coast-style IPAs but are curious about something with a spicy twist, Rye Torpedo is a natural fit. It’s friendly enough for hop lovers who prefer balance over pure bitterness, and it has enough character to please drinkers who enjoy rye-forward beers or those looking for a little more texture than a straightforward pale. It’s also a good middle ground for folks who enjoy traditional Sierra Nevada offerings but want something with a touch more grit.

What could be better: The beer’s restraint is mostly a virtue, but it’s also the reason Rye Torpedo doesn’t earn a perfect score. For hop die-hards chasing maximalism or brewers pushing the envelope of acidity, haze, or experimental adjuncts, this will read as conservative — deliberately so. A slightly more adventurous hop profile or a bolder rye presence might tip this from “very good” to “unforgettable” for some palates. That said, the decision to keep it measured preserves broad appeal and drinkability.

Final thoughts: Rye Torpedo is a smart, well-balanced IPA that blends classic West Coast hop character with a spicy rye core for extra personality. It’s not a radical departure from what you expect from Sierra Nevada, but it’s a welcome variant — thoughtful, tasty, and thoroughly drinkable. For those reasons, it earns a solid four out of five stars: a reliable, characterful brew that hits the sweet spot between approachability and distinctiveness.

My Untappd Rating: **** out of 5
Global Untappd Rating: 3.85 out of 5 (as of 5.10.26)

Untappd Description:

Bold hop flavor and full-bodied malt combine in this IPA, inspired by our classic Torpedo but brewed with rye malt.

MALTS
C-60, Munich, Rye, Two-row Pale

HOPS
Chinook

YEAST
Ale

-B. Kline

Pennsylvania craft beer has always had a strong relationship with lagers, and Tröegs Pennsylvania Lager fits right into that tradition. It’s a beer that doesn’t try to force the issue or show off too hard; instead, it focuses on being clean, balanced, and easy to enjoy. That approach works especially well here, because this is the kind of beer that can quietly become a regular go-to.

Troegs Premium Lager (photo courtesy of Troegs Independent Brewing)

First Impressions

The beer pours with a bright, classic lager appearance that immediately suggests refreshment. It looks crisp in the glass, and that first visual impression lines up nicely with what the beer delivers once you take a sip. There’s a straightforward charm to it that makes it feel familiar in the best possible way.

Aroma

The nose is subtle but inviting, with grainy malt notes leading the way. There’s a clean, fresh quality to the aroma that keeps the beer from feeling too soft or too neutral. It gives you the sense that this is a carefully made lager, one that values precision and drinkability.

Flavor and Mouthfeel

The flavor profile is smooth and well-composed, centered around a solid malt backbone with a crisp finish. It doesn’t overload the palate, and that restraint is part of what makes it work so well. The body lands in a comfortable middle ground, giving the beer enough presence to feel satisfying without becoming heavy.

The mouthfeel is especially important here because it reinforces the beer’s overall sense of balance. Each sip feels clean and steady, which makes it easy to keep reaching for the glass. That kind of drinkability is often what separates a good lager from a forgettable one.

Overall Impression

Tröegs Pennsylvania Lager succeeds because it understands what it wants to be. It’s not trying to reinvent the wheel, and it doesn’t need to. Instead, it offers a polished, reliable lager experience with enough character to keep it interesting and enough restraint to make it highly drinkable.

For fans of well-made Pennsylvania beer, this one is worth checking out. It’s the kind of release that feels equally at home on a casual weeknight or alongside a good meal, and that versatility makes it an easy recommendation.

Rating: 4.25 out of 5 pints

For More Information on Troegs Independent Craft Brewing

According to Untappd, Troegs Independent Craft Brewing is a regional brewery with 164 unique beers listed (despite their being over 500 Scratches). (A lot of vintage and variants get consolidated into single unique listings as well.) They have 2.4 Million ratings and a global average rating of 3.79 (as of 4.25.26). Their Untappd bio reads:

“Founded in Pennsylvania in 1997 by brothers John and Chris Trogner, Tröegs Independent Brewing is driven by a sense of adventure and curiosity. Our brewery has been built by family, friends and kindred spirits who share a love of great beer. Together, we all make Tröegs. You might know our Perpetual IPA, the best-selling IPA in Pennsylvania. Or the dark, malty and crisp Troegenator. You may have come across such iconic beers as Nugget Nectar or Mad Elf in your beer travels. Perhaps you’ve been lucky enough to try one or two of the hundreds of experimental Scratch Series beers we’ve brewed over the years. Whether you’re already a member of our extended family or you’re just getting to know our brewery, there’s always something new to discover with Tröegs.“

You can find them at the following social media pages:

• Troegs.com (Official Website)
• Troegs Independent Craft Brewing (Facebook)
• Troegs Independent Craft Brewing (Instagram)
• Troegs Independent Craft Brewing @ Twitter
• Troegs Independent Craft Brewing (Untappd)

More Troegs Independent Craft Brewing Related Articles

Looking for more Troegs in your diet? Here’s some other Troegs Independent Craft Brewing related articles we’ve written:

• Troegs Brewing and Wigle Whiskey Team Up to Bring Peach Whiskey Back
• Troegs Independent Craft Brewing Adds 1,628 Solar Panels To Their Brewery
• Beer Review: Double Blizzard (Troegs Independent Craft Brewing)
• The Mad Elf Gets a Face Lift – Troegs Independent Craft Brewing Changes The Mad Elf’s Look
• Troegs Brewing Releasing Cordial Elf
• Beer Review: Double Nugget Nectar (Troegs Independent Craft Brewing)
• Beer Review: Grand Cacao (Troegs Independent Craft Brewing)
• Beer Review: Scratch 417 (Orange Lemon Peel) (Troegs Independent Craft Brewing)
• Beer Review: Haze Charmer (Troegs Independent Craft Brewing)
• Beer Review: Scratch 400 (Pre – Prohibition Lager) (Troegs Independent Craft Brewing)
• Multiple Beer Review: Scratch 394, Scratch 395, Scratch 396, and Mad Elf (Troegs Independent Craft Brewing)
• Two Beer Review: Fresh Fest and Trail Day Pale Ale (Troegs Independent Craft Brewing)
• Multiple Beer Reviews: Fest Lager, Scratch 385 – Krausened Dunkel Lager, and Scratch 386 – Tangerine Passionfruit Guava Tart Ale (Troegs Independent Craft Brewery)
• Beer Review: Fuzzy Nudge (Troegs Independent Craft Brewing)
• Multiple Beer Reviews: Scratch 382 – Blackberry Lime Tart Ale, Scratch 383 – Hazy IPA (Citra, Galaxy & Simcoe), Dear Peter, and Naked Elf (Troegs Brewing Company)
• Multiple Beer Review – Brewery Flight (Troegs) – Beers – Scratch #379 – Krausened Keller Pilsner, Scratch #378 – DIPA, Scratch #377 – Oat IPA, and Scratch #376 – Passionfruit & Guava Tart Ale
• Beer Review: Scratch 375: Coco-Nator (Troegs Independent Brewing Company)
• From Philly to Pittsburgh: Pennsylvania’s Top Craft Breweries You Must Visit
• Hershey Bears Celebrate Calder Cup Championship at Troegs Brewery
• Troegs Brewing Company Adds Hopora IPA to Their Seasonal Hop Cycle Series
• Beer Review: Tropical Stout (Troegs Independent Brewing and Windy Bridges Brewing LLC)
• Oktoberfest Lager Returns to Troegs Independent Brewing (Troegs Independent Brewing’s Oktoberfest Lager Has Returned)
• Tröegs Hop Cyclone Releases Today
• Master of Pumpkins Returns for 2023 with Over 3,000 Pounds of Fresh Local Pumpkins
• The Naked Elf Returns for 2023
• Troegs Announces Gingerbread Cookie Stout
• Troegs Brewing Adding Graffiti Highway IPA and DIPA
• Bourbon Barrel Aged Triple Nator Releasing at Troegs Brewery
• Enchilada Stuffed Peppers and Sunshine Pilsner
• Troegs Brewing to Release Second Cut in Spring 2024
• Troegs Brewing Releasing Cyclops Teardrops This Thursday
• Hops and Vines for Hunger Kick-Off Event at Troegs Brewery
• Mad Elf Set to Release on October 9th
• Troegs Independent Brewing is Releasing Scratch 500 and Scratch 501 – Double Perpetual IPA and Triple Perpetual IPA
• Tröegs Independent Brewing Mad Elf Grand Cru Returns In Limited Cork and Cage Bottles
• Tröegs Brewing Releasing the Most Wonderful Beer of the Year Sampler on Monday
• Recipe: Crispy Beer Roast Turkey (using Troegenator)
• Troegs Brewing Releasing Night Gazer Stout
• Nugget Nectar Is Being Released the Day After Christmas
• Troegs Brewing to Release Sunshine Salt and Lime Lager in 2024
• Troegs and Patagonia Collaborate for Kernza Lager Release
• Troegs Brewing and Dewey Beer Releasing a Collaboration – Adventure Was Promised
• Troegs Brewing Releases Field Study Summer IPA
• First Cut – Mango IPA – Is Coming Out on Thursday February 22nd
• Troegs Brewing Releasing Leisure Cruise
• Troegs Brewing Teaming Up with Warwick Farm and Free Will For Releases
• Troegs Brewing, AntiFragile Brewing, Sworn Brewing, and Warwick Brewing Team Up for Storm the Field IPA
• Troegs Brewing and Tonewood Brewing Collaborate for Brothers Gotta Hug
• Troegs Brewing Creating Super Duper Juicer
• Troegs Brewing Releasing Second Cut Mango Double IPA
• Bikes and Brews Returns April 27th
• Troegs Brewing Releases 15 – Can Summer Variety Pack
• Hopora Returns for July 2024
• Troegs Brewing is Releasing Oktoberfest on August 5th
• Troegs Brewing to Release Double Perpetual IPA on August 19th
• Troegs Brewing and Sloop Brewing Collaborate on Sloop John T
• Unearthing the History of Harrisburg Brewing: From Barnitz to Troegs
• Troegs Brewing is Bringing Back a Fan Favorite – Java Head Stout
• Nimble Giant Set to Return on June 5th
• Leaf Seeker IPA: Tröegs Brewing’s Bold New West Coast-Style Seasonal Beer
• Beer Review: Leaf Seeker IPA (Troegs Independent Brewing)
• A Pennsylvania Craft Beer Thanksgiving: Maple-Brown Ale Glazed Turkey (Featuring Troegs, Victory, and More)
• Tröegs Delivers “A Smile With Every Sip” In Year-Round Pennsylvania Lager
• Beer Review: Tröegs Pennsylvania Lager (Troegs Independent Brewing)

New Trail drops a sessionable West Coast–inspired IPA that’s built for all-day adventures.

New Trail’s newest Session IPA – 24/7

A beautiful spring day in Dauphin County, the kind where you’re thinking about hitting the Susquehanna or just firing up the grill. I grabbed a 4-pack of New Trail’s latest — 24/7 Session — and figured it was time to see what the Williamsport crew cooked up this time. New Trail has been crushing it with hazies for years (Broken Heels fans know what’s up), but this one takes a different trail: a crisp, hop-forward session IPA with West Coast vibes. Let’s pop the can.

24/7 Hazy Session IPA by New Trail Brewing Co.

Beer: 24/7 Session Brewery: New Trail Brewing Co. (Williamsport, PA) Style: Session IPA (West Coast–inspired) ABV: 4.7% IBU: Not listed, but it carries a solid bite

Appearance: Pours a bright, clear golden hue with a tight white head that settles nicely. Good bubbles rising, and it leaves some solid lacing on the glass. Looks clean and inviting — exactly what you want when you’re planning on having a few without tapping out early.

Aroma: Big hop forward right away. Pine, citrus zest, and a touch of resin with some floral notes dancing around. Centennial, Amarillo, and Simcoe are doing the heavy lifting here, giving it that classic West Coast hop character without going overboard. It’s fresh and bright — makes you think of cracking it open on a hike or by the river.

Taste & Mouthfeel: First sip hits with a nice malt backbone that’s light but supportive — just enough sweetness to balance things out before the hops roll in. You get that firm, clean bitterness with grapefruit, pine, and herbal edges. It’s crisp, dry, and refreshing with a snappy finish that keeps you coming back. Mouthfeel is light-to-medium, highly carbonated, and super drinkable at 4.7%. No heaviness, no cloying sweetness, just pure sessionability. This is the beer you can drink from lunch through sunset and still feel human.

It’s got that “I could do this 24/7” energy without the next-morning regret. In a sea of super juicy hazies, this one stands out by going back to basics while still delivering big flavor.

Overall: New Trail continues to show why they’re one of the most reliable breweries in Pennsylvania. While everyone else is chasing the next pastry stout or milkshake IPA, they quietly drop a well-balanced session beer that actually tastes like it belongs in a cooler on the trail. It’s approachable for newer drinkers but hoppy enough to keep the nerds happy. Perfect for Central PA summers (or those rare warm Lancaster spring days).

My Untappd Rating: 4.0 — A crusher that’ll be in regular rotation.

For more New Trail Brewing News and Beer Reviews Click Here: New Trail Brewing Co. 

-B. Kline

There are some beers that feel engineered in a lab to hit every modern hazy IPA pleasure center imaginable. Then there are beers like Triforce from Black Flag Brewing Company that somehow manage to feel both hyper-modern and deeply nostalgic at the same time. The name alone immediately tells you what kind of experience you’re getting into: this is not just another haze bomb tossed onto shelves to disappear into Untappd oblivion. This is gamer beer culture meeting East Coast craft brewing obsession — and honestly, Black Flag might be one of the best breweries in the country at that intersection.

(See also: Zelda and Craft Beer)

Triforce IPA by Black Flag Brewing Company

Triforce is a 7.2% Hazy IPA brewed with Mosaic, Motueka, and Nelson Sauvin hops. The brewery describes it as bursting with passion fruit, pineapple, lime, mango, grapefruit, and white wine-like complexity.

And honestly? That description is pretty dead-on.

(See also:

• Book Review: Zelda and Theology
• Book Review: Zelda and Psychology)

Triforce Hazy IPA by Black Flag Brewing

From the first pour, this beer comes across with that glowing opaque orange-yellow haze that New England IPA fans practically worship. Thick without looking sludgy. Juicy without looking artificial. There’s a soft foam cap that hangs around long enough to suggest a proper protein-heavy body, and the aroma immediately jumps out of the glass with tropical intensity.

The Mosaic does a lot of the heavy lifting here. You get huge mango and overripe pineapple notes up front, but the Motueka adds a sharp lime zest brightness that keeps the beer from collapsing into sugary fruit puree territory. Then the Nelson Sauvin sneaks in underneath everything with that signature white grape / sauvignon blanc character that gives the beer a slightly more sophisticated edge than your average “orange juice IPA.”

That combination is where the beer really succeeds.

A lot of breweries throw Nelson into a hazy IPA and let it dominate the profile entirely, turning the beer into something that tastes like carbonated wine must. Black Flag keeps it restrained enough that it complements rather than overwhelms. The result is a layered IPA instead of a one-note juice smoothie.

The mouthfeel is classic modern haze: soft, rounded, pillowy, moderately creamy. Bitterness is intentionally restrained, but not absent. There’s still enough hop structure here to remind you that this is an IPA and not alcoholic tropical nectar. The finish carries lingering grapefruit pith and lime oils that help clean up the sweetness before it overstays its welcome.

What Black Flag continues to do exceptionally well — and Triforce is another example of this — is balance fandom aesthetics with genuinely high-level brewing. Their reputation for gaming, anime, comic, and pop-culture-inspired beers could easily become gimmicky in lesser hands, but they consistently back the branding up with serious execution. Reddit beer communities and Maryland craft beer fans regularly praise the brewery’s hazy IPAs and can art alike.

And the can art matters here.

Black Flag has built an identity around visually striking labels and nerd-culture references, working with artists to create some of the most recognizable cans in Maryland craft beer.

Triforce fits directly into that lineage. It feels like a beer designed for people who grew up with controllers in their hands and IPAs in their adulthood — the generation that went from Ocarina of Time to brewery bottle shares.

But thankfully, the beer itself isn’t relying on Zelda nostalgia to survive.

This is simply a very good hazy IPA.

Not groundbreaking. Not revolutionary. But highly polished and deeply enjoyable. It understands exactly what modern haze drinkers want while still showing enough hop nuance to reward experienced IPA fans.

If I had a criticism, it’s that the beer sits very comfortably inside the established New England IPA formula. It executes the style extremely well, but it doesn’t necessarily redefine it. You can taste echoes of Other Half, Equilibrium, and the broader East Coast haze movement throughout. That said, not every beer needs to reinvent the genre. Sometimes delivering an excellent version of a beloved style is enough.

And Triforce absolutely delivers.

Rating: 4.25 / 5
Untappd Global Average: 3.95 (as of 1.11.26)

For fans of:

• Nelson-forward hazy IPAs
• Juice-heavy but balanced NEIPAs
• Gaming-inspired craft beer culture
• Other Half-style tropical haze bombs
• Modern East Coast IPA brewing

If you’re already familiar with Black Flag Brewing Company, this will feel like another strong entry in their catalog. If you’ve never had them before, Triforce is actually a pretty ideal starting point: approachable, flavorful, visually memorable, and technically well-executed without becoming absurdly over-the-top.

And for fun: Mental Floss’s 15 Things You Might Not Know About The Legend of Zelda

All of Our Nerd Content

Here’s all of our nerd content, served up best in one single place. Enjoy!

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

Star Wars:

• Beer Review: The Pandalorian (Tattered Flag)
• Beer Review: Wookie Monster (Fourscore Beer Co)
• Beer Review: Out of Order: Blue Milk (RAR Brewing) (Batch 1)
• Beer Review: Out of Order: Tatooine Tart (RAR Brewing)
• Beer Review: Out of Order: RAWRGWAWGGR (RAR Brewing)
• Beer Review: Out of Order: Droid Juice (RAR Brewing)
• Beer Review: Wookies and Cream (Tall Tales Brewing)
• Revenge of the Fifth / Cinco de Mayo
• May the Fourth Be With You
• Beer Review: This is Nut the Fluff You’re Looking For (Fourscore Beer Co)
• Beer Review: This is the Way (Broken Goblet Brewing)
• Beer Review: This is the Whey (Bolero Snort Brewery)
• Beer Review: Java the Stout (Jackie O’s Brewery)
• Beer Review: The Mangolorian (Brewery Fire)
• Beer Review: BoBull Fett (Bolero Snort Brewery)
• Mead Review: The Meadalorian (Space Time Mead and Cider Works)
• Beer Review: Let the Haze Flow Through You (Black Flag Brewing Co)
• Book Review: The Jedi Path and The Book of the Sith (Daniel Wallace)
• Book Review: Guardians of the Whills (Greg Rucka)
• May the Fourth Be With You (2022)
• RAR Out of Order Star Wars Drop!
• Beer Review: Vader (Mispillion River Brewing Company)
• Beer Review: Out of Order: Green Milk (RAR Brewing Company) (Batch 1)
• Beer Review: The Phantasm Menace (Second Sin Brewing Company)
• RAR Brewing – Out of Order – Star Wars Can Drop (2023)
• May the Fourth Be With You (2023)
• Brewery Fire Celebrates Their Fourth Anniversary: The Power of the Fourth
• Crooked Crab – May the Fourth Be With You (2024)
• Book Review: Star Wars – Most Wanted (Rae Carlson)
• Beer Review: Admiral (J Henry Barrel Aged Grand Stout) (Delta Beer Lab)
• Beer Review: Chewbacca (Rotunda Brewing Company)
• May the Fourth Be With You – From a Non a Star Wars Lover at RAR Brewing’s Star Wars Fest (Amy’s Column)

Futurama

• Good News Everyone, Futurama is Back: Exploring Futurama – Inspired Craft Beers
• Book Review: Futurama and Philosophy (edited by Courtland Lewis)
• Futurama Episode Review – The Impossible Stream and Mead Review: Omicron Persei 8 (SpaceTime Meadery)
• Mead Review: Omicron Persei 8 (Space Time Mead and Cider Works)
• Futurama Episode Review – Children of a Lesser Bog and Beer Review: Stay on Target (Allusion Brewing Company)
• Beer Review: I Apologize For Nothing (Fourscore Beer Co.)
• Beer Review: Fing-Longer (Turning Point Beer)
• Futurama Episode Review – How the West was 1010001 (and Beer Review: The Shining by Foam Brewers)
• Futurama Episode Review – Parasites Regained
• Beer Review: Hop Bender (Local Craft Beer)
• Futurama Episode Review – I Know What You Did Next XMas and Beer Review: Bo Katan Red IPA (Brewery Fire)
• 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐧’𝐬 𝐋𝐚𝐰 on Draft and Cans at Intermission Beer Company
• Beer Review: I’m 40% Galaxy (Local Craft Beer)

Lord of the Rings:

• Book Review: An Atlas of Tolkien (David Day)
• Book Review: The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun (J.R.R. Tolkien)

Magic the Gathering:

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

Heroes of Barcadia:

• Rollacrit Partners with Voodoo Ranger IPA for New Kickstarter, Heroes of Barcadia: Heroes for Hire Tabletop Game

Zelda:

• Zelda and Craft Beer
• Beer Review: Motueka’s Mask (Black Flag Brewing Company)
• Book Review: The Psychology of Zelda (edited by Anthony M. Bean)
• Book Review: The Legend of Zelda and Theology (edited by Jonathan L. Walls)
• Beer Review: Triforce Hazy IPA (Black Flag Brewing Company)

Rick and Morty:

• Beer Review: Peace Among Worlds (Cushwa Brewing Company)

Space Balls:

• Beer Review: Moon of Vega (Equilibrium Brewery)

Game of Thrones:

• Beer Review: Game of Thrones: My Watch Has Ended (Omnegang Brewery)
• Book Review: The Wit and Wisdom of Tyrion Lannister (George R.R. Martin)

The Simpsons:

• Beer Review: I Voted for Kodos (Second Sin Brewing Company)
• Beer Review: I Voted for Kang (Second Sin Brewing Company)
• Beer Review: Ned Flanders Red (AleCraft Brewery)

Back to the Future:

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

Scrooged:

• Beer Review: Scrooge IPA (Iron Hill Brewing)

Groundhog Day:

• Beer Review: Prognosticator Pils (Logyard Brewing Company)
• Logyard Brewing’s Prognosticator Pils is the Official Beer of Groundhog Day (2022)

A Christmas Story:

• Beer Review: The Soft Electric Glow of Sex (RAR Brewing)
• Beer Review: You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out! (Eight and Sand Beer Co)

The Peanuts:

• Book Review: The Philosophy of Snoopy (Charles M. Schulz)
• Book Review: You Don’t Look 35, Charlie Brown! (Charles M. Schulz)

Pro Wrestling:

• Beer Review: Broken Skull – Stone Cold Steve Austin’s IPA (El Segundo Brewing Company)
• Beer Review: Macho Man (Couch Brewery)
• Beer Review: Royal Rumble (Funk Brewing)
• Stone Cold Steve Austin and the WWE Are Celebrating 3:16 Day
• Human Robot and The Full Pint Are Hosting RoboMania
• Brawl in the Beer Hall at Lakefront Brewery
• Hulk Hogan Announces Real American Beer
• Hulk Hogan’s Real American Beer Faces Lawsuit Over Alleged Negligence at Promotional Event

Soccer:

• Beer Review: Pulisic Pilsner (Jackass Brewing Company)
• Book Review: Pulisic – My Journey So Far (Christian Pulisic)

World Cup:

• Qatar Bans Alcohol Sales at World Cup in Last Second Decision
• Breweries Opening Early For the USA vs Netherlands World Cup Ga

Phillies:

• Drunk Phils Fans and Rotunda Brewing Company Collaborate Together on Jam the Batter sWheat Tart
• Mystery Phillies fan buys rounds of beer for people in Section 103

Philadelphia Eagles:

• The Philadelphia Eagles Running Back – D’Andre Swift – Visits Bald Bird Brewing Company

Matrix:

• Matrix Monday

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles:

• Beer Review: Terpenes in Time (BAREBottle Brewing Co)

Mario:

• Beer Review: Level Up (Idiom Brewing)

HP Lovecraft / Cthulhu:

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

Seinfeld:

• Beer Review: Jon Voight’s Car (RAR Brewing)
• Beer Review: Airing of Grievances (Black Flag Brewing Company)
• Beer Review: Treats of Strength (Icarus Brewing)

The Muppets:

• RAR Brewing – Out of Order – Muppet Series Can Release
• RAR Brewing Brings the Nostalgia with Muppets Out of Order Series

Jason Voorhees / Friday the 13th:

• Beer Review: Juicin’ Voorhees (Pariah Brewing Company)
• Haunted Hops

Other:

• Beer Review: Super Villain (Urban Village Brewing Company)
• Beer Review: Pixels (Seminar Brewing)
• Beer Review: Villeinage (Elder Pine Brewing and Blending)
• Beer Review: Intergalactic Deals (Levante Brewing)
• Beer Review: Galactic Space Circus (Creature Comforts Brewing Co)
• Beer Review: The Death of Civilization in Slow Motion I (Ghost 907) (Adroit Theory)

As the leaves fall and the nights grow longer, it’s time to dive into the seasonal brews that bring all the thrills of October to your glass. For fans of craft beer and the spooky season, there’s no better time to explore Pennsylvania’s haunted-hops landscape. Below are five beers brewed by PA breweries that lean into Halloween vibes—names, labels, stories and all.

Pennsylvania Halloween Themed Beers (can art is our creation, for their labels see below)

1. Master of Pumpkins (2025) — Tröegs Independent Brewing (Hershey, PA)

Master of Pumpkins by Troegs Independent Brewing

One of Pennsylvania’s most iconic fall-season beers, Master of Pumpkins returns for 2025 with all its harvest-pumpkin glory. The Hershey-based Tröegs brewers source 3,000 lbs of Pennsylvania-grown longneck pumpkins every year, roast and purée them, then brew a rich, spiced ale that leans deep into autumn.

Abram-style: Sweet caramel malt backbone, pumpkin depth, spices (cinnamon, clove, ginger, nutmeg) and at 7.5 % ABV, hearty enough for a brisk October night.

 

2. Young Pumpkinstein — Neshaminy Creek Brewing Company (Croydon, PA)

Young Pumpkinstein

A fun twist on the pumpkin-beer tradition: Young Pumpkinstein is described as a Märzen-style lager brewed with allspice, candied ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg, finishing dry yet spiced.
Specs: 5.2 % ABV, 23 IBU.

---

3. Michael Meyer’s Lemon IPA — Pizza Boy Brewing Co. (Enola, PA)

Pizza Boy’s Michael Myers Lemon IPA

Here’s a wild card on the Halloween list: a lemon-hazy IPA that uses horror theme branding to good effect. According to its description:

“Brewed with predacious amounts of oat and pilsner malt, fresh meyer lemon zest and a maniacal amount of Amarillo, Mosaic and NZ Motueka hops … Notes of supernatural citrus, blood stained everything, sharp knives and inside-out William Shatner masks.”
It clocks in at 6.66 % ABV.

4. Reaper’s Revenge Blood Orange & Pomegranate Ale — Wallenpaupack Brewing Company (PA)

Reaper’s Revenge by Wallenpaupack Brewing

Lending a hint of theatricality, this beer is tied to a haunted‐attraction experience and embraces the spooky side of fall. While I couldn’t find full specs, its marketing says:

“Just in time for the Halloween season … a beer that not only captures the essence of the season but … embodies the thrilling, hair-raising experience.” (via the brewery)
This beer joins the list to highlight a more theatrical style of Halloween craft brew—bold names, fruit twist (blood orange & pomegranate), an event tie-in. Great content for a blog segment like “Not just pumpkin: Halloween beers that think outside the Jack-O-lantern.”

5. Batch No. 666 — Appalachian Brewing Company (Harrisburg area, PA)

Batch 666 by Appalachian Brewing Company

Bringing classic Halloween flair: devilish name, dark-bronze hue, and a clear “in the spirit of Halloween” tagline. The brewery describes it as:

“Produced with 1,666 lbs of malt along with three 6 lb hop additions. The result is a dark bronze colored brew with tons of flavor, and a delightfully clean finish! Be careful, this one can sneak up on you and take you to the dark side. We’re sorry, the devil made us do it!”
Vintage/specs: Strong Ale / American style, 7.7 % ABV.

Other Fall Lists

Check out our other fall lists:

• The Top 5 Oktoberfest Beers in Pennsylvania
• Embracing the Season: The Return of Fall Beer
• Fall Beers

Follow The Beer Thrillers

For more updates on Pennsylvania brewery news, closures, openings, and expansions, follow The Beer Thrillers on social media and subscribe for the latest articles on the state’s ever-evolving craft beer scene.

Thank You For Reading

If you like this article, please check out our other many articles, including news, beer reviews, travelogues, maps, and much much more. We greatly appreciate everyone visiting the site!

Cheers.

Thanks again for reading everyone. Take some time to check out the site, we greatly appreciate it. We have affiliates and sponsors with Pretzels.com and Beer Drop.com, which can save you money on their products if you are interested. Check out our articles on them. Make sure to check out our beer reviews, brewery reviews, Amy’s weekly column, book reviews, hike reviews, and so much more.

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.

We are working on a massive project here at The Beer Thrillers. We are creating a map of all of the breweries across the United States. State by state we are adding maps of all of the different states with every brewery in each state. (We will eventually get to the US Territories, as well as the Canadian Provinces, and possibly more countries; as well as doing some fun maps like a map of all the breweries we’ve been to, and other fun maps.) You can find the brewery maps here:

• MAPS OF BREWERIES

We are also working on a project of creating printable and downloadable PDFs and resources to be able to check and keep track of all of the breweries you’ve been to. So stay tuned for that project once we are finished with the Brewery Maps of the US States.

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. As well as our brand new Tumblr page. Please be sure to also follow, like, subscribe to the blog here itself to keep updated. We are also now on BlueSky as well, so make sure to check us out there also. We love to hear from you guys, so be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you think!

You can now find us on our Discord Server here: The Beer Thrillers (Discord Server).

We also now have a SLACK channel – which acts as a hybrid chat room, message board, Reddit style; workspace and posting area for us. You can hang out with us there and chat about all kinds of things – not just beer, but “off topic” things like movies, TV, books, podcasts, hiking, sports, and more! Join us at: The Beer Thrillers on SLACK.

We’ve also joined LinkTree to keep track of all of our social media pages, as well as hot new articles we’ve written. The Beer Thrillers on LinkTree can be found here: The Beer Thrillers LinkTree.

We have partnered with an affiliateship with Beer Drop.com. You can check out that partnership and receive great discounts, coupons, and more here: Beer Drop. Going here and logging in and ordering will help you receive your discounts and coupons as well as help support our page. Thank you for helping to support The Beer Thrillers and to help us maintain the site and blog and to keep it running.

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 #5 on FeedSpot’s “Top 100 Beer Blogs” and #9 on FeedSpot’s “Top 40 Pennsylvania Blogs”. (As of May 2025.) 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 – AFFILIATE CODE IS THEBEERTHRILLERS20 – will help you get wonderful pretzels and help us maintain and keep this blog running. Thank you!

If you would like to reach out to us for product reviews, beer reviews, press release writing, and other media – please contact us at thebeerthrillers@gmail.com. Thank you.

(Thank you for reading. The opinions, thoughts, and expressions of each article posted on The Beer Thrillers represents the author of the content and only themselves. It does not express the opinions, beliefs, or ideas held by The Beer Thrillers or any company in which the author themselves work for. Each piece of written content is written by the creator(s) listed in the authorial section on each article unless otherwise noted. Their opinions, comments, and words on screen do not represent any company in which they work for and / or are affiliated with or any non – profits that they contribute to. Thank you.)

I first had this beer back in October of 2019. (Which feels like ancient history.) And I remember wanting to write a review of it even back then for the site…. and for some reason I never did. Not sure why exactly. Maybe I just didn’t get around to it or something, but I even kept my photo of the beer on my desktop screen this whole time. Ironically, I recently had it again, so what better opportunity to revisit the beer for my second beer review release for Andor: Season 2. Last week I reviewed – Admiral (J Henry Barrel Aged Grand Stout) by Delta Beer Lab – and so this week, we’ll taking a look at a much closer brewery – Rotunda Brewing Company with their Imperial Black IPA (or Imperial Cascadian IPA). This is one of my favorite styles of beer, I love Black IPAs, and Double Black IPAs are event better.

But before we dive in, I want everyone to please take a look at our stream / podcast / video we made on YouTube. It stars myself, Drew of Knights of Nostalgia, and Tim (Aglets). You can view it here:

In the video we cover the first three episodes of Andor. So please be sure to check it out!

And now, onto the review!

Chewbacca by Rotunda Brewing Company (at the Rising Sun in 2019)

The Beer Review: Chewbacca by Rotunda Brewing Company

Beer: Chewbacca
Brewery: Rotunda Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Black IPA / Double Black IPA
ABV: 8%
IBU: N / A
Untappd Description: (Blank)

Let’s check out this Wookie beast (not to be confused with the Wookie Monster by Fourscore). Will someone get this Walking Carpet out of my way so I can type!

Appearance

Chewbacca pours a deep, opaque brown-almost bordering on black-with a creamy, tan head that lingers like a loyal Wookiee companion. The lacing is impressive, clinging to the glass with each sip, leaving behind a trail reminiscent of hyperspace streaks.

Aroma

Right out of the gate, there’s a punch of roasted malt-think dark chocolate and fresh-brewed coffee-balanced by a piney, resinous hop profile. There’s a subtle undercurrent of caramel and a hint of citrus, like orange peel, that peeks through as it warms. The aroma is bold and inviting, promising complexity.

Chewbacca by Rotunda Brewing Company

Taste

The first sip delivers a satisfying interplay between roasted malt bitterness and assertive hop character. Notes of espresso and bittersweet cocoa dominate up front, quickly joined by pine, grapefruit, and a touch of earthy spice. The Black IPA style shines here: the hops never overwhelm the malt backbone, instead weaving together in a harmonious, chewy mouthfeel. The 9.2% ABV is well-hidden, but there’s a gentle warmth in the finish that lets you know this is a beer worthy of a Wookiee.

Mouthfeel

Medium to full-bodied, with a creamy carbonation that lifts the flavors without feeling heavy. The finish is dry, with lingering roast and a pleasant, resinous bitterness that invites another sip.

Overall Impressions

Chewbacca is a robust, well-executed Black IPA that balances dark roast and hop bite with finesse. It’s a bold tribute to its namesake-complex, powerful, and just a little wild. Whether you’re a Star Wars fan or simply a lover of big, hoppy dark ales, this is a beer that deserves a spot in your cantina. Untappd’s 3.8/5 rating feels right, but I’d nudge it a bit higher for the sheer fun and craftsmanship.

Wrap Up

My Untappd Rating: ****.25
Global Untappd Rating: 3.8 (out of nearly 1000 ratings) (as of 4.25.25)

May the hops be with you-always.

Chewbacca by Rotunda Brewing Company (RBC) (photo courtesy of Rotunda Brewing Company)

I’m gonna have to check the archives of the site here, or on my computer, to see if I have any notes or anything from the initial first time I drank the beer, if maybe I started a review and then sadly – for whatever reason – never got around to finishing it. Maybe I was waiting for the right chance to post it, and never found it. Who knows, there’s over 70+ articles in my “draft” folder here on the site, some day I’ll get around to posting them…. unfortunately that day is not today though. But be sure to come back to the site, who knows, maybe it’ll be tomorrow…..

And check back next Tuesday for another (hopefully) Star Wars themed beer release. Over the weekened is May the Fourth Be With You, so once again, hopefully I’ll be able to grab some of the RAR Star Wars themed beers and will be able to review them weekly!

Cheers all and thank you for reading!

Chewbacca at Rotunda Brewery

All of Our Nerd Content

Here’s all of our nerd content, served up best in one single place. Enjoy!

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

Star Wars:

• Beer Review: The Pandalorian (Tattered Flag)
• Beer Review: Wookie Monster (Fourscore Beer Co)
• Beer Review: Out of Order: Blue Milk (RAR Brewing) (Batch 1)
• Beer Review: Out of Order: Tatooine Tart (RAR Brewing)
• Beer Review: Out of Order: RAWRGWAWGGR (RAR Brewing)
• Beer Review: Out of Order: Droid Juice (RAR Brewing)
• Beer Review: Wookies and Cream (Tall Tales Brewing)
• Revenge of the Fifth / Cinco de Mayo
• May the Fourth Be With You
• Beer Review: This is Nut the Fluff You’re Looking For (Fourscore Beer Co)
• Beer Review: This is the Way (Broken Goblet Brewing)
• Beer Review: This is the Whey (Bolero Snort Brewery)
• Beer Review: Java the Stout (Jackie O’s Brewery)
• Beer Review: The Mangolorian (Brewery Fire)
• Beer Review: BoBull Fett (Bolero Snort Brewery)
• Mead Review: The Meadalorian (Space Time Mead and Cider Works)
• Beer Review: Let the Haze Flow Through You (Black Flag Brewing Co)
• Book Review: The Jedi Path and The Book of the Sith (Daniel Wallace)
• Book Review: Guardians of the Whills (Greg Rucka)
• May the Fourth Be With You (2022)
• RAR Out of Order Star Wars Drop!
• Beer Review: Vader (Mispillion River Brewing Company)
• Beer Review: Out of Order: Green Milk (RAR Brewing Company) (Batch 1)
• Beer Review: The Phantasm Menace (Second Sin Brewing Company)
• RAR Brewing – Out of Order – Star Wars Can Drop (2023)
• May the Fourth Be With You (2023)
• Brewery Fire Celebrates Their Fourth Anniversary: The Power of the Fourth
• Crooked Crab – May the Fourth Be With You (2024)
• Book Review: Star Wars – Most Wanted (Rae Carlson)
• Beer Review: Admiral (J Henry Barrel Aged Grand Stout) (Delta Beer Lab)
• Beer Review: Chewbacca (Rotunda Brewing Company)

Futurama

• Good News Everyone, Futurama is Back: Exploring Futurama – Inspired Craft Beers
• Book Review: Futurama and Philosophy (edited by Courtland Lewis)
• Futurama Episode Review – The Impossible Stream and Mead Review: Omicron Persei 8 (SpaceTime Meadery)
• Mead Review: Omicron Persei 8 (Space Time Mead and Cider Works)
• Futurama Episode Review – Children of a Lesser Bog and Beer Review: Stay on Target (Allusion Brewing Company)
• Beer Review: I Apologize For Nothing (Fourscore Beer Co.)
• Beer Review: Fing-Longer (Turning Point Beer)
• Futurama Episode Review – How the West was 1010001 (and Beer Review: The Shining by Foam Brewers)
• Futurama Episode Review – Parasites Regained
• Beer Review: Hop Bender (Local Craft Beer)
• Futurama Episode Review – I Know What You Did Next XMas and Beer Review: Bo Katan Red IPA (Brewery Fire)
• 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐧’𝐬 𝐋𝐚𝐰 on Draft and Cans at Intermission Beer Company
• Beer Review: I’m 40% Galaxy (Local Craft Beer)

Lord of the Rings:

• Book Review: An Atlas of Tolkien (David Day)
• Book Review: The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun (J.R.R. Tolkien)

Magic the Gathering:

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

Heroes of Barcadia:

• Rollacrit Partners with Voodoo Ranger IPA for New Kickstarter, Heroes of Barcadia: Heroes for Hire Tabletop Game

Zelda:

• Zelda and Craft Beer
• Beer Review: Motueka’s Mask (Black Flag Brewing Company)

Rick and Morty:

• Beer Review: Peace Among Worlds (Cushwa Brewing Company)

Space Balls:

• Beer Review: Moon of Vega (Equilibrium Brewery)

Game of Thrones:

• Beer Review: Game of Thrones: My Watch Has Ended (Omnegang Brewery)
• Book Review: The Wit and Wisdom of Tyrion Lannister (George R.R. Martin)

The Simpsons:

• Beer Review: I Voted for Kodos (Second Sin Brewing Company)
• Beer Review: I Voted for Kang (Second Sin Brewing Company)
• Beer Review: Ned Flanders Red (AleCraft Brewery)

Back to the Future:

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

Scrooged:

• Beer Review: Scrooge IPA (Iron Hill Brewing)

Groundhog Day:

• Beer Review: Prognosticator Pils (Logyard Brewing Company)
• Logyard Brewing’s Prognosticator Pils is the Official Beer of Groundhog Day (2022)

A Christmas Story:

• Beer Review: The Soft Electric Glow of Sex (RAR Brewing)
• Beer Review: You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out! (Eight and Sand Beer Co)

The Peanuts:

• Book Review: The Philosophy of Snoopy (Charles M. Schulz)
• Book Review: You Don’t Look 35, Charlie Brown! (Charles M. Schulz)

Pro Wrestling:

• Beer Review: Broken Skull – Stone Cold Steve Austin’s IPA (El Segundo Brewing Company)
• Beer Review: Macho Man (Couch Brewery)
• Beer Review: Royal Rumble (Funk Brewing)
• Stone Cold Steve Austin and the WWE Are Celebrating 3:16 Day
• Human Robot and The Full Pint Are Hosting RoboMania
• Brawl in the Beer Hall at Lakefront Brewery
• Hulk Hogan Announces Real American Beer
• Hulk Hogan’s Real American Beer Faces Lawsuit Over Alleged Negligence at Promotional Event

Soccer:

• Beer Review: Pulisic Pilsner (Jackass Brewing Company)
• Book Review: Pulisic – My Journey So Far (Christian Pulisic)

World Cup:

• Qatar Bans Alcohol Sales at World Cup in Last Second Decision
• Breweries Opening Early For the USA vs Netherlands World Cup Ga

Phillies:

• Drunk Phils Fans and Rotunda Brewing Company Collaborate Together on Jam the Batter sWheat Tart
• Mystery Phillies fan buys rounds of beer for people in Section 103

Philadelphia Eagles:

• The Philadelphia Eagles Running Back – D’Andre Swift – Visits Bald Bird Brewing Company

Matrix:

• Matrix Monday

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles:

• Beer Review: Terpenes in Time (BAREBottle Brewing Co)

Mario:

• Beer Review: Level Up (Idiom Brewing)

HP Lovecraft / Cthulhu:

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

Seinfeld:

• Beer Review: Jon Voight’s Car (RAR Brewing)
• Beer Review: Airing of Grievances (Black Flag Brewing Company)
• Beer Review: Treats of Strength (Icarus Brewing)

The Muppets:

• RAR Brewing – Out of Order – Muppet Series Can Release
• RAR Brewing Brings the Nostalgia with Muppets Out of Order Series

Other:

• Beer Review: Super Villain (Urban Village Brewing Company)
• Beer Review: Pixels (Seminar Brewing)
• Beer Review: Villeinage (Elder Pine Brewing and Blending)
• Beer Review: Intergalactic Deals (Levante Brewing)
• Beer Review: Galactic Space Circus (Creature Comforts Brewing Co)
• Beer Review: The Death of Civilization in Slow Motion I (Ghost 907) (Adroit Theory)

Thank You For Reading

If you like this article, please check out our other many articles, including news, beer reviews, travelogues, maps, and much much more. We greatly appreciate everyone visiting the site!

Cheers.

Thanks again for reading everyone. Take some time to check out the site, we greatly appreciate it. We have affiliates and sponsors with Pretzels.com and Beer Drop.com, which can save you money on their products if you are interested. Check out our articles on them. Make sure to check out our beer reviews, brewery reviews, Amy’s weekly column, book reviews, hike reviews, and so much more.

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.

We are working on a massive project here at The Beer Thrillers. We are creating a map of all of the breweries across the United States. State by state we are adding maps of all of the different states with every brewery in each state. (We will eventually get to the US Territories, as well as the Canadian Provinces, and possibly more countries; as well as doing some fun maps like a map of all the breweries we’ve been to, and other fun maps.) You can find the brewery maps here:

• MAPS OF BREWERIES

We are also working on a project of creating printable and downloadable PDFs and resources to be able to check and keep track of all of the breweries you’ve been to. So stay tuned for that project once we are finished with the Brewery Maps of the US States.

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. As well as our brand new Tumblr page. Please be sure to also follow, like, subscribe to the blog here itself to keep updated. We are also now on BlueSky as well, so make sure to check us out there also. We love to hear from you guys, so be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you think!

You can now find us on our Discord Server here: The Beer Thrillers (Discord Server). We’ve also joined LinkTree to keep track of all of our social media pages, as well as hot new articles we’ve written.

The Beer Thrillers on LinkTree can be found here: The Beer Thrillers LinkTree.

We have partnered with an affiliateship with Beer Drop.com. You can check out that partnership and receive great discounts, coupons, and more here: Beer Drop. Going here and logging in and ordering will help you receive your discounts and coupons as well as help support our page. Thank you for helping to support The Beer Thrillers and to help us maintain the site and blog and to keep it running.

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 #5 on FeedSpot’s “Top 100 Beer Blogs” and #9 on FeedSpot’s “Top 40 Pennsylvania Blogs”. (As of April 2025.) 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 – AFFILIATE CODE IS THEBEERTHRILLERS20 – will help you get wonderful pretzels and help us maintain and keep this blog running. Thank you!

If you would like to reach out to us for product reviews, beer reviews, press release writing, and other media – please contact us at thebeerthrillers@gmail.com. Thank you.

(Thank you for reading. The opinions, thoughts, and expressions of each article posted on The Beer Thrillers represents the author of the content and only themselves. It does not express the opinions, beliefs, or ideas held by The Beer Thrillers or any company in which the author themselves work for. Each piece of written content is written by the creator(s) listed in the authorial section on each article unless otherwise noted. Their opinions, comments, and words on screen do not represent any company in which they work for and / or are affiliated with or any non – profits that they contribute to. Thank you.)

“How Much for Greenland?”

“What?”

“No, seriously. Write that down.”

And honestly? I’m here for it.

How Much for Greenland by Behemoth Brewing

Beer Review

Pouring this one into the glass, you’re getting a beer that arrives with that classic West Coast IPA confidence. Slightly hazy golden-orange coloring with a white head hanging around like a stubborn houseguest that doesn’t understand you’ve already put your shoes on and turned the lights off.

The aroma immediately announces itself. Pine needles. Resin. Citrus peel. Grapefruit. Dankness.

And I don’t mean “a little bit of dankness.”

I mean the sort of aroma that walks through the front door and says:

“I’m a West Coast IPA. Remember us? We used to run this town.”

The first sip brings a pleasant bitterness right out front. Citrus and grapefruit hit first, followed by pine resin and that old-school hop character that many modern juice bombs seem afraid of. There is a crispness here that keeps everything from becoming heavy or syrupy. It doesn’t apologize for being bitter, and it doesn’t try to hide under six pounds of mango puree and vanilla additions.

This beer feels like it looked at modern trends and simply shrugged.

There’s a clean finish that leaves lingering pine and citrus on the tongue, creating that immediate desire for another sip. Not because it’s trying to overwhelm you with complexity, but because it knows exactly what it’s trying to be.

And sometimes that’s enough.

Actually, more than enough.

Because increasingly I think craft beer gets caught in a strange arms race:

Bigger adjuncts. Bigger pastry stouts. Bigger fruit additions. Bigger ABVs.

Soon someone is going to release an Imperial Triple Barrel Aged Marshmallow Cinnamon Roll Peanut Butter Banana Foster IPA brewed with moon rocks and existential dread.

Meanwhile a beer like How Much for Greenland just quietly raises its hand and says:

“Hey…remember hops?”

And that’s refreshing.

Final Thoughts:

Much like the question itself, How Much for Greenland? starts out sounding ridiculous before becoming oddly enjoyable the longer you sit with it.

Bold, piney, citrus-heavy, pleasantly bitter, and carrying enough old-school West Coast personality to remind you why the style became king in the first place.

Beer Score: 4.1 / 5 cap pops

Would I Drink Another?
Absolutely.

Though unlike Greenland itself, I’d probably be willing to buy this one.

-B. Kline

Tickets to the Harisburg Edgar Allan Poe Speakeasy sounded like a perfect date night with the blog master. We really had no idea what to expect. I was just excited that the Harrisburg area was getting a pop-up experience.

The email confirmation advised us to “dress in your most ravishing cocktail party attire.” I worked all week and we have a 2 year old toddler, you’ll be lucky if I wear pants! But I decided on a nice sweater and some makeup should pass.

On the way to the speakeasy we reminisced about visiting the Edgar Allan Poe Museum on the Viginia Trip (refer VA stuff here) Then we compared the drinks listed on the website so what readings we thought they would be paired with. We guessed The Tell – Tale Heart and The Raven; two of the most famous Poe writings. It was hard to guess 2 more, maybe The Fall of the House of Usher and The Cask of Amontillado.

(See our Instagram Post about the Museum Here: The Beer Thrillers at the Edgar Allan Poe Museum – Instagram Post)

(See our Travelogue Article here: Visiting Richmond Virginia, Seeing the Sights, the Breweries, and the Edgar Allan Poe Museum)

A Review of The Edger Allan Poe Speakeasy

We arrived at the Civic Club of Harrisburg off Front Street. I knew parking would be a pain and I circled the block twice hoping to find some street parking. There were cars parked in spots that definitely were going to get ticketed as we saw a meter maid making their rounds. I saw a few folks parking in the small lot and unfortunately had to walk in a bit of mud to get into the mansion.

The setting of the Civic Club building, built in the early 1900s, added to the atmosphere setting up the evening. We waited in the downstairs area with a group of people. We then had our tickets scanned one at a time and ushered up a flight of stairs. One snaffoo, we had bought the 10pm showing tickets and not the 8pm that we showed up for. I was so embarrassed, mom brain was at it’s worst. The 2 cast members scanning tickets were so gracious and insisted they could still accommodate us.

As soon as your ticket was scanned you were handed your first drink on your way up the stairs. The Pale Blue Eye – A classic twist on a Traditional Collins. According to the menu on site is a “citrus and blueberry infused vodka, fresh squeezed lemon juice, and simple syrup. Topped with a pale blueberry eye.

Entering the Grand Ballroom on the second floor we are greeted by a stage and rows of chairs. I quickly felt like I was in entering a high school assembly and quickly took my seat as people kept entering behind us. I checked before we got here and all the tickets were sold out, so this showing had +2 as well because of our timing goof.

D’oh!

The Drinks

The Edger Allan Poe Speakeasy menu at the venue. (Photo courtesy of Jesse.)

The website and the drink menu at the location had 2 different descriptions for the drinks. That was fine since they were all great, but it was just a little confusing. Thankfully a friend took a pic of the menu at the location (see photo to the left of Jesse’s picture of the menu at the venue). The lemon drink with an “eye” in it (it was really an unripe blueberry floating around) really tasted like minute maid lemonade mix to me. When we entered the room it was light enough to see but the lights were a shade of purple.

After everyone was seated the lights turned red and the MC for the evening who did the introductions and the dialog between readings was young, vibrant and playful. She made some funny jokes and some around us were pre – gaming before this event. Which added to the lightheartedness of the evening. Overall providing a greater environment and theme to the proceedings.

There were lots of different interpretations on the attire recommendations. Some folks were playing the part of dressing for the occasion in some “old timey” looking outfits. One gentleman, who was sitting in front us wearing a bowler hat apologized immediately and assured us he wouldn’t be wearing it during the show. As the show started, he put on a beret hat.

(L: Pale Blue Eye, C: The stage built for the Edgar Allan Poe Speakeasy actors, and R: the host and MC of the show)

After our playful MC introduced herself and set the “stage” for the evening the first actor came out onto the stage. The lights were red, and it created an ambiance about the room. The first reading was an abridged version of the Tell-tale heart. The actor has a sinister laugh about him and seemed to captivate the audience. I couldn’t help myself. I mean the tone of the room was still lighthearted, here to have fun type of crowd. I kept visualizing in my mind the Tell-tale heart episode of The Simpsons

We had our drinks finished before the end of the reading. It was then I was hoping for cocktail like tables in the room. I didn’t feel like sitting there in a seat, school assembly style, holding my drink. The first reading was over, and the actors went up and down the rows of seating with busboys trays and collected the cups. I was at the end of my row, so I was responsible for grabbing and passing everyone’s cups. This first round was easy.

(The Tall Tale Heart)

Shortly after another set of actors were going down the rows with large trays filled with the next drink. The name that was given was different than I remembered from the website. It wasn’t until after I saw my friend Jess post the drink menu did, I realize they were different.

(See Our Instagram post – The Beer Thrillers at the Edgar Allan Poe Speakeasy – Instagram Post)

The following is the website and event’s pages menu items and showing of the drinks for the event.  You can find the website here: Edgar Allan Poe Speakeasy Experience.

(Descriptions and pictures courtesy of the Edgar Allan Poe Speakeasy Experience website.)

Jessica Blouch’s photos in a gallery:

The Show Goes On

They were handing out “The Cat’s Meow” – A twisted version of Poe’s favorite brandy milk punch. The menu describes it as “Aged bourbon meets with fruity brandy, accompanied by vanilla cinnamon milk, sweet cream and maple syrup.” This one was delicious.

Poe’s Twisted Milk Brandy Punch

We should have figured this one might be a reading. There were two black cats at the Poe Museum when we visited (in Richmond, Virginia – see our Instagram Post here) as well as many references in the museum about The Black cat.

(See our Instagram post: The Edgar Allan Poe Museum in Richmond, VA)
(See our Travelogue: Visiting Richmond Virginia, Seeing the Sights, the Breweries, and the Edgar Allan Poe Museum)

The friendly MC came out to introduce the next reading but without giving any hints away, I think we already knew it would be the black cat because of the drink’s name. The lights in the room changed to blue and a different actor came out and gave an abridged version. He also gave a great reading. He moved up and down the aisles, feeling a bit more interactive with the crowd.

We were finishing our drink, we both enjoyed it very much, as the reading was ending. Before I knew it I had all the empty cups and I was ready for the busboy tray to collect our used cups.

The next drink was the Nevermore -Quoth the Raven, Drink-some-more! It is described as Fresh lime juice, peach and orange blossom infused vodka, simple syrup, and crushed charcoal. Topped with a dehydrated lime. We knew this reading would happen. Our top 2 guesses were Tell-tale heart and The Raven.

Quoth the Raven Nevermore

The actress for this abridged version of the Raven was portrayed by our cocktail waitress. By this 3rd reading you are feeling like you are hanging out with a bunch of friends; you have just passed drinks back and collected empty cups and you are being entertained. Every single person took on multiple roles in the staffing of the Edgar Allan Poe speakeasy pop up were friendly, joyful and entertaining.

This reading was done before we were done with our drinks, and the busboy trays were coming down the aisle. Like I said about not wanting to be stuck holding my cup, I quickly downed what I had left of my drink. Not everyone in my row was as daring to swish it down and then you are stuck with cups under seats.

The next drink was Cocktail of Red Death – Our Spirited Nightcap is to Die For. It is described as Fresh squeezed seasonal fruits, raspberry infused vodka, cranberry juice, 100 proof vodka and fresh lime juice. This was tasty but I was unsure about the dried flower looking thing floating in it.

The Cocktail of Red Death

This masque of the red death happens to be one of our guesses. A different actor comes out onto the stage wearing a mask and you guessed it, the lights turned red. This actor did another excellent portrayal while wearing a large mask. The MC wrapped us up for the evening, encouraged tipping and escorted us out and down the stairs. Thank goodness you dropped off your empty cup on your way out the door and I didn’t have any other responsibilities for the evening.

The Red Mask

We ran into some friends outside, and we quickly departed as attendees of the last show of the evening were starting to pile in.

At first, I thought this would be a once and done type of experience but now that we are about a month out, I’d attend another Edgar Allan Poe Speakeasy Pop Up.

• Drink More Beer (….or cocktails at a Pop Up Speakeasy)
  • Amy

(Editor’s Notes: This article is long overdue to come out. Every time we tried to get it posted, things went awry. First, us getting terribly sick at the beginning of February, then life being busy with me getting a new job, Scarlet starting daycare, and then our trip to the Kennett Brewfest. But here it is, and yes, it is a large article, coming in at nearly 3000 words all told — I think with my editor’s note it will hit over 3000. We debated about splitting it up into two articles, but decided it was best just to leave it as is. We can always change it in the future if people think that would be best. I will add my two cents that we both really enjoyed the show. The readings were interesting, they were new and ‘updated’ versions of the stories, shortened and changed to fit more of our time than anything else. The drinks were good, and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the Milk Brandy Punch, especially because I don’t like milk. It was full and sold out for every showing, and we ran into several people we knew, like Gabe and his wife, Amy’s friend Jesse and their friends, and several others. Everyone seemed to have a good time coming out of the show and afterwards, as well as during it. They are touring and doing lots of shows. It was funny how it popped up on our Facebook feeds right as the time we suggested it to each other, so it made for a great date night and escape from work and stress. The night was dreary and rainy and fit the mood and vibe perfectly, and along the riverfront it added all to the atmosphere. If you are able to see them out, I would highly recommend it.)

Amy’s Column Series

• Brewfests with Anxiety (Amy’s original weekly column start)
• I’ve Missed Drinking (A Look at Non Alcoholic Beers)
• Beer and Pretzel Review: Legends and Lore (St. Boniface Brewing Company) and Garlic Parm Pretzels (Pretzels.com)
• Peanut Butter Eggs, Easter, Beer, and YAH Brew’s Shimmy Shake (Beer Review)
• Cox Brewing Company: Back to Their Roots
• Amy’s Day Off
• It Was All A Dream (A Visit to YAH Brewing)
• Just Another Weekend (A Hike at Saint Pete’s Trail and Hares Hill Brewing)
• I’m Pretty Darn Lucky (Happy Mother’s Day)
• Ready to Kick of the Summer
• Beer Review: Beer Devil IPA (Niagara Brewing Company)
• World MS Day
• Have you ever picked a beer based on the can art?
• Happy Father’s Day
• What is Your Summer Time Go To Beer?
• Holiday Weekend and Bomber Bottles
• Baby’s First Ffej
• We Can’t Always Be a Glutton Right? – Perfect Portions and Allusion Brewing Company
• Beer Review: Pocono Punch (Barley Creek Brewing Company)
• Getting Sworn In: A Sneak Preview of Sworn Brewing
• Beer Review: Tropical Stout (Troegs Independent Brewing and Windy Bridges Brewing LLC)
• RAR Brewing Brings the Nostalgia with Muppets Out of Order Series
• Happy Birthday to Ben
• Brewery Review: Cold Spring Inn and Brewery
• Hummelstown Doesn’t Deserve Maritza
• Enchilada Stuffed Peppers and Sunshine Pilsner
• Master of Pumpkins, Cupcakes, Cookies, and Bacon Cheeseburgers
• A Beer Review by Grandma SueAnn (Beer Review: Braaaiins! by Spring House Brewing Company)
• Grandma SueAnn and More Beer: Beer Reviews of: Zoktoberfest (KCBC – Kings County Brewers Collective) and Devious Imperial Pumpkin (Fegley Brew Works)
• Oh Ever Grain: 7 Years, 7 Beers
• Pumpkin Beer Review with Grandma SueAnn – Abomination Brewing: Forbidden Pumpkin, Greater Good Brewing: Giant Pumpkin, and Pizza Boy Brewing: Sunny Side Up Double Coffee Pumpkin
• Grandma SueAnn Helps Review More Pumpkin Beers: 2 out of 3 Ain’t So Bad
• Halloween Candy and Beer Pairings
• Brewery Review: Otto’s Pub and Brewery
• Munching on some Thanksgiving leftovers?
• The Holidays Always Bring On Waves of Nostalgia For Me
• YAH Brew and Desserts Pairing
• Christmas Cookies and Beer Styles Pairing (Pairing Christmas Cookies with Beer)
• New Years Day
• Winter Beers
• Two Years Later: Brewfests with Anxiety
• It’s Been a Long Year Already, Wait Its Only April?
• Did you miss me as much as I missed you? (A Look at Lindgren Craft Brewery)
• These Summer Beers Are Slapping… Again
• Benefit for CJ (at YAH Brew Hershey)
• There is Something About Those Back Patio Beers
• Grilling and Beer’ing
• Sworn Brewing a Year Later – A Sit Down with Jesse and Amanda
• Happy Birthday to Amy
• A YAH Brew and a Schmidt’s Sausage (with Kraut) at the Fuzzy Few Festival
• It’s Pumpkin Time! (Grandma SueAnn and Amy Review Zombies and Double Zombies are People Too and Braaaiins!)
• Sweet ‘n’ Savory
• Fall Beers
• This Isn’t a Short Story (Edgar Allan Poe Speakeasy Review)
• You can find all of Amy’s articles here: Amy’s Archive of Articles.

Thank You For Reading

If you like this article, please check out our other many articles, including news, beer reviews, travelogues, maps, and much much more. We greatly appreciate everyone visiting the site!

Cheers.

Thanks again for reading everyone. Take some time to check out the site, we greatly appreciate it. We have affiliates and sponsors with Pretzels.com and Beer Drop.com, which can save you money on their products if you are interested. Check out our articles on them. Make sure to check out our beer reviews, brewery reviews, Amy’s weekly column, book reviews, hike reviews, and so much more.

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.

We are working on a massive project here at The Beer Thrillers. We are creating a map of all of the breweries across the United States. State by state we are adding maps of all of the different states with every brewery in each state. (We will eventually get to the US Territories, as well as the Canadian Provinces, and possibly more countries; as well as doing some fun maps like a map of all the breweries we’ve been to, and other fun maps.) You can find the brewery maps here:

• MAPS OF BREWERIES

We are also working on a project of creating printable and downloadable PDFs and resources to be able to check and keep track of all of the breweries you’ve been to. So stay tuned for that project once we are finished with the Brewery Maps of the US States.

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. As well as our brand new Tumblr page. Please be sure to also follow, like, subscribe to the blog here itself to keep updated. We are also now on BlueSky as well, so make sure to check us out there also. We love to hear from you guys, so be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you think!

You can now find us on our Discord Server here: The Beer Thrillers (Discord Server). We’ve also joined LinkTree to keep track of all of our social media pages, as well as hot new articles we’ve written.

The Beer Thrillers on LinkTree can be found here: The Beer Thrillers LinkTree.

We have partnered with an affiliateship with Beer Drop.com. You can check out that partnership and receive great discounts, coupons, and more here: Beer Drop. Going here and logging in and ordering will help you receive your discounts and coupons as well as help support our page. Thank you for helping to support The Beer Thrillers and to help us maintain the site and blog and to keep it running.

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 #5 on FeedSpot’s “Top 100 Beer Blogs” and #9 on FeedSpot’s “Top 40 Pennsylvania Blogs”. (As of January 2025.) 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 – AFFILIATE CODE IS THEBEERTHRILLERS20 – will help you get wonderful pretzels and help us maintain and keep this blog running. Thank you!

If you would like to reach out to us for product reviews, beer reviews, press release writing, and other media – please contact us at thebeerthrillers@gmail.com. Thank you.

(Thank you for reading. The opinions, thoughts, and expressions of each article posted on The Beer Thrillers represents the author of the content and only themselves. It does not express the opinions, beliefs, or ideas held by The Beer Thrillers or any company in which the author themselves work for. Each piece of written content is written by the creator(s) listed in the authorial section on each article unless otherwise noted. Their opinions, comments, and words on screen do not represent any company in which they work for and / or are affiliated with or any non – profits that they contribute to. Thank you.)

It is mid-winter in Pennsylvania, with frost clinging to nearly every rooftop and a biting wind that tempts you to retreat indoors. You linger at the bar, scanning the taps for something that whispers hope. And then you see it: a hazy pour from Dancing Gnome, pouring as if the sun tried to break through the clouds and got bottled. That beer is Lustra — do not let the modest ABV fool you; there is more substance here than meets the glass.

Lustra – a Pale Ale / Hazy / American Pale Ale, 5.8 % ABV by Dancing Gnome Brewing Company

I cracked open a can of Lustra on a cold February evening — the kind of night that begs for something comforting yet bright, the kind of beer that warms your chest without drowning you in heaviness.

It pours that soft, golden haze Dancing Gnome is known for — glowing like late-afternoon sunlight caught in mist. The head is a creamy white cap, modest but sturdy, clinging to the sides of the glass as it settles. It’s the kind of pour that makes you pause a moment before even taking a sip — quiet, inviting, alive.

Aroma: Citra and Amarillo hops step forward with notes of grapefruit zest, tangerine, and a whisper of pineapple. Beneath that, there’s a subtle malt sweetness — a trace of honeyed wheat and pale grain — just enough to soften the hop edge. It’s fragrant without being loud, balanced like a good conversation.

Taste: The first sip hits with gentle sweetness — a burst of tropical fruit, soft mango and melon, that quickly folds into a clean, citrus-forward bitterness. There’s a touch of resin, a memory of pine, but it’s smoothed by the malt backbone. The mouthfeel is plush and light, easy to drink yet textured enough to feel deliberate. This is a beer built on restraint — all intention, no excess.

Finish: Clean and crisp, with a lingering grapefruit pith bitterness that tempts you back for another sip. Nothing cloying, nothing overstated. Just a refreshing echo that hangs on the palate long enough to remind you why Dancing Gnome built their reputation on beers like this.

Overall Thoughts:
Lustra is a quiet standout — an understated pale ale that rewards those who slow down and listen to what it’s saying. It doesn’t try to be the biggest, hoppiest, or flashiest beer in the room. Instead, it’s the one you finish and immediately wish you had another of. There’s poetry in its simplicity — a lesson in how precision and balance can be more memorable than bravado.

Pairing Suggestion: Try it with grilled shrimp tacos, roasted carrot soup, or sharp cheddar on toasted bread. It’s a beer that elevates light, clean flavors — the kind that let it breathe.

Rating: 4.25 / 5 on Untappd — steady, confident, beautifully made. A beer that embodies why “drink local” still means something in Pennsylvania.

Thank You For Reading

If you like this article, please check out our other many articles, including news, beer reviews, travelogues, maps, and much much more. We greatly appreciate everyone visiting the site!

Cheers.

Thanks again for reading everyone. Take some time to check out the site, we greatly appreciate it. We have affiliates and sponsors with Pretzels.com and Beer Drop.com, which can save you money on their products if you are interested. Check out our articles on them. Make sure to check out our beer reviews, brewery reviews, Amy’s weekly column, book reviews, hike reviews, and so much more.

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.

We are working on a massive project here at The Beer Thrillers. We are creating a map of all of the breweries across the United States. State by state we are adding maps of all of the different states with every brewery in each state. (We will eventually get to the US Territories, as well as the Canadian Provinces, and possibly more countries; as well as doing some fun maps like a map of all the breweries we’ve been to, and other fun maps.) You can find the brewery maps here:

• MAPS OF BREWERIES

We are also working on a project of creating printable and downloadable PDFs and resources to be able to check and keep track of all of the breweries you’ve been to. So stay tuned for that project once we are finished with the Brewery Maps of the US States.

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. As well as our brand new Tumblr page. Please be sure to also follow, like, subscribe to the blog here itself to keep updated. We are also now on BlueSky as well, so make sure to check us out there also. We love to hear from you guys, so be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you think!

You can now find us on our Discord Server here: The Beer Thrillers (Discord Server).

We also now have a SLACK channel – which acts as a hybrid chat room, message board, Reddit style; workspace and posting area for us. You can hang out with us there and chat about all kinds of things – not just beer, but “off topic” things like movies, TV, books, podcasts, hiking, sports, and more! Join us at: The Beer Thrillers on SLACK.

We’ve also joined LinkTree to keep track of all of our social media pages, as well as hot new articles we’ve written. The Beer Thrillers on LinkTree can be found here: The Beer Thrillers LinkTree.

We have partnered with an affiliateship with Beer Drop.com. You can check out that partnership and receive great discounts, coupons, and more here: Beer Drop. Going here and logging in and ordering will help you receive your discounts and coupons as well as help support our page. Thank you for helping to support The Beer Thrillers and to help us maintain the site and blog and to keep it running.

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 #5 on FeedSpot’s “Top 100 Beer Blogs” and #9 on FeedSpot’s “Top 40 Pennsylvania Blogs”. (As of May 2025.) 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 – AFFILIATE CODE IS THEBEERTHRILLERS20 – will help you get wonderful pretzels and help us maintain and keep this blog running. Thank you!

If you would like to reach out to us for product reviews, beer reviews, press release writing, and other media – please contact us at thebeerthrillers@gmail.com. Thank you.

(Thank you for reading. The opinions, thoughts, and expressions of each article posted on The Beer Thrillers represents the author of the content and only themselves. It does not express the opinions, beliefs, or ideas held by The Beer Thrillers or any company in which the author themselves work for. Each piece of written content is written by the creator(s) listed in the authorial section on each article unless otherwise noted. Their opinions, comments, and words on screen do not represent any company in which they work for and / or are affiliated with or any non – profits that they contribute to. Thank you.)

Javahead Stout by Troegs Independent Brewing on Halloween night

All the flavors of fall – Let’s do this!

Those cold nights and warm days are here. Leaves are changing colors, and I couldn’t be happier. It’s time to dig into the flavors of the fall and taste all the deliciousness. I love making big pots of stews in the fall. A fan favorite is Chili! You normally can find some chili cook off events. Here is the beer that would pair well the best. And we are first going to talk about some spicy chili. The kind that burns a bit. It is going to pair well with stouts, porters, and amber ales. It’s the perfect time of year for this.

Its Stout Season Now

I’m a sucker for an amber ale but I just had the most amazing stout.  There have been 2 times recently we have gotten to taste the Mari by Ever Grain Brewing Company.  It comes in at a whopping 14.6% ABV according to Untapped.  It has a 4.26 overall rating and it is described as “a rich and decadent stout aged in a variety of bourbon barrels for over 16 months.  We then conditioned it with behemoth amounts of coconut, cocoa nibs, vanilla and for a little added joy, toasted almonds.”  The balance of flavors would be crazy but they would complement each other beautifully.

(Check out Amy’s article about Winter Beers.)

Our flight of beers at Bald Birds Brewing

Pulled Pork and Beer at Bald Birds Brewing

Then if you prefer your chili on the milder side, you want to go with a more mild beer; something like a cream ale, amber lager, or honey beer. We most recently had the “Kenya Dig it” from Bald Birds Brewing.  (Kenya Dig it was a coffee cream ale we got a full pint of, along with Ben’s flight. On Ben’s flight we had two delicious stouts – Birds Reserve and Grand Bald Eagle.) It paired so nicely with the delicious pulled pork over fries when we visited last month.

But this will similarly go with another meaty dish.  If the focus is on the beef instead of the spice this will be a dream combo!  Kenya Dig It is a coffee cream ale, always an interesting combination. The Untappd description for it is: “Our second collaboration with Valerio Coffee Roasters, we chose a smooth, refreshing Cream Ale as a launchpad for their light-roast Kenya AA coffee. Expect the familiar crushable Cream Ale crispness, with a mellow aroma and extra kick from the coffee.” The coffee cream ale has a 3.78 Untappd rating and is 5% ABV.

There is also the Dig It cream ale by Bald Birds Brewing as well.

Dig it is described as Light, mellow, and smooth, our cream ale is superbly refreshing.  Brewed with American 2 row Barley, American ale yeast, and hops from the Pacific Northwest, Dig it! Is the perfect anytime beverage. According to Untapped it is a 4.5% ABV and has a low overall rating of 3.13.

These fall days remind me of my grandma’s homemade chicken corn soup.  I mean the kind with the homemade rivals.  I’ve tried to duplicate it, she did it perfectly.  Also, lots of places, especially churches, have the good homemade chicken corn soup.  Make sure to take some home to pair it with an Amber ale or an IPA.

So like I said, I am a sucker for an amber ale.  I can’t resist the 409 by Moo Duck Brewery.  This brew is a nice smooth amber that compliments the flavors of a chicken corn soup perfectly.  It might feel a bit heavy if you are enjoying a chicken corn soup with those homemade rivals.  It’s the homemade rivals I can’t duplicate from my grandma’s recipe.  The 409 is described on Untapped as “A tribute to the famous PSU football coach and his 409 victories.  Featuring victory malt, the bready malt character is blended nicely with just the right amount of hops.”  409 is at a manageable 5.5% ABV.

Now onto my favorite; pumpkin roll.  I’ve loved pumpkin roll since a friend’s mom used to bake pumpkin logs every Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I really miss those pumpkin rolls.  I missed them so much I found an older woman to bakes them out of her home.  She also wins me over with chocolate PB rolls, red velvet rolls and fruited ones too.  But I love sticking to a classic pumpkin roll.  We picked up a Fiddlehead Imperial IPA when we were traveling through Ithaca NY at a gas station.  This reminded us of the tall boys we see back home from Troegs and Voodoo Ranger.

The sweetness of the pumpkin roll will balance well with the hoppiness of the Fiddlehead.  It is a sneaky 9% ABV but wonderful to relax with any sweet desert at the end of your day.

There are so many more fall flavors to talk about, but I’ll end here, what are you favorites?

The first Mad Elf of the season with Grandma SueAnn

• Drink More Beer
  • Amy

Amy’s Column Series

• Brewfests with Anxiety (Amy’s original weekly column start)
• I’ve Missed Drinking (A Look at Non Alcoholic Beers)
• Beer and Pretzel Review: Legends and Lore (St. Boniface Brewing Company) and Garlic Parm Pretzels (Pretzels.com)
• Peanut Butter Eggs, Easter, Beer, and YAH Brew’s Shimmy Shake (Beer Review)
• Cox Brewing Company: Back to Their Roots
• Amy’s Day Off
• It Was All A Dream (A Visit to YAH Brewing)
• Just Another Weekend (A Hike at Saint Pete’s Trail and Hares Hill Brewing)
• I’m Pretty Darn Lucky (Happy Mother’s Day)
• Ready to Kick of the Summer
• Beer Review: Beer Devil IPA (Niagara Brewing Company)
• World MS Day
• Have you ever picked a beer based on the can art?
• Happy Father’s Day
• What is Your Summer Time Go To Beer?
• Holiday Weekend and Bomber Bottles
• Baby’s First Ffej
• We Can’t Always Be a Glutton Right? – Perfect Portions and Allusion Brewing Company
• Beer Review: Pocono Punch (Barley Creek Brewing Company)
• Getting Sworn In: A Sneak Preview of Sworn Brewing
• Beer Review: Tropical Stout (Troegs Independent Brewing and Windy Bridges Brewing LLC)
• RAR Brewing Brings the Nostalgia with Muppets Out of Order Series
• Happy Birthday to Ben
• Brewery Review: Cold Spring Inn and Brewery
• Hummelstown Doesn’t Deserve Maritza
• Enchilada Stuffed Peppers and Sunshine Pilsner
• Master of Pumpkins, Cupcakes, Cookies, and Bacon Cheeseburgers
• A Beer Review by Grandma SueAnn (Beer Review: Braaaiins! by Spring House Brewing Company)
• Grandma SueAnn and More Beer: Beer Reviews of: Zoktoberfest (KCBC – Kings County Brewers Collective) and Devious Imperial Pumpkin (Fegley Brew Works)
• Oh Ever Grain: 7 Years, 7 Beers
• Pumpkin Beer Review with Grandma SueAnn – Abomination Brewing: Forbidden Pumpkin, Greater Good Brewing: Giant Pumpkin, and Pizza Boy Brewing: Sunny Side Up Double Coffee Pumpkin
• Grandma SueAnn Helps Review More Pumpkin Beers: 2 out of 3 Ain’t So Bad
• Halloween Candy and Beer Pairings
• Brewery Review: Otto’s Pub and Brewery
• Munching on some Thanksgiving leftovers?
• The Holidays Always Bring On Waves of Nostalgia For Me
• YAH Brew and Desserts Pairing
• Christmas Cookies and Beer Styles Pairing (Pairing Christmas Cookies with Beer)
• New Years Day
• Winter Beers
• Two Years Later: Brewfests with Anxiety
• It’s Been a Long Year Already, Wait Its Only April?
• Did you miss me as much as I missed you? (A Look at Lindgren Craft Brewery)
• These Summer Beers Are Slapping… Again
• Benefit for CJ (at YAH Brew Hershey)
• There is Something About Those Back Patio Beers
• Grilling and Beer’ing
• Sworn Brewing a Year Later – A Sit Down with Jesse and Amanda
• Happy Birthday to Amy
• A YAH Brew and a Schmidt’s Sausage (with Kraut) at the Fuzzy Few Festival
• It’s Pumpkin Time! (Grandma SueAnn and Amy Review Zombies and Double Zombies are People Too and Braaaiins!)
• Sweet ‘n’ Savory
• Fall Beers
• You can find all of Amy’s articles here: Amy’s Archive of Articles.

Thank You For Reading

If you like this article, please check out our other many articles, including news, beer reviews, travelogues, maps, and much much more. We greatly appreciate everyone visiting the site!

Cheers.

Thanks again for reading everyone. Take some time to check out the site, we greatly appreciate it. We have affiliates and sponsors with Pretzels.com and Beer Drop.com, which can save you money on their products if you are interested. Check out our articles on them. Make sure to check out our beer reviews, brewery reviews, Amy’s weekly column, book reviews, hike reviews, and so much more.

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.

We are working on a massive project here at The Beer Thrillers. We are creating a map of all of the breweries across the United States. State by state we are adding maps of all of the different states with every brewery in each state. (We will eventually get to the US Territories, as well as the Canadian Provinces, and possibly more countries; as well as doing some fun maps like a map of all the breweries we’ve been to, and other fun maps.) You can find the brewery maps here:

• MAPS OF BREWERIES

We are also working on a project of creating printable and downloadable PDFs and resources to be able to check and keep track of all of the breweries you’ve been to. So stay tuned for that project once we are finished with the Brewery Maps of the US States.

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. As well as our brand new Tumblr page. Please be sure to also follow, like, subscribe to the blog here itself to keep updated. We are also now on BlueSky as well, so make sure to check us out there also. We love to hear from you guys, so be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you think!

You can now find us on our Discord Server here: The Beer Thrillers (Discord Server). We’ve also joined LinkTree to keep track of all of our social media pages, as well as hot new articles we’ve written.

The Beer Thrillers on LinkTree can be found here: The Beer Thrillers LinkTree.

We have partnered with an affiliateship with Beer Drop.com. You can check out that partnership and receive great discounts, coupons, and more here: Beer Drop. Going here and logging in and ordering will help you receive your discounts and coupons as well as help support our page. Thank you for helping to support The Beer Thrillers and to help us maintain the site and blog and to keep it running.

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 #5 on FeedSpot’s “Top 100 Beer Blogs” and #9 on FeedSpot’s “Top 40 Pennsylvania Blogs”. (As of August 2024.) 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!

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If you would like to reach out to us for product reviews, beer reviews, press release writing, and other media – please contact us at thebeerthrillers@gmail.com. Thank you.

(Thank you for reading. The opinions, thoughts, and expressions of each article posted on The Beer Thrillers represents the author of the content and only themselves. It does not express the opinions, beliefs, or ideas held by The Beer Thrillers or any company in which the author themselves work for. Each piece of written content is written by the creator(s) listed in the authorial section on each article unless otherwise noted. Their opinions, comments, and words on screen do not represent any company in which they work for and / or are affiliated with or any non – profits that they contribute to. Thank you.)