So day two of found me waking up just outside of Washington PA and beginning my day with a trip to Oglebay park to hike the Driehorst Trail.

The route for Black Friday Trip Day 2, starting at Oglebay Park

As with the previous day’s route and itinerary – Black Friday Weekend Trip – be sure to take a look at our Instagram account, where it shows the beers and each of the places I visited.  (And while you’re there, be sure to follow us. We’d really appreciate it.)

Oglebay Park – Driehorst Trail

My first stop for the day took me just outside of Wheeling, West Virginia for a beautiful little hiking trail as part of the Oglebay Park. There I hiked the Driehorst Trail, as well as walked around the Falls Vista trail, the junction, and around the education center. Absolutely beautiful area and it looked like there was still so much more to see and do there especially for families with children.

Brewkeepers

My first brewery stop of the day was inside Wheeling, WV itself. In a quaint little area filled with antique markets and all kinds of things was a spot called Brewkeepers. People were watching the game on the TV at the bar and had it filled up, so I grabbed a Rauchbier – Scut Farkas – and sat in the back corner and read.

Wheeling Island Casino and Racetrack

On my way to get into Ohio, I crossed off Wheeling Island. Which is pretty much like what City Island is to Harrisburg. And with a casino there, I had to stop. As a former table games dealers any time I see a new casino, I always have to poke my nose in there and just take a look around. While inside I enjoyed an IPA by Big Timer. (And yes, thats the beer name – IPA.)

Belmont Brewerks

My first brewery into Ohio for the year and its near the very end of the year. In Martins Ferry, Ohio, is Belmont Brewerks, and from the sounds of the nearby people its more known for its food than its beer, but both were quite good. I had the Italian Sausage Sandwich for food, and for beer I had their Belmont Stout.

Hightower Brewing Company

Up a winding road in Rayland, OH, after crossing train tracks and death defying turns, you’ll reach Hightower Brewing Company, which had possibly the happiest and nicest brewer / bartender I’ve seen all trip. There I had The Great Punkin Charlie Brown Ale and Stumpdweller English Brown Ale.

Squids Brewery LLC

After this I reached Toronto, OH. Already on my list, but also recommended by the brewer at Hightower Brewing Company, Squids Brewery LLC was a rocking jamming frat party place and atmosphere at 5 PM on a Saturday night at the end of November. I had the Knotty But Nice stout and made my way back into Pennsylvania.

Coal Tipple Brewing

Back into Pennsylvania, I reached Burgettestown. At the Kramer Farms is a little brewery called Coal Tipple Brewery. Inside what looks like it could pass as an Amish road-side greenhouse and novelty shop (ok… not Amish, but maybe Mennonite), was a fabulously delicious Peanut Butter Porter.

Helicon Brewing

Planning on making the brand new Grist House Command Station my last spot I made my way there, but just before reaching there I found Helicon Brewing. Who am I to pass up the chance at trying another brewery? Inside I found myself chatting up sports with a Pittsburgh Steelers fan and another local who seemed to foster the complete Philadelphian style attitude for his Steelers. They also had a delicious Dunkel Lager.

Grist House Brewery – Command Station

Just recently opened (Grist House Brewery Command Station Opening), the Grist House Brewery’s Command Station used to be a missile command site. And boom (see what I did there?) they had me instantly with a Black IPA – Hops of Darkness. And damn was it explosively good. (Ok…. I’ll stop there.) I also got a thing of fries and made my way to my hotel for the night.

Tomorrow will be my last day on the trip and the last day in the area before heading back home. No plans and not quite sure where I’ll end up tomorrow. Planning on possibly Lincoln Avenue Brewery, and maybe the new(ish) Allusion Brewing Taproom. Especially since they won our 2025 Battle of the Breweries championship. But who knows, weather also doesn’t look the greatest, and it is a four some hour drive home.

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. Search for us on all of your favorite social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Threads, BlueSky, etc.) – search “THE BEER THRILLERS”.Thanksg

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.)

Craft beer and railroads share an unlikely bond: both were born from industrial grit, designed to bring people together, and perfected by those obsessed with precision. For beer lovers in the Harrisburg–Hershey region, that connection is no longer just metaphorical. Within a few hours of Central Pennsylvania, several historic railroads and scenic train lines now offer beer-focused excursions or sit within easy reach of excellent breweries.

If you’ve ever wanted to swap a brewery crawl for a train whistle and a pint, here’s your guide.

Rails and Ales – A Great Way to Travel and See New Breweries

New Hope Railroad’s “Brew Hope Express” (New Hope, PA)

About two hours from Hershey, the New Hope Railroad offers one of the most beer-centric rail experiences in Pennsylvania: the Brew Hope Express. This vintage excursion pairs a nostalgic train ride through Bucks County with onboard beer tastings and light charcuterie.

Expect scenic countryside views, smooth pours of rotating craft beers, and a relaxed, almost European beer-train atmosphere. It’s ideal for a low-stress day trip — short, focused, and built specifically for craft beer fans.

Why it works from Central PA:
It’s a straightforward drive and one of the most polished “beer train” experiences in the state.

Stourbridge Line + Runaway Train Brewery (Honesdale, PA)

If you want something more immersive, head northeast to Honesdale, where the Stourbridge Line teams up with Runaway Train Brewery for a full rail-and-brewery adventure.

This experience typically includes:

• A scenic vintage train ride along the Lackawaxen River

• Beer samples served onboard

• A guided brewery tour once you return to town

• A sit-down meal at the brewery

This feels less like a novelty and more like a craft beer event built around history, scenery, and production. It’s also one of the most complete “rail + beer” combinations within reach of Hershey.

East Broad Top Railroad’s “Broad Top Brews” (Central PA)

The most “local pride” option for Central PA drinkers is the East Broad Top Railroad near Rockhill Furnace. This narrow-gauge historic railroad runs a special Broad Top Brews train that turns a heritage steam-era ride into a rolling beer festival.

You’ll sample beers from regional breweries, ride through wooded ridges and farmland, and return to a festival-style environment with live music and food vendors.

For residents of Harrisburg and Hershey, this feels like a home-region event rather than a long-distance destination.

How to Build Your Own “Rail & Ale” Weekend from Central PA

Even without official beer trains, you can easily create your own brewery-and-rail adventure using commuter or regional rail lines.

From the Harrisburg–Hershey area, a good strategy is:

Drive to a station → Ride a scenic or regional train → Walk or rideshare to a brewery → Repeat.

Philadelphia and its suburbs are especially rich with breweries within short distances of stations. You can turn a simple regional rail trip into a personalized brewery crawl without worrying about city parking or long drives between stops.

Why This Works So Well for Central PA Beer Fans

The Harrisburg–Hershey area sits in an underrated sweet spot:

You’re close to:

• Historic narrow-gauge railroads

• Scenic mountain lines

• Multiple day-trip brewery towns

• And a surprising number of rail-based beer events

You don’t need to fly. You don’t need a big budget. You just need a free Saturday, an appreciation for good malt, and a willingness to let someone else drive the train.

Final Pour: Are Beer Trains Worth It?

If your idea of a perfect beer experience includes:

• Real pints instead of sample-fest chaos

• A slow pace

• Scenic views

• And actual conversation without brewery-crawl exhaustion…

Then brewery trains might be one of the most underrated beer experiences in the Mid-Atlantic.

For Harrisburg and Hershey drinkers, they’re not just accessible — they’re practically in your backyard.

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. Search for us on all of your favorite social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Threads, BlueSky, etc.) – search “THE BEER THRILLERS”.Thanksg

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.)

]]> 16732 https://thebeerthrillers.com/2024/12/30/upcoming-trip-to-las-vegas/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=upcoming-trip-to-las-vegas Mon, 30 Dec 2024 07:15:51 +0000 https://thebeerthrillers.com/?p=15830 This will be my last post for 2024. And then its onto 2025! But I won’t be celebrating the New Year here in Pennsylvania, I will be celebrating in Las Vegas – amongst all the glitz and glamor, the gambling, the alcohol, the lights, the sounds, and all the craziness that comes of it. I am actually just about to get picked up by friends to be taken to the airport and leave Pennsylvania behind for a few days of Las Vegas fun to celebrate the 40th birthday of another friend.

Viva Las Vegas

Welcome to the Fabulous Las Vegas

In just moments Esteban and Laura’s son – Marcos – will be picking me up, and taking myself, Esteban, and Laura to Harrisburg International Airport (HIA), where we will meet up with Josh (MasterMind X Studios) and Drew (Knights of Nostalgia), to fly to Las Vegas and spend the next few days there. (We will be flying back on January 3rd.)

Drew is turning 40 today, and this trip will be to celebrate his birthday, celebrate New Years Eve / New Years Day, to visit his father (who will be driving up from Texas), and to most importantly – have some fun. I’ve known Drew since 5th grade (his 6th grade). The above link is his Facebook page, and this is his YouTube page where he streams video games (typically older games). (See: YouTube – Knights of Nostalgia. And also see: Facebook – Knights of Nostalgia.)

Drew and Esteban used to run a podcast together called “So a Mexican and a Scot Walk Into a Bar…” I appeared on several podcast episodes – including ones about The Irishman, Breaking Bad / Better Call Saul and El Camino, as well as Star Wars, The Umbrella Academy, and LOST themed ones. Josh (MasterMind X Studios) has also appeared on a few as well. (See: Moon of Vega Beer Review – where I discuss the podcasts a bit more.)

Josh will be joining us on the trip, he runs the MasterMind X Studios Facebook page as well as his own YouTube channel – MasterMind X Studios.

Itinerary

We don’t have a strict itinerary for the trip, but there is certainly things we all want to do while we’re in Vegas.

Some definite things we want to check out are all the various casinos, the fountain show at the Billagio, the old strip on Fremont Street, the Mob Museum, numerous breweries, and much more sight seeing.

Our flight path looks like this:

• Monday: Harrisburg (HIA) to Charlotte. Charlotte to Las Vegas.
• Friday: Las Vegas to Philadelphia. Philly to Harrisburg (via puddle jumper).

Breweries

In a perfect world, I’ll get to visit all these breweries, but we will see. Time will be both loose and tight while in Vegas (isn’t it always on vacations?), and the ones at the airport are very time restrictive, and are all determinate on terminals, landing times, boarding and off boarding times, etc.

But these are the possible, and hopeful breweries I could get to visit:

Charlotte Airport

• Sycamore Brewing
• NoDa Brewing Company
• Wicked Weed Brewery

Las Vegas

• BrewDog Las Vegas
• Beer Zombies
• Able Baker Brewing Company
• Nevada Brew Works
• CraftHaus Brewing
• HUDL Brewing
• Hop Nuts Brewing
• Voodoo Brewing Vegas
• Chicago Brewing Company
• Ellis Island Hotel and Brewery
• Tenaya Creek Brewing
• Beer District Brewing

Some of these are very doubtful, but some are quite possible. BrewDog is located near the New York Casino, so walkable from where we’ll be staying (Harrah’s Casino). Beer Zombies isn’t too far of an Uber ride from Fremont Street, and speaking of Fremont Street and the Old Strip, there is a few breweries inside of casinos there (Chicago Brewing and Ellis Island). In the Arts District (an Uber drive from the Harrah’s) there are several breweries all in a row – Able Baker, Nevada Brew Works, HUDL Brewing, CraftHaus Brewing, and Hop Nuts Brewing. On a side street somewhere in this area is also Voodoo Brewing Vegas, so that’s also a possible stop.

We’ll see what all we get to, fingers crossed, but would be great to knock off quite a few new breweries from the list.

Time to Go

Okay, Marcos is just about to pull up. I’ve walked Leela, I’ve drank a Fiddlehead Imperial IPA while writing this, and it’s not even 4:30 AM yet. Here’s the kick off to what should be a great vacation! Cheers everyone! Chat with you soon, and I’ll try to keep the social media accounts busy while I’m there. I will do a full recap post once I get back, and might even do some day recaps while I’m there (I am taking my laptop), or I might write each day up individually when I get back and slice them in. We’ll see.

Alright, cheers, and see ya 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’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!

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.)

A beautiful mural in Phoenix, Arizona

Four in Phoenix

Being in Phoenix last month was a nice break from a Pennsylvania winter and I also dodged an
Arizona summer. With temps in the mid-sixties during the day and under sunny skies, the
weather demanded that I find some beers to drink. I managed to hit four breweries that are
definitely worth a visit no matter the weather.

Tombstone Brewing Company – North

A flight at Tombstone Brewing Company – North.

Located in a small strip mall in the north of Phoenix, this brewery was a lot of fun. I sat at the
bar where a super-friendly bartender was happy to talk with me about the beer selection. I
also met the owner who told me how happy he was to take over what used to be a poolhall. It
was a great afternoon. I look forward to spending more time here during my next trip. Favorite
Beer: Dry Irish Stout 10% ABV packs a lot of toasted flavor without being overpowering or too
bitter.

Wren House Brewing Company

Beers at Wren House Brewery.

My friend Gina joined me for the next three brewery visits. Wren House was recommended by
Joel from The Brewery Travels Podcast. It was a great recommendation. Gina and I visited
Wren House that’s a small bungalow on a busy street. Stepping inside, the place is a welcoming
respite from the traffic outside. There are a lot of little nooks where you can find an intimate
spot and a large space near the bar if you want to be part of the taproom vibe. A small
courtyard is near the side of the bar for sitting outside. Gina and I had flights at the bar, but
unlike the four small pours that other breweries typically serve, Wren House only serves two at
time. It’s actually a great way to focus more intently on the tastes and flavors of the
beers…they also don’t get warm in the Phoenix heat. My favorite was the Jomax Oatmeal Stout
6.9% ABV made with Ethiopian coffee after fermentation, which gave the beer a drier finish and
a little pep as well. Gina liked the Spellbinder with Citra Hazy IPA 6.9% ABV that had a nice
citrus and peach flavor.

PHX Beer Co

A flight at PHX Brew Co.

Jumping into an Uber, Gina and I headed to PHX Beer Co. Unlike Wren House, PHX Beer Co.
was much more like a familiar craft brewery with cornhole, giant Jenga and board games in a
makeshift courtyard inside the building. Also like most craft breweries, flights with four small
pour were on the menu. My favorite was the Morenci Copper Ale 5.2% ABV with its malty and
caramel notes. Gina’s favorite was the bright and crisp Bird City Lager 4.4% ABV.

OHSO Brewery and Distillery

A flight at OHSO Brewery and Distillery.

Grabbing another Uber, off we went to OHSO Brewery and Distillery. When we pulled up to
OHSO, we noticed right away that a sizable portion of the bar was outside. We took two of
those seats in the softening afternoon sun. The bartender came right over and spent some
time helping us decide what to get for our final flights of the day. Gina and I both agreed that
we should probably eat something. It had already been a full day of beer drinking. The
artichoke dip and the steak and fries were just what we needed…and they were delicious! We
both thought the artichoke dip was one of the best we’d ever had. The beers were great, too.
My favorite was the malty and dry Big Rapid Imperial Red 9.5% ABV. Gina’s favorite was the
citrusy Boom Dynamite American IPA 6.4% ABV.

Phoenix

These four breweries are only a small snapshot of the craft beer scene in Phoenix. There are
dozens of breweries in and around the city, but Tombstone, Wren House, PHX and OHSO are a
good place to start!

A beautiful mural in Phoenix, Arizona

Paul R. Kan

Paul R. Kan is the author of Hawai’i Beer:  A History of Brewing in Paradise which was a North American Guild of Beer Writers’ award winner and a #1 new release on Amazon’s Books on Beer.  He has written for Good Beer Hunting and is Editor-at-Large at The Beer Thrillers.  Along with beer reviews, book reviews and interviews, he also writes about the interesting ways beer intersects with people and society.  His current book project is Red, White and Brew:  The Beers and Battles that Shaped America. He lives in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

ʻOi kau ka lā, e hana i ola honua (While the sun yet shines, do all you can).

Paul R. Kan Articles

The following are articles that Paul R. Kan has written here for The Beer Thrillers:

• Book Review: Beer and Society: How We Make Beer and Beer Makes Us (Eli Revelle Yano Wilson and Asa B. Stone)
• Book Review: A Woman’s Place is in the Brewhouse – A Forgotten History of Alewives, Brewsters, Witches, and CEOs (Tara Nurin)
• From Central PA to the Pacific: A Beer Lover’s Hawaiian Journey An Interview with Alexander B. Gates
• Book Review: The Greatest Beer Run Ever (John Chick Donohue and J.T. Molloy)
• Twofer Brewfer Brewery Reviews: Gearhouse Brewing Co. and Liquid Art Brewing
• Tapping into Heritage and Hope on Maui
• Book Review: Brewed in Japan (Jeffrey Alexander)
• Three Questions and a Pint: with Josh Dourte
• Three Questions and a Pint: with Noah Reighard
• Visiting Four Breweries in Phoenix: Getting to Visit Tombstone Brewing Company, Wren House Brewing, PHX Beer Co, and OHSO Brewery and Distillery

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Cheers.

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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

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Road Trip time! We got big plans today and tomorrow here at The Beer Thrillers! We are taking a road trip down south and around and coming back home. We’re going to be hitting Maryland area, then crossing into Delaware, and then taking the ferry to New Jersey and coming back through Philly.

Breweries

Today’s lineup of breweries we are tentatively hitting include:

• Jailbreak Brewery
• Cult Classic Brewing
• Burley Oak Brewery
• RAR Brewing
• Lokal Branch
• Burnish Beer Co
• Dewey Beer Co
• Dogfish Head Brewery
• Mispillion River Brewing
• Big Oyster Brewing
• Crooked Hammock

So we got a full day ahead of us. (I am now currently typing this, as we sit down to eat breakfast at Funck’s Restaurant in Palmyra, and I’m having a Toppling Goliath Dolphin Sparkles and 3 Floyds Zombie Dust.)

Heading Today

We’ll be heading the day near the Lewes – Cape May ferry, which we’ll be taking in the morning over to New Jersey. Then tomorrow, we will be hitting breweries in New Jersey and Philly area before heading back home to Harrisburg area.

Stay tuned for more!

Cheers all and stay healthy!

-B. Kline

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.

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

Woke up in the hotel, drove to Cincinnati, stopping about an hour into the two hour drive to walk a one mile little park area called Brum’s Woods, just to give my legs a wake up and keep myself from falling asleep. But once I got into Cincinnati, I fell in love, immediately.

I got to park right near the Cincinnati Red’s stadium – Great American Ball Park. For 5.50$ I got two hours on the meter. I walked along the river front, walked along the one street, and found this Taste of Belgium restaurant. …I couldn’t help but go in.

Next thing I know I’m having Rodenbach, Avobode, and other high quality Belgian beers. And its only 11AM. I finally manage to pull myself away, and walked the Roebling Bridge into Kentucky and back, and then I stop in at the Christian Moerlein Lager House.

Another fine brewery establishment. This was great, got to drink upstairs at the bar (something I never realized I would be so grateful for, since we can’t do this back in Pennsylvania anymore), and talked to a wonderful young sweet bartender who told me all about Cincinnati and we discussed the changing laws. She was saying they were expecting a news conference today about some new restrictions. From my view, I could see Paul Brown Stadium while I drank my pint.

After saying goodbye, I went back to my meter, put another 5.50$ in, and then went to the Underground Railroad Museum. If you are in Cincinnati, this is something you should definitely do. It is extremely powerful, and a very well done museum.

I then got back in my car and drove to Braxton Brewing Company in Kentucky. Now…. I hate to speak ill of a state…. but Kentucky was horrible. The brewery was AMAZING. But getting to it… and then leaving it… was so extremely aggravating. I have no idea why… but it was only 1.5 miles and it took me twenty minutes to get there, and fifteen minutes to leave. Apparently Kentuckians don’t know how to do round-a-bouts correctly. I have no idea what was going on with that.

But, let me just say, the brewery was amazing. And Adam – the bartender – was one of the best bartenders I’ve gotten to spend time with and talk to in a while. I promised him I’d make a shout out to him in this blog post, so there you go. Dude is straight up nice, knowledgeable, and great bartender. If you stop in at Braxton Brewing, make sure you say hi to him, he is a class act. He too mentioned the governor of Ohio, and his own governor, doing an announcement at some point.

After making it back into Ohio, and Cincinnati, thankfully, I went to the Cincinnati Art Museum. Where I puttered about acting like I know what art is. I don’t. No clue. My ex-wife went to school to be an art teacher, and I have zero understanding of art. I always want to put a sign over urinals in bathrooms at art museums that just say: “THIS IS ART. YOU ARE MAKING ART.” And see if people will take pictures of it and believe it.

After the art museum, I then went to Taft’s Ale House.

This is another one of those beautiful stories of a church being turned into a brewery to preserve the building. Also, if you see the logo its Taft in a bathtub, so if you know the story of that, you’ll understand why I find that so amusing. (I’ll elaborate on that in the full write-up.)

After Taft’s I then went to Urban Artifact. It came as the most highly recommended place for me to visit from all of my friends, and I am so completely glad I did. Wow, every beer was absolutely amazing and fantastic. All sours. All sooo sooo sooooooooooo good. I picked up plenty of beers for Deuene Hoffman, and myself, and a t-shirt for myself, bid them a fond adieu, and then drove to Wilmington Ohio, where I was hoping to hit up a cidery right before they closed up, but unfortunately I got there at 10:05PM and as I walked up they closed the doors. So next time I’m in the area, I’ll try and hit it up again, I’m not a huge cider person, but if its there, its there, might as well. And figured this would be a great ending stop to the day. Oh well, so it goes. The cidery is called TinCap Cidery. In case you are ever in Wilmington Ohio, there is a cidery.

Ok, tomorrow will be Hocking Hills and some more legit hiking again, as well as Jackie O’s in Athens, and then on to Ohiopyl Saturday and the end of my trip sadly. My bank account I think is looking forward to this trip being over the most… …and my liver.

Well, stay healthy out there everyone, cheers!

-B. Kline

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

The Trip to Indianapolis:

• The Trip to Indy
• The Trip to Indy – Day One Recap
• The Trip to Indy – Day Two Recap
• The Trip to Indy – Day Three Recap
• The Trip to Indy – Day Four Recap
• The Trip to Indy – Day Five Recap
• The Trip to Indy – Day Six Recap
• The Trip to Indy – Day Seven Recap
• Recap and Stats