Just before you’re about to hit play on that cassette tape of “We Are The Champions” we have one final round to go! Its the Finals Fatal Four – Way! Each of the Conference Champions will be facing off in a fatal four way to determine who is the true Battle of the Breweries (2025) Champion! And this year’s a doozy! We have two returning champions, including the Defending champion – Liquid Noise Brewing Company, as well as two first time finalists. Scroll down to the VOTE section to vote.

The Battle of the Breweries: 2025 – Championship Finals Fatal Four Way

Conference Champions

Let’s take a look at the four conference champions:

Apollo Conference

The winner, defeating Boneshire Brew Works in the Conference Championship, of the Apollo Conference is…………… Allusion Brewing Company! A former Battle of the Breweries Champion!

Cascade Conference

The winner, defeating Shy Bear Brewing – and defending their championship from 2024 – of the Cascade Conference is Liquid Noise Brewing Company!

Liberty Conference

The winner of the Liberty Conference, and making their first Finals appearance, having defeated Wolf Brewing, is Acclamation Brewing!

Zeus Conference

The winner of the Zeus Conference, defeating Dancing Gnome Brewing to advance to their first finals is Collusion Tap Works!

Finals Fatal Four Way

Much like a wrestling fatal four way match, you have four determined, grizzled, hard nosed, tough as nails; competitors facing off to determine the one true winner and champion! We take the winner of each of the conferences and pit them against each other in a four way match. (Think of WrestleMania 2000 with The Rock vs. HHH vs. Big Show vs. Mick Foley!) You can only vote for one brewery, and after two weeks – ending on 4:20, on WrestleMania XLI Night Two, ending on Easter Sunday, on Sunday April 20th, 2025; the brewery with the most votes will be the Battle of the Breweries Champion! You can vote daily for your favorite brewery. So we fully recommend 1) that you bookmark this page so you can come back to it each day, and 2) that you share this page to all of your social media platforms to help your favorite brewery out!

VOTE

Tournament Guidelines

We fully encourage everyone to have as much fun as possible with this tournament! Share and comment and talk about the breweries facing off. Upset your favorite brewery isn’t in the tournament? Sorry! It means one of us probably haven’t been there, or they just barely missed our cut when deciding the 256 breweries to include! Social media is a fantastic tool for sharing your brewery or your favorite brewery’s voting page. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, BlueSky, Mastodon, Tumblr, LinkTree, umm…. MySpace? LinkedIn? Pinterest? What other social medias do you cool young kids use? Whichever it is, feel free to share and bolster and brag about how your brewery is doing or encourage others to vote for your favorite brewery!

Please do keep it all in fun though. This isn’t meant to belittle or demean breweries or to create real animosity. Its a fun light hearted competition in the spirit of the NCAA March Madness basketball tournament. So with that in mind please enjoy it!

The finals round will be a two week event, unlike the previous rounds (with the exception of the one round due to technical difficulties), which were one week rounds.

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.)

In yet another non-April Fools – April 1st news story – we have Liquid Hero Brewing and Gift Horse Brewing joining forces in Downtown York. A headline that seems perfect for April 1st; not too funny, not too edgy, not another “weird flavor concoction” brewery post; but no — this is no April Fools Joke. Liquid Hero and Gift Horse really are joining forces. Both breweries are located in downtown York, both breweries are trying to find their own way in the ever evolving scene of craft beer and craft brewing, with emerging new costs (like Trump’s Tariffs) and an in-general decline to the industry. Gift Horse Brewing is located at 117 N George St, York, PA 17401 and Liquid Hero Brewing is located at 251 N George St, York, PA 17401.

Liquid Hero Brewing and Gift Horse Brewing Teaming Up (courtesy of Trav Zak)

The Announcement

Earlier today on social media, Liquid Hero and Gift Horse both posted this message:

Liquid Hero and Gift Horse Join Forces

Liquid Hero Brewery, a production brewery with a restaurant location in York City, PA, and Gift Horse Brewing Company, a brew pub and beer garden also located in York City, PA have entered into a collaborative relationship to strengthen their respective brewing endeavors.

In May of 2024, Liquid Hero opened a restaurant location at 251 N George Street, just a few doors down from Gift Horse’s successful brewpub and beer garden location. Several months after opening the restaurant, Gift Horse tapped Liquid Hero to provide brewing and packaging services whereby Liquid Hero, out of their 50 E North Street brewery location, brews and packages several Gift Horse beer brands.

After several months of this collaborative relationship, both Liquid Hero and Gift Horse saw a mutually beneficial opportunity; to expand this relationship to allow Liquid Hero to focus on their new restaurant endeavor and to allow Gift Horse to continue to grow their brand. The resulting opportunity will transfer ownership of Liquid Hero’s brewing equipment only, over the next several years, to Gift Horse. This will bring all production and packaging of all Liquid Hero beer and all Gift Horse beer under one roof at 50 E North Street. Liquid Hero will continue to independently operate their restaurant at 251 N George St and their beer will continue to be produced by the same hands and on the same equipment at 50 E North Street.

Over the next few years, Gift Horse has plans to brew additional brands of beer at 50 E North Street and make the brewery a brewing production hub for both local and regional breweries. Offering contracting services of 7bbl, 10bbl, 15bbl & 30bbl batches and utilizing our canning/packaging systems to be able to provide support to breweries of all sizes. Meanwhile, Liquid Hero will continue to grow their restaurant and will also continue to produce and distribute their beer locally.

Liquid Hero Brewery started in October of 2011 at its original location at 50 E North Street. In May of 2024, they opened a second location as a restaurant at the corner of N George Street and E North Street. After opening the second location, Liquid Hero shut down the brewpub at 50 E North Street and used this location only as brewing operations as well as space for private events.

Gift Horse Brewing Company opened in August of 2018 at its current location at 117 N George Street. In 2019, Gift Horse expanded into the open lot next door and created a 6,000 sq ft outdoor beer garden complete with a 35-seat full service outdoor bar and enough space to accommodate over 150 people. Gift Horse has quickly become a community hub hosting numerous events and fundraisers while focusing on complimenting Downtown York’s vibrant Art’s and Entertainment scene.

Our joint commitment to Downtown York, York County and the region as a whole is to continue to produce quality products and help Central Pennsylvania remain at the forefront of the Craft Brewing Industry.

–Gift Horse Brewing Facebook Announcement

(I will also link the full text image they posted later in the article.)

As you can see in this map (Downtown York) – Liquid Hero Brewing and Gift Horse Brewing are just 0.2 miles apart, or 1 minute driving (according to Google; though getting in your car, in and out, traffic, parking, etc……). Gift Horse Brewing is located at 117 N George St, York, PA 17401 and Liquid Hero Brewing is located at 251 N George St, York, PA 17401. Via walking its listed as 4 minutes according to Google Maps.

Given the current environment of the craft brewing industry, and the sheer and steady decline of breweries not just across the state, but nationwide, this sounds like a very promising way to keep both businesses afloat. Just earlier today we announced Butler Brew Works will be closing “indefinitely”.  This also looks to be a boon for the smaller breweries in the region, with the capacity to lease their contracting services and the canning lines as well. So we’ll see how that plays out with distribution for other breweries. This can also be an end to help meet financial goals for both of these breweries as well. Sounds like a three-way win to us. (And who doesn’t like three way wins?)

We will keep everyone updated with future information.

Gift Horse and Liquid Hero Announcement

For More Information on Liquid Hero Brewing Company

The following comes via Untappd.

Liquid Hero Brewery is listed as a micro brewery from York, PA. They have 160 unique beers, and over 62,000 ratings with a global average rating of 3.63 (as of 4.1.25). Their Untappd description reads: “Micro Brewery and brewpub located in downtown York, PA. ”

You can find them at these social media platforms:

• Liquid Hero Brewing – Official Website
• Liquid Hero Brewing – Facebook
• Liquid Hero Brewing – Instagram
• Liquid Hero Brewing – Twitter
• Liquid Hero Brewing – Untappd

You can also read more about Liquid Hero Brewing here: Liquid Hero Brewery Opens New Spot.

For More Information on Gift Horse Brewing

The following comes via Untappd.

Gift Horse Brewing Company is listed as a micro brewery from York, PA. They have 86 unique beers and over 10,000 ratings with a global average rating of 3.61 (as of 4.1.25). Their Untappd description reads: “Gift Horse Brewing Company, located in the heart of downtown York City’s Market District, is within walking distance of an eclectic collection of restaurants, pubs, art galleries, venues and shopping options including the Historic Central Market House and four other awesome breweries. Downtown York boasts numerous options for enjoying the arts and entertainment including the Appell Center for the Performing Arts and People’s Bank Park (Home of the York Revolution Baseball Club). Our goal is to be a part of what makes our downtown area so wonderful and to help Downtown York City and South Central Pennsylvania become a craft beer destination. Treat yourself to a gift! ”

You can find them at these social media platforms:

• Gift Horse Brewing – Official Website
• Gift Horse Brewing – Facebook
• Gift Horse Brewing – Instagram
• Gift Horse Brewing – Twitter
• Gift Horse Brewing – Untappd

We are here! We are just about to the end. That means its the Conference Finals! The winners of these match-ups will meet up in the Finals Fatal Four-Way and be declared the 2025 Champion! There is just eight breweries left, with four match-ups (one for each conference), and the winners moving on. We have two returning champions in the mix (Allusion Brewing Company and Liquid Noise Brewing Company). All eight breweries that remain are also Pennsylvania breweries too! (Go PA Beer!) So check below to vote, and help decide who moves on to the finals! (Instead of doing an individual page for each conference, I have combined all of the voting into one page.)

The 2025 Battle of the Breweries Conference Finals

Apollo Conference

We have two breweries left and its crunch time for the Apollo Conference!

The match-up is between 21. Boneshire Brew Works vs. 30. Allusion Brewing Company.

Cascade Conference

In a back to back for the conferences, we have a former champion reaching the finals. (Allusion Brewing in the Apollo Conference.) Liquid Noise Brewing Company is the returning champion. Can they move on to the finals to defend their championship?

The match-up is between 25. Shy Bear Brewing and 26. Liquid Noise Brewing Company.

Liberty Conference

The third conference has a tough match-up, and is the second Pittsburgh vs. Harrisburg area brewery matchup (the first being Allusion – Pittsburgh Area vs. Boneshire – Harrisburg area). In this one we have Acclamation Brewing defending Pittsburgh area vs. Wolf Brewing defending the Harrisburg area.

The match-up is between 10. Wolf Brewing vs. 17. Acclamation Brewing.

Zeus Conference

The final conference is seeing yet another Pittsburgh area brewery going head to head with a Central PA area brewery. We have Dancing Gnome Brewing of Pittsburgh vs. Collusion Tap Works of York and Lititz.

The match-up is between 2. Dancing Gnome Brewing vs. 17. Collusion Tap Works.

Voting Rules

Voting is straight forward and simple. There are four conferences: APOLLO, CASCADE, LIBERTY, and ZEUS. (All named after different hop varietals.) Each week, from Monday through Sunday, there will be a voting page for each of the conference. Click on the voting page, open it up, and it will have a pop-down survey poll. Starting with the Round of 64, all the way down to the finals of each conference, followed by a Fatal Four Way that will have the winner of each conference fighting for the grand champion!

You can vote daily for each of the conferences, so you can make up to 4 votes (one per conference) per day. Each round will be one week, except for the Finals which will be two weeks. The rounds are as follows: Round of 64, Round of 32, Round of 16, Round of 8, Round of 4, Conference Finals (Round of 2), and the Finals Fatal Four-Way (Winner of each Conference in a four-way match). So for the first week, there will be 32 matches in the conference, then in the second week there will be 16 matches, then 8 matches, then 4 matches, then the last two rounds are just 1 match each.

For the Conference Finals I might just make it 1 voting page rather than 4 distinct voting pages. It all depends on what will be easier for the blog’s coding and all that back house stuff.

Voting for this round will end on Sunday April 6th.

VOTE

(Voting has ended.)

Tournament Guidelines

We fully encourage everyone to have as much fun as possible with this tournament! Share and comment and talk about the breweries facing off. Upset your favorite brewery isn’t in the tournament? Sorry! It means one of us probably haven’t been there, or they just barely missed our cut when deciding the 256 breweries to include! Social media is a fantastic tool for sharing your brewery or your favorite brewery’s voting page. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, BlueSky, Mastodon, Tumblr, LinkTree, umm…. MySpace? LinkedIn? Pinterest? What other social medias do you cool young kids use? Whichever it is, feel free to share and bolster and brag about how your brewery is doing or encourage others to vote for your favorite brewery!

Please do keep it all in fun though. This isn’t meant to belittle or demean breweries or to create real animosity. Its a fun light hearted competition in the spirit of the NCAA March Madness basketball tournament. So with that in mind please enjoy it!

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 March 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.)

The Hoppy Valley Brewfest returns for its second year in State College, Pennsylvania; this time on July 19th, 2025. Last year, the inaugural Hoppy Valley Brewfest occurred on Mother’s Day weekend in May (on the Saturday therein). (You can see that article here: The Hoppy Valley Brewfest.)  Last year it was announced in very early February (this year it was just announced today – March 18th.) Also, last year’s event was held inside Beaver Stadium on the football field. This year it will be held in a parking lot next to Medlar Field (the baseball field across from Beaver Stadium).

Hoppy Valley Brewfest 2025

Hoppy Valley Brewfest 2025

Just a bit ago on their Facebook and Instagram accounts, the Hoppy Valley Brewfest announced the brewfest’s return for its second year.

They released this announcement:

We’re back! 🍻🎉 Hoppy Valley Brewers Fest 2025 is coming to Porter North Lot on July 19! Don’t miss out on an unforgettable night of craft beers, live music, and great vibes. Tickets are officially on sale now, get yours today!
#hoppyvalley #hoppyvalleybrewfest #happyvalleypa #hoppyvalleybrewersfest #craftbeer #craftbeercommunity

–Hoppy Valley Brewfest Announcement  – via Reel

They also created an event page on Facebook, which you can find here: Hoppy Valley Brewfest – July 19, 2025 – Event Page.

No announcement has been made yet about breweries appearing at the event. Nor has any specific breweries announced attending yet (insofar as we know of at time of this article, which is shortly after the brewfest announcement). Also no breweries have announced special beers yet for the event (like last year’s Troegs / Sworn / Antifragile / Warwick Farm  collab – Storm the Field). (Beer Review: Storm the Field.)

Medlar Field

The Medlar Field is the baseball field across from Beaver Stadium. Its where Amy’s Alzheimer’s Walk for the State College area occurs each year. Last year I was in charge of the Porter North Lot and directing traffic (because it coincided with the Trump Rally that day).

Here is how to find it on Google Maps: Porter North Lot at Medlar Field – State College, PA.

Last year’s event was held inside Beaver Stadium, on the football field. This was primarily due to the fact that following the event they were going to be tearing up the field and replacing it. There was hopes that if the event returned for a second year, it would at least be held in the concourses of Beaver Stadium, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Instead, the event will be in the parking lot on July 19th. This is still a nice location and you will be able to see Beaver Stadium loom in the background. As the AC Beer Fest found out in the past few years (even dropping the event last year), its hard holding a brewfest in July sometimes; due to weather and temperature. (AC Beer Fest has always annually been in March / April inside at the Convention Center, but post COVID it moved outside to Bader Field in July, and then for two years they were holding one event in March at the Convention Center and then another in July outside at Bader Field; however in 2024 they ended up cancelling the July event at Bader Field, but kept the indoor one in March.)

Our Past Articles

You can read these past Hoppy Valley Brewfest articles:

• Hoppy Valley Brewfest – 2024
• Hoppy Valley Brewfest Is Happening Tomorrow – Brewfest Guide – 2024

For More Information

• Hoppy Valley Brewersfest
• Hoppy Valley Brewersfest Official Page
• Hoppy Valley Brewersfest What to Expect
• Hoppy Valley Brewersfest Tickets

Inspiration  Brewing Company, the newest brewery to Ephrata, and the brain child of Brian Mills, has their Grand Opening date all set for Friday – March 14th, 2025.

Located where the former Pour Man’s Brewing location, next to the Rita’s in Ephrata was (before Pour Man’s moved to their new location) – at: 284 S Reading Rd, Ephrata, PA 17522.

Inspiration Brewing logo

Grand Opening

Inspiration Brewing is all set to have their grand opening on Friday, March 14th, 2025. Tonight, we’ll be stopping by for an ‘invitee’ soft opening. Tomorrow is their friends and family soft opening, and then on Friday they go live for the world and the public!

You can go to the Events page for the opening on Facebook here: Inspiration Brewing Grand Opening – Facebook Events.

The hours for Inspiration Brewing will be:

• Wednesday and Thursday: 3PM – 9PM
• Friday and Saturday: 12PM – 9PM

The interior of the new Inspiration Brewery

For More Information on Inspiration Brewing

For more information on Inspiration Brewing, the following comes via Untappd. Inspiration Brewing is listed as a Brew Pub from Ephrata, PA. With 43 uique beers and over 350 ratings, with a global average rating of 3.96 (as of 3.12.25). Their Untappd description reads: “Coming soon to Lancaster County, PA
#findyourinspiration .”

You can find them at these social media platforms:

• Inspiration Brewing – Official website
• Inspiration Brewing – Facebook
• Inspiration Brewing – Instagram
• Inspiration Brewing – Untappd

Starting tomorrow – January 30th, 2025 – the Drunken Smithy will be having their soft opening at their “Mead Hall” at the Lebanon Valley Mall. Located inside the Lebanon Valley Mall, at 2236 Lebanon Valley Mall, Lebanon, PA, United States, Pennsylvania the Drunken Smithy calls their section the “Mead Hall”.

Drunken Smithy in their Mead Hall at the Lebanon Valley Mall

Drunken Smithy Soft Opening January 30th

Starting January 30th, 2025, the Drunken Smithy will be having their soft opening at the Mead Hall in the Lebanon Valley Mall.

Their Facebook announcement they made at 10:00 AM today reads:

Have you heard?? Drunken Smithy will have a soft opening for our Mead Hall on Thursday, January 30.

Plus we’ll have live music in the Mead Hall this Friday and Saturday evening! Come have a drink and celebrate with us!

Stop by during hours of operation anytime on or after January 30 and we’ll be happy to serve you while we ramp up for our grand opening on March 15.

#winery #meadery #cidery #wine #mead #cider #CentralPA #LebanonPA #DrunkenSmithy

-Drunken Smithy Facebook Post

For More Information

Since they are a meadery, and because their new, they are not yet on Untappd. But you can follow them at these social media platforms:

• Drunken Smithy – Official Website
• Drunken Smithy – Facebook
• Drunken Smithy – Instagram

Episode 269 of the Beer Busters Podcast will be their final podcast. They dropped it on us just a bit ago today (at 2:57 PM) and said “Thats a Wrap” on what was an amazing, epic, journey through Pennsylvania, Central PA, Jersey, New York, and so much more of the craft beer world. Their very first podcast was on May 6th, 2013; and their final podcast just released today – January 19, 2025. A nearly full 12 year, epic run, of 269+ podcasts, YouTube videos, blog articles, and so much more that helped the brewing community so much over the years.

Beer Busters Podcast – Episode 269: So Long, and Thanks for all the Beer (photo courtesy of Beer Busters Podcast)

Episode 269: So Long, and Thanks for all the Beer

This is the end of the road. The epic journey of the Beer Busters Podcast is ending with their swan song of episode 269. You can find the episode at their website here: 269: So Long, And Thanks For All The Beer. Or YouTube here: Episode 269: So Long, And Thanks For All The Beer.

Episode description:

Episode 269

With Sincere Gratitude

A lot has changed in the last 12 years, including us. We present for you one last free-for-all with just the Beer Busters. Thank you, sincerely, to all of you for riding along. Be true to yourselves and kind to each other.

– Steph, Dan, and Wayne

—Beer Busters Podcast: Episode 269: So Long, and Thanks for all the Beer

Beer Busters Podcast

Meet the Beer Busters

Find the Beer Busters

You can still find the Beer Busters through these different means (websites, podsites, social media, etc.) Their content will most likely be staying online for the near foreseeable future; no word on if or when it will be taken down.

• Website: Beer Busters Podcast
  • Full List of Podcast Episodes: Beer Busters Archive of Episodes
• Facebook: Beer Busters Podcast – Facebook Page
• YouTube: Beer Busters Podcast @ YouTube
• Beer Busters Podcast – Podcast Feed RSS
• Beer Busters Podcast on Twitter: Beer Busters Podcast @ X
• Instagram: Beer Busters Podcast on Instagram

Beer Busters Podcast: 2013 – 2025
(photo courtesy of Beer Busters Podcast)

Beer Busters Legacy

The craft beer landscape of Central Pennsylvania is about to lose a beloved player. Iron Lion Brewery, nestled in the heart of Penn Township at the Markets at Hanover, has announced its impending closure on December 7, 2024. This news strikes a somber chord for local beer enthusiasts and music lovers alike.

Iron Lion’s journey began in 2021 as the Public House at the Markets, evolving into Iron Lion Brewery in late 2023. In its short but impactful run, the brewery has become a cornerstone of the Hanover community, blending the art of brewing with the soul of live music.

The Iron Lion Brewery Bar (photo courtesy of Iron Lion Brewery)

More Than Just a Brewery

Iron Lion wasn’t just about the suds; it was a cultural hub. The venue’s indoor stage has been a platform for local talent, hosting over 14 musical events in November alone. These performances, many free to attend, have been the backdrop to countless memories made over pints of craft beer.

The Final Countdown

As the clock ticks towards December 7, Iron Lion urges patrons to use any outstanding gift cards, including those from its Public House days. It’s a last call that beer aficionados won’t want to miss.

A Hopeful Horizon

While the brewery’s closure is imminent, the spirit of Iron Lion may live on. The owners have hinted at future partnerships to continue supporting live music in Hanover. This glimmer of hope suggests that while one chapter is ending, another may be brewing.

The Bigger Picture

Iron Lion’s closure is a stark reminder of the challenges facing craft breweries in Central PA. As we’ve seen with recent closures like Aurochs Brewing Company in Emsworth and Mad Princes Brewing in Doylestown, the craft beer industry is as volatile as it is vibrant.

Parting Thoughts

To the Iron Lion family: your contribution to Hanover’s craft beer scene and music community has been immeasurable. As you pour your final pints, know that your legacy will ferment in the memories of those you’ve served.

For craft beer lovers in Central PA, this is a call to arms. Support your local breweries, savor every sip, and remember that behind every pint is a story of passion, community, and craftsmanship. The craft beer scene in our region is rich and diverse, from the storied halls of Tröegs in Hershey to the innovative tanks of Axemann in Bellefonte. Let’s raise a glass to Iron Lion and to the future of craft beer in Central Pennsylvania.

Cheers, and may your glasses always be half full.

More Information on Iron Lion Brewery

The following comes via Untappd.

As of November 9th, 2024, Iron Lion Brewery is listed on Untappd as Iron Lion Brewing LLC, and is a brewpub in Hanover, PA. They have 6 unique beers and just 90 ratings, with a global average rating of 3.74 (as of 11.9.24). Their Untappd description is blank.

You can follow them at these social media platforms:

• Iron Lion Brewery – Official Website
• Iron Lion Brewery – Facebook
• Iron Lion Brewery – Instagram
• Iron Lion Brewery –B

Tattered Flag Brewery and Distillery in Middletown, PA

Tattered Flag Brewery & Still Works Sold to California-Based Tower Investments: A New Chapter for Middletown’s Historic Brewery

The beloved Tattered Flag Brewery & Still Works, a (former) staple of Middletown’s craft beer and spirits scene, has officially changed hands. California-based Tower Investments, operating locally as Middletown South Union Street, LLC, has purchased the historic property at 1 S. Union Street, according to Dauphin County deed records. This sale marks a significant moment for the community, as Tattered Flag was more than just a brewery; it was a gathering spot that held a special place in the hearts of local craft beer enthusiasts.

July 28th, 2023 Tattered Flag Brewery and Distillery announced their closure. It was announced that it was for sale (and was actually up for sale before the announcement of its closure). (Tattered Flag Brewery and Distillery For Sale.) After a while of being unable to sell the business, Tattered Flag Brewery and Distillery Ended Up For Auction. They went on the auction block in May 2024.

According to Nik Sgagias of NAI CIR, Tower Investments is actively seeking tenants for the space, hinting at possible new beginnings for the 13,000-square-foot property. Tattered Flag, known for its veteran-owned roots and innovative brews, closed its doors on October 1, 2023, following a public auction in June. The auction had a starting bid of $275,000, highlighting the historic and commercial appeal of this full-service restaurant, brewery, and distillery space.

The story of Tattered Flag began in 2015 when military veteran Pat Devlin and friends from Susquenita High School took on the massive renovation of the former Elks building. They transformed the two-story structure, which previously held three storefronts and a meeting room, into a unique brewpub and distillery, blending community spirit with a passion for craft beer and cocktails.

Over the years, Tattered Flag expanded to various locations, including taprooms in Lancaster, Gettysburg, and Derry Township. Unfortunately, these expansions—coupled with challenges from the pandemic, inflation, and labor shortages—eventually led to financial strain, and the decision to close the business was made earlier this year. The original Middletown location, however, remained a cherished landmark for both locals and visitors.

While Tower Investments has yet to comment on future plans, the company’s focus on real estate development suggests the property will likely find new life soon. Tower is a family-owned company specializing in real estate investment and development, with experience transforming properties across the country.

As Middletown awaits the next chapter for this historic location, locals can look back fondly on the memories made at Tattered Flag Brewery & Still Works, and many of us will be watching to see what the future holds for this beloved space in the heart of our community.

You can find out more about Tower Investments by checking out their website here: Tower Investments.
See our full historical review and look at Tattered Flag Brewery and Distillery here – A Look at Tattered Flag Brewery and Distillery.