Guest Taps - The Beer Thrillers

Sign of the Horse is Expanding – Taking over the old Miscreation Brewery

BKline — Mon, 18 Jan 2021 15:21:57 +0000

Sign of the Horse Brewery

Yesterday on Facebook – Sign of the Horse Brewery announced that they would be expanding – into the old Miscreation Brewing Company’s building.

It wasn’t long ago (just on January 10th, 2021) that Miscreation Brewing announced their closure. You can see our article on that here: Miscreation Brewing Company is Closing its Doors. Many comments from the local people online were wondering what would come of the brewery building, as its a fantastic location, already has a kitchen / restaurant, and has the equipment and space for a brewery. And just a week later, we already have our answer! Sign of the Horse Brewery will be moving on in.

Miscreation Brewing Company had used the building and brewed out of there for nearly six years. The Hanover location sits on 6 Center Square, Hanover PA 17331. The main street of the town. With ample street parking, it is a wonderful location.

A New Beginning For the Old Building

Its great to see the building get a new beginning and a new chapter to its life. And its also great to see the restaurant / building stay in the ‘craft beer family’.

Untappd lists Sign of the Horse Brewery as a micro brewery from Hanover PA. It has 58 unique beers with 4K+ check ins and has a global average rating of 3.74 (as of 1.18.21). Their current brewery is located on 979 York Street, Hanover PA 17331. It is a brewery, American restaurant, and bar. They have a 13 tap bar with 12 of their own taps and one guest cider tap.

The current goal and game plan for the Hanover Downtown location – the old Miscreation Brewery – is to have it opened on March 31st, 2021. From their press release, they will be honoring all of the old and outstanding gift cards for Miscreation Brewery as well as hosting a “guest tap celebration” for Miscreation Brewing from January 21st through January 23rd (Thursday – Saturday).

Sign of the Horse Brewery Expansion

The Sign of the Horse Brewery Facebook post announcing their expansion.

Sign of the Horse Brewery is expanding!
We are excited to announce Sign of the Horse Brewery is expanding our operations. We have purchased Miscreation Brewing Co and will be adding a second location. Before talking about what is going to happen going forward, We would like to spend a moment looking back.
This is a bittersweet time for us. Although we are excited about what the future may hold for us, we are saddened by the loss of Miscreation Brewing Co. Miscreation has been a part of the downtown community for several years. They deserve a lot of credit for the revitalization of downtown. They are a well-respected business and will be missed. We are humbled that they chose to sell their business to us. We do not take the trust they have put in us, to ensure we maintain what they have worked so hard to establish in the community, lightly. We pledge to work everyday to represent them and the community in a way that Hanover can be proud of and build on what they have started.
We have an internal goal of opening the downtown location March 31st. Details will be coming soon as to what that will look like. In the meantime, we are going to have a “Miscreation” tap takeover at our Sign of the Horse Brewery location January 21st-23rd. We will have several of Miscreation’s customer favorites on tap. During those days we will honor all Miscreation’s outstanding gift cards. This will be the final opportunity to utilize their gift cards. Continue to follow us on Facebook and Instagram for exciting updates as we go through this process.
Sign of the Horse Brewery Facebook Page

Be sure to follow their social media pages (and website) to stay up to date on the Sign of the Horse Brewery and their expansion. This is an exciting time as their brewery is growing and expanding. They have been getting rave reviews from many in the lower Central PA area online; saying that they are pumping out some phenomenal beers.

Its a tough time for breweries to be growing and expanding, but there are several that have announced expansion and growth plans – places like Levity, Little Fish, etc. (You can see links to articles about them down below.) Its also been a tough time with several breweries announcing their closures (the obvious Micreation Brewing, Spigot Brewing, River Bend Hop Farm and Brewery, and several others – you can see links to articles about them below as well.)

We wish the best in the future endeavors of the Miscreation Brewing family, as well as wish all the best for the growth and continuation and expansion of the Sign of the Horse Brewery and look forward to seeing what they have in store for the Hanover area and for the craft beer community as a whole!

As always, please like and follow and subscribe to The Beer Thrillers. Any comments, questions, or concerns, please leave in the comments. Would love to hear from you all. We have just expanded and moved the site to the new host and domain, so I’m hoping all of the glitches and things have been caught, but if you see any at all, please let us know. We also have a Contact Page with a form to e-mail us on the sidebar. Also be sure to check out our social media links and follow us on the various platforms.

Stay safe and healthy, and as always, Cheers and Prost!

-B. Kline

Openings, Closures, and Shipping News

You can read about more brewery closures here:

And in better, happier news, check out our articles on brewery openings:

Be sure to check out our other articles on brewery openings:

Breweries Shipping in and into Pennsylvania:

Tattered Flag Supply Drop Shipping Statewide
Imprint Begins Shipping Statewide
Aslin
Helltown
The Veil
Gristhouse

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!

Brewery Review: Highway Manor Brewing Co.

BKline — Mon, 28 Sep 2020 13:00:00 +0000

Highway Manor Brewing Co. opened their doors (finally!) for in-house service Saturday, at 11AM (September 26th, 2020). You can read our preview article here: Brewery Opening – Highway Manor.

From Highway Manor Brewing Co’s Facebook page – a screenshot of our posting about their brewery opening

Saturday night after work got over (7PM) I got the pleasure to get to Highway Manor Brewing in Camp Hill. I left work at 7 and got there at about 7:25-7:30. There was still a decent crowd at the time when I got there (inside tables were full and the tables with the swing seats were full). I ordered the Mr. Blackberry and a Turkey Sandwich to start.

Mr. Blackberry by Highway Manor Brewing Co.

Beer: Mr. Blackberry
Brewery: Highway Manor Brewing Co.
Style: Sour – Other
ABV: 5.2%
IBU: None
Untappd Description: None

First time having this, I’ve had several other Highway Manor beers at various brewfests (Lititz Brewfest, Lancaster Brewfest, possibly Little Big Beer Fest or the Mount Hope RenFaire Brewfest), and this was just as good as all of those. This was super tart, delicious, fruity, with a great berry flavor.

On Untappd I gave it a ****.25
The global Untappd rating (as of 9.27.20) is: 3.73

Soon my food was arriving, and I had already drained my Blackberry sour, so I needed a new beer to help eat the food. (By the way, the entire food menu looked amazing, the turkey sandwich was phenomenal. Top of the line, high quality food, and very cheap, and with huge portions.)

Once my sandwich arrived I needed another beer, and decided to try some of their guest taps that they had running (they had five drafts; all guest taps). I’ve heard nothing but amazing things about Human Robot but haven’t had a chance yet to try anything from them, so I decided to try out their IPA – Dreams of Orgonon.

Dreams of Orgonon by Human Robot

Beer: Dreams of Orgonon
Brewery: Human Robot
Style: IPA – New England
ABV: 6.6%
IBU: None
Untappd Description: Deliciously dreamy juice bomb brewed with sweet golden promise malt and hopped intensely with Citra, Mosaic, and Idaho 7. Its like the sun coming out…

My Untappd Rating: ****.5
Global Untappd Rating: 4.15 (as of 9.28.20)

This was extremely tasty, juicy, dank, and delicious. Everything you want from a New England IPA, this had in spades, plus some. All around amazing beer and went fantastically with my sandwich. By this point I had moved to the center table and sat across from the one swing. I was informed by Johnny (Johnny Compton III – owner/brewer at Highway Manor Brewing) that a friend of his bought everyone a round. I was then joined by a couple – Lucas and Kaitlin who sat next to me.

They were both wearing ‘cat’ pants (pants with dozens of cat faces all over them), and quickly from talking to them I realized Lucas was Johnny’s friend. I thanked him for the beer, and for the rest of the night there, talked with them while we all drank, as well as talked with a few others who were there and one or two that came and went.

Compton Pilsner (a collaboration by Raney Cellar Brewery and Highway Manor Brewing)

Beer: Compton Pilsner
Brewery: Raney Cellars Brewing Company
Collaboration with: Highway Manor Brewing Co.
Style: Pilsner – Czech
ABV: 5.4%
IBU: None
Untappd Description: A traditional Pilsner with Mr Johnny Compton from Highway Manor Brewing. Saaz Hops from start to finish on this Pils.

As I’ve said in the blog here before when doing reviews, pilsners are a style that can be very hit or miss for me. This was a complete hit for me. Blew me away how wonderful the flavor was, how crisp it was, no lingering aftertastes (which I sometimes get from pilsners and why they are often a miss for me). This is just a fantastically brewed beer.

My Untappd Rating: ****
Global Untappd Rating: 3.88 (as of 9.28.20)

Throughout the night I had been texting with the group text of guys from my work, a group of us that regularly meet to play the Game of Thrones board game (and other games) and just group text each other about all kinds of things, from beer to philosophy, to politics, to work, to movies, shows, nerd culture, etc. My one friend and co-worker in the group text decided he would spend the night throwing out some new “blog names” for me instead of using The Beer Thrillers. At this point, I’d like to take a divergence from the brewery review and highlight the best that D. Pezzuti had to offer:

Benjamin Buzzin
Get Ben’t
Bend Over Bens Benders
The Curious Cases of Benjamin Buzzin

We then discussed doing a segment of beer reviews of Nitro stouts and rate them in the style of WCW Nitro Years. With five star Nitro stouts being WCW Nitro ’97 and one star Nitro stouts being WCW Nitro ’01. We also discussed calling the faithful to the blog “Hopamaniacs”.

Anyway…. back to the program…

Time for another beer, this time I went for another guest draft – this time from Naked Brewing; Thank Frank.

Thank Frank by Naked Brewing Company

Beer: Thank Frank
Brewery: Naked Brewing Company
Style: IPA – American
ABV: 5.6%
IBU: None
Untappd Description: West Coast IPA hopped with Citra & Amarillo.
Refreshing and perfect for those warm September days. Notes of dank citrus & delicious sticky resin.

A traditional hoppy IPA, this was a change of pace from the crisp pilsner, the juicy New England IPA, and the super tart and delicious sour Mr. Blackberry. This was a good, hoppy, bitter, earthy IPA, old west coast style old-school vibe to it.

My Untappd Rating: ****
Global Untappd Rating: 3.75 (as of 9.28.20)

It was starting to get late, I had thought about meeting two friends (D. Arndt and Youngblood) at Ever Grain before Ever Grain closed (at 11 – just like Highway Manor) since they were doing their Anniversary weekend, but Youngblood’s comedy (stand up comedy) bit went on longer and they wouldn’t be leaving their show til just before 11 anyway. So I stayed til closing getting to talk to Lucas and Kaitlin and others.

At this point, we also got introduced to Johnnie’s dog – a great dane and black lab mix – named Luna. Absolutely beautiful and wonderful dog. Fun and playful and nice drinking companion (no, I didn’t give the dog any beer).

So for my final beer of the night, I tried another brewery I never had before but have heard nothing but great things about – Brewery ARS.

Unfortunately for this, I do not have a pic, as just as I was ordering, my phone died and I did not have a charger on me. (9 hour day at work, plus driving using my GPS, plus texting, plus Untappd, and other apps, for notes, etc., really drained the battery).

Beer: Embrace the Day
Brewery: Brewery ARS
Style: IPA – Imperial / Double New England
ABV: 8.7%
IBU: None
Untappd Description: Hazy Double IPA :: mosaic, simcoe, falconer’s flight, el dorado

Another juicy, bright, delicious New England style IPA; this time a DIPA. A great beer to end the night on. This was super easy to drink, juicy, and went down fast (also perhaps because it was the end of the night and my fifth drink, but who knows).

My Untappd Rating: ****
Global Untappd Rating: 4.09 (as of 9.28.20)

Before leaving, I said my goodbyes to everyone, and got to talk to Johnnie Compton a bit more. He is a great dude, knows his saisons, knows his yeast, knows his beer, and very down to Earth. Thanked me for coming out, and sent me on my way with a few (free) bottles of Mr. Peach and Mr. Plum. Which I will be diving into on the next stream with D. Scott for The Knights of Nostalgia.

I will discuss the aesthetics of the brewery now. The building is small, but well laid out (even with the current COVID restrictions), it has two rooms for dining tables, and then an open patio like area. Kind of reminds you of a house in the suburbs with the patio garage area.

The swings are really neat. I am wondering if they may become a problem with an ‘intoxicated’ person, but at a brewery, I highly doubt this will come up, but you never know. The tables and seating area though is gorgeous, both indoor and outdoor. Indoors, it has a rave like vibe with the glowing lights and the glow in the dark paint. (Make sure to check out the bathroom to really see what I mean.)

Lucas summed it up when we were discussing the brewery and the area, that its a “Philly bar in Camp Hill, turned saison bottle brewery.” And thats probably the most apt way to describe it. Johnnie and I were discussing how it was like opening during COVID and everything, and he was saying how nuts he was for opening a brewery primarily based on bottles rather than draft, and to do it during a global pandemic on top of everything.

The food menu on Saturday night looked fantastic. Lamb, turkey, vegetarian or vegan sandwich, and many other options, all for 8$ or less. Not sure if that menu is permanent or if it will be changed or updated or switched, but Johnnie did say he’s hoping to have food trucks in their parking lot area and grass field area across from the brewery on weekends.

The following pictures I took Saturday night while I was there:

Highway Manor Brewing Co. (Pictures by: The Beer Thrillers) (Include: Highway Manor Brewer and Luna)

The following pictures are courtesy of Highway Manor’s Facebook page:

Highway Manor Brewing Co. Grand Opening – September 26th, 2020 (Photos courtesy of Highway Manor Brewing Co. Facebook page)

This will certainly be a stop I will make regularly when on the West Shore, and will be perfect when hitting the area to do a brewery lap. Other great local breweries include Ever Grain, Mellow Mink, Hemaur Brewing, and Pizza Boy (as well as Liquid Noise which is a bit further, but still in the general area). So lots of great options all in the area.

I personally highly recommend checking the brewery out, and trying their wonderful tremendous beers. Especially if you like farmhouse ales, saisons, tart beers, sours, lambics, or all things similar. They also will have a rotating guest draft list that looks great for the area (Johnnie said he would like to keep it relatively full of Philly area beers), so that looks great – getting to try Philly beers and Philly breweries without the 2 hour drive to Philly. The brewery has a super cool vibe. There was a food menu for kids though it might not be 100% the most kid friendly; its certainly not anti-kid, but the venue vibe seems to be aimed away from parents. It is also dog friendly.

Highway Manor Brewing Co.

Be sure to check out some of our other brewery opening articles:

Thanks for reading everyone and hopefully someday I’ll see you at Highway Manor and have a beer together. Until then, virtually, cheers!

-B. Kline

(Post Script: This was meant to go up Sunday night, but everything kinda got pushed back and thus why its gone up this morning, Monday, September 28th. My parents celebrated their 40th Anniversary on Sunday the 27th, and originally – pre-COVID – we were all going to go to the Bengals vs. Eagles game at the Lincoln Center in Philly; since they are big Eagles fans and I’m a Bengals fan, but unfortunately that didn’t get to work out. Instead, we got to watch the overtime – because the game in regulation time was not aired locally – and we got to see possibly the most apathetic overtime ever played. Six punts by the two teams combined in the 10 minute overtime. Neither team trying on their last plays to score. And on top of all this, the Phillies still had a chance to make the playoffs, and all they had to do was win, against a team that was locked in at their seed, and that they had just lost to twice, ….and of course they couldn’t do it. So despite it being an 8-team playoff for each conference, the Phillies *STILL* couldn’t manage to get in. So disappointing. But needless to say despite all this, the article is now up, just a bit later. Enjoy!)

Beer Review: They Burn Them All Away (Broken Goblet Brewing)

BKline — Sun, 22 Sep 2019 03:15:00 +0000

They Burn Them All Away by Broken Goblet Brewing, a 13% Belgian Quad. Just what I needed at noon while attempting to ‘have a day’.

Some days turn out to be more productive than others. Some days you get lots of things done. Some days you PLAN on getting lots of things done. And some days… you start getting things done… and then you start drinking a 13% Belgian Quad at the bar…… at noon…. ….and there goes the day’s productivity right there.

This was one of those kinds of days.

Up and early at 6AM to get kids ready for school, drop people off at various places, walk younger ones to their school, and then back home to do chores around the house til 10AM. Thats when it was “errands” time. Which required getting to a printer, printing labels, sending beer mail, going to Target, the Hershey Library, and a host of other activities, and get them all done before said kids are done at school.

And of course thats when you get that text from your buddy at noon that just says “Boozin” and nothing more. *Shakes fist* And *shakes fist* at Boneshire Brewery being along the way (sorta…. kinda…. not really….) to Target. So needless to say, one (ie. me) never made it to Target until late at night (same thing with the Hershey Library happening much later as well). But I did get my shipment of beer mail sent before noon. So…. accomplishment and success? ….Calls for a beer! (Or two!)

Beer: They Will Burn Them All Away
Brewery: Broken Goblet Brewing
Style: Belgian Quadruple
ABV: 13%
IBU: No IBU
Untappd Write-Up: THEY BURN THEM ALL AWAY is a 13% Belgian Quad that not-so-subtly knocks you on your butt after you take in the balanced fruit and spice notes against the toasted caramel background. Raisins, plums, and a hint of wine can be expected, as will the giggles and a need to sit down after about 10 minutes.

Nothing like walking into your small-time local brewery right as their opening their doors and getting to smell the wonderful delicious smell of a brewery in operation. Shawn was manning on the bar and welcomed me right away and I took a seat at the bar and we chatted about how his old BBQ truck next-door to Boneshire Brewery (in between Boneshire and the 717 Armory) “Nomad BBQ” has been bought by a group of guys and they’ve rechristened it “Blues BBQ”. He seemed happy it was being put to good use, but at the same time, we said its like driving by your old home. The tree out back you planted has been cut down. There’s different doors and windows. The side-room has new siding thats a different color. They added a patio that doesn’t seem to match. The garden is gone. Etc.

D. Scott finally made his way in and got a Boneshire Brew and the three of us chatted, while Alan Miller (head brewer and owner of Boneshire Brew Works) occasionally popped his head out from out-back hard-working to bring us more brewskies in the future.

Enough about the crap surrounding the event, and more about the beer. This is a good Quad. But good god… you are going to feel it, and you are going to feel it right away. 13% is a good high number (most regular IPAs are around the 6-7% benchmark, DIPAs around the 9% area, and even TIPAs usually around the 10-12% area). So on an empty stomach at noon, 13% is feeling pretty grand and wonderful.

Lets start off with the basics though, aroma – very Belgian, very dark and heavy. You get plum and raisin, you get an underlying boozyness and smells like the empty bottles of wine (freshly emptied, not days old emptied). Stone fruit kind of dark heavy fruit smell. Some spice notes but everything else pretty much blocks it out – the spice just barely peeks through. There is a dark malt note as well, probably caramel, definitely not roasted.

Appearance is jet-black dark. Almost purplish in hue, with a nice thin head to it. Bubbles on top are good and varied. Its not a reflective dark but a more ‘enveloping dark’. (If any of that makes sense…. it does in my head at least, not sure how that translates to you the reader.)

First sip has the characteristics of a Belgian, especially a dark Belgian, but as the booze hits you it picks up and speeds across your tongue and BAM you realize this is definitely a QUAD and not even a DOUBLE. The booznyess is a bit upfront, bit more so than necessary, but probably too hard to hide given the wine notes and the high (13%!!) ABV. The booze burn slowly fades out and you begin to get the notes of plum, raisin, wine, and the malt characteristics of caramel. There is some spices to it (not pepper and not heated, just notes of various kitchen cabinet spices) that adds a bit of a flourish to it. But this is mostly straight forward dark stone fruit taste combined with a wine boozy overflow to it. The mouthfeel is a bit heavy but not cloying and nothing unpleasant. No after taste that disrupts anything either.

My Untappd Rating: ****
Global Untappd Rating: 3.95 (as of 9.21.19)

After this, me and D. Scott had a second (I had the new version of AuZealand by Boneshire – AuZealand 2.0 w/Lactose, and D. Scott had the Harrishire). So needless to say before I knew it, I’m leaving Boneshire at 2:30, just in time to get home, eat, down some mouth wash, brush my teeth, spray myself with cologne, and get the girls from school.

Productivity had to wait til later (and I did manage to get my errands down, just dispersed throughout the day instead of all at once). So all in all it was a successful day.

Look for an AuZealand review coming soon, as well as much more, and with the 6th Annual Lititz Brewfest happening tomorrow (9.22.19) look for some stuff coming out from that. Should be a fun day. The Lititz Brewfest is always one of the best in the state and goes to a great cause, and its due to be a beautiful 88 degree day.

Cheers All!

-B. Kline

Breweries Around the Outskirts of Harrisburg (9.6.19)

BKline — Fri, 06 Sep 2019 17:15:00 +0000

(Editorial Note: This article was originally written and submitted to Breweries in PA. They will be publishing it in roughly one weeks time on their page and FaceBook page. It was written by lead writer here at The Beer Thrillers – B. Kline, and is being posted here as well. This was a guest-article written by B. Kline for Breweries in PA. Since there is some pertinent and timely information included in the article [namely Tattered Flag & Levante’s Tap Takeovers and Can Releases for 9.7.19] this article is being posted here and now. When it is posted on the Breweries in PA website and FaceBook page, links will be provided to the article’s locations there. Likewise, since this was created for their site and blog, as well as written in Microsoft Online Word DOC the formatting may be off in some places. When the mistakes are noticed, we will try and correct them. -The Beer Thrillers staff.)

Breweries Around the Outskirts of Harrisburg
By: B. Kline

In the area surrounding Hummelstown (17036), there is several breweries. In all directions, roughly within 5 miles, there is some fantastic breweries in Hershey, Middletown, and the outskirts of Harrisburg like Rutherford and Union Station. I’m going to take a look at a few of these and suggest a nice weekend trip to these locations that won’t take a lot of your time up, and what all events and plans they currently have going on. In this article, we will be taking a look at Troegs Brewery, Boneshire Brew Works, Newfangled Brew Works, and Tattered Flag Brewery and Distillery.

There is a lot of great choices of breweries in Pennsylvania, and even in just Harrisburg itself, there is several fantastic choices. Coming from the small town of Hummelstown itself (where I’m located – B. Kline – writer for the blog The Beer Thrillers). In Harrisburg central there is ZeroDay Brewing, The Millworks, and The Vegetable Hunter. Along the outskirts of Harrisburg in Rutherford you will find Boneshire Brew Works and in a small development off of Union Deposit in Union Station you’ll find Newfangled Brew Works. In Hershey you’ll find Troegs Independent Craft Brewing and Iron Hill Brewery. In Middletown you will find Tattered Flag Brewery and Distillery. And soon, in the future in Hummelstown you’ll be able to enjoy some beverages at the old police station by Rubber Soul Brewing.

I’ve decided to write this in the best route method for driving and convenience. I debated exactly how I wanted to write-up the breweries of Boneshire Brew Works, Newfangled Brew Works, Tattered Flag, and Troegs, and decided this might be the best and most logical way. The times I’ve done this ‘brewery trail’ this is always the way I’ve done it, and it also stops the ‘why was X first and Y last’ arguments. So lets take a look at these four breweries, what they got to offer on tap, what they got going on, and why their worth a stop in and check out.

Newfangled Brew Works

Located At: 8001 Union Station Blvd, Harrisburg, PA 17111
Untappd Link: https://untappd.com/NewfangledBrewWorks

Newfangled Brew Works is located inside Union Station, a recent development built off of Union Deposit Road (a long road that connects Harrisburg to several of the smaller towns in the area like South Hanover Township, Union Deposit, Hoernerstown, and even to Hershey). It is right as you enter into the development in a large building conjoined with its restaurant pairing – Koda. Koda is a high scale restaurant located to the right of the main entrance into Newfangled. Newfangled also has its own built-in Taco Truck tucked away in the back lefthand corner.

Lets discuss the food first, the taco truck has fabulous tacos, quesadillas, and other taco and Mexican related foods. Artisanal tacos is the best way to describe these, as this is definitely no Taco Bell menu (and a whole heck of a lot better tasting too). Their food menu can be found here: Food, their hours of operation are: Sunday 11AM-9PM, Monday-Friday 4PM-9PM, and Saturday 12PM-10PM.

Pictured here is the quesadilla taco from the taco truck, with the added beef meat it came to be 7.42$ (pre-tip). Beer picture is the Guava Lemonade Kettle Sour. The taco was extremely delicious and the kettle sour washed it down perfectly. This is the side-porch and patio area to the left of the building (when facing the entrance).

The brewery itself currently has 16 beers on tap for consumption. Some of their own, and a few others. Of their own currently on tap they have:

Passionfruit Blonde Ale – Blonde Ale – 5%

Ariana Flockhart – Blonde Ale – 4.9%
Blood Orange Blonde Ale – Blonde Ale – 5%
Guava Lemonade Kettle Sour – Sour – 5.6%
Kettle Sour – Sour – 5.6%
Brut IPA – IPA – Brut – 7.7%

Double IPA – IPA – Imperial – 8.2%
Irish Red Ale – Red Ale – Irish – 6%
Saison – Farmhouse Ale – Saison – 6.8%
Newfangled American Wheat – Wheat Beer – 5.2%
Lager – Lager – 5.2%

IPA – IPA – American – 5.8%
Stout – Stout – American – 6.5%

The non-Newfangled Beers on tap are:

Yuengling Lager – Lager – 4.5% (Yuengling Brewery)
Standard – Cider – 5.5% (Big Hill Ciderworks)

I have currently had all but their lager, double IPA, Brut IPA, and the blood orange blonde ale. I have enjoyed everything I’ve had so far. Found nothing to be horrible or terrible and no off flavors or infected beers.

They offer their beers right now in pints or traditional pours, dependent on the style, as well as half pours and flights. Pricing is your normal fair for a craft brewery (5$-7/8$ depending on style and costs to make the beer).

Currently, Newfangled Brew Works has produced 22 unique beers, and has a global average rating of 3.73.

Upcoming events for Newfangled are:

Live Music – Fridays and Saturdays 7PM – 10PM
Trivia – Wednesdays 630PM – 830PM

Boneshire Brew Works
Located At: 7462 Derry St, Harrisburg, PA 17111
Untappd Link: https://untappd.com/BoneshireBrewWorks

Coming down the road from Newfangled and getting onto Nyes Road it will lead you to Derry Street. From there you take a right hand turn and find yourself after a few blocks at Boneshire Brew Works. Boneshire was started by Alan Miller, Carson Brooks, and Alex Govelovich.

Boneshire’s brewery is a small little ‘pub’ style brewery. As soon as you enter you feel already a member of a club where everybody knows your name. If you’ve been there once, your second time there, you are a ‘regular’ and quickly become on a first name basis with all of the staff.

Currently food is limited to a few behind the bar items like pickle flights and bologna, but it is a BYOB environment with a pizzeria just two doors down (to the left of the building is a Crossfit and after that is the pizza shop, how lucky are those crossfit hard-workers being “stuck” between a pizza shop and a brewery?).

Boneshire currently offers a taplist of their own, as well as a taplist of several breweries from Pennsylvania. Their current taplist is:

Their own:

Dillston – Red Ale – Irish – 5.5% (made with Greystone Public House)
Caucus-Race (6.0 Zappa Hops) – IPA – American – 7.5%

Harrishire – Smoked – 7.3% (made in collaboration with Harris Family Brewery)
AuZealand 2.0 – IPA – American – 6.3%
Dark of the Forest (barrel aged) – Stout – Coffee – 10%
Derry St. Wheat – Hefeweizen – 5%
Good Walk Spoiled – Sour – 4.5%

Guest tap lists:

Jelsa – Mead – Melomel – 12% (Larsen Meadworks)
Magic… Under Where? – Pale Ale – 5.5% (Pizza Boy Brewing)
Kriek Nouveau – Sour – 6.9% (Free Will Brewing Co.)
Brawler – English Mild – 4.2% (Yards Brewing Co.)

Pils – Pilsner – German – 4.7% (Stoudts Brewing)
Summer Scrumpy – Cider – 5.5% (Big Hill Ciderworks)
Fruit Wagon – Sour – 6.3% (Saucony Brewing Company)
Java Cask – Stout – Imperial Double – 14.3% (Victory Brewing)
Pikeland Pils – Pilsner – German – 4.9% (Slyfox Brewing)

Boneshire Brewery has a steady string of events going on. Mondays are D&D nights, Tuesdays alternate between Open Mic Nights and Bar Bingo nights, Wednesdays are trivia nights, Thursdays are live music nights. Their Facebook page has a full list of events with the band names already signed on for each Thursday through October. They also occasionally have live music on Saturday nights.

Boneshire also does cans to go, in 4-packs of most of their in-house made beers. A few exceptions based on styles and things, but nearly all of their brewery beers are set to go. And typically at much better prices than a pint at the bar. They also do growler fills.

They currently have 126 uniquely produced beers with a global average rating of 3.82 on Untappd.

Tattered Flag Brewery and Distillery

Located At: 1 S Union St Middletown, PA
Untappd Link: https://untappd.com/TatteredFlagBrewery

Leaving Boneshire we can get right up onto 322 from Derry Street. There we can then turn right and get off at the Hummelstown / Middletown exit and go along Middletown Road (which becomes Vine Street), not much further we’ll turn right onto Main Street and then turn left to get onto Union and we are at our next destination. Middletown’s first (and so far only) brewery and distillery – Tattered Flag.

Veteran owned and having just hit their third anniversary they have really been pumping out some outstanding beers in recent history. With new brewing crew of Dave Marrow, Justin Hoak, and Cliff Plank, they have been putting out exceptional IPAs (NE IPAS specifically) and sours. They were just voted Harrisburg best Brewery and Distillery.

They have been doing some excellent collaborations with numerous breweries in the last few months as well. Beers with Wolf Brewing Co. , Levante Brewing, Abomination Brewing, and up and comer Pilger Ruh Brewing.

They have a downstairs bar that is also their coffee shop as well as the distillery area. It was called the Nuclear Bean but on Untappd they refer to the bar as the Distillery Bar now. They also have their main restaurant and bar upstairs, though you can order food at either location.

At the downstairs Nuclear Bean / coffee shop / distillery bar, you can order drinks. Their taplist there currently is:

NP Project – Kombucha (Renewal Kombucha)
Nuclear Bean Nitro Cold Brew – Coffee

Blue Raider Kolsch – Kolsch – 5.2%
Teutonic Knight Hefeweizen – Hefeweizen – 5.4%
Fatum Series Ale – Strawberry – Sour – 6%
Because I Was Inverted (Mango) – IPA – Milkshake – 6.6%
Makin’ Love at Midnight (2019) – IPA – Milkshake – 7.8%

Silent Professional Foxtrot – Farmhouse Ale – Saison – 7.8%
New Zealand Hop Test – IPA – Imperial Double – 8%
Don’t Cryo’ver Spilled Milk – IPA – Milkshake – 8%
TMI IPA – IPA – American – 6.5%

They also have cans to go, which you can pick up upstairs or downstairs, there list of cans to go currently are:

Tattered Abomination – IPA – New England – 7.8% (made with Abomination Brewing)
Prepare to be Flabbergasted – Sour – 7%
Teutonic Knight Hefeweizen
Blue Raider Kolsch
O’Dusseldorf Rules – Altbier – 5%

Honey I Added More Hops – IPA – New England – 7%
Double Knife Fight in Space – IPA – New England – 8%
Makin’ Love at Midnight 2.0 – IPA – American – 7.5%
Step 1 Brew Beer Step 2 ? Step 3 Profit – IPA – New England – 8%
Makin’ Love at Midnight (Sour) – Sour – 7.8%

TMI IPA

Their taplist upstairs currently is:

Silent Professional Foxtrot
Blue Raider Kolsch

Teutonic Knight Hefeweizen
DDH Double IPA – IPA – Imperial / Double – New England – 8.4%
Swattier Divide (2018) – IPA – New England – 8.2%
Step 1 Brew Beer Step 2 ? Step 3 Profit
TMI IPA

Don’t Cryo’ver Spilled Milk
Should’ve Got a Warrant – Sour – 7.6%
Stars and Stripes 20.19 – IPA – New England – 7.8%
Sparklerz (Meyer Lemon) – Hard Seltzer – 5%
Five Sided Puzzle Palace – Stout – Imperial / Double – 12% (Levante Brewing colab)

Because I Was Inverted (Mango)
Double Knife Fight in Space
Groundhops Day – IPA – New England – 6%
Honey I Added More Hops
Makin’ Love at Midnight (sour)

Prepare to be Flabbergasted
Tattered Abomination

Make sure to check out my blog (The Beer Thrillers) for reviews on Prepare to be Flabbergasted, Tattered Abomination, and Makin’ Love at Midnight (Sour) all due to being posted within the next several days.

I’m not much of a foody, but I do love going to Tattered Flag or helping with their canning run, just to get to eat there. It is top notch gourmet style food. All bases covered, from hot dogs and hamburgers, to salads, to tacos and quesadillas, to steaks, and seafood. Everything is covered and everything is absolutely phenomenal.

This weekend, Tattered Flag and Levante Brewing are doing their big release. Saturday, September 7^th, starting at 11AM, they will be selling cans of their collaboration with Levante Brewing – Wasted Away Again, a key-lime pie sour. They will also be selling cans of their collaboration with Levante Brewing – Five Sided Puzzle Palace. As well as having several of Levante’s beers on tap in the brewery. Ontop of this, from 1PM to 4PM the Hershey Biergarten in downtown Hershey will be selling their cans and having the beers on tap as well. Tattered Flag and Levante will also be featured at sip of Soma.

Of course I have to mention that you should check out the distillery if you have any inclination in liquors. Dan, the distiller for Tattered Flag is amazing and provides exceptional spirits. (He also does ghost tours in Gettysburg.)

Tattered Flag Brewery has 351 uniquely produced beers with a global average rating on Untappd of 3.77.

Troegs Independent Craft Brewing
Located At: 200 Hersheypark Dr, Hershey, PA 17033
Untappd Link: https://untappd.com/troegsbrewingcompany

And last but not least of our little tour is Troegs Brewery. Which at this point, really needs no introduction. They are always some of the top rated beers in the state, and is generally considered “the top” of the craft industry in the state (behind Yuengling). The brewery itself is always jam packed, weekday, weeknight, afternoon, or evening. Some of which is due to its fantastic location next door to HersheyPark, and some of that due to the excellent beers in production, as well as a top of the line brewery tour.

They have certainly been expanding too. Adding the foeders and making a larger cellar room. They’ve added a beer garden outfront. And lots and lots more parking. Which somehow still doesn’t feel like its enough!

They have also branched out and done a lot more of their Splinter Series beers, done more and more regular scratches, and even begun to can some of the scratch beers, and upped the number of rotational/seasonal beers. Releasing some big hits like Lollihop, Golden Thing, and various Scratches in beer can that have all gotten great reviews.

They have also added an upstairs loft with its own food menu and its own bar (though the taplist is the same as it is in the side-room by the foeders and at the main bar, just slightly more limited). The pizza upstairs is the best new feature total though, hop on that immediately!

Their current taplist at the main bar is:

Perpetual IPA – IPA – American – 7.5%
Troegennator Double Bock – Bock – Imperial – 8.2%
Sunshine Pils – Pilsner – 4.5%
HopBack Amber Ale – Red Ale – Amber Ale – 6%

DreamWeaver – Wheat Beer – 4.8%
JavaHead – Stout – Coffee – 7.5%
Hop Knife – IPA – American – 6.2%
Nimble Giant – IPA – Imperial / Double – 9%
Naked Elf – English Ale – 6.9%

Golden Thing – DDH – IPA – Double – 8.2%
Boysenberry Tart Ale – Sour – 4.5%
Raspberry Tart Ale – Sour – 4.5%
Fest Lager – Lager – Marzen – 6.1%
Dear Peter – Farmhouse Saison – 7.6%

Hazy IPA (Scratch 387) – IPA – New England – 5.2% (same as Trail Day Pale Ale)
Tangerine Passionfruit Guava Tart (Scratch 386) – Sour – 4.6%
Krausened Dunkel Lager (Scratch 385) – Dunkel – 5.4%
Tangerine Blackberry Guava Tart Ale (Scratch 384) – Sour – 5%

In Bottles Only:

LaGrave Triple Golden Ale – Belgian – 8%
Jovial Dubbel Ale – Belgian – 7%
Mad Elf Grand Cru (2018) – Belgian Strong Dark – 11%
Wild Elf – Farmhouse Wild Ale – 11%
Bourbon Barrel-Aged Impending Descent – Russian Stout – 12%

Bourbon Barrel-Aged Troegenator – Double Bock – 9.8%
Bourbon Barrel-Aged Flying Mouflan – Belgian – 11.5%
Dear Peter
Farmette – Farmhouse Saison – 6.5%
Blackberry Tizzy – Sour – 7.8%

Mortal Cherry – Farmhouse Wild Ale – 6.6%
Apricot Farmette – Farmhouse Saison – 7.4%

Troeg also has cider from Big Hill Ciderworks as well as numerous non-alcoholic sodas in bottle (for children and non-drinking drivers).

Troegs currently has no events listed for this weekend in their brewery. It has seemed they do less and less events in house at the brewery, and more and more out at various places. Most likely due to how full the brewery already is getting plus it expands the brand more to do these events at a wider range of places.

They do however have a big event coming up on October 4^th weekend – their annual Hop Harvest Fest. Which since putting in the beer garden they’ve been putting to good use with this. Look for more information to come out soon on bands performing and beers they will be releasing.

If you’ve never been to Troegs Brewery before, make sure you take the walking tour. It’s a quick 5-10 minute self guided tour but you get to see some neat things along the way (like the krausen for DreamWeaver as well as their bottling and canning lines).

Troegs currently has 385 uniquely produced beers (according to Untappd, which is a bit dated on this, since a lot of their scratches were released before Untappd was created, and they are currently up to Scratch 387) with a global average rating on Untappd of 3.79.

Thank you for checking out this brief brewery hopping tour around the outskirts of Harrisburg and centralized around Hummelstown. I hope you all found it informative and helpful and will give these four great breweries a look over. They all definitely deserve your time and attention as they are all pumping out some wonderful beers and have great stuff going on at their breweries all the time.

And lastly, make sure you hop on over to my beer blog – The Beer Thrillers, where me and beer buddy J. Doncevic have been writing some wonderful beer reviews, brewery reviews, trip recaps, beer event reviews, and all kinds of other beer related things in the Central PA area since May. Make sure to stop and check us out and let us know in the comments that you came from here, we’d greatly appreciate seeing you there!

B. Kline
The Beer Thrillers
https://thebeerthrillers.com/
http://twitter.com/thebeerthriller/