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YAH Brew and Cartel Brewing Team Up to Revive Middletown Space with Collaborative Venture

B. Kline — Thu, 07 Aug 2025 21:46:22 +0000

YAH Brew and Cartel Brewing Team Up to Revive Middletown Space with Collaborative Venture

YAH Brew and Cartel Brewing and Blending have teamed up on the newly acquired space in Middletown – the old Tattered Flag location at 1 S Union St, Middletown, PA 17057. (See our recent article about YAH Brewing acquiring the Tattered Flag space.) (Or the Tower Investments press release on it here – YAH Brew Preser.) Cartel Brewing and Blending has also made expansion growth of their own, by announcing their second location – The Safe House – coming to Manheim, PA, opening in late Fall / Winter of 2025.

Cartel Brewing and YAH Brew team up over the Tattered Flag location in Middletown

Cartel Brewing and Blending’s Social Media Announcement

The announcement came via Cartel Brewing and Blending’s social media earlier today:

FUN ANNOUNCEMENT:

For the last few months, we’ve been working on a pretty rad joint venture project with our friends at YAH Brew…

We are stoked to announce that we have the keys and begun the next stage of bringing this amazing space back to life in Middletown, PA!

We will launch a multifaceted community space that will allow us to use the brewery for both of our brands as well as our collaborative new brand and taproom. We also plan to create a cooperative production facility for other breweries to share and expand their brewing and canning needs and foresee a distillery brand arising in 2026….

All in all, we can’t be more excited about this project and partnering with Justin and Aimee from YAH Brew. More details to follow in the coming weeks…..

– Cartel Brewing and Blending Facebook Post

YAH Brew and Cartel Brewing and Blending Team Up

Two of Central PA’s most creative brewing minds are joining forces to breathe new life into a familiar location in Dauphin County — and beer fans have plenty to be excited about.

Back in July, YAH Brew made waves when they announced plans to take over the former home of Tattered Flag Brewery at 1 South Union Street in Middletown, Pennsylvania. The 5,000-square-foot space, which had sat idle since Tattered Flag closed its doors in late 2023 due to rising inflation and labor challenges, is now being transformed into something bold, collaborative, and community-driven.

But the story just got even more interesting.

Earlier today, Cartel Brewing & Blending announced via social media that they’re officially partnering with YAH Brew on the Middletown project — turning the solo endeavor into a full-blown joint venture between two of the region’s most experimental breweries.

“For the last few months, we’ve been working on a pretty rad joint venture project with our friends at YAH Brew,” Cartel wrote in a Facebook post. “We are stoked to announce that we have the keys and begun the next stage of bringing this amazing space back to life in Middletown, PA!”

According to both breweries, the revitalized space will serve multiple purposes: an event venue, a collaborative brewing hub, and a future home for a distilling operation.

What to Expect from the New YAH Brew x Cartel Project

Event Venue – The updated venue is designed to host a variety of gatherings, from retirement parties and birthdays to corporate events and wedding receptions. With a large open floor plan and Yah Brew’s nostalgic flair, the space promises a unique, relaxed vibe for private functions.
Shared Brewing & Canning Facility – In a move that underscores the cooperative spirit of craft beer, the site will also operate as a production facility for both Yah Brew and Cartel Brewing, helping both brands expand their brewing and canning capabilities.
Future Distillery in 2026 – Cartel hinted at an exciting long-term vision: the creation of a new distillery brand housed within the same space. While details are still emerging, this points toward a multi-beverage future for the Middletown location.

A Second Life for a Storied Building

For locals and longtime fans of the Central PA beer scene, the building at 1 S. Union Street holds a lot of history. Once home to Tattered Flag Brewery — a veteran-owned favorite that helped put Middletown on the craft beer map — the space now enters a new era with two ambitious and community-focused breweries at the helm.

This collaboration is more than just a shared address; it’s a symbol of what can happen when independent brewers unite, pool their resources, and think beyond the pint glass.

We’ll be keeping tabs on developments as the project evolves — including grand opening dates, beer releases, and any sneak peeks into the distilling side of things.

Want to Book the Event Space?

Looking to host a wedding reception, retirement party, or company event in a unique beer-forward setting? Yah Brew and Cartel are already taking reservations for the event space. Stay tuned for updates via their social media channels or visit their websites directly.

Follow The Beer Thrillers for continuing coverage of the Central PA craft beer scene, brewery expansions, collaborations, and more. From Harrisburg to Hershey, Lancaster to Lebanon — we’ve got your hops covered.

🍻 Support local. Drink local. Celebrate community.

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YAH Brew Expands to Former Tattered Flag Space in Middletown

B. Kline — Thu, 17 Jul 2025 20:35:08 +0000

YAH Brew Expands to Former Tattered Flag Space in Middletown

Tattered Flag’s Brewery via Google Maps

July 17, 2025

By NAI CIR Press Release – Emma Weikel 717-761-5070 ext 117 eweikel@naicir.com

Middletown, PA – YAH Brew, a bold and fast-growing female-owned brewery based in Hummelstown, has leased the ground-floor space of the former Tattered Flag Brewery & Distillery in Middletown. Known for its pop culture-inspired beer releases, bold styles, and inclusive community spirit, YAH Brew will use the space to expand production capabilities and support growing demand.

This new location complements the brewery’s existing operations, which include a taproom in downtown Hershey, and brewery/taproom and hoagie shop in Mount Joy. The Middletown expansion marks a major milestone in the brand’s continued growth—reviving a well-known local craft beer destination.

Nik Sgagias, of NAI CIR, represented the landlord in the transaction.

The second floor of the building features a 5,000 SF, fully equipped restaurant space that remains available for lease—offering a rare opportunity for a food and beverage operator to join the heart of Middletown’s evolving culinary and craft beverage scene. To view more about the property, head to the website here: https://circommercial.com/properties/?propertyId=1-South-Union-Street-LEASE.

About NAI CIR

NAI CIR, with offices in Lemoyne and Carlisle, is Central Pennsylvania’s oldest and largest exclusively commercial industrial real estate full-service brokerage firm. Founded in 1970, the firm is consistently ranked as the top producing commercial industrial sales and leasing firm by the Central Pennsylvania Business Journal and by Real Capital Analytics. Our team has been honored as a Philadelphia Region CoStar Power Broker for 25 consecutive years.

NAI CIR is the Central Pennsylvania representative of NAI Global, an international organization of real estate professionals with connections across the world. Our transaction and management professionals are among the most experienced and successful in the business, and our platform ensures that our expertise directly benefits our clients.

News

See our article: YAH Brew to Turn the Old Tattered Flag Location Into an Event Space
Location: 1 S Union St, Middletown, PA 17057
Press Release: Tower Investments – YAH Brew Expands to Former Tattered Flag Space in Middletown

Brewery News

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YAH Brew to Turn the Old Tattered Flag Location Into an Event Space

B. Kline — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 00:20:35 +0000

YAH Brew to Turn the Old Tattered Flag Location Into an Event Space

While their announcement via YAH Brew Hershey’s social media seems cryptic about its location, astute patrons of both YAH Brew and Tattered Flag can immediately see that this is no mere “Middletown location”. It can be only one location and one play… the old Tattered Flag location. Amy and I were sitting at Boneshire Brew Works, enjoying a Que Sera and the Baron Margarita Gose while eating our favorite Bacon and Thyme pizza when we saw the YAH Brew post – just one minute old, and we immediately recognized the location. On the same day where we announced Appalachian Brewing Company closing their Harrisburg brewpub, a craft beer staple in Pennsylvania, it looks like YAH Brew is tapping into nostalgia and craft beer history and reclaiming an old craft beer hangout and mainstay for the Central PA area and bringing it back. Dipping into their own nostalgia to do so, what perfect news on this day! It was late October last year (2024) when we announced that Tower Investments bought the Tattered Flag location, you can read about that here: Tattered Flag Brewery & Still Works Sold to California-Based Tower Investments.

YAH Brew looks to be taking over the old Tattered Flag Middletown brewery location.

The Announcement

The following is the announcement just posted about an hour ago on YAH Brew Hershey’s Facebook page:

Welp…here we go again!

Throughout the year we receive many inquires about hosting private events in our taprooms. As much as we love and appreciate hearing that y’all want to celebrate and create cherished memories in our space, we often cannot accommodate the group sizes or fulfill requests for busy weekend days due to our limited capacity.

We have secured an event space in Middletown that can handle just about anything you could throw at it! Our 5000sqft space welcomes large group events or we can split the space down to fit smaller groups while still providing a top notch experience.

We know this post is going to generate gobs of questions and speculation, at this time we wish to only promote our new event space. You’ll have to wait to hear about any other details, but they will be coming and they are more exciting than you may imagine….

If you are interested in booking your next retirement party, wake, reception, holiday party, or corporate event with us, please contact us through our private event booking page at https://www.yahbrewco.com/taproom-2

–YAH Brew (Hershey) Facebook Post

While the post is cryptic, like I said above, it is pretty obvious that this is the above bar area of the Tattered Flag brewery location in Middletown, PA. YAH Brew took over the Tattered Flag location in Hershey in 2023; the original Hershey Biergarten that later became the Tattered Flag ‘events’ location and taproom. (YAH Brew to Open in Spring 2023.)

Head brewer for YAH Brew, and husband of the owner, is Justin Hoak who previously was the head brewer of Tattered Flag, leaving to start their own brewery with his wife (owner) Aimee Hoak, shortly before Tattered Flag ended up closing. So it feels like a bit of cyclical loop now with YAH Brew taking over the old Tattered Flag brewery location. Obviously not a whole lot is known, and a lot of information will come out soon, as their post states, their is a lot of speculation about what this new venue will mean for them. This is also their third location in three years. (They also opened their Mount Joy taproom and Hulk’s Hoagies.)

This is definitely a huge step for the YAH Brew brand. While information is short right now, it will be very interesting to see what they make of the 5200 square foot location. Not much is known at this point, also given how California based company – Tower Investments was the previous owner of the location (though they were looking to sell it). But be sure to stay tuned here as we will bring you all the information we know as soon as it becomes available!

More Information on YAH Brew

The following comes via Untappd. YAH Brew is listed as a micro brewery from Hershey, PA. They have 93 unique beers and over 6,600 ratings, with a global average rating of 3.85 (as of 7.15.25). Their Untappd description reads: “Production brewery located in Hummelstown, PA. Follow our socials for info on limited releases and festival info so you can enjoy our beer.” (They currently are producing their beer in the Mount Joy location.)

You can find them on the following social media platforms:

Brewery News

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

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Hershey Bears Celebrate Calder Cup Championship at Troegs Brewery

B. Kline — Sat, 24 Jun 2023 01:20:00 +0000

The Calder Cup Trophy filled with Perpetual IPA

The Hershey Bears Know How to Celebrate

The Hershey Bears know how to celebrate, and celebrate they did today! Earlier today (around 2 PM) they were at the Troegs Brewery in Hershey (just down the road from where they play at the Giant Center).

Several of the players came to the brewery today and brought the Calder Cup trophy with them. The team won the championship in a thrilling overtime win on June 21st at Coachella Valley, beating the Coachella Valley Firebirds 3 to 2 and winning the Best of 7 finals 4 – 3.

The Hershey Bears players enjoying their well earned victory

What better place to celebrate such a hard earned victory than your own home town brewery? And there is none bigger or better to celebrate in Pennsylvania than Troegs Independent Craft Brewing in Hershey, PA. Located right on HersheyPark Drive, right down the road from the famous HersheyPark itself and the Giant Center where the Hershey Bears play their home games.

Calder Cup Championship

The Hershey Bears are the 2023 Calder Cup Champions

The Calder Cup Championship is not an easy endeavor to win, just like any sports championship. The AHL (minor league to the NHL) is not easy, with all the trials and tribulations that normal sports have, the minor leagues have added issues with having less budget, having their players getting called up to the pros, and all kinds of other issues that plague smaller teams than major league sports have.

The Hershey Bears certainly deserved this year’s win; winning the championship on the road in Coachella Valley in overtime, in a best of seven series, in game seven. There’s no more dramatic way than that to win it!

From Wikipedia:

The 2023 Calder Cup playoffs was the postseason tournament of the American Hockey League (AHL) to determine the winner of the Calder Cup, which is awarded to the AHL playoff champions.

The 2023 playoffs began on April 18, 2023, with the 23-team playoff format that was introduced in 2022. All teams except the bottom two teams of the Atlantic, North, and Central divisions, as well as the bottom three teams of the Pacific division qualified for the playoffs. Each division has a best-of-three series in the first round to determine the top 16 teams for the division semifinals, with various teams receiving byes based on regular season performance.^[1]

The 16 teams that remain—four from each division—will play a best-of-five series in the division semifinals, with the playoffs continuing with another best-of-five series for the division finals and a best-of-seven series for the conference finals and Calder Cup finals.

The Hershey Bears defeated the Coachella Valley Firebirds in overtime of game seven, granting Hershey their 12th Calder Cup in team history and first since 2010.
2023 Calder Cup Playoffs (Wiki)

2023 Calder Cup Playoffs (Wiki)

This is the Hershey Bears 12th Calder Cup Championship. Their last win before this was in 2010. They won Calder Cup championships in 1947, 1958, 1959, 1969, 1974, 1980, 1988, 1997, 2006, 2009, 2010, and now 2023.

From Wiki:

The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town located 14 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg. The current Bears club has played in the American Hockey League since the 1938–39 season making it the longest continuously operating member club of the league still playing in its original city.^[1]^[2]^[3]

The Bears organization currently serves as the primary development club for the NHL’s Washington Capitals since 2005-06. Since 2002-03, the hockey club’s home games have been played at Giant Center, located less than half a mile west of Hersheypark Arena, the AHL club’s previous home from 1938 to 2002. (The arena was also the home to the EAHL Hershey Bears from 1936 to 1938.) The Bears have won 12 Calder Cups, more than any other AHL team. They won their most recent title in 2023.

Chocolate manufacturer Milton S. Hershey first established the “Hershey Hockey Club” in 1932 to manage professional hockey teams based in Hershey. Now in its ninth decade, it has operated four teams in three pro leagues, including the AHL Bears. Now called the Hershey Bears Hockey Club, it is a subsidiary of the Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company (originally called “Hershey Estates” and later “HERCO”), the entertainment and hospitality division of the Hershey Trust Company.^[1]^[4]

Gordie Howe, who was selected into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1972 and was known as “Mr. Hockey”, once remarked, “Everybody who is anybody in hockey has played in Hershey,” although he himself did not play there.^[5]
Hershey Bears (Wiki)

The Hershey Bears are possibly best known for their Teddy Bear toss every year. The Hershey Bears hockey team annually host a charity event called the Teddy bear toss. In 2018, they broke the world record for the amount of teddy bears collected, as they counted 34,798 in total. For 2019 they counted 45,650 bears. In the 2021 season, which was their 20th Teddy Bear Toss, they racked up 52,341 bears. In 2023, After the Bears lost 2–0 to the Bridgeport Islanders, the fans in attendance threw teddy bears with 5.4 seconds left. They counted 67,309 Stuffed teddy bears.

Calder Cup Playoffs

2023 Calder Cup Playoffs

The Hershey Bears entered the 2023 Calder Cup Playoffs as the number one seed from the Atlantic Division.

They faced off against the Coachella Valley Firebirds in the Calder Cup Championships.

Calder Cup Finals schedule

The Coachella Valley Firebirds were the number one seed overall and got to have home ice advantage for the finals. The series was structured to be two home, three away, two home in the home team’s favor.

The series was a home sweep until the final game. Coachella Valley won their first two games at home with commanding scores of 5 – 0 in game one, and 4 – 0 in game two.

The series then came to Hershey, and the Bears took charge, winning all three games. But all very close, tight victories. Game three they won 5 – 4 in overtime, in game four they won 3 – 2, and in game five they won 1 – 0 again overtime.

The series then went back to Coachella Valley with the Bears leading 3 – 2. Immediately in the first game back home, the Firebirds won with an impressive 5 -2 to even the series at 3 a piece. At this point in the series, the Firebirds had a total score of 20 to the Bears 11.

The final game didn’t start out great for the Bears, with the score being 1 – 0 and soon 2 – 1. But the Bears tied it up and made it 2 – 2, the third period saw no goals, which left yet another game (the third of the series) to go into overtime. With under four minutes to go in the first period of overtime, the Bears find the back of the net and “tickle the twine” for the victory, and securing their 12th Calder Cup Championship!

The 2023 Calder Cup Champions – The Hershey Bears

Celebration at Troegs Brewery

Getting back to the subject of the matter, some of the Hershey Bears players decided they would spend the day with the Calder Cup Championship today at Troegs Brewery in Hershey. Celebrating with their friends, enjoying delicious craft beer our of the prestigious trophy cup.

The Calder Cup Trophy at Troegs Brewery

News of them being at the brewery spread quickly in Central PA and many came out to the brewery to see them hoist the trophy up and to drink from it. They even went around letting their fans sip from it.

Conlan Budwash drinking from the Calder Cup (photo courtesy of Conlan Budwash)

As Conlan Budwash, former Troegs Brewery employee, and currently part owner of Pilger Ruh Brewing said on our Facebook page: “I drove right from Pottsville just to get a pic then they offered me a sip and I couldn’t say no.”

I have to agree with Conlan on this one, you can’t say no to that. Its not everyday that you get to drink out of a major sports trophy.

Plus to get to do it while drinking incredible craft beer (in this case, Troegs Independent Craft Brewing’s Perpetual IPA) at one of the best breweries in the state, how could it get any better?

Perpetual IPA being poured into the Calder Cup Trophy

From the Troegs Brewing Facebook page:

We don’t fill outside cups here at the brewery, but we made an exception. Cheers to your 12th Calder Cup, Hershey Bears!
Troegs Independent Craft Brewing (Facebook Post)

Hershey Bears Celebration at the Giant Center

Tomorrow at 3 PM the Hershey Bears are celebrating their 12th Calder Cup Championship at the Giant Center. For more information, you can check out this article: Hershey Bears to celebrate Calder Cup championship with fans on Saturday.

For More Information on Troegs Independent Craft Brewing

According to Untappd, Troegs Independent Craft Brewing is a regional brewery with 133 unique beers listed (despite them being up to well over 400 different scratch beers released). They have nearly 2.3 Million ratings and as of 6.23.23 have a global average rating of 3.79. Their Untappd bio reads:

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

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.

-B. Kline

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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 #7 on FeedSpot’s “Top 100 Beer Blogs” and #8 on FeedSpot’s “Top 40 Pennsylvania Blogs”. (As of January 2023.) Thank you for reading our site today, please subscribe, follow, and bookmark. Please reach out to us if you are interested in working together. If you would like to donate to the blog you can here: Donate to The Beer Thrillers. Thank you!

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Multiple Beer Reviews: Brambleberry, Blueberry Yum Yum, Dutchboi, Bourbon Chocolate Stout (Iron Hill Brewing, Hershey)

BKline — Tue, 25 Aug 2020 14:35:00 +0000

Flight and a chicken sandwich at Iron Hill Brewery (in Hershey, Pennsylvania) (left to right: Brambleberry, Blueberry Yum Yum, Dutchboi, and Bourbon Chocolate Stout)

Out of work and waiting for my car to be fixed (dropping 515$ on new brakes, lines, etc), what to do… what to do…. Oh I know… go enjoy some great food and a flight of beers, because…. why not?

So thats exactly what I did. I found myself with two hours to kill, a good book in my hand, and an appetite for both food and beer. And in the Hershey area there is a lot of options to pick from while waiting out a car repair. Seeing as how its been a while since I had been in Iron Hill (other than picking up their release of the Black is Beautiful beer) I decided to stop in and try out a flight, since I was sure there’d be new beers I haven’t tried yet. And luckily there was. One of which was one I had been waiting to try – Dutchboi.

Firstly, as I’ve said many on times here on the blog, I am by no means a foodie, but I still would like to take the time to mention the food. It was extremely delicious. Out of all the things, at least with the COVID restrictions of requiring me to ‘have’ to buy food with my beer, at least its making me / letting me try some delicious foods at places like Iron Hill, or Troegs, or The Englewood, etc; where otherwise I would be just ordering my beers and skipping on the food entirely.

But, let me say, this chicken sandwich (and the fries) were absolutely delicious. Half of it filled me up, and I saved the other half for another night. Wonderful beer that went really well with my beers….

Which is why your here, so lets get to it and discuss my flight of beers!

Brambleberry by Iron Hill (Hershey)

Beer: Brambleberry
Brewery: Iron Hill (Hershey)
Style: Farmhouse Ale – Other
ABV: 4.6%
IBU: None
Untappd Description: (Blank)

Well, not a whole lot to go on with this, no description, the notes on the menu said it was a “farmhouse saison, slightly funky, slightly tart, but full of flavor”. And that was about it. So…. quick spoiler – this was sadly my least favorite of the flight. I was hoping for a berry flavored saison, but didn’t quite get that. This is what Wikipedia has to say about brambleberry (under the page heading of ‘Bramble’): “A bramble is any rough, tangled, prickly shrub, usually in the genus Rubus, which grows blackberries, raspberries, or dewberries.^[1] “Bramble” is also used to describe other prickly shrubs such as roses (Rosa species).^[1] Bramble or brambleberry sometimes refers to the blackberry fruit or products of its fruit, such as bramble jelly.^[2]

In British English, bramble usually refers to the common blackberry, Rubus fruticosus. R. fruticosus grows abundantly in all parts of the British Isles and harvesting the fruits in late summer and autumn is often considered a favourite pastime. An especially hardy plant, bramble bushes can also become a nuisance in gardens, sending down strong suckering roots amongst hedges and shrubs and being particularly resilient against pruning. Many consider R. fruticosus a weed due its tendency to grow in neglected areas and its sharp, tough thorns which can be hazardous to children and pets.^[3]” (Source: Bramble.)

This doesn’t seem to fit that mold too much. Color is what you typically see in a saison or tart sour. But not a fruited sour or anything like that. No black coloring or anything to resemble a blackberry; this looks exactly like your typical farmhouse or farmhouse ale or saison. Wheaty, light golden to yellow color. Small amount of head to it, but with a taster that’s nothing to truly discuss because by the time of pour and its brought over and with the smaller pour size, heads and foam can be definitively off from what would be a normal pour.

Smell has that farmhouse yeast smell, that tart, funky, ‘off’ to some people, ‘on’ to other people smell. It has a crisp nose to it that you can pick up on immediately. Not a whole lot else to say on the smell, there’s no berry, no fruit odors, just the wheat and yeast smell.

Taste is…. well… its crisp. It is smooth. But it has kind of a bite to it. A funky, weird, tart but not the normal farmhouse or saison tart, kind of an off tartness to it. Like a bad berry tart funkyness, but not fully that bad or off. Like some blueberry beers where it gets the funky blueberry rather than the fruity – tart blueberry, but not quite to that full level. It has a definitive lingering taste to this that isn’t pleasant but isn’t completely unpleasant, more or less just kind of ‘ugh’. Nothing is completely horrible about it, but nothing is completely great about it and bordering past the ‘good’ into a category of just ‘do not like’ due to the aftertaste and all around weird funkyness / tartness to it. I wouldn’t say its a bad beer or a poorly made one, but just off, and not my cup of tea or style so to speak. I do love Farmhouse Ales and Saisons though, so this was a bit disappointing because of that.

My Untappd Rating: ***
Global Untappd Rating: 3.69 (as of 8.25.20)

Blueberry Yum Yum by Iron Hill

(A Different picture than the above, apparently I only took the flight picture for the first two drinks)

Beer: Blueberry Yum Yum
Brewery: Iron Hill (Hershey)
Style: Sour – Fruited
ABV: 6.3%
IBU: 5
Untappd Description: This kettle sour uses blueberries, graham cracker pie crust, vanilla beans, and lactose to trick your taste buds into thinking you’re drinking a fresh pint of blueberry cobbler.

This was much better. Much, much, much better. Definitely enjoyed this one.

Color is spot on for a fruited sour, especially any heavy in one of the major berries (blueberry, raspberry, blackberry). It has that purplish beautiful glow, incandescent one might say. Light foamy head, nice bubbles, pop, almost like a champagne type pop to it.

The nose is wonderful, tart, blueberry, fruited sour smell. You know exactly what you are getting with this. A great finishing flourish of vanilla, some bread crumb, and a hint of something more, something earthy – ish, something more than just the fruit and vanilla but not bread. Hard to pinpoint on that, but it detracts nothing from the aroma or the beer.

This starts off fully vanilla and blueberry then tapers off into blueberry only real quick. It has the very heavy fruited sour vibes to it, which is perfect and just what I wanted out of this, especially after appearance and smell. The vanilla fades away quickly, and leaves you with the tart but not too overly funky blueberry, which is where this really shines through. Full blueberry flavor with just the hint of bread crumbs and vanilla at the end. If you like bright, full, tasty blueberry tartness, then this is exactly what you are looking for it. Not really funky, not the over ripe blueberry, but the ‘just right’ ‘ just ripe’ blueberry tartness that really brings out that wonderful flavor – that I know personally, I love, not sure about everyone else, but I prefer the ‘tart’ blueberry over the ‘funky’ blueberry. From talking to a lot of people, that seems to be the preferred, but I’m sure there’s some who enjoy the more ‘funky’ blueberry tastes than the ‘tart’ blueberry tastes. To each their own. But I certainly loved this brew and would highly recommend it to any sour or tart lovers.

My Untappd Rating: ****
Global Untappd Rating: 3.63 (as of 8.25.20)

Dutchboi by Iron Hill (Hershey)

Beer: Dutchboi
Brewery: Iron Hill (Hershey)
Style: Stout – Other
ABV: 7.5%
IBU: None
Untappd Description: One off cask aged stout. Cinnamon, vanilla, serano pepper

This was the one I was most looking forward to with my flight. I had seen the Facebook and Instagram posts with the whoopie pies being mashed in, so I was certainly intrigued. My Pennsy Dutch side of me was all kinds of intrigued.

Color is the stout maxim; dark, black, cold, like my soul and heart (ask around, they’ll tell you). Or, as my personal saying is – “black like Razor Ramon’s hair”. Take that as you will, and depending on your level of interest in Scott Hall or wrestling you’ll understand it. But, this looks like any other stout really. Black, light foam head, in a taster glass, could almost be beer or coffee or motor oil, who knows. (These are all just jokes and not knocks on the beer or stouts; they just don’t typically have too much variance in color.)

Aroma kicks things off and separates this from other stouts. Definite notes of ‘whoopie pie’ on this. Vanilla, cinnamon, bready, with hints of the oak cask system used. I didn’t really pick up any pepper. Once again, going back to Wikipedia, this is said about the serrano pepper: “The serrano pepper (Capsicum annuum) is a type of chili pepper that originated in the mountainous regions of the Mexican states of Puebla and Hidalgo.^[1] The name of the pepper is a reference to the mountains (sierras) of these regions.^[1]” (Source: Serrano Pepper) I didn’t really pick up any hint of heat or pepper or anything (either smell or taste, which we’ll get to in just a bit).

Taste is delicious on this. Its got all that dark heavy stout flavoring you love (if you love stouts) but its not too heavy and high ABV like some stouts (eyes up Weyerbacher). At 7.5% its in the same tier and level as Perpetual IPA by Troegs Brewing (7.9%). So this isn’t going to be killing you but will be leaving a good buzz (on a full pour). The oak cask comes off with this nice, lending it some darker notes, but it also has a slight airy, fluffy, creamyness perhaps the ‘whoopie pie’ part of it. There is a bit of the creamy vanilla that makes this smoother, but there is some bite, perhaps thats the pepper but I attributed it to the cinnamon. I don’t think any one flavor is overly powerful and overrides the other, more of a nice gentle blending that leaves this a very good and tasty stout. This would probably be better as a bottle, than a taster or even a can or crowler, with a good pour into a glass. But I certainly still enjoyed it.

My Untappd Rating: ***.75
Global Untappd Rating: 3.9 (as of 8.25.20)

Bourbon Chocolate Stout (Iron Hill)

This brings us to the final beer of the flight, and as it turns out, my favorite of the flight. (Perhaps a surprise, perhaps not a surprise. I was anticipating liking either the Dutchboi or the Blueberry Yum Yum more, but I’m also a big fan of bourbon stouts and heavy stouts too…. so I guess this wasn’t really a surprise in hindsight.)

Beer: Bourbon Chocolate Stout
Brewery: Iron Hill (Hershey)
Style: Stout – Imperial / Double
ABV: 10%
IBU: None
Untappd Description: (Blank)

It is interesting, looking over the Untappd reviews for this, it seems to jump from people giving it 1 cap reviews to four or five cap reviews, and not a whole lot of wiggle room on their reviews. Either a hate it or love it beer I suppose. Personally, I enjoyed it. Perhaps its not for everyone, perhaps its the very heavy bourbon notes, or the bitterness, I’m not sure, but we’ll get to all that.

As always, this looks, acts, and more importantly… again… looks… just like a duck —- err, I mean, a stout. Dark, black, velvety, creamy possibly looking, slight foam head. Black as the night.

Aroma is strong bourbon, light chocolate. You get a definite nose of bourbon right out the gate, and then you get some of the chocolate, some bready earthy tones, and a bit of a dark, rich, bitter smell that is probably the chocolate coming back through.

Taste is where its going to jump on people. Strong, very heavy strong, initial bourbon bite and very alcoholic taste right out of the gate. Like drinking a strong Weyerbacher barrel aged stout, this jumps right in at you and grabs you. Some might say its too strong, or too bourbon, or too alcohol, but I definitely enjoyed it. I think it tapers off pretty steadily after that initial sip (perhaps its just me getting used to it, not sure), but it leads off into the bittering of the chocolate, like baker’s chocolate, and this might be off putting to some people too. This isn’t a creamy Hershey’s like chocolate, this is more of the baker’s chocolate, bitter, but with that still characteristic chocolate taste. The bourbon flavor I think blends nicely with that bitterness, but that could possibly be ‘too much’ for some people. It does clock in at 10% and you certainly taste and can feel it, so it does have a strong, over powering feel and effect as well. Certainly more of a sipper than a guzzle or quick drink. And at a full glass that would be the best approach, especially with its 10%.

My Untappd Rating: ****.25
Global Untappd Rating: 3.51 (as of 8.25.20)

My flight and food at Iron Hill Brewery in Hershey, PA.

Welp, that was my delicious flight and food. Got the car back, and just a mere 515$. The upcoming days should be interesting, on Thursday (8.27.20) will be my 35th birthday (officially old / half my lifetime / mid-life crisis / one foot in the grave / gaining speed down the hill) and me and my buddy will be heading out to West Reading / Wyomissing / Reading area to hit a few breweries. So look for that in a future post. You can read about it a bit here: “Visiting Reading.“

Saturday I will be attending The Englewood’s beer release, they are finally having their own beers on tap, and will be checking that out. So be on the look out for a review of their beers (most likely in a multiple beer review like this). I was out there before on the day they opened, which you can read here: “A Taste of Englewood“.

You can read a past beer review of Scrooge IPA by Iron Hill if you are still in the mood to read about Iron Hill Brewery and their beers in Hershey PA.

As always, lots of good stuff coming here to the blog, so be sure to like, follow, subscribe, and do all that fun stuff so you can read all about whats going on!

Cheers and see ya all at some point soon!

-B. Kline

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