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Rubber Soul Brewing to Open New Taproom Saturday

B. Kline — Fri, 21 Jun 2024 15:18:30 +0000

Rubber Soul Taproom Exterior (photo courtesy of Rubber Soul Brewing)

Rubber Soul Brewing to Open New Taproom Saturday

This Saturday – June 22nd, 2024, Rubber Soul Brewing is set to open their brand new taproom on North Hanover Street, in Hummelstown PA.

After quite a while building the brand new building (and not without some town controversy) the opening is right around the corner. The new taproom will also host their brewery in the lower level (visible from the giant parking lot). Their original location will now just be a full restaurant and taproom. (See: A Sneak Peek at Rubber Soul Brewery.)

Original Location

Rubber Soul Brewing was originally intending to open their first location in Hummelstown around March of 2020, but with the pandemic, things got pushed back, and they finally held their grand opening in October of 2020. Their current location is in the old Hummelstown Police and Borough Building, located at 136 S Hanover St, Hummelstown, PA 17036.

The current plan for the original location is that they have removed the brewing production from the location to their new brewery facility and taproom, and extending the seating and restaurant.

New Location

Rubber Soul Brewing’s New Taproom Interior (photo courtesy of Rubber Soul Brewing)

The new location is located at 17 N Hanover St, Hummelstown, PA 17036, just 0.3 miles north of their current taproom (on the same street). The new facility took over an old warehouse that formerly sat on the property, as well as Maritza’s House of Style, which they had removed for extra parking. The new taproom has their brewing facility on the lower level, and the upper level features a deck and patio area that faces the 7-11 across the street and some abandoned buildings / businesses.

Hummelstown is currently in the midst of a big tourism push, including the mayor, the governor, and other officials and board members (some of which are involved with Rubber Soul Brewing). At a town meeting where they got permission to bulldoze the Maritza House of Style (despite having full ownership technically as per law at the time), Rubber Soul Brewing stated that their parking lot would be usable by the public for events in town including the parades, carnivals, as well as parking for other Main Street square activities (2nd Friday’s, Memorial Day, etc.)

Another interior shot of the new Rubber Soul Brewing taproom (photo courtesy of Rubber Soul Brewing)

Opening on Saturday – June 22nd, 2024

Rubber Soul Brewing’s Promotional Piece for their Grand Opening

The grand opening for the new taproom and facility will be on Saturday, June 22nd, 2024.

Get ready to tap into the excitement with us at Rubber S𝗢ul’s brand new Tap Room opening weekend! We are so excited to share our newest space with the community – Stay tuned for our upcoming summer hours

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗻𝗱:

𝗦𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗮𝘆: 𝟰-𝟭𝟬𝗽𝗺

𝗪𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗪𝗮𝘆 𝗦𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘄𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀

𝗠𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝗴𝘇

𝗦𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆: 𝟯-𝟵𝗽𝗺

𝗥𝘂𝗯𝗯𝗶𝗻’ 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘀 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘆𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗕𝗕𝗤

𝟮𝟭 𝗡 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝘁 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗹𝘀𝘁𝗼𝘄𝗻, 𝗣𝗮 𝟭𝟳𝟬𝟯𝟲

Come check out the new space & grab a brew with us in celebration this weekend!

#RubberSoulBrewing #NewTapRoom #RSBTapRoom #HummelstownPa #CentralPa #OpeningWeekend #RubberSoulBeer #WeekendPlans #CelebrationTime

Rubber Soul Brewing Company – Facebook Post

A quick map from their current location to their new location: From Rubber Soul Brewery to Rubber Soul Brewing Company’s New Taproom. Their current location is still not listed on Google Maps. The old warehouse which was removed was listed as 17 North Hanover Street. As per their Facebook post their brewery’s address will be “21 North Hanover Street”.

Rubber Soul Brewing Company was originally a brewery located in Salisbury Maryland. They were bought and are now owned by Ghost Brewing LLC. They were bought whole-stock, meaning the equipment, recipes, and social media passcodes and usage were all part of their purchase.

More Information on Rubber Soul

The following comes via Untappd.

They are listed as a brew pub from Hummelstown, PA. They have 123 unique beers and over 51,000 ratings, with a global average rating of 3.77 (as of 6.21.24). Their Untappd description reads: “We are pumping the air back into the tires of Rubber Soul Brewing Company. New location, new owners, new (and familiar) beer…same old sOul! In this world of instant gratification, superficial “likes” and followers instead of friends, we think it’s more important than ever to find your sOul. See, more and more often, people are so focused on doing what’s ‘right’ by someone else’s standards, obsessed with how other view them that they forget who they are. They give and give and give, follow all of the rules and do all of the ‘right’ things, until one day they wake up and realize their empty. Spend 5 minutes on social media and you will see countless bright pictures of smiling faces, but how many of us are genuinely satisfied? We’re talking deep, within your sOul, fire blazing, satisfied. At Rubber Soul, our mission is to refuel each and every sOul that walks through our doors. Our craft beer and local vibe is the end result of people who decided to just go for it and follow their passion, regardless of the opinion of others. We look forward to welcoming you to our brewery. No judgements. No impossible standards. #NoFilter. All that we require is that you do a little sOul searching.”

You can find them on these social media platforms:

Brewery News

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

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Beer Review: Dropout (Rubber Soul)

BKline — Thu, 15 Oct 2020 03:00:00 +0000

Dropout (2020) by Rubber Soul Brewing Company at Rubber Soul’s new brewery in Hummelstown, PA

Technically this should be “Dropout 2020” by Rubber Soul rather than just Dropout. Its the same, but not the same, as the original Dropout that the original Rubber Soul made (back from when they were in Salisbury Maryland with a different head brewer). For ease and brevity of the blog I have it listed as just DROPOUT, and don’t think I really need to include the 2020. I will be interested to see if going forward if Rubber Soul makes new entries on Untappd for “Dropout (2021)” and “Dropout (2022)” etc. They also did this with Garage Racer calling it Garage Racer (2020).

So, brief backstory on this, Rubber Soul was a brewery out of Salisbury Maryland with ties to the midstate area of Central Pennsylvania. So a lot of their beers were kegged and sent up to local bars in the area. They went bankrupt roughly two years ago, and a LLC bought them, and then subsequently bought the old borough building in Hummelstown and spent the majority of 2020 (and some of 2019) turning it into their new brewery. The LLC bought all of their old equipment and recipes, but did not retain the same brewer, instead getting a new brewer, and moving from Salisbury MD to Hummelstown PA.

You can read my two articles on their opening:

This was their first ‘add-on’ from their original tap list, which not quite a week in, they already had kicked a keg (or two or however many they had to replace one of their beers) which is pretty impressive.

Last night after getting done at work at 7PM, driving home, I decided to head over to Rubber Soul for dinner and then a block up to Tony’s house to watch the Bills – Titans game. How often do you get to watch Tuesday night football? Especially with your buddy whose a Bills fan. So I decided why not!

Firstly, let me say, I had the stromboli with it, and that was one of the most delicious ‘boli’s I’ve ever had. I don’t normally order stromboli, but I picked the short rib poutine but unfortunately they were out of it (sold out during the day) so I decided on the stromboli. My dad had it the night we were there when I met him and my mom there for dinner, and he said it was delicious, so I figured why not.

Enough about food (who cares about food anyway right?), lets get to the beer:

Dropout 2020 by Rubber Soul Brewing Company

Beer: Dropout (2020)
Brewery: Rubber Soul Brewing Co
Style: IPA – Imperial / Double
ABV: 8.2%
IBU: 70
Untappd Description: Double IPA. This hop forward double IPA has a big presence of grapefruit and flowery spice. A clean finish with a little bite. Hopped with citra mosaic and cascade.

The original Rubber Soul Dropout has the following statistics:
ABV: 8%
IBU: 100
Untappd Description: We’ve taken a classic Big IPA and modified it to epic, or rather, citric proportions. Thoroughly loaded with Citra hops and German specialty malts like Vienna and CaraFoam, the roasty middle of this otherwise pungent power pale will have you screaming “Dropout!” wherever you are.

I wish I could say I could give an honest comparison between the two, but its been four years (four years ago in June) since I last had the original Dropout. My Untappd notes for it say: “Bitter but very flavorful”.

That’s not the same case for the newest version of this. So, lets get into it, and break it down.

Appearance is a nice darker hued NE-IPA looking drink. A cross between a West Coast IPA and a New England IPA in appearance. Its somewhat hazy, not fully opaque, but far from translucent. It looks like an IPA, but just a bit darker / cloudier than a normal IPA, and there’s nothing wrong or bad about this. It has a very nice look and is a well done appearance for a new IPA and new brewery. It had a wonderful foamy head to it with nice bubbles.

Nose is a strong juicy hoppy IPA. The citra hops really sparkle here and take front and center stage. This has a wonderful IPA aroma to it, strong, scented, powerful, slight malt notes, but strong hop presence in the nose. Fun beer to smell before taking that first delicious sip.

First sip…. very good. Second sip…. very good…. third sip…. oh look, who are we kidding. The beer is good, from first to last sip, and its super quaffable making you wanna get a second drink before you know it. There is a bit of a large variety of hop notes to this new version of Dropout, and ‘bitterness’ is not one of them. This is very juicy, dank, and it is most importantly delicious. There is a citrus flavor to the hops, there’s a lot of grapefruit flavor as well. I got a little spice on this, but not much, very subtle, and almost as if you need to look for it. The hops leave this with a really nice floral, grapefruit, juicy, dank, citrusy, with a hint of earthy undertones, and then there’s the light subtle hint of the spice, and some malt backbone to this, that all really blends together into a very drinkable, delicious brew. I’m usually not a huge fan of grapefruit tastes but this doesn’t border on that ‘ugh grapefruit’ and more of a ‘oh, this is nice’ grapefruit, no bitterness, no pungent-ness, no over powering grapefruit or too bright grapefruit, this is blending, mellow, but tasteful. Sitting in the brewery, reading, and eating, this went down incredibly smooth and easy. The 70 IBU leaves a bit of a bite but not really noticeable, as the juiciness of the beer really smooths that out and overpowers the hop bite. So for those fans of New England IPAs, this will be more on their side than the traditional West Coast IPA side. As a Double IPA (DIPA) it is a bit higher ABV – 8.2%, but its not too noticeable, and even after two (with food) its not too strong to knock you on your ass, which is always a definite plus. A crowler of this would be just the right amount for a good night watching a football game…. even if it is on a Tuesday due to COVID.

My Untappd Rating: ****
Global Untappd Rating: 4.01 (as of 10.14.20)

After the two beers and ‘boli at the brewery, walked the block up to Tony’s and watched the Bills – Titans game. He certainly didn’t enjoy the game (as a Bills fan), and afterwards we got to watch the exciting final of the Braves – Dodgers game (Braves nearly blew that one!). I had a crowler of the Garage Racer (2020) while watching the game, and that’s another very fine and enjoyable beer from Rubber Soul.

I am certainly going to be enjoying having them in town, a mile walk to the brewery and back, is perfect. It’ll let me feel like I’m being productive and healthful with the walk, plus enjoy some great beer and food. Win. Win. Win.

Look for a new review from Josh tomorrow – and shocker everyone – it’s not Adroit Theory. Its great having him back reviewing again, you can check out his latest review here: Beer Review: The Octagonal Stairway (Adroit Theory and Pig Destroyer Collaboration).

You can see my latest beer reviews here:

Cheers everyone, and stay safe and healthy out there with all the rises in COVID cases. Remember to mask up, remember to wash hands, and most importantly: remember to drink some great craft beers!

-B. Kline

Dropout (2020) by Rubber Soul Brewing Co.

Rubber Soul Grand Opening

BKline — Wed, 30 Sep 2020 19:44:42 +0000

Rubber Soul Brewing Company – in Hummelstown Pennsylvania will be having their grand opening shortly.

Amidst the chaos and craziness that was the Presidential Debate, Rubber Soul Brewing made their own waves, announcing last night around 8-9PM their grand opening date. In the town of Hummelstown as well as the Central PA area their announcement might have caused more chaos than was on stage at the Presidential Debate, and at least no one had to shout “OH SHUT UP MAN” or look like they were falling asleep either.

While out walking my dog despite the rain – and even walking past the Rubber Soul Brewery itself – on Facebook, Instagram, and their own website, Rubber Soul posted the official date for their grand opening.

Are you ready for it?

DRUM ROLL

Rubber Soul’s Announcement Photo

The grand opening for Rubber Soul is set for 10.05.20. As per their Facebook post:

“10.5.20 [cheers emoji]”

Simple. Effective. And to the point. They did reply to some comments and elaborate, and posted their website to point out more information. As per their website, their hours will be as such:

Monday: 6:30AM – 10:00PM
Tuesday: 6:30AM – 10:00PM
Wednesday: 6:30AM – 10:00PM
Thursday: 6:30AM – 10:00PM
Friday: 6:30AM – 11:00PM
Saturday: 6:30AM – 11:00PM
Sunday: 11:00AM – 9:00PM

They also posted their rules for entering the brewery and drinking and being there (due to COVID-19):

To keep our customers and sOul tribe safe and healthy, please read our general information below. We greatly appreciate your patience during this #COVIDTIME.

Masks are required unless you are seated at your table.
All orders are to be placed from your table by a Refueler (Rubber Soul Server).
All onsite beer & alcohol orders require a food purchase.
Please respect a 2 hour time limit during peak times.
Seating is first come, first serve.
Do not move tables or seating as they are measured out for social distancing.
We are not filling growlers, only 32 oz. crowler cans at this time.
One hour before close we will go to pizzas only.
Children are welcome but must stay seated or in the accompaniment of an adult.
Please no pets. We love them but they make social distancing hard.
Our water station is not available at this time.
*If you have experienced symptoms related to COVID-19 or have had exposure to COVID-19 in the past 14 days, please refrain from visiting.

You can check out their website for the latest on their food menu, their beers that will be on tap on their opening day, as well as some pictures. You can also read my article I did back in February detailing the brewery and its transition from former borough building / police station to brewery. A SNEAK PEAK AT THE NEW RUBBER SOUL BREWERY COMING TO HUMMELSTOWN, PA.

Rubber Soul Brewery back in February, 2020

A few days ago, on the blog’s Facebook page I posted some pictures from a dog walk by the brewery, as well as their Untappd menu (screenshot). They have their brewery as a ‘verified venue’ on Untappd so you can keep track of their beer offerings, as well as use their website, which lists the following beers for their opening day:

Soul Patch – Pilsner – Czech
Fresh Dew – Pale Ale – American
Humdinger – IPA – American
Soul Searching #1 – IPA – American
Garage Racer 2020 – IPA – American
Awake My Soul – Porter – Coffee

Screenshot of Rubber Soul’s Untappd Menu

If you have driven or walked by the Rubber Soul brewery the past week or so, you would see groups gathered inside, with the lights and televisions on. They were doing invite parties for different groups, preparing for their big opening, which will take place on Monday, October 5th, 2020.

From walking by it (quite often, as I love walking my dog through Hummelstown, and they are in between my parents and my house, as well as my friend Tony’s is only a few houses down from it through the back alley leading to Railroad Street), they did a tremendous and beautiful job on the building. I absolutely can’t wait to check it out inside, let alone drink the delicious beers.

Donovan Krebs, the brewer for the new Rubber Soul, has worked for some fine breweries in the past, including Levante Brewing, Neshaminy Brewing Co, and others.

His beers will be wonderful for the area and will be well sought after I am sure.

Be sure to check out the article to see the brewery inside and out and to read up on some of the things the brewery will offer: A Sneak Peak at Rubber Soul.

Be sure to check them out sometime Monday, October 5th, 2020. I will be there, thats for sure. I can’t wait to try out their delicious beers and wonderful food! Can’t wait to see you all there!

Rubber Soul – front

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

And check out our beer review of the Tattered Soul collaboration beer between Tattered Flag and Rubber Soul Brewing:

Beer Review: Tattered Soul

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!

Rubber Soul – Parking Lot

Rubber Soul Brewery Hummelstown, PA

Thanks for reading! Can’t wait to enjoy a beer together at Rubber Soul!

-B. Kline

A Sneak Peak at the New Rubber Soul Brewery

BKline — Sat, 29 Feb 2020 14:37:59 +0000

The front of the new Rubber Soul Brewery in Hummelstown Pennsylvania, located at 136 S. Hanover Street. It was previously the Hummelstown Borough Office Building and Police Station. (Photo taken by B. Kline, on February 12th, 2020.)

Firstly, let me thank Jamie for inviting me out to tour the upcoming future home of Rubber Soul Brewing. Since hearing about the old police station being bought and being turned into a brewery, especially with the name of Rubber Soul attached to it, I’ve been very interested and keeping a close tab on things. With this being practically right in my backyard and being Hummelstown’s first brewery, I’ve been super hyped and excited for it. I would often walk my dog (or my parent’s dog) by the brewery and take a look, occasionally snapping a few pictures as they make changes, or on the drive back from dropping my oldest daughter off at the middle school I take a cut through the alley next to it to take a gander at the building and the modifications being made to it, as I head back home. Rubber Soul is starting up their marketing and ramping up for their soon-to-be-opening, you can find them on the various social medias now (after a bit of a hiatus due in part of the switch-over in ownerships). Their website is: Rubber Soul Brewing Online. They are also on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

The current building, as best as I’m able to research is roughly a hundred years old. It is located right across from the old clothing factory that is now the Olde Antique Shop and the Rita’s. Behind both of those (when looking from the brewery) is the town’s oldest park – Herbert A. Schaffner Memorial Park (or as anyone from the town will know it and call it – Boro Park). Heading from the square, following South Hanover Street, passing the brewery you will come up to the Lower Dauphin High School and out to 322. The brewery is really centralized and pretty much right in the hub of the town, but also, just a bit outside that hub. Its about three blocks down on Hanover Street from the square of Main Street (and pretty much the center) of the town. Main street of Hummelstown links Hummelstown directly to HersheyPark Drive (though technically at the Boro Restaurant Main Street becomes Waltonville Road) as well as 322 at the opposite end (passing by Hoss’s). South Hanover street directly becomes Middletown Road and Vine Street leading towards Middletown and in the opposite way becomes Grandview which will lead out to Rt. 39 near the end of South Hanover Township.

A look at the Borough Building and how it previously looked (currently still on view on Google Maps, as of Feb. 27th, 2020. Photo was captured in July 2017.)

The building was previously used as the main office space and police station for the town. Having grown up in the town, as well as my father, who for many years was a softball and baseball coach for Hummelstown, we both remember many baseball and softball signups in the building; as well as several council meetings to discuss important town events like in recent history the idea of M&H Railroad continuing again and the Revitalization Program several years back.

Facing from the north looking down South Hanover Street at the new brewery as the roofing is being done and the insides get started on. (Photo taken on February 12th, 2020.)

They are working strongly on keeping the building the same, but also renovating it and making it look brand new. To give it both a new and an old vibe is not an easy task, but in the long haul, will be an appreciative decision by many Hummelstown faithful as well as brewery visitors. A theme for many breweries and brewpubs is to create a rustic feel, sometimes having to do it from a modern warehouse or pre-exisiting building. Here, the building already has a built in rustic and old time charm to it. Lots of additions are being made to the interior of the building (obviously needed for a brewery and a restaurant); while outside the only major addition will be the front deck at the entrance. The front is still going to be looking primarily the same, just a few changes. Obviously as mentioned there will be a deck now on the front around the entrance area, but besides that – they’ve removed the tree that used to be out front as well as the brownstone small wall that was used as the signage for the borough building. The notable other changes to the exterior of the building is now large garage doors on both of its sides, as well as a new roof, new paint job, and a ventilation system for the restaurant and brewery.

The back and side of the new Rubber Soul Brewery, when walking through the alley that connects South Hanover Street to Railroad Street. In the background you can see the old clothing factory (now the Olde Antique Shop) as well as the side of the Rita’s. From this view, the main additions notable is the ventilation system, the new roof, and paint job. (Photo taken on February 12th, 2020.)

The parking lot itself will be getting an upgrade and a few additional spaces will be made once the building is complete itself. Also, the borough has stated that the alley that runs connecting South Hanover Street to Railroad Street (and to the alley that runs from High Street to the end of the building behind the brewery) will now become one way – from the direction of South Hanover Street. This is something that should have been done a long time ago, and one of the few problems the town has – with its massive series of alleyways; most of which are two-way, often causing problems and near collisions. It is far too hard of a pull-out onto South Hanover Street from that alleyway as it is, let alone once the brewery is built.

On top of the parking lot that is currently already there and with a few additional spaces being created; there is also plenty of public parking. Across from the street primarily is Rita’s Parking, but next to the Boro Park Pavilion there is a long row of public parking spaces. There is also side streets of Division and Poplar.

Back view of the brewery. If you were to face the brewery, the alley on the left is called Acacin Alley, and the alley behind the brewery is called Cedar. This is still currently the view on Google Maps, and the photo was captured on August 2011. (You can tell a big difference has been made to the building from then to how it looks now for Rubber Soul.)

Parking most likely won’t be an issue once the place is up and running. It might be cramped, and a little bit of walking involved, but parking overall won’t be as big of an issue as residents are thinking. The owner has assured me that their website and Facebook pages will have diagrams of where to park, as well as a poster inside the foyer of the brewpub. The biggest concerns is patrons parking in the lot designated for Rita’s or on South Hanover Street itself, or even back through the alley leading to Railroad Street where there is a church and cemetery parking lot.

The future bar of Rubber Soul Brewery. (Photo taken by B. Kline on February 26th, 2020.)

At noon on the 26th, I met Jamie, head of marketing for the new Rubber Soul. I walked over and came in the backway through the alley (Acacin Alley) that connects to Railroad Street. She led me through one of the side garage doors and we entered the building. The construction and work on the building was in full swing as we entered, with the guys only finally taking a lunch break shortly before I left at 1:30PM.

We took a walk through the building, discussing and looking at various parts of the building, different aspects and features of the brewpub. I also took some pictures (often forgetting to get pictures of things, as a photographer I am not), and they will be uploaded here in the blog. (Jamie has also told me she’s constantly taking pictures and updates and will be sending them along to me.) We entered near the back of the building where the kitchen is going to be. On top of having a PA Brewing License, they also have a Restaurant License. Meaning in preparation for the build, they had to have a full kitchen meeting the requirements thereof. This, also allows them a lot of freedom with aspects to what they can serve.

The future kitchen of Rubber Soul Brewery. (Photo taken February 26th, 2020.)

With their full restaurant license, this allows the brewery to have a full kitchen as well as serve what they like. Currently the plan isn’t to go super heavy restaurant (ie. no steaks, lobsters, etc.), but more small restaurant feel, but also a little bit above and beyond a brewpub. Some things I was told will be on the menu will be brick oven pizzas, fries, and small plate meals.

The bar area of Rubber Soul Brewery. (Photo taken February 26th, 2020.)

We took a walk through the kitchen and emerged out in the open seating area, but first, from the kitchen area, I snapped a quick picture of the bar area from the bartender’s side of things. Once we were out in the main sitting area, we discussed the brewery’s layout for guests. Starting with the above mentioned bar, it will be rather large and and will be able to seat 16-18 guests. The top of it will be copper, giving it a very interesting look compared to most wooden bars in the area – and at most breweries in general. The seating area of the brewery sounds really exciting. There is going to be a fireplace along the right hand side wall (from entrance) with a couch on each side of it. There is going to be one long table running in the center from near the bar. After this there will be several movable tables, some at one height and others at another height. To the right of the entrance will be area that can be kind of roped or cordoned off for small gatherings or parties like birthdays, work events, etc. The capacity is 80 people.

Once inside and turning around, the small built-in roof over the front door area of the Rubber Soul Brewery’s entrance. (Photo taken February 26th, 2020.)

While we were standing in the main central area of the brewpub she showed me around to the various walls, features, and ideas she has planned for the looks and aesthetics of the brewery. Facing the brewery from South Hanover Street, (visible in some of the outside pictures of the building) you’ll notice a deck attached to the front of the building. The deck is not huge by any standards, but will be able to seat a few around bistro tables. Once fully built and the planks are down, and the railing is up, it will probably look bigger than it does now. I would estimate seating on the deck will probably be about 12-15, with more able to stand along the railings. The old glass door is going to be taken off, and replaced with a large wooden door. Once inside the little foyer, there will be waist-height / chest-height boards for people to stand at and drink while waiting for a table, also against the wall will be the merchandise for sale.

Taking two steps in, past the foyer, if you look to your left will be a mural. (Not yet drawn; though I was shown the preliminary sketch on Jamie’s phone.) The mural looked very cool and will be a wonderful addition to this blank space. And it will be very representative of Hummelstown, showing iconic parts of the town. The mural sketch depicted the Duke Street bridge, the iconic arch at the center of the town with a hop riding a bike through it, leading into the writing “REFUEL YOUR sOul”. The mural was also going to be notable for the bike basket sticking off the wall and there being a tire swing that people can take a picture on. But probably the coolest thing about the mural is that its going to be drawn by kids from the Lower Dauphin Middle School. Lower Dauphin is the school district that covers Hummelstown, East Hanover, South Hanover, Londonderry, and Conewago Townships. The high school is right down the road from the brewery, with the Middle School over on Quarry Road where the new police station is.

The corner where the mural is going to be is planned to be more of a ‘family seating’ area. With possibly games and smaller tables, and coloring areas for children. This is going to be a family-friendly brewery and restaurant, serving all kinds of people, from singles at the bar, to business workers, to families large and small. Perfect for the type of town that Hummelstown is.

Once you turn around and look up at the entrance, you’ll notice a new built-in indoor roof over the entrance. Providing a bit of a rustic look and a neat aesthetic. The roof / awning looks nice over the foyer and will provide a nice look to the room. We discussed then appearances of the brewery. With the running poles in the roof, the plan is to hang half-cut tires with plants growing out of them to provide some greenery to the mostly browns and rustic colors of the brewpub. Over by the bar, there will be one or two televisions. The plan is to not overload the place with TVs making it like a sports bar, but allowing one or two for some to watch the game while the remainder enjoy their social time together. Over at the bar, instead of doing a chalkboard with the tap listings, the plan is to use Untappd and have a digital screen board. This is becoming more and more popular with bars and restaurants and especially breweries as it allows them to update things instantly, and correctly, and helps guide people to the proper check-ins so people aren’t accidentally checking in the wrong beers. Untappd is a very powerful social media tool for breweries. Instead of a normal monitor though, here the plan is a tall vertical screen.

From here, we then walked back to the back of the house.

The cold box at Rubber Soul Brewery (Photo taken February 26th, 2020.)

Walking back to where the cold box is located, behind the bar and near the kitchen. This will be the storage area for the kegs, cans, bottles, whatever all they will have. Currently they are planning on having 12 taps. Also, with the restaurant license, they’ll be able to serve a full bar listing, cocktails, wines, as well as out of state beers (if they so choose). Jamie did mention doing a few cocktail style drinks, rum and cokes and things like that, along with some local wines, but the emphasis will still obviously be on Rubber Soul brewed and made beers.

Taking a step back and taking a picture from where the tanks and things will be, a picture of the cold box at Rubber Soul Brewery. (Photo taken February 26th, 2020.)

We then made our way to where the tanks, fermenters, mash tun, etc, will all go in. The brewhouse. It is going to be a 7 barrel system which will be the perfect size for them starting out here in Hummelstown. Currently no plans to do distribution on the level of what the old Rubber Soul did, but enough to keep the brewpub hopping, and possibly sell some out to local bars in the surrounding area. The equipment is going to be setup behind the bar with a plexiglass or glass between guests and bars, like a large window, so guests can see the equipment and see when workers are working on the newest batch of their favorite Rubber Soul beer. A lot of breweries have the equipment in view of patrons, and it seems very popular, people love watching the brewing process, and seeing the big tanks, and seeing where there beer is coming from. All of the equipment is straight from the brewery in Salisbury, Maryland, from when they bought the old Rubber Soul. With the equipment comes the recipes, and other smaller minutia. They are hoping to get the tanks moved in sometime during the first week of March. They were working on the ducting and sheet metal to get the area ready while I was there.

The office space overlooking the brewery at Rubber Soul. (Photo taken February 26th, 2020.)

We then walked up into the office that they are working on for Jamie. This gave us a full view of the brewery from the top floor. This had to be built completely from scratch because there was no upstairs or second floor to the building. Currently the window is open, but there will be a two-way glass window put in. The view overlooks the entire brewery though much of it is obstructed by the coldbox. The kitchen and the brewhouse will be fully visible, as well as some of the bar and the sitting area. This is strictly personnel only though. But it did provide a great view of the whole brewery.

We came back down and discussed the future of the new Rubber Soul. There is a definitive distinction here to make; this is a NEW Rubber Soul. They have the same name. The same equipment. The same recipes. But it is a NEW Rubber Soul. This isn’t disparaging the old Rubber Soul. There’s no point to that, and its not the intention of anyone involved. But there is a clear distinction to make that the two are separate and that this is a new brewery for most intents and purposes. They will do a few of the old staple recipes, but, the brewer also has a lot of plans for new beers as well.

The new headbrewer has an extensive resume that consists of Levante Brewing, Manayunk Brewing, and Neshaminy Creek Brewing. He is well experienced, comes with a great resume, and knows how to brew good beer. But he also knows, that no matter what he does, the beer won’t ever be the exact same as the old Rubber Soul. Firstly, its been quite a while since the originals were brewed, that people’s own time, perception, and memory of them won’t align. Plus the bias factor for those who loved the originals. And even on a technical level, the water supply of the Hummelstown / Hershey area is going to be different than that of the Salisbury Maryland area. So there is obviously going to be differences, but he is going to try his hardest on making the best beer, the most consistently great beer, and a beer that gets people wanting more, wanting to come back to the brewery, and enjoying a pint with friends and family.

Because ultimately thats the goal of the new Rubber Soul Brewery. To be “Thee Humelstown Brewery” (just with a recognizable name, and one that has more cache and interest and fame than that of restarting with a new name, which was an option). The gameplan is to be the hangout, the place to visit, the stop in for Hummelstown. For something for residents to be proud of, and say “This great beer was brewed here in town!”

The property is zoned Residential / Commercial. Which gives them some opportunities as well as a lot of restrictions. But ultimately, the biggest thing is, their commitment to being a good steward of the building and to their neighborhood. They plan on respecting the parking spaces of nearby residents and business owners, with signs and diagrams of where to park on their website, Facebook, and in the building as well. Another big concern for them is noise control, and respectability of people behaving in the area. This won’t be the place to get drunk and trashed with your ‘bros’. This will be a nice, respectful, and respectable brewpub and restaurant. They are planning on closing no later than midnight, with some nights a bit earlier. When, if, they do live music indoors, they are planning on low-key, one man acoustic elements, and earlier in the day, and with all doors closed. They are already planning on doing events with the Boro Park across the street, as well as the Hummelstown Winter Fling, Taste of Hummelstown, and the Arts and Crafts Festival in Hummelstown.

We also discussed upcoming events. They are already planning on having a pre-opening event for the upcoming Harrisburg Beer Week; their first time getting to participate. Other events their looking forward to are the Mount Hope Renaissance Faire brewfest, as well as Lancaster’s Brewfest, and Lititz Brewfest. Possibly also in the future the Little Big Beer Fest during the Harrisburg Beer Week.

Marketing is going to be a bit different for the new Rubber Soul versus the old Rubber Soul. They are going to keep the tires as a theme, but phase out the biking and bicycling. Feeling it inauthentic since nobody who works for the new Rubber Soul is a biker and with no real biking trails in the town, they are phasing to more of the tire looks and “refueling your sOul” as their motto.

There is lots of last bits of information to also shoot out here. Firstly, their hours are looking to be 6AM to Midnight most days, with some exceptions, and obviously this will be hammered out closer to their opening. Why opening so early? Well, this isn’t going to be just a restaurant and a brewpub, its also going to have a little coffee cafe to it. Elementary Coffee from Harrisburg is going to be bringing in some equipment and will be selling coffee, lattes, etc, starting around 6. This is becoming a popular trend with microbreweries not just in the area but as a whole. Other small bits of information; the alley adjacent to the brewery – Acacin Alley will become a one-way alley, leading from South Hanover Street to Railroad Street. Also – a sneak peak at a future beer name: sOul Patch. Thats all I was given, no idea on the style, or what it is, just given that as a future beer name, so little bit of spoilering and teasing there.

Lastly, a tentative timeframe for opening. Jamie and I talked about how setting a hard-fast opening date is a huge gamble, so we’re not going to be announcing a definitive opening date. But I can give a time-table. The game plan is May. Preferably early May, but most likely middle of May. With a series of soft openings leading up to the main unveiling. This comes with a lot of fingers crossed, as things can always happen, but here’s to hoping for the best and that it all goes smoothly from here on out.

I would also be remissed if I didn’t mention that they are currently starting the hiring process for kitchen and bartending staff. Bartenders, baristas, kitchen workers (dish tank, bus boys, servers, etc.), if you have any interest, you can get ahold of them through their Facebook page currently to apply. Their website also has a built-in job application. Rubber Soul Brewing Home Website.

I again, would like to thank Jamie for the opportunity to come out and check out the facility. I know the whole town (as well as the whole local craft beer scene) is on pins and needles waiting for any and all news on their opening. So this was a great joy to get to walk around and find out whats going on. This looks to be a perfect fit for Hummelstown and the brewery.

In the coming weeks leading up to the opening, I will be posting regular updates, from both my own walks by, as well as any pictures or videos Jamie gives me to pass on. And of course, once they open, I’ll be visiting regularly and doing beer reviews as well as a full brewery review most likely at their grand opening. I know I can’t wait!

The new Rubber Soul Brewery soon to open in Hummelstown Pennsylvania.

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Hummelstown Police Station - The Beer Thrillers

Rubber Soul Brewing to Open New Taproom Saturday

Rubber Soul Brewing to Open New Taproom Saturday

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