Lancaster County - The Beer Thrillers https://thebeerthrillers.com Central PA beer enthusiasts and beer bloggers. Homebrewers, brewery workers, and all around beer lovers. Sat, 25 Jan 2025 23:07:58 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.1 https://i0.wp.com/thebeerthrillers.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/cropped-The-Beer-Thrillers-December-2022-Logo.jpg?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 Lancaster County - The Beer Thrillers https://thebeerthrillers.com 32 32 187558884 A History of St. Boniface Craft Brewing Company https://thebeerthrillers.com/2025/01/05/a-history-of-st-boniface-craft-brewing-company/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-history-of-st-boniface-craft-brewing-company Sun, 05 Jan 2025 22:12:36 +0000 https://thebeerthrillers.com/?p=15897 A History of St. Boniface Craft Brewing Company

St. Boniface Craft Brewing Co., located in Ephrata, Pennsylvania, has been a staple of the local craft beer scene since its inception in 2010. The brewery’s journey from humble beginnings to becoming a beloved establishment in Lancaster County is a testament to its commitment to quality and community.

The St. Boniface Craft Brewery

The Early Days

St. Boniface Craft Brewing Co. opened its doors on February 2, 2011, in the Donecker Artworks building on North State Street in Ephrata. Despite initially offering only one beer, Hegemony Stout, the brewery quickly gained popularity among craft beer enthusiasts as Lancaster County’s first production nano brewery.

St. Boniface quickly gained popularity among craft beer enthusiasts despite initially offering only one beer, Hegemony Stout.

The brewery’s humble beginnings can be traced back to 2010 when the business plan was first conceived. Within months, the founders had navigated through planning, construction, and regulatory hurdles to bring their vision to life.

In these early days, St. Boniface operated on a small scale, offering samples and growler fills to eager customers. The Hegemony Stout, which remains a staple of their lineup, was described as an imperial stout with a chocolatey sweetness balanced by roasty notes from dark malts and a slight bitterness from centennial hops.

Despite the limited offerings, craft beer fans flocked to the new establishment, setting the stage for St. Boniface’s future growth and expansion in the vibrant Pennsylvania craft beer scene.

St. Boniface Craft Brewing Company’s logo.

Expansion and Growth

In January 2013, St. Boniface took a significant step forward by moving to its current location on West Main Street in Ephrata1. The new space allowed for growler fills, and by June 2013, the brewery began selling its first pints on-site. This expansion marked the beginning of a new era for St. Boniface, as it could now offer a full taproom experience to its patrons.

Milestones and Innovations

As the brewery grew, so did its offerings and capabilities:

  • June 2014: Inaugural Bonifest, celebrating St. Boniface’s feast day with beer, food trucks, and music.
  • Fall 2014: Upgraded from a 3-barrel system to a 15-barrel Premier Stainless Brew system and commissioned their first canning line.
  • October 2016: Added a kitchen to provide food service alongside their beers.

Political Controversies

In June 2022, St. Boniface Craft Brewing Co. found itself at the center of a heated political debate that significantly impacted its public image and business operations:

  • The brewery’s Tied House location in Lititz planned to host an event titled “Should We Want An Explicitly Christian State” organized by The Mid Atlantic Reformation Society1.
  • This decision sparked outrage among community members who accused the organization of being tied to white nationalist and hate speech, particularly concerning their derogatory language towards the LGBTQI+ community1.
  • Initially, St. Boniface defended their decision, citing Pennsylvania’s Christian roots and arguing for inclusivity of all groups, including Christians.
  • The brewery later deleted their social media post defending the event, but maintained their stance on hosting it.
  • This controversy had lasting effects on the business:
    • The Tied House location in Lititz closed permanently in July 2024, with some attributing its failure partly to the political backlash.
    • Local residents reported avoiding the establishment due to its political associations.
  • The incident highlighted the challenges businesses face when navigating political issues in a polarized social climate.

This controversy marked a significant turning point for St. Boniface, affecting its reputation and potentially contributing to the eventual sale of the brewery to Pour Man’s Brewing Company in April 2024.

(See: Pour Man’s Brewing Acquires St. Boniface Craft Brewing Company)

St. Boniface Craft Brewing Logo Etched Into a Barrel

Award-Winning Brews

St. Boniface’s commitment to quality has not gone unnoticed. In 2020, their Hegemony Anniversary Reserve won 3rd Place in the Barrel-Aged category at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Beer Competition.

Recent Developments

In a significant turn of events, St. Boniface was acquired by Pour Man’s Brewing Company in May 2024. This acquisition aimed to continue providing the beloved Boniface beers while expanding distribution and establishing the brands deeper in the central PA area. May of 2024 we covered the purchase with the article – Pour Man’s Brewing Acquires St. Boniface Craft Brewing Company.

The Legacy Continues

Today, St. Boniface Craft Brewing Co. remains a cornerstone of the Ephrata community, offering a range of year-round, seasonal, and limited edition beers crafted and served on site5. The brewery continues to honor its namesake, Saint Boniface, the patron saint of brewers, by “laying the axe at the root of the tree of bland beer”. St. Boniface Craft Brewing Co.’s journey from a small storefront to a well-established brewery showcases the power of passion, quality, and community in the craft beer industry. As it moves forward under new ownership, the brewery remains committed to its roots while embracing opportunities for growth and innovation in the vibrant world of craft beer.

As of January 2025, St. Boniface Craft Brewing Co. continues to be a cornerstone of the Ephrata community, now under the ownership of Pour Man’s Brewing Company. The acquisition, which took place in May 2024, has ushered in a new era for the beloved brewery while maintaining its core identity.

Preserving Tradition

Pour Man’s Brewing has committed to preserving the essence of St. Boniface:

  • The majority of St. Boniface’s popular beers remain in production, with plans to revive some past favorites.
  • The food menu, praised for its quality, has been retained, with potential for rotating specials in the future.
  • The Ephrata taproom continues to operate under the St. Boniface name, maintaining its distinct identity.

Expanding Horizons

The acquisition has brought new opportunities for growth:

  • Combined production capabilities of Pour Man’s and St. Boniface have led to increased distribution across central Pennsylvania.
  • The merger has allowed for more efficient operations, reducing overhead costs.
  • New rotating beers are being introduced, adding variety to the existing lineup.

Community Focus

St. Boniface’s deep roots in the community remain a priority:

  • The brewery continues to host events, carrying on traditions like Bonifest, which began in June 2014.
  • Both Pour Man’s and St. Boniface taprooms in Ephrata continue to operate, offering distinct experiences to craft beer enthusiasts.

The Future

As St. Boniface Craft Brewing Co. moves forward under new ownership, it remains committed to its founding principles of quality, creativity, and community engagement. The legacy of St. Boniface, the patron saint of brewers, lives on as the brewery continues to “lay the axe at the root of the tree of bland beer”, now with the added resources and vision of Pour Man’s Brewing Company.

See Also

Articles on the History of Beer

Thank You For Reading

If you like this article, please check out our other many articles, including news, beer reviews, travelogues, maps, and much much more. We greatly appreciate everyone visiting the site!

Cheers.

Thanks again for reading everyone. Take some time to check out the site, we greatly appreciate it. We have affiliates and sponsors with Pretzels.com and Beer Drop.com, which can save you money on their products if you are interested. Check out our articles on them. Make sure to check out our beer reviews, brewery reviews, Amy’s weekly column, book reviews, hike reviews, and so much more.

As always, thank you everyone for reading! Leave your likes, comments, suggestions, questions, etc, in the comments section. Or use the Feedback – Contact Us – page, and we’ll get right back to you! You can also reach out to us at our direct e-mail address: thebeerthrillers@gmail.com

Thank you for visiting our blog. Please make sure to follow, bookmark, subscribe, and make sure to comment and leave feedback and like the blog posts you read. It will help us to better tailor the blog to you, the readers, likes and make this a better blog for everyone.

We are working on a massive project here at The Beer Thrillers. We are creating a map of all of the breweries across the United States. State by state we are adding maps of all of the different states with every brewery in each state. (We will eventually get to the US Territories, as well as the Canadian Provinces, and possibly more countries; as well as doing some fun maps like a map of all the breweries we’ve been to, and other fun maps.) You can find the brewery maps here:

We are also working on a project of creating printable and downloadable PDFs and resources to be able to check and keep track of all of the breweries you’ve been to. So stay tuned for that project once we are finished with the Brewery Maps of the US States.

You can check out our different directories here: Beer Reviews, Hike Reviews, Book Reviews, Brewery News, Brewery Openings, Brewer Interviews, and Travelogues.

Please be sure to follow us on our social media accounts – Facebook, Facebook Group, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Influence. As well as our brand new Tumblr page. Please be sure to also follow, like, subscribe to the blog here itself to keep updated. We are also now on BlueSky as well, so make sure to check us out there also. We love to hear from you guys, so be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you think!

You can now find us on our Discord Server here: The Beer Thrillers (Discord Server). We’ve also joined LinkTree to keep track of all of our social media pages, as well as hot new articles we’ve written.

The Beer Thrillers on LinkTree can be found here: The Beer Thrillers LinkTree.

We have partnered with an affiliateship with Beer Drop.com. You can check out that partnership and receive great discounts, coupons, and more here: Beer Drop. Going here and logging in and ordering will help you receive your discounts and coupons as well as help support our page. Thank you for helping to support The Beer Thrillers and to help us maintain the site and blog and to keep it running.

The Beer Thrillers are a blog that prides itself on writing beer reviews, brewery reviews, travelogues, news (especially local to the Central PA brewery scene), as well as covering other topics of our interests – such as hiking, literature and books, board games, and video games which we sometimes stream with our friends over at Knights of Nostalgia. We are currently listed as #5 on FeedSpot’s “Top 100 Beer Blogs” and #9 on FeedSpot’s “Top 40 Pennsylvania Blogs”. (As of January 2025.) Thank you for reading our site today, please subscribe, follow, and bookmark. Please reach out to us if you are interested in working together. If you would like to donate to the blog you can here: Donate to The Beer Thrillers. Thank you!

You can also check out our partnership and affiliation with Pretzels.com, where ordering pretzels and using our affiliate code – AFFILIATE CODE IS THEBEERTHRILLERS20 – will help you get wonderful pretzels and help us maintain and keep this blog running. Thank you!

If you would like to reach out to us for product reviews, beer reviews, press release writing, and other media – please contact us at thebeerthrillers@gmail.com. Thank you.

(Thank you for reading. The opinions, thoughts, and expressions of each article posted on The Beer Thrillers represents the author of the content and only themselves. It does not express the opinions, beliefs, or ideas held by The Beer Thrillers or any company in which the author themselves work for. Each piece of written content is written by the creator(s) listed in the authorial section on each article unless otherwise noted. Their opinions, comments, and words on screen do not represent any company in which they work for and / or are affiliated with or any non – profits that they contribute to. Thank you.)

 

 

]]> 15897 Truth Beer Company is Having Their Grand Opening on Saturday – January 20th https://thebeerthrillers.com/2024/01/16/truth-beer-company-is-having-their-grand-opening-on-saturday-january-20th/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=truth-beer-company-is-having-their-grand-opening-on-saturday-january-20th Tue, 16 Jan 2024 18:16:00 +0000 https://thebeerthrillers.com/?p=13580 Truth Beer Company is Having Their Grand Opening on Saturday – January 20th

Truth Beer Company has moved into the old Cartel Brewing building in Lancaster Pennsylvania. (See our article: Cartel Brewing and Blending is Moving) (and see our other article: Truth Beer Company Opening a Taproom in Lancaster) They are having their Grand Opening on January 20th, 2024.

This Saturday – January 20th, 2024 – Truth Beer Company is having their Grand Opening in Lancaster (at the home of the former Cartel Brewing and Blending) at 928 N. Prince St. Lancaster, PA 17603. Doors will open at noon and the taps will be flowing!

Announcement

They posted their announcement on social media just a bit ago:

In case you missed our last post, our new taproom Grand Opening is this Saturday, 1-20 at noon! Our new space is located at 928 N. Prince St. Lancaster, PA 17603. We have 13 offerings on tap, including a couple guest taps from our friends at @pourmansbrewingco@mooduckbrewery and @bighillciderworks

We also are starting this new venture with a small but thoughtful food menu including sandwiches, our soft pretzel braids, and kids’ options.

Come out and help us celebrate the next step in Truth’s evolution from 12-9 on Saturday!

Truth Beer Company – Facebook Post

At their original location Truth Beer Company opened on September 3rd, 2022. So they are making the move just a little over a year in, and growing fast. Which is awesome news for the brewery and cannot wait to get to check out their new location.

Truth Beer Company interior (photo courtesy of their social media)

More Articles About Truth Beer Company

For More Information on Truth Beer Company

The following comes from Untappd. Truth Beer Company is a nano brewery out of Akron, PA. They have 25 unique beers and over 1,900 ratings (as of 1.17.24). Their global Untappd rating is 3.81 (as of 1.17.24). Their Untappd description reads: Truth’s brewery and tasting room was opened in September of 2022 by co-owners/operators (and friends since childhood) Ryan and Dave. They focus on hop-forward styles, and innovating with new methods or ingredients. Come on down the hill in Akron to check them out!

You can find them on the following social media pages:

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:

Thank You For Reading

If you like this article, please check out our other many articles, including news, beer reviews, travelogues, maps, and much much more. We greatly appreciate everyone visiting the site!

Cheers.

Thanks again for reading everyone. Take some time to check out the site, we greatly appreciate it. We have affiliates and sponsors with Pretzels.com and Beer Drop.com, which can save you money on their products if you are interested. Check out our articles on them. Make sure to check out our beer reviews, brewery reviews, Amy’s weekly column, book reviews, hike reviews, and so much more.

As always, thank you everyone for reading! Leave your likes, comments, suggestions, questions, etc, in the comments section. Or use the Feedback – Contact Us – page, and we’ll get right back to you! You can also reach out to us at our direct e-mail address: thebeerthrillers@gmail.com

Thank you for visiting our blog. Please make sure to follow, bookmark, subscribe, and make sure to comment and leave feedback and like the blog posts you read. It will help us to better tailor the blog to you, the readers, likes and make this a better blog for everyone.

We are working on a massive project here at The Beer Thrillers. We are creating a map of all of the breweries across the United States. State by state we are adding maps of all of the different states with every brewery in each state. (We will eventually get to the US Territories, as well as the Canadian Provinces, and possibly more countries; as well as doing some fun maps like a map of all the breweries we’ve been to, and other fun maps.) You can find the brewery maps here:

We are also working on a project of creating printable and downloadable PDFs and resources to be able to check and keep track of all of the breweries you’ve been to. So stay tuned for that project once we are finished with the Brewery Maps of the US States.

You can check out our different directories here: Beer Reviews, Hike Reviews, Book Reviews, Brewery News, Brewery Openings, Brewer Interviews, and Travelogues.

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

You can now find us on our Discord Server here: The Beer Thrillers (Discord Server). We’ve also joined LinkTree to keep track of all of our social media pages, as well as hot new articles we’ve written.

The Beer Thrillers on LinkTree can be found here: The Beer Thrillers LinkTree.

We have partnered with an affiliateship with Beer Drop.com. You can check out that partnership and receive great discounts, coupons, and more here: Beer Drop. Going here and logging in and ordering will help you receive your discounts and coupons as well as help support our page. Thank you for helping to support The Beer Thrillers and to help us maintain the site and blog and to keep it running.

The Beer Thrillers are a blog that prides itself on writing beer reviews, brewery reviews, travelogues, news (especially local to the Central PA brewery scene), as well as covering other topics of our interests – such as hiking, literature and books, board games, and video games which we sometimes stream with our friends over at Knights of Nostalgia. We are currently listed as #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!

You can also check out our partnership and affiliation with Pretzels.com, where ordering pretzels and using our affiliate code – AFFILIATE CODE IS THEBEERTHRILLERS20 – will help you get wonderful pretzels and help us maintain and keep this blog running. Thank you!

If you would like to reach out to us for product reviews, beer reviews, press release writing, and other media – please contact us at thebeerthrillers@gmail.com. Thank you.

(Thank you for reading. The opinions, thoughts, and expressions of each article posted on The Beer Thrillers represents the author of the content and only themselves. It does not express the opinions, beliefs, or ideas held by The Beer Thrillers or any company in which the author themselves work for. Each piece of written content is written by the creator(s) listed in the authorial section on each article unless otherwise noted. Their opinions, comments, and words on screen do not represent any company in which they work for and / or are affiliated with or any non – profits that they contribute to. Thank you.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

]]> 14033 Truth Beer Company Opening a Taproom in Lancaster https://thebeerthrillers.com/2023/12/05/truth-beer-company-opening-a-taproom-in-lancaster/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=truth-beer-company-opening-a-taproom-in-lancaster Wed, 06 Dec 2023 04:35:00 +0000 https://thebeerthrillers.com/?p=13192 Truth Beer Company Announces They Are Opening a Taproom in Lancaster

In what they are calling a “not so secret secret” Truth Beer Company has announced that they will be opening a taproom in Lancaster.

If the above image or address looks familiar – you probably recognize it as a place you might have enjoyed a brew in before. The former home of Cartel Brewing and Blending. Who have recently moved into their new brewery. (See our article: Cartel Brewing and Blending Moving and our other article Cartel Brewing and Blending Grand Opening at Their New Location).

We covered Truth Beer Company opening back in late August (on my birthday actually), and that they would be opening on September 3rd. (You can see that article here: Truth Beer Company Grand Opening – September 3rd.)

The location for their new taproom is 928 N. Prince St., Lancaster PA 17603.

n what has become a very poorly kept secret, Truth Beer Co is coming to Lancaster! We will be opening up our new taproom space at 928 N. Prince St, a building that may look familiar to some of you. More info on when our grand opening will happen TBA, stay tuned! 🍻🍻🍻

The brewery operations will be staying at our current spot in Akron.

Truth Beer Company – Facebook Post – Dated 12.5.23 11:17 PM EST

No word yet on when the official opening of their new taproom will be happening.

For More Information on Truth Beer Company

The following comes from Untappd. Truth Beer Company is a nano brewery out of Akron, PA. They have 25 unique beers and 1,871 ratings (as of 12.5.23). Their global Untappd rating is 3.81 (again – as of 12.5.23). Their Untappd description reads: Truth’s brewery and tasting room was opened in September of 2022 by co-owners/operators (and friends since childhood) Ryan and Dave. They focus on hop-forward styles, and innovating with new methods or ingredients. Come on down the hill in Akron to check them out!

You can find them on the following social media pages:

More Articles Involving Truth Beer Company

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:

 

Thank You For Reading

If you like this article, please check out our other many articles, including news, beer reviews, travelogues, maps, and much much more. We greatly appreciate everyone visiting the site!

Cheers.

Thanks again for reading everyone. Take some time to check out the site, we greatly appreciate it. We have affiliates and sponsors with Pretzels.com and Beer Drop.com, which can save you money on their products if you are interested. Check out our articles on them. Make sure to check out our beer reviews, brewery reviews, Amy’s weekly column, book reviews, hike reviews, and so much more.

As always, thank you everyone for reading! Leave your likes, comments, suggestions, questions, etc, in the comments section. Or use the Feedback – Contact Us – page, and we’ll get right back to you! You can also reach out to us at our direct e-mail address: thebeerthrillers@gmail.com

Thank you for visiting our blog. Please make sure to follow, bookmark, subscribe, and make sure to comment and leave feedback and like the blog posts you read. It will help us to better tailor the blog to you, the readers, likes and make this a better blog for everyone.

We are working on a massive project here at The Beer Thrillers. We are creating a map of all of the breweries across the United States. State by state we are adding maps of all of the different states with every brewery in each state. (We will eventually get to the US Territories, as well as the Canadian Provinces, and possibly more countries; as well as doing some fun maps like a map of all the breweries we’ve been to, and other fun maps.) You can find the brewery maps here:

We are also working on a project of creating printable and downloadable PDFs and resources to be able to check and keep track of all of the breweries you’ve been to. So stay tuned for that project once we are finished with the Brewery Maps of the US States.

You can check out our different directories here: Beer Reviews, Hike Reviews, Book Reviews, Brewery News, Brewery Openings, Brewer Interviews, and Travelogues.

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

You can now find us on our Discord Server here: The Beer Thrillers (Discord Server). We’ve also joined LinkTree to keep track of all of our social media pages, as well as hot new articles we’ve written.

The Beer Thrillers on LinkTree can be found here: The Beer Thrillers LinkTree.

We have partnered with an affiliateship with Beer Drop.com. You can check out that partnership and receive great discounts, coupons, and more here: Beer Drop. Going here and logging in and ordering will help you receive your discounts and coupons as well as help support our page. Thank you for helping to support The Beer Thrillers and to help us maintain the site and blog and to keep it running.

The Beer Thrillers are a blog that prides itself on writing beer reviews, brewery reviews, travelogues, news (especially local to the Central PA brewery scene), as well as covering other topics of our interests – such as hiking, literature and books, board games, and video games which we sometimes stream with our friends over at Knights of Nostalgia. We are currently listed as #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!

You can also check out our partnership and affiliation with Pretzels.com, where ordering pretzels and using our affiliate code – AFFILIATE CODE IS THEBEERTHRILLERS20 – will help you get wonderful pretzels and help us maintain and keep this blog running. Thank you!

If you would like to reach out to us for product reviews, beer reviews, press release writing, and other media – please contact us at thebeerthrillers@gmail.com. Thank you.

(Thank you for reading. The opinions, thoughts, and expressions of each article posted on The Beer Thrillers represents the author of the content and only themselves. It does not express the opinions, beliefs, or ideas held by The Beer Thrillers or any company in which the author themselves work for. Each piece of written content is written by the creator(s) listed in the authorial section on each article unless otherwise noted. Their opinions, comments, and words on screen do not represent any company in which they work for and / or are affiliated with or any non – profits that they contribute to. Thank you.)

 

 

 

 

 

]]> 13192 BierHall Brewing Coming to Lancaster https://thebeerthrillers.com/2023/11/03/bierhall-brewing-coming-to-lancaster/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=bierhall-brewing-coming-to-lancaster Fri, 03 Nov 2023 16:23:27 +0000 https://thebeerthrillers.com/?p=13197 BierHall Brewing Opening

BierHall Brewing is set to have their Grand Opening on Saturday, November 18th (2023) in Lancaster PA at 1703 New Holland Pike.

Jim and Chris Rommel are the powerhouses behind BierHall Brewing.

The Start of BierHall Brewing Company

It all goes back to over a decade ago, when Chris Rommel was in Germany, and earned a degree in Fermentation. Since then he has worked professionally for both breweries and distilleries. From places such as Lancaster, Philadelphia, and Richmond.

This is the main genesis for the idea and the backbone for why its “BierHall Brewing”.

Much like Troegs Brewing where Chris and John wanted to emphasize the atmosphere of a German bierhall – BierHall Brewing will be doing the same. Inspired by Jim and Chris’s trip(s) to Germany where they discovered that even the small towns have their own bierhalls with their own breweries. They very much wanted to transport this back to America. A German culture of beer and brewing with an American flair.

 

 

Guests can expect traditional beers in a German bierhall type setting (for a mental image – think of Troegs Brewery or Ever Grain Brewing). Inside – the roughly two thousand square foot – taproom will feature long tables with the ability to fit over a hundred and fifty guests. Amazingly – outside will also feature an additional two thousand foot area that will be utilized as a large outdoor beer garden space.

1703 New Holland Pike

Some of the construction done for the BierHall Brewery building (photo courtesy of BierHall Brewing Company’s social media)

Located at 1703 New Holland Pike the building was once the Eden Hotel as well as a night club. It was originally built in 1829 – as the Eden Hotel. It was in the 1970s when it was transformed into the night club. There was extensive renovations done to transform it into the BierHall Brewery. One of the biggest changes they had to make to the building was to cut out the window space for natural lighting, as well as a way to get the tanks and brewing equipment into the building – and to display and showcase the equipment.

They have a 10 barrel brewing system. Their system features four of the horizontal lagering tanks (see picture below). These are perfect for brewing lagers of all different styles – Helles, Schwarzbiers, Bocks, etc.

BierHall Brewing’s horizontal lagering tanks (photo courtesy of BierHall Brewing Company’s social media)

Speaking of lagers – the styles they will mostly be brewing are lagers, Helles, Schwarzbiers, darker lagers, and Pilsners. Occasionally they will brew some of the more “modern” types – ones you see across the country in America – West Coast IPAs, Hazy IPAs, and the such.

Their bar will be running a twelve draft system – meaning twelve taps. They are planning to keep ten of the taps for themselves, while the remaining two taps can be potentially used for guest taps.

They also have a Brewery – PA license, meaning they can serve beer from any brewery from within the state, as well as any liquor or spirits distilled within the state, and any wine from within the state.

They have a crowler machine but no growler machine, and are potentially looking into doing canning in the future.

They do have a kitchen at BierHall Brewing. It will be mostly German but with an American blend (kind of a mash up between the two). On the German side of things they’ll have your typical German fare (think of breweries like Gunpowder Falls or Desperate Times Brewery) – Bavarian Pretzels, bratwurst, schnitzel, potato salad, Brot and Brötchen, and other German food. On the American side they will be having the “traditional” items on an American food menu – burgers, hot dogs, fries, and potentially wings.

They will be having their Grand Opening on Saturday, November 18th 2023.

For More Information on BierHall Brewing

The following comes from Untappd. BierHall Brewing is a(n upcoming) brew pub in Lancaster, PA. They have 7 unique beers and less than 200 ratings with a global average rating of 3.72 (as of 11.3.23). Their Untappd description reads: We are a local, family owned brewery in Lancaster, PA. Started by two brothers with a passion for quality beer and a desire to bring people together, BierHall is committed to making exceptional quality beer for everyone.

You can follow them on the following social media:

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:

Thank You For Reading

If you like this article, please check out our other many articles, including news, beer reviews, travelogues, maps, and much much more. We greatly appreciate everyone visiting the site!

Cheers.

Thanks again for reading everyone. Take some time to check out the site, we greatly appreciate it. We have affiliates and sponsors with Pretzels.com and Beer Drop.com, which can save you money on their products if you are interested. Check out our articles on them. Make sure to check out our beer reviews, brewery reviews, Amy’s weekly column, book reviews, hike reviews, and so much more.

As always, thank you everyone for reading! Leave your likes, comments, suggestions, questions, etc, in the comments section. Or use the Feedback – Contact Us – page, and we’ll get right back to you! You can also reach out to us at our direct e-mail address: thebeerthrillers@gmail.com

Thank you for visiting our blog. Please make sure to follow, bookmark, subscribe, and make sure to comment and leave feedback and like the blog posts you read. It will help us to better tailor the blog to you, the readers, likes and make this a better blog for everyone.

We are working on a massive project here at The Beer Thrillers. We are creating a map of all of the breweries across the United States. State by state we are adding maps of all of the different states with every brewery in each state. (We will eventually get to the US Territories, as well as the Canadian Provinces, and possibly more countries; as well as doing some fun maps like a map of all the breweries we’ve been to, and other fun maps.) You can find the brewery maps here:

We are also working on a project of creating printable and downloadable PDFs and resources to be able to check and keep track of all of the breweries you’ve been to. So stay tuned for that project once we are finished with the Brewery Maps of the US States.

You can check out our different directories here: Beer Reviews, Hike Reviews, Book Reviews, Brewery News, Brewery Openings, Brewer Interviews, and Travelogues.

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

You can now find us on our Discord Server here: The Beer Thrillers (Discord Server). We’ve also joined LinkTree to keep track of all of our social media pages, as well as hot new articles we’ve written.

The Beer Thrillers on LinkTree can be found here: The Beer Thrillers LinkTree.

We have partnered with an affiliateship with Beer Drop.com. You can check out that partnership and receive great discounts, coupons, and more here: Beer Drop. Going here and logging in and ordering will help you receive your discounts and coupons as well as help support our page. Thank you for helping to support The Beer Thrillers and to help us maintain the site and blog and to keep it running.

The Beer Thrillers are a blog that prides itself on writing beer reviews, brewery reviews, travelogues, news (especially local to the Central PA brewery scene), as well as covering other topics of our interests – such as hiking, literature and books, board games, and video games which we sometimes stream with our friends over at Knights of Nostalgia. We are currently listed as #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!

You can also check out our partnership and affiliation with Pretzels.com, where ordering pretzels and using our affiliate code – AFFILIATE CODE IS THEBEERTHRILLERS20 – will help you get wonderful pretzels and help us maintain and keep this blog running. Thank you!

If you would like to reach out to us for product reviews, beer reviews, press release writing, and other media – please contact us at thebeerthrillers@gmail.com. Thank you.

(Thank you for reading. The opinions, thoughts, and expressions of each article posted on The Beer Thrillers represents the author of the content and only themselves. It does not express the opinions, beliefs, or ideas held by The Beer Thrillers or any company in which the author themselves work for. Each piece of written content is written by the creator(s) listed in the authorial section on each article unless otherwise noted. Their opinions, comments, and words on screen do not represent any company in which they work for and / or are affiliated with or any non – profits that they contribute to. Thank you.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

]]> 13197 Cox Brewing Company (CBC) Announces Closure At End of the Year https://thebeerthrillers.com/2023/10/11/cox-brewing-company-cbc-announces-closure-at-end-of-the-year/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=cox-brewing-company-cbc-announces-closure-at-end-of-the-year Thu, 12 Oct 2023 02:36:30 +0000 https://thebeerthrillers.com/?p=12623 Cox Brewing Company Announcement

Just moments ago Cox Brewing Company (CBC) made the unfortunate announcement – that their brewery will be closing at the end of 2023. Just twenty minutes ago on Facebook they posted a “Brewery News” update, stating that December 31st, 2023 will be their last day.

This is the second veteran owned brewery to be closing in the Central Pennsylvania area (with Tattered Flag closing in Middletown, Dauphin County).

Cox Brewing Company has been brewing for over eight years in the Rheems / Elizabethtown area of Central Pennsylvania. A huge proponent of home brewers, always offering assistance, as well as running events and local home brew meet ups, as well as participating in the Lititz Brewfest with giving prizes to home brewers.

Their closure will be felt in the brewing community as well as the home brewing community. A staple at many Central PA brewfests – like the Reinaissance Faire Brewfest at Mount Hope, at the Autos and Ales Brewfest in Hershey, the brand new Hershey Brewfest, the Fort Hunter Brewfest, the Lititz Brewfest, the old Lancaster Brewfest, and many more.

The Announcement

At 9:33 PM on 10.11.23, Cox Brewing Company posted the following on Facebook:

After running this family business for 8.5 years, we’ve decided that December 31, 2023, will be the last day we are open. With the rising cost of goods and services coupled with a 2024 military deployment, it’s time to let go.

Our families are incredibly proud of what we’ve been able to build together for the members of this community – we know it is more than just a place to drink craft beer. Our garage is sacred ground, and this decision was not easy for us.

We have watched love grow here and friendships develop; we also lost friends who were like family, and miss them. It has always been our priority to make the garage comfortable for our Veterans and first responders.

We dedicate these last three months to our loyal customers. We are grateful (especially during the shutdowns) for your support, showing up, and choosing Cox Brewing Company.

So, some good news…

Wednesdays are back, we have a lot of beer to drink, and the parties and events will continue! So come over, get some pints, visit with the BEST brewery staff in this business, and help us finish strong! We will not go gentle into that good night. We’ll see you at the garage.

Cheers and with much gratitude,

Nick and Tim

Cox Brewing Company (CBC) – Facebook Post

Cox Brewing Company

Cox Brewing Company was one of our absolute favorite stops and breweries. I’ve gotten to meet so many great people there and at the many different hang outs and parties at both the Rheems location as well as their Elizabethtown location next to the Pizza shop.

I will miss sitting with Ron Bell and others and listening to great stories and getting home brew advice.

Amy also enjoyed the location as well, and we had a tremendous time recently when we had brought Scarlet along.

I wish nothing but the best for Nick and Tim and hope the deployment is safe, and wish them the best in their future endeavors. Hopefully only good and better things to come from them, the area, the brewers of the area, as well as so much more. We know this decision couldn’t have been easy and I’m sure it was a fraught and tough decision.

For More Articles From The Beer Thrillers

For more articles from The Beer Thrillers that we’ve written about Cox Brewing Company, check out the following:

The Battle of the Breweries (2023)

Cox Brewing Company had a fantastic showing in this year’s Battle of the Breweries; losing to fellow veteran owned brewery – Tattered Flag Brewery and Distillery in the Conference Finals.

Voting is still going on (for about three more hours) for the tournament finals. You can vote here:

For More Information on Cox Brewing Company

Cox Brewing Company (CBC) – The Garage – Brewery Sign

For more information on Cox Brewing Company – check out their Social Media Platforms. But first, Untappd describes Cox Brewing Company thusly:

Cox Brewing Company is a micro brewery from Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. It has 152 unique beers and over 14,100~ ratings. It has a global average rating of 3.76 (as of 10.11.23). It’s Untappd description reads: “Cox Brewing Company (CBC) is a veteran-owned brewery located in Elizabethtown, PA in the village of Rheems.”

Find them on social media at the following:

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:

Thank You For Reading

If you like this article, please check out our other many articles, including news, beer reviews, travelogues, maps, and much much more. We greatly appreciate everyone visiting the site!

Cheers.

Thanks again for reading everyone. Take some time to check out the site, we greatly appreciate it. We have affiliates and sponsors with Pretzels.com and Beer Drop.com, which can save you money on their products if you are interested. Check out our articles on them. Make sure to check out our beer reviews, brewery reviews, Amy’s weekly column, book reviews, hike reviews, and so much more.

As always, thank you everyone for reading! Leave your likes, comments, suggestions, questions, etc, in the comments section. Or use the Feedback – Contact Us – page, and we’ll get right back to you! You can also reach out to us at our direct e-mail address: thebeerthrillers@gmail.com

Thank you for visiting our blog. Please make sure to follow, bookmark, subscribe, and make sure to comment and leave feedback and like the blog posts you read. It will help us to better tailor the blog to you, the readers, likes and make this a better blog for everyone.

We are working on a massive project here at The Beer Thrillers. We are creating a map of all of the breweries across the United States. State by state we are adding maps of all of the different states with every brewery in each state. (We will eventually get to the US Territories, as well as the Canadian Provinces, and possibly more countries; as well as doing some fun maps like a map of all the breweries we’ve been to, and other fun maps.) You can find the brewery maps here:

We are also working on a project of creating printable and downloadable PDFs and resources to be able to check and keep track of all of the breweries you’ve been to. So stay tuned for that project once we are finished with the Brewery Maps of the US States.

You can check out our different directories here: Beer Reviews, Hike Reviews, Book Reviews, Brewery News, Brewery Openings, Brewer Interviews, and Travelogues.

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

You can now find us on our Discord Server here: The Beer Thrillers (Discord Server). We’ve also joined LinkTree to keep track of all of our social media pages, as well as hot new articles we’ve written.

The Beer Thrillers on LinkTree can be found here: The Beer Thrillers LinkTree.

We have partnered with an affiliateship with Beer Drop.com. You can check out that partnership and receive great discounts, coupons, and more here: Beer Drop. Going here and logging in and ordering will help you receive your discounts and coupons as well as help support our page. Thank you for helping to support The Beer Thrillers and to help us maintain the site and blog and to keep it running.

The Beer Thrillers are a blog that prides itself on writing beer reviews, brewery reviews, travelogues, news (especially local to the Central PA brewery scene), as well as covering other topics of our interests – such as hiking, literature and books, board games, and video games which we sometimes stream with our friends over at Knights of Nostalgia. We are currently listed as #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!

You can also check out our partnership and affiliation with Pretzels.com, where ordering pretzels and using our affiliate code – AFFILIATE CODE IS THEBEERTHRILLERS20 – will help you get wonderful pretzels and help us maintain and keep this blog running. Thank you!

If you would like to reach out to us for product reviews, beer reviews, press release writing, and other media – please contact us at thebeerthrillers@gmail.com. Thank you.

If you would like to help keep the blog running soundly and smoothly, you may donate to us to help us keep the costs of the blog to a minimum. We greatly appreciate it. Thank you. (Clicking this link will take you to the page to make a donation. Thank you very much for helping us stay afloat!)

(Thank you for reading. The opinions, thoughts, and expressions of each article posted on The Beer Thrillers represents the author of the content and only themselves. It does not express the opinions, beliefs, or ideas held by The Beer Thrillers or any company in which the author themselves work for. Each piece of written content is written by the creator(s) listed in the authorial section on each article unless otherwise noted. Their opinions, comments, and words on screen do not represent any company in which they work for and / or are affiliated with or any non – profits that they contribute to. Thank you.)

 

 

]]> 12623 Our Town Brewery Expanding to Philadelphia https://thebeerthrillers.com/2023/04/25/our-town-brewery-expanding-to-philadelphia/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=our-town-brewery-expanding-to-philadelphia Tue, 25 Apr 2023 14:21:22 +0000 https://thebeerthrillers.com/?p=11127 Our Town Brewery is Expanding into Philly

Today on social media (Facebook, Instagram, etc.) Our Town Brewery out of Lancaster Pennsylvania, announced that they are expanding into Philadelphia, adding a second tap room.

They are moving into 1519 Ridge Avenue Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Our Town Brewery’s announcement on social media:

BIG NEWS! We are opening a taproom in Philadelphia! 1519 Ridge Avenue will be our Philly home.

Patz and I have always loved Philly, have lots of family here and he spent half a decade living in South Philly. We began looking for some taproom space about 6 months ago and found this gem. We’ll have roughly 40 seats inside and another 30-40 out back in our beer garden. Stay tuned for updates and more details! We are very excited to a part of the Philly beer scene and can’t wait to pour y’all a pint!

#ourtownbrewery#phillybeerscene#phillybreweries#breweriesinpa#drinklocal#ourtowntaproom#philadelphia#pouredinpa#lancasterbreweries

Our Town Brewery – Facebook Post

From the Lancaster Brewer’s Guild page:

Our Town Brewery was founded with a simple mission, serve the best tasting beer, with fresh, thoughtful food to compliment it. All in a setting that is dynamic yet comforting.

Rob Tarves and Rob Patz began dreaming up their vision for Our Town Brewery while homebrewing during college at Penn State. They went on to get jobs together at Otto’s Pub & Brewery, the local brewpub in State College, to begin researching the industry. Their time at multiple breweries over the years has driven home the theme that breweries are huge parts of the communities that they operate in. Tarves and Patz have a vision for using fresh, innovative beer and a thoughtful food program to further connect people in Lancaster. A decade later, they are ready to pour you a pint.

Lancaster County Brewer’s Guild – Our Town Brewery

The brewery opened in 2020, amidst all of the chaos that was the COVID – 19 / coronavirus pandemic.

Their current brewery is located at 252 N. Prince St., Lancaster, PA, 17603.

Google Map Directions from Our Town Brewery in Lancaster to their new tap room in Philly

According to Google Maps it will take about an hour and a half to get from their current brewery in Lancaster to their future tap room in Philadelphia.

This is a big step and big news for the brewery. Good luck to them and can’t wait to check out their second location! (Their first one is already fantastic, and well worth a visit if you have a chance.)

More Information About Our Town Brewery

The following comes from Untappd. Our Town Brewery is listed as a brew pub located in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. They have 114 unique beers and just a few shy of 19,000 ratings, with a global average rating of 3.85 (as of 4.25.23).

For more information on Our Town Brewery, check out their 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:

Thank You For Reading

This is such great news for Our Town Brewery. I’ve been there twice, and enjoyed both times. Excellent beer, great food, wonderful staff, all in all, a great environment, and a pleasurable visit both times.

Highly recommend them.

Always enjoy writing about brewery openings and brewery expansions, especially compared to brewery closings. Human Robot also recently expanded adding another tap room as well. (Human Robot Expands into the Schuylkill.)

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed the article, quite a few new articles from this weekend, from Friday, and from Amy’s weekly column, as well as tonight, are going up, so make sure you follow along with us.

Cheers All!

-B. Kline

As always, thank you everyone for reading! Leave your likes, comments, suggestions, questions, etc, in the comments section. Or use the Feedback – Contact Us – page, and we’ll get right back to you! You can also reach out to us at our direct e-mail address: thebeerthrillers@gmail.com

Thank you for visiting our blog. Please make sure to follow, bookmark, subscribe, and make sure to comment and leave feedback and like the blog posts you read. It will help us to better tailor the blog to you, the readers, likes and make this a better blog for everyone.

You can check out our different directories here: Beer Reviews, Hike Reviews, Book Reviews, Brewery News, Brewery Openings, Brewer Interviews, and Travelogues.

Please be sure to follow us on our social media accounts – Facebook, Facebook Group, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Influence. 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!

You can now find us on our Discord Server here: The Beer Thrillers (Discord Server). We’ve also joined LinkTree to keep track of all of our social media pages, as well as hot new articles we’ve written.

We have partnered with an affiliateship with Beer Drop.com. You can check out that partnership and receive great discounts, coupons, and more here: Beer Drop. Going here and logging in and ordering will help you receive your discounts and coupons as well as help support our page. Thank you for helping to support The Beer Thrillers and to help us maintain the site and blog and to keep it running.

The Beer Thrillers are a blog that prides itself on writing beer reviews, brewery reviews, travelogues, news (especially local to the Central PA brewery scene), as well as covering other topics of our interests – such as hiking, literature and books, board games, and video games which we sometimes stream with our friends over at Knights of Nostalgia. We are currently listed as #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!

You can also check out our partnership and affiliation with Pretzels.com, where ordering pretzels and using our affiliate code – AFFILIATE CODE IS THEBEERTHRILLERS20 – will help you get wonderful pretzels and help us maintain and keep this blog running. Thank you!

If you would like to reach out to us for product reviews, beer reviews, press release writing, and other media – please contact us at thebeerthrillers@gmail.com. Thank you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

]]> 11127 Stoudts Brewing Closing https://thebeerthrillers.com/2020/02/05/stoudts-brewing-closing/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=stoudts-brewing-closing Wed, 05 Feb 2020 13:19:12 +0000 https://thebeerthrillers.com/?p=2100
Stoudts Brewing Company logo

This is certainly not the blog article I wanted to do today. Yesterday (2.3.20) the news came out while I was at work. In the morning before work, I started writing my next beer review – This Is The Way – by Broken Goblet, but with the news of Stoudts Brewing closing, I’ve pushed that back. Around 1PM or so yesterday, Stoudts Facebook page posted this message:

Friends,

As we’re sure you know, the craft beer industry is changing. 33 years ago, when Carol Stoudt became America’s first female brew master since prohibition, craft beer was a total rarity with only about 150 breweries nation-wide. Today there are nearly 8 thousand. The truth is, with such an increase in competition, and with Carol and Ed preparing for retirement, we’ve had to make the incredibly difficult decision to drastically scale back brewery operations, with a plan to cease production by Winter’s end. At this point, we will still have a limited supply of beer for purchase and on tap in our brew pub.

We are considering all investment opportunities, but regardless of the brewery’s future, Stoudts as a whole will live on. The restaurant which has stood for 58 years will continue to serve scratch-cooked dishes and hand-trimmed steaks. The bakery’s 120-year old yeast culture will continue to produce perfect sourdoughs, and we will not slow down our commitment to vegan and heritage baking. The antiques mall will continue to house only the finest pieces, and the bier garden will be home to ever more musical evenings and dog-friendly events.

Thank you so much for joining us on this multi-generational journey. Your support has always meant the world, and we hope that you will continue to shape the future of Stoudts with us.

Prost!
The Stoudt Family

P.S. our official press release can be found here: https://stoudts.com/brewery/

Source: Stoudts Facebok page
Stoudts new signature logo

Predictably, the Craft Beer online community erupted upon the news. Soon after their announcement, PennLive.com and LancasterOnline both ran stories (links provided at the ending in the sources). In Central PA, this is sadly not the first closing news in recent history. On January 25th, Crystal Ball Brewing in York PA closed up permanently. (You can read our coverage of it here: Crystal Ball Closing.)

All day yesterday, and so far today, my Facebook and Twitter feeds, Facebook groups, etc, are all posting the Stoudts message. Accompanied by congratulations to Carol Stoudt for retiring, as well as dismay at the closing of the actual brewery. Even across the country where Stoudts isn’t readily available there is all kinds of talk about its closing. Being one of the oldest craft breweries – at least of the new wave – and closing, its extremely disheartening.

Just to give you some kind of scope and size of Stoudts’ Brewing, look at how they have their own Wikipedia page: Stoudts Brewing Co. Not many craft breweries can claim that, let alone ones in Pennsylvania.

For some background on the Stoudts and their brewery, lets look to their beginning. Carol and Ed Stoudt began brewing and opening their brewery and restaurant in Adamstown, Lancaster County, PA, back in 1987. Carol is credited as being one of the first female brewers since Prohibition. At the time of their startup, there was only 150 active breweries in America, there is currently 8,000 some (at the start of the year).

Carol announced her retirement this year, and with that, the brewing aspects of the business will be shutting down. The Black Angus restaurant – Ed’s original start-up – will continue. At the start, Ed had his Black Angus restaurant and they added the brewing operations to it.

“This was a difficult decision to make, but we’re not moving enough volume to justify the expense of keeping the brewery open. However, we’re not closing the doors to any business opportunities that could help the Stoudts brand live on.” Carol Stoudt stated for the press release posted on their website (and circulated on social media).

Recently, Sly Fox and Stoudts did a collaboration for a new beer – Black Lager.

Similar to Crystal Ball’s closing recently, cited reasons are over-saturation of the market, pressures from giant breweries like In-Bev and CoorsMiller, and economic factors like the new sales tax, aluminum upticks, and other factors. PennLive recently did a write-up (just posted a few days ago) on the over-saturation of the craft beer market: Suds Up. Its a rather weak article, but does go over the talking points that most people have been discussing (in and out of the industry). (This will possibly be a future article here on The Beer Thrillers, where, perhaps myself and J. Doncevic and maybe others will discuss reasons for closings, and preventative measures for breweries in the area.)

Central PA definitely has a large assortment of breweries, and the list is ever growing. In Dauphin county, looking at towns like Hershey – Troegs Independent Craft Brewery and Iron Hill Brewing (with a Rotunda Brew Pub), in Harrisburg – The Millworks, ZeroDay Brewing, Boneshire Brew Works, The Vegetable Hunter, and Pizza Boy’s secondary location at Official BBQ and Burgers, in Middletown with Tattered Flag (as well as their location primarily for their distillery options in Hershey), Elizabethtown has Cox Brewing Company as well as Moo-Duck Brewery, and Hummelstown is set to open Rubber Soul Brewing (tentative date being April / May) and Howling Henry’s Tap Room. And this is just a small sample size. Its not going into other new breweries opening like Hemeaur’s and Wolf Brewing. Or the many other options in the Lebanon, Lancaster, Perry, and other counties close by.

For Stoudts Brewing, the brewery operations will cease in Spring, allowing the brewery to go up for sale. No word on any specifics on the sale or if there is any interested parties yet. The restaurant, and other adjoining and adjacent businesses will remain open for the foreseeable future. No word on exact dates, just the ambiguous ‘spring’ announcement. Most likely to give time to move all product on their floor. And to finish out the tanks and release what has been made.

In 2019 the Brewers of Pennsylvania Association honored Carol Stoudt with their inaugural “Presidents Award”. She was a pioneer and an inspiration for many in the industry, male or female, race or creed, she was an inspiration and a fantastic spirit for the community and industry as a whole. Her retirement is well deserved and hopefully will be blissful and peaceful. At the end of the press release she stated that she’s done her turn and its time for the next generation to take over. That regardless of the brewery’s future, the Stoudts tradition will live on. The Restaurant and Antiques Mall will remain in operation, and hopefully through investors or potential interested parties the brewery itself will be bought and remain brewing.

Sources:

Hopefully this will be the last of these closings articles I’ll have to write for a while. This was intended to be a beer review, not a sad closing article. I do have several beer review articles to post, some of which are: Doppelganger by Tree House, Loki (by Karl Larson) of Newfangled Brew Works, This is the Way by Broken Goblet, Anagnorisis by Boneshire Brew Works, and much more.

Sorry for this article only now coming out Wednesday morning, I started it yesterday morning (Tuesday, 2.4.20) and intended to finish it after work, but didn’t get a chance to (kids, life, stopping in at Newfangled Brew Works to try Karl Larson’s first small batch for them – Loki, myriad of things, etc.), but its finished now. I am finishing up a six-day work week today (yay!), but will have off the next three days (unexpected and unplanned three day weekends in the casino industry are basically unheard of, but so very well beloved). Tomorrow I have a funeral for my great Uncle Ed, who passed away on the 1st, on his 90th birthday. Possibly Thursday (tomorrow) night I will be doing the podcast for LOST Seasons 3 and 4, if not Thursday, probably Friday night. Saturday is the big bottle share at Tattered Flag with Breweries in PA. Myself and D. Scott will be attending that. So that should be interesting.

For those new to the blog, please check out some of our recent articles. Like the Tree House series of beer reviews: Sap, Autumn, Julius, and Haze (with Doppelganger forthcoming). Or check out my beer review of Florence by Hill Farmstead. Or you can check out some of our older beer reviews like LazerSnake by Three Floyds, or Baby Genius by Bissell Brothers, or The Veil’s Black & Blue Tastee.

And as always, I’ll recommend checking out our Facebook and Twitter pages (located at the bottom on the icons), and please click to follow us either through WordPress or by signing up with your e-mail so you’ll be alerted as to our next blog’s posting.

Cheers everyone! And maybe I’ll get to see you at the bottle share. Leave a comment here for any of your fondest Stoudts memories or if you’ll be going to the bottle share so we can meet up. Prost!

-B. Kline

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