Sworn Brewing (photo courtesy of Sworn Brewing Company)

Sworn Brewing One Year Later

Its been just over a year since we visited Sworn Brewing in Mechanicsburg, PA and got to hang out with owners Jesse and Amanda. As we came to see them about their grand opening and pick their brains about the new brewery, this time we came to pick their brains one year later on. On the verge of their first anniversary, their one year anniversary, we stopped in – Josh, Amy, and myself (Ben), to take a seat with them, outside in the gorgeous (super) sunny weather.

(See: Getting Sworn In – A Sneak Peek at Sworn Brewing Company)

Just like we did with that article, we are breaking down this article as well, taking a look at it from the perspectives of Josh, Amy, and Ben; with each of us writing a section. (As a preview of how we did it, here’s a look back at the Getting Sworn In article):

The Set – Up

Amanda and Jesse are married and co – owners of Sworn Brewing Company. Jesse is also head brewer. We heard about them opening up their new brewery in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, and I reached out to Amanda when I saw a post of hers’ on one of the beer groups. We locked down a meeting date – July 24th, 2023 – and all set to go. So Josh, Amy, and myself met with Amanda and Jesse and got a walk through and a sneak peek look at the upcoming brewery.

For this article, I’m going to let Josh start us off, then switch over to Amy, and then I’ll wrap things up and conclude the article. Please let us know in the comments section what you think of this, and if you like how this article looks and reads. (Josh and I did a similar article when we got a behind the scenes look at Mellow Mink – and Amy and I did similar with a sneak peek of The Beerded Goat).

– Getting Sworn In – A Sneak Peek at Sworn Brewing Company

And just like with that article, I’m going to let Josh start things off, then we’ll tag Amy in, and then I’ll wrap things up.

Josh – Getting Sworn Into Dedication

Token to Midnight by Sworn Brewing Company

On a very warm, sunny and oddly rainless day in Central Pennsylvania, Ben, Amy & myself sat down outside of a little brewery nearing its one year anniversary with two of our friends to discuss how far 365 days have brought them. Those two friends are the husband and wife team that run Sworn, Jesse & Amanda Mills.

While drinking in their company and beer, we learned a thing or two about what happens to a brand new brewery that was set up and dedicated to providing excellent craft beer. Wait a second, has it actually been a year already? Almost from the day the brewery launched back in August of 2023, the writing team of Ben, Amy, and myself have been jonesing for Sworn’s one year anniversary. Why? Because when Jesse & Amanda invited the three of us to sit down with them just before their official opening, we all felt a similar sense that whatever this new brewery was going to be, it was going to run roughshod over everyone’s expectations. And that’s just what’s happened.

In a repurposed garage, then catering outfit, now burgeoning micro brewery nestled behind Atlantis Pools on E Trindle Road, Sworn has become the destination that beer nerds clamor for parking spaces four days a week. As mild-mannered and laid back as brewmaster Jesse aims to be, his beer and patrons tend to be the exact opposite when it comes to speaking to an incredible talent located in Mechanicsburg. A constantly rotating beer list should be an indicator there’s been no shortage of foot traffic when the doors are open, but that’s really just a fraction of the story.

From the outset, the mission statement is a simple one for Sworn: Make the best beer possible and keep that promise. Period. And how does one do that, you might ask? While there are many ways to answer this question, I can really only think of two answers. One, be Jesse Mills. Two, and on a more serious note, keep batches small and pay absolute attention to even the smallest of details. But that’s the everyday vision. When pressed for the five and ten year plans, Jesse gave us an answer with real gravity to it. Five years out, there is no plan to expand the brewery. You may scoff, but this is on purpose. In fact, everything about Sworn is purpose driven and calculated. In a time where breweries seem to be closing as fast as they open, a level headed approach to a new business is what’s needed. Not spending money on things that only look fancy, yet ultimately do not add to the bottom line is something that the Mills have avoided and intend to keep it that way. Ten years out … admittedly, ten years out is a long way to look, but if the past year is any kind of template for the success Sworn has achieved, then the years to come are bright indeed.

From opening the doors for the first time, pouring at the Hoppy Valley Brewfest, to collaborating with some of PA’s biggest and best breweries, Sworn is here to stay. Happy One Year Anniversary, Amanda and Jesse. Forever may your fermenters be full and your lines be long.

Amy – Getting Sworn Into Quality

Sworn Brewing Mexican Lager

Am I too much when I tell you I am writing my article about Sworn Brewing company while wearing my Sworn Brewing company shirt? It’s seriously a comfy shirt. It’s not your regular T-shirt that after a few good washings softens up, it was a well-made T shirt. I could live in this T-shirt.

Every time I am walking into Sworn, I think of the quote from their Facebook page “We will strive to make sure the highest quality items we can get our hands on will be used in every single process. Everything that comes out of our taps, every single small batch of beer that we make will go through a rigorous quality control process. If it does not meet our standards, it will never be consumed by the customer. We are not here to cut corners, we are here to make sure we can provide you with the best possible experience that you deserve, what the craft brewing industry deserves!”

I still remember quoting this a year ago and we are delighted to celebrate the 2 years of Sworn Brewing Company. Each time I see how quickly their beer kicks or a standing room only Friday night I can’t clap hard enough, and I can’t wear this comfy T-shirt any more proudly.

Every aspect of Sworn Brewing company embodies this level of quality in all their products. When Sworn Brewing posts a beer was just tapped you need to leave your house immediately or you aren’t going to get to taste it. Jesse

brews the beer in manageable smaller quantities, it keeps the impeccable quality on point.

We sampled several different brews they had on tap during our visit last month. They are probably long gone by now. But you’d also hope that, so the beer is always fresh. I also tried a glass of the house made non-alcoholic

cream ale. It lasted maybe 30 seconds in front of me. Having non-alcoholic options is inclusive for whatever the reason. (See: I’ve Missed Drinking A Lot.)

On our visit we also enjoyed some of the beloved queso. This house made queso is the perfect pairing with Sworn beer. I do believe the boyfriend understands this is a must order each time we frequent Sworn. It seems natural to wonder why they aren’t expanding and growing? The question stemming from Jesse and Amanda was “why?” And the obvious, they won’t let the level of quality decrease in the slightest. Why not consider how detail oriented their attempt at brewery perfection is?

Ben – Getting Sworn Into Craftsmanship

Sworn Brewing

I get to see Jesse and Amanda fairly often at work, and when I get the chance I break away and stand around chatting with them for quite a while. We talk shop, the business, the industry; we brainstorm ideas like creating a tap handle out of an old PlayStation or NES controller for their “Gamer” series of beers. Amanda will tell me how we need to start up a podcast – which we do – and which we are constantly planning on doing – and we get to chatting about new beers at my work, as well as at their brewery, etc.

The biggest thing we would discuss is how we needed to do a follow up article for them. Discussing their one year mark. How everything has changed – or nothing has changed. (And in that year, a lot has and hasn’t changed.) We’ve gotten to stop over at Sworn’s brewery in Mechanicsburg several times in the course of the year, we’ve gotten to hang out with them at the Hoppy Valley Brewfest, they’ve grown in what they sell for beer, for drinks, for merch, and even doing crowlers and growlers.

Speaking of growlers… we come to the one (and seemingly only) regret Jesse really has of their first year of operation. When asked, and prodded about what he would change; he said he would go back and not sell those growlers. (But I’m getting a bit ahead of myself.)

Amy and I arrived about 5 – 10 minutes after Josh, who was already a stout deep; we joined him and then Jesse and Amanda outside in the beautiful sunny patio area. Over the past year I’ve become horrible with checking into beers on Untappd, even going full brewery visits without checking into beers, but throughout the course of our time there in the late July days, we (between myself, Amy, and Josh) got the entire board of beers. And that list ran the gambit from a stout, to IPAs, to pale ales, a Mexican lager, and a sour. All were – as always – fantastic.

Some of the various topics we discussed were things like collaborations. Like their recently completed collaboration – Storm the Field – with Troegs Independent Brewing, Antifragile Brewing, and Warwick Farm Brewing. We discussed how they were going to do a collaboration with Adroit Theory and then it didn’t quite work out. The nuances to collaborations are a very tricky thing.

This brings me back to how once again, just like in previous times we’ve done interviews with people, Amy, Josh and I, like to take a non-journalistic approach of ‘chatting’ and ‘hanging out’ rather than note taking, writing down, jotting every last thing said, quoting and using tape recorders and such. We much more prefer an open, relaxed, fun style of chatting and then going through our recollection to make our articles (when we do these sneak previews or sit downs with brewers and breweries, like we’ve done with Couch Brewery, Mellow Mink Brewing, Lindgren Brewing, Beerded Goat, etc.)

One of the many things we discussed over and over was Untappd. Amanda certainly has some strong opinions and thoughts on the app. We discussed the pros / cons to it – as a whole, for the industry, as well as to Sworn Brewing in particular. Jesse told us about how they reached out and approached him about making their brewery a “verified venue” because of how well Sworn Brewing was doing.

Amanda getting frustrated at the kegging cleaner at Collusion Tap Works (photo courtesy of Sworn Brewing)

Jumping back up to the discussion on collaborations, we discussed their Clayton Bigsby beer (if you know, you know), a collaboration with Collusion Tap Works. Its a black kolsch. Jesse and Amanda both discussed their love for Collusion Tap Works and for Jared, and their working agreement with them (mostly Amanda begrudgingly discussing how she has to go there to clean kegs).

Some of the most interesting parts of the discussion was listening to Jesse talk about the art and the craft of brewing beer. How much he loves their small model, getting to do so many new batches (they are already past 100 batches for the brewery, and Jesse himself is over a thousand commercially and professionally). Jesse absolutely loves his small system, his model of making beer the way he wants to, the designs and recipes that he wants to, and being able to just constantly tweak, to constantly update, to constantly fiddle with everything to the way he wants. Like an artist sculpting. Or a painter painting. And he very much views this as an art, his art. He gets to craft it, near daily, making the batches he wants, with the recipes he’s worked on and the brewing system he created.

Jesse and Amanda

There are many things to say, but looking back over our pictures, and this one grabs my thoughts on it, is that I really wanted to point out is the dedication and enjoyment, and love that these two have for what their doing. Jesse obviously loves the brewing process, brewing, crafting, honing his beers. But they both love doing this. They genuinely enjoy running the brewery, talking to guests, sitting there and hanging out with people, chatting about beer, with beer, to people. They both have an extreme passion for the business, for the quality, for the art, for the beer, for what it means to people, to the community, to what it means for everyone. These two love getting to work with and for the people of not just Mechanicsburg, but all the people who visit their brewery. Who have taken home crowlers and given them to friends or tasted them with their friends. Nearly every single person that walked into that brewery on July 18th, knew Jesse and Amanda, they shook hands, hit fists, clapped shoulders, etc. Bantered with each and every person. Watching them with the people coming into their humble brewery, you can see why they do this, why they continue to do this, and why they want to continue to do this. Plus, I think it lets them keep giving their daughter (part time bartender) enough crap every day. (What parent wouldn’t want that?)

Throughout the course of our chat, we enjoyed the full menu, while Jesse and Amanda enjoyed their lager, we joked, we chatted about the past year, how crazy it all felt just a year ago sitting down to chat about the place to be, and how its ‘grown’ in that year. Grown being a relative term really. The brewery and the building itself is the same size, but there are so many differences. The patio area outside is bigger, theres a larger area to make food, and something that Jesse wants to do much more of. Theres the sense of how its grown in popularity, in community, and in spirit. We joked about things they could do or would do or would not do with the building and the area, we joked about things from their opening like the black drop down ceiling tiles, etc.

Funnily enough there isn’t much of anything Jesse wants to change, or even grow, in the sense of ‘getting larger’ materially. He enjoys his size, his location, their heartbeat of a brewery. They enjoy just what they have, not wanting to get ‘too big’ or to ‘outgrow’ themselves. We talked about satellite and second locations, and discussed how this doomed or severely hurt many other breweries. We discussed some financials of the industry and Sworn itself, but generally this was a dog best left to sleep. I think the biggest thing we could say as a takeaway is contentment in this aspect. They are secure, happy, and content with the creation, the situation, the brewery; not content in a “resting on their laurels” kind of way, but content in what they created, a happiness brought on by all the hardwork, sweat, and straight up work in the brewery; a contentment more born on satisfaction and not wanting to destroy whats already there. Progress will be made obviously, but not for lack of reason, lack of logic, lack of strategy and idea. Progress for Sworn will be in an essence a tactical idea.

Moving back to the beer aspect of our conversation, we chatted and discussed styles. We talked about IPAs, hazy and west coast, we talked about saisons, lagers, we talked about stouts and porters. Basically we covered the spectrum of craft beer, and how Jesse loves to brew and try them all. The challenge of coming up with new recipes for different styles is always forefront, but a challenge Jesse looks forward to, a challenge he wants and in almost an aspect its something that drives his brewing edge, his creativity. He keeps him a younger man in a sense. (Which I’m sure Amanda appreciates.) But that spark of creativity and wanting to try different approaches, different styles, different recipes, is the genesis and main thrust of The Gamer series. Jesse’s version of research and development, his system to test out new recipes and methods and variants, “what if I change this hop or tweak this grain bill”, etc.

The area around the smoker and cooking area for Sworn Brewing

Amy took the above picture of the ‘food prep’ area at Sworn Brewing, the smoker and outdoor grill area. And of course had to grab a shot of the award that Jesse won. Later in the conversations, Jesse talks about how awards and things like the Untappd stuff and tournaments and medals don’t appeal to him, so of course we had to poke at him, and mention how he “prominently displays this award”. (He promptly then removed said award, in a bit of a good natured huff.) When visiting the brewery, make sure you look for this award and point it out to Jesse.

Speaking of things that annoy Jesse, we would be amiss if we didn’t mention the stickers bearing his likeness. There is a sticker of Jesse’s head. And needless to say Jesse loves that this is a thing (maximum sarcasm involved here). We have discussed using the image for panties, as well as pasties, and other sorts of merchandise and memorabilia. One can only hope one day we’ll be able to buy Jesse themed pasties and panties from Sworn Brewing. (The ball is in their court.)

Wrapping This Up

We are fast approaching the 3500 word mark, and its best we get this wrapped up. As always, we had a wonderful time visiting. And even more so, we had a fantastic time chatting with Amanda and Jesse. They are absolutely phenomenal people to get to hang out with, and pick their brains about beer, the industry, brewing, everything really. They really are wonderful people, and its a blast getting to spend time with them, and getting to be at their brewery. And they don’t make bad beer either, so thats certainly a plus.

I can’t say enough great things about them, Sworn Brewing, and am constantly recommending the brewery to people that come into my work or that I meet out. The community aspect is top notch, and the place is welcoming, the beers are good, the food is great, and the vibe is perfect.

We are so happy to see how well they are doing, and wish them a Happiest Anniversary. One down, many more to go! (Here’s to revisiting this article and writing about their 50th anniversary!)

I want to again thank Amanda and Jesse for inviting us out and having us chat with them and getting to not just write the first article but this second article as well. I want to thank Josh and Amy as well for writing and helping craft this article. We visited on July 18th, and we wrote our portions somewhat from there, some in increments, but mostly in the later more recent time, so any errors and mistakes are due to our faulty minds, especially since “we had a few that day”.

I do want to apologize for some of the tardiness of this article, it was originally intended to get prepared and finished around the 10th of August, but real life (four daughters and all) tends to get in the way, and this article is just a mere 10 days late. My apologies.

I want to give one final shout of: “WHOOOOOO DEEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY” to fully wrap this up.

More Articles About Sworn Brewing Company

• Sworn Brewing’s September Opening: Celebrating the Mechanicsburg Community
• Getting Sworn In: A Sneak Peek at Sworn Brewing Company
• Troegs Brewing Teams Up with Sworn Brewing, Antifragile Brewing, and Warwick Farms Brewing for Storm the Field
• Beer Review: Storm the Field (Troegs Brewing, Antifragile Brewing, Sworn Brewing, and Warwick Farms Brewing)

More Information on Sworn Brewing Company

The following comes via Untappd.

Sworn Brewing Company is a nano brewery from Mechanicsburg, PA. They have 121 unique beers, and over 9,100 ratings, with a global average rating of 4.19 (as of 8.20.24). Their Untappd description is currently blank.

You can find them at the following social media platforms:

• Sworn Brewing Company – Official Website
• Sworn Brewing Company – Facebook
• Sworn Brewing Company – Instagram
• Sworn Brewing Company – Untappd

Some Articles Written by Josh

If you are looking for more articles written by Josh, check these out:

• Beer Review: Colonization (Ghost 779) – Adroit Theory
• Beer Review: EBK – Gashadokuro (Ghost 782) – Adroit Theory
• Multiple Beer Review: Envie & Envie 4XDH (Parish Brewing Co.)
• Beer Review: B-52 Belgian Dubbel (Bottle-Conditioned, 2017) – Cox Brewing Company (CBC)
• Beer Review: Terpenes in Time (BAREBottle Brewing)
• Beer Review: The Octagonal Stairway (Ghost 859) – Adroit Theory x Pig Destroyer
• Josh on Central PA Pour

Amy’s Column Series

• Brewfests with Anxiety (Amy’s original weekly column start)
• I’ve Missed Drinking (A Look at Non Alcoholic Beers)
• Beer and Pretzel Review: Legends and Lore (St. Boniface Brewing Company) and Garlic Parm Pretzels (Pretzels.com)
• Peanut Butter Eggs, Easter, Beer, and YAH Brew’s Shimmy Shake (Beer Review)
• Cox Brewing Company: Back to Their Roots
• Amy’s Day Off
• It Was All A Dream (A Visit to YAH Brewing)
• Just Another Weekend (A Hike at Saint Pete’s Trail and Hares Hill Brewing)
• I’m Pretty Darn Lucky (Happy Mother’s Day)
• Ready to Kick of the Summer
• Beer Review: Beer Devil IPA (Niagara Brewing Company)
• World MS Day
• Have you ever picked a beer based on the can art?
• Happy Father’s Day
• What is Your Summer Time Go To Beer?
• Holiday Weekend and Bomber Bottles
• Baby’s First Ffej
• We Can’t Always Be a Glutton Right? – Perfect Portions and Allusion Brewing Company
• Beer Review: Pocono Punch (Barley Creek Brewing Company)
• Getting Sworn In: A Sneak Preview of Sworn Brewing
• Beer Review: Tropical Stout (Troegs Independent Brewing and Windy Bridges Brewing LLC)
• RAR Brewing Brings the Nostalgia with Muppets Out of Order Series
• Happy Birthday to Ben
• Brewery Review: Cold Spring Inn and Brewery
• Hummelstown Doesn’t Deserve Maritza
• Enchilada Stuffed Peppers and Sunshine Pilsner
• Master of Pumpkins, Cupcakes, Cookies, and Bacon Cheeseburgers
• A Beer Review by Grandma SueAnn (Beer Review: Braaaiins! by Spring House Brewing Company)
• Grandma SueAnn and More Beer: Beer Reviews of: Zoktoberfest (KCBC – Kings County Brewers Collective) and Devious Imperial Pumpkin (Fegley Brew Works)
• Oh Ever Grain: 7 Years, 7 Beers
• Pumpkin Beer Review with Grandma SueAnn – Abomination Brewing: Forbidden Pumpkin, Greater Good Brewing: Giant Pumpkin, and Pizza Boy Brewing: Sunny Side Up Double Coffee Pumpkin
• Grandma SueAnn Helps Review More Pumpkin Beers: 2 out of 3 Ain’t So Bad
• Halloween Candy and Beer Pairings
• Brewery Review: Otto’s Pub and Brewery
• Munching on some Thanksgiving leftovers?
• The Holidays Always Bring On Waves of Nostalgia For Me
• YAH Brew and Desserts Pairing
• Christmas Cookies and Beer Styles Pairing (Pairing Christmas Cookies with Beer)
• New Years Day
• Winter Beers
• Two Years Later: Brewfests with Anxiety
• It’s Been a Long Year Already, Wait Its Only April?
• Did you miss me as much as I missed you? (A Look at Lindgren Craft Brewery)
• These Summer Beers Are Slapping… Again
• Benefit for CJ (at YAH Brew Hershey)
• There is Something About Those Back Patio Beers
• Grilling and Beer’ing
• Sworn Brewing a Year Later – A Sit Down with Jesse and Amanda
• You can find all of Amy’s articles here: Amy’s Archive of Articles.

For More Articles from Ben

• Beer Review: I’m 40% Galaxy (Local Craft Beer)
• Urban Artifact Brewery Files Federal Lawsuit Against Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board Over Online Beer Sales Restrictions
• Rollacrit Partners with Voodoo Ranger IPA for New Kickstarter, Heroes of Barcadia: Heroes for Hire Tabletop Game
• Book Review: Big Two Hearted River (Ernest Hemingway)
• Beer Review: Two Hearted Ale (Bell’s Brewery)
• Mastering the Art of Craft Beer Tasting: Your Ultimate Guide to Flavor and Aroma – How to Describe Beer Like a Pro
• Beer Review: Out of Order: Blue Milk (RAR Brewing)
• Beer Review: Out of Order: Green Milk (RAR Brewing)
• Beer Review: Vader (Mispillion River Brewing)
• Beer Review: Hershey’s Chocolate Porter (Yuengling Brewery)

All Of Us

• Seen Through a Glass – Season 2, Episode 31: Let’s Talk Beer (our interview with Lew Bryson)

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:

• Crystal Ball Brewing Closing
• Stoudt’s Brewing Closing
• Full Pint Brewing Closing
• Night Shift Brewing Cancels Expansion
• Other Half Brewing Company Opening Friday 2.18.22 in Philadelphia
• Midwest Coast Brewery Opening
• Boulevard Presidents Steps Down Amidst Allegations
• Brewery Opening: Howling Henry’s (Hummelstown)
• Brewery Opening: Highway Manor (Camp Hill)
• Brewery Opening: Rotunda Brew Pub (Hershey)
• Is JB LoveDraft’s Opening a Brewery?
• Tattered Flag at Hollywood Casino – Grantville – Opening Their 5th Location
• JB LoveDraft’s Grand Opening (Mechanicsburg)
• ZeroDay Opens Their New Tap Room (Harrisburg)
• Victory Brewery Fire and Explosion (Kennett Square)
• Sign of the Horse Brewery is Expanding in Hanover (Taking Over the Old Miscreation Brewery)
• Brewery Tour: Couch Brewery (Pittsburgh)
• Brewery Visit: Mellow Mink (Mechanicsburg)
• A Sneak Peak at the new Rubber Soul Brewery (Hummelstown)
• Rubber Soul Grand Opening (Hummelstown)
• VooDoo Lancaster Closing
• River Bend Hop Farm and Brewery Closes
• Homaide Brewing Says Goodbye To Their First Home
• Grand Opening of Hemauer Brewing (Mechanicsburg)
• Rally Point Tap Room Opening – Cox Brewing Company – Elizabethtown
• Spigot Brewing Closes
• Full Pint Brewing Closes
• Night Shift Brewing Cancels Expansion
• Mikkeller Brewing NYC Closes Permanently
• Pilger Ruh Brewing Needs Your Help (Pottsville)
• Official BBQ (Pizza Boy Secondary Location) (Rutherford)
• Aslin Beer Co. Now Ships to Pennsylvania
• Boneshire Brew Works to Open Second Taproom in Harrisburg (Harrisburg)
• Aslin Beer Company Confirms Expanding to Pittsburgh
• Rural City Beer Company Coming to Beamstown PA
• Grand Opening of Forest and Main’s New Brewpub
• New Bells-gium – New Belgium Owned Company Buys Bell’s Brewery
• Human Robot Expanding to Jenkintown
• High Road Brewing Company Coming to Camp Hill, Pennsylvania in Summer 2022
• YAH Brewing’s First Can Drop
• RAR Brewing’s Star Wars Can Drop
• Arboretum Trail Brewing Company Opens Their Doors Tomorrow
• Macklin Brewing Company in Development
• Michaux Brewing Company Grand Opening
• Shy Bear Brewing Announces Two New Locations
• Newfangled Brew Works Announces Closure
• Fourscore Beer Company Celebrates Their 3rd Anniversary
• Penn Brewery Announces Sale and Owner’s Retirement
• Voodoo Brewing Company To Open Brewpub on North Shore of Pittsburgh – August 27th
• Truth Beer Company’s Grand Opening
• Sobel’s Obscure Brewery’s Grand New Location and Opening
• AleCraft Brewing Company Expands Into Pennsylvania
• Boneshire Brew Works Celebrates 6th Anniversary
• Funk Brewing Company – Elizabethtown Brewery – Fire
• Funk Brewing Company – Elizabethtown Brewery – Fire Update
• Victory Taproom in Kennett Square Re – Opens
• Pour Man’s Brewery Is Moving Their Tap Room
• Qatar Bans Alcohol Sales at World Cup 2022
• Second Sin Brewery Company Celebrates Third Anniversary
• Round Guys Brewing Company’s Brewpub in Lansdale is Getting a Revamp
• VK Brewing Officially Opens at Historic Ship Inn
• Rocket Frog Brewing Company Announces Closure on December 11th
• Co – Hops Brewery and Cannery Appears to be Closed
• Where to Watch the USA vs Netherlands World Cup Game – in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia
• Liquid Noise Brewing Company Announces the Show is Ending (Brewery Closure)
• Looks Like Homaide Brewing Company Might Be Done (January 2023)
• Beltway Brewing Closing at the End of the Month (January 2023)
• Old Soul Brewing Starting up in Waynesboro Pennsylvania
• Cox Brewing Company Returning to Their Roots
• Helping the Hemauer Family
• Cellar Works Brewing Closing Cooper Station
• Imprint Beer Company Unveils The GNARCADIUM
• Blueprint Brewing Company Announces Their Closing on March 31st
• Pilger Ruh Brewing is Expanding into Gettysburg
• Back Porch Brewing Grand Opening
• Jigsy’s Old Forge Pizza and Brewpub is Expanding into Hershey
• LoveDraft’s Brewery Sabotaged
• Homaide Brewing Company Resurfaces
• Sign of the Horse Brewery Announces Closure of Zeichen des Pferdes and Re – Branding
• Mount Gretna Craft Brewery in Palmyra Announces Closing Immediately
• The Englewood Announces Re – Opening
• AB InBev Closes Cleveland’s Platform Brewing Company
• Full Tit Brewing Closing
• Camp Hill Brewery – High Road Brewing – Plans Scrapped
• YAH Brew is Coming to Hershey in Spring 2023
• Bespoke Brewing Moving and Expanding
• BrewDog Pittsburgh Has Closed
• Isle of Que Brewing – The Que Brew Crew – Has Announced Their Closing
• Fermentery Form Announces Temporary Closure
• Separatist Beer Project Announces Temporary Closing of Both Locations
• Fermentery Form Cited for Failing Health Inspections
• Guinness Brewing is Closing Their Maryland Production Facility
• Cox Brewing Company Celebrates 8th Anniversary
• Human Robot Expands into the Schuylkill
• Despite Being Closed – Fermentery Form Selling Bottles Tomorrow
• Cape May Brewing Company Acquires Flying Fish Brewing Company
• Our Town Brewery Expanding into Philly
• Smoketown Creekside – Brewery Operations For Sale
• Founders Announce Closure of their Detroit Taproom
• The Bruery Store D.C. Is Closed
• Founders Brewing Company Sued for Racial Discrimination (Again) Just Before Detroit Taproom Shut Down
• Liquid Noise Brewing Company – New Ownership, New Beer, New Friends
• YAH Brew Grand Opening
• FX Matt Brewing Company Acquires Flying Dog Brewery
• The Beerded Goat Brewing Company Taking over the old NewFangled Brewery
• River Horse Brewing Company Acquires DuClaw Brewing Company
• Carbon Copy Brewing will be taking over Separatist Beer Project’s East Passyunk Location for the Summer
• Anchor Brewing Will No Longer Be Sold Nationally
• The First Hershey Beer and Music Festival Announced
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• Guinness Baltimore Blonde Beer Production Moving to New York
• Black Rock Brewing Company – Downtown Pottsville – Will Not Be Re – Opening
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• Cinderlands Foederhouse Temporary Closure
• Appalachian Brewing Company Coming Soon to Carlisle
• Tattered Flag Brewery and Distillery Is Up For Sale
• New Belgium Teams Up with Magic the Gathering for Vastwood Seer IPA
• Anchor Brewing Could Be Sold Tomorrow
• Anchor Brewing Company Ceasing Operations and Liquidating Business
• A Sneak Peek of The Beerded Goat Brewery
• Allusion Brewing Company Appreciation Party
• Allusion Brewing Company Expanding to the North Hills
• Sworn Brewing Company Opening in September
• With Heavy Hearts Tattered Flag Announces Last Day
• Appalachian Brewing Company Pairs with The Vegetable Hunter to Release Plant Based Beyond Beer Collaboration
• Getting Sworn In: A Sneak Peek at Sworn Brewing Company
• Arboretum Trail Brewing is Closing Their Taproom
• Mastic Trail Brewing Company Setting into the Sunset – Closing on September 2nd
• A Look at Local Time Brewery
• Second Sin Beer Announces Second Tap Room Location
• Rumor Mill: Snitz Creek Brewing To Take Over Mt. Gretna Brewing’s Old Location
• Howling Henry’s Not Looking to Finish Out the Year
• Brewery Fire Celebrates Their Fourth Anniversary: The Power of the Fourth
• Devil’s Eye Brewing Announces Closure on September 30th
• Walk to End ALZ at Lost in the Wilds Brewing – September 28th, 2023
• 12 Pennsylvania Breweries Collaborate on Buckeye Tears
• Stickman Brews Announces Immediate Closure
• Spring House Brewing to Open The Coffin Bar on Friday the 13th
• Cox Brewing Company Announces Closure at the End of 2023
• High Road Brewing Company Announces Grand Opening Celebration at High Road Taproom in Mechanicsburg
• Circle of Life – A Fond Farewell to North Austin’s Oldest Brewery
• BierHall Brewing Coming to Lancaster
• Smuttynose Brewing and Five Boroughs Brewing Joining Under the Ownership of Finestkind Brewing
• Highway Manor Brewing Has Seemingly Been Closed
• Tree House Opening a Saratoga Springs Location
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• Cartel Brewing and Blending Grand Opening of Their New Location
• Wacker Brewing Announces Upcoming Closing
• Mindful Brewing Company Temporarily Closing
• Highway Manor Brewing Temporarily Closed For Remainder of 2023
• Snitz Creek Brewing is Coming to the Old Mt. Gretna Craft Brewery
• Chatty Monks Brewing Company Has Exciting News
• Liquid Noise Announces Opening Soon
• Jackass Brewing Company Adding Williamsport Location in 2024
• Truth Beer Company Announce New Lancaster Taproom
• Truth Beer Company Opening a Taproom in Lancaster
• Moss Mill Brewing Company of Huntingdon Valley is Closing
• Liquid Noise Brewing Company Sets Grand Opening for December 29th
• Three Beards Brewing Announce Closure
• Ingenious Brewing Announces the Upcoming Closure of their Brewery
• Allusion Brewing is Opening a Second Spot in McCandless Township, Duncan Manor in Allison Park
• Breweries that Opened in Pennsylvania in 2023
• Cox Brewing Company Close Out Celebration
• A New Owner Takes Over Olde Bedford Brewing Company
• North Country Brewing is Closing the Corn Crib at Freedom Farms Farmers Market
• Compass Mill Tap House is Temporarily Closed Down for Cleaning and Maintenance
• Aldus Brewing’s Dolphin and Anchor Pub in Downtown Hanover Set for Grand Opening
• HiJinx Brewing Company Adding Second Location
• Truth Beer Company is Having Their Grand Opening on Saturday – January 20th
• Wissahickon Brewing Company to Add a Second Taproom
• Hell in a Bucket Brewery is Moving to Marietta
• Smuttynose Brewing to Acquire Wachusett Brewery
• Sign of the Horse Bierhaus is Closing
• Anheuser-Busch InBev Closes Two Craft Brewpubs
• Species X Beer Project Opening Soon in Columbus
• The Alementary Announces Their Closure
• Our Town Brewery Taproom Set to Open in Philadelphia
• Mount Hope Brewfest is Cancelled
• Hoppy Valley Brewfest Announced for Beaver Stadium
• Grist House Brewery Will Be Taking Over the Taproom at Freedom Farms Farmers Market
• Necromancer Brewing Temporarily Closing
• Hysteria Brewing Company For Sale
• AleCraft Brewery Bel Air to Close
• Necromancer Brewing Permanently Closing
• YAH Brew Looking to Expand
• Voodoo Brewing Company Names New CFO and Employee Owner, Reinforcing Its Dedication to a Diverse and Dynamic Community
• Country Trails Brewing To Open in April
• Voodoo Brewing – Seven Fields Coming Spring 2024
• Allusion Brewing Company’s Second Location is Having Their Grand Opening Saturday
• Kennett Brewing Company is Closing
• Dough Daddy Brewery Coming to Gibsonia
• Willow Creek Brewing Company to Close Permanently
• YAH Brew to Open YAH Brew’s Retro Bar in Mount Joy
• Twelve78 Brewing Company To Open Its Doors on May 17th In Phoenixville
• Ballast Point Shutting Down Production
• Wander Back Beerworks: Vineland’s Newest Brewery Gears Up to Join South Jersey’s Craft Beer Scene
• Pour Man’s Brewing Acquires St. Boniface Brewing
• BrewDog’s James Watt Stepping Down as CEO
• Insurrection Ale Works Closing Saturday
• Hoppy Valley Brewersfest is Tomorrow
• Mindful Brewing is Transforming into Chimera Brewing
• Liquid Hero Brewery’s New Spot
• A Look at Lindgren Craft Brewery (Amy’s Column)
• Tattered Flag Brewery and Distillery is Up for Auction
• Ross Brewing Company is Closing Their Taproom in Port Monmouth
• Source Brewing Expanding to Manayunk
• Broken Chair Brewery Announces They Will Be Closing
• Rubber Soul Brewing to Open New Taproom Saturday
• Brew Monkey to Close Thursday
• Bissell Brothers Closing Their Three Rivers – Milo – Brewery
• Mellow Mink Brewery is Closing
• Mad Princes Brewing Announces Upcoming Closure
• Truth Beer Closes Akron and Moves Brewing to Lancaster
• Tied House Abruptly Closes
• 2 Dogz and a Guy Brewing Announces Closing
• Grand Illusion Cider’s Last Week of Operations
• Stony Run Brew House Sells to a Local Brewery
• Breckenridge Will Open Third Taproom
• Sign of the Horse Brewery Bought Stony Run Brew House
• Selin’s Grove Brewing Closing Until Further Notice
• Urban Artifact Brewery Files Federal Lawsuit Against Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board Over Online Beer Sales Restrictions
• J. Wakefield Brewing Announces Closing of Wynwood Taproom
• When it Rains it Pours – ZeroDay Production Slowed Down by Flooding
• J. Wakefield Brewing is Moving
• McAllister Brewing Company Transitions Completely to The Carriage House Restaurant
• Böser Geist Brewing Announces Closure
• Vault Brewing Company Easton is Coming Fall of 2024
• Sworn Brewing a Year Later – A Sit Down with Jesse and Amanda
• Brewery Closings – Archives
• Brewery Openings – Archives
• The Craft Beer Conundrum: Navigating the Troubled Waters of the Craft Beer Industry

Thank You For Reading

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

Cheers.

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

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

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

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

• MAPS OF BREWERIES

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

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

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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 August 2024.) 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.)

ROSEVILLE, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 22: Partake Brewing marketing activation during the 2024 APP Sacramento Open at PicklePlex on {March} {9}, 2024 in Roseville, California. (Photo by Justine Willard/APP)

Partake Brewing Introduces Pickleball Pils

Some exciting news from Partake Brewing! Introducing Pickleball Pils, a a new limited-edition, Pickleball Pils brew in collaboration with the Association of Pickleball Players (APP) Tour. Only 25 calories, the fewest on the market, and is a golden brew bursting with crispy hop tang.

• According to APP, in 2023 36.5 million people played

• The sport has had an average growth rate of 158% over the last few years

• 7.7% is the forecasted compound annual growth rate through 2028

Partake Brewing Releases Pickleball Pils

 Partake Brewing, an award-winning category leader in the non-alcoholic beer space and a B Corp-certified company, has released a new limited-edition, Pickleball Pils brew in collaboration with the Association of Pickleball Players (APP) Tour. Like the Pilsner, Partake’s new brew style recently launched in March, Pickleball Pils has only 25 calories, the fewest on the market, and is a golden brew bursting with crispy hop tang. The brew’s popularity inspired the limited-edition can design developed in collaboration with the APP Tour to celebrate the fastest growing sport in America.

“I’ve always been a beer lover and so I set the bar extremely high, non-alcoholic beers included! Partake goes well beyond that with their amazing selection of great-tasting NA beers and I don’t have to compromise on my health and fitness. I can celebrate wins in a big way and get right back on the court without missing a beat.” stated Nick Slater, professional pickleball player and former pro tennis player.

Ted Fleming, the founder of Partake Brewing, stated, “Non-alcoholic options are becoming more popular as part of the ‘better for you’ lifestyle, indicating a move towards healthier living choices, including activities like pickleball. We are excited to champion, support, and create opportunities for those adopting this and our new partnership with the APP. Pickleball Pils is a prime example of how Partake brings this vision into reality.”

Partake is the official non-alcoholic beer for the 2024 Association of Pickleball Players (APP) Tour, seamlessly blending the brewery’s acclaimed range of low-calorie, non-alcoholic beverages with the popularity of pickleball. The partnership is marked by the introduction of a novel community initiative known as the Partake Community Hero Award. At each 2024 APP Tour stop, this award will honor individuals who have made noteworthy personal contributions to their local pickleball communities.

“We’re very pleased to have a wonderful partner in Partake to bring their passion and refreshing beverages into our pickleball community,” said Ryan McSpadden, APP chief revenue officer. “Now with the addition of Pickleball Pils, our world-class events just got even more delicious.”

Partake’s lineup includes IPA, Pale Ale, Hazy IPA, Blonde, and Peach Gose, all ranging between 10-30 calories. Consumers consistently seek out Partake for its exceptional taste, unmatched calorie count, and use of all-natural ingredients.

Partake’s Pickleball Pilsner is available at all 2024 APP tour stops. Limited-edition pickleball mixed packs are also available at select retail partners across Canada and the US. To learn more about Partake Brewing visit https://drinkpartake.com.

About Partake Brewing

Partake Brewing is the maker of craft non-alcoholic beers brewed for those who make it happen. Serving up the lowest calorie non-alcoholic craft beer on the market, Partake, offers a delicious array of award-winning styles all under 30 calories, so you can enjoy a beer while you’re out there making the most of it. Founded in 2017, Partake Brewing has become a leader in non-alcoholic beer in North America, with distribution in major retailers across Canada and the United States. As a B Corp certified company, Partake Brewing is praised by drinkers for its unique combination of exceptional flavour, classic styles and game-changing nutritionals. Learn more at drinkpartake.com or follow @partakebrewing on social media.

#DrinkPartake #PartakeBrewing #NAbeer #LowCalBeer #AwardWinningBeer #beerfordoing

About the APP

The Association of Pickleball Players (APP) provides opportunities for pickleball players of all ages and skill levels—professionals, amateurs and recreational—to compete in world-class pickleball events for the opportunity to win prize money and be seen on internationally televised broadcasts. The APP was founded in 2019 and operates the first and only tour fully and officially sanctioned by USA Pickleball. In 2023, it held 19 events across the country and supported five international tournaments. The APP prides itself on developing the next generation of pickleball champions through its APP Next Gen Series, the APP Next Gen National Team and other youth initiatives. The 2024 schedule, recent news and additional information about the APP are available at theapp.global and on Instagram, X, Threads, TikTok, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Thank You For Reading

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

Cheers.

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

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

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

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

• MAPS OF BREWERIES

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

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

Please be sure to follow us on our social media accounts – Facebook, Facebook Group, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Influence. As well as our brand new Tumblr page. Please be sure to also follow, like, subscribe to the blog here itself to keep updated. We 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.)

Getting a Look at Sworn Brewing

This is going to be a long post about the soon to be brewery – Sworn Brewing Company coming to Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. Josh, Amy, and I (Ben) got to come out and visit Jesse and Amanda at Sworn Brewing and get to hang out for a bit and check out the place in a behind the scenes look.

Firstly, I want to say sorry for it taking so long to get this article out. It has been super hectic here at The Beer Thrillers HQ, and with all of us writing this article. We had a crazy busy weekend – and busy week – when we got out to visit. (Saturday – Amy and I were in Vandergrift celebrating Allusion Brewing Company’s Battle of the Breweries Win; Sunday – a friend of mine invited me to go with to Philly to watch the Premier League games, and then Monday – Amy, Josh, and I got to visit Sworn Brewing Company.) (And this was all on top of the other stuff we had going on, most of which is articles you can find on here.) (Speaking of that – you can read the Allusion Articles here: Allusion Brewing Company Celebration Party and An Alluring Trip Out To Vandergrift For Allusion Brewing Company’s Appreciation Party.)

I have also been very busy with our “Futurama Monday” – which has been a new blog article as well as new YouTube video essay each Monday.

This is also Josh’s first time jumping back in and writing with us since 2021. So welcome back Josh! Good to have you back buddy!

So before I hand things over to Josh, I’ll give a quick set up to this, and then we will go from there.

The Set – Up

Amanda and Jesse are married and co – owners of Sworn Brewing Company. Jesse is also head brewer. We heard about them opening up their new brewery in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, and I reached out to Amanda when I saw a post of hers’ on one of the beer groups. We locked down a meeting date – July 24th, 2023 – and all set to go. So Josh, Amy, and myself met with Amanda and Jesse and got a walk through and a sneak peek look at the upcoming brewery.

For this article, I’m going to let Josh start us off, then switch over to Amy, and then I’ll wrap things up and conclude the article. Please let us know in the comments section what you think of this, and if you like how this article looks and reads. (Josh and I did a similar article when we got a behind the scenes look at Mellow Mink – and Amy and I did similar with a sneak peek of The Beerded Goat).

Getting Sworn In – A Behind the Scenes Look at Sworn Brewing Company

Oh … hey there. It’s that other beer nerd that used to do beer reviews. Long time no see, right? An even longer time since I’ve written a review, let alone been here to co-author a brewer interview. Perfect time to come back, right? Thought so. I could waste your valuable time reading more drivel or I could just cut to the chase. Probably best if I just got stuck in about the visit Amy, Ben, and I had at a small brewery called Sworn Brewing Company located off East Trindle Road.

Sometimes one just needs to let opportunity in when it knocks, lest one be left out in the cold, so when the chance to visit a brand new, not yet open, brewery came across my notifications, I may have had to invite myself (okay, who am I kidding, I totally invited myself) to check the place out and get to know the new face. Truth be told though, Jesse Mills is no new face in the brewing scene. He knows his way around a Fermenter and Brite tank as he’s got some serious chops, having been in the business for over a decade. An excellent starting point and will make for great conversation. Upon arrival, I’m greeted with a quaint location tucked behind the Atlantic Pools and slot in near a black Subaru WRX STi (don’t worry about the car bro, we’re here for beer). Ben and Amy haven’t yet arrived, but no harm I figure, I’m early so I’ll just walk in and introduce myself. Step through the glass door with a small sign denoting what was once a catering business is now a brewery and step into a remarkable little place. I’d never have guessed that Jesse and his wife Amanda had been working tirelessly for a month prior to put the place right. A month? Wait … *checks notes* … yep, a literal month since the spot was purchased, did the new owners turn the key and renovate the inside. And what a transformation they’ve done. The floors still bear the character of tire prints from being a garage and then the spots and spills of a catering hub, but they are as clean as ever, given the elbow grease put into them. A corrugated metal and Australian wood bartop adorn the rear quarter of the space, adding function, form, and beauty. The walls were painted dark to add an air of comfort and warmth, and the overhead Edison lights help to drive that feeling home. Even with the place 80% complete, I feel immediately welcome, as if this brewery has been here forever. Jesse is gleefully explaining how things will look when Ben and Amy finally walk through the door. FINALLY! We can get down to business and talk shop with the rightfully excited owners.

There’s something beautiful in watching someone who is passionate about their field of expertise talk about what makes them happy. In the few hours we spent with Jesse, I don’t recall ever seeing the mile wide smile leave his countenance. His joy was infectious and I know I’m not the only one that feels this way. The brewery is small on purpose, not because droves of people aren’t invited, but because a personal, individual approach is more easily achieved. Customers aren’t going to be seen as a number, but as friends or family. While that will come off as a negative to some, personally I see it as their greatest strength. In keeping things small, the beer will only benefit from this approach because scaling production up means many of the nuances and subtleties are glossed over or don’t have the chance to be experienced. I could go on and on about what was discussed, but there are two other authors waiting for me to finish gushing over the splendid time and laughs shared, so I’ll button up and discuss one of the liquid libations afforded to our visit.

One such drink was called “Dreams Debunked”. This pineapple and strawberry kettle sour sits low on octane and high on enjoyment. With the outside reaching deep into the 80’s (and 90’s the week after), this sweetheart of a sipper could function quite nicely as a break from midday chores or a sweet treat at the end of the summer’s day. Tropical waves wash over your sense of smell and suddenly the absence of sand beneath your feet becomes apparent. You’re still in Central PA, but your nose is on a beach (lucky devil). Honestly, I could have lived in the nose of Dreams Debunked, but not tasting it would have been a disservice to our hosts, so … bottoms up! As in the description, so too on the tongue does pineapple show up first. And it does so in a very dominate fashion, almost to the point where I questioned if strawberry was included. Almost. You see, there was a bit of a time element to this tart concoction and not enough of it had elapsed. There was plenty of time left in our visit, which meant there was plenty of time to get acquainted with our hosts and this beverage. Good thing too, as the more my taste buds became used to the liquid, so too did more flavor notes appear. The once king pineapple had abdicated its throne to allow its equally tart and sweet partner time in the limelight. The bottom third of this sample is glorious, almost jammy (or marmalade for our Commonwealth constituents) strawberry. The flavors and fruit mentioned in the description are, in fact, present and accounted for. All it needs is a little time and patience. Speaking of time and patience, Sworn Brewing Company is not yet open, though the target is set for September. I’ll be honest, I can’t wait to get Sworn in. How about you, Amy?

• Josh

Sworn To a Good Time at Sworn Brewing

It was just a few weeks ago The Beer Thrillers gang was invited for a sneak peek of the new Sworn Brewing company and taproom.  Owners Jesse and Amanda Mills were there to show us their second home.  The minute you walk in you can tell these 2 have poured their heart and soul into opening this nano – brewery. 

I mean that type of passion should be evident by this quote from their Facebook page “We will strive to make sure the highest quality items we can get our hands on will be used in every single process.  Everything that comes out of our taps, every single small batch of beer that we make will go through a rigorous quality control process.  If it does not meet our standards, it will never be consumed by the customer.  We are not here to cut corners, we are here to make sure we can provide you with the best possible experience that you deserve, what the craft brewing industry deserves!”

We also got the sense of feeling pretty comfortable like they were trying to create a second home for us and the rest of our beer drinking friends.  Well actually, there are plans to accommodate our liquor and wine drinking friends as well, stay tuned.  Jesse Mills adds using local distilleries and wineries is very important to him and the rest of the Sworn family. 

When they served us our first taster of beer Amanda has put down some chips with queso and some salsa as well.  The queso and salsa were house made and intentions of putting it on the menu were also discussed.  Both Amanda and Jesse started talking about the same passion about these ingredients as they did about the beer they just served us. 

But let’s back up a second.  We were given a taste of the Dreams Debunked fruited sour with Pineapple and Strawberry.  This lightly fruited sour has an ABV of 4.2% and lightly dances on the tongue.  The fruit is not overpowering in anyway.  What excited me the most was the pairing of the smoked queso along with the Dreams Debunked.

The smokiness of the queso with the salt from the chip paired with the sweet from the Dreams Debunked also helped accent the two different flavors.  When I first started drinking DD I tasted strawberry by the end and including the queso I tasted the pineapple.

Jesse also commented, when they are setup and ready, they will be making fresh bread to go along with the house made queso as well as other items for dipping. 

Happy Hump Day!!!!

So… We hung up some lights and made some bread for a test run we are more than excited to share additional details as we continue to progress. Opening date info is coming soon just a few more items to complete

Sworn Brewing Company – Facebook Post About Bread

(Photos courtesy of Sworn Brewing Company’s Facebook Page)

Sworn will be welcoming food trucks to go along with their beverage pairings. 

Don’t let the unyielding passion for high quality products steer you away thinking it is a serious crowd.  When you walk into the bathroom you are greeted with a picture of Mr. Jones above the toilet and as you would turn to use the toilet or hopefully walk towards the sink to wash your hands you are greeted with a picture of Craig Jones the Movie Friday.

Jesse and Amanda are giggling right along with us as they tell us they can’t wait to hear the first customer walk in there and bust out laughing from seeing the pictures. 

This is your place to hang out and for everyone wanting an excellent product, welcoming atmosphere and something relaxing and not so serious.  We can’t wait to add this spot to our frequent stops. 

• Amy

A Look Behind The Sword at Sworn Brewing Company

As I said at the top of the article, discussed getting to meet with them, and we did get to on Monday – July 24th. Amy and I dropped Scarlet off at my parents after Amy came home from work and then we were off to Mechanicsburg. Hit a little traffic on the bridge, but got there in no time.

Josh beat us there, but we were immediately greeted by Amanda and Jesse. Both super awesome and wonderful people. They showed us around the place, talking about the brewery’s past – as a catering business (twice over) and a car shop.

It was great listening to their plans for the building itself. They discussed the bar top, the wood of it, the corrugated steel for the outside of it, the epoxy used on the wood, etc. The attention to detail is incredible with Jesse.

The story of them trying to pain the tiles of the ceiling for the bathroom was hilarious, and thus why only the bathroom has the black tiles and not the whole brewery.

Jesse is very focused on his beer and discussed his past brewing experience – both professionally and as a home brewer. The brewing system at Sworn Brewing Company is going to be a 1 BBL system. Not much bigger than home brewing for Jesse. He said he prefers it this way – it lets him be more precise, dialed in, and make the exact beer he wants.

With Jesse and Amanda we got to discuss a great number of topics big and small. From the brewery itself, to past brewing experiences, to consumer experiences, to new breweries in the area – and old breweries in the area – to competitions in brewing, to traveling for beer (Vermont, New Hampshire, The Answer, etc.), we discussed beer groups and beer blogs – both good and bad – online, Untappd, and the other factors that will play into how successful a brewery is.

Amanda and Jesse are very community focused. They love their location, love Mechanicsburg, and want to see both thrive. They live in Dillsburg which didn’t have any good locations suitable for them, so they opened up shop on Trindle Road.

Dreams Debunked was absolutely amazing. A wonderful, delicious sour. From this alone – I know I can’t wait for the brewery to open up and get to try the rest of that tap list he’s preparing.

The brewery itself is very inviting. With the roll up bay door and the entrance leading you right to the bar, with all of the available seating (including a table reserved for their parents at all times – complete with LEGO Flowers), the entire place is just very homey.

Listening to Jesse and Amanda discuss their plans for the future – with food trucks, home made bread, the world renowned hot dog vendor that they know personally, and so much more – it will be fantastic. This will certainly be a great boon to the town and the brewing community in the area.

Jesse Mills comes with a great brewing background, having home brewed, and brewed professionally. He’s beaten some great local breweries in home brewing competitions, as home brewed with a group and worked with Derek Markel, and professionally brewed with Sign of the Horse Brewing.

(Plus rumor is that they are Bengals fans… so I mean… right there they gotta be good folk right?! Can I get a Who Dey?!)

This is what we love about the small breweries. Seeing how much they support, impact, and help out communities. And knowing that your money is going to a family that loves what they do, and wants to give back to their community, want to grow in their craft, and support their family and friends.

Congratulations to Jesse and Amanda Mills, we cannot way to come back for Sworn Brewing Company’s opening – and many more times in the future after that.

• B. Kline

Sworn Brewing Company

For more information on Sworn Brewing Company, you can find them on the following social media pages:

• Sworn Brewing Company – Facebook
• Sworn Brewing Company – Instagram
• Sworn Brewing Company – Official Website

Josh, Amy, and I

Again – I want to reiterate that Josh, Amy, and I (B. Kline) greatly appreciated the opportunity to come out and get to check out Sworn Brewing Company. It was a wonderful time getting to hang out with wonderful people and we can only help this gets them more attention before their opening. If you are reading it – I cannot recommend that you stop out and visit them enough.

Look for them to be having announcements about grand openings, soft openings, and more around the beginning of September.

Josh

We welcome Josh back after a hiatus of writing. At the end of this article I will post a link to Josh, Amy, and Ben’s most viewed articles. But for now, check out his Beer Review of Ghost in a Machine by Parish Brewing 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:

• Other Half Brewing Company Opening Friday 2.18.22 in Philadelphia
• Midwest Coast Brewery Opening
• Boulevard Presidents Steps Down Amidst Allegations
• Brewery Opening: Howling Henry’s (Hummelstown)
• Brewery Opening: Highway Manor (Camp Hill)
• Brewery Opening: Rotunda Brew Pub (Hershey)
• Is JB LoveDraft’s Opening a Brewery?
• Tattered Flag at Hollywood Casino – Grantville – Opening Their 5th Location
• JB LoveDraft’s Grand Opening (Mechanicsburg)
• ZeroDay Opens Their New Tap Room (Harrisburg)
• Victory Brewery Fire and Explosion (Kennett Square)
• Sign of the Horse Brewery is Expanding in Hanover (Taking Over the Old Miscreation Brewery)
• Brewery Tour: Couch Brewery (Pittsburgh)
• Brewery Visit: Mellow Mink (Mechanicsburg)
• A Sneak Peak at the new Rubber Soul Brewery (Hummelstown)
• Rubber Soul Grand Opening (Hummelstown)
• VooDoo Lancaster Closing
• River Bend Hop Farm and Brewery Closes
• Homaide Brewing Says Goodbye To Their First Home
• Grand Opening of Hemauer Brewing (Mechanicsburg)
• Rally Point Tap Room Opening – Cox Brewing Company – Elizabethtown
• Spigot Brewing Closes
• Full Pint Brewing Closes
• Night Shift Brewing Cancels Expansion
• Mikkeller Brewing NYC Closes Permanently
• Pilger Ruh Brewing Needs Your Help (Pottsville)
• Official BBQ (Pizza Boy Secondary Location) (Rutherford)
• Aslin Beer Co. Now Ships to Pennsylvania
• Boneshire Brew Works to Open Second Taproom in Harrisburg (Harrisburg)
• Aslin Beer Company Confirms Expanding to Pittsburgh
• Rural City Beer Company Coming to Beamstown PA
• Grand Opening of Forest and Main’s New Brewpub
• New Bells-gium – New Belgium Owned Company Buys Bell’s Brewery
• Human Robot Expanding to Jenkintown
• High Road Brewing Company Coming to Camp Hill, Pennsylvania in Summer 2022
• YAH Brewing’s First Can Drop
• RAR Brewing’s Star Wars Can Drop
• Arboretum Trail Brewing Company Opens Their Doors Tomorrow
• Macklin Brewing Company in Development
• Michaux Brewing Company Grand Opening
• Shy Bear Brewing Announces Two New Locations
• Newfangled Brew Works Announces Closure
• Fourscore Beer Company Celebrates Their 3rd Anniversary
• Penn Brewery Announces Sale and Owner’s Retirement
• Voodoo Brewing Company To Open Brewpub on North Shore of Pittsburgh – August 27th
• Truth Beer Company’s Grand Opening
• Sobel’s Obscure Brewery’s Grand New Location and Opening
• AleCraft Brewing Company Expands Into Pennsylvania
• Boneshire Brew Works Celebrates 6th Anniversary
• Funk Brewing Company – Elizabethtown Brewery – Fire
• Funk Brewing Company – Elizabethtown Brewery – Fire Update
• Victory Taproom in Kennett Square Re – Opens
• Pour Man’s Brewery Is Moving Their Tap Room
• Qatar Bans Alcohol Sales at World Cup 2022
• Second Sin Brewery Company Celebrates Third Anniversary
• Round Guys Brewing Company’s Brewpub in Lansdale is Getting a Revamp
• VK Brewing Officially Opens at Historic Ship Inn
• Rocket Frog Brewing Company Announces Closure on December 11th
• Co – Hops Brewery and Cannery Appears to be Closed
• Where to Watch the USA vs Netherlands World Cup Game – in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia
• Liquid Noise Brewing Company Announces the Show is Ending (Brewery Closure)
• Looks Like Homaide Brewing Company Might Be Done (January 2023)
• Old Soul Brewing Starting up in Waynesboro Pennsylvania
• Cox Brewing Company Returning to Their Roots
• Helping the Hemauer Family
• Cellar Works Brewing Closing Cooper Station
• Imprint Beer Company Unveils The GNARCADIUM
• Blueprint Brewing Company Announces Their Closing on March 31st
• Pilger Ruh Brewing is Expanding into Gettysburg
• Back Porch Brewing Grand Opening
• Jigsy’s Old Forge Pizza and Brewpub is Expanding into Hershey
• LoveDraft’s Brewery Sabotaged
• Homaide Brewing Company Resurfaces
• Sign of the Horse Brewery Announces Closure of Zeichen des Pferdes and Re – Branding
• Mount Gretna Craft Brewery in Palmyra Announces Closing Immediately
• The Englewood Announces Re – Opening
• AB InBev Closes Cleveland’s Platform Brewing Company
• Full Tit Brewing Closing
• Camp Hill Brewery – High Road Brewing – Plans Scrapped
• YAH Brew is Coming to Hershey in Spring 2023
• Bespoke Brewing Moving and Expanding
• BrewDog Pittsburgh Has Closed
• Isle of Que Brewing – The Que Brew Crew – Has Announced Their Closing
• Fermentery Form Announces Temporary Closure
• Separatist Beer Project Announces Temporary Closing of Both Locations
• Fermentery Form Cited for Failing Health Inspections
• Guinness Brewing is Closing Their Maryland Production Facility
• Cox Brewing Company Celebrates 8th Anniversary
• Human Robot Expands into the Schuylkill
• Despite Being Closed – Fermentery Form Selling Bottles Tomorrow
• Cape May Brewing Company Acquires Flying Fish Brewing Company
• Our Town Brewery Expanding into Philly
• Smoketown Creekside – Brewery Operations For Sale
• Founders Announce Closure of their Detroit Taproom
• The Bruery Store D.C. Is Closed
• Founders Brewing Company Sued for Racial Discrimination (Again) Just Before Detroit Taproom Shut Down
• Liquid Noise Brewing Company – New Ownership, New Beer, New Friends
• YAH Brew Grand Opening
• FX Matt Brewing Company Acquires Flying Dog Brewery
• The Beerded Goat Brewing Company Taking over the old NewFangled Brewery
• River Horse Brewing Company Acquires DuClaw Brewing Company
• Carbon Copy Brewing will be taking over Separatist Beer Project’s East Passyunk Location for the Summer
• Anchor Brewing Will No Longer Be Sold Nationally
• The First Hershey Beer and Music Festival Announced
• Cushwa Brewing Company Opening Second Location in Columbia Maryland
• Guinness Baltimore Blonde Beer Production Moving to New York
• Black Rock Brewing Company – Downtown Pottsville – Will Not Be Re – Opening
• Jim Thorpe Brewing Needs Your Support
• Cinderlands Foederhouse Temporary Closure
• Appalachian Brewing Company Coming Soon to Carlisle
• Tattered Flag Brewery and Distillery Is Up For Sale
• New Belgium Teams Up with Magic the Gathering for Vastwood Seer IPA
• Anchor Brewing Could Be Sold Tomorrow
• Anchor Brewing Company Ceasing Operations and Liquidating Business
• A Sneak Peek of The Beerded Goat Brewery
• Allusion Brewing Company Appreciation Party
• With Heavy Hearts Tattered Flag Announces Last Day
• Appalachian Brewing Company Pairs with The Vegetable Hunter to Release Plant Based Beyond Beer Collaboration
• Getting Sworn In: A Sneak Peek at Sworn Brewing Company
• Brewery Closings – Archives
• Brewery Openings – Archives

Author Articles

Amy’s Weekly Column Series

Since getting back to writing for the blog after a short hiatus, Amy has started up a weekly column style writing for the blog. You can find these articles here:

• Brewfests with Anxiety (Amy’s original weekly column start)
• I’ve Missed Drinking (A Look at Non Alcoholic Beers)
• Beer and Pretzel Review: Legends and Lore (St. Boniface Brewing Company) and Garlic Parm Pretzels (Pretzels.com)
• Peanut Butter Eggs, Easter, Beer, and YAH Brew’s Shimmy Shake (Beer Review)
• Cox Brewing Company: Back to Their Roots
• Amy’s Day Off
• It Was All A Dream (A Visit to YAH Brewing)
• Just Another Weekend (A Hike at Saint Pete’s Trail and Hares Hill Brewing)
• I’m Pretty Darn Lucky (Happy Mother’s Day)
• Ready to Kick of the Summer
• Beer Review: Beer Devil IPA (Niagara Brewing Company)
• World MS Day
• Have you ever picked a beer based on the can art?
• Happy Father’s Day
• What is Your Summer Time Go To Beer?
• Holiday Weekend and Bomber Bottles
• Baby’s First Ffej
• We Can’t Always Be a Glutton Right? – Perfect Portions and Allusion Brewing Company
• Beer Review: Pocono Punch (Barley Creek Brewing Company)
• You can find all of Amy’s articles here: Amy’s Archive of Articles.

(And please take a moment to fill out Amy’s survey on her ‘Holiday Weekend and Bomber Bottles‘ column.)

Josh

Some of Josh’s beer reviews:

• Beer Review: Terpenes In Time (BAREbottle Brewing Co.)
• Beer Review: B-52 Belgian Dubbel (Bottle-Conditioned, 2017) – Cox Brewing Company (CBC)
• Beer Review: The Octagonal Stairway (Ghost 859) – Adroit Theory x Pig Destroyer
• Beer Review: Colonization (Ghost 779) – Adroit Theory
• Beer Review: EBK – Gashadokuro (Ghost 782) – Adroit Theory
• Multiple Beer Review: Envie & Envie 4XDH (Parish Brewing Co.)
• Beer Review: Ekuanot Astronaut (BAREbottle Brewing Co.)
• Beer Review: Enigma (Anchorage Brewing Company)
• Beer Review: Mango Guyabano sWheat Tart (Rotunda Brewing Company)
• Beer Review: Miami Vice J.R.E.A.M. (Burley Oak Brewing Co.)

B. Kline

Some of Ben’s articles:

• Top 50 Craft Brewing Companies in the United States (2023)
• Guinness Brewing is Closing Their Maryland Production Facility
• New Belgium Teams Up with Magic the Gathering for Vastwood Seer IPA
• The Beerded Goat Brewing Company Taking over the old NewFangled Brewery
• Good News Everyone, Futurama is Back: Exploring Futurama – Inspired Craft Beers
• Beer Review: I Apologize For Nothing (Fourscore Beer Co.)
• Book Review: Family Reins (Billy Busch)
• Futurama Episode Review – Children of a Lesser Bog and Beer Review: Stay on Target (Allusion Brewing Company)

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.

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• MAPS OF BREWERIES

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I woke up early outside of Dayton Ohio, and get my shower for the day at my La Quinta Hotel…. to find my room’s hot water isn’t working. (The check out lady gave me a run around saying I should have turned the knob a bit to the left, then back to the right to bypass something…. yea, ok lady.) So that was my wake-up for the day. Then it was on the road for what Google Maps had listed as a 1 Hour 18 Minute Drive….. which turned into a 2 Hour and 34 Minute Drive….. because Google Maps didn’t reload until I was on the road that I-70 was having massive road work done for a giant long stretch.

Whatever.

I made it to Indianapolis and to the Vonnegut Museum at 12-noon, just in time for everything to start. In my full detailed travelogue I’ll discuss it, but the reason for the trip was to get here on Wednesday (today) – November 11th, – Armistice Day – Veteran’s Day – Kurt Vonnegut’s birthday. He would have turned 98 years old today.

Like I said, I’ll go into much more detail about the museum and library, but suffice it to say it was fantastic, and any fan of Vonnegut owes it to themselves to come out and check out the museum and library at least once in their lives. I’m looking to come back in two years for his 100th Birthday.

After the Museum, my first Indianapolis brewery was TwoDEEP Brewing. Fun little brewery, beautiful inside. I had a roasted amber ale and a pilsner. (No flights, just drafts.) Both were fantastic.

I of course had to drive and stop (illegally parked – at a meter – might I add) and get out and grab a picture of this. I also later in my day stopped by his childhood home and then the cemetery where he was buried. (I was unable to find his grave, but I did find President Benjamin Harrison’s gravesite.)

An absolute must stop for everyone in Indianapolis. This is THEE brewery in the city, and it shows. They’ve won a ton of awards in the past, and several more this year at the 2020 GABF. Amazing beers, not a single bad one. Even my least favorite from them was nearly a four cap beer. The nacho and taco place inside was also really great. Be sure to visit Sun King if you are ever even remotely in the area.

So after driving out to his childhood home and grabbing a picture, and going up to the cemetery and driving around looking for ‘him’, I had to stop at BLUEBEARD for dinner. Why? Well, the tavern is named after his novel ‘Bluebeard’ and even has a picture of him with a replica of a typewriter he used. This is a very hoighty-toighty place, (baby octopus was 28$) and very heavy sea-food (which when you are deathly allergic, is a slight scare). But I had a fantastic beer from a local brewery in can and great pasta.

About three businesses down from Bluebeard was a brewery (just happened on it by walking to / from my parked car). So I ducked in for a pint, and picked up a four pack to go.

I ended my night (as far as breweries go) at Ellison City Brewing. Looked like an old apartment building reimagined, not quite sure though in the dark. When I entered they had two food trucks or two kind of party trucks or something outside, and a lot of younger (20s) dancing and carrying on by them. After I had my pint and read, which I nursed a bit, and came out, the revelers and trucks were gone. Shrug.

Then it was off to another hotel for the night, where I wanted to finish A Man With No Country by Vonnegut, but sadly, I stayed on the phone with a co-worker til about 12:30AM and then soon passed out watching Chappelle Show on Netflix.

Tomorrow’s itinerary is Cincinnati, with a dip into Kentucky. Then moving on towards Hocking Hills, Athens, and Ohiopyl and back home to Central Pennsylvania. Nearing the home stretch of the trip and tour. We’ve gone, now we’re coming back.

Cheers!

-B. Kline

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The Trip to Indianapolis:

• The Trip to Indy
• The Trip to Indy – Day One Recap
• The Trip to Indy – Day Two Recap
• The Trip to Indy – Day Three Recap
• The Trip to Indy – Day Four Recap
• The Trip to Indy – Day Five Recap
• The Trip to Indy – Day Six Recap
• The Trip to Indy – Day Seven Recap
• Recap and Stats

Matt contacted us through the blog about visiting him at Mellow Mink and spending some time seeing the behind the scenes, the blending program, and just generally hanging out. Myself (Ben) and Josh immediately jumped at this idea. And to show just how hard it can be at times for just three humans to be able to meet, we started discussing when to visit mid-November and only got to actually meet January 2nd. A host of reasons attest to that; the least of all being a brewer, business operator, pharmacist, and all around busy man for Matt, for myself having only having two weekday days off rather than a weekend (whereas Josh has the weekend off), and myself having three daughters as well as another side-hustle (the podcasts). But we got to make it work, and it was a beautiful, and wonderful kick off to the new year and the new decade. Hopefully we’ll get to do more fun visits like this at other breweries. 

Here’s how this article is going to break down for everyone reading. I (B. Kline) am going to start off, giving my side of the events of the evening, and talk through what led up to us finally getting to meet, how the evening went, and then I’m going to pass the baton off to J. Doncevic who will give his side of everything.We’ll meet back up at the end giving reviews of the beers we had – specifically the absolutely fantastic bottle we all got to share; we’ll then go back and forth with a few closing comments, and I’ll wrap it up with post-brewery visit nonsense, general blog news and future events and things like that, last second plugs, etc, and that’ll be that. Hopefully this will do the visit, the tour, Matt, and the brewery – Mellow Mink – justice. I think this format will be the best and make the most sense for the readers, and give a more overall perspective of our time there and the visit and things we got to discuss with Matt. I know personally I can’t say enough wonderful things about Matt, about the beers, about the place, about everything, and just how appreciative we were that Matt reached out to us and invited us basically into his home away from home.

Ben:

As head of the blog I’m the one ‘saddled’ with having to do the behind the scenes upkeep of the blog, checking comments, media things, feedback through our contact page, generally all of the administrative and boring details. And to be honest, at a blog of our size, that’s really not much work, and I don’t mind one bit of it. Especially when I come across a notice like the one I received from Matt Miller. I immediately contacted Josh, my (main) co-writer here at the blog (one of a few now with the addition of Default Brewing joining in) and he was completely ecstatic right out of the gate just like I was. So I contacted Matt back and we stayed in touch via e-mail and messenger until we could finally hammer down a date – January 2nd.

My day was a bit hectic. Morning consisted of getting girls to school (driving my oldest two to two different schools, then walking my youngest), running errands, enjoying a nice lunch, and ultimately being late to my buddy D. Scott’s place. We were doing our podcast for The Rise of Skywalker and The Mandalorian. The night before I was at his place to do the LOST Podcast (Seasons 1 and 2) with Esteban. So for the Star Wars podcast I got to Drew’s just shy of 3PM when I was supposed to be there at 2:30/2:45PM. We ended up finishing the podcast at about 5:35PM and I all but ran and flew driving to get from Grantville to Mechanicsburg to meet Matt and Josh. I was supposed to be there at 6PM, and my GPS said I’d arrive there at 5:58, but I ended up walking in the doors at 6:02PM. I hate being late and try not to make it a common occurrence. Josh is already there sipping on Super Fruit 6. He informs me Matt is taking a business call.

I order my first – the Janet Weisse – and hang out talking with Josh about the evening and what to expect and how we might do the blog article. As per usual with me, nothing set in stone and nothing definitive, I tend to do much of everything on a ‘let’s just wing it’ kind of approach and let the chips fall and land where they do. In no time at all Matt comes out, introduces himself to Josh and I begin thanking him for letting us come out.

We stood by the bar drinking our first beer, the three of us chatting about how its taken so long for us to get to meet up finally, how we were supposed to the last week of December, why I was a bit running behind (because of the podcast, traffic, etc.), and just general life things. We then transitioned into the brewery, how long its been opened, small details about Mellow Mink in general. 

Immediately Josh and I can tell just the wealth of knowledge Matt has. Certainly no one could ever doubt that this man knows beer. In one night’s sleep he probably forgets more about beer and brewing and sours and blending then I’ll ever learn / know in my entire life. You can tell up front and right away that this is a passion for him. That he’s knowledgeable, smart, and loves the business, the making of beer, the blending of sours, the people, the atmosphere, the craftsmanship behind brewing a damn good beer. 

We ordered our second beers, Josh got the Cloud Cove IPA, since his Peaches and Cream IPA was out, I got the Super 6, and Matt got the Mechanicsbock. Absolutely loved the Super 6, and Josh enjoyed his Cloud Cove. We then began to talk actual shop. Discussing the beers he likes, breweries he likes, some of his inspirations, aspirations, and all around influences and influencers. He discussed going to Monk’s Cafe and trying out Cantillion on Zwanze Day and falling in love with lambics and the Belgian brewing style. Talked about how he discovered the sours and lambics and the various blendings and how its so similar to creating a good wine. We started discussing the different brewing styles and methods of lambics and the Belgian and German and European ways of brewing. It was like storytime with a historian and a scholar. The information that came out of him was too much to even comprehend most times, phenols, blending styles, aeration, different barrels, temperatures, mashing temperatures, kettle styles, stainless steel, different yeast strains, different sour methods, different cultures, bact, lacto, etc. etc, etc, etc.

Even with a notebook, heck, even with a recorder, I wouldn’t be able to write everything down and get it correct. Like I said, he knows far more than I’ll ever even possibly learn. We then ordered our next – myself getting the Mechanicsbock, Josh ordering the Janet Weisse, and we then followed Matt into the back to take a look at the full facility.

I will be honest here, and Matt will back me up on this, the facility is a glorified home brew set up. But its a DAMN GOOD glorified home brew set up. Matt even called it a “enlarged home brewing environment” while we were there. But please, this takes nothing away from the meticulousness, the procedure, the quality, or the skill that Matt uses. If anything it shows you how much better of a brewer Matt is to produce the quality he produces on such a small size and scale. 

One of the first things that caught Josh’s eye was the grates in the floor. All breweries have them, their for flushing and letting out the water, and spills, etc, just like the backhouse of most restaurants, and even warehouses. But this was the first that either of us have seen where the grates had the logo of the brewery in them acting as some of the holes. The Mellow Mink logo distinctive in the grates was a super cool touch.

He walked us around showing his kettles, the mash tun, his various fermenters and equipment, showed us the cooler with the kegs that run up into the brewery and to the bar, every last nook and cranny of the backstage facility. It was glorious to get to walk around and listen to an expert explain what this piece was for, why he had it set up this way, what the water was like in Mechanicsburg, what he added/detracted from the water, why his setup was this way, where he did his souring, all of this so educating and elucidating, was just a marvel to see it all. I don’t believe our pictures can do it all justice, but hopefully it gives you at least an idea. 

While chatting behind scenes, Matt told us how he’s actually a Doctor and works at a pharmacy by day, highlighting his science knowledge and showing why he’s so knowledgeable about the technical aspects of the molecular side of things in brewing. He told us about his prior writing before opening Mellow Mink – his blog – called The Sour Blog or Sour Blog where he was known as Dr. Lambic. Now it’s all clicking into place. We then chatted about his blog, our blog, and the intricacies of writing and blogs. 

We then came back out to the barrels and he pulled the pin from a barrel to give us a pour from one, replaced the pin, and then did the same with another. We then took a seat at the bar again, and sampled the untouched and un-added-to beers from the barrels. A white and a red. Both like fine wines, tasting absolutely phenomenal. Dry. Tasty. So fantastic. Dr. Lambic, err, Dr. Matt, err, Matt – never call him Doctor – then got one of their latest bottle offerings, the Scarlet Sunrise – Blackberry and Blueberry. Now, I know this is early in the year, but this is a clear cut front runner for best beer of the year. Absolutely fantastic.

I’ll go into the beers we had and do beer reviews later in this article. So make sure you check that out. Might also do an individual posting for a beer review on just the Scarlet Sunrise. 

But to wrap up my portion of the night, after we sampled the Scarlet Sunrise, talked very in depth about barrels, aging, blending, sours, etc, we then began to wrap things up. Cole got a group selfie of the four of us (he is the artistic and creative one as far as that sort of thing goes after all), and we chatted a little bit more, and gave our farewells.

After leaving, me and Josh stood outside chatting for a bit and then made our ways home. So I’ll hand this article off to Josh and let him talk about his evening at Mellow Mink:

JOSH:

Imagine my surprise when Ben messages me over Facebook that there was a brewery that had invited the two of us to come in and chat. The first thought that crossed my mind was “which one?” and immediately afterwards, the second thought was “you’re pulling my leg, aren’t you?” Ben cleared out the doubt when he told me it was Mellow Mink. Located just off the Carlisle Pike, in the Hampden Centre shopping plaza, right next to Pho 7 Spice, you’ll find an unassuming storefront. Step inside and you’re welcomed by friendly staff and a pleasant, upscale atmosphere that just feels right. If you’re looking for sours or farmhouse ales, you’ve stepped into the right place.

When Ben mentioned the sheer amount of time it took to set what would eventually become a January 2nd meeting, he wasn’t kidding. The offer for us to spend some time with Matt, drink his beer, chat, and view the inner workings of his passion took just under two months. Two months! Yes, various factors are to be taken into consideration, and on one occasion Ben & I were both available, but Matt had just received new brewery equipment that was coming in right around the time frame we’d have been there. Plus, like any brewer, Matt said he’d have new beer on tap that we would most likely be interested in. You don’t have to tell me twice. In retrospect, the day we were actually able to make our schedules work was probably the best as it was the start of a new year. Best time to hang out with a brewer and pick his brain, see what makes his brewery tick and try new things? YES! Before this sounds like some emphatic lovefest and a little too much fanboy fawning, allow me to place a little personal disclaimer: things like this usually do not happen to me. At least not on a regular basis. At any rate, I arrived a little early and checked my messages. Ben said he was running late, so I headed in and decided to, at the very least, let Matt know his 6 o’clock had arrived and was enjoying Super Fruit 6. Just a few minutes later Mr. Miller swings the backdoor open and greets me with a warm smile and hearty handshake. You can always tell when someone is about to talk about their passion. Their eyes are bright, their face is glowing, their smile is inhumanly wide and expressive. There’s this easy happiness that exudes from Matt as we share  a brief moment conversing about what now occupies our glasses before my colleague crashes the party. Just kidding! It was fully my intent to kill some time while Ben was en route to Mellow Mink. To be fair to Ben, he wasn’t that late, and once things got started, time was never the issue.

So where do you start when you’ve got the night and (mostly) the run of his establishment? The beginning of course! Not wanting to waste time, we asked Matt a slew of questions ranging from his favorite style to where he got the idea of opening a brewery in the first place. Then the second beer hit, well, it was ordered and while entertaining their respective contents, the information Ben and I were being given was something that we quickly realized we might have wanted a recorder of some sort. Let’s touch on the highlights though. 

Would you believe that Mellow Mink is not Matt’s only job? Hard to believe since the liquid luxury that pours from the taps is quite good. No, Matt has another job that pays the bills outside of being a brewer. He’s a pharmacist. Aha! At this point Ben and I realized the parallel that had been drawn between his profession and his passion project. Mr. Miller had moved us from the bar area to where he makes the magic happen. Sure there’s a lot of shiny metal tanks, fermenters, and even a HUGE refrigerator. None of this caught my immediate attention. No, what really got me excited was the fact that the drain grates incorporated the Mink from the logo. Matt was quick to add the company that made the grates offered to add the Mink for free so he jumped at the chance. I mean, wouldn’t you? Like a kid in a candy store, Ben and I are shown around and given a glimpse into what it means to be Matt Miller and what a typical month’s worth of brewing amounts to. In showing us what Mellow Mink really is, Matt also let’s us see that he’s not afraid to be resourceful and inventive. He shows us a bottle filling station with six separate spouts. Apparently when it was purchased it didn’t allow the proper amount of air to escape, so Matt set to work making it function the way he needed it. Way to go! Ben and I are having a great time, but now we’ve got an issue; our glasses are empty. Fortunately this is an easy problem to fix. However, we don’t want to fill our glasses just yet as Matt has something special for us. He gleefully shows us the barrels on sliding racks that occupy the back right corner and explains that the beer contained within is aged separately for at least 6 months and then blended together. Okay, brewers and distillers do this, but Matt uses beer aged in white wine and red wine barrels and marries them into one seamless, sultry mixture. He could have stopped there by telling us this process, but Matt believes in showing us this process. We are first given a sour that was aging in the red wine barrel. Although not finished aging, it comes across as mellow, smooth, and deep. We are then handed a sample of the sour from the white wine barrel. It is a stark contrast, in nose and experience. Where the red was mellow, the white is peaky, vibrant, upfront, and contains a lot more acidic bite. As the finale, Matt brings out a bottle of Scarlet Sunrise. This then is the end result of Matt’s incredible attention to detail as he deftly blends white and red into a sour with a luscious bouquet and more drinkability than anything this side of wine has a right to. This. This is what Matt does. Scarlet Sunrise represents what happens when someone has a passion for the craft and with every sip, that fact becomes more and more apparent. For me, Scarlet Sunrise puts the “Mellow” in “Mellow Mink” as it never feels the need to be the center of attention, nor does it completely fade into the background. Between the three of us we polish off the bottle, pay our tabs, grab a selfie with Matt and his partner Cole (the artistic side of the brewery), say our goodbyes then exit into the cold January evening. It was an incredible evening that Ben and I will not soon forget and one we might just need to have again. 

BEN:

Just to wrap things back up here, this was certainly a blast. I know I can speak for myself and Josh and say that we had an absolutely fantastic time at Mellow Mink. For anyone familiar with their beers, you’ll understand how great this was, and anyone unfamiliar with their beers will definitely want to check them out.

Matt is a genius brilliant brewer who certainly knows his trade. Getting to pick his mind on everything from sours, to brewing, to Untappd, to creativity things like naming and making recipes, to running a business, to being married and having another job and running a business, and just talking about his craft, his enthusiasm for what he does, his down-to-earth nature, and his pleasantness and niceness as a human being all shone through.

We visited on January 2nd, and we’re now posting this 20 days later on January 22nd. We’ve been a bit quiet on the blog homefront mainly because we’ve been working on this. Our last beer blog post was the duo 2019 recap blog posts: End of the Year – 2019 and The Best of 2019. I’ve also been busy doing podcasts.

We would like to take this time to thank Matt Miller extensively for allowing us into his brewery (basically his home) and showing us around and drinking with us and chatting with us. It was a blast!

For those reading, I have decided to move the beer reviews of what we had that night to a new article. I think this article is long enough and the beer reviews wouldn’t be necessary at this point. I will say we had some fantastic brews and none of them were below a 4 star review on Untappd. I will be doing the Scarlet Sunrise as its own review, and the others as a multi-beer review. I think thats the fairest way to do all of them. I believe Josh might also be doing a beer review article on the Scarlet Sunrise.

We are also considering doing a Q&A / interview series here on the blog. I know Matt has told us he’d welcome the idea of it and would gladly do one with us. If you are a brewer or brewery worker reading this and would like to do one, you can reach out to us here on the blog either through the comments or the contact page, and we would gladly do one!

Also, if you are a brewery (owner or brewmaster) and would like to invite us out to your brewery, we are super more than willing! We love hanging out at breweries, drinking, chatting, and will gladly do a review / write-up of your brewery. So once again, contact us, and we’ll work something out. We have covered a few brewery opening articles which you can find here: MidWest Coast Brewery Opening and Rotunda Brew Pub Opening.

I will also take this time to point out our various social media accounts for those of you unfamiliar with us, we have Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (though sadly we don’t use Instagram as much, but looking to in the future), and Pinterest.

We have a ton of different articles here on the site for you to check out, from brewery reviews, like our review of Battlefield Brew Works and Cushwa Brewery, to beer reviews like Fuzzy Nudge, The Hog, Dillston, Should Have Put Him Into Custardy, etc.

I am also finishing up my series on the Tree House beers soon after this gets published. I’ve done Sap, Autumn, and Haze, and soon will do the review for Julius and Doppelganger.

You can also check out the podcasts I do with friends over at our Podcast page – So a Mexican and a Scot Walk Into a Bar…. (The podcast is popculture themed, we discuss movies, shows, and drink beers and discuss the beers we are drinking while discussing the other esoteric stuff.) (The podcasts typically run from 1 Hour and 20 Minutes to 1 Hour and 45 Minutes.)

For a few months now we’ve been listed on FeedSpot’s Top 100 Beer Blogs; we’ve recently moved up from #11 on the charts to #9. And thats thanks to all of you checking us out, reading our entries, and clicking Follow and Like and Subscribe. We appreciate it so much! (We originally debuted at #137, then after a week we moved to #11 where we stalled for about a month or so, but now we’ve finally moved up again, to #9. Interestingly #2 and #3 is the same blog, so I guess in a way…. technically…. we’re #8…. but I don’t know. Just happy to be in the Top 10. There is some great blogs on this list.)

This was our first joint blog post (me and Josh), and I think it turned out pretty well. If you want to read more of our individual articles, you can find them here:
* B. Kline
* J. Doncevic

Click on the name and it’ll take you to a list of that author’s articles.

I will now close out with some pictures we took of the brewery:

(This was my first time using the gallery feature on the blog, so hopefully it comes out ok).

Thank you all for taking the time to read this blog post, article, whatever you want to call it. Brewery review… beer review… brewery tour….. However you want to label it, it was a blast, and we want to thank Matt and Cole for having us and for you guys for reading this! Please be sure to follow us, subscribe to our Facebook and Twitter pages, and check out our past and future articles here on The Beer Thrillers!

Cheers from Josh and Ben!

Cheers everyone!

-B. Kline