Warwick Hotel - The Beer Thrillers

Weyerbacher Tap Room Indefinitely Closing

B. Kline — Wed, 27 Jul 2022 23:14:00 +0000

Weyerbacher Tap Room (photo courtesy: Weyerbacher Tap Room Facebook Page)

The Weyerbacher Tap Room Announces Indefinite Closure

Just a bit ago today, Weyerbacher’s Facebook page for their Tap Room announced that it will be closed until further notice, effective immediately. This comes a week (July 21st) posting new hours for their tap room on the same page.

There has been rumors circulating about the status of Weyerbacher in recent months, and the post seems to confirm much of it. Weyerbacher Brewing Company has been in business for 27 years, nearly three decades, which is quite the milestone in craft brewing. They have many celebrated favorites like Blithering Idiot, Tiny, Merry Monks, Sunday Morning Stout, and Sunday Mole Stout.

Their Post

Along with the following images (text pictures) they posted the following on their social media platforms:

Friends of Weyerbacher,
There has been a lot of confusion coming out of our taproom lately and we would like to provide you with some clarity and reassurance. First off, we are sending this message with optimism and enthusiasm for what the future holds! Weyerbacher is in the midst of some big changes. Changes that we intend will rejuvenate our brand and carry us through another 27 years and beyond.
There is no map for the changes we are making. Unfortunately, this has led to some bumps in the road over the past few weeks and we have had to make some quick decisions in the moment. Those decisions were necessary, but have also led to questions, rumors, and confusion. We apologize to anyone that has been inconvenienced.
Our taproom is officially closed until further norice. This isn’t the scenario we were hoping for, but it does not deter us from our long-term goals. The good news is that we are still in production and working to keep our core brands on the shelves and available to you. Our brewers are also working on some exciting new offerings from our pilot system for when the taproom re-opens!
This is where we are friends. We want to thank you all for your loyalty and support. The craft beer industry is challenging and breweries do not stay in business for 27 years without good beer and amazing friends. We owe that longevity to the support you have given us over the years. We know this statement doesn’t answer all the questions you may have, but we hope that it dispels the rumors and provides some clarity.
For now,
Birds are real.
The Earth is round.
Weyerbacher still stands.
The moon landing is questionable.
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#visiteaston #lehighvalley #bethlehempa
#hellertownpa #discoverlehighvalley
@lvbrewersguild @lehighvalleypa @visiteastonpa @eastonpburg_chamber
Weyerbacher Tap Room Facebook Page

Weyerbacher Brewing Company

Weyerbacher Brewing Company has been brewing for 27 years in Easton, Pennsylvania. According to Untappd they have 526 unique beers with nearly a million ratings (950 thousand) and a global average rating of 3.78 (as of today: 7.27.22). They are considered a Regional Brewery out of Easton, PA. Their Untappd description reads: Weyerbacher Brewing was founded in 1995 in a livery stable located in downtown Easton, Pennsylvania. Eventually outgrowing that small space, we made the move to the 30,000 square foot facility that we still call home today. Since the beginning, we have established a reputation for making big, full-flavored, high quality brews. While predominantly known for Belgian-style brews including Merry Monks and QUAD, we have an extensive barrel aging program which produces fan favorites including Insanity and Riserva. In recent years, we’ve dipped our toes into IPAs and other lower ABV styles with great success. Experimenting with different ingredients and brewing techniques, our brewers continue to stretch their creative minds and develop interesting and mind blowing beers that will satisfy your taste for the extraordinary. The Tap Room at Weyerbacher Brewing is your gateway into the world of Weyerbacher! The Tap Room opens every day at NOON and has over 20 beers on draft every day! Have a beer at our bar or grab your favorite beer to go! In addition to enjoying the freshest Weyerbacher beers on tap, The Tap Room offers: • Live music from local musicians every Friday and Saturday! • FREE guided tours on Fridays and Saturdays! • Beer release parties and special events!

More Information (Social Media)

For more information, and their social media pages:

Other News and Closings

We have covered many brewery openings, expansions, closings, and other news here on the blog. Be sure to check out all the various articles we’ve written below.

Thanks for reading, and be sure to check out other brewery openings and other brewery news recently:

Battle of the Beers

We are currently into the final four round of our Battle of the Beers (2022) tournament. Be sure to check it out here and vote:

The Battle of the Beers – The Final Four (Voting) (2022)

Tomorrow is the final day of voting, so better check it out before it goes to the finals!

Thanks For Reading

This is unfortunate news for sure. I’ve always been a huge fan of Weyerbacher Brewing Company, and they were always a staple of the Warwick Hotel and Bar when I was younger and going there a lot more. I remember one time having a Double Simcoe keg kicker party at Warwick, where it was 2$ pints of Double Simcoe, which was a 9% Double IPA (DIPA). Oooh boy…. that was a good night. Thank god The Warwick was within walking distance.

Blog related stuff – Tomorrow will be the wrap up of The Final Four round for the Battle of the Beers (2022). Friday will then start The Finals. Who will it be? Right now it’s looking like it will be Toppling Goliath’s Pseudo Sue vs. Von C Brewing’s Walking on Clouds. Time will tell however! Saturday we will be down in Newfreedom for a memorial service for my Aunt Linda. After that, we might be going to various places, not sure. This weekend is also the Black Flag Brewing Company’s 6th Anniversary, so we might be stopping there. There is also the Schulkyll Brewfest this weekend. So might try and get there for that too.

Well, wherever we’ll end up, ya’ll will know it!

Cheers!

-B. Kline

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Brewery Opening: Howling Henry’s (Hummelstown)

BKline — Sat, 10 Oct 2020 13:25:20 +0000

Howling Henry’s Brewery logo – the latest brewery to open; opening on October 9th, 2020.

To little or no fanfare, the latest brewery, and another to Hummelstown, opened on October 9th, 2020 (yesterday). They had posted on their Facebook page their permit and that they would be opening soon, but, to my surprise, I had seen no notice of their actual opening date.

Howling Henry’s Permit

Their last Facebook post was on September 28th, and with the above picture, it stated:

“A temporary permit was given to me to open my taproom this morning. Shooting for October 9th for the grand opening of Howling Henry’s Taproom. Check my website for more information.”

I had seen this notice and post and re-shared it on our Facebook page, but for some reason, the little notice of “shooting for October 9th” I overlooked. I unfortunately, despite having my day off was out of town with friends (we went to Wellsboro, PA for the PA Grand Canyon), so I was out of town and unable to attend the opening.

They are the second Hummelstown brewery to open this week. Rubber Soul Brewing Company opened on Monday, October 5th, 2020, along South Hanover Street (across from the Rita’s) in the former borough building.

Howling Henry’s Merchandise Stand

Howling Henry’s has been around for a while in the Hummelstown area. They have been at the Mount Hope Renaissance Faire brewfest for several years (with their unique stand and jockey box of the doghouse). They have also been selling their bottles to the local shops and bars (JoJo’s Pizza Shop Restaurant on Main Street often carried their bottles in their cooler), and they distributed some kegs to local bars (Warwick Hotel would occasionally have them on tap). They’ve also been selling their bottles in the recent year or so at various farmer’s markets (the Hershey’s Chocolate Street Market primarily).

COVID-19 (the coronavirus) has certainly played an interesting issue in their opening this year, and has delayed much in the way of the taproom opening. Several other breweries opened amid the pandemic – Hemauer, Rubber Soul, Highway Manor, Cox’s Rally Point, etc. This is certainly an interesting time and a hard time for businesses to open, thrive, and grow their brands. There has been a lot of uncertainty, but it’s great to see Greg get to realize his dreams and open Howling Henry.

Greg – the owner and brewer for Howling Henry’s (per their Twitter)

Howling Henry’s taproom is located at 35 East 2nd St in Hummelstown. This is located near the exit of Hummelstown (the underpass) heading towards South Hanover (where South Hanover street becomes Grandview leading out towards Route 39 and East Hanover / Hershey). It is across the street from M&S Auto (a used car shop and garage). It is about three blocks down from the square of Hummelstown (Main Street / South Hanover crossing).

A walking map of Hummelstown, showing Howling Henry’s and Rubber Soul

This will become the second brewery / taproom in Hummelstown now (coincidentally both opening this week as well, going from 0 to 2 in five days flat!). The above map shows a walking path from Howling Henry’s to Rubber Soul. Making the town a nice tourist stop for craft beer enthusiasts now.

The Hummelstown Area enlarged (Howling Henry’s and Rubber Soul route by car shown)

Howling Henry’s joins a growing community of breweries within five-fifteen minute driving distance from the Hummelstown area. Including:

Troeg’s Independent Brewing (Hershey)
Iron Hill Brewing (Hershey)
Tattered Flag Distillery Lounge (Hershey)
Tattered Flag (Middletown)
Rubber Soul Brewing (Hummelstown)
Howling Henry’s (Hummelstown)
The Englewood (Hummelstown / Hershey)
Boneshire Brew Works (Rutherford)
Official BBQ – Pizza Boy (Rutherford)
Newfangled Brew Works (Rutherford)
The Millworks (Harrisburg)
ZeroDay Brewing (Harrisburg)
Appalachian Brewing Company (Harrisburg)
The Vegetable Hunter (Harrisburg)
Lancaster Brewing Company – Harrisburg Location (Harrisburg)

You can use the Brew Baron’s App to find more in the larger (Central PA) area. So as you can see from the above list, and the app, within just this small subset local area of Central PA there is many brewery choices. All good and well done establishments with wonderful beer offerings. You can see an older (and mostly outdated article I wrote about the breweries in the Hummelstown area here: Breweries On the Outskirts of Harrisburg 9.6.19).

Currently, on Untappd, Howling Henry’s is listed as a Nano Brewery, and recently updated their description page with the following: “Opening our taproom on October 9th at 6 PM. Howling Henry’s Brewery is crafting beer without rules, which causes our beers to be an nontraditional representations of their contemporaneity styles. Are you ready for a different take on traditional beer styles, then you should give Howling Henry’s a try? Our beers are not filtered, so we can offer as much flavor as possible. Tap room coming to Hummelstown soon; check my website out for details.” They have 11 Unique Beers listed, with a global average rating of 3.21 out of 3,825 ratings.

Their hours on their Facebook page for the taproom are listed as:

MONDAY: CLOSED
TUESDAY: CLOSED
WEDNESDAY: 5:00PM – 10:00PM
THURSDAY: 5:00PM – 10:00PM
FRIDAY: 5:00PM – 10:00PM
SATURDAY: 11:00AM – 6:00PM
SUNDAY: CLOSED

They use the old Theo’s Attanasoff pizza warehouse to brew their beers in a corner of the building. The old Theo’s warehouse is located at the corner of Duke and 2nd Street in Hummelstown, and is now primarily used by Pnuma Outdoors. (You can see a map of the Howling Henry’s brewing location and taproom below). The brewing location is off limits to tourists though.

Howling Henry’s to Pnuma Outdoors

Howling Henry’s has several social media outlets which you can keep abreast of their activities. Including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. You can also check out their website.

On their website you can read their backstory, which is:

My brewing story began after a department store wine kit was hauled off by the trashmen. Yes, a wine kit started my passion with brewing beer, and in time my business. I trashed the kit because I lacked knowledge in the process of wine-making, and more frighteningly, in how to clean and sanitize the equipment. The instructions emphasized sanitization, but the concern that I may get someone sick caused me to drop kick the kit into the waste can.
I then read a magazine article about home brewing. Who doesn’t like beer, right? This article made it clear that cleanliness is a very important part of the process, but as I read, I realized that I was overthinking it. I began to understand that all of debris needs to be removed from the brewing equipment, and then a sanitizer is added to the equipment to kill most of the bacteria, so that your pitched yeast has no competition when it infects your bitter wort. Simple! I am a simple guy, and I figured that I can do that.
I bought my first brewing kit: 5 gallon brew kettle, a 5 gallon carboy, and a 7 gallon food grade bucket. The recipe was a brown ale. It was good for a month or two, and then it started losing flavor. I came to realize that bottling introduces oxygen to the finished beer. Oxygen in finished beer after time will degrade that beer’s flavor.
After a year of making my own recipes my wife and I were seated at a local watering hole for lunch (the Wednesday before Thanksgiving). She said, “Why don’t you start a brewery?” To be honest it was in the back of my head, but I figured that thought would never become a conversion with my wife. So, I agreed with her, as a good husband would do. Although, at the time, neither of us really understood what we were getting ourselves into.
I started reading from a website devoted to the entire brewing process. With this knowledge, I began brewing beers around ingredients I knew a little brewery could access without to much hassle. Through this site I also learned of a movie made in the mid 90’s called ‘Frankenbrew’. This video showed me that one guy with some determination, out of the box thinking, and hard work could start a brewery without investors, a bank loan, or a truck load of cash. I then followed the movie’s suggestions on what to buy from the used dairy equipment market. This offset the price of starting a new brewery significantly, since I had already priced out a real brewery’s equipment prior to seeing the movie. I knew I could never come up with a million or so dollars myself, and I wanted this brewery to be mine. Yes, you read that correctly! I am the only owner, investor, employee, brewer, boss, maintenance guy, and janitor. I did it all with help from some wonderful family members and great friends when they had time to help. It is a wonderful feeling to know I only have me to answer to.
Years later, I had the stainless steel equipment needed. I found a space three blocks from my home. By this time, I realized that I needed a real brew kettle. Having well over 200 gallons of boiling wort would be very dangerous in anything less than a proven kettle, so I ordered and purchased a 10 bbl Bennett Forgeworks brew kettle. I then started getting the paperwork inked with both the Federal and State government agencies. Approvals took a lifetime, okay about 6 months (a lifetime for a guy with barely any budget).
Please check out the pictures of my equipment here (if you’re interested in seeing what my frankinbrew system looks like).
Howling Henry’s Backstory.

So when in the Hummelstown area, be sure to check out the newest brewery – Howling Henry’s. Make sure you are in town during their hours (5PM-10PM on Wednesday through Friday and Saturday 11AM-6PM). The taproom is limited currently due to COVID restrictions, but its still a place to check out. Be sure to do so!

Howling Henry’s Brewery – of Hummelstown, PA – logo

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

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

Cheers everyone! Hopefully I’ll see you at Howling Henry’s. Its just a few blocks away and within walking distance, so I’ll be sure to be there a time or two. Cheers!

-B. Kline

Beer Review: 40th Hoppy Anniversary Ale (Sierra Nevada Brewing Company)

BKline — Fri, 13 Mar 2020 13:53:49 +0000

The 40th Anniversary Hoppy (IPA) Ale from Sierra Nevada with the Pastrami Hash at The Warwick Hotel in Hummelstown, Pennsylvania

Like I said in my Icicle beer review yesterday; I would ATTEMPT to do an evening beer review or article. Attempt would be the key word. Because I started one, and still have it here on the docket, but I’ve now switched to doing this beer review, because the other article was becoming too depressing. I started writing up an article about the effect of the coronavirus (COVID-19) will be having on the beer industry, restaurant industry, and breweries in general. Stuff like how the Prototype Invitational Brewfest was postponed (until August), and how most likely the AC Beerfest will be postponed as well (their making an announcement on Monday).

So many things and events are being postponed, cancelled, or affected in some way by the virus. Look at sports – NHL and NBA suspended their seasons indefinitely. The NCAA tournaments cancelled. MLS and XFL also announced their seasons suspended indefinitely (XFL outright cancelling the remainder of their season). MLB has announced their stopping pre-season and postponing opening day for at least two weeks and will reevaluate after that. WrestleMania 36 is still currently on for April 5th in Tampa Bay; but will most likely be postponed as well. Travel bans coming in and out of certain countries. Schools closing for weeks. Colleges and universities switching to online instruction only. Things are serious with this.

Many breweries and restaurants have announced on their social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc) their new taproom policies, or reinforced their stance on cleanliness, etc. Breweries like Troegs, Tree House, Trillium, etc, have all made such announcements. Flying Dog has closed their taproom.

So instead of being depressing and upsetting, and instead trying to bring some entertainment, lightness, and happiness into these bleak, troubling times (and since I have no eggs to present you), I offer you a beer review instead.

Yes, I know, not much of an offering, but at least its something, and who knows, maybe it’ll take your mind off of things. So, I present you with this – the 40th Anniversary Hoppy Ale by Sierra Nevada Brewing.

40th Anniversary Hoppy Ale by Sierra Nevada Brewing

Beer: 40th Anniversary Hoppy Ale
Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Style: IPA – American
ABV: 6%
IBU: 65
Untappd Description: Hop-forward beers weren’t popular when we started brewing in 1980. But we loved them, and knew that if we were going to open a brewery, we’d better make something distinctive. It’s been 40 years since then, and we’re still brewing what we love. This beer showcases the bold flavors and aromas of a classic West Coast IPA: intense pine and citrus with a deep gold color and slight caramel sweetness. Here’s to following your passion, and to the next 40 years.

First off, lets discuss the food. I met my mom at the Warwick Hotel in Hummelstown for dinner. She ordered the chicken alfredo and I ordered the pastrami hash. It was incredibly delicious and amazing. Super spicy, but extremely good. So if you get the chance to try it at the Warwick, I fully recommend you do.

Now, onto the beer.

Appearance is a light colored IPA. Not quite the full darker hued amber-ish look of a typical West Coast IPA; but certainly nothing reminiscent of hazy New England IPAs either. Almost like a fair compromise between the two. Its light bodied, it has a small white to off white head with interspersed and varied bubbles, and it leaves a nice lacing down the pint glass. Wonderful appearance.

Aroma is pretty light. Some good hoppy notes of citrus, tropical, a small bit of piney and foresty smells. Bit of earthy notes. The citrus and pine out power the other notes but you do get a bit of a malt, caramel or carmalized malt smell at the end.

This is a simple, refreshing, easy to drink beer (especially when eating a spicy dinner). There’s nothing super outstanding or grandstanding about this beer, but its a great dinner beer. It meets all of its criteria perfectly. This is a clean, crisp, clear, tasty, quality refreshment. Its sweet, its hoppy, its honestly a middle-point compromise between a true West Coast style IPA and a New England style IPA. There is some very good hoppy notes to this; you get citrus, pine, in pretty good abundance, with just a pit of tropical hop notes peeking through. There is a sweetness to this. Nothing cloying or too overly sweet, just the right amount of caramel malt sweetness. This provides just the right balance with the hops.

My Untappd Rating: ***.75
Global Untappd Rating: 3.75 (as of 3.13.20)

(not often my rating exactly matches with the rating of the beer, thats pretty cool)

Hopefully this review found you happy, gave you some kind of entertainment, helped you take your mind off these troubling times. If so, then it did its job. Lets not panic, lets all stay calm, enjoy Friday the 13th, lets relax, deep breathe, and enjoy some good beers.

Hopefully I’ll see some of you tomorrow for Kegs and Eggs. Be sure to come out and support a great cause!

Cheers everyone!

-B. Kline

Beer Review: King Crunch (Manayunk Brewing Company)

BKline — Wed, 26 Jun 2019 01:00:53 +0000

A draft of King Crunch at The Warwick Hotel in Hummelstown.

Finding myself with some time to kill after work and getting the usual “beers” Batman alert from my friend, I decided to walk down and meet him at The Warwick Hotel in good old Hummelstown Pennsylvania.

Get there and he’s already polishing off his Lord Hobo Orange IPA and the place is slightly packed (ok… very packed for a Tuesday). Apparently now, The Warwick is doing trivia on Tuesday nights. (They’ve also started up having live music and even doing a happy hour, so, their making lots of changes and becoming more like a real bar – which is probably a plus.)

Running down the menu I select Manayunk Brewing Company’s “King Crunch” listed on the tap list as a “Imperial Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Porter”. An impressive long name and description, so, lets see how it is.

Beer Name: King Crunch
Beer Style: Porter – Imperial/Double
ABV: 9.1%
IBU: 38
Untappd Write-Up:
Satisfy your most aggressive cravings with King Crunch, our peanut butter and banana Imperial Porter brewed in honor of The King’s favorite sandwich. Both robust and creamy, your senses will delight with notes of creamy peanut butter and fresh ripe bananas.

Immediately, first thing you take notice of is how beautiful the beer looks. Its dark, beautiful, heavy looking with a gorgeous rich creamy smooth head that floats on the top very nicely. Lovely bubbles on the surface, nice foam, and a lovely rich hue to the head.

The aroma is overwhelmingly peanut butter with a fair amount of chocolate. After a few whiffs you’ll start to pick up the bananas. A bit of a ripe banana smell but not ‘too ripe’ or ‘bad’ banana.

Moving on to taking our first sip and once again, immediate peanut butter. Bam a mouth full of it. Its extremely smooth and as you sip it more you begin to take note of the heavy chocolate. There is no real bitterness to it despite it showing a 38IBU and not even the chocolate bitterness that you sometimes get. As you begin to work your way to the bottom the bananas starting to make their presence known and you have a wonderful mixture of the three – peanut butter, chocolate, and banana all playing out together.

The mouthfeel is spot on. Its heavy like a porter (especially a “double porter”) should be. And one with something like peanut butter in it. There’s no astringency that sometimes pops up in some of the darker beers (the poorly made ones), and the flavors are all well balanced and come together to make a nice whole. With no cloying or bad aftertastes either this is certainly a delicious beer. The ABV is high-end moderate and is well hidden with the thickness of the beer and doesn’t make it boozy or over-pronounced.

All in all a nice wonderful sipping beer to spend a half hour or so enjoying with good company.

My Untappd Rating: ****
Global Untappd Rating: 3.95 (as of 6.25.19)

-B. Kline