Wallenpaupack Brewing Company

 

 

You know, nothing says ‘family vacation’ like sneaking away to hit area breweries, am I right? Day 2 and I’m all kayaked out already. I can hardly move my arms but should be able to hoist a pint. Left the lake with the kid brother and ran twist and turny 590 down to Hawley for a brewery lunch. It’s said that there’s a large goddamn lake around here somewhere but damned if I’ve seen it…

Big long standalone on the side of the road. Entered in on the dine side, ‘cause I didn’t know any better. Large rectangular room with a rear corner angled wraparound concrete topped bar, malt sack lined base, and seating for none (get your beer, then stand clear). 14 tap logo handled tower on the back of the bar fronting the cold room and a scourge of the earth slushy machine on the end. Sampler racks stacked alongside and glassware shelved below the bar. Counter service, order up, pay and go away, and then stuff shows up at your table. We’re in for lunch and beers, let’s start with samplers, please.

White painted walls with stacked barrel wrapped I-beam uprights along the perimeter, large panel windows up front, a pair of roll up doors to the patio seating on one end, and a stone front fireplace on the other end. Concrete floors and a corrugated ceiling with blended ductwork, spinnys, rows of pan lamps, & barrel band ball filament bulb drops lamps clustered. A dozen+ square, rec, & loooong shared tables on aluminum chairs, and bar counter space on the front & rear walls over malt sack lowers, the wooden stools to which are strangely shaped like a stillage rack (do I look like I have a firkin ass?) And the outdoor space; 15 pic-a-nic tables out there in 5 rows of 3 all umbrella’d up, stand around barrels, fire pit action, & a pair of cornhole sets there (me, pointing).

13 beers up; Flagships (Paupack Cream Ale, 4.5%; Largemouth IPA, 6.5%; Hawley Hefeweizen, 5.1%), Collaboration (Pack & Brass Coffee IPA, 6.8%), Barrel Aged (Clap of Thunder, Weizenbock, 8.9%), Specialty (NEPA Nights, Summer Stout, 5.4%; Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia, Amber with cherries, chocolate, chipotle, and chia seed, 5.1%; Unwittingly Overhyped, Sour IPA, 7.4%; United we Stand, APA, 5.8%; Logan’s Tears, Grapefruit Shandy, 5%; Penn’s Common, Kentucky Common, 4.7%; Kuyt and Key, historical beer style, 5.4%; Tea it up, Dragonfruit Ginger Wheat Ale, 6.4). The sampler gives you 4 beers. I went with the NEPA Nights Summer Stout, Largemouth IPA, Penn’s Common Kentucky Common, & Clap of Thunder Weizenbock. The IPA & Weizenbock were the best of ‘em.

And food, yes. I had wings (bone, in, of course, or they ain’t wings, duh). They was of the sweet heat variety and they was good. And a side of beans, because, yes. Can’t remember what he ‘et but it was probably a salad as he’s been running (I think from the police. There was a roadside incident. Something about a knife that has his prints on it. I have to testify on the 14th. I've said too much).

Went on walkabout to the bar side that I was recently made aware of. It’s a pretty big space, too. On the far end, an ‘L’ shaped polished gray concrete slab bar with a black curvy plastic base, and seating for 8 on more of them wood stools. Giant stone lined panel windows behind the bar offer brew room views, over 3 phat piping towers with 12 logo block handles each countered below, fronting cans and art and bottles and prints lining the sill there. Glassware shelved below ‘cause it’s got to go somewhere.

Tap board off to one side lists beer, ABV, IBU, and 32 & 64oz crowl/growl pricing. There were 3 beers here that weren’t on the dining side (be holding out and whatnot and shit). English Pale Mild, 3.5%, No Wake Zone, Helles, 5.3%, and Party Cove, Session IPA, 4.4%. We were tight on time but I needed to get my English Pale Mild on, and it was solid.

A dozen tables on this side including a pair of barrel tables. Another stone fireplace or actually, I think, just the backside of the one in the other room. House merch, a collection of Cascade Hop BBQ rubs, and growls, crowls, & cans. Coolers with cans and bottles to go. There’s a Grodziske canned and the bottled version done bourbon barrel fermented. Interesting. Seems they do some unusual beer styles here.

Food was good, beers were good. Wish I had more time to get through the list. Excellent place for a breather from a family vacation.

 

Great place! So happy this place cropped up recently. I’ve been coming to Lake Wallenpaupack for the last 11 years since my in-laws bought a place on the lake. Used to be the only option was to stop at IGA and look through their pretty small selection or bring my own beer up. Anyway, I was impressed with their beer right away- very diverse line-up and everything done well. Not an IPA factory (but they do them well). Decent pub food but strange cafeteria type service. Whatever. They also have a nice expanded outdoor area. Worth stopping by now that they’ve reopened.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let's open up a massive brewery and only have a nine seat bar. Then let's put a massive window literally right next to the bar so you get direct sunlight in your face during the day and a lovely view of the liquor store across the street. Then let's find the world's most uncomfortable chairs.

The atmosphere in this place is absolutely lacking. It's bland and sterile and not inviting at all. And for the love of God put a TV by the bar. Lots of good gastropubs have TVs in them. Trust me, it will increase business. The food is good but very overpriced. $14 for a grilled cheese? $17 for a cheesesteak? Are you for real? As for the beer? It's good but nothing mindblowing. The recipes are simple but solid.

I understand that this is a brewery first and a restaurant second. That said, the system for getting food and beer is very atypical and counterintuitive. It's almost like this place was opened without any experience in the service industry.
This place has come a long way since they opened a year ago and I really want them to succeed. But they're not there yet.