I'm heading to Hershey, Pa in the beginning of November. We're obviously going to be visiting Troegs, but I was wondering if someone could tell me if there are any good beer stores in the area? The closer the better obviously, but I'm willing to drive a little ways if I have to. Thanks!
The last couple of times i went, i really liked the Brass Rail. really good selection and a pretty decent sandwich too. i cant wait til next summer when we take the kids and the wife and i can hit up Troegs
If you are coming all the way from Erie, you owe yourself a stop at Als of Hampden/Pizza Boy brewing in Enola. From Hershey, its roughly half an hour and totally worth it not only for the drafts that are made on site but the guest taps are always solid and the variety of bottles is top notch.
Both Brass rail is a deli on one side that has drafts, bottles and six-packs to go. Attached is also a distributor for case sales.
Thanks man. This seems like it might be the best place as far as being relatively close to Hershey then? I've actually been to Al's before a few years back, but I don't think that they were doing their own beer at that time. I'm mainly looking for a bottle shop that will have harder to find beers that I can purchase to take home. I can't get things like Lost Abbey, RR, HOTD, FW,....etc up here in Erie. Do you feel that Al's has a better bottle selection than Brass Rail?
Singles, packs, and growlers. There's a distributor next door. I don't know if they have the same ownership. Edit: NM, the info is above.
You won't find Russian River in central PA. I haven't run into any Firestone, but I don't exactly frequent local shops anymore. HOTD is another limited one, I've come across bottles just once around here...Lost Abbey pops up a good bit though.
Al's has a lot more taps. The bottle selection is probably a draw (Al's probably has more bottles, but BR seems to get more of the "exotic" selections), but Al's tends to be less expensive. Al's has pizzas, subs salads, BR has more deli-style/Sandwich selections. If you asked my personal opinion: Al's all the way. Solution: Do both. Al's will be right on the way and Brass Rail is on Hershey's doorstep. Neither will require more than a couple minutes of detour. PS: The closest I have seen Russian River to the area is in Reading.
Thanks everybody. I appreciate the good info. I just want to make sure I give myself the best chance to land some good beer to bring back to Erie with me.
I'll 2nd BRASS RAIL as my buddy and fellow BA(Tomdee74,he reviewed this place as well) was there a couple years ago and raved about the selection and service. Think the manager there is a cat by the name of Cisco. Cheers and Enjoy.
Is Al's not central? They carry some Philly-only stuff like RR, but only because the owner drives to SEPA and brings back cases.
To the best of my knowledge Al has never carried russian river despite trying to have a petition to have them come to central PA. He also doesnt utilizes beer runners or do anything shady that would jeopardize his business. trust me, the guy is fucking nuts but he isnt stupid and he obides by the law. we use to have regular bottle shares there but he started to feel uncomfortable about it from a legal standpoint so that doesnt happen anymore. side note: he very well might drive to SEPA and buy cases of RR but i can almost guarantee that if he does, its for personal consumption and not to be marked up and put on his shelves for sale
Al's usually has some Lost Abbey like Judgement Day or Carnivale. You would have to head on down toward Philly to find Firestone or Russian River and that's about 2 hours or so.
