Greetings again! Seems like I make this post every two years around the same time but I'm once again going to be traveling to Hershey looking for recommendations. This time around, I am looking to stop at breweries I have not visited in past years (other than Troegs which I'll def visit again). Not looking to travel much outside the immediate area though I will be driving up Rt 15 through Harrisburg. Boneshire Brew Works was highly recommended and I missed checking them out last time so I definitely plan on stopping this year if they are still putting out solid beers. Are there any new breweries that have opened in the past two years I may be overlooking? I do still have my list from two years ago working off that. Breweries on my list but missed in 2024 - Beerded Goat - Boneshire - Englewood - Rotunda Brew Pub - Snitz Creek - Sworn - Hemauer - Beerded Goat Breweries have visited previously (other than Tröegs I'll skip these in the interest of time) - Ever Grain - Mellow Mink (appears they have since closed) - Pizza Boy - Rubber Soul - Tröegs - Wolf - YAH Thanks in advance!
From your missed list, Sworn is the one I would make sure not to miss again. Sworn is making (arguably) the best hazies in PA right now. After Sworn, I'd say Rotunda and Beerded Goat. And Boneshire has decent beers, but excellent pizzas. ETA: Snitz Creek too, if and only if they have Opera Fudge Stout on. Otherwise, meh. ETA more: Since the now (sadly) defunct Mellow Mink is/was within your range, you might want to check out Ever Grain, which is very near the former Mellow Mink location (and not terribly far from Sworn).
Can only personally recommend Rotunda but have heard really good things about Boneshire, Hemauer, and particularly Sworn.
not a brewery, but if you are into spirits Hidden Still is worth checking out in downtown Hershey. https://www.hiddenstillspirits.com/ They have good happy hour specials, and while we only did apps, the food looked good.
Thanks for the responses! I think my plan so far is to stop by Fourscore on the way up since I drive right by Gettysburg then Sworn and Hemauer since they appear to close to one another followed by Beerded Goat and Boneshire since they also look to be close to one another. Once I get checked into my hotel I will see if I have time to get to Boneshire, Rotunda, Snitz Creek at some point during my stay. I did make it by Ever Grain on my visit a couple years ago so probably won't make it there again though I did enjoy the beers I tried.
Circling back with an update on the visit to the Hershey area. - Fourscore (Gettysburg): First stop on the way up and it was a very brief one as I just had a flight and got back on the road. I was looking forward to this one as they have call artwork but I really 3 of the 4 beers very much. They just didn't taste like the styles they were intended to be although I will say the Time Keeper I had was pretty good. - Beerded Goat: Driving up to this place, I wasn't sure if directions were leading me the right way as it appeared I was going into a residential development and that's just what it was. A brewery/restaurant in the middle of a neighborhood. The space looked pretty new, large and very open. Again had a flight and all of the beers were pretty good but I will say what blew me away was how good the food was. I had the grilled chicken skewers that had peanuts and some peanut(?) sauce drizzled on top and it was honestly one of the best food items I've had from a brewery. It was only two skewers but the chicken piece were quite large and easily enough for a meal. Only bummer was I was rally digging their logo and the "Be Kind Always" so hoping to grab a shirt or something but didn't see a merch wall or retail section anywhere - Hemauer: This place was located right in the middle of a strip mall and when I walked in it seemed like it was a Cheers version where everybody knows everybody (but me). There were probably 10-15 people around the bar and the bartender knew everyone. Even seems like people had brought food in for a potluck and were sharing it around. Only stopped in for a quick taste to tick it off but the Oatmeal Stout small pour I had was pretty good. - Sworn: Actually had to circle back to this one since they didn't open until 2pm on Sunday. When I checked their site for hours they were only open until 2pm-5pm which I though was really odd to be open for just 3 hours. Looking at their social media pages it appeared they were having some hyped up pre-order release that had sold out that day. I still don't know what beer(s) it was or whether they were in cans or Crowlers as I didn't see anyone inside with package to-go stuff. Pulling up to the place I kept looking around for signage or an entrance but didn't see anything. I did, however, see a few people walking through this gravel lot so just followed them and low and behold there was this really small section of the building with a low hanging sign out front. There was no one outside (it was freezing btw) so I didn't know what to expect but when I walked in this tiny taproom that probably could hold maybe 30-40 people comfortably was shoulder to shoulder standing room only packed with every table and bar seat full with heavy metal playing from the speakers. I went to the bar and ordered a couple half pours (Amplified By Anger and The Gamer) and was able to luckily snag a seat from a couple that was leaving just as I got my beers. Both beers were phenomenal. This is definitely a must stop for hop heads and those looking for the hazies. Also has really good artwork and the staff was wearing some good looking merch but it was so busy I didn't both asking if they had any for sale nor did I see any merch display. Boneshire - Also in a strip mall but the inside design reminded me an a meat market or slaughter house. It even smelled of freshly cured meats which I assume was from the pizzas that looked delicious. I didn't try the food since I just had lunch earlier but it smelled outstanding. Looked like they were making those pies from a couple TurboChef pizza ovens which I believe run a good $8k each and pump out good pizza if you know how to use it. I went with the Holiday Reserve IPA, which was ok, but they had several high gravity stouts and barleywines I really wanted to try but didn't since it was still fairly early. - Snitz Creek: Specifically went for the Opera Fudge Stout which @VikeMan recommended. It's was really good but not as think as I was expecting great flavor. The venue itself was more restaurant that just happens to have their own been. Was very busy with families and older folks. - Rotunda: Visited here my past trip in 2024 but figured I would try it again since I saw a surprising number of people wearing Rotunda gear in my other stops. It was taco Monday so I also went for the special which this week was french dip inspired tacos. They were pretty good but if they would have come with some au jus for dipping to complete the theme that would have put them over the top. I believe they specialize in fruit sours but tried those last time so went with the Black IPA which was pretty good. - Troegs: It's Troegs so really no details are needed. Awesome visit again and I went for the 'Daylight Chaser' Black / Dark IPA since it was recently released and really good. Also finally got brussell sprouts (w/ sweet potatoes) which were really good as well and ended up with the first and only merch of the tri.....an Eagles inspired hoodie (Fly! Eagles Fly!) Thanks again for the recs! If the trend stays then I will probably be back in 2028 and look forward to trying those I missed and those that hopefully open between now and then.
Sworn's merch (T-shirts mostly) is usually hanging on rack in the corner by restroom, though sometimes it's sold out, I think. Glad to hear you liked the IPAs. A lot of people from outside the area haven't heard of them, because (as you saw) they are a Nano, with limited hours, but I haven't talked to anyone who was disappointed in their beers.
