Hey All, wanted any opinions you'd care to share on a road trip my wife and I will be doing this Saturday. We'll start the day in Swarthmore then head west. My main goals are to visit Al's of Hampden and Troegs for the first time each. I'm thinking I'll head up to 76 West and visit Troegs in Hershey, then head to Al's. On the way back I'll take 283 to 30 and likely stop by Spring House in Lancaster. Any thoughts on other places I shouldn't miss? Here are some that I'm considering: Appalachian in Harrisburg or Lilitz Bube's in Mt. Joy Joboy's in Manheim Lancaster in Lancaster or Harrisburg Rumspringa in Bird in Hand St. Boniface in Ephrata Stoudt's in Adamstown Swashbuckler in Manheim Union Barrel Works in Reamstown Before anyone suggests it I've been to Tired Hands, Forest and Main, Victory, etc. many times. Will likely hit TH at the very least on Friday night. P.S. Anyone try Do Good Brewing or the Other Farm in Boyertown yet? Thanks in advance!
Swashbuckler is inside the grounds of the PA Renn Faire. They make some good beer but unless you were planning on going to the Renn Faire you won't be able to get their beer. Lancaster Brewery in Harrisburg has more of a "chain restaurant/brewpub" feel than the one in Lancaster if that matters to you at all.
Swashbuckler was a welcome site and source of good beer at the Renn Faire, but I wouldn't go out of my way to stop there otherwise. The Vineyard at Hershey recently opened a brewery (The Brewery at Hershey) though paradoxically, it's further from Hershey than Troegs is. Don't know much about it though. Selin's Grove is a bit more of a drive (~ an extra hour one-way), but it may be worth your while since you're part way there. I haven't been there but they get good press.
Thanks guys, good info so far. I've been meaning to get to Selin's Grove for a while but I think that may be too far for this particular road trip. I'm still trying to decide if we'll be able to hit a few of these places over the course of the afternoon while keeping it together enough to drive back to Swarthmore the same day (not staying in a hotel). Good call on Swashbuckler, not planning on going to the Renn Faire!
Stoudt's and Union Barrell are within about 10 minutes of each other, and right at the turnpike exit. I don't know where you were thinking of eating, but Stoudt's has really good pub food.
Out of what you listed, I'd probably hit up Stoudt's. They currently have a few offerings in 750 ml bottles you can pick up, too. "Winey Dog" aka Fat Dog aged in Red Wine Barrels, "The Big Nasty," an Imperial IPA and "Vanilla Porter." All for $12/each. They also usually have something other than their standard offerings on tap (Winey Dog was on last week, not sure if it still is), and also a cask of something unique. St. Boniface has a killer Citra Pale Ale on-tap right now but as of Saturday were running low and wouldn't fill growlers of it. Their Libation DIPA is quite good too, the others were standard faire in my opinion.
Just my opinion, but Appalachian is nothing special at all. If it is right in your path, I'd probably stop...but not really worth a detour. Stoudt's is just a cool place, I'd definitely try to hit there (as others have said).
Thanks guys, keep em coming! Stoudts was definitely a place I was considering, have really enjoyed their bottled beers for the most part.
Stoudt's opens at noon; St. Boniface at 11 on Saturdays. I'd pass on Rumspringa and both LBCs. Bubes has a wonderful biergarten if the weather is good and the beer can be interesting. Hunger & Thirst in Lancaster has a great selection for 24 taps. Als' adds an hour to your drive but makes super beer. The drive from St B to Troegs to Al's to Hershey Brewery to Bube's to Hunger to Springhouse to Stoud'ts takes 3 hours without stops.
Go to Al's first and work your way back. Turnpike to I283 to I83 to I81, Al's, ABC Harrisburg, Troegs, then either: Litiz for JoBoys (close enough) and Bulls Head, or Lancaster for LBC and Spring House (Lancaster would be my preference) Stoudts (and UBW if you have time) Turnpike home That's going to be a LONG day.... If it were me, and Al's/Troegs were my main targets... I would do Al's/Troegs/Stoudts and call it a day
I'd skip LBC and Appalachian. Neither really make any beer worth seeking out. I like the food at Appalachian, but that's not really enough of a reason to stop there. Now, if you're already going to be in Lancaster for Spring House, you might as well check out LBC. It's only a few minutes away. Bube's is a cool place, and they have decent beer. Spring House is worth checking out for sure. I really like their beer. Stoudt's is pretty good. Haven't been to Union Barrel Works or St Boniface yet, but they're all in the same general area as Stoudt's, so you might as well check them out if you go there. Haven't been to Joboy's, but I've heard their beer is really mediocre. That's just word of mouth of course. Swashbuckler is pretty boring to me. Same with Rumspringa.
