Lancaster County Beer Tour October, 2013

Dane and Joan Wells and Rick Womer and Joy Witlenburg every year undertake the daunting task of producing a beer dinner as a fundraiser for the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia.  Mind you, it is always a fun event.  Many of the attendees come every year, since we do a different theme each year, but the difficulty is that it takes some “serious research” on our part.  This year we chose the theme of the food and beers of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.


Rick Womer photographing the wonderful landscape at Swiss Woods Bed & Breakfast Inn, Lititz, PA

A brief history of Lancaster breweries

Once known as the "Munich of the United States," Lancaster County at one time produced seven percent of all the beer, ale, and lager in the United States.  During the mid-1800's, German-style lager beer had become fashionable and trendy among beer drinkers in America. Previously, English-style ales had dominated the consumer market.

By the 1850's and 1860's, American brewers manufacturing German lager beer, could not satisfy the vast demand. A brewery boom erupted with literally hundreds of breweries emerging all over the United States.  Because of the number of German immigrants living in Pennsylvania Dutch country - a good number of whom had experience working as apprentices in breweries in their homeland - many Lancaster breweries flourished and many rags-to-riches stories were born.

This success came to end with Prohibition in the 1920's. Although Prohibition did not shut down this flourishing business, it did slow it down. Some of the Lancaster breweries still operated through clandestine measures and constant vigilance to avoid raids by federal agents.

When Prohibition finally came to an end, some of the Lancaster breweries reopened to their full operational speed but the popularity and success never matched the heyday of the late 1800's and early 1900's. Also the glory days of the Lancaster breweries were impacted by the rise of larger, more modern breweries cropping up around the country. The relatively small Lancaster breweries simply could not compete with the newer breweries which could produce a much larger quantity of beer at much lower costs.  Many of the Lancaster breweries shut down completely by the 1950's.

Fortunately, supported by the national craft brewery movement which developed in the 1980s, some of the historic Lancaster County breweries have been restored and exist largely intact as they did when German lager and small breweries ruled supreme.  New and innovative craft breweries have opened.  One of the leaders in this Lancaster revival was Stoudt’s Brewery.  Stoudt’s also has the distinction of having the first female brew master, Carol Stoudt, in the U.S.

Now Lancaster is only a 1 1/2 hour drive from Philadelphia, so the research and development team (Rick and Dane) thought it best to do a field trip.  We turned to our trusted friend and life-long Lancastrian Debbie Mosimann, innkeeper of Swiss Woods Bed & Breakfast Inn, just outside of Lititz, Pennsylvania.   In addition to being one of the best-known and most highly respected innkeepers in the country, Debbie’s family is one of the leading producers and purveyors of Dutch Country food. It also helps that she is a serious beer drinker.  Now we couldn’t gain from her knowledge without staying at least a night at Swiss Woods could we?

So Joan, Dane, Rick and Joy just had to make a proper excursion (ahem, field study) by making a two day visit with an overnight involved.  We will do anything to advance the cause and coffers of the First Unitarian Church!  Staying overnight at a great inn located on over thirty acres of beautifully landscaped Lancaster County hillside is just part of our dedication. 

The beautiful gardens at Swiss Woods Bed & Breakfast Inn, Lititz, PA

We arrived in the late afternoon when Debbie and her innkeepers showed us around the inn and to our rooms.  As might be expected, the inn has a Swiss feel to it.  This is not just a gimmick. Werner, Debbie’s husband is from Switzerland, and that is where they met.  While Debbie is in charge of the hospitality end of things, Werner concentrates his talents on the beautiful landscaping, grounds maintenance and, of course, the building.

Swiss Woods Inn, nestled in the woods near Lititz, PA

 After the tour of the inn and settling into our accommodations, we regrouped for an excursion to the St. Boniface Craft Brewing Company in nearby Ephrata.

Saint Boniface Brewing sign

The brewpub in a modest building was very comfortable and popular with locals, including families. The service was friendly, and like any good brewpub we were able to order a sampler of six beers.

Rick Womer photographing the sampler at St. Boniface as Debbie Mosimann looks on happily! 

To us, this is essential for any good beer bar, though you are more likely to see it at a brewpub, where the brewers hope you will then order a growler (a half-gallon bottle for beer to go).  We decided that St. Boniface would be an excellent beer for our dinner, and we were able to find some in bottles to share at the dinner at The Fridge in Lancaster the next day, since we'd forgotten to bring some growlers of our own.

St, Boniface – Hegemony Stout – 8.5 abv (alcohol by volume, a standard measure of alcoholic strength). Hegemony Stout integrates a roasted malt bitterness and a chocolate-like sweetness to balance its subtle hop profile. Hegemony is a big beer that is very drinkable. It is a blend of the sweetness of an oatmeal stout and the dryness of an imperial stout.

St. Boniface – Extra Special Bitter – 4.5% abv.  Extra Special Bitter (ESB) is a classic session beer. It stays true to the English style, possessing subtle notes of caramel, a slightly roasted malt body, and just the right amount of hops in the finish to balance the malt sweetness.

Having had our “cocktails” before dinner, Debbie took us to her favorite restaurant, HungernThirst, a gastropub, gourmet market and bottle shop.  They have a fantastic beer menu but not much in the way of Lancaster craft brews.  The food was impressive so we would recommend this as a stop; a serious beer-drinker will NOT be bored! 

Sister and brother Debbie and Sam at Hunger n Thirst in Lancaster, PA

Now we should also, at this point, disclose that Debbie has an interest in restaurant: her nephews own it, and they are carefully supervised by her brother, Sam Neff.  They have a system that intrigued Dane – two big flat-screen displays listed the 24 beers on tap. Each beer was listed by style, abv, size of the pour, and price.   When they kick (empty) a keg, the bartender rings a big antique Swiss cow bell that has been passed down through Sam’s family.  The replacement beer is then displayed and at the same time posted on the restaurant’s social media links.  Sam and his wife Nancy joined us and even demonstrated the treasured bell for us.

Asparagus fries with yummy smoked mayo at Hunger n Thirst

We all enjoyed our appetizer, “asparagus fries," tempura-battered asparagus spears sprinkled with Parmesan with a side of hickory smoked mayonnaise--this is not your standard bar fare!  Breweries are known for bodacious beer names.  Well, HungernThirst  had creative names for some of their menu items.  One of our entrees was “WTF Tacos – French duck confit, Korean style.  F’n  delicious.”  Another great dish was “Crack 'n Cheese, the adult version, pasta, crabmeat, truffle butter, three cheeses."  Fun descriptions, imaginative recipes, and the food was the best on our trip.  We understand why HungernThirst has attracted so many loyal local foodies. 

More bells on display at Swiss Woods Bed & Breakfast, Lititz, PA

After enjoying all the great food and beers at HungernThirst, we were glad Debbie drove us home for reasons other than she knew the way.  We returned to Swiss Woods Inn to enjoy a good night’s sleep--we had a hard day’s work ahead of us tomorrow.  The next morning we had one of Debbie’s great breakfasts, complete with fresh fruit platter, home-baked muffins, a fluffy spinach-cheese-egg casserole and wonderful Pennsylvania Dutch baked apple dumplings. 

Our first stop for the day was to stock up on provisions for our church auction in nearby East Petersburg at S. Clyde Weaver.

Part of the glorious array at S. Clyde Weaver

Debbie’s relatives own this store, which started in 1920 featuring cheeses and smoked meats, but has since expanded to include a gourmet Pennsylvania Dutch grocery, bakery and café at the main store in East Petersburg, and ten other locations in farmers markets in the area.

Bube's Brewery in Mount Joy, PA

Our first beer stop was Bube’s Brewery , (Easy to pronounce correctly—just like you think it would be!)  The beer is worth a stop but the real reason to visit is the building –a slice of history not often seen.  By the mid 1800's, German-style lager beer had become all the rage among beer drinkers in America. By the 1850s and 60s, a brewery boom was underway, especially for German lagers. German immigrant, Alois Bube, moved to Lancaster County and in 1876, at age 25, he bought a small brewery in Mount Joy.

Bube's Brewery is the result of Alois Bube's life work. He expanded his small brewery several times and built a Victorian hotel attached to his brewery to store his beer in its cellars and to accommodate overnight guests.   Bube's Brewery is the only one of hundreds of  "lager era" breweries that still stands  almost completely intact in the United States today.  Restoration of the complex began in 1968 and continues today.

The interior or Bube's Brewery in Mount Joy, PA

We walked down in the catacombs, out in the beer garden, and even checked out the hotel, now a B&B.  The brewpub served us  a sampler, and we were able to get a growler of their Magic Lantern Pumpkin, which was our favorite of their offerings. 


Bube’s Magic Pumpkin Ale, 5.6 abv.  This annual pumpkin beer has 50 pounds of local, homegrown roasted pumpkin added directly to the mash as well as a blend of traditional pumpkin pie spice for aroma.

Lunch was in our thoughts, so our next stop was the Lancaster Brewing Company in downtown Lancaster.  This is a more substantial brewery  with very good beers and food a nice step up from bar fare. Dane and Rick both thought the Milk Stout was one of their best offerings.

Our delicious lunch at Lancaster Brewing Company-with lots of beer!

Lancaster Milk Stout, 5.3% abv, an example of the traditional English Sweet Stout.  In addition to the dark malts, roasted barley is used for dryness, and is mellowed by the addition of non-fermentable lactose sugar, providing a minimal sweetness.

Coolers full of beer at The Fridge, Lancaster, PA

We wanted to find some of the beer we  couldn't find in Philadelphia, and it was suggested we try The Fridge, a large bottle shop and pizzeria in downtown Lancaster. We found two of the beers from St. Boniface there.

For our next stop, we headed out Old Philadelphia Pike to Bird-in-Hand.  The tourist attractions were very evident--Amish buggy rides and the traffic should have given us a clue as to what Rumspringa Brewery offered.

One of the tourist-y attractions in Lancaster County, but not so great beer

The “brewery” is upstairs, above the Mount Joy Winery showroom, another clue.  The final clue was that their IPA was only 5.5% abv, low for an IPA.  Rick and Dane thought all of the beers were light for their styles, and a little shy on flavor as well.  We didn’t even finish our samplers. We did, however, give it high scores as a tourist gimmick.

Note:  Lancaster Brewing brews a very fine golden bock beer they call Rumspringa, 6.9% abv. Their Rumspringa is a seasonal beer, not available until February, otherwise we would certainly have it at the dinner.  We don’t know which came first, the fine beer or the tourist trap, but we did note that our server at Lancaster Brewing Company made it very clear that they have nothing to do with the Bird-in-Hand folly. 

(Rumspringa is not just a brewery or a beer.  It is a period when Amish youth experience greater freedom. They are no longer under the control of their parents on weekends and, not yet baptized, the church. During this time, many Amish youth adhere to traditional Amish behavior. Others, however, experiment with “worldly” activities.  At the end of this experience they can join the church, having had a chance to see a bit of the “other side.”)

The colorful bar at Union Barrel Works in Reamstown, PA

We had only one more place on our list: Union Barrel Works in Reamstown, which brought us back to the world of good craft beer. It is located in an old building that started out as a hardware store, with high ceilings, lots of space and decent beers. 

We had to debate a bit but their Mai Bock won out over the Kolsch – a light German lager as brewed in Cologne.

Rick and Joy debating which was their favorite beer at Union Barrel Works

Union Barrel Works Mai Bock, around 9% abv.   A pale bock with a fresh malty flavor and aroma.  It has a deep golden color with a generous amount of honey to smooth the high alcohol finish.

We purchased a growler of the Mai Bock for the dinner, with hopes that it would stay fresh for a week.  Our job done, we hit the Pennsylvania Turnpike back to Philadelphia with fond memories of Lancaster County and hope our rambles will encourage you to spend some time there yourself.  You might even find some decent pints!

On this trip we did not have time to visit Stoudt’s Brewery, in Adamstown.  We know this brewery well, and its beers are easy to find in Philadelphia.  The BeerAdvocate gives Stoudt’s a rating of 93, “outstanding.”  The brewery was established by Ed and Carol Stoudt in 1987, making it one of the very early craft breweries in Pennsylvania, and we believe the first in Lancaster County.  Mindful of the county’s history and culture, they specialized in German-style beers and have won numerous medals at the Great American Beer Festival (GABF).  We were able to buy this beer for our Beer Dinner in Philadelphia with no problem. 

Stoudt’s Pils, 5.4% abv.  This is a classic German-style pilsner.  It is a delicate dry beer with a firm bitterness, straw color, medium body and a classic saaz hops aroma.  It has won three gold medals, one silver and one bronze medal over the years at the GABF.