Craft Breweries

Eight Local Favorites of Annville Inn B&B’s Guests:

Rotunda Brewing Company.  We’re as proud as we can be of the Rotunda brothers, who have worked hard as entrepreneurs with their Batdorf Restaurant and other enterprises.  The Rotunda Brewing Company, adjacent to their acclaimed restaurant (Batdorf) has been a big draw for our picturesque community of Annville.

Snitz Creek Brewery, located in Lebanon just to our east and at Ft. Indiantown Gap at the base of the Blue Mountains and next to Fort Indiantown Gap, Memorial Lake and the National Cemetery.  Both the Lebanon and Indiantown Gap locations have wide ranging menus in their restaurants.

Troegs Independent Brewery:  A big hit in Hershey complete with tours and tasty food!

Mt. Gretna Craft Brewery:  Bringing the neighborhood brewery back – where people share good times and a unique local experience. A gathering place that celebrates local artisans, the outdoors and culture of the region. Restaurant with locally sourced food, a coffee shop…even a bicycle shop!  The family has had businesses at this corner going back to a general store generations ago.

The Tattered Flag.  Brewery in Middletown, Hershey and Gettysburg.  NOTE:  During COVID-19 BREWERY CLOSED, as they have turned all their production into making hand sanitizer for the medical field, police and fire departments.  Unsure when production will return to brewing beer.

Spring Gate Brewery:  Family owned Pennsylvania Farm Brewery, operating on a 250 year old original Colonial homestead that includes everything from its original log cabin to a one room schoolhouse. From a crystal clear spring that supports watercress and first frequented by American Indians and then the European Settlers, and in conjunction with a hop garden, the brewery produces a truly local farm beer in a setting that is unique, peaceful, and inspiring.  Read about the vineyard here. (Joel link to the winery page.)

The Vineyard & Brewery at Hershey:  This enterprise specializes in both their vineyard/winery and the brewery.  From events with food trucks to all aspects of vineyards and country breweries, there is a lot to explore here.  Read about the vineyard here. (Joel link to the winery page.)

Iron Hill Brewery (Hershey and Lancaster)  Tap to Table.  The restaurant and brewery states on its Website, “And while we’re the most aware-winning brewery east of the Mississippi, we’re not in it for the fame or the glory.”

A Dozen More Local Breweries Our Guests Enjoy:

• Bonshire Brewery  
• Moo-Duck Brewery
• Swashbuckler Brewing Company
• Fetish Brewing Company  (named after a “fetish” for the ghost pepper…and chocolate)
• Cox Brewing Company
• Mad Chef Craft Brewing
• Newfangled Brew Works
• St Boniface Craft Brewing Co
• Appalachian Brewing Company of Lititz
• Black Forest Brewery
• Lydian Stone Brewing Company
• Lancaster Brewing Company

While not in our backyard, it is close. (50 minutes,42 miles).   Yuengling Brewery,  is still operated and owned by the same family, (now in the 5^th generation with the 6^th generation working their way to an eventual point of succession) and they have successfully fended themselves against all the major national brands you can think of who have tried to “muscle in” on their brand.

They are smart survivors.  They survived the Great Depression. They survived Prohibition by switching to milk production and an alternate non-alcohol beverage.  They still produce product that is ranked as number one sellers coast to coast.  We have had many guests who stay with us at Annville Inn B&B make a “half day” trip to tour/visit Yuengling.  Others make a day trip of it and go to Hawk Mountain Sanctuary as well.  It is an easy and very scenic drive, especially if one takes what we call here at the Inn, “The Mountain Road.”

A bit of the history from the D.G. Yuengling & Son Website:

“Every story has history. Ours just has more than the rest.”

The story of Yuengling is the story of the American Spirit. It’s a tale of shared dreams, individual tenacity and an unwavering dedication to standards of quality. Like many American stories it starts amid the dreams of countless young immigrants looking for opportunity and emerges from the strength and will of one family determined to build their legacy in a new country. The story of America’s Oldest Brewery began when David G. Yuengling arrived from Wuerttemberg Germany to settle in the sleepy, coal-mining town of Pottsville, Pennsylvania.”

This Timeline traces the legacy of the brewery back through the same family for 191 years.  Imagine that!

A  Look Back at a Historic Pennsylvania Landmark Brewery

Pennsylvania’s clean water and agriculture supported a big industry, which is now going through a resurgence via the smaller craft breweries—certainly none of the craft and local breweries today are in structures such as The Duquesne Brewing Company of Pittsburgh (shown above, right), which was formed by a group of South Side businessmen and incorporated on April 4, 1899 and throughout its history pioneered advanced methods of brewing, marketing, and distribution until 1972 when the company ceased operations. Now listed on National Register of Historic Places.