LANCASTER / MOUNT JOY, PENNSYLVANIA
In the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch Country lies the rural communities of Lancaster and Mount Joy, sojourned December ’05. Incredibly, prior to prohibition, Lancaster County brewed 70% of America’s beers (200,000 barrels). In ’95, Lancaster Malt Brewing opened, then closed, and was purchased by its current owners during 2001.
Enormous multi-tiered red brick grain silo warehouse, LANCASTER BREWING, one of the State’s largest beer bottlers, furnished broad primary bar area with exposed ductwork, patio seating, several copper-tabled dining sections, ground level banquet hall, and a menu including crab, steak, salmon, baby back ribs, and thin crust pizza.
Copper kettles, proudly displayed midsection, served sharp red-fruited hop-frisked wheat-dried bohemian-styled Gold Star Pilsner, dry tea-fronted melon-apple-pear-aided Red Rose Ale, soapy fizz-hopped light-grained Litening Lager. Pleasant chestnut-chocolate-roasted cherry-tipped Winter Warmer and black chocolate-y coffee-vanilla-glazed Lancaster Milk Stout were busier, better choices.
Merely average in its bottled version, Lancaster Strawberry Wheat gains a ripe berry-flavored Blow Pop illusion and sweet honeyed cereal/ Graham Cracker likeness. Check Beer Index for bottled reviews.
