All posts by jf1155@verizon.net

JOHN RYAN BREWERY

United States Brewpubs,

WILLIAMSPORT, PENNSYLVANIA

One of four current downtown Williamsport brewpubs within walking distance, JOHN RYAN BREWERY opened inside a historic Old Victorian mansion during October 2021. Once a lumber barrens’ homestead, the stark white-windowed aquamarine pub consists of a wood-furnished main barroom (with chandelier), elegant dining rooms, cozy all-scratch kitchen and spooky low-ceilinged catacomb basement bar perfect for autumnal spirits. A shaded patio with fire pit lounge completes the score.

Concocting fine small-batch beer, brewer Will Ernst Wingfield served time developing his zymurgic skills at local Penn College before coming aboard at this renovated red brick-walled Old Town brewery-restaurant. He’s a large part of bringing a ‘historical and cultural experience to the customer,’ as John Ryan’s exquisite establishment looks to expand tastes with multi-culti food and beer.

The menu offers a fusion of authentic Japanese, French, and Italian cuisine. Today’s morning beer menu includes French, English, Czech and German styled suds.  

My wife and I grab a table downstairs in the stone-columned catacomb cavern to watch Penn State take on number two Indiana while consuming all eight available homemade suds. The ever-changing food menu is recommended and nifty cocktails looked heavenly. We enjoyed Asian Pear Salad and Baked French Toast.

Signature Fruited French Saison rubbed alcohol stiffness into rummy banana sweetness, zesty pineapple tanginess, mild Chardonnay wining and herbal lemon musk plus shero plum tartness over rustic earthen graining.

Similarly styled Franco-Belgian farmhouse ale, French Saison, coalesced lemon meringue tartness with butterscotch candy, banana bubblegum and Chardonnay wine illusions as well as slight white-peppered herbage.

Another Franco brew, French Porter, let brown chocolate sweetness infiltrate mildly hop-charred walnut, subtle chestnut-hazelnut-pecan buttering and caramel coffee creaming.

A few Brit-styled brews followed. Dewy peat moss saddled Three Lions English IPA, adding earthen rusticity to grapefruit-dried pine lacquering above dark-roast barley malts.

Day-old coffee and dark chocolate resin combined for John Ryan English Brown Ale, placing earthen residue and pumpernickel rye breading upon the lightly spiced mocha continuance.

Sourdough breading contrasted the musky wheat-husked maize acridity of dry Czech pils, Pre Prohibition Pilsner, leaving mild lemon pith bittering and herbal-spiced florality.

Repping the Germans, Gruber Doppelbock gathered spiced dark fruiting and mild bourbon-burgundy wining atop sugary Vienna malts.

Milk chocolatey caramel coffee creaming guided oats-sugared Desperation On Vacation Oatmeal Stout, caressed by toasty truffle crisping.

ROSKO’S BREW HOUSE

United States Brewpubs,

WILLIAMSPORT, PENNSYLVANIA

After departing John Ryan Brewery one mile south, my wife and I ventured into Rosko’s on a Saturday afternoon, November ’25, discovering six English and German styled homemade suds.

Inside a restored pale blue-bricked 19th century Victorian dwelling on the northside of downtown Williamsport, ROSKO’S BREW HOUSE opened August ’22. A family-friendly pub owned by Samantha and Adam Roskowski, its cozy red brick-backed barroom, nifty parlor space and fireplace mantle offer warm elegance.

A few metal-stooled wood tables fill out Rosko’s main area and the nano brewing setup is staged toward one side. An enclosed cement patio with umbrellas sidles the green turfed exterior. A studio loft apartment is available for rent.

Featuring a highly sessionable rotating menu of brews, Rosko’s never deviates too far from stylistic guidelines. Full-time brewer, Taylor Strein, whose homebrewed maple stout impressed friends early on, attended Brewing and Fermentation Sciences at Pennsylvania College of Technology before joining the Rosko’s fold.

Excellent flagship, Admiral Halsey ESB merged dewy peat mossing, earthen Fuggle hop herbage to toasted rye breading.

English dark mild, The Butcher’s Dog, placed toffee-spiced fig and raisin alongside toasted caramelized nuttiness.

“No frills” Terrassee Hefe splotched lemony cider souring upon banana breaded coriander spicing atop soft sourdough base.

Utilizing kolsch yeast, grainy Bavarian malts and tropical Huell Melon/ Mandarina Bavaria hops, Kiefenstrasse German IPA nodded towards a New England IPA with its salty mango-skinned kumquat, passionfruit and guava tartness picking up a zesty orange-peeled grapefruit tingle.

Lightly spiced date, plum and fig commenced moderate-bodied Munich-styled Dunkel, sweetened further by caramelized Vienna malting.

Similarly styled and more robust, Roskator Doppel loaded roasted chocolate inside sugary date-plum-fig spicing, mild burgundy swagger and tobacco-roasted cereal graining.

AXEMANN TAVERN

United States Brewpubs,

SELINSGROVE, PENNSYLVANIA

Retreating from Williamsport going east to Jersey, stopped by Selinsgrove to visit AXEMANN TAVERN, opened February 1, 2024, An extension of Bellefonte’s Axemann Brewery (a 27,000 square-foot former Cerro Metal factory run by Penn State grads since 2020), this red-bricked green-windowed tavern features a lacquered wood L-shaped bar with wood paneled wall, twelve draught handles, large TV and refrigerator. Tiffany lights hang from the black art ceiling at the high top-seated main dining room.

Across the street from long-time fixture, Selinsgrove Brewing, Axemann Tavern has the relaxed feel of a cozy British pub. There are wines, spirits plus food from Smokehouse Fixx and Sunday Brunch to go along with well-balanced standard brew fare.

My wife and I grab seats at the end of the bar November ’25 to down five Axemann originals (and take home a few reviewed in Beer Index).

Smoothly clean flagship offering, Blue Stripe Kolsch, dropped tangy lemon spicing and herbal hops atop French breaded corn-chipped Tortilla crisping.

Tartly understated Black Razz Wheat sidled salty raspberry-blackberry rasp with spritzy lemony fizz over dry pale wheat malting.

An IPA-related pale ale, Mean Duck, let piney floral-hopped perfuming enhance lightly embittered lemony orange and grapefruit sunshine.

Piney grapefruit bittering ushered in New England IPA, Hazy Daisy, picking up salted mango zesting above creamy vanilla oats.

Dry Irish Stout, Titan, advanced bittersweet dark chocolate and frothy espresso coffee to dark roast hop charred nuttiness in smooth, clean-watered stylistic fashion.