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.