#4 - Georgia, "The Peach State"

Peanuts. That's one thing I have heard of that Jimmy Carter was good for. I wasn't alive while he was President, and I try to stay away from politics, but my in-laws have a particular disdain for Carter that I like to imagine comes from a contentious personal feud they had with him over Carter's hatred of white tuxedos in the early 1980s. Hey, my mother-in-law worked on Capitol Hill, it very well could have happened if Carter had caught a glimpse of a picture from their wedding. He would have had issue with my parents' wedding too. I wish I could get away with that now. I guess I need a white-guy afro to pull off that look now, huh Dad?

The second thing that Carter graced us with was the law that he signed in 1979 legalizing home brewing and allowing any person to brew up to 100 gallons per year for personal use. One thing led to another, and we are where we are today, with upwards of 1500 craft breweries and brew pubs in the U.S.

So, since Jimmy Carter is from Georgia, here's the rundown of the Peach State breweries.

Beer Stats For Georgia:
Major Cities: Atlanta, Savannah, Macon, Athens
# of Microbreweries: 4
Population: 9,687,653
People being denied equal access to good microbreweries by the powers that be: 9,687,652. There's always that one guy. What a dick.


Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the Constitution and become part of the United States. Besides New York, Georgia is the most populated state on the East Coast. So you would expect they would have a fairly healthy amount of microbreweries. And you would be dead wrong. They have 4. I have at least 4 microbreweries within a 30 minute drive of my house, and the entire state of Georgia only has 4. I would bet that this is due to the fact that Southern states are not known for their alcohol-friendly laws. Although, regardless of their states' desire to control alcohol consumption, people from the South are the closest thing to a race of functional alcoholics that I know of. They love their liquor. I base this on my friends from college from the south, but I think they are a pretty representative sample.

I've only had beer from one of the GA breweries, so I'm not an expert. Each of the four have fairly interesting histories.

Terrapin Beer Co is based in Athens, home of the University of Georgia, making it the main hub for hippies and rich southern kids. So, what better business to run than an environmentally friendly microbrewery. I have a sixer of their Hop Karma Brown IPA. It seems like everyone has gone hop crazy lately and makes a double IPA. So it's good to see that a few breweries are trying some IPAs that have other flavors than bitter. The bottle has a hippy looking turtle drinking a beer with what might be a sitar. I love brown ales, and I like a pale ale, so I love this beer, which is a combo of the two.  Terrapin makes a lot of unique beers and they are distributed extensively in GA, NC, SC, and VA. You can also find them in FL, TN, AL, PA, and NJ like I did. I'm sold after one beer, so you may as well try some too.

Red Brick Brewing is run by Atlanta Brewing Company, which is Georgia's oldest brewery, opening in 1983. You're only going to be able to get it if you are in the South, as they want to remain a regional brewery for the South, with no plans of expanding to a nationwide market. I respect that. They've decided that they want to focus on where they are from and become a staple in a very promising market that is not super-saturated with breweries like the West Coast or the Northeast. They make nine separate beers. Next time I'm in Georgia, which I'm embarrassed to say will be the first time, I'm going to get a Red Brick Porter.

Jailhouse Brewing Company brews in Hampton, GA. Their story is pretty well documented on their website and it's a worn out story that, honestly, I'm just tired of hearing. Guy likes beer, guy buys 1920's era jailhouse in small town, guy completely renovates jail, guy buys brewing equipment from defunct brewery, guy waits for Georgia to give him a license, guy brews beer. They started brewing in October of 2009, so they are pretty much just getting started, but their beers are available in and around Atlanta in bars and beer stores. Not shockingly, all of their beers have Jail themed names (Mugshot IPA, Breakout Stout, the Solitary Confinement Series.) They currently have three year round beers, and from reading over their website, they seem to have a lot of passion and desire to do well, which is enough for me to want to give them a try. However, eventually the newness will wear off and they'll have to let their beers speak for themselves.

SweetWater Brewing Company is in midtown Atlanta and has been there since 2004. They began as a brewery in 1997 when two guys from Colorado figured Atlanta needed a microbrewery. They brew 5 year round beers, 5 seasonals, and some more special edition stuff. Their slogan is Don't Float the Mainstream, and they seem to be serious about brewing without taking themselves too seriously. They say that their beers are unpasteurized so they are best within 90 days. The distribute in AL, FL, NC, SC, TN, and of course GA. It would probably be a fun place to visit and it's probably very convenient to downtown Atlanta, making it a definite day/evening pre-gaming tour possibility.

Trailies:
Best Beer Name: So Fresh and So Green, Green - Terrapin. This beer uses fresh hops from Washington's Yakima valley that are flown in over night prior to brew day. Plus, any homage to Andre 3000 and Big Boi gets my vote.
The Make a Movie About These Guys Award: Jailhouse. Could be a murder mystery/comedy about a brewer who happens upon a murder in the act, setting in motion a long and drawn out investigation, only to find out that the murder was just a scene from a high school student's movie for English class, called "Trouble's Brewin' " Could be a horror film, where the jailhouse ghost haunts the brewmaster and continually makes him mess up and brew Miller Light called "Less Taste, More Thrilling." Ok I'm on a roll, but I'll stop there.
Most Likely to have been Phish fans in High School: Sweetwater. They're from Colorado and they have a 420 Extra Pale Ale. Case closed.

Road Trips:
I can't personally recommend anything, but, I'm sure there is a lot to do in Atlanta, which would get you close to two of the breweries, Atlanta and Sweetwater. Hampton is only a 45 minute drive south of Atlanta, so that's an easy day trip if you are staying in the city. I love going to college towns, and Athens has a great music scene, so I think my first choice brewery to visit in Georgia would have to be Terrapin. Hang out, listen to some up and comers play in a small bar, while drinking unique beers. Sounds like a great trip for the fall. Maybe catch a football game between the hedges at UGA while I'm there. Just need a way to quit my job.... please read my blog.

Music:
Like I said, Athens is known for its music scene, so a lot of bands have gotten their start there. REM and B-52s cut their teeth in Athens. Brian Burton, aka, Danger Mouse, is from New York, but got his big break in Athens after winning a contest to open a show for Outkast and Goodie Mob (two big Atlanta hip-hop groups. I personally love everything Outkast has ever done. Spottieottiedopalicious is #1 a spectacular name, but #2, also a great song. Sorry for the long parenthesis) After the show he gave his demo tape to Cee-Lo Green, and eventually they formed Gnarls Barkley which made both mega-stars. Since then Burton teamed up with the lead singer of the Shins and they put out an album last year as Broken Bells. It's a great mix of beats and catchy melodies, like folk with a hip-hop/electronica beat background. Almost like if Bubba Sparxx learned to play guitar. Nevermind. Nothing could be that good. Burton is one of those musicians that seems to want to explore every type of music possible in an effort to find the one that really fits him. My guess is that he will keep doing collaborations with people from all different genres. I'll keep on tuning in. You should check out the album. It's self titled.

I'll be back in a month or so with Connecticut.

Georgia Brewery Map

#3 - New Jersey, "The Garden State"

Lately when anyone outside of the New Jersey/NY/Philadelphia region hears the words New Jersey they immediately think of fist pumping, slicked back hair, and Snooki. Me, I don't watch that show, so I think of not being allowed to turn left, urban blight, and vast populations of people who are probably related to my ancestors but who just weren't lucky enough to get out like my family. 


I'm only (half) kidding. I like New Jersey. And although I have told my wife that we will never have a New Jersey address, I have some very strong ties to the state. Two of my best friends are residents; one from South Jersey and one from North Jersey. My wife's family has a vacation place in at the Shore, so we have spent a lot of time there during the summers. And my sister-in-law and her husband live in the NYC suburbs.


I feel just about the same way about my personal ties to New Jersey as I do about the beer from the state. I only care to have tried a few beers, but the beers I have tried, I like a lot.

Stats for New Jersey:

Most Well Known Cities: Newark, Trenton, Camden, Atlantic City, Princeton (one of these things is not like the other.)

# of Microbreweries: 6
# of Brewpubs: 15 
# of Governors who look like they are either in the mob or in a lot of gambling debt with the mob: 1

There seems to be a common theme among the Jersey breweries. They tackle the classic styles of beer that are not too far out there on the taste spectrum and then just try to do them really well. I am not sure why, but maybe it's to appeal to a diverse audience, which is something you will definitely find in New Jersey. Could be a coincidence too. I took statistics back in high school and I don't think 6 is a very large sample size.


River Horse is based in Lambertville, which is right outside Trenton. One night I was home alone and I was watching a movie sittin on my couch. I had gotten some River Horse Tripel Horse at my most recent beer swap. I had one then had another over the course of the hour or hour and a half movie. I stood up when it was over and almost fell over. That stuff hits you. It's like 11% alcohol, so I had essentially had 6 Bud Lights. Didn't really realize it till it got away from me a bit. I should have known because there is a strong alcohol taste to that beer. You live and you learn. I like this brewery. I've had several of their beers and never have been disappointed. Their website sucks so I have no background history or distribution info, but I know they distribute at least in NJ and PA. Their label art is pretty cool with the hippos and lettering that looks like it was written by a hippo, or at least someone with hippo hands. Check em out. 


Flying Fish is probably the most recognizable New Jersey brewery. They distribute to NJ, DE, MD, DC, and PA. I would say that they are also the most creative of the Garden States craft beer scene. I like their logo too. It's a fish skeleton with two props on it so that it's flying. Get it? They actually also try to make drinkable beers but they are all about trying to pair their beer with food, even giving some beer related recipes on their website. I've had the Grand Cru Winter Reserve, the Farmhouse Summer Ale, and the Exit 4. That is the first in their Exit series, which is a great concept. They make beers inspired by the specific exits of the New Jersey Turnpike. For example the Exit 1 is a Bayshore Oyster Stout, inspired by the bay lifestyle. They make 6 so far in the series and I had the Exit 4 last weekend (American Trippel.) I enjoyed it. Sweeter and smoother than I expect for a Trippel. This is a well run brewery and they are based in Cherry Hill, outside of Philadelphia. So I need to cross the Walt Whitman someday and check out their facility. So do you. 

New Jersey Beer Company is a new company based in North Bergen. Their bottling line is broken, so they are only distributing kegs and only in NJ. You'll have to find them on tap somewhere in the third state. If you ask, you might find a Belgian abbey style session beer called 1787, which is the year New Jersey became a state. I wager that they chose that name because they knew I was writing this blog and they wanted to get mentioned. Thanks for giving me relevant topics, guys, but you're out of luck because I am the only one who reads this.

Cricket Hill is based in Fairfield, which is in Northern Jersey, just far enough west that you forget that you are in New Jersey, but not far enough west to escape the accents. Cricket Hill is another one of the breweries that is interested in a middle of the road menu. They don't want anything wacky, they just want to stick to the classics and make 'em well. They call it the gateway philosophy, almost like they want to get your business before you get hooked on the hard stuff and start spending your rent money on $160 cases of 14% Imperial Pumpernickel Stouts. I had them at a beer festival last year, but again, it was a beer festival so no lingering memories about the taste. They have a slick cricket logo and distribute in NJ, NY, Maine, PA, and VA.


Climax Brewing is celebrating 10 years brewing and are a father-son operation based in Roselle Park, which is an NYC suburb. They brew "authentic" beers with simple descriptive names. They distribute in NJ at stores and restaurants. Nothing fancy at all about them.


High Point Wheat started brewing in 1994 as the first American brewery to specialize in wheat beers. Their beers are brewed under the Ramstein name and use only wheat, barley, hops, and yeast that are imported directly from Germany. They are essentially a German brewery that happens to reside in Butler, NJ, and they make traditional wheat beers and lagers. They distribute to NJ, NY, and Eastern PA.


Let's hand out some hardware.


Trailies:

Best Beer Name: River Horse Hop-a-lot-a-mus (Unfiltered Double IPA)
Best Concept: Flying Fish Exit 16 Wild Rice IPA. Based on the exit where the Meadowlands are, where surprisingly, there is a lot of wildlife. The rice apparently ferments and dries out this beer to let the flavor of the 5 types of hops come through even more. They added a lot of hops with fruity profiles. Sounds too hoppy for me, but I would try it. It's supposed to be paired with spicy food or seafood.

Beer That Best Represents Jersey Shore: Cricket Hill Jersey Summer Breakfast Ale

Best Label Art: River Horse

Road Trips:

Take a road trip up the coast on route 9 and stop off at some of the amazingly packed beach towns from Cape May to Atlantic City to the home of the Boss in Asbury Park. Cape May is a clean little family town with very good restaurants and Atlantic city is essentially the exact opposite of that, although there is still good food. You can drive from the bottom of the Garden State parkway at exit 0 (Cape May) to the NY State Line in about 3 hours, without traffic, so you could definitely get to every brewery within a three day weekend if you wanted to do it. 

Music:
Gaslight Anthem is from New Brunswick, New Jersey and they opened up for Weezer at a few shows around here this past summer. I have their album The '59 sound, and yeah, they sound a lot like they copied Springsteen, and yes, a lot of their songs have the exact same lyrical and production style but they at least do what they do pretty well. I like the song "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" because it's a slightly slower song which is a departure from the rest of the album.


New Jersey Beer Trail Map

#2b - Pennsylvania, "The Keystone State" (Harrisburg and West)

One of my friends from college was from outside of Pittsburgh and he raved about Iron City beer. So, when a bunch of us went to Pittsburgh for a football game in 2005 I was expecting big things. What I got was run of the mill light beer in an aluminum bottle, before aluminum bottles really took off. So kudos on early adaptation of environmental stewardship, but I won't be buying a case of Iron City any time soon.

But now looking back, his love of Iron City makes me realize just how unifying crappy beer can be for a region. Regional beers, like Natty Boh in Baltimore and Genesee in upstate New York, along with many others, become ingrained in a local culture. Disrespect those beers to a person from those areas and you directly disrespect them. Even if these beers are clearly no better than hop flavored water. That being said, there are so many better beers than Iron City that are brewed in Western PA. Sorry Tony. At least you made up for your bad beer taste by being good at Mario Tennis.

Beer Stats for Western PA:

Cities: Pittsburgh, Erie, Harrisburg, Altoona

# of Microbreweries: 16, mostly small batch and local, but 9 with significant regional or state distribution
# of Brewpubs: 14
Cities that I have never considered living in: 4 (although I was pleasantly surprised with how cool Pittsburgh was and I've never been to any of the others)

I'm going to be honest and say that I have not tried the majority of the breweries that are listed on beermapping.com. Just off the top of my head, it looks like I've had beers from 3 breweries and I've been to one of the brewpubs. So, since at my current pace I'll finish looking at the breweries of all 50 states when I am staring down my 30th birthday, I'll just talk about the four that I've had. 

Erie Brewing - I was first introduced to Erie Brewing at one of my beer swaps. One of my co-workers brought Ol' Red Cease and Desist Ale. It's what they call a Wee Heavy Ale and it's definitely a strong dark red. They say on their website that it was originally called Red Ryder BIG BEER, but apparently they received multiple cease and desist letters telling them they had to change the name. I can only assume that the company that makes the bb gun with the same name didn't want their young customers accidentally drinking a beer that's 10.1% alcohol and then suing them when they shoot their eye out. So they changed the name to C & D. Pretty good story for a beer that I really liked. Erie opened as a brewpub in 1993 and became a full fledged brewery 6 years later. It's distributed in 15 states and D.C.

Troegs - Troegs is based in Harrisburg and I've had almost all of their beers. They have very bright and detailed label art, which I think is used to distract you from the fact that there is a a 75% that you are about to be assaulted by hops. They seem to be a hop-heavy brewery, which is fine with me in certain instances and certainly not their only niche. Their Nugget Nectar is insanely hopped, they have an 11% winter seasonal called Mad Elf, and then they have my personal favorite, Dead Reckoning. It's a very smooth porter with strong caramel flavors an a good hop taste to it that doesn't linger because of all of the normal coffee, chocolate, and malt flavors that come with a lot of porters. They distribute to 8 states and D.C., so if you are in NY, NJ, DE, PA, OH, MD, MA or VA listen to what people are ordering because it's always fun to see people try to pronounce their name.  

Iron City - I didn't mean to knock Iron City in the first couple paragraphs, because they clearly have a strong following and everyone needs a beer to stock up the fridge or bring to the tailgate. I'm just personally more into beer that is creative and has flavor. 

That previous paragraph was this month's Backhanded Compliment brought to you by your local microbrewery.

Otto's Brewpub - I went to Otto's this past fall on a weekend trip up to State College with some friends. The bar was enormous and the restaurant was pretty spacious but it was still extremely packed, so it's definitely a local favorite. We sat there for an hour or so and had a few of the beers on tap while we ate lunch. The food was what I've come to know as standard for most brewpubs, which is a compliment, because it was high quality sandwiches and appetizers. We had a great time and I wish I remembered specifics about the beer, but I know that I liked the brews that I tried. I recommend State College in the fall. It's a classic college town with great local shops, bars, and restaurants. And if you have time you could even visit the grave of longtime head football coach Joe Paterno. Wait, I'm being informed he's still alive and is still the head coach of a Division 1 program. Truly astonishing. If you want a good laugh, check out this radio interview he recently did. Terrible radio idea to do a phoner with an 84 year old guy who can't hear, but comedy gold.

Trailies:

Best Beer Name: Gotta go with Ol' Red Cease and Desist Wee Heavy Ale. It's a mouthful of a name, and every time I say "Wee Heavy" in my head, the accent is what I would think an old Scottish guy with 4 teeth would sound like.

Trippiest Label Art:  Troegs is the winner by far. 

Best Unintentional Comedian: JoePa. We love you Joe. We said WE LOVE YOU JOE. You know what, nevermind. Go recruit 18 year olds and make snarky comments at press conferences.  

Road Trips:

Besides spending a fall weekend in State College, there are good sites to see all over PA. If you like baseball or football and are near Pittsburgh. Catch a game at either PNC Park or Heinz Field. They are in a great location, overlooking the skyline and the rivers. If you are near Troegs in Harrisburg, the Appalachian trail crosses right through there, so if you are into hiking, you can't beat that. 

Music:

I couldn't find any bands that I liked that are from western PA, so here's a random recommendation. Throw some Spoon in your iPod. I have their album Gimme Fiction and it is part of the regular rotation on my commute. I don't know how to classify them, but I know I like them.


PA West Beer Trail Map

#2a - Pennsylvania, "The Keystone State" (East of Harrisburg)

Pennsylvania is a much bigger state than Delaware, much more populated, and more saturated with microbreweries/brewpubs. There are some major players in the domestic craft beer world, including the nation's oldest operating brewery. I'm already wordy as it is, so right now I'll just be looking at breweries east of Harrisburg so we can keep the word count to a minimum.

Beer Stats for Eastern PA:
Cities: Philadelphia, Reading, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Allentown/Bethlehem, Lancaster
# of Microbreweries: 11 that have significant distribution.
# of Brewpubs: 25, some of which bottle and distribute locally.
Outdated and Annoying Alcohol Laws: Way too many to count.

My wife always says that she thinks it would be really difficult to be an alcoholic in Pennsylvania because of the difficulty and cost involved in getting alcohol. With few exceptions, you can only buy beer in beer stores, and you can only buy them by the case.

When I first moved here, I was staying in hotels during the week, so I wanted to pick up a six pack to enjoy while I watched TV at night. I went to the beer distributor and couldn't find a 6 pack anywhere. So I took one pre-packaged 12 pack out of a case and tried to buy it. The cashier looked confused. Our conversation played out almost like we were both speaking foreign languages; him telling me he couldn't sell the 12 pack by itself, me saying "I don't need a whole case. I want 12." We hashed through the situation using hand signals and a series of grunts and finally realized what was happening. I left beerless, because even a 22 year old kid can't drink a whole case by himself in 3 days (and not feel terrible about it.)

To make matters worse, I find that cases in PA tend to have at least a 15% mark-up over neighboring state's prices. There are two consolations.  1) There are literally hundreds of bars and beer prices at bars are very reasonable. 2) Since they lock you into buying a case, the breweries have been nice enough to offer variety packs so you can try all of their brews and not get stuck with 23 bottles of some beer you don't like. So that's good.

Plenty of great microbreweries have been started in PA over the last 20 years, all buoyed by the success of the country's oldest brewery, D.G. Yuengling and Sons. Founded in Pottsville in 1829, Yuengling is so ubiquitous in Philadelphia that to order it you just say that you want a "lager" and every bartender knows what to bring you. They aren't on the cutting edge of new beer flavors, but they do what they do very well and they distribute to 13 states, mainly on the East Coast. Although I could have swore they had a larger reach than that.

Victory Brewing is located in Downingtown and they have the widest distribution of any brewery in PA. Just about half of the states, including Alaska, as well as some international distribution. One thing I know is that they love hops. Hop Devil, Hop Wollop, Prima Pils, and Yakima Twighlight are all hop heavy. All good, but at some point I get overwhelmed by hops. I fell asleep on my couch one night while drinking a Yakima and only woke up due to the fact that I had poured half of the beer right on my chest. I know there are a lot of hops in that one because I think the smell was so strong that it what woke me. That's a weird situation; spilling something on yourself while sleeping. Because you wake up but it takes a second to process what you are doing and by then you're soaked. I just felt bad cuz I wasted a good beer. For me it's hard to choose between the Storm King Stout and the Moonglow Weizenbock as my favorite Victory beer.

Yards Brewery operates on Delaware Ave in Philadelphia near Northern Liberties but started in Manayunk in 1994. I've had four of their five signature ales and my go-to if I want to bring a good beer gift is the Brawler. The woman of the household approves the purchase of that one as well. The beer I think tastes the best is the Extra Special Ale, but I think the Brawler has more mass appeal because I think I like amber malty ales more than the general population. Yards gets around in the Philly area. They do most of the beer events around here and I think they are getting to the point where their distribution is about to take off across the country. I am just guessing, but I wouldn't be surprised. 

Philadelphia Brewing Co. operates out of a historic brewery that stopped production in 1939 and was restored by Philly Brew Co starting in 2001. I really want to like Philly Brew Co, but for some reason I am always disappointed by their stuff. The Walt Wit essentially turned me off to wit beers for a year or so. The Kenzinger and the Newbold IPA are nothing special. I will say that their Joe Porter (not named for the former Steelers linebacker) grew on me. At first I thought it tasted like stale coffee (I never said this would be a ringing endorsement) but I began to enjoy it the second and third time I tried it. Philly Brew Co. does tours, so go do one and have them prove me wrong.

Stoudts is in Adamstown, PA, and from the looks of it, I think it is the entire town of Adamstown. They have a restaurant, brewery, fresh food market, shop, and antiques mall. They even do weddings. If you lived there, you'd never have to leave except to go make money to spend at Stoudt's. They make really really good beer. That's my first double really endorsement. So take heed. I've probably had half of their normally bottled beers including the seasonals. My favorite is the American Pale Ale. Patriotism 1, India Pale Ales 0. If you are on the east coast, Ohio, Cali, or Michigan you can probably find their stuff somewhere.

Intercourse Brewery is located in Lancaster County and they distribute mostly in Eastern PA. They make 4 beers, of which I've had one (the Blue Ball Porter). That one is a slightly heavy blueberry porter. The only time I had it was on a seriously hot day at a tailgate for a concert and I thought it was well done, so I'd like to try it when I'm not sweating my face off.

Lancaster Brewing Co is right near downtown Lancaster, and they begun operations in 2001. I enjoy all their beers, but my wife loves the Strawberry Wheat, and I think my favorite is the highly potent Winter Warmer. Lancaster County has a high concentration of Amish and so the brewery makes their Amish Four Grain Pale Ale and the Shoo-Fly Porter to pay homage. I used to work out that way. The buggy's were everywhere including the Wal-Mart parking lot. The horses just chill outside while the people go shopping. Awesome.

Weyerbacher was founded in Easton in 1995 as a brewery and brewpub. Having since dropped the pub, they have expanded and are now distributed in 18 states, including most of the East Coast, Ohio, Nebraska, and Wisconsin. The last Weyerbacher I had was the AutumnFest and it was a solid Oktoberfest style.

Lion is another brewery from the Northeastern part of the state, being based in downtown Wilkes-Barre. It was founded in 1905 and became Lion Brewery in 1909. The main beers I've seen from them are Lionshead Lager and Lionshead Light, which are pretty straightforward beers. They also produce 6 beers under the Stegmaier brand name. Pretty broad distribution, and they claim to be the 15th largest brewery in the U.S. I have no means to (or desire to) fact check, so I'll believe them. They do a lot of contract brewing, which might explain why they haven't really expanded the Lionshead brand into other styles than lager.

Sly Fox has been brewing since 1995 and they run a brew pub to go along with distribution of their beers in NY, PA, and NJ. I've never seen their beers on the shelves, but I've had at least one in a bar in Philadelphia. I can't say anything about it however, so this paragraph is pretty worthless. 95% of people didn't make it down here anyway... Way too many words. Not enough pictures or exploding graphics.

The only brewery on my list that I have not tried is Spring House, which is located in Conestoga, right south of Lancaster. They have distribution in the eastern counties of PA, but I haven't seen any on the shelves just yet. I'll be keeping my eye out now though. It should be hard to miss as all of their 10 beers have cartoony and colorful logos. Only one is a full production beer year round and available in bottles, and that's the Seven Gates Pale Ale. The rest are seasonal and available in growlers and kegs, presumably at their brewery.

Trailies: 
Best Beer Concept: Weyerbacher Merry Monks' Belgian style Tripel. Anytime you can combine banana and cookie dough, I'm on board.
Best Beer Name: Weyerbacher Blithering Idiot. I've never had it, but at 11.1%ABV, I have to assume this beer makes you live up to it's name.
Best Label Art: Victory Brewing. Full of color and great designs. My favorite is the drooling 1840's style miner Horace 'Hop' Wallop, on Victory's Hop Wallop bottles.


Road Trips:
If you are into hiking, the Delaware Water Gap is a great part of the Appalachain Trail. Weyebacher and Lion are close by.
Philadelphia has a lot to offer, but if you had to do one thing I would recommend picking a neighborhood (Old City, Rittenhouse, Fairmount), walking around in the evening and then getting a great dinner somewhere. Tons of good restaurants in Philly. You can't go wrong. Yards, Philadelphia, Victory all do tours and are in or near Philly.


Music:
I'm not sure about the bands coming out of Lancaster or Scranton, but Free Energy and Dr. Dog are two rock bands from Philadelphia that I have been loving lately. Free Energy's recent album is called Stuck on Nothing, and Dr. Dog just released Shame Shame. Both are excellent.

PA East Half Beer Trail Map