This weekend, at the suggestion of my good friend, homebrewer, and rising commercial brewer Brad, we made a stop at the Harrisburg brewery location of Appalachian Brewing Company.   

The brewpub is very big- apparently one of the biggest in the country- but because their distribution is limited to central PA and Baltimore, Maryland, I’ve never heard of them before.  It is located in a hundred-year-old building not far from central downtown and less than a 10 minute drive from the interstate,   Lots of off-street parking is available.  This looks like a good spot to stop if you’re driving across PA.

The pub is wood and chrome, very nicely done, with a great view of the stainless steel tanks through a glass wall.   The overall feeling is warm and friendly; this is definitely a local watering hole.  The food is quite good, a gastro-pub take on traditional American bar food.

We tried three beers, all of them basic session drinkers, all of them better than average.   The Jolly Scot Scottish Ale is malty and crisp, a decent mock-up of Scottish ale.

The Water Gap Wheat is a bit boring, but is a decent American wheat, quite refreshing.

The Purist Pale Ale is a good middle of the road American pale, nothing that’s going to win many awards very good nonetheless.

The service was very good; the knowledgeable bartender apologized for not having more time to chat with us.

I’m eager to return to try the rest of the flagships, as well as their many seasonals.  I’d also like to check out the Abbey Bar, a Belgian bottle the floor above the main pub.

We’ll definitely be stopping by ABC Brewing the next time we’re driving across PA.  It’s a good beer oasis in the middle of a long drive….