Friday, December 3, 2010

The Unofficial Slightly Wussy Mechanicsburg Beer Tour

Before I start with the exhilarating details of my sister's and my excellent Central PA beer adventures, I'd like to present to you...
Sunny! My new car! My head gasket blew on my old car :(, and after a couple carless weeks, I have an awesome, beautiful, clean, zippy car.


I would also like to squeeze in an awesome breakfast that my mom and I had (sorry that you weren't there Em!!).
We headed to Ressler's Bagels for delicious bagels and lox spread. Usually we go for the lox and cream cheese separately, but this spread was JUST as good and had large yummy pieces of smoked salmon throughout!  


So, Emily and I began our little tour at Tröegs in Harrisburg. They give tours on Saturdays, but we skipped the tour and just sampled the beers in the tasting room.


It was super busy, but we still had fun! At first we ordered four sample glasses (about 4-6 oz? for $1 each), but the guy ended up giving us six...all for free! Maybe we were looking extra cute or something :)


Emily showed off the cooler while we waited...I really wanted to have some of the Java Head Stout, but they didn't have it on tap :(


 A Mad Elf cardboard cutout. Mad Elf is their winter beer...pure cherry alcohol deliciousness.


 We each sampled a Dreamweaver (a Hefeweizen), Mad Elf, and their Scratch #37.
Tröegs is always brewing very small batches of an experimental beer. They have it there available for tasting and in cases and six packs, but when it's gone, it's gone. Scratch #37 was listed as an IPA on their website, but to me it seemed more like an Imperial IPA.


 We were happy!


You can also buy a taster rack for $7, which is just one of each beer they have on tap. It was so packed in there, so these people (we were too) were standing up the whole time and resting their trays on a short wall. The crowd eventually thinned out, and we were able to sit at a table.


Emily's fiance Brian met us and ordered a sampler tray. This is the Pale Ale...I think!


Our next stop was ABC in Camp Hill. I had (Emily stole a lot of it) a Grinnin' Grizzly. It used to be called Hibernation Ale, and this is the first time I've ever had it. This kind of reminds me of what a pumpkin beer would taste like without the pumpkin flavoring. It has an awesome flavor of spices, but it's not too much. And with a relatively low alcohol content, it's something I could easily drink all night.



Here is a map of all of their beers. A good amount of these are monthly specials. Two of my favorites are the Broad Street Barley Wine and the Jolly Scot Scottish Ale.


They also make Ginger Beer and Root Beer, which are also absolutely fantastic.


We sat in the dining room area, and they also have a nice bar area with tables.
Their original location is in Harrisburg, which is a lot bigger and has two stories. Their third location is in Gettysburg, but I haven't been there yet.


Emily and I ordered the artichoke and crab dip. Very tasty! It was so rich though, that the two of us couldn't finish it. I was glad it came with celery and carrots too...it gave it the illusion of being slightly healthy.


Our last stop was at Al's of Hampden. They were pretty crowded, but luckily we found a table for two! Emily and I split an East End Black Strap (we sound lame, but I was driving!), which is a delicious stout. The East End Brewery is only a couple miles from my old apartment in Friendship.


When we got back to my dad's house, Emily, my mom, and I ordered Chinese delivery. (Thanks Dad and Lee for letting us hang out :) ) Spring rolls...awesome, shrimp lo mein...awesome, but the General Tso's tofu...AMAZING!! Usually GT's tofu is a bunch of pieces of tofu and maybe a couple pieces of broccoli, but the Happy Garden wins with tons of veggies, and large delicious pieces of tofu.


The morning that I left to drive back to Pittsburgh, my mom and I had breakfast at the Middlesex Diner. They always have awesome breakfast. I got blueberry baked oatmeal (which I drowned in milk), and my mom went with a scrambler of eggs, potatoes, and veggies. They were both super!! 
Thanks mom for always taking us out to breakfast :)


I'll leave you with a picture of Maggie and her favorite activity. She's just too cute.


HAPPY WEEKEND!!!! :) :)

2 comments:

  1. Everything in this blog makes me want to eat, drink, and be merry. That artichoke crab dip... YES PLEASE!:) I love kelly mr. -Loser Lisa

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