Photography by Donovan Roberts Witmer
Country Brews Meet City News
Lancaster has been buzzing (and maybe a bit buzzed) since the February 2011 opening of Spring House Brewing Company's Taproom, a sleek modern departure downtown from their quaint barn beginnings in Conestoga. Regulars and newcomers alike can't get enough of what brewer Matt Keasey is putting in his pints.
Spring House Brewing Company started in 2006 in a barn beside the owner's house. Soon area bars were tapping into the goodness and loyal fans were flocking to attend tastings and to fill growlers at the brew site. Keasey says they quickly outgrew the tasting room at the brewery, so "it seemed like a natural progression, and Lancaster seemed like the place to do it." He adds, "We wanted people to come hang out and be able to enjoy the beer."
And that they do. The Tasting Room packs in a crowd, especially on the weekends. The vibe is hip and fresh, with beer lovers of all ages. If you go, seek out some shuffleboard and the Zoltar (as in the fortune dispensing genie from the movie Big). The taproom is a family affair, a venture between brothers Matt and Greg. Matt’s the brewer, and Greg runs the Taproom. “Greg’s the brains,” adds Matt.
Matt’s flagship beer is the Seven Gates Pale Ale, named for the local legend of a rural Pennsylvania asylum that supposedly caught fire and left the criminally insane inmates trapped by seven gates within the dense forest. The pale ale’s bold hopped flavor pairs well with spicy foods like the Taproom’s buffalo dip, yet is smooth and easy enough to drink every day at 5.6 percent alcohol by volume.
“Hoppier ales are more our speed,” confirms Matt, who says he also likes to make fruitier Belgian ales. “A lot of people say brewing is more of a science than an art; I rely on the art of it.”
He’s constantly coming up with new brews. Take the recently released Wet Paint Guava Ale, named in honor of Two Dudes Painting Company, who created the mural on the back wall of the bar that defines the space and tells a pictorial tale of the different Spring House beers. It’s a Saison style ale made with 200 pounds of fresh guava. The result: A pinkish hued heavy ale that’s got a tinge of sweetness, nice hops and big body. A much fruitier Belgian ale he brews by limited quantities is the Cosmic Quad, fermented with pureed blackberries and aged over raspberries, but at 11.1 percent, it’s a special occasion sipper. There’s also a winter brew called Two Front Teeth Holiday Ale, a malty Belgian style Saison brewed with cherries. Curious about the name? Apparently Matt knocked out two of his front teeth on Christmas Eve one year.
All of the Spring House beers come with a clever name, some with stories, some just quirky. There’s the Goofy Foot Summer Wheat, Diabolical Doctor Wit, Planet Bean Coffee Stout, Kerplunk Chocolate Stout, Atomic Raygun Imperial Red, Robot Bastard Belgian IPA and the Alien Agenda Belgian Amber, among others. Plans to brew a mango IPA and a coconut porter are in the works for summer. And for fans of the Seven Gates Pale Ale, Beyond the Gates Double IPA has been causing quite a commotion and rave reviews.
The Taproom serves a menu executed by chef Nathan Heinzig, designed by Carr’s with consulting by Kathy Walls, who creates the prepared dishes available at Central Market. Items include casual fare like fresh soups and sandwiches. Tasting trays of 5 beers are $5.50; seasonal pints are available from $4.50 to $5. Six packs, 22 ounce bottles, growlers and fills ranging from $9 to $15 are available as well.
SPRING HOUSE BREWING COMPANY TAPROOM 25 West King Street, Lancaster 717-399-4009 www.SpringHouseBeer.com Hours Mon 4-10pm; Tues 11am-10pm; Wed-Thurs 4-10pm; Fri-Sat 11am-12am
For the Love of the Pub
The opening of Bull's Head Pub in Lititz in March of 2010 brought with it a concept the area had not yet seen.
Don't expect a sports bar full of TVs here-or even table service. It's not that kind of place. In fact, in its true autheniticity, patrons order beverages and food right from the bar-just as they do in England. You're then given a wooden paddle with your order number and a server brings your food.
An oversized chalkboard behind the bar lists all of the 14 beers on tap - which rotate as soon as one keg kicks - as well as the two cask-conditioned ales and over 70 bottled beers always available. Cask-conditioned beers are unfiltered, self-carbonated and served at 50 degrees, explains bartender Brett Pendyck, who says, "It's the old school way of tapping a beer." The beers range from local and US microbrews like Roy Pitz's Ludwig's Revenge to 21st Amendment's Monk's Blood to harder-to-find international names such as Brouwerij Lindemans Frambois and Bellhaven Twisted Thistle IPA. Their website updates what’s on tap and what’s on deck regularly.
Written in chalk below the beer list, the menu consists of British specialties like fish and chips, bangers and mash, sausage rolls and the must-try Scotch egg, as well as carbomb cupcakes and a heavenly sticky toffee pudding. There are even bags of “crisps,” the British version of chips, available behind the bar in flavors like prawn cocktail or beef and onion.
Co-owner Paul Pendyck is proud of his pub and its overt lack of TVs, which causes people to have to talk. In his unmistakable British accent he says, “The element that makes a good pub is that it should be a gathering place. It should be a melting pot.” The pub’s patrons range from Lititz locals to travelers passing through, as well as regional fans from Lancaster and York, he says.
“A traditional British pub was someone’s home that they opened up to the public, hence the name ‘public house,’” explains Mohr, so elements like the mix-matched stools and original artwork from England illustrate how someone living above the pub might furnish it.
“My goal in the design of what I wanted to create was to try to make it as close as possible to a British pub, not a Disney-esque pub,” adds Pendyck, who came from Liverpool to the US in 1981 and has owned Lititz’s famed General Sutter Inn for almost 5 years. So while you'll get authenticity at Bull’s Head, beer wenches in costume you won’t. And the serious beer drinkers that gather seem grateful for the simplicity of the concept. The typical uniform for a pub employee, says general manager Ninette Petrasch-Mohr, is a button-down shirt and tie with jeans. And that’s what you’ll find bartender Brett wearing when he greets you from behind the bar.
The bar itself, originally from England like most everything else you’ll find at Bull’s Head Pub, once resided in the Commodore Hotel in New York City and even suffered a bullet hole during its time at a Staten Island speakeasy. The black and gold painted façade, too, is like that of a Victorian pub. Even the sign is from an original Bull’s Head pub just outside of Nottingham in the UK. The only thing missing at this new Lititz landmark is the English accents, but we hear Brett can do a pretty good one, and if you’re so inclined, maybe after a pint or two.
BULL’S HEAD PUBLIC HOUSE 14 East Main Street, Lititz 717-626-2115 www.BullsHeadPublicHouse.com Hours Mon 11:30am-4pm; Tues-Thurs 11:30am-11pm; Fri-Sat 11:30am-12am; Sun 11:30am-11pm
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The Taproom’s “Zoltar” offers entertaining advice
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Bull’s Head Public House: Scotch egg, hardboiled, coated with sausage and breadcrumbs, deep-fried and served with a balsamic reduction and Sriracha
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Bull’s Head Public House: Yes, that's a bike above the door—vintage and donated by a loyal patron
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Bull’s Head Public House: Antiques and furniture from England lend an authentic feeling to Bull's Head Public House
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The Taproom’s tasting tray from left to right: Kerplunk Chocolate Stout, Black IPA, Beyond the Gates Double IPA, 7 Gates Pale Ale and Atomic Raygun Imperial Red
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Bull’s Head Public House: Warm sticky toffee pudding with ice cream melting on top
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The Taproom’s crab cake sliders
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The Taproom’s Wet Paint Guava Ale tap features a VW bus, the original Two Dudes’ work vehicle
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Bull's Head Public House features 14 regularly rotating taps
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Bull’s Head Public House: A few things you won’t find anywhere else in the area: Harviestoun Old Engine Oil cask-conditioned ale with homemade sausage rolls wrapped in puff pastry and wooden paddles with order numbers on them
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Spring House Brewing Company’s Wet Paint Guava Ale, named for Two Dudes Painting who did the mural inside the Taproom
