Welcome to a beer geek’s paradise. Grain + Verse Bottlehouse, the newest addition to The JDK Group’s concept restaurants, is everything you could want in a craft beer bottle shop, and more. Along with an enormous selection of bottles and cans, and even a few varieties on tap, you can find beer’s perfect accompaniment: pizza. But this is not your ho-hum pie from the neighborhood pizza place. Everything on the Grain + Verse menu is crafted for beer enthusiasts.
Grain + Verse is JDK’s second restaurant in the Clarion Hotel & Conference Center. The first, The Garlic Poet, has received rave reviews from foodies around the region. “We wanted to provide the same level of experience [as at The Garlic Poet], but a different product,” explains executive chef Kurt Wewer, who heads the kitchens of both restaurants. Steve Sanchez, marketing director, explains another connection: the eateries’ names. “Garlic” stands for a universal seasoning to many cultures, just as “grain” is a universal ingredient. “Poet” and "verse" both nod to the restaurants' literary vibes.
In fact, literature is one of the first connections diners may make when walking into the space. On a bright turquoise wall by the entrance is a quirky custom mural of Ernest Hemingway and Stephen King, painted by local New Cumberland artist Christopher Enterline. The rest of the restaurant has a decidedly industrial feel, with polished concrete floors, exposed metal rafters, tables made from reclaimed spools, and light fixtures with bright Edison bulbs. Walls paneled in rough mushroom wood cover much of the restaurant, providing a rustic ambiance, too.
After scoping out the space, go over to the wall of coolers to pick your beverage. It won’t be easy. “Nowhere in Harrisburg do they have a bottle shop with over 300 different types of beers,” explains Sanchez. Made in the U.S.A. or imported, they’re all available here. Expect to find “off-the-wall beer people’s beers,” says Wewer. If you prefer your beer on draught, there’s a rotating menu of three to four beers on tap at all times. Not to mention the permanent cask beer, a firkin, which is kept fresh by a custom system that maintains a small amount of CO2 on top of the beer. On the off chance you are not a beer lover, feel free to order one of the red or white wines available.
As for the eats, they’re straightforward and downright delicious. It’s the usual pizza shop selections, but crafted with ingredients you’d never imagine. “We’re all about beer here, so you’ll find it in almost all the dishes,” says Wewer. The chef keeps bags of hops with different flavor profiles in the kitchen to infuse into entrées, garnishing them with other beer ingredients. Though customers may have become familiar with the restaurant’s limited menu, Sanchez says an expanded menu is in the works. Ten to twelve chef-selected pizzas will appear on a permanent menu, with a rotating list of three to eight special pizzas. Patrons can still choose their own toppings, if they’d prefer.
Wewer says one pizza you can expect to find on the new menu features local Keswick Creamery chevre with yellow tomato, squash blossoms, chives, and lemon. Or, if you’re more of a meat-eater, opt for a Boli. The Calzone de Luppolo, kept from the original menu, has house-made cascade hop sausage, prosciutto cotto, and ricotta, served with house pickles and warm pizza sauce (Chef Wewer says it’s his favorite dish on the menu). If you’re looking for just a quick bite with your cold one, try some of the smaller items, like hopped mozzarella popcorn or Bottlehouse soft pretzels with malted IPA mustard. Sweet tooth? Go for a dessert pizza with Nutella.
The craft beer community is a close knit one. So, above all, the creators of Grain + Verse wanted to make sure the restaurant brought people together. This explains fun new additions like a foosball table and a life-size Connect Four. Carts of card and board games are placed around the room. The message is clear here: drink, eat, and hang out. “If you want to stay here all day, stay here all day,” Sanchez offers.
By Hannah Wigton / Photography by Donovan Roberts Witmer
