Two weeks after Chris Rommel earned his brewmaster degree in Munich, he and his brother, Jim, toured the biergartens of southern Germany. In town after town, they found community breweries where people relaxed amid casual ambience.
“We thought, ‘This is what we want to do,’” Jim says. “Just a place where people can come, families can come and groups can just gather and hang out together.”
The dream became reality in November 2023, when BierHall Brewing opened in the brothers’ hometown of Manheim Township. For Oktoberfest and year-round, BierHall Brewing serves fresh beer and food in German style, complemented with American craft beers and scratch-made pub fare.
Photography By Karlo Gesner
Chris’ journey in brewing began with a bit of serendipity. Through a friend of a friend of a friend, he got the phone number of Dick Yuengling, patriarch of America’s oldest brewery, and learned from him the best programs to attend. Through the Siebel Institute of Technology in Chicago, Chris studied for two years at Doemens Academy in Munich, earning the master’s in fermentation science known as the Braumeister in Germany.
Chris worked in Pennsylvania and Virginia breweries while the brothers started planning the concept for their own Germanthemed brewery. On their search for a space, they knew about a circa-1829 hotel in Manheim Township, but didn’t intentionally schedule a visit to tour it because they remembered it as The Jukebox—“a nightclub in an old building,” Jim says.
Photography By Karlo Gesner
Then, they saw the space, and the vision materialized. In only six months, layers of plasterboard and dropped ceilings gave way to the original brick columns and beamed ceiling. In nice weather, a dog-friendly outdoor biergarten beckons. The steam-fired brewing system gleams through two-story-high windows.
Inside, perimeter spaces offer traditional restaurant tables, while the central area is home to authentic German bierhall tables. Sleek in light wood and black seating, these long cafeteria-style tables invite guests to be part of a group—the one they came with or the one that happens organically.
With those tables, large groups don’t need to make reservations. Strangers who happened to be fans of Notre Dame football found themselves sitting together and rooting on their team last fall. Solo diners find they can take a seat and be part of the social setting.
“It’s almost like an extension of the bar seating,” Jim says.
On any day, visitors will find 11 BierHall brews on tap, plus a gluten-free guest cider. The Das Pils German pilsner, ZugTruppe hefeweizen and helles pale lager are the core beers. Brewmaster Chris admits a partiality to the crisp, clean pilsner, a BierHall bestseller.
Photography By Karlo Gesner
“In a pilsner, there’s no place to cover something up with a giant amount of hops or by dumping a bunch of fruit in,” he says. “There’s nothing to hide behind. Any flaws in it, people will see.”
While at least one IPA and domestic and Mexican-style lager will always be on the draft list, the real fun comes in exploring the German tastes on tap. The Bug Zapper Berliner Weisse is served in traditional style, with a side of a sweet syrup to balance out the beer’s sour. One regular compared the taste to a SweeTart.
BierHall Brewing kicked off Oktoberfest in September, with a day full of stein-holding contests and pretzel pitching. The spirit continues into October, with the traditional Oktoberfest Märzen lager on tap. Another autumn entry is the schwarzbier, a seeming contradiction of black beer that drinks as easily as a pilsner
“It finishes clean, but because of the darker malts, you get some of those nice roasty, toasted malt flavors,” Jim says. “It’s my favorite beer here.”
German cuisine adds to the biergarten vibe, but it’s okay to get the smash burger or grilled chicken sandwich if you like. Glass of wine or a cocktail, too.
Photography By Karlo Gesner
“We want the whole experience to be great,” Jim says. “The whole idea is that, yeah, we’re a brewery, but we’re here for everyone.”
The currywurst appetizer offers up a German bar favorite of fries loaded with grilled, sliced bratwurst—now sourced from Groff’s Meats in Elizabethtown—and curry ketchup. The BierHall specialty potato pancakes take two days to make and are twice cooked for a crispy outside around a tender inside.
Photography By Karlo Gesner
Those potato pancakes come with applesauce because “if you’re familiar with German cuisine, applesauce is a dipping sauce,” Jim says. “I grew up dipping bratwurst in my applesauce. People are a little unfamiliar with the applesauce dipping, but once they try it, they say, ‘Yeah, this is the way.’”
Through it all, BierHall Brewing sticks to its roots as a neighborhood bar. Here, friends, families and soccer fans feel comfortable. Jim used to joke that they sold more juice boxes than beers on Saturdays. And while the Rommel brothers had no restaurant experience themselves, their experienced team has “done a killer job” since opening.
Photography By Karlo Gesner
“People came out and gave us a try,” Jim says. “It’s crazy when you build something and people actually show up and like it. It’s a surreal feeling.”
BierHall Brewing
1703 New Holland Pike, Lancaster
Happy Hour: Mon-Fri, 4 p.m.-6 p.m. bierhallbrewing.com
IG: @bierhallbrewing
