Relatively new to the Central PA / NEPA beer scene is River House Brewpub, situated smack dab in the middle of my two favorite brewpubs in PA (see title of this blog) in Milton, PA. I had the chance to stop in and sample some of their beers while en route to Terry Hawbaker's farewell party at Bullfrog. Now, fans of local craft beer may notice some familiar names of River House's flagship beers - Alpha Deuce IPA, Vanilla Latte Stout, etc. This is because ex-Abbey Wright brewer Bart Reippel is at the brewing helm. While it appears that they are still working on an image for the place (it still looks like a slightly upscale pizza joint), they definitely appear to have a handle on the beer... and that's the important thing, right? I enjoyed a 10oz. pour of Alpha Deuce IPA, and absolutely loved the Vanilla Latte Stout to the point that is one of the best nitro-poured stouts I think I have ever tasted. Simply delicious! (Sorry folks, no pictures this time!)
On a different note, an interesting fact about River House is that apparently it is the first brewery in Northumberland County since F&S (Fuhrmann & Schmidt Brewing Co.) in my hometown of Shamokin, PA stopped making beer in 1975. My brother actually remembers watching the brewery burn to the ground while sitting on our front porch! So congratulations to River House for bringing in some much needed liquid nourishment to the citizens of Northumberland County for the first time since I was only a year old!
Check out my reviews of two of River House's beers...
Vanilla Latte Stout
Alpha Deuce IPA
Wow that's a ringing endoresement for the Vanilla Latte Stout. It sure sounds deeeeelicious!
ReplyDeleteWe'll definitely have to try River House now.
We have been meaning to but it's a bit of a hike from Mountain Top. Although hiking to Old Forge on a fairly regular basis hasn't been out of the question and how far is Milton from Danville?
Maybe a Saturday visit to both is in order? Hmmm.
Just followed the interesting Fuhrmann & Schmidt Brewing Co. link and had to laugh at their non-too-subtle tag line: "Cultivate the Habit, Drink F&S Beer."
ReplyDeleteNice.