 | |||||||||||||||
| Location | Erie, Pennsylvania, United States | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opened | 1993 | ||||||||||||||
| Owned by | Rob Lowther | ||||||||||||||
| Website | eriebrewingco | ||||||||||||||
| Active beers | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Seasonal beers | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
The Erie Brewery Company is an American brewery in Erie, Pennsylvania. Founded as a brewpub in 1993, Erie Brewing transitioned to a full-time brewery in 1999. The brewery has won three medals from the Great American Beer Festival.
The Erie Brewing Company was established in January 1994 as brewpub—a combination brewery and restaurant—called Hoppers that was operated out of Union Station in downtown Erie. [1] In 1999, Hoppers became a full microbrewery, took the name Erie Brewing, and moved into the former Pennsylvania Department of Transportation emissions testing building on West 12th Street. [2] It was the first microbrewery to open in northwestern Pennsylvania. [1] Erie Brewing filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September 2005; the company was restructured and emerged from bankruptcy protection in 2006. [3] A group of 21 investors from the private equity firm Cardinal Equity Associates owned the brewery from 2003 until 2012 when it was sold to its current owner Rob Lowther. [4]
In June 2016, Erie Brewing announced it was to build and relocate to a new 19,900 square feet (1,800 m2) facility in Harborcreek Township at Station Road (Pennsylvania Route 290) and Knowledge Parkway near Interstate 90; [5] the company cited excessive, city fees and taxes for the inability to expand their current brewery and having to leave downtown. [6]
The Erie Brewing Company currently produces 6 beers year-round, 5 seasonally, and distributes to 13 states. [7] Railbender Ale is Erie Brewing's best seller and most well-known beer; [2] the beer has won two medals—in 2008 and 2009—from the Great American Beer Festival.
| Name | Style | ABV % | IBU | Availability | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bayfront Blonde | Blonde-style ale | 4.2 | 17 | Year round | [8] |
| Derailed Black Cherry Ale | Cream ale | 5.0 | 17 | Year round | [9] |
| Erie Oktoberfest | Oktoberfest lager | 7.8 | 16 | Seasonal (October) | [10] |
| Final Destination IPA | India pale ale | 7.0 | 60 | Year round | [11] |
| Johnny Rails | Pumpkin ale | 6.5 | 12 | Seasonal (late summer–fall) | [12] |
| Mad Anthony's APA | American pale ale | 5.5 | 40 | Year round | [13] |
| Misery Bay IPA | India pale ale | 6.5 | 75 | Year round | [14] |
| Ol' Red Cease & Desist | Wee heavy ale | 10.1 | 35 | Seasonal (November–December) | [15] |
| Railbender Ale | Scottish-style ale | 6.8 | 26 | Year round | [16] |
| Soleil Shandy | Shandy | 3.5 | 15 | Seasonal (April) | [17] |
| Skipper's Stout | Stout | 7.2 | 14 | Seasonal (November) | [18] |
| Name | Award |
|---|---|
| Railbender Ale | 2008 Great American Beer Festival Bronze (Scottish-style ale) [19] 2009 Great American Beer Festival Gold (Scottish-style ale) [20] |
| Derailed Black Cherry Ale | 2011 Great American Beer Festival Bronze (Fruit beer) [21] |
Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries. They produce smaller amounts of beer, typically less than large breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as having an emphasis on enthusiasm, new flavours, and varied brewing techniques.
The U.S. state of Oregon is home to more than 200 breweries and brew pubs that produce a large variety of beer.
Beer was introduced to Canada by European settlers in the seventeenth century. The first commercial brewery was La Brasseries du Roy started by New France Intendant Jean Talon, in Québec City in 1668. Many commercial brewers thrived until prohibition in Canada. The provincial and federal governments' attempt to eliminate "intoxicating" beverages led to the closing of nearly three quarters of breweries between 1878 and 1928. It was only in the second half of the twentieth century that a significant number of new breweries opened up. The Canadian beer industry now plays an important role in Canadian identity, although globalization of the brewing industry has seen the major players in Canada acquired by or merged with foreign companies, notably its three largest beer producers: Labatt, Molson and Sleeman. The result is that Moosehead, with an estimated 3.8 percent share of the domestic market in 2016, has become the largest fully Canadian-owned brewer.
The Golden Tap Awards (GTAs) is an annual beer awards event held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The awards are sponsored and presented by The Bar Towel, a website and forum dedicated to the discussion and promotion of Toronto's craft and microbrew beer scene.
Russian River Brewing Company is a brewery and brewpub in downtown Santa Rosa, California, with a second location in Windsor. The company is known for strong India pale ales and sour beers.
Breweries in New Hampshire produce a wide range of beers in different styles that are marketed locally, regionally, and nationally. Brewing companies vary widely in the volume and variety of beer produced, from small nanobreweries and microbreweries to massive multinational conglomerate macrobreweries.
The production of beer in New Jersey has been in a state of recovery since Prohibition (1919-1933) and the Great Depression (1929-1945). Currently, the state has 123 licensed breweries: a large production brewery owned by an international beverage company, Anheuser-Busch InBev, and 122 independent microbreweries and 19 brewpubs. The growth of the microbreweries and brewpubs since the 1990s has been aided by the loosening of the state's licensing restrictions and strict alcohol control laws, many of which were a legacy of Prohibition.
The Bear Republic Brewing Company is an American microbrewery located in Cloverdale, California. The company was established by the Norgrove family in 1995, with Richard G. Norgrove as brewmaster. The name refers to California's 1846 Bear Flag Revolt. In 2006, Bear Republic was named Small Brewing Company and Small Brewing Company Brewer of the Year at the Great American Beer Festival.
Artisan's Brewery is a brewpub in Toms River in Ocean County, New Jersey. The brewery opened to the public in 1997, and was originally known as Basil T's Brew Pub, being a second location for Basil T's Brewery in Red Bank. Artisan's was purchased by new owners in 2001, and assumed its current name in 2010. The brewery produces 300 barrels of beer per year.
Revolution Brewing is a brewery in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded as a brewpub in 2010 on Milwaukee Avenue in the Logan Square neighborhood. A separate production brewery, with canning and bottling lines and a tap room, opened in 2012 about a mile from the brewpub, on Kedzie Avenue in the Avondale neighborhood.
San Diego County, California, has been called "the Craft Beer Capital of America". As of 2018, the county was home to 155 licensed craft breweries – the most of any county in the United States. Based on 2016 sales volume, three San Diego County breweries – Stone, Green Flash, and Karl Strauss – rank among the 50 largest craft brewers in the United States. San Diego County brewers pioneered the specialty beer style known as Double India Pale Ale, sometimes called San Diego Pale Ale. Its beer culture is a draw for tourism, particularly during major festivals such as San Diego Beer Week and the San Diego International Beer Competition. San Diego County breweries including Stone Brewing Co., AleSmith Brewing Company and Ballast Point Brewing Company are consistently rated among the top breweries in the world.
Brewmaster Matt Cole partnered with Glenn Benigni, owner of Fat Head's Saloon in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to open Fat Head's Brewery & Saloon in Cleveland, Ohio in 2009, with Cole supplying beer to the Pittsburgh location. A production brewery opened in Middleburg Heights, Ohio in March 2012 and another brewpub location opened in Portland, Oregon in November 2014, which has since closed. Fat Head's is known for their signature beers Head Hunter IPA and Bumble Berry Honey Blueberry Ale.
Dragonmead is a U.S. microbrewery, meadery and brewpub founded by Earl Scherbarth, Larry Channell, and Bill Wrobel in January 1997. The small brewery produces many varieties of beer, wine, and mead, and has received awards including gold medals at the World Beer Cup.
The Blackstone Brewing Company is a craft brewery in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded by Kent Taylor and Stephanie Weins in 1994, it claims to be Nashville's oldest craft brewery. The original brewpub, called Blackstone Restaurant and Brewery, opened on New Year's Eve 1994 and operated until 2016. In 2011, the company built a production brewery nearby and opened a tap house for the public in 2016. Blackstone also brews traditional European lagers for the Nashville Brewing Company. Blackstone Brewing Company has received more awards than any other brewery in Nashville, winning multiple medals at the World Beer Cup and the Great American Beer Festival.
