The Quest for decent beer in Harrisburg

Those of you who know me know I’ve been a cork dork for years. One of my latest inclinations has been beer tasting, thanks to an education provided by largely in part by my boyfriend. He is what most people would call a beer snob. He’s not a snob at all. Once you’ve had the good stuff you never want to touch the formerly decent stuff.

We love going to visit out friends in Westchester, who also enjoy beer. Anytime we’re with them we’re on the look for the next best brewery and have a blast. Last time we went to Eulogy in Philadelphia. They had amazing mussels pretty cheap & the beer selection was mind numbing; which is not something to worry about since the staff is very well educated, laid back & helpful. If you get the chance go check it out. You’ll be glad you did. WE had brunch at the Victory brewing company the next morning. The beer they serve at the brewery is pretty decent. Unfortunately, what they bottle and send to stores tastes completely different.... Explain that one to me. The food was fantastic! I had a chicken mole omelette. Several people had french toast which was enormous. A nice feature on their menu is they had beer suggestions for everything. Nice touch.

Going out of town is great, but where to go in Harrisburg? We've been determined to find out. A new beer meetup group was just established in Harrisburg so we decided to check it out last week. We met some great people who are on the same quest. Between our experiences so far here is what we have figured out:

All of us established that Westies is the best place to buy beer in town. The time I went there the staff was so happy to see us, they gave us a print out so we could remember our selections if we wanted to buy them them again. The prices are very reasonable. Selection is very good for this area. I am curious to see what will happen when Wegman’s opens their new beer section next week. The ones in Virginia all have excellent beer in wine. I hope PA will too.

The meetup itself was at the Brewhouse Grille in Camp Hill. From the outside it doesn’t look like much. Its kind of in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by construction and near the railroad tracks. The beer choices were surprisingly decent, especially the bottle list and the happy hour prices pretty good ( I had a Corsendonk on draught for $2.50). The atmosphere wasn’t bad, simple clean and plenty of space. They have nice outside bar in the back too. The food unfortunately was terrible. Yes, I am a food geek, but this was a group consensus. The group as a whole, defiantely are not foodies. If people are on a quest for good beer, they are going to notice if the food is not up to par. IT really was a shame.

After the meeting a bunch of us headed to Shady McGrady’s. I do not understand why folks around here are obsessed with this place. Yes they have good beer, but that is it. We encouraged it was under new management and it was nicer than it used to be. The place is totally in disrepair and clean is not exactly the word I would use to describe it. I’d hate to see what it was like before. There was quite the steady stream of “interesting” characters in there too. Yes the beer was good and not overpriced, but this is not the place I’d go out of my way to visit. If someone can explain the local obsession with this place I’m all ears to hear it.

We have had some very good beers at Appalachian Brewing Co in the upstairs section. Pretty cool spot with pool tables and a decent amount of good Belgians in bottles. Its a start... but in the meantime, the quest continues. More updates to come.