Beers for wedding in PA

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pmatson

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I am helping out my fiancée's family to figure out beers for her brothers wedding in Lewisburg Pennsylvania in August. I am a west coaster and am not really familiar with the regional brews out there. They are looking for 3-4 options to go with a keg of Yuengling (grooms request). I am thinking of an IPA, PA, Amber, and maybe a good hefe or wit. Was thinking of staying away from stouts and porters given the heat of summer. Any suggestions?

Cheers!
 
I think an IPA and PA would be redundant but I don't know your crowd. I'd choose one or the other. You could brew up a historical style; the Pennsylvania Swankey. I know there is at least one recipe on HBT.
 
I would go with a PA and a summer wheat. As much as us beer geeks like IPAs, most of the rest of the world still are not fans. A PA is a nice "gateway" brew to the joys of hopheadishness.
 
Thanks for the feedback. Unfortunately I can not assume that they are beer-geeks like me so I need to create options that will cover a wide audience. I think having a solid PA would allow for a more aggressive IPA. I am thinking that a nice hef/wit/saison would allow people to try something new without being too out-there.
 
I would stick to maybe a pale ale, and probably no ipa's unless you know a good majority enjoy them. A hefe/blonde/wit would all be good, and possibly a raspberry or blueberry fruit beer or even a shandy?
 
Cant go wrong with centennial blonde, or a cream ale.

If they don't drink craft beer they will tell you it tastes like grapefruit. So better have a back up keg of Straub or IC lite.

For the record, I went to Penn State, I knows the people there.
 
A good cream ale or a pale ale might please the BudMillerCoors crowd among the guests. A fruit beer or two might not be too far out either.
 
I just thought of something and I think I'll do it the next time I go back.

Brew a fat tire clone and call it Woolrichies. Dogfish head made a Pennsylvania tuxuedo for the uppity crowd, I envision a slightly hoppy amber ale named after the famous hunting suit all of us grew up with. Slang for them was woolrichies.

It will give you mountain cred; just saying..
 
maybe a "bucknell brown ale" or "susquehanna saison". i grew up near lewisburg...
 
What a coincidence, I had the opportunity do cater a wedding. At the time I didnt know it would be exclusively my beer served. I drove myself nuts trying to get everything ready but here's what I brewed. I also brought 6packs of some of my other more beergeek oriented offerings
fruity hefeweizen
moderate strength saison
hoppy american wheat
honey pale ale
 
The way I read this post it seems that the OP was asking for commercial beers available in that area of Pennsylvania that would be worth getting for the wedding. Is that the question in this post or are you looking for styles to brew? (and transport from CA to PA) Judging by the statement "...not really familiar with the regional brews out there" I believe he is looking for commercial examples but the commenters have so far only suggested styles to brew. Looking to clarify. If that is the case, OP, are you looking for kegged beers or bottled/canned offerings? Suggestions will vary depending.

I am helping out my fiancée's family to figure out beers for her brothers wedding in Lewisburg Pennsylvania in August. I am a west coaster and am not really familiar with the regional brews out there. They are looking for 3-4 options to go with a keg of Yuengling (grooms request). I am thinking of an IPA, PA, Amber, and maybe a good hefe or wit. Was thinking of staying away from stouts and porters given the heat of summer. Any suggestions?

Cheers!
 
Thanks for the feedback. Unfortunately I can not assume that they are beer-geeks like me so I need to create options that will cover a wide audience. I think having a solid PA would allow for a more aggressive IPA. I am thinking that a nice hef/wit/saison would allow people to try something new without being too out-there.


From this post it does sound like the OP will be brewing the beer. I'm assuming he asked about the regional favorites to get an idea of what he could make that would please the crowd. Just my take on it and I assume he'll clarify anyways.
 
If it's in PA, and they're serving Yuengling, you're best off bringing more Yuengling. I don't think anyone not from PA understands how batsh!t crazy the natives are about that stuff. ;)

If the OP is brewing, and you're expecting a BMC crowd, I'd go with something easy (blonde, hefe). I suspect a fruit beer, something like a strawberry wheat would go over pretty well too.
 
From this post it does sound like the OP will be brewing the beer. I'm assuming he asked about the regional favorites to get an idea of what he could make that would please the crowd. Just my take on it and I assume he'll clarify anyways.

I don't at all get that from his post, other than the fact he used the words "create options". I believe he meant to write select options, as he has been selected as their go-to beer guy in selecting the beers for the wedding; just my interpretation.
In any case with the wedding being in August he is going to run up against some serious time constraints if he plans on brewing 3-4 "options", then would have to figure out how to transport 3-4 options worth of beer for a whole wedding party from the West coast to PA. I have to assume this is not the case.

With that, this whole thread is getting :off: if he is looking for commercial suggestions.
 
I don't get these threads. Having provided beer to a few weddings my experience is that my west coast IPA kicks first every time. Saisons, milds and porters also do well with warm weather.
 
I don't get these threads. Having provided beer to a few weddings my experience is that my west coast IPA kicks first every time. Saisons, milds and porters also do well with warm weather.

Guess it depends on the crowd. If there had been an IPA at my wedding I doubt anyone would have touched it because it wasn't an American Lager.
 
If it's in PA, and they're serving Yuengling, you're best off bringing more Yuengling. I don't think anyone not from PA understands how batsh!t crazy the natives are about that stuff. ;)

If the OP is brewing, and you're expecting a BMC crowd, I'd go with something easy (blonde, hefe). I suspect a fruit beer, something like a strawberry wheat would go over pretty well too.

Yes and no.

Yes and thats why i mentioned fat tire, amber lager vs amber ale.

No cause your in the middle of the state. Iron city, Rolling rock, Straub, Yeungling and even Genesee are well represented by a wide margin of generations.

But most will be bmc drinkers, hence the centennial blonde reference.

That is kinda funny now that you guys mention it, hows he getting it there
 
I appreciate all the responses to the post, regardless of interpretation! ECBrew was correct in that my intent was in asking for recommendations of commercially available brews. While I would love to provide my own beers, there is no way that I would be transporting them cross-country.

I have been tasked with selecting commercial offerings to satisfy the palettes of the nuptial attendees and I do not take this responsibility lightly. While I could opt for the easy route and choose beers of which I am familiar with on this coast, that would violate my principles and ethics as they pertain to regional identity and local flavor. As such, I want to find the regional beers of PA since the wedding will take place in Lewisburg (I do like the idea of Bucknell Brown had home brewing been an option!). Further, I will be marrying into this same family in October (the sister of the groom is my fiancé), so I need to bring my "A" game and solidify my standing as a man who knows beer. I have heard good things about Victory and Troegs as a whole, but am hoping to winnow my options down to select delicious, readily-available (seasonal is ok as long as you can find it in the Beer Barn) options that fulfill certain criteria as a whole.

I cannot assume that everyone is as open-mined as myself when it comes to styles, so I need to cover my bases and provide a cross-section of beers that will satisfy a wide audience in the summer weather (I assume it will be warm). Hence, looking for a drinkable pale ale, which allows for a more aggressively-flavored IPA, then something more a a summer seasonal be it a pilsner, kolsch, or blonde. I would love to find a nice wit/hef/saison as they bring a little more character from the yeast and are some of my personal warm-weather favorites. There will be Yuengling to satisfy the locals, which I am told is an amber/red lager (I am looking forward to seeing what all the fuss is about!).

I think of this as being akin to selecting a fantasy football team, and hope that you would find the same level of fun as myself. Which brews would you pick to fill the positions described below?

1. PA
2. IPA (not really looking for any over 8.5% abv)
3. Pilsner/Blonde/Kolsch
4. Wit/Hef/Saison
5. Yuengling is locked in

I really appreciate your input. All this typing about beer has made me quite thirsty!

Cheers!
 
My apologies for posting in the wrong forum; I was not aware of the commercial beer forum. This may have led to some of the previous confusion. I have reposted over there. Thanks!

Cheers
 
For a local pilsner I love victory prima pils, given it's my home town brewery but they make a damn fine lager. Sly fox has a few canned offerings that are worth checking out. I still pose the question, kegs or cans/bottles? It may change the availability of several beers. Troegs perpetual IPA is a damn fine beer as well that should be available. That's a few that are well crafted, local, and have fairly good distribution.
 
I'll second the perpetual and prima pils recommendations...

really anything from troegs would work. hopback, pale ale, dreamweaver...
 
While I recognize (and apologize) for initially posting this in the wrong place, the feedback that I have gotten from the members in this forum far outweighs that which I have received from the commercial beer forum. Thanks again for you suggestions and opinions, they are much appreciated!

Cheers
 
You might want to check the list at Erie Brewing Co.. Their Derailed Black Cherry Ale and Soleil Shandy are a couple of nice summer beers. People seem to gravitate towards the fruiter ales in the summer. They come in bottles and kegs.
 
I live near Lewisburg. You could go with Lord Chesterfield Ale. Its a nice Pale Ale type beer, but not overly hoppy. Ripsteins pub in williamsport has a good porter you might be able to get a keg of that.

Check the Beer Barn in Lewisburg. They may have some regional beer, or might be able to order some for you with enough notice.
 
Don't be a fool, make Cream of Three Crops with a maybe a bit of extra gravity from extra pale malt, ferment it cold as hell with 05 and dry hop light with your favorite hop, serve it fresh, people will crap themselves
 
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