Whether you’re an experienced craft beverage taster or new to the brew scene, spending the weekend hopping from brewery to brewery is always fun. And with more than 400 craft breweries across the state, Pennsylvania is the perfect place to plan a brew trail. Central Pennsylvania, in particular, is full of unique, independent breweries with completely original beverages created with locally sourced ingredients.
This guide to brew trails in Central Pennsylvania will give you the ultimate list of best brew trails, the can’t-miss brewery stops on each and the prizes you can earn along the way. Check this list out if you’re looking for an unforgettable craft brew trail in Harrisburg or any of the surrounding areas. Then, secure a designated driver and get going!
If a brew trail sounds like the perfect weekend activity for you and your friends, Central Pennsylvania is the place for you. As a rising craft beer destination, Pennsylvania has numerous breweries, brewpubs and distillery locations to explore. And by following a brew trail, you have the opportunity to get exclusive tours, deals and rewards for enjoying a frosty mug of craft beer.
To get started on finding your new favorite brew, check out these seven excellent brew trails in Central Pennsylvania.
The Central Pennsylvania Tasting Trail delivers tastes of the best libations this region has to offer. No matter what your favorite type of drink is, you’ll find something that delights your taste buds on this trail. With three breweries, three cideries, four wineries and two distilleries along the route, there’s something on the Central Pennsylvania Tasting Trail for everyone.
As a bonus, you can earn cool swag for visiting all the stops along the trail. To start checking the trail’s locations off your list, get a passport for the Central Pennsylvania Tasting Trail and be sure to receive a stamp in it from each place you visit — you may even get a little souvenir from some locations.
Once you’ve completed your passport, you can turn it in for an exclusive, limited-edition Central Pennsylvania Tasting Trail sweatshirt that isn’t available for purchase. Here are some of the top spots you’ll get to visit if you complete your passport.
Explore all the breweries and pubs Cumberland Valley has to offer by following the Cumberland Valley Beer Trail, which winds from Chambersburg to Harrisburg. Cumberland Valley is full of emerging brewery and restaurant locations that are perfect for a relaxing drink and bite to eat after a long week at work.
To get started on your Cumberland Valley Beer Trail journey, pick up a passport at the Cumberland Valley Visitors Center or download this virtual version and remember to ask for a sticker whenever you visit one of the passport locations. By filling out your passport, you’ll both get to experience a fantastic variety of brews and win prizes.
Here’s a breakdown of the Cumberland Valley Beer Trail passport sticker system.
To make navigating your passport stops easier, there are three regions of the Cumberland Valley Beer Trail: West Shore and Harrisburg, Mechanicsburg and Shippensburg to Carlisle.
You can sample original flavors of craft brews from Cumberland Valley’s emerging brewpubs and breweries within each region. While all the stops featured along the trail are worth visiting, make sure you don’t miss these highlights.
The recently launched Brew Barons Beer Trail is an interactive, mobile way to experience a brew trail. Designed to draw more visitors to the many craft breweries and tasting locations within the Hershey Harrisburg Region, the Brew Barons Beer Trail includes more than 20 participating locations.
The trail is a natural meeting point between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh and a legacy of the history of influential “Brew Barons” who enjoyed exchanging ideas and tall tales over a few pints of great beer. Because the trail has such a unique brand and backstory, each participating brewery meets specific standards created by owners’ and staff members’ personalities.
To hop on the trail, download the mobile Brew Barons Beer Trail app to find out which breweries are closest to you and get started tasting. The mobile app also allows users to mark their favorite locations and search for upcoming events like special releases or live music nights.
The mobile app also allows brewery guests to earn Brew Baron rewards as they begin to rack up more and more location check-ins. These are some of the fun prizes Brew Barons can collect at each level.
While on your journey to Brew Baron status, make a point of stopping by these sites for a pint.
Pennsylvania is the country’s No. 1 state in craft beer production, and York County is at the forefront of the industry. With a rich history of brewing local craft beer that dates back to the nation’s founding, York County has been a craft beer epicenter for centuries. And in today’s booming craft beer industry, York County has once again taken center stage.
York County features 21 breweries in various settings, from rolling hills and farmland to quaint main streets. The York County Ale Trail allows guests to explore all these brewery locations, either through a walking tour or by taking a ride on the trail’s Brew Bus.
Tickets for a York County Ale Trail tour take guests to three breweries, where they’ll receive an exclusive facility tour, sampling and local historical insight from an experienced brewery guide who will lead each group. You can also book group and charter tours for special occasions, such as a bachelor or bachelorette party, employee appreciation and team-building events or birthday and anniversary celebrations.
The York County Ale Trail aims to give visitors and locals alike a unique and exclusive education experience celebrating York County’s craft beer. According to the trail’s founder, Glenn Smith, the York County Ale Trail is the perfect brewery tour for both novice and seasoned craft beer sippers because it has so much to offer.
After more than a decade of visiting small, independent breweries across the United States, Smith decided to form the York County Ale Trail in 2017 to showcase York County’s blossoming craft beer scene to the rest of the world. Now, visitors from all over can see for themselves what makes York County the up-and-coming craft beer capital of the Mid-Atlantic and a truly can’t-miss destination for any craft beer aficionado.
Here are a few of the stops that especially make York County stand out among the competition.
The Susquehanna Ale Trail® is another great way for craft beer enthusiasts to explore the numerous brewpubs and breweries scattered throughout the York region. All the breweries, brewpubs and homebrew stops featured on the Susquehanna Ale Trail® have committed to the art of making fantastic, local beer with bold hops and rich flavor.
Following the Susquehanna Ale Trail® will give you and your friends and family a glimpse into local independent brewery culture. In addition to tasting great craft beer, guests often get to meet the brewmaster at their trail location stops to learn more about the brewing process. Visitors might even get tips they can use to create craft beer at home.
As a self-guided craft beer tasting adventure, the Susquehanna Ale Trail® is available year-round for you to explore at your pace. To make planning your tour more convenient, use specific sample itineraries that arrange participating breweries by region. That way, you can fit more stops in one day.
The Susquehanna Ale Trail® is also a member of the Good Libations Trails®, so make sure you bring your Good Libations Trails® map and passport to collect stamps and earn prizes along the way. You can easily download a digital version or request a hard copy. The other members of the Good Libations Trails® include the Mason-Dixon Wine Trail® and the Keystone Craft Spirits Trail®.
The Susquehanna Ale Trail®, in particular, features more than a dozen locations throughout York, Hershey, Harrisburg, Lancaster and Gettysburg. Here are some of the most notable stops along the trail.
The Lancaster Ale Trail stretches from Bird-In-Hand to Hershey, highlighting 22 breweries and distilleries in between. Taking trail followers on a tour from downtown Lancaster City to more rural brewing sites, the Lancaster Ale Trail perfectly captures the Lancaster County craft beer experience. Along the way, you’ll get to learn about the different brews and techniques, and you might even find a new favorite flavor.
When embarking on the Lancaster Ale Trail, make sure you pick up a copy of the trail map from the Discover Lancaster Visitors Center or use this downloadable version to guide you on your way. Following the trail map will direct you through the 22 participating locations, so you can relax and focus on sampling as many locally crafted potables as you can.
Do your best to make it to these can’t-miss trail stops.
This self-guided tour will take guests on a brewery adventure through the Adams County countryside and into Gettysburg’s downtown tasting rooms. By using fresh ingredients from local orchards and farmland produce, the craft beverages from Adams County deliver a delightful blend of flavorful fruit, hops, honey and grains.
Travelers along the Adams County Pour Tour will get to sample the unique tastes of various craft beers, wines, ciders, meads, spirits and more that Adams County has to offer. The new Adams County Pour Tour interactive digital trail map allows craft brew fans to easily plan out their journey and receive step-by-step directions to the next participating location from their mobile device.
As you pamper your palate with the pinnacle of Adams County’s craft creations, remember to bring your passport, which you can request online, to collect a stamp from each tour stop. Once you’ve reached a specific number of stamps, you can redeem your passport for some free Adams County Pour Tour swag.
Here are your passport prize possibilities.
Although there are plenty of great passport prizes to earn, experiencing the breweries is a prize in and of itself. Specifically, these locations are sure to be a score.
It will take more than one single day trip to visit all the brew trails in Central Pennsylvania. Become a Central Pennsylvania resident with a beautiful, modern rental property from Triple Crown Corporation.
At Triple Crown Corporation, we offer multiple rental properties situated throughout the Central Pennsylvania brew trail regions, so you’ll never be bored on the weekends. With rental communities in Camp Hill, Harrisburg, Mechanicsburg, Middletown and New Cumberland, you’ll find the perfect location for your new home.
If you’re ready to find your dream rental property and celebrate with a handcrafted brew, contact Triple Crown Corporation today.
