Appalachian Brewing Company

MrOctober

New Jersey

4.13/5  rDev +10.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

Took a trip to Gettysburg, and stayed at the Lee's Headquarters Hotel on the same site as the ABC Restaurant - Brewery.

The place had an excellent selection, 12 or 13 on tap. Stayed for two nights and they added Perigrine Pilsner on night two. More lighter style beers on tap - lagers, wheat, pilsners, but they even had a cask ESB when i was there. All the beers were very fresh, and I enjoyed most of them. The barleywine was nice and had a big kick.

In short, this was a real good expereience. The bartender knew the beers. Saw several people come in to fill up growlers, so it seemed to have a loval appeal, aside from tourists. But it really made for a great stay, all day out around the battlefield sight seeing. spend a few hours at the bar and my hotel room was about 30 feet away.

A good spot, I doubt you are going to find much competition in variety and good fresh beer, while hitting the interesting sites in Gettysburg.

10-27-2009 06:28:37 | More by MrOctober

Seanibus

California

3.88/5  rDev +3.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $

Nice, if unassuming (and strategically located at the spot near where the battle began, at the northern end of Seminary Ridge between Chambersburg Pike and the railroad cut - you're eating on top of where the armies were operating).

A big open, wooded hall, with comfy tables and homey decorations. The staff is friendly, though they seemed a bit short staffed the day we were there, but they tried hard to make the best of things. The food is good, standard pub food, well executed. A decent kids menu (But peculiarly, it is Beach themed, which seems somewhat remote from Gettysburg both geographically and thematically, a point my perceptive 10 year old picked up on immediately).

The beer is tasty and they offer a generous 8 beer sampler for only $10. My favorites are the IPA and Pale ale, though they make a nice Scottish ale, a passable lager, and some nice seasonals.

If you're not looking for fancy, this is probably a good alternative to the more touristy places deeper into town or surrounding the core of the battlefield.

10-12-2009 23:37:33 | More by Seanibus

tomthumbsblues

Pennsylvania

3.31/5  rDev -11.5%
vibe: 2 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | $$

This is a satellite of Harrisburg's Appalachian Brewing Company located in the touristy, sometimes cheesy Civil War town of Gettysburg.

I moved out to G-burg for work and decided to check this place out since I am a fan of Appalachian's alcoholic and non-alcoholic offerings (their root beer is amazing). This location is on the edge of town across from the Seminary where the first day's fighting occurred during the battle. It is housed in a restaurant which I can only assume was attached to the hotel whose parking lot it shares. Inside the decor is cheesy and reminds me of either a pancake house or a sub par German restaurant. The beer was good, but I thought it was a bit expensive. If I remember correctly, somewhere between 10-12 beers are available on tap and flights are available. The bar tender was nice and gave me Happy Hour prices for the beers I got. I had the Smoked Ale and the Nut Brown Ale. The former was good, but it didn't have the real smokiness I desire in a true Rachbier. The Nut Brown Ale was easy to drink.

I did not try the food, but I noticed they had certain days where you could get all you can eat ribs and the like. I came on all you can eat spaghetti and meatballs. A guy down the bar from me took advantage of this special, but was soon informed after her received his first plate that the restaurant was out of spaghetti. So much for that.

I think if Appalachian remodels the inside and refines the operations at this location they be able to really tap into a large chunk of those tourist dollars flowing into Gettysburg. However, if you can get past the fact that it's not a brewpub, I think the Garryowen Irish Pub on Chambersburg St. is a better place, if not the best place, to have a beer in Gettysburg.

09-30-2009 18:05:03 | More by tomthumbsblues

kms910

Maryland

3/5  rDev -19.8%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3 | service: 3 | selection: 3 | food: 3 | $$

Overall I wasn't impressed with that said I was very surprised to see several taps ready to be poured. On tap, about 12 varieties of Appalachian brews ranging from pale ale to stout to an impressive barleywine. Don't go looking for any other labels other than ABCo. You can purchase the house brews in bottles or growler at the time of this writing they only had the larger growlers available ranging in price from $31 to $33 depending on your brew choice. As for the food I only had the wings which were good - stout BBQ sauce. Lots of folks ordered the angus burgers and I did see a bowl of chili come my way. Few people walked in to purchase 6-packs while I was sitting at the bar. I even spotted SBALDWIN (BA) in the place buying a 6-pack for trading. Beer traders at work!

09-23-2009 13:58:18 | More by kms910

slander

New York

4.08/5  rDev +9.1%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

Sunday runnin' the corner, the long way way out but I can take my time getting there and maybe stop here or there along the way, which I did. Now further up the road, nearly in sight of battlefield sites, another ABC; in a something that clearly used to be a something else, with a little motel out back doin' a semi wrap around kind of thing. This, the shortest distance between two pints...

Entering in, you're in the big room; bar & adjacent seating to one side, more seating to the other. Open and "A" framish, with a slanted ceiling and cross beam rafters. Flags lined down the center of the room, and kegs shelved over the windows at both ends of the room with large ABC signage in between. Tile floors and carpeted seating areas, wood plank walls with deep red painted uppers displaying more large ABC beer prints, shirts on the inside wall & vintage beer trays below.

6 mixed tables behind me where I've chosen to be the lone denizen of the bar, straight reddish wood bar with a lip, seating 10 on green leather stools. Beers on draught board displayed above a 16 tap row over a stainless steel panel on the barback wall center. Cupboardish shelving to both sides displaying liquor, mugs, glassware of all shapes & sizes, and growlers. Some brewery trays and light ABC mirrors & signage displayed there. Ceramic mug club mugs dangling from a large ladderlike rack above the bar. Drop spots above on cords, and mounted lamps over the seating areas. TV's mounted on both corners of the bar end. I'm watching some MLB action, just a recap of the Yankees winning and the dirty, dirty Sox losing now back 2½ games.

Seating on the other end, nearly a dozen booths & tables there, the booths doing the wrap around the tables in the center. Beyond there, a rear room with the same, nearly a dozen tables, and downstairs, the everything else; the "necessary rooms" and a room holding a single billiard table with views of a teeny brew room that clearly does not make all that is served here.

14 beers on, I said, "Something in the way of a sampler?" and he got a-pourin'. The sampler gives you 8 of their choice (Water Gap Wheat, pleasant easy drinking American Wheat; Zoigl Lager, a tasty unfiltered Lager, good maltiness; Purist Pale Ale, a deep copper ale, Fuggles, Fuggles; Hoppy Trails IPA, 6.31%, yep, that bitch is hoppy; Susquehanna Stout, on nitro, roasty and damn good licorice flavors, win!; Jolly Scot Scottish Ale, excellent malt bomb, wonderfully sweet, I'm thinking it's more a scotch than a Scottish; Dom Blonde Kolsch, clean, tasty, nice Kolsch; Hefe, saw it coming and spoke up, saving it from getting lemon wedged, it's a Hefe, clove, bananana), and then I started hitting the I'll pat to play seasonals (Anniversary Maibock, 7.64%, another malt bomb, and well it should be; Celtic Knot Irish Ale, kind of meh, knot a lot going on there; Blackberry Wheat, a bit much sickly sweetness in an unKool Aid way; Major Hops Olde Ale, some nice maltiness there, not too much heat; Peregrine Pils, a good, clean Pils; Broad Street Barleywine, a really good Barleywine at 12.8%). They also make a root beer & ginger beer that I didn't get to. A good range overall, most everything is below 6% except for the IPA, Maibock & Barleywine. Some nice offerings here; thinkin' the Zoigl Lager, Susquehanna Stout, Jolly Scot Scottish Ale, Anniversary Maibock, Major Hops Olde Ale, and Broad Street Barleywine were the best of the lot.

Light foodings at the last place a whiles back means a bite here is in order. I will have the brewhaus chicken sandwich, devil may care, probs not though. It's a good sandwich, the chicken is cooked, it is on bread, there are light vegetable things of crunch and texture placed on the top of it (I don't know what they call that).

Well, they had some nice offerings beerwise. Growlers they do, and also a beer to go cooler near the door with six packs, and the food was good. Not warmly inviting and strange in it's own, but a comfortable enough room, I suppose, and the service was cordial & prompt, 'tender Pete tended. And now I so have to get out of here, whose idea was it to hit 2 brewpubs with a dozen+ beers on their samplers today? Miles and miles to go.

09-13-2009 23:36:02 | More by slander

Nutleybeer

New Jersey

4.03/5  rDev +7.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3 | $$

Sought this place out while in Gettysburg. A bit off the beaten track, away from the downtown, but near the battlefield.

Walked in, really good selection was my first impression. 10-12 beers on tap. Ordered a sampler, $10, that included 8 of their beers. Healthy portions too. Included a wheat, IPA, Scottish and Stout among others. The Scottish Ale, sweet but strong, really stood out.

You can order the sampler size glasses to try the rest of their beers not included in the sampler...the barleywine (quite strong), black berry wheat (which tasted like a cross between a lambic and a sour ale), Heffe and an organic brown.

Good service. Typical pub food. $8 for the pretzels app was a bit pricey, but everything else on the menu was reasonable.

Only brewpub in town. Worth stopping at...next to the Best Western. You gotta love sipping on a beer, while looking over and seeing a table full of re-enactors right next to you.

For collectors, they sell pint glasses, t-shirts, hats and even paint prints of their logos. You can buy their beer in single, 6 and 12 packs as well.

07-19-2009 22:15:42 | More by Nutleybeer

AltBock

Ohio

3.7/5  rDev -1.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | $$

This Appalachian Brewing Company brewpub is located on Route 30 (Buford Ave) near Gettysburg Seminary. It's actually not too far from downtown Gettysburg and the battlefield itself is on the other side of town. I didn't get a real good look at the place on the outside because I was able to find a parking spot on the side of the building. If you can't find a parking spot there, they have a parking lot across the street. This open brewpub with the bar area on the left and the 2 dinning rooms on the right. I couldn't help but notice that it was very small brewpub. The bar area could only hold about 10 to 20 people (the bar itself could only hold about 10 people) and the dinning room could only comfortably hold 20 to 30 people. The other dinning room on the other side of the wall could only hold a few more people. There is a downstairs, but that's where they keep their 10bbl capacity brewing system. Get here at a good time because this place can get packed very easily. If there's a bus parked outside, forget it! You won't be able to find a seat anywhere.

Their beer selection is about 12+ taps and one cask. I thought the range of the beer styles was great. Along with the usual Pale Ales and IPAs, they went a little further and had a Irish Dry Stout, a Rauchbock, and even a hard hitting Barleywine. It's not very often you see a Rauchbock and a Barleywine on the same tap list together. The Pale Ales and the IPAs were standard, but the Rauchbock was mildly smoky and the best one I had. It's too bad that I wasn't able to try their high ABV % Barleywine. That would have been fun to try.

The service here was pretty good. The waitress was always there when we needed another beer and she made a great recommendation when my friend wasn't certain what beer he should have. This waitress would also get me a few samples of their beer because it was hard to choose what beer I wanted to pout into my Growler. I must have went through 4 samples before I chose the right beer for my Growler.

All we had here was a loaf of bread off their appetizer menu. The bread was good, but the butter cream spread that came with it was better. As you can see, I did try some of their food, but I don't want to pass judgement on their capability to make food on a simple loaf of bread.

The prices for their beer are excellent! While the growler refills are average priced at $9 for their basic beer line and $11 for their seasonals, their prices for their pints were only $3 for their regular line and $4.50 for the seasonals. The thing was, it wasn't even happy hour when I was there. I honestly don't no how you could make a profit at only $3 a pint in today's world. That $3 price tag has to be going up soon.

In the end, it's a nice little brewpub with inexpensive beer. That is if you're able to get a seat here. It's a must stop in Gettysburg because it's now the only brewpub in town and it's only $3 a pint. You're not going to find that price anywhere else in town.

09-14-2008 17:08:47 | More by AltBock

phantomwyse

Massachusetts

3.38/5  rDev -9.6%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4 | $$

Generally, I stop in here Thursday nights when then give specials on growler refills...

Upon entrance, it's fairly dark and somewhat smokey, as the smoking section is located directly on the left of the entrance. I can't wait for PA to ban smoking in restaurants... but...

The atmosphere is nice, they try and give a rustic restored barn feel. The food tries well to be like a typical brewpub, offering a decent selection with some interesting offerings. The food is generally good and the portions are satisfying. The food retains a flair for the PA Dutch. The service is typical.

But, this is a brewpub, so lets talk about ta beer

ABC is fair to midland, with a few standouts -- like the Sus Stout and and Abbey Road Belgian Ale. The bartender here is a bit hickish, but knowledgeable. He reminds me of the bartender in Piano Man, but with no joke quickness. They offer seasonal selections that are generally good, thought sometimes they're uninspiring (Celtic Red Ale). Gettysburg at times brews specialty beers with Gburg as its locus, like the Karma CA Common Beer, which I particularly enjoy. Overall, the beer is better than decent, and to refill a growler for 7 dollars, it works out well for a college student.

03-26-2008 05:42:30 | More by phantomwyse

guinnessfan

Pennsylvania

3.28/5  rDev -12.3%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3 | service: 3 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4 | $$

The family stopped in after dropping off my daughter at basketball camp at the college. After driving through the crazy circle deal in town, this place was pretty easy to find and parking was acceptable. The overflow across the street was a good idea.

Nice little barn-looking place with adequate seating, away from the bar. As stated before, the flags were a neat touch. They had a good number of beers available and 1 on cask. When I asked the girl what was on cask, she told me the triple. I was excited. She quickly returned to tell me the plae ale was the one on "cast." WTF? How can you work at a "brewpub" and not know wtf cask is ?

Anyway, as always, the beer is mediocre but the food is really good. The pale ale on cask was okay. Tried the crab quesadillas and they were excellent.

Overall, not a bad little place. The staff cannot compete with the Harrisburg staff, though. Education is essential in a place like this. It is better than a TGIFridays, though.

07-09-2007 03:03:10 | More by guinnessfan

mjc410

Virginia

4/5  rDev +7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5 | $$

I've always had a great experience at this ABC, and it may well have to do with my love affair with Gettysburg. The brewpub is situated directly across from the famous seminary, and on the edge of the western portion of the battlefield park. Thus, the history of the town is all around you.

Inside the building, which is a converted older restaurant, are dark wood beams festooned with the flags of various nations, most of them known for their brewing. They help add color to all of the woodiness, and it works for me.

The beer is widely varied, with ABC tackling German, Belgian, and English styles. I had the Peregrine Pils this time, and it was workable, but not amazing. The same goes for the Vanilla Porter, but it went well with my roast beef and au jus sammich. I'm a huge fan of their regular Susquehanna Stout, though.

The aforementioned food was a bit pricey, but satisfying in a not-too-imaginative way. The pretzel logs are always a big winner, though. The beer remains in the $3.5/pint range, which is fine, too.

I've almost always stopped in during the day, so I would highly recommend ABC for lunch, as a break from exploring Gettysburg before heading out for more.

05-04-2007 14:02:10 | More by mjc410