Well, time really flies by when there’s a pandemic and nonstop chaos. Just kidding, actually, the last post feels like it was written a decade ago instead of two years.
As most of you probably know by now, we have finished our move out of Allentown and our tanks are being installed in Easton at the Weyerbacher Brewing facility. The decision to leave Allentown was hard in some ways and easy in others. Being a tenant of an incubator, we were never supposed to be in that building forever, and we were pretty aggressively looking for new space in early 2020. But the plan had always been to try to find space in the Allentown area, especially after we opened the tasting room in Bethlehem.
Remember this setup? Making mead in 2013 was, in retrospect, kinda ratchet.
Of course, finding space that can handle production and a tasting room is much easier said than done, and much easier done three years ago than now. So when our conversations with the new owners of Weyerbacher started picking up speed over the last year, we couldn’t help but be excited at the opportunity. We know that it will leave some of our Allentown regulars with a drive to get our stuff now. We hope someday to reopen a place near you guys; in the meantime, we’ll try to find some good accounts where you can get it (if you’ve got a local place, have them reach out to us and we’ll get them stocked up).
The next 90 days are going to be pretty insane for us, just as the last 90 have been (moving during our busiest season was definitely an adventure). Here’s the best information we have at the moment:
Did Weyerbacher and Colony merge?
At the moment, it’s best described as a very close partnership. We love the team there, are longtime fans of the brand, and can’t wait to be growing together.
When will you be able to buy bottles to go in Easton?
Hopefully within a few months, but some of this is up to when the various agencies say things are ok. In the meantime, Weyerbacher has at least five meads on tap there and flights.
What’s changing in South Bethlehem?
We’ll be reopening with winter hours next weekend: Thursday and Friday 3-8, Saturday 12-8, Sunday 12-5
Ian left us to take a job that gave him more time with his newborn son, Miles. We’d be upset about it but… that kid is realllllllly cute. In the meantime, Mike and Greg and some others will cover as we get that tasting room up to speed for 2023.
We will have 8 Weyerbacher beers on tap there, and will continue to expand that as soon as we can sell bottles to go (kind of the flip side of the answer above).
We are also going to be 21+ for on-premise consumption. I’ll get into a full explanation below.
Can I still get stuff shipped and through the Wine and Spirits stores?
Yes!
Where’s my drinking horn?
Currently, probably in Bethlehem, but we’re happy to give it to you or keep it in Easton if that’s easier.
Once again, we can’t express enough how much we appreciate your support and patience through all of this. We’ll do our best to be as transparent and open as possible, as we always have been.
Okay, so: the decision to be 21+ in our South Bethlehem location.
We know this will inconvenience some people. But here is our reasoning:
The fact is that we truly have nothing in that building for people who are under 21. We don’t have food; we don’t make NA mead.
There are many BYO restaurants nearby that are perfectly happy to have you bring the family in with a bottle or 4-pack of mead. If it were an area where there was nowhere else to go, that would be one thing, but it’s downtown South Bethlehem; no one is without food and drink options.
When we look at the landscape of South Bethlehem and our place in it, we’ve sought from the beginning to create a mellow, adult, safe space for people on the South Side. That’s our niche. We have tabletop games to play and weird movies on (unless Greg is working and the Sixers are playing). Part of what makes the South Side so awesome is the diversity of options; you’ve got sports bars, college bars, farm to table restaurants, authentic ethnic foods, fine dining and everything else. None of us succeed by trying to be everything to everyone. Our niche is to be a place for adults to enjoy the best beverages made in PA in a relaxed, chill environment.
We now have a huge kid-friendly tasting room in Easton with food and all sorts of outdoor space, where those with families can bring everyone, drink mead and have a wonderful time.
So, those are the updates. We are very excited about 2023 in Easton, Bethlehem and beyond. We love all of you and we can’t wait to see you as we continue our journey into its second decade.
