Bear on Beer: Liquid Hero Brewery

The first of my Bear on Beer posts was about a place that sells beer from all around the world through their 30 taps. This one is about a York spot that brews their own. Liquid Hero Brewery opened its doors less than two years ago but they have ridden the wave of craft beer popularity to a thriving business today.

When I first visited their brewpub on North St. the business was so new that they still didn't have a license to sell their beers across the bar. Such are the odd liquor laws of the Commonwealth of PA that they were able to sell their brew in growlers to take home but if you wanted a pint they had to give you a "sample" to sit at the bar with.

Anthony isn't much of a drinker and when he does drink beer he usually went for PA staples like Rolling Rock or Yuengling. So I was lucky that my first visit to Liquid Hero was with our old roommate Jon who is a craft beer aficionado. Between Jon and the owners of the brewery Josh, Matt and Christian I got a tour of all the different types of beers on offer. From ales and IPAs to hefeweizens and stouts Liquid Hero has it all. And if you don't know what you might like the brewers will happily walk you through the options and get a pint in front of you that you'll enjoy.

The brewery came about more than five years ago when it's three founders watched an episode of the History Channel series Modern Marvels all about brewing. They grew through home brewing and eventually got their fantastic location across from York's baseball stadium. The old building you see to the left has been upcycled
into a quintessential brewpub. The back three quarters of the building is where the brewing is done while the front has been turned into a cozy bar that is more like an intimate neighborhood bar of days gone bye. It's quite simply a fantastic place to have a few beers with good friends.

My only regret with the Liquid Hero is that it doesn't have a kitchen of it's own. You can have food delivered from outside vendors which is better than nothing at all but my hope is they experience tons more success that leads to an expansion that will include a rocking menu. Till then you'll just have to peruse my blog for places to go have a bite to eat before or after you have a few of Liquid Hero's great beers.

Bear on Beer: Holy Hound Taproom

In the first few months of the blog I've posted a lot about things to eat in York and I've even posted a bit about some of the buildings around town but up until now I haven't posted about where one can imbibe downtown. I'll be calling my series of posts about York's watering-holes "Bear on Beer" which my not be as impactful as "Blonde on Blonde" but Dylan was Dylan and I'm a 9 inch stuffed panda.

There are many fine places to have a few pints in downtown York but as far as I'm concerned there is none finer than The Holy Hound. Following the model of the craft beer taproom the hound has 30 taps that feature rotating craft beers from around the world. Each night patrons can scan the two large chalkboards for what specialties are on offer ranging from IPA's, Porters, Ciders and Stouts among others. When a keg runs out the staff rings an old bell that was still in the space from a time when it housed a boxing ring. It all adds to the experience, part of which is the building itself.

The bar is situated on the ground floor of the National Building which has a long history of it's own and of which I will be doing one of my Architecture posts soon. But, more than the building is the location; right at the corner of West Market and North Beaver streets the bar has doors that open on to both streets. People can circulate in and out and to drink and smoke on the streets when the bar gets a bit too raucous.

You can have a great time just bellying up to the bar and trying a few new beers (the staff is very knowledgeable and happy to help) but there are also many event driven reasons to make your way to the Hound. One glance at the bar's events page shows that in addition to craft beer, live music is also on tap at the Hound. Every Monday the band Free Breakfast plays live and on Fridays and Saturdays there is a heavy rotation of area bands like Mike Miz, (right), and Sabrina Duke (as seen through the crowd in the large picture at the end of the post). And the best part is you get all this great music with no cover!

In addition to the live music is another tunes driven evening, where DJ Ronn Benway spins records, including your favorites. It's Bring Your Own Vinyl Night and it happens every Tuesday. Dust off your favorite LP's and bring them on down to the hound and Ronn will work them into the set-list among his own voluminous collection and other customer provided suggestions. Part of the fun is hearing your song played, but the real blast is hearing a crazy song and trying to determine who in the bar brought it in. It makes me wonder if there will be a bar 25 years from now where forty-somethings bring their old iPods.

The bar has a limited food selection, but it has a bunch of perfect snack to go with your beer. I love the brats and the Pork BBQ but if you don't see something you like they allow outside ordering from select partner businesses. No mater why you go to the Holy Hound you'll drink good beers, hear good tunes and have good times. On weekends the crowds can be big but it's a great vibe and a fun crowd. I couldn't be happier to live 100 yards away and call The Holy Hound my neighborhood bar!