Access/Parking: Near downtown Lancaster in a historic corner building. Small parking lot, primarily street parking.
Space: Warm, comfortable, rustic atmosphere. A lot of brick, wooden supports and flooring. Nice sized bar area with restaurant side attached.
Beer: Beer Advocate rating as of 6/18/13 = 88A drive through Amish country is the perfect way to get to Lancaster Brewing Co. in Lancaster, PA. You can easily access Lancaster by interstates, then by highways, but the feeling will be lost. If you're forced to do so, plan extra time, drive through downtown Lancaster, and southeast back out of town for about 15 minutes. You'll thank me for the experience, because it will only add to Lancaster's facility.
Pulling up, parking is limited, and although there is a small lot you're likely to park on the street nearby. The large 2 story brick building is full of history and everything inside is connected to the area's farming tradition (hence the push to drive in the country a bit). While I'm personally not sure of the building's history (nor does their website mention it), the "relics" inside tell tales likely a grain mill and storehouse. Old wooden floors with a patchwork of faded metal plates as patches, give each step charm . Exposed wood beams are overhead in the rafters, large windows with old wooden shutters, and wood frame work and columns add nothing but old country character and help disperse the brick that is the primary material. The lighting is pretty bright, but with so much dark building material, it's needed. I classify the lights as "dock" style; large circular metal top with a metal caged light bulb. I see this often in breweries, but I'll take a picture to clarify. The warmth in all of the building's features make it a very comfortable atmosphere.
While Lancaster is a restaurant, I think it's primary focus is the rectangular shaped bar area found the moment you walk in the front door. Once inside and to the left is an elbow shaped, 10 seat bar, in front of a pretty non descript bar back. There are however mug club mugs and growlers from other breweries hanging all over from the ceiling. The are a few high top tables, but I think the neatest part are the regular low tops. Each table is slightly different from the next, but each top is covered with a layer of copper. Old smudge marks, stains, and scratches distinguish each table. I love bar tops that are of this construction, so having each table this way just makes me smile. There are 11 beers on tap, with wine and liquor available as well. 6 TVs, a dart board, and two arcade games provide some entertainment.
To the right of the front door, but still in the bar area, is a small merchandise case and stand, and this also serves as the hostess stand. A few feet from that, in the middle of the room and serving as a divider between bar and restaurant, is a massive antique elevator...that still works. To the right of that is an antique scale - which looks to be over 100 years old. It's placed in location in an almost revered, one that makes you respect it. And finally, behind the scale and visible from every part of the bar or restaurant, is the main brewing area. The coolest aspect to this, is that it's a "sunken" brewery so therefore you really only see the tops of the tanks. You're able to peer down into the brewing floor without restriction, not even glass, and it helps bring it all home. To me it is the perfect blend of bar and brewery based on this unique connection with the huge tanks that make it all possible. The pictures will certainly help clarify what I mean by this as I guess I don't want to get too detailed on this matter, but it is really, really cool.
As for the remained of the place, the restaurant retains all of the charm that the bar and rest of the building has, and in fact nearly looks like an extension of the bar. There doesn't seem to be a place for a band to play, which I think is the one missing piece. The fact that the bar was packed with locals says a lot as it's place in the community, and I guess I just think a small corner for local bands would be a great addition. The bathrooms are oddly enough very neat as they have very unique large tubular curved brick ceilings. The only thing I can think of is that this is once where they had stacked bails of hays, since the curvature is roughly the same. In the restrooms there are also old photos of the building many, many years ago. In fact, one particularly old looking photo shows a man standing next to the very same scale that is currently in house.
Overall, I think this is a must visit. One thing you may have noticed is that I've barely mentioned their beer. It's decent, but only one stands out and that is their Milk Stout. Beyond that, they have pretty non-descript beers. Even still, I think this place is well worth a visit, even if it is a bit out of the way (1:20 from Philly, 45 from Harrisburg, and even 20-30 minutes from the Penn Turnpike). This was an extremely comfortable place to visit, and I know that I would certainly head to the LBC often if I lived in the area.
(Pictures to come soon)
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