You may be just one mini road trip away from experiencing a unique brew and food experience at Tröegs Independent Brewing Company in Hershey, PA. We love experiencing the many different breweries throughout the United States and Tröegs certainly has topped the charts. Personally, I’m a cider girl, but I love tagging along to breweries for the experience, not necessarily the beer. Although, I am prone to try a few here and there.
Tröegs Independent Brewing is a craft-brewery located just outside of Hershey Park. Their main focus are seasonal and specialty brews with limited distribution. Tröegs was founded in 1996 in Harrisburg, PA and have since opened this brewery mentioned here in Hershey in 2011.
Immediately as you walk into the brewery you get a sense of how unique this place really is. Hundreds of people go in and out of here on a daily basis to taste these delicious brews. As you walk in, you grab a menu and try to find a seat. The room is filled with community seating. Each table fits about 10 – 20 people, so be prepared to get comfortable with your neighbors. Waiters and waitresses walk around taking drink orders or you can easily go up to the bar to order your preferred drink. Oddly enough, they don’t take your food orders. There is a separate line for that opposite of the bar called the, “Snack Bar.” The Snack Bar has a large variety of large to small snack plates. Everything on their menu has their own unique touch, nothing is normal if you catch my drift. You may order a lamb rack with a poached egg on it, or flatbread with spicy mustard cream. If these sound normal, then good for you. There were a lot of things I saw on the menu that I wanted to order, but request to please subtract the “goi”. The pricing on some of the snacks seemed reasonable, others a bit pricey. I suppose when you are next to Hershey Park, you can charge just about anything.
I ordered their cider (can’t remember the name) and it came in a large 22ml bottle. I couldn’t even finish the $8 cider because I knew I had to drive 2 hours back to my parents that day! Their tart cherry Wild Elf was the one beer I would have tried, I’ve heard great things about it, but for one bottle it was $19! – About $200 for a whole case of it. It better be some damn good beer for that price. Nugget Nectar and Dreamweaver Wheat are a few of their more budget-friendly, popular choices.
You can sign up ahead of time for a paid tour. I think it costs about $5, and you can get a behind the scenes guide to how they make their brews. We did the free self tour. This guide took only a few minutes. You can see behind the glass the machines that make the beer and read the stories describing each pit stop written on the glass. It was really unique to see this and get a taste of what Tröegs is all about it. The paid tour would have been worth the money to hear more of the history. At the end of both tours, you can take a walk through the fun gift shop. Here you can buy cases of their beer, shirts and sweaters, loot for your own bar, and put a pin in their map to show where you’re from.
In conclusion:
Tröegs Independent Brewing Company is a fun place to go. They had great food and fantastic brews. The atmosphere was loud, not intimate, but very fun nonetheless. Their prices were quite high, but many places are expensive in Hershey because of the amusement park and tourists. If you are looking to take a road trip to Hershey, this place is a must!
*Love & Gratitude,
Crystal