Disclaimer: After a 21st birthday gone terribly wrong I am no longer a beer-drinker. I've been trying to change that and figured a brewery tour would be a good place to learn a little more about the process and would hopefully help me appreciate what goes into making a craft beer. Perhaps an appreciation would lead me to enjoy drinking beer?
I just so happened to come here on St. Patrick's Day to do the brewery tour. There really isn't a more appropriate time for beer, now is there? They welcomed us to their brewery with a green lager and all the employees were in the dressed in the spirit of things. It was a fun way to start my Saturday afternoon.
It really wasn't much to the tour, so don't get your hopes up if you want to learn a lot about the brewing process. Most of the time we all stood around and listened to what went into the particular beer we were drinking and they talked a little about hops and other ingredients. They even passed around samples of several of the ingredients so we could see and smell what they looked like before they were converted over to beer. We did get to see some of the machines and they briefly gave us the run-down of the purpose of each.
In all, we sampled about seven types of beer, including a gluten-free and another spiked with bourbon. They were VERY generous with their pours and we even got to take home the sample glass they gave us! While I am still acquiring my beer taste buds, I am happy to say that I really enjoyed the Weize Guy and (green) American Lager. I'm sure it was because they are lighter beers, but I'll take what I can get.
The tour is definitely a fun way to spend an hour or two on your Saturday afternoon and I recommend it if you are interested in learning more about the beer-making process or just a fan of beer in general. Very friendly employees definitely made our time enjoyable.
Held on the third Saturday of each month, have to RSVP to save a spot. $5 per person.
Tip: This place is impossible to find. It is not directly on Gibson but behind the stores facing the street. Pull in behind the Dunkin' Donuts and look for the row of buildings. The brewery is then on the backside of those buildings you are looking at. There is no advertising on the front of their building at all, so you have to go by street number alone or hopefully you can spot their truck that is parked in front.