Troegs Brewing

Suddenly, there was a multitude of crash courses in electrical wiring, plumbing and welding and formal brewer training as John found his creative faucet. At the same time, Chris made beer the focus of every project assignment, started hatching a business plan, and just after graduation headed to brewing school in Europe. One night, over probably a few too many test brews, they hit upon the name – Tröegs. It combined their last name with kroeg, the Flemish word for pub However, the draw of home got the best of the wayward brothers. As their brewery idea moved from incubator to fledging, the boys returned to their native Central Pennsylvania to launch Tröegs Brewery. They tacked the odd moniker on an old warehouse on Paxton Street in Harrisburg, sold their first pint, Tröegs Pale Ale, on July 18, 1997 and lived happily ever after…Wait. This is the where the story of Tröegs Independent Brewing begins. Chris and John jumped headlong into their brewery, and found a lot of support from family and friends along the way. In the beginning it took eleven people to run the packaging line, so pretty much all hands on deck. Some of these early volunteers still walk the halls today – serving as the foundation of the Tröegs community. As the brewery grew, the Tröegs community morphed into a home for kindred spirits with wide and varying ideas, which partly explains the Tröegs portfolio of tangential offerings. Troegenator, a big brooding Doublebock as your lead beer, why not? Hopback Amber made with a piece of brewing equipment John meshed into the brewhouse, why not? Mad Elf, their holiday offering with way more production headaches than profits, why not? In a very real way every beer at Tröegs is a Scratch Series beer – a random concept the brothers hatched for their 10th anniversary that still serves as the launching point for new beers.In early 2010 as the old Harrisburg warehouse was starting to feel like 20 ounces of beer in a 16 ounce pint glass, the Tröegs team started to dream of a new brewery. What Chris sketched became a reality in Hershey on October 24, 2011.The new facility has two brewhouses, one for daily production and another smaller pilot brew system for research and development beers. The brewhouse is in the middle of the Tasting Room, and a large public tour path cuts through the heart of the facility pulling back the curtain for all to see. Soon after opening, a Snack Bar was added to create food as original and interesting as the beer. The Scratch Beer Series continues to thrive as more than 200 different brews have been created featuring both local and exotic ingredients to feed the collective muse.