Welcome to our “Meet The Brewer” series! Where we interview brewers in Pennsylvania, from breweries small to large. Let us know if you know anyone who should be featured, email us at info@breweriesinpa.com.

Rubber Soul Brewing Company first opened in October of 2020 at 136 S. Hanover Street in Hummelstown, PA. Once Maryland-based, Hummelstown locals acquired and brought Rubber Soul to Pennsylvania. The brewery operates in Hummelstown’s 100-year-old former 5,304-square-foot borough building. Rubber Soul brews on a 7 BBL system and features 10 taps of fresh beer. In addition, the brewery also has a full kitchen, check out the menu!

Donovan Krebs is the head brewer at Rubber Soul Brewing Company. Read more to find out his introduction to craft beer, where he sees the craft beer industry heading, and more!

What was your introduction to craft beer?

When I was in college a lot of the local bars started getting craft beers on tap and I would try one every once in a while, but I was usually stuck getting whatever was the cheapest and that was usually Keystone light. The first craft beer that I remember having and really enjoying was Overbite IPA from Old Forge brewing in Danville, PA. At that point, I wasn’t really sure what an IPA was. I just remember the hoppy bitterness and loving it. It wasn’t like anything I have ever had before. After college, I moved to Philly and started working at a small bottle shop called Food and Friends. They had an awesome selection of craft beers and it really opened up the floodgates for me. I started trying all different kinds of styles, but I would always go back to IPA’s.

How did you get started as a brewer?

While I was working at the bottle shop and trying all the different beers I started to wonder how beer was made. I started to do some research and I realized that with the help of a homebrew kit I could brew beer at my house. After a few semi-successful homebrew batches I wanted to know how beer was made on a larger scale and I was lucky enough to land an internship at Nodding Head Brewery. I worked there 2-3 days a week and was able to shadow the Head Brewer. I was paid in beer and food, which was perfect for me. Working at Nodding Head gave me the confidence to start reaching out to other breweries who were looking for brewing help. After about 3 months I landed my first paying job at Manayunk Brewing Company as a cellarman.

What style allows you to be the most creative, and why?

I am guessing the most popular answer to this question is fruited sours and pastry stouts and I don’t disagree with that. Brewing those types of beers is very fun and they let you get a little crazy with ideas. However, I always come back to my love of IPA’s. I love trying new hop combinations or a new strain of yeast that might add some cool esters to the beer. I love being able to pour that first pint and seeing someone light up when they take the first sip.

What was the first beer you ever brewed, and what did you learn from it?

The first beer I ever brewed was an extract American IPA. “No surprise there.” I brewed it on my stove and fermented it in a 5-gallon bucket in my basement. It definitely was not an amazing beer. I am sure if I had it today I would spit it out, but it helped me learn that brewing was something that I love to do and that you take what you did wrong from the first batch and apply that to the next one and never make the same mistakes. One of the best things about brewing is that you are always learning.

Where do you see the craft beer industry heading in the next few years?

I think the industry will keep expanding. There will always be a new style or a new craze that will keep everyone excited. Hazy IPA’s fruited sours and pastry stouts. People can’t seem to get enough of them. I also see a lot of breweries leaning back into traditional styles. Lagers are making a comeback and I think we will see a lot more of them in the near future.

Describe what it’s like to be a brewer in Pennsylvania

Brewing in PA is awesome. I grew up in a small town in PA, so being able to brew in Hummelstown makes me feel like I am at home. It is a great community, everyone is willing to help out in any way they can. I love when the regulars stop by the brewery and ask us what’s coming out next. It is great to see the excitement on their faces.

What is the inspiration behind your beer names?

Since Rubber Soul is located in Hummelstown we wanted to focus on this town and try to be relatable to the community. We do leave room to get a little silly with some of our names. It could be the title of a song or a street sign that we passed or something that was said randomly at one of our meetings. Inspiration can come from anywhere.

What is your favorite beer to drink right now?

This is a tough question. I usually get hooked on whatever is the newest IPA to hit our taps. Right now I would have to say that it is our Frosted “Citra.” This is the first IPA we released as part of our winter IPA series. I love the way it turned out. If I am not drinking an IPA I can always crush a Pilsner. Our Soul Patch Pilsner is really nice and a community favorite. If I am not drinking a Rubber Soul beer my go-to is always Perpetual IPA from Troegs.

What is the most important lesson you learned in the beer industry so far?

I think the most important lesson that I learned so far is that you have to be open. You can’t just brew whatever you like to drink. You have to think about the community and sometimes it’s ok to get a little crazy. If your customers like it and they want to drink it, that’s the most important thing. Our unofficial motto that we started from the start of Rubber Soul is “You’re only as good as your last beer” and we try to stay true to that with every batch we brew.