You can add AleCraft Brewery to one of the many out-of-state breweries that are choosing to call Pennsylvania home. The Maryland-based brewery announced plans to cross state lines and open a brewery and taproom in York County.
We recently sat down with brewery owner Brad Streett to learn more about the upcoming move and what Pennsylvania residents can expect. Brad and his wife Eryn started AleCraft back in 2017. The two originally met in college and “almost immediately after graduation they began home brewing and touring breweries regularly” (according to the bio on their website). Roughly a decade later AleCraft was born.
The brewery currently runs a 2 barrel operation in Bel Air Maryland and produces a wide variety of beer that ranges from IPA’s, Stouts, Fruited Sours, Seasonals, and more. Along with their beer offerings, they also partner with Bird’s Nest BBQ to offer guests a robust food menu that features over 60 items on the menu!
As Brad confirmed with us the move to Pennsylvania became out of necessity. The brewery had “ran out of room to grow in Maryland” and they began looking to expand. When they considered their options, York County stuck out to AleCraft. Brad had spent years riding the Northern Central & York County Heritage Trails and had fallen in love with the area. When he began the brewery originally he had “always had in the back of my mind that this area [York, PA] would be great for a brewery”
AleCraft plans to keep the original space in Maryland, and the brewery in Pennsylvania will operate as an additional location. Opening in York will also allow the brewery to increase production. They will maintain their 2 barrel brewery in Maryland and more than double their brewing operation by opening a 7 barrel system in PA and even have enough room for a future canning line.
Pennsylvania will also offer a different feel as compared to Maryland. The York location, as Brad shared, will be more of a Farm Brewery. They will have plenty of outdoor space, a larger interior taproom, and growing their own hops on-site for some of their beer, but not all. The plan is for them to relocate their current hop farm to the PA site with the intention of creating single hop beers with their homegrown hops.
In total, the future family-friendly space plans to be over 8,000 square feet which will include the brewery, taproom, and café which will focus on gastropub fare. The café will be a joint venture with a local restaurant and AleCraft and located inside the new brewery. In addition, they plan to offer an espresso and coffee bar for early morning guests.
The outdoor space will include picnic tables, a rooftop deck, and enough space to “maximize the outdoor area to keep the nature theme of the area” Brad confirmed.
As you can see from above, a lot of work has to be done before AleCraft York can be fully functional. But the brewery is hard at work to bring this destination location to life. Make sure to follow AleCraft on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to keep up with the growth for yourself.
