Situated in Columbia, PA on a busy stretch of road you will find Columbia Kettle Works, which has been open for the past 3 years. With 10 original beers on tap, and an additional 2 guest taps it’s a must try for any beer enthusiast.
While the beer at Columbia is plentiful, if you’re looking for a location where you want to have fun and laugh the night away, you’d be hard pressed to find a better spot than CKW. (But more on that later).
With 3 floors it is easy to get lost, but don’t worry there’s an elevator to make things easier. (No seriously, they have their own elevator!). The fun starts on the first floor. When you walk into CKW you are just steps away from the heart of the brewing operations. Positioned just behind the bar, in full site, are their tanks. Something that owner Bill Collister, who we met with, is very proud of. So much so that he told us he times brewing operations to start so that guests can see how it’s done first hand!
But if you head downstairs, that is where the real magic happens!
Once you get past the excitement of being just a few feet away from the creation of delicious beer, it is time to try their offerings. We chose a flight (and a few pints of course) to sample a little bit of everything. We had the following:
• Parallax: An aggressively hopped American style IPA. Simcoe hops lend a pronounced citrus, pine flavor and floral character. 6.0% ABV, 80 IBUs
• Hop Voodoo: An IPA with notes of citrus and tropical fruit, and featuring Azacca hops. 6.2% ABV, 66 IBU’s
• Altered Reality: A German Düsseldorf Altbier. Copper in color w/ a floral hop aroma that mingles w/ a bready malt flavor, then finishes crisp and clean. 5.7% ABV, 33 IBU’s
• Moondogs Brown Ale: An English Brown Ale with a nutty aroma and flavors of toffee and cocoa all “Come Together” with just enough herbal hops for balance. 5.8% ABV, 28 IBU’s
• Logging Camp: A big copper colored double IPA. Piney hops in the aroma and flavor, brewed w/ 25 lbs. of maple syrup. 8.6% ABV, 86 IBUs
With 10 taps, and 2 guest taps, there is sure to be something for everyone. The flavor and taste from each beer was absolutely amazing and it was hard to have a bad beer here. If you are even the most hardened of beer enthusiasts, you are sure to find delicious flavor at CKW. And the taps are constantly rotating because of how popular the beer is. Check them out for yourself! And don’t worry, if you’re hungry they have you covered too.
You grab your beer of choice from the bar and the fun has just begun (we warned you there’d be a lot of fun). You turn around and you can either go right or left, and either way will take you to a great time. Head right and you will enter a room with a large TV playing the latest basketball, baseball or football game while also having a dart board and a very unique looking shuffleboard.
And we mean unique……
But the fun doesn’t stop there. Head back into the bar and go back and to the left ….back and to the left…..(hope that joke lands). You have now entered the cornhole room. That’s right CKW has their own cornhole room! It should be noted we geeked out about this a little more than some, because that is our favorite of all bar/ tailgating games. When we learned of the existence of a cornhole room we contemplated moving down the street. So if you aren’t as nearly excited, we understand.
While the first floor is packed full of excitement, you still haven’t even seen the most unique part of CKW. Upstairs is an event space for private events or when CKW hosts local bands. However even if there isn’t an event going on upstairs you have to go up there, and skip the elevator. Because the stairs are one of the more unique sites you will see. What could be fun with stairs? Let us show you.
It looks like someone came in there and ruined the place with graffiti, right? Nope, this is on purpose! Bill informed us that they hired a local artist to design this specifically for them.
Just check out the door to get back to the main floor…..
We told you at the beginning of this article CKW had a lot to offer for a fun night out. Whether it is spending hours playing their games, or heading upstairs for a local band there is a lot to do at this location. But of course with 12 rotating taps, if you are coming just for the beer, you will not be disappointed!
