Cartel Brewing & Blending recently moved this past November, from a small brewery and taproom at 928 N Prince Street in downtown Lancaster to a bigger 6,000+ sq/ft location at 920 Landis Avenue in Lancaster, PA.
This new space was previously a local iconic craft beer gastropub called Hunger n Thirst, near Franklin & Marshall College.
We spoke with owner Adam Chamberland to learn more about the brewery and the move to a new location after just a couple of years.
The Space
Cartel tripled both its available space and beer production with the move. This gives them room to expand brewing operations, utilize a full commercial kitchen, and offer outside seating via a large patio.
The new space has seating for about 75 inside on the main floor, plus an additional 20-30 on an upstairs mezzanine level overlooking the cafe below and around 70 outside with the patio. The property has parking for around 50 cars. This almost triples what they had at the old Prince Street location. There is also space for live music, something Adam told us he’s passionate about adding to the brewery in the future.
There are plans to fine-tune the space continuously, owner Adam Chamberland told us. The former bottle shop is now their barrel aging and intimate tasting room. Their may be plans to use the barrel room as a studio for podcasting and other content creation. “It could become a space we share with the community, like if a local has a podcast or show and simply wants a new setting to record an episode here and there…who knows” Said Adam.
The Beer
Cartel Brewing now offers 24 taps, including a cask engine in the section of the bar that will eventually be branded “the cask bar”. They continue to offer a wide mix of styles, including IPAs, Lager, stouts, porters, barleywine, sours, and barrel-aged beers.
The brewery is known for some of their English-style beers, while also offering the option to “blend” beers at the tap among other ways. They have upgraded their crowler machine, and will potentially explore more canning options in the near future as well.
For brewing, Cartel has added another brewer to assist with the increased production. Johnny Benson was a former Head Brewer at Odell Brewing in Fort Collins Colorado for 14 years, a large format brewery similar in size to Troegs in Hershey PA. They currently brew on a 5 BBL system and have added three additional 10 BBL tanks to effectively allow for increased cellar capacity/production.
The Food
With the move, Cartel Brewing has added a full-service kitchen in the taproom serving elevated pub food but plans to expand into some other creative ideas and concepts this year. Adam told us that the most popular menu items are fish and chips, a chicken cutlet sandwich with aged provolone and prosciutto, and a beef and cheddar sandwich. Since he’s from New England, they’re also looking to add Maine and Connecticut style Lobster rolls as well on a more limited or pre-planned format.
They have also announced a series of kitchen collaborations for 2024, bringing in some of the best chefs and culinary creators locally for one-night-only special collaborative menu events. You can see the entire menu here.
Make sure you stop in to see Cartel Brewing & Blending at their new space at 920 Landis Avenue in Lancaster. And don’t forget to follow them on Facebook and Instagram to keep up with their latest beers, food, and news!
