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 [email protected].

Newfangled Brew Works opened in late November 2018, in Harrisburg, PA. The brewery opened in a new 12,000 square foot building, with a 15 bbl brewhouse and 20 taps. Read our brewery review. Adam Cole is the head brewer at Newfangled Brew Works. Read on to see how he got introduced to craft beer, where he sees the industry heading, and more!

What was your introduction to craft beer?

This is a funny little story: Early in my career as a United States Air Force Explosive Ordnance Disposal technician, I was on a US Secret Service assignment to Philadelphia for a presidential visit. During our down time, my colleagues and I visited a few bars; one bar had 750ml corked bottles on the shelf with a weird looking monkey on them. I didn’t really know what I bought at the time, but it was definitely a novelty to my team members and myself. After going home, I opened it with co-workers and found it tasted oddly like bananas and clove. Years later, I realized I had bought Victory Golden Monkey. Coincidentally, I ended up working at Victory as a cellarman and filtered thousands of barrels of Golden Monkey during my two years there.

How did you get started as a brewer?

My start in brewing was through quality assurance. I went to college for biotechnology and partnered with Appalachian Brewing Company for my internship and school projects. If it wasn’t for that internship at ABC, I might be monitoring bacteria fermentation to make insulin or something else pertinent to the pharmaceutical industry.

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

I think various Belgian styles allow for a lot of creativity. You can hop them as you would IPA, play with different yeast, and add fruits or spices. The boundaries that define the various Belgian styles can be pretty blurry and flexible. This makes Belgians rather fun, because the beer has an inherent complexity from the fermentation and adding to it can yield pretty interesting results.

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

I actually don’t remember my very first beer, neither home brew or commercial. I do know the first beer I made at Newfangled was the American Wheat, which uses a good dose of Huell Melon hops.

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

I see cocktail blenders next to the tap towers and jars of hops on standby for a fresh green beer hop smoothie made to order. I’m kid, I kid, but I don’t know how the industry can get any more hops into a beer at this point. I feel like the pendulum is swinging back to some traditional beer styles becoming popular again. I had a pretty basic lager available through the summer and our guests crushed my keg supply of that beer. It was our number one seller many weeks during June-August. Its popularity has made it a year round offering.

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

I’ve never been a brewer in any other state, but I think PA is unique because we have some very large breweries operating within PA that participate in the Brewer’s of PA organization. It’s a very collaborative group that will help you out if you need a hand with something.

What is the inspiration behind your beer names?

I don’t come up with most of them. Generally, if I come up with the beer name, it’s deeply sarcastic and generally three layers too deep. Many are just named as what type of beer I brewed. During our first year, a bunch of cheeky names were an after thought as I tried to fill the cooler. Stay tuned for some more name/brand creativity.

What is your favorite beer to drink right now?

For a beer that I make, it’s the Czech Pils called El Patio right now. From another brewery, it’d have to be Yuengling Pilsner. I went through many cases of that while I was building Newfangled. I like something I can drink for a long period of time, and pilsners tend to hit the spot. While I worked at Victory I consumed a lot of Braumeister Pils and Prima Pils.

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

You have to be flexible. I think other brewers can relate to wanting their customer base and beer offerings to fit some plan. Then, reality hits and you realize what your brewery guests actually want based on sales data and you have to react. If a large portion of your customers like beer that’s not something you personally like, you should figure out how to make a good representation of that beer. I personally don’t care for sweet fruit beers or the lactose heavy beers that are fairly popular right now. With that said, I’ve made a sweeter fruit beers at this point. I’ll get around to brewing a lactose heavy something soon enough and I’ll make the best one I can, even if I won’t drink more than 4oz at a time. Making an honest effort outside of your comfort zone leads to personal and professional growth. 

Thank you to Adam for talking with us! Make sure you visit Newfangled Brew Works for all the latest beers, news, information and special events. And also follow Newfangled on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!