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].
Newtown Brewing Company first opened in October of 2019 in the industrial park at 103 Penns Trail Newtown, PA. The brewery operates in a 4,600 sq/ft building with a 7 BBL brewhouse and 12 rotating beer taps.
Gregg Bonstein is the owner and head brewer at Newtown 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?
My introduction to craft beer would probably be when I first had Yuengling lager right after college. I was used to drinking beers like Natty Ice in college and I remember going to a bar after college, ordering a Yuengling lager, and actually enjoying the taste of the beer! I had sadly never really drank beer for the taste up until then and it was quite an enjoyable experience. This opened up doors for trying new craft beers moving forward.
How did you get started as a brewer?
My wife got me a kegerator for my birthday back in 2010 and after seeing the prices of some craft beer sixtels I thought I’d give home brewing a try to supply my home bar. The first batch didn’t turn out too well, but I kept at it and ended up loving it so much that I left my job in Chemical Engineering to pursue my new passion in craft beer!
Before opening Newtown Brewing, I worked as a professional brewer for a few years at Triumph Brewing in New Hope and Blueprint Brewing in Harleysville while also receiving my BJCP beer judge and Cicerone certifications as well as training at the Siebel Institute World Beer Academy.
What style allows you to be the most creative, and why?
IPAs. Most styles have a set recipe that is typically expected. If you’re brewing a Munich Dunkel or a Czech Pils you really don’t have a lot of room to be too creative with these classic styles before it becomes something completely different. I usually am pretty much a traditionalist with classic styles and like to serve them as intended. With IPAs, however, there is an unlimited number of hop combinations that you can try and each hop variety has different aroma and flavor profiles that make them unique. It’s fun to try different hop combinations to see what different flavors you can come up with in the end!
What was the first beer you ever brewed, and what did you learn from it?
I believe it was a homebrew kit for a Blonde Ale from Keystone Homebrew. As it was my first attempt, I was impatient and couldn’t wait to try it, so I didn’t let the yeast fully complete its fermentation. There were some definite off-flavors that I didn’t allow enough time to get cleaned up. It was disheartening, but I learned to be patient and let the yeast do its job to completion!
Where do you see the craft beer industry heading in the next few years?
I think prior to the onset of the pandemic there was definitely a surge towards hyper-local breweries or Taprooms. Places where the local community could call their own. With the pandemic, I think that trend has only increased as it appears that a lot of people are still not up for traveling that much. That might change as time goes on, but for now, most people seem more comfortable staying close to home.
Describe what it’s like to be a brewer in Pennsylvania.
There’s definitely a sense of comradery between breweries in PA. If there’s ever anything you need whether it’s a bit of grain, beer for a guest tap, or just some advice, you know that there are fellow brewers that will be there to help.
My wife who works in a different industry in a corporate setting is always so amazed at how potential “rival” businesses will offer help. I guess one of the things to realize is that the majority of us brewers didn’t get into this business to make money, we do it because we love it. And when you love something you take solace in others that love the same thing and you don’t see the other breweries as competitors.
What is the inspiration behind your beer names?
Movies. All of our beer names draw inspiration from one movie or another. I’m a huge movie fanatic and coming up with beer names and descriptions is a lot of fun for me. I love seeing the recognition from people when they realize where the name came from.
Some of the beer names are more obscure but we have movie posters on the Taproom walls that correspond to each beer on tap so it’s kind of a little cheat sheet for the guests. We change out the movie poster each time a new beer goes on tap.
What is your favorite beer to drink right now?
My usual go-to answer is our Vienna Lager “60% of the Time, It Works Every Time” which I can always crush a bunch of, but I’m really getting into our Mosaic West Coast IPA “Utah, Get Me Two”. I’ve started to get some palate fatigue from all the hazy IPAs and it’s nice to have a change of pace with a crisp hoppy west coast style for a change. The berry notes from the Mosaic hops really pop, but it’s nice to have a little sticky pine from the Simcoe to offset some of the usual sweet tropical hops more typical in the hazy IPAs right now. I love changing up the styles rather than sticking with one and I’m digging the west coast IPA style right now.
What is the most important lesson you learned in the beer industry so far?
The importance of cleaning. When I first started at Triumph Brewing, on my first day they had me clean the floor in an 8x10ft room in the cellar. I spent the whole day cleaning the floor and that’s all I did. The head brewer would occasionally check on me every couple of hours and point out a few spots I missed and then I would head back to it. As it was my first day as a “professional brewer” I had no idea what to expect and there were definitely some moments that I questioned what I was doing and if I really wanted to be there.
It was a bit of Mr. Miyagi (Karate Kid) style teaching but the lessons I learned were:
1) You can never be “too clean”. Even if you think you’re done, there may be more spots that you missed.
2) As a brewer you do a LOT of cleaning! If you don’t like cleaning you shouldn’t be a brewer. A lot of people think I just go to work and brew a new beer each day and that’s all I do, but there’s so much more and most of it is cleaning. Probably 90% of the job is cleaning. I know of a few brewers that have even put “Head Janitor” on their business cards!
Thank you to Gregg for talking with us! Make sure you visit Newtown Brewing Company’s website to see all the latest beers, and what they have going on! Also, follow Newtown Brewing Company on Facebook and Instagram.
