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 info@breweriesinpa.com.

Highway Manor Brewing opened in September 2020, in Camp Hill, PA. The brewery has done a tremendous job at the distribution of their beer. You may have tasted and enjoyed many of their offerings at various locations throughout the state. Or even ordered their beer through their statewide shipping program, which launched in May of 2020. Johnnie Compton is the head brewer at Highway Manor Brewing. Read more to find out his introduction to beer, where he sees the craft beer industry heading, and more!

What was your introduction to craft beer?

My first introduction was Franziskaner Hefeweizen. Franziskaner Hefe-Weissbier pairs well with sausages and other red meats, so that is what I did. Burger and this beer baby!

How did you get started as a brewer?

My landlord wanted to brew and I was making $10 an hour drinking a lot of Fransiskaner So I figured it was saving money. I didn’t get a discount on my rent though.

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

Wild beers … the yeast is the thing and each set of bugs has to do its thing perfectly while in harmony with the others. It is fun when you find a mess up/creative beer like our Dumb Dick. It is our Root beer smoked sour that balances a subtle smokiness with hints of vanilla, sweet birch, and cherry. The way it became Root Beer, was we accidentally bought a Root Beer tub to keep the beer in and it turned into this gem.

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

Belgian wit and I learned nothing. it’s still my white whale can’t make a wit to save my life lol!

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

My crystal ball is cloudy. The thought leaders in this industry are all disappearing and it’s just more and more trend-chasing. What we do with proprietary yeast and classic methods to add tremendous complexity, is where great beer drinkers all find themselves after 6-9 years of drinking craft. But that said, it a race to the bottom, put it in a can, use more sugar, slap a funky label on it, and print money. Give the consumer what they want!

I hope the industry changes and thought leaders emerge to give people what they need to be drinking, well-made beer-flavored beer. And I hope the consumer trends change in ways that challenge brewers, I mean making a seltzer is about as simple as boiling water. Same with hazy/puree/pastry cans. You can hide so much with sugar and flavoring. Brewing needs to be challenged and if the breweries aren’t pushing themselves, I pray the consumer one day does.

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

Amazing! Great water, great local malt, and the greatest beer city on earth, Philly. But it’s not what you do, it’s who you do it for, and PA drinkers love beer! We did a collab with Bullfrog and the name pals floated around PA lambic society. it’s amazing when you think of all the large to small scale wild beer programs in PA, I’ve got at least 10 without even looking at the magic google box in my pocket.

What is the inspiration behind your beer names?

The “Mr.” series is a cool guy that chicks want, trying to cross-promote the beer to female drinkers. “Sayjohn” was my way of trying to put a stamp on a wide-open style in saisons, I figured who’s gonna say Sayjohn and saison they will all just say sayjohn. Everybody calls it Saint John thou which would make my mother proud.

What is your favorite beer to drink right now?

Manor light / Compton water / Mr. Pear / Mr. Plum, I’m all about sours, but I am working on an exotic Pilsner yeast next.

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

Loyalty is hard to keep, with the consumer, with the bar owner, and with the distributor. You are only as good as your last pallet shipped and how that sold with the owners, and you are trying to keep things interesting for the customer. It’s not unlike other businesses I’ve been, in but it’s awfully hard to get momentum when fads just keep ruling the day. And if you build for a fad, you could die with a fad. I’m hoping my yeast outlives me by hundreds of years and future generations can enjoy the product. So we are quality driven that stands the test of time. And honestly waking up and making better beer than yesterday is what I’ve done for almost 20 years, so we are excited for where we are heading. We are growing slowly, but it’s real growth, and we are making better and better beer!