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].
MooDuck Brewery is a family-owned brewery that has been open since 2014 in Elizabethtown, PA. They feature 12 taps of seasonally changing beers, and make a wide variety of styles. Read more about Mike, including how he was introduced to craft beer, where he sees the craft beer industry heading, and more!
What was your introduction to craft beer?
Technically speaking it would have been all the Yuengling Lager I drank in my 20’s. But I suppose I lot of people don’t consider Yuengling to be craft. My other first memories of drinking good beer were around the holidays we would get together to decorate our family christmas tree and we always had a variety holiday pack. Either Sam Adams or Saranac.
How did you get started as a brewer?
Like a lot of people I started as a homebrewer. My wife got me a homebrew kit for my birthday. To this day I am not sure if she thinks it was the best or worst gift she ever got me. But I was instantly hooked and after over 6 years of homebrewing every weekend and winning a lot of awards in competitions, I decided to take the leap and open my own brewery. 5 years later and it’s been great!
What style allows you to be the most creative, and why?
I don’t know if it’s one style of not, but my brewing is definitely influenced by the seasons and what fun ingredients I can find locally. Whether it’s produce, fruit, or spices. All is fair game. But overall, I do enjoy brewing Belgian styles the most. I like the complexity and different techniques you can apply as far as things like fermentation temperatures and such. Plus they are a great base for fruit additions and barrel aging.
What was the first beer you ever brewed, and what did you learn from it?
Brewers Best Pale Ale Extract Kit. I guess I learned the basics of how to brew beer on a stove top. I hear a lot of horror stories about first batches. This turned out ok actually.
Where do you see the craft beer industry heading in the next few years?
I see a lot of competition for shelf space and tap handles so I think we may see a lot of small neighborhood style breweries. Let’s hope we see some diversity in beer styles again.
Describe what it’s like to be a brewer in Pennsylvania.
Being a brewer is great. The interaction with people in the tap room is fun and there are not many better feelings than seeing a bunch of people enjoying the beer you have made. It makes all the long days and cleaning worth it. Brewers are a friendly bunch so it’s nice to be able to bounce ideas around and not having it be one big competition.
What is the inspiration behind your beer names?
I was a naturalist before being a brewer so we have a bunch of nature related names. Moo-Duck itself was the name of a bird watching group I was a member of. Lately naming has become such a hassle that we have started literally putting words on pieces of paper and pulling them out of a hat and putting them together. Impossible Flashlight Dance was the result of that.
What is your favorite beer to drink right now?
Without a doubt. Oktoberfest Lagers.
What is the most important lesson you learned in the beer industry so far?
Interesting question. I would say just to be yourself. Don’t follow the trends just to chase hype. Brew what your customers want to drink. Oh, also as a brewer, stay off of untappd!
Thank you to Mike for talking with us! Make sure you visit MooDuck Brewery for all the latest beers, news, information and special events. And also follow Moo-Duck on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!
