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].

Bright Path Brewing first opened in April of 2022 at 1215 North Street, in Jim Thorpe, PA. Jim Thorpe’s Native American name “Wa-Tho-Huk” when translated to English, means “Bright Path”. They operated a 10 BBL brewhouse in a 4,000 sq/ft building, and focus on brewing session beer and lagers, ranging from 4.5% ABV to 5.5% ABV. Bright Path has 10 taps for these session beers and lagers and uses all Lukr side-pull taps.

Alex Franko and Dillon Smith are owners and head brewers of Bright Path Brewing. Read more to find out their introduction to craft beer, where they see the craft beer industry heading, and more!

What was your introduction to craft beer?

Alex: I think my first introduction to craft beer was Yards IPA back in like 2007. I had just turned 21 and was finally allowed to go out to bars to drink so I started to branch out from just drinking PBR.

Dillon: My first introduction to craft beer was at Bethlehem Brew works in 2012. My parents took me there for a few beers for my 21st birthday when I was in college in Bethlehem. I was a big fan of their oatmeal stout at the time.

How did you get started as a brewer?

Alex: I home brewed for a little bit and was always disappointed by the beer I made so I started to look into how to get a job at a brewery. in 2009-2010 I found an internship at Blue Hills Brewery in Canton, MA (Now closed) and started by cleaning and filling kegs and just continued to learn more and more until I eventually went to the Siebel Institute for brewing and landed a full-time brewing job at Dogfish Head.

Dillon: I had done a few homebrews with my dad and some friends while working for a transportation company. I wasn’t a fan of the office job and decided to make a career change. I left that job and started my first brewing job at Cape Cod Beer in Hyannis, MA, mainly doing cellar work. About a year later, I was hired by Alex at Lone Eagle Brewing in Flemington, NJ as his assistant brewer.

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

Alex: I love to brew lagers. Especially pale lagers. They are drinkable and complex all at the same time. And depending on your process you can really see how subtle changes can create different beers.

Dillon: I enjoy creating a well-balanced, clean drinking pale ale or session IPA. It’s exciting to offer a low ABV beer that has all of the flavors of a big IPA while being able to drink twice as many.

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

Alex: I can’t remember what I first home-brewed but I know when I was at Blue Hills Brewery the first beer I had a real hand in brewing was a barleywine. I just remember being mind blown at how much malt went into making a beer like that.

Dillon: I think my first home brew was a porter that had way too much roasted malt in the grain bill. My first experience on a brewhouse was brewing a blonde ale not too long after that. Opposite ends of the spectrum there. I quickly learned a lot about the complexity of well-balanced grain bills.

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

Alex: I’m hoping craft beer is moving towards drinkability. I just like beers that are drinkable. I still think IPAs and hoppy beers will be king but I’m hoping the trend of more breweries making lagers will stick around.

Dillon: I’d like to see more variety in specialization – breweries that focus on a certain style and do it very well, while still offering some of the hoppy crowd pleasers as Alex said. More focused niche breweries if you will (Belgian, German, Czech, English -style, etc.). In my opinion, I see too many breweries that all focus on similar-style offerings.

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

Alex: Having brewed in three different states it’s kind of interesting to see how diverse PA drinkers are. It’s good to know that whatever we brew there is probably a large number of people in the state that will drink it.

Dillon: It’s good to be home. I’ve been in MA, NJ, and moved back to PA a few years ago. It’s a very diverse group of drinkers and brewers, and there’s a lot of great beer made in PA. I’m very excited to be a part of it.

What is the inspiration behind your beer names?

Alex: We draw from local landmarks and trails in the Jim Thorpe area. We are mountain bikers and trail runners so we know a lot of the local woods and we draw on that knowledge to come up with a lot of beer names. Being born and raised in Jim Thorpe we also use local history for some beer names too.

Dillon: As Alex said, our beers with “creative” names are inspired by local landmarks and history. It’s fun to explain to people from out of town, and even some locals, the story behind some of the names.

What is your favorite beer to drink right now?

Alex: I can always drink PBR and Coors Original. But outside of that Schlenkerla Helles is great in the summertime as well as Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.

Dillon: PBR for sure, can’t argue with the blue ribbon. Other than that, the Paulaner Hefeweizen is a great summer beer. Very crushable and refreshing.

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

Alex: Safety first. Always wear the proper PPE and take your time.

Dillon: If you don’t know, ask. Whether it’s “what does this do?” or “why do we do it this way?”. A small mistake can be dangerous and can waste a lot of beer which no one wants.