Pour Man’s Brewing Company is currently undergoing an expansion of its brewing operations. You may remember us recently speaking with Pour Man’s on their first expansion of brewing operations, back in January 2021. Not only will the brewery increase capacity, but they will put an emphasis on increasing lager production, which is the focus of the expansion.

We spoke with Ryan Foltz, head brewer and co-owner of Pour Man’s Brewing to understand more about the expansion, and what beer fans can expect.

Why lager? Ryan explained: “Lagers are nuanced and delicate. We feel they showcase ingredients and brewing techniques more than other styles and most of all they are the best beers for social environments. A mug of Pilsner and a good conversation can completely change your perspective on things.”

Can you tell us what is expanding?

Ryan: We are expanding our production by adding more fermenters! We added two more 10 BBL unitanks and we are also adding two 10bbl horizontal Lager tanks! In addition to these, we added one 1 BBL unitank to do more experimental beers for the taproom. We also are adding a new canning line that we expect to arrive in early December. This canning line is capable of running one case of 16oz cans a minute. That is 3 times faster than our current canning line.

For the taproom, we will be doing lots of remodeling to make the space more functional and fun to hang out in. We will be replacing all of our seating and remodeling our bar, along with lots of aesthetic changes. We will also be doubling our to-go can fridge space. In the spring we will be adding a glass garage door to the front of the building, making the transition from the patio to taproom easier while also adding lots of natural light to the space.

Can you explain why you’re doing this mostly for lagers? Will they be the main focus, with all styles seeing an increase?

Ryan: So we will still be producing West Coast IPA’s, Stouts, Pale ales, Saison/Belgian beers, and sours like we do now. But we consider ourselves to be a Lager-focused brewery, so we will be constantly producing new Lagers. We have been wanting to do this for a while now, but just haven’t had the cellar space to produce our core beers and also have multiple tanks filled with lagers, without running out of beer. We think Lagers are the future of craft beer. We’ve seen the change happening right inside our own taproom and in distribution where our Lagers and Kolsch continue to gain in popularity with our customers. Also on a personal level, we love everything Lager, the beers are crisp and easy-drinking, with subtle nuanced flavor profiles, making them fun to drink and difficult to make.

Ryan: Our near future draft and distribution list will look like this. Our core beers will be: Perspective Pilsner, Ja’Crispy Kolsch, Goin’ Broke IPA, Notorious West Coast IPA, Oats & Hoes Oatmeal Stout, and we will be adding an Amber Czech Lager, simply called “House Lager” to the core list in the coming months. In addition to those beers, we will be offering a rotation of seasonal IPA’s and Stouts, while rotating in Saisons and Belgian beers, along with seasonal sours. This leaves us with 7 more taps to fill with Lagers and Pilsners!

When do you expect all changes to be made?

Ryan: The brewery side of the expansion should be totally complete by the start of 2022, and we have already started adding more Lagers to our portfolio. We have been somewhat quietly rolling this out for some time now. Even just a couple of weeks ago we had 7 different Lagers on tap and in cans. The taproom remodel will be completed by the spring of 2022.

Will we see more Pour Man’s beer distributed in cans and kegs across the state?

Ryan: We will continue to distribute as far as the beer will make it. I know that’s not a super detailed answer, but as we have found out with previous expansions, it never seems to be enough beer. So as of now, we have a heavy footprint in Lancaster County, and we have started to work our way into York county with both draft and can options. We will also be adding some fun variety pack formats in the near future.

Keep up with Pour Man’s Brewing, their expansion, and all the lagers by following them on Facebook and Instagram.