Rising River Brewing will be opening soon in Macungie in the Spring of 2022. Located at 1955 Willow Lane, the brewery will be opening in a barn that’s over 110 years old!

The brewery has been operating out of a tent the past few weeks and offering beer to-go as well. We spoke with co-owner Ron Beitler to learn more about the brewery, the barn, and the property.

BIPA: What stage are you currently in?

Ron: We are licensed and have been serving beer in our tent for 3 weeks now. We are finishing up construction on the barn now, which is where our taproom will be, with a Spring 2022 estimated opening.

BIPA: Who is all involved in the brewery?

Ron: It’s myself, Ron Beitler, and Jason Mulligan. We both met while in college at Slippery Rock University.

I purchased the barn, and have a history of running my own business. I’ll be doing the business side of the brewery, and all the front-of-house items.

Jason Mulligan will be the brewer. He’s been brewing for 15 years. He worked in production at Voodoo Brewing in Meadville for 5 years and has been homebrewing for 10 years.

BIPA: What styles of beers will you focus on?

Ron: We will be brewing a variety of styles. Currently, we have a west coast IPA, American lager, fruited sours, witbier, and some collabs: A mulberry fruited ale with Hop Hill Brewing, and a smoked brown ale with Hijinx. 

BIPA: Can you describe the space you are opening?

Ron: We are opening on a 2-acre property (including several hundred feet of Little Lehigh Creek Riverbank), where Willows Restaurant once stood for 50+ years. The restaurant was demolished since it sat in a flood plain, and my family and I all worked there.

There is also a barn that was built in 1908. The barn was a livestock auction house, a social hall (hosted things like square dances), and then storage for years. The Little Lehigh is a class-A spring-fed coldwater trout stream.

We will be opening a shared taproom with 3 Little Birds Distilling in the barn, with 10 taps for our beer. The taproom is about 1,700 sq/ft, with a capacity for about 80 people. A 2,500 sq/ft deck will be built off the back overlooking the lawn and river. Our 3.5 BBL brewhouse and production space will also be in the barn, along with the distillery production space.

BIPA: Will you release crowlers/cans there as well?

Ron: Right now we are already canning in four-packs, so we will continue that. We will also fill growlers as well.

BIPA: Will there be food offered?

Ron: We will have a rotation of food trucks on site.

BIPA: Anything else our readers should know about the Rising River Brewery?

Ron: We will have consistently acoustic music and bands every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday afternoons.

Follow Rising River Brewing on Facebook and Instagram, and make sure to keep up with Ron and Jason and the progress with the barn for the grand opening of their taproom!