Appalachian Brewing Company

Good food however their customer service is not good at all. Waited over 40 minutes for food at a non-​peak time.

First thing, glad I made a reservation for us. We arrived and the place was packed and had a pretty decent crowd waiting to be sat. We ordered the poutine as an appetizer along with two beers. She had the lager and I had the double IPA. The 2x IPA was delicious if you are a hop head like myself. The lager was also very good. She ordered the campfire chili and I ordered the cheddar ale soup. Both were great. The poutine has a great gravy. For dinner she ordered the sausage and pierogi meal I had the rockfish tacos. She enjoyed her meal and the fish tacos were good. We ordered a second round where she got the wheat beer and I had the Scottish ale. The Scottish ale is fantastic and has a beautiful color and taste. Our server Mike R was awesome and very attentive and made a few great suggestions. Will definitely look for him next time we come back. It was a great first experience.

Went for lunch and it was pretty empty. Had decent service. I got a chicken Caesar salad which did not taste very good and had wilted lettuce. My friend got a pulled pork sandwich which was good. We very much enjoyed the beer. Try Aero-​Head Bock or Chocolate Avenue Stout.

I was here to watch Hank and Cupcakes perform. The venue was cool, drinks were cheap, the crowd was… interesting. Overall it was a fun time though. We got to hang out with the band afterwards and bought some cool merchandise.

THIS REVIEW IS FOR FOOD ONLY
ABC seems to create quality craft beer. They seem to have a lively upstairs bar and dance area. Unfortunately, I didn’t do any drinking or dancing last night, so I can only review the downstairs restaurant portion.
We split an order of the chicken wings and the beef dip sandwich. They were good quality wings — meaty and fried well. I wasn’t very impressed by the sauces however. Our split of root beer BBQ and honey habanero both left something to be desired. The BBQ was very sweet, but the single note was missing any tang. I found the honey habanero to have a pleasant sweet honey flavor, but not much heat. It was more like a general tsou’s chicken from Panda Express.
The beef dip sandwich was mediocre. The beef didn’t have much flavor. The chips were a bit underwhelming (perhaps just an expectations mismatch — the server had recommended them as outstanding).
The upstairs atmosphere seemed very nice — as did their craft beer selection, but again — I didn’t partake in any of that. Perhaps on my next trip to Harrisburg.

Great food and knowledge staff. In addition to beer, they brew their own Burch beer, root beer and ginger beer. If you are in the area, stop by! If you are not in the area, make the trip!

Neat place to hang out with friends. Good selection of drafts. Food was o.k. Had a live band upstairs.

Had a great time visiting this brewery. Cool location, and good beers– liked the Outta Focus and Hoppy Trails especially. Kat the bartender was awesome and super knowledgeable– did a great job explaining all the beers. We visited five breweries on this daytrip and she really made this one stand out, as we felt we really got to know their beers. Didn’t have a chance to eat but the menu sounded great and all the food that went by looked good. Hope to come again next time we’re in the region!

Of all the ABC locations I have visited, this one was the largest. Being it’s flagship location with the main brewery, this location has a cool music venue on the 2^nd floor.
If you go to the 2^nd floor which is the abbey bar, it’s got a total «bar» environment and is almost a seperate entity. You have to open a tab and go to the bar to get your drink. There is no service up stairs. If you want to see a venue and eat, make sure to come early and eat downstairs first. There is pool, and space to dance.
Our servers were super nice, the food was much better than the other ABC locations and the beer was fresh. I will totally re visit when another cool band plays.

Very nice. Great bartender who made good recommendations and was well versed in their multiple beers.
The Octoberfest beer was the best IMHO.

I love ABC’s root beer and fish and chips, enough to make a particular visit for that. That said, while I’m a big fan of the brand and company and their products, I cannot stand the smell of hops, so the Cameron Street location is out for me. Luckily, there are plenty of others where beer is not being brewed on site. Still love the company, just not the smell.

We went on a Tuesday night and had a good time. They have growler specials and free pool. For out of towners– if you plan on walking here from 2^nd street I would suggest doing so during the day/​early evening and taking a cab back at night.
For the beers I really like IPA’s and their double IPA is pretty good. The lager is solid and they have a full bar.
Trivia was going on and seemed like everyone was having fun. We didn’t try the food but it looked good.
Check em out!

The shrimp skewer appetizer is terrific. Too bad they don’t make it in a entrée portion. The Boo Boo burger was also outstanding. ¼ beef grass fed, pulled pork creamy cole slaw, cheese and bbq sauce cooked perfectly to med-​rare. The beers were excellent as well. Best lager I’ve tasted. The bock was very good not as strong or carbonated as Shiner Bock. Scottish Ale also excellent. The chocolate stout had a very good flavor close to Guiness but couldn’t taste much chocolate.
For dessert we had the peanut butter pie. Presentation was excellent as well as the taste.
Must visit when in Harrisburg!!!

I was in the area doing some genealogy and drove past this place at lunch time, so I decided to give it a try.
The place is incessantly loud, which made for a less than enjoyable meal.
The service was completely lacking. It was virtually impossible to find someone and they weren’t the friendliest.
I ordered their wheat beer, which was 3 – 4 stars, and the switchback burger was 3 – 4 stars, but very messy.
I wouldn’t go back, as I don’t like places where I can’t hear myself think.

Been here once on a business trip. They have some of the best root beer, but only served in bottles… They brew it. Not on tap… bottles only… that’s crap!
THE GOOD…
–food was good
–service was good
–found parking easily
–root beer is amazing
THE BAD…
–no root beer on tap… no free refills… just expensive bottles
Overall I liked ABC, but brewing their own root beer and not having it on tap is bizarre. Every other brewery type spot I’ve been to has everything they brew on tap. I’d return though cause everything else was fine.

Great beer, EXCELLENT food. Only complaint, we didn’t get the cheese plate that was supposed to come with our daughter’s kids meal and her cheeseburgers didn’t come with cheese… But besides that, great experience.

I disagree with another reviewer who said it was not within walking distance — I don’t think a ½ mile is that far from downtown. I was staying at the Hilton and walked it in the rain.
I had time to kill and on the weekends it is a bit quiet especially around 11am.
I enjoyed the beer. I talked to people at the bar as well and found everyone to be friendly.
I had the pub pretzels with beer cheese soup but plan to stop back in tomorrow after my race and before hopping on Amtrak. It is convenient to the train station.

I seek out brew pubs in my travels and I was in town for one day. This was the most recommend place so I had to try it out. I was not disappointed.
I got the sampler and can say that all the beers produced here are of high quality and with the exception of the wheat dead on style. The water gap wheat was missing something. My favorites where the Jolly Scot and the Aero-​Head Bock. The scott ale was dead on balanced with the hops with a lingering toasty caramel you could drink all night. The Aero-​Head has to the the best Bock I have EVER had! Period.
The food options are plenty. I went with The Boo Boo burger. I ordered medium but got medium well. However it was very good and didn’t notice the over cooking too much. There home made chips are perfection.
Service was also great. I hope I have a chance to frequent this place.

When our friend told us she would be getting married in Harrisburg, we started to search the area for breweries and beer bars. This place ended up being the closet to our hotel.
I love the outside of this place. PA is inherently industrial, and to see a theater style «brewery» sign in the midst of this neighborhood made me smile.
The inside is very well done. Lots of light and dark wood, a nice bar w/​large windows and the actual brew house off to the side. Being that this was our 1^st time here, we HAD to do a flight. Of the 7 mainstays we were given, I’d have to say that the Water Gap Wheat and the Jolly Scot were my faves. Being that we visited in July, our 8^th sample was the Weizenbock.
My husband ended up ordering their mac and cheese (SO good), and I had the Coal Cracked Pierogies. I grew up in a Polish area, so I’m very familiar w/​pierogies and these were some of the best I’ve had (next to my cousins Nana’s, of course). The pasta was perfectly cooked and the potato/​cheese filling had a great flavor. Add their caramelized onions and holymotherofheaven. So so good.
Our bartender was a super nice guy and we were sad to have to close out w/​him to sit w/​the groom and his part of the bridal party. Our waitress ended up being just as super though.
We ended up making a 6 pack from their cooler by the door to take home, and picked up one of the last bottles of their Anniversary Maibock (which we opened on our anniversary a few months later: very good). We’ve now made it a point to stop somewhere in or around Harrisburg to pick up some of their beer and root beer to bring back to VA w/​us. And if you’ve never tried their root beer, it’ll bring you back to childhood. Fantastic.

Heading back to Philly from Pittsburgh, my group was looking for one last dining adventure and figured the Appalachian Brewing Company wasn’t too far from the PA Turnpike.
Visually it is your quintessential brewery and pub. The building was designed so that you could see the brewery equipment from the dining area. The décor was also Appalachian Trail themed. We arrived around 7:30 on a Sunday but apparently they do brewery tours on Saturday.
Each member of my party went with a beer and burger. I had the IPA and the Thru Hiker, black bean patty style. I’m not vegetarian but from time to time I enjoy a nice veggie patty. To my surprise, the patty consisted of more than just black beans but I was fine with the mix of black beans, corn, carrots and probably other ingredients. The patty was topped with fresh avocado and spinach. Just when I thought I was being healthy, it was smothered with tasty belted brie. I removed the tomato from my sandwich and also didn’t use the side of ginger mayo. I opted for the chips and was glad I did. They were very crispy and well-​seasoned. I love that each bun was stamped with their logo. The little touches can really go a long way.
My Hoppy Trails IPA was the perfect accompaniment to my burger. It wasn’t the strongest IPA I’ve ever had but it had a very nice flavor. Hoppy indeed.
I’d also recommend checking out the brewery store. They sell a PA Beer Monopoly Game which uses local breweries as the property.
As others had mentioned, service is an issue at the restaurant. Our server was fine in the beginning but then dropped off the planet after dropping off our food. He barely checked in on us and we had to track him down for the check long after we finished our meal. As much as I would have loved to sit around a table in Harrisburg staring at my empty plate, we still had a 2 hour drive ahead of us.
While I enjoyed my beer and food, I certainly won’t be rushing back. Without a doubt I would order an Appalachian brew from a bar or buy a 6-​pack if the opportunity ever presented itself.