In the past several years, Williamsport has really taken a liking to craft beer; however, it’s been a slow process getting good quality beers in the area. It is now quite common to find craft beers on draft at many

local restaurants, and an ever-expanding beer selection can be found at Wegmans. There are also smaller beer markets, such as Orlie’s in Muncy and the Hallson Square Sub Shop in Pennsdale. For those of us who

enjoy craft beer, now we have quite a few purchasing options in the area. Still, there are many beers not found locally: for the hardcore beer lovers, we need to travel. I find myself heading out of town on

a monthly basis, hunting down hard-to-find beers. Depending on the day and the amount of time available for traveling, we’ll visit a familiar location that we know has a great beer selection or we’ll seek out something completely new. I’ve spent a lot of time on the road seeking out beer. Let’s take a look

at three of my travels. State College, home of Penn State, is not far from here. Much of the beer that you’ll

find in the State College area will be quite familiar, but if you look hard enough, you’ll find lots of beers not offered in the Williamsport area. There are several large distributors, which at first seem to be your run-of-the- mill distributors, although if you look hard or ask for a specific beer, chances are you may find something intriguing. I’ve had luck getting very hard-to-find cases at several of these distributors. If you don’t want to buy a case, a great stop is Zeno’s, a place a lot of you may have heard of but can’t seem to

find. It’s not really advertised and can easily be missed because it is located in the basement of the Corner Room Hotel. Zeno’s is a beer bar with a very large selection of draft and bottled beers. You can get your growlers filled there as well as bottle take-out. They also have a small beer store on West College

dubbed the “Beer Closet” with a very nice small selection of beers. Another stop would be Wegmans, to peruse their selection which is quite different from the choices at our Wegmans. Lastly, make a stop at Otto’s Brewery; get a growler of “freshies” and say hi to Charlie (who was the founding brewer of the Bullfrog Brewery here in Williamsport). State College may be a short trip, but there are plenty of good malted beverages out that way. You just need to look. Our next trip would take us roughly two hours south to Campbelltown, located just outside of Hershey, PA. Campbelltown is the home of the Brass Rail, which happens to be not only a distributor but also a deli and beer store. This is a trip we make several times a year. Sisco, the owner, does a great job rotating beers in the deli and has an incredible inventory of quality beers as a distributor. It’s very easy to blow a few hours down there, given that Sisco loves to sit and chat about beer. A typical trip to the Rail would have us stopping by the Beer Zoo and Troegs in Harrisburg before we head back to Billtown. The Beer Zoo is your everyday distributor, though we always find

the offi cial beer of Barleydine there. Lastly we’ll hit Troegs Brewery, where you can get their regular lineup, as well as the Scratch series, by the growler. This is a favored trip by the Barleydine crew, given the quality of beers found and the time spent traveling. Lastly, you have the ultimate experience.

If you’re willing to kill an entire day you can make the trek to the Rochester, NY, area and visit Beers of the World. This is without a doubt the most massive beer store I have ever visited, pushing 3000 square feet

of beer heaven. There are rows and rows of beers, divided by country, starting with Germany and the Czech Republic and leading into France and Belgium, with many other countries in between. The US is located near the back, with a large amount of shelf space offering many of the beers that so many of

us frantically seek out. Beers of the World really is a must-see establishment. I have never seen so many different beers in the same place at one time. It’s like shopping for groceries; just through the front door you can pick up a cart, which for most of us is a necessity. Aside from the beer, they offer an

extensive line of glassware and homebrew supplies. Another plus is the staff, who are very knowledgeable and friendly. Beers of the World is a must-see for all of you who enjoy craft and imported beer. It’s a very

well-known beer establishment on the East Coast that we are fortunate enough to have only a few hours away from us. State College, Campbelltown, and Rochester are only a few of our many travels.

We have not even begun to make a dent in the world of craft beer but will continue to travel to places new and old. We’re always seeking out the rare, the obscure, the “white whale” of beers, if you will. We’ll

review these wonderful malted beverages and post pairing suggestions for you all to see and try. As always, remember, “beer + food = Barleydine.”

Joshua Lepley is halfway to reaching full Cicerone Certification (the beer equivalent to a Sommelier).