Seen Through A Glass

You've got to do what I finally did this episode, and get off the highways that bypass the town of Duncannon, sitting just downstream of the confluence of the Juniata and the Susquehanna. Why? As a local bartender told me, "I call it FunCannon!" This episode came together in about a day and a half, thanks to Michael Lindgren at  Lindgren Craft Brewery in Duncannon. I've been drinking their beer at...

You all know about the Battle of Gettysburg, so we're not talking about that.  Instead, I'm jumping right into the town before the battle (a little bit of history, some of it is still around today), and the town today, which is a huge tourist attraction that tends to be a little less touristy than most huge tourist attractions, because of the solemn nature of the history.  But when we've toured th...

What's the Biggest Thing In Tipton?  America's oldest family-owned pasta sauce maker, DelGrosso Foods! The DelGrosso family has been making pasta sauce in Tipton for over 75 years, and running their amusement park even longer. Joe and Michael DelGrosso tell me the stories behind this; the love story, the beer garden story, the innovation story, and through it all, their family story. Maybe the mos...

One interview, two absolutely iconic central PA bars: Zeno's, and Chumley's. I got an interview with Ellen Braun, who is the general manager of Zeno's, the bar that brought great beer to State College; and also the general manager of Chumley's, the bar that has quietly (and sometimes not so quietly) provided a safe haven for gay folks from Penn State and the region around State College since the e...

It's another OG Beer Bar interview with a real original: Paula Seguin of Boxer's Cafe in Huntingdon, serving craft beer since 1991! I went down to Huntingdon to get the interview and have a beer at one of the most welcoming bars I know, and wound up with more than I'd planned: barbecue, fresh-roasted coffee at Standing Stone Coffee , good beer at Juniata Brewing , a couple-three cuts at Best-Way P...

It's "barbecue," but you know...if you spell it "barbeque," or "BBQ," or "Bar-b-que," it's gonna taste just as good! I got an interview with my man Dave Graham of Graham's Up In Smoke in Philipsburg. Dave's got opinions about barbecue, and that's 100% cool, because he makes excellent barbecue: brisket, pork, chicken (when it's reasonable), sausage, turkey, and salmon. Yes, salmon...but you'll have...

When you tell me who to interview, I listen. Who should I interview, I asked folks on Facebook. What central PA creators would you like to hear from? And one of the most asked-for names was Sc'eric Horner, the bartender at  Pine Grove Hall in Pine Grove Mills, PA. He's a regular on top bartender lists in the area, he's creative, some say eccentric, but almost everyone agrees: he makes great drinks...

Our water tastes great in Millheim. Wanna know why?  Trout.  Trout fishing is a very big deal in central PA, from the Yellow Breeches Creek in Cumberland County, to Cedar Run in Lycoming County, the Little Juniata, and Centre County's Spruce, Spring, and Penns Creeks. I talked to a pair of young fishing guides at The Feathered Hook fishing store in Coburn, and to  Tom Doman , a licensed guide who'...

I went way out in the Pennsylvania Wilds, up in elk country (not Elk County), to interview a couple who make salad dressings and ship them across the country.   Village Eatinghouse dressings...or are they sauces? Marinades? Whatever they are, they're delicious and versatile, and they're made here in Centre County, so I went out and found Clay and Melanie Phillips in Pine Glen, PA. We talked, we ta...

No, there isn't a salmon run on the Susquehanna, but you CAN get really fresh (frozen) salmon in central PA!  A couple episodes back, we talked about the five pound box of frozen haddock. This time, I talked to the people who actually catch sockeye salmon (and rockfish, and cod, and the big king salmon) up in Alaska, fillet and freeze them, and bring them back to us, wild-caught, and next best to...

Yes, it's about Danville. No, it's not because I had to go to Geisinger!  I've been going to Danville for years, almost always for the same reason: to go to  Old Forge Brewing . And that's what I did this time, to interview owners Damien and Maria Malfara. I also went to the two coffee roasters in town,  Java Momma and Bason Coffee Roasting , then to  Rock God Brewing (been meaning to do that for...

Happy Bottled in Bond Day! Yes, it's another whiskey episode, for a variety of reasons, and there's a chunk of beer as well, so it's kind of a boilermaker episode, if you will.  I got hold of Al Laws, the founder and owner of the Laws Whiskey House in Denver. I told you about visiting there back in October of 2023 (in Episode 25+), but I didn't get to meet Al. Last week, their publicist reached ou...

Back to Michigan for Part II of Whiskey Business! I have a great interview for you with Bill Welter, the owner of Journeyman Distillery in Three Oaks, Michigan. I got this interview the same day (in the same room) as the one from episode 46 with Marty Duffy. Bill's got some stories about starting out craft distilling in the early years, and we talk about Three Oaks, a beautiful little spot just tw...

Valentine's Day is just around the corner, so here we are with a candymaker interview!  Have you ever driven past the small Purity Candy building on Rt. 15, between Lewisburg and Williamsport? I have, but I finally stopped, and learned that the candy is terrific. I got an interview with owner/candymaker John Burfeindt. He spills the beans on Purity's history, tells us about Arlene, the woman who w...

It's "cheesesteak," not "cheese steak," and certainly not "Philly cheese steak"!  I got an interview with Pat Romano of the We Are Inn restaurant and motel in Philipsburg. Pat's got opinions about cheesesteaks, and Philly roast pork sandwiches, and management, and...Pat's got opinions. He's also going to be opening a new, much bigger place in State College in April. Probably April.  I talked to Pa...

Hey, I'm back! And I brought whiskey! I know, I know, I've been away a long time. Three months? Really? That long? Well...a lot happened, and I'll tell you about it, but briefly: had to drop everything to deal with wrapping up writing my next book, and then I lost my voice. Yeah, imagine that.  But I am back, with some stuff on how and why I write whiskey books, including an interview with my old...

The Stone Fence Episode? Yeah, I'm up against it with this book project. I didn't get the "here's what it's like writing a book" episode done, but then I remembered that I had a recording of the rye whiskey and cider talk I took part in back in April down at  Ploughman Cider in Gettysburg (Thanks, Ben!), so I'm finally uploading that. I did it with Dan Pucci, author of American Cider: a modern gui...

Brookville? Where the hell is that? As I confess, until about five years ago, I'd never heard of Brookville. But back in July, I got a crash course in it, and it was pretty cool! There's  Blackbird Distillery  just on the edge of town, where they make their shine from scratch, and I got an interview with co-owner Jennifer Black, and sampled some spirits. But there's more! I had lunch at the Moon P...

Clarion has only 4,000 souls, but it has three breweries. Definitely STAG-worthy.  Okay, if I'm going to be precise, the third brewery, Lost In The Wilds , is in Shippenville, but that's all of five minutes from  Clarion River Brewing and  Mechanistic Brewing in 'downtown' Clarion, so I'm going with it. I interviewed the three brewer-owners, all in one beautiful day in July. We talk about the natu...

Hungry? Thirsty?  Don't just have food and beer, have the optimal food and beer! Beer and food pairing isn't as easy as you'd think, but it isn't hard either. I've got some guidelines, a little history of the Great American Beer Dinner, some tips from world-renowned beer educational cartoonist Em Sauter , and an interview from my old pal John Holl, a podcaster , a publisher , a raconteur, and the...

This is not the cider episode I promised you.  It's better! I was going to give you a pre-recorded presentation I did at the Ploughman Farm Cider taproom in Gettysburg in April, and some talk about the ciders I had while I was there...but then I went to the PA Cider Fest in Biglerville, and got a much better cider episode. Interviews, tastings, and a whole new outlook on cider and drinks in Pennsy...

THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN! I asked you who you wanted me to interview, and you said "Give us The Pizza Boy, Al Kominski!" Well, I cannot defy or deny the people, so I went down to Al's of Hampden in Enola on the West Shore and got the interview...and then hung around and visited some more breweries: Ever Grain, Mellow Mink, Sworn, Hemauer, and Liquid Noise. I got in a visit to Sugar Run Brewing in Du...

Have you ever had a Maibock? My old buddy Chip "The Beer Guy" Hanuscik lured me up to Northeast PA with Maibock. He talked FOUR brewers into making one, and dangled that in front of me. I took the bait like a brown trout rising to a Green Drake, and I'll tell you all about it. PLUS: NEPA Pizza! The incredible Sabatini's! Tom Brennan! And a real life Wilkes-Barre kielbassi shop!  Next episode? THE...

Got some hot stuff for you! Friends warned us that food would be bland in central PA...but not all of it! I talked to two pepper product people; Beth Cowher, who makes her Backyard Flavors sandwich peppers in Aaronsburg, and Janet Robinson, who's been making her  Piper's Peck products on the hill outside of Bellefonte since 1998. We talk Scoville units, and pepper jellies, and how to cool the burn...

Do you like hazy IPAs?  Do you hate hazy IPAs? I dug into this cloudy phenomenon with the help of New Trail Brewing partner and Director of Brewing Operations Mike LaRosa. It seemed to be a subject he had been waiting for someone to ask him about, and we went at it. We also talked about New Trail's amazing growth, their excellent big beers, the Crisp lager family, and the shape of craft brewing in...