Weyerbacher Brewing Company - Easton, Pennsylvania - beer manufacturing factory and tour

The Weyerbacher Brewing Company is a working brewery located at 905 Line Street in Easton, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1995 by avid home brew enthusiast Dan Weirbach and his wife Sue, the facility offers brewery tours and special sales on Saturdays throughout the year. Weyerbacher ales and beers are well-regarded specialty brews in the micro-brewery world, and the tour and sample tasting is a popular activity for both visitors and area residents.

The Weyerbacher Brewery originally opened in 1995 at 20 S. Sixth Street in Easton. The building once served as a livery stable, and despite its colorful history, presented numerous space and logistics problems for the Weirbachs. Even so, the brewery quickly made a name for itself as a quality microbrewery bottling unusual stouts and ales. While Weirbach's original plan had been to make and market mainstream American beers and ales, his own tastes and love of experimentation led him to create specialty ales like raspberry Imperial stout and pale Indian ale. His experimentation coincided with the surging interest in microbrewed beers, and the company launch was extremely successful.

In 1997, the Weirbachs decided to expand their business by adding a brew pub. While the pub was popular and successful, the couple found that trying to run two successful businesses put a strain on their small company. In 2001, when the brewery was moved to its current, more spacious location, they made the decision to close the brew pub and focus on brewing.

Weyerbacher brews are well-known among the aficionados of microbrewed beers. Weirbach pioneered a method of aging beers and stouts in oak barrels that had previously been used to age bourbon. The practice imparts a unique flavor and complexity to the brews that is highly regarded and well-known. Weirbach has also experimented with growing his own hops for an limited edition ale in 2008, and plans to repeat and possibly expand the experiment.

Weyerbacher beers and ales are available locally and in a number of nearby states, and can be purchased at the brewery itself during the Saturday brewery tours.

The Weyerbacher Brewing Company is open on Saturdays for public tours and sampling. The fifteen minute tour takes visitors through the brewery, offering a brief but thorough overview of the brewing process for the company's signature brews. After the tour, visitors are encouraged to sample signature Weyerbacher ales and beers, both those on tap and bottled. Brewery employees will happily open a bottle of any ale in stock for visitors to sample. Visitors can buy ales by the bottle, case, keg or growler, and are encouraged to put together mixed cases of different brews. There is also a gift store on premises where visitors can purchase merchandise with the company logo.

Tours of the Weyerbacher Brewing Company are conducted every Saturday at 12:30pm, 1:15pm and 2:15pm, with a sampling period following the fifteen minute tour. Admission is free, and reservations are recommended for large groups. For more information on the brewery tours or the brewing company, contact the Weyerbacher Brewing Company directly at 610-559-5561.