| Hidden River Brewing Company 1808 W. Schuylkill Rd (Rt 724) | Douglassville, PA 484-273-2266 hiddenriverbrewing.com |
The historic Brinton Lodge, nestled on a country road in Douglassville, dates back to the early 1700’s. Originally a small farmhouse built by one of the first families to purchase the land from William Penn, the structure has grown over generations to a 28 room mansion.
The lodge is now a non-profit historic site that hosts offbeat events throughout the year and is home to the recently opened Hidden River Brewing Company. You’ll know you’ve come to the right place when you are greeted with a sign that reads, simply and sweetly, “beer”.
Hidden River, which opened to the public in late July 2015, is owned by Doug Reeser and Kevin Margitich. Doug and Kevin have been home brewers for over eight years and fans of craft beer since the 90’s. They envision the tasting room as part of a destination where visitors can kayak up, enjoy some fine beer and light local fare and peruse the historic landmark.
The brewery serves up fresh and creative beers, those available on tap when we visited were:
- Amigos Viejos – 5% ABV Ginger Lemongrass Pale Ale with lemongrass and ginger grown Broad Wing Farm.
- Tonal Pattern – 4.4% ABV Small IPA with big citrus notes, it is heavily hopped with Centennial and Citra.
- The Dark Shadow – 8% ABV Chocolatey Oatmeal Stout conditioned on smoked jalapeños from Epic Acre Farm in Oley and local Apple Wood from Geigertown
- Fixation – 5.5% ABV Rustic Saison, semi-sweet and hoppy. The first in their Rustic Series.
All of the beers were well-crafted and quite tasty. The line-up was well suited to the summer season (with the exception of the Dark Shadow, but that’s ok because it was delicious), with lots of refreshing, crisp and rustic tastes. My personal favorite was the Fixation Saison (of course) but the Amigos Viejos was the most quenching.
A small menu of light, locally sourced food is available, including a cheese plate with raspberries, peach, local honey and bread which Steph enjoyed during our visit. Other offerings include a selection of paninis, a meat plate and the simple comfort of bread and butter.
Hidden River is definitely worth a visit. The tasting room is small but cozy, the beers great, the food is fresh and you’ll be supporting the preservation and restoration of the Brinton Lodge. They are currently running “soft-open” hours, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 4 to 9pm. Get more details on Facebook or Twitter.
