The White Swan Restaurant, Rothsville - Bar # 92

With this being the 5th Tuesday of the month we are fortunate to have another excuse to enjoy what is affectionately known as a Retired Guys Beer Afternoon.  And, why not?  As retired guys we certainly have the time!  It was my (Garry) turn to drive and I selected The White Swan Restaurant which is located in Rothsville, PA.

The White Swan Restaurant dates back to 1790 when it was known as Roth's Tavern.  It has gone through many iterations over the years but in 1940 then owner Fannie Miller coined the name "The White Swan" for the first time. The name has survived ever since then. This is a restaurant first but with a bar having a very significant presence.  

Terry and I go to these establishments first to quench our thirst for beer and second to seek out potential locations to return to for a meal with his main partner and a female friend of mine who luckily is a very good friend of Terry and Audrey.  The restaurant menu and atmosphere made this a certain candidate for a return visit as a foursome in the foreseeable future.

We cannot forget our main purpose here - beer.  The bar had an 8 tap system to deliver a very good selection of cold draft beer with only one of them being the "Light" variety of major mass brewery liquid shamefully called beer.  Our bartender, Jen, was a very pleasant young lady who engaged with us upon our arrival and spoke of the charms of the bar and restaurant, recommending either the crab cakes or the scallop cakes as a perfect entree choice.  Jen was knowledgeable of all the beer offerings on tap as well as the bottled selection which was large.  She was very generous with samples when asked as well as in her identifying an opportunity to offer a sample to the two of us seeking to know more about beer in general.  We definitely enjoyed our time at the White Swan Restaurant!

When we reach the milestone of 100 bars visited our plan is to release a list of all bars with our TOP 5 noted.  With only 8 left to go, it is hard to imagine that The White Swan Restaurant could be bumped from the select group.

Lucky Ducks Bar & Grille, Elizabethtown - Bar # 91

Today, being the third Tuesday of the month we, had another long awaited Retired Guys Beer Afternoon.  The wait was only two weeks (like usual) since the last outing but perhaps all the heat and humidity we have suffered through made us crave a couple of cold ones more than normal.  Don't get me wrong, plenty of beer was consumed in the last two weeks so maybe it is the beer that accompanies the adventure of always going to a new place that makes it a little more taste worthy.  Either way, we were able to quench our thirst once again to our satisfaction.

This week we dropped in to Lucky Ducks Bar & Grille in Elizabethtown.  The building is equipped with a sizable outside deck which unfortunately was not yet open when we arrived a little before 3:30.  Once inside, the bar was easy to find and had plenty of idle stools waiting for us to pick our spot.  The tap selection of 7 beers with only one of them being of the Budweiser/Coors variety was welcoming even when informed that two of the taps were not currently working.  As we are quite experienced with selecting beer now, Terry and I had no trouble finding two to meet each of our taste criteria.  There also was a large selection of bottled beers in the rather large refrigerator to the side of the bar.

The bartenders were attentive and could be frequently observed checking to monitor the status of the beer glass in front of us.  We did notice the cleanliness throughout the bar and dining area and felt it would be a pleasant place to stop for a light dinner, especially on college night!

                                      

Since August is a kind month - the kind that happens to have 5 Tuesdays - we will be able to fit another Retired Guys Beer Afternoon in before moving on to September!

Mad Chef Craft Brewing - Bar # 90

Today, being Friday, was an unusual time for us Retired Guys to be heading out for an afternoon of suds guzzling.  We have a couple of reasons for that but won't bore the few regular readers we have with all the details.  Do know that change is good even though it does get more difficult with age!

It was my (Garry) turn to drive so I selected Mad Chef Brewery as our destination.  The location is in East Petersburg so a not distant 20 minutes or less drive from each of our homes.  While Mad Chef is in a relatively new building it is decorated in an old refurbished factory motif.  In other words, very simply decorated so as to remind patrons that the purpose of their visit is to enjoy the beer and perhaps the other customers when justified and not to be here for art appreciation or other stuff like that.

All of the beer offerings are made right here and there are 16 of them!  Terry started off with a "flight" of four 4 oz glasses of beers that he selected, each of which turned out to be very favorable.  I stuck with having 16 oz glasses of my choice and enjoyed both - one being an "East Pete Pils" while the other was "It Takes Brew to Mango" - excellent in both cases.

The bartenders were helpful, knowledgeable, and most important, very liberal with samples of their 16 selections.  We glanced at the food offerings when we first arrived but to be truthful, only looked at it as if the food menu were a landscape drawing and paid zero attention to the details.  We were here for beer!  The odor of what some other patrons were eating was pretty good so I think another visit for beer AND food is in order.  If you plan to visit, check the website as hours during the week are limited to late afternoon / evening.

The Belvedere Inn - Bar # 89

Today was somewhat of a challenge to find a watering hole open, but being determined retired guys with not much else going on, we persevered.  Who would have thought it would take three stops?

Today's stop was the Belvedere Inn on North Queen Street in beautiful downtown Lancaster.  The building itself is a converted mansion of a tobacco plantation owner and it still has a great old building feel.  There are 10 beers on draught with 9 of those being very good selections for beer drinkers who are looking for a brew with real beer taste and body.

While the staff was not over the top friendly and engaging, our server was pleasant and knowledgeable of the beer available.  Prices were average compared to other establishments of this quality and atmosphere.  We would definitely recommend a stop at this center city landmark.