Stoll & Wolfe Distillery, Lititz - Bar # 175

July is a 5 Tuesday month so The Retired Guys made it out on our continuing adventure three times this month and visited our 175th bar - Stoll & Wolfe Distillery.  As all of our readers know, we are retired (and on the older side) so we tend to get to bars a little early in the afternoon and today was no exception.  We arrived just at opening time and were met outside by Tobias, the bar manager and our bartender for the day.

While Stoll & Wolfe is known for its production of spirits, they do have an ever changing set of 4 taps of craft beers and we were able to quench each of our thirsts by trying two of them.  Tobias was knowledgeable of the beers and had no problem explaining the flavor nuance of each.  Additionally, we were each treated to a tiny sample of one of the spirits which resulted in a purchase of a top shelf bottle of bourbon.

We noted that Tobias was a naturally outgoing person and made each of the bar patrons feel welcome and at home.  He provided us with an overview of the history of spirit manufacture in the area from the beginning and a detailed history of the Stoll & Wolfe brand.  We were treated by watching as cocktails were made right in front of us and became convinced that we would try to develop a new passion when we have completed our beer quest.  That new passion will be to seek out the best cocktail drink in the Lancaster area!

Tobias explained that Stoll & Wolfe does scheduled tastings of its products and also teams up with local vendors such as cheese or meat suppliers to enhance the experience.  Their schedule is posted on their Facebook page for anyone to find and plan an outing.

Our experience today was thoroughly enjoyable from the start and we determined quickly that this is a venue definitely worth returning to, especially during one of their special events!  If you want to enjoy a cocktail or just stay with beer, we encourage you to make your way to Lititz and give this place a try!

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per diem, Rock Lititz - Bar # 174

At # 174, the Retired Guys are much closer to the end of our quest to visit all bars in Lancaster County than we are from the beginning.  Recently, we have had difficulty pulling together whatever it takes to get motivated to write our blog entries and don't know if the reason is that we are clearly not professional writers or if we are finally visiting the bars we subconciously left until we neared the end.  Today is a refreshing change!

Per Diem at Hotel Rock Lititz in Lititz is a new restaurant/bar nestled in the seemingly ever expanding complex known as Rock Lititz.  Brian, our welcomimg bartender for the day informed us there are currently plans for another 250,000 square foot expansion of a business strip as well as an equal sized expansion of the rehersal area that actually started the development ball rolling in this area.

Brian was friendly and knowledgeable of the 8 tapped beers avaialble as well as adept at making cocktails for the other customers sharing the bar with us.  Today, we didn't have a snack to test the food but our view of the offerings presented to others nearby convinced us that a return in the near future for a meal is definitely in the cards.  To this writer it seemed that the Per Diem bar is better known for its cocktail offerings but if you're a beer lover (as we are) there are definitely enough taps to satisfy your thirst and that group is strengthened by a considerable choice of bottled and canned beers.

Make it a point to visit the Per Diem bar in the near future.  Perhaps you'll be lucky enough to sit next to a rock star or even better, one of the Retired Guys!

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Mick's All American Pub, Willow Street - Bar #173

It's been way too long since Mick's on Columbia Avenue closed and the Willow Street location opened.  Well, it has opened and serving the same great craft beers it did on Columbia Avenue.  Anna is serving some new brews we haven't heard of, but they are terrific.

It is very different from the Columbia Avenue atmosphere; much more open with a high ceiling.  Very nice, but doesn't have the same neighborhood pub feeling.  However, the view over the pond is beautiful and could not be matched anywhere but here.

I'm sure this location will be a success.  It is in a great location, the food is the same quality and the staff is very good judging by Anna today.  It is definitely worth the drive just south of Lancaster.

Until next time, CHEERS!

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Rumspringa Brewing Company, Bird In Hand - Bar # 172

The Retired Guys made an unscheduled stop today just because two guys felt like having a beer together and determined that it could be an official off schedule event and therefore an extra occasion to be appreciated and recorded.

Today we visited the Rumspringa Brewing Company in Bird In Hand for our 172nd Lancaster County bar visit. Upon entry to the barn styled building housing the brewery tasting room we were welcomed by Jack, the bar manager and our bartender for the day.  Jack was very knowledgeable of all the beers, ciders, and wines being offered for consumption and importantly he was generous with offering samples of any of the products on tap. We had a choice of 6 beers and 2 ciders.  Since we were attending a Retired Guys Beer Afternoon event we stuck to the beers.  Clearly it was not a penalty as we both enjoyed two separate beers each.

We were informed by Jack that Rumspringa stopped making beer on site when it joined with Swashbuckler brewing and Divine Swine Brewing in 2015 to consolidate their manufacturing operations on the Mount Hope Winery grounds in a new venture called SBC Brewsmiths.  The three breweries combined now manufacture approximately 4,500 barrels of beer annually with its own bottling line.  Sounds like a pretty efficient setup to the Retired Guys!

During our visit, we met a nice couple from Media, PA who had returned to Rumspringa one year to the day after their first visit.  It was refreshing to hear from two out of towners how much they appreciate what us "natives" tend to take for granted in Lancaster County.  We recommend you take the time to get out to "tourist" country and enjoy the offerings at Rumspringa Brewing Company.

To see all the places we have been to, just click on one of the selections below: 

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