Lebanon Valley Craft Brewery, which opened last March after the 168-year-old brewery had stood idle for more than a half-century, has now added food to its locally brewed libations.
“We built our commercial kitchen,” Dave Koch, president of Lebanon Valley Craft Brewery and one of four partners who own the business, told LebTown. “Friday, Feb. 9, was our first night serving food.”
The brewery at 840 N. 7th St., Lebanon, still looks the same to customers, Koch said – all of the work over the past year was in the kitchen. But, he said, customers now can order from a two-page food menu, as well as the eatery’s usual stable of beer offerings.
“It’s primarily pub fare,” he said. “We have a lineup of starters, then we have salads and bowls, fresh cut French fries and tater tots. We have wings, bone-in and boneless.”
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Signature items are the crab-stuffed pretzel, the Heritage (beer cheese sauce with bacon, ranch drizzle and red onion over fries or tots), the Brussel sprout caesar salad, the mash tun (13 wings over a heap of fries or tots), the coal cracker kielbasa sandwich, the hot honey chicken sandwich, the Cuban panini, and lava cake for dessert, Koch said. Other menu items include fried pickles and fried Brussel sprouts, a French dip, a build-your-own burger, and a vegetarian-friendly spicy black bean burger.
“This is our fixed startup menu,” Koch said. “We’ll run specials occasionally.”
Reactions to the food offerings have been positive, he noted.
“So far, it’s been great,” Koch said. “We got a lot of good feedback. People enjoy the food.”
Currently, he added, the kitchen is open the same hours as the brewpub – 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, 4 to 9 p.m. Fridays, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturdays, and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays – “but it’s likely, in the not-too-distant future, our hours will be extended.”
Meanwhile, he said, the beer business has remained steady, sustaining the business since it opened last year.
“Overall, our beers are well received,” he said. “We continue to work at it.”
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There are currently 10 beers on tap, including the Ahoy-Hoy (American pale ale), Daylight Fading (American stout), Hop-Zing (New England IPA), and Troubled Captain (Irish red ale), as well as seasonal offerings such as the Key of G (Helles Bock lager), Groundskeeper Willie (Scottish brown ale), and Mango Trout (fruited wheat ale). Their best seller, he said, is the Spunky Monk, a hefeweizen (wheat beer).
They also offer a popular BierVerkoster Club, which is German for “beer taster” and caters to the adventurous samplers. LVCB beers are also available to buy through some local distributors.
The building that houses LVCB was used by several local breweries dating back to 1856, when it was built by brewer Henry Hartman. It became known as Lebanon Brewing Co. in 1887 and, after another ownership change, the New Lebanon Brewery in 1894. Prohibition ended the brewery’s run in 1924, but it reopened as Lebanon Valley Brewing Co. after its repeal in 1933. Production ceased in 1959, and the building sat dormant until Koch and his partners began restoring it in 2017.
For now, Koch said, he and his partners are focused on building their day-to-day business. “Then we’ll look at future expansion plans,” he said. “Perhaps to an outdoor beer garden at some time in the future. That is still to be determined.”
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