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We love featuring Pennsylvania breweries on the WILK Friday BeerBuzz, but for some reason we haven’t represented the breweries to our west quite as well. And after enjoying a beer that’s just hitting NEPA a few weekends ago, I realized we’ve had a glaring omission on the show.
Back in 2002 Otto’s Pub & Brewery opened their doors in State College. Started by PSU grad Charlie Schnable, Otto’s became the first brewpub in the State College area and a very successful brewpub at that. Coincidentally I was able to sample Otto’s IPA that very same year at the Split Rock beer festival, and to this day I recall it as being one of the best beers at the fest that year…no small feat for an IPA guy like me.
Prior to even celebrating their 10th anniversary, Otto’s celebrated their rapid growth by opening an all new brewpub in 2010. Armed with more seats and more parking (an issue at their previous location) Otto’s embarked on a new venture expanding their beer and food menus as well as creating a space for a PA Brewing History display at the pub. If you get a chance to browse the collection at the pub you’ll see a great display of local brewing history and some really cool artifacts.
To celebrate their 10th anniversary in 2012, Otto’s was again expanding to add additional brewing space and an outdoor patio….effectively doubling their brewing capacity. 
Today we were excited to talk to Brewer Chris Brugger. Chris had some great insight into the brewing equipment and capacity of Otto’s and it was exciting to hear the details of their bottling line and some of their future plans and brews…and of course we sampled some great Otto’s brews.
With summer on the horizon, I wanted to start with what I consider the Otto’s summer flagship beer, Apricot Wheat. This 4.7% American wheat is one of my favorite Otto’s brews and I really enjoy the delicate apricot flavor and clean finish…and what Friday BeerBuzz show would be complete without an IPA? So today we sampled Otto’s Slab Cabin IPA. This hoppy brew uses Nugget, Palisade & Amarillo hops and comes marching in at a pleasant 6.3% ABV.
These are great beers and with the move to 12oz bottles I suspect we will see more and more brews in NEPA. For those seeking out the beer, I checked earlier this week and Krugel’s Georgetown Deli & Beer not only has Apricot Wheat and Slab Cabin IPA, but also Red Mo and Double D IPA…so be sure to stop up and check them out.
Thank you to Chris Brugger from Otto’s Pub & Brewery, Nancy, John & Joe for yet another
fun Friday.
The Friday BeerBuzz…bringing good beers and good people together. As always you can check out the video on-line at the WILK Friday BeerBuzz page by clicking HERE.
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