A new Lehigh Valley brewery is celebrating more than America’s independence from Great Britain this weekend.
Rising River Brewing, at 1955 Willow Lane in the East Texas section of Lower Macungie Township, also is celebrating its soon-to-be independence from an outdoor tent, which has served as its temporary tasting room for the past six months.
The brewery’s indoor facility passed its final inspection on Monday, and co-owners Ron W. Beitler and Jason Mulligan are opening its permanent tasting room this weekend in a renovated, 120-year-old barn that includes a new, 3,200-square-foot deck.
Over the past several months, Rising River has built a loyal following thanks to its tasty brews and scenic views.
The brewery, which adds to the Lehigh Valley’s growing lineup of more than two dozen breweries, boast an impressive outdoor set-up with swings, firepits, string lights, picnic tables and 100 Adirondack chairs along the Little Lehigh Creek.
Customers also can listen to live music (on select nights), walk or relax in a chair in the creek and play cornhole and other yard games on the 2-acre property, which also features abundant grass, shrubs and trees.
“Once we get going inside, the yard will still be the beating heart of this place,” Beitler said.
In 2020, Beitler and his father, Ron R. Beitler, purchased the former Willows Restaurant property, where area residents would come for Pennsylvania Dutch classics like scrapple and corn pie.
While the barn remains, the restaurant had to be demolished following a series a floods that forced its closure in 2017.
The barn, which originated as a livestock auction house before transitioning to a social hall and later storage space, features a 1,700-square-foot taproom that Rising River shares with Three Little Birds Distilling, a distillery operated by Greg Smith, owner of Hop Hill Brewing Company in Lower Saucon Township.
The businesses have their own production spaces, with the shared taproom featuring new bathrooms, seating for around 80 customers and a glass garage door opening to the deck.
Mulligan, Rising River’s head brewer, previously worked for five years as a production assistant at Voodoo Brewing in Meadville, Crawford County. He also homebrewed for several years prior to his professional gig.
Customers can expect 10 draft selections — eight beers, a Rising River hard seltzer and a hard cider from Upper Mount Bethel Township’s Hardball Cider.
Brews will include popular Rising River selections such as East Texas Blonde (blonde ale), Hex (Belgian-style witbier), Hey Naw! (pilsner), Wild Skys (West Coast IPA), P.L.M. (American lager) and He’s a real Sidler (Belgian tripel brewed with cherries and raspberries).
“We want to use ingredients from the property as much as possible,” Beitler said. “Our first beer, a collaboration that we did with Hop Hill, was called Hop River and featured 15 pounds of mulberries from a tree down by the bank. We’d eventually like to have some strawberries to make a strawberry rhubarb beer.”
The indoor tasting room features original barn elements, including windows and ceiling beams, along with locally sourced accents such as a walnut bar top from Little Lehigh Lumber, a custom wood and resin table from After Hours Woodcraft and a trio of hand-blown glass light fixtures from Lehigh Valley artisan Michelle D’Amico.
A new garage-style door opens to a newly constructed deck, which has occupancy for more than 200 customers. Picnic tables are arriving this week, and a 20-seat, square tiki bar should be complete by the fall, Beitler said.
“We’re super psyched about the deck, which will help us extend the fun year-round,” Beitler said. “I think it will really shine come October or November, when we have heaters and a tiki bar. We could bring our same tent back up on the deck for cover.”
The indoor tasting room’s tentative hours are 4-9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 4-10 p.m. Fridays, 1-10 p.m. Saturdays and 1-9 Sundays, Beitler said.
For more information brewery happenings, including scheduled food trucks and live music, follow the business’ social media pages, facebook.com/RisingRiverBrewing and instagram.com/risingriverbrewing.
