Welcome to Shamokin!
In this new episode, I make what is actually my second foray into Pennsylvania’s Coal Country (Episode 1 was partly in Sunbury, technically Coal Country) with a visit to Shamokin. Long-time fan of the show Jay Zalewski has been telling me about good things there for a while, and he finally wore me down…and I’m glad he did.
I’m not going to lie to you. Parts of Shamokin are pretty run-down — ‘About two matches away from a three-alarm fire,’ someone said — and the creek that runs through town is orange from acid mine damage. But there are some fun spots, like the Covered Bridge Brew Haus, where I interviewed owner Eric Kuijpers, the 108-year-old and still kicking Coney Island Lunch, comfy whiskey bar Olive’s Spirits and Cigars, and the town’s other brewpub, the Lost Mine-d Brewing Company, where I had a good jar of ESB. And the people are magnificent! The crowd at James’ Pizza and owner Florian “Flo” James took me in like a brother, as in they gave me a good ribbing as soon as I walked in the door, and we all laughed about it.
My sponsorship bit is about the “Black Mo,” our beloved Black Moshannon State Park. Many state parks are quiet in the winter, but Black Mo hosts XC skiing, ice skating and ice fishing, and snowmobiling on miles of trails. There’s even ice-boating on Black Mo Lake, and I would really like to see that.
What I’m Drinking Today is another Tröegs beer, their new Dark Lager, and that’s a tease, because it’s only available at the brewery. I picked some up on the way home, last time I was down in Philly, and I put it on the show today because I want you to hear how good it is, decide you must have it, and start demanding it from your local beer stores and taverns! Maybe Tröegs will see reason and release it in the wider market…
That’s about it. I surprised myself and didn’t mention American Whiskey Master Class once (though here it is…)!
I’ll see you in two weeks. I plan to talk to Nora about merch over the weekend. We may do a poll to get some kind of idea on what you guys would want to see, and whether you’d actually buy anything (that’s kind of essential to selling merch). And the other media page is coming, I’ve been working on it, but it’s still in draft. Soon.