Adams County Pour Tour Beverage Maker’s Favorites

From wines, meads and spirits to craft beer and hard cider, the Adams County Pour Tour has flavorful beverages for everyone’s palate. Our creative and knowledgeable beverage makers work hard to perfect each beverage release. We’ve asked these beverage makers to do the impossible – to choose their favorite of their creations. We’ve compiled a list of Adams County Pour Tour beverage maker’s favorites, so you know exactly what to order next time you embark on the trail.

India Pale Ale at Thirsty Farmer Brew Works

“Our ‘brewer’s pet’ is the India Pale Ale, known simply as IPA. Our IPA is brewed with five different styles of hops: Citra, Denali, Simcoe, Equanot and our brewer’s secret, an experimental hop that provides a unique, floral and stone fruit character! The various varieties of hops provide the beer with a complex personality. Up front, you’ll smell pine and catch a whiff of floral essence. A sip of this beer brings you to a medium-bodied malt flavor accented by an aftertaste of citrus and subtle pineapple notes. Our IPA is certainly true to its German-English roots, using Vienna Malt, Munich Malt and Carapils Malt – all used for elements of flavor, body and color. You can be sure that we’ll bring a consistent and well-developed IPA to your palate each time. Cheers, Thirsty Fans!” – Milton Knouse, brewer

Deep Creek Mead at Dawg Gone Bees

“At this time, we produce five different meads. If I were to pick a favorite, I would say that Deep Creek is the one I enjoy drinking the most. Before I started making mead, I was usually a beer drinker. I liked a good rich lager. Deep Creek has a rich, deep full-bodied flavor that most real beer or whiskey/brandy drinkers will enjoy, as well as traditional mead drinkers. Stop in to our shop in New Oxford and find out for yourself.” – Hal Mack, mead maker

Moscato at Adams County Winery

“Our Moscato is a sweet, tropical fruit white wine best served chilled. I particularly enjoy watching the aromas come together in the Moscato through fermentation. Shy at first, the nose explodes at mid-fermentation, then closes toward the end. The aromas return, get refined as the wine clarifies and gets ready for bottling. The nose is then expressive and elegant at the same time, fruity and floral.” – Bernard Cannac, vintner

Sweet Scarlet Cider at Reid’s Winery

“Sweet Scarlet, one of our sweet hard ciders, made with estate-grown apples and black currants, is a favorite among all of us at Reid’s! I also enjoy our Muscat Ottonel wine. The notes of honey, lemon and citrus make it stand out from all our other dry whites.” – Philip Keating, assistant cidermaker and vintner

My Cherry Amour at Halbrendt Vineyard and Winery

“My Cherry Amour is one of my favorite wines. Made from 100 percent locally grown tart cherries, it’s prepared in a fashion similar to that of a bold red wine by fermenting on the skins for a week before pressing. The finished wine is back sweetened to 0.5% before bottling. Because My Cherry Amour is not overly sweet, it is surprisingly versatile for a fruit wine. It can be a refreshing summer wine on its own, or make a nice addition to sangria. As a table wine, it makes an interesting pairing when served with ham or you can use your imagination. The wine can also be paired with chocolate and served as dessert.” – John Halbrendt, vintner

If you haven’t yet embarked on this tasting journey, the Adams County Pour Tour includes 20 stops throughout the Adams County countryside and downtown Gettysburg. Pick up a free passport at any participating location and check out the virtual map here to begin. The best part? You earn prizes just for sampling unique beverages and collecting stamps in your passport!