The Beer Traveller

I had gotten a later start than I had wanted from Brownville & was aiming to hit York, PA by nightfall.  But I would be traveling through my hometown & though I’d give a shout-out to the ol’ man to see if he was free for lunch.  Unfortunately he had an appt & wouldn’t be free till about 2PM.  This was going to put me behind schedule, but I’ve come to realize how important it is to take family time whenever you can get it.
I arrived a little early & made my way underground to Empire Brewing Company.  The place was empty other than a few of the employees chatting around the bar.  I proceeded to order a sampler.  As sometimes is the case, as soon as I started taking pics & notes, someone decided to stop over & find out what I was hope to.  I was lucky enough to have it be Tim Butler, the head brewer. I gave him the low down on my little adventure & he was more than accommodating, offering to pick-up my sampler as well as sample me anything more I wanted.  Dad showed up & said I’d be having 2 more surprise guests. Shortly thereafter, Megan the other half of Melissa showed.  We commenced ordering while Kim the bartender raved about how good my plan was.  Commenting on the possible potential once I take myself off the beer circuit.  While we were awaiting our food, Tim came back over & offered a tour of the brewing facilities. This guy knows his stuff (hence all the awards) & I soon found out knows how to brew a great batch of beer.
Stars of the show were the IPA & Aphrodisiac Ale.  The IPA was extremely well balanced while the Aphro had a lot of flavor, incorporating honey, ginger, & lavender.  He only had one beer towards the bottom, the Instigator Dopplebock.  Although fairly high in alcohol, it received a Drinkable for tasting a little watery.  Other his other brews received above average markings of Likable. 
Tim & Kim were great, the food was superb, & Empire sported a uniques atmosphere of being subterranean.