Beer drinkers in central Pa. have a lot to look forward to in 2019.

At least nine new breweries have big plans in the works this year, some closer to opening than others.

Here’s who is expected to turn on the taps, or at least forge ahead with projects in the coming months.

Devil’s Eye is targeted to open in April at the former Flapjack’s Pub & Restaurant at 9 N. U.S. Route 15 in Dillsburg.

The brewery will encompass a restaurant, bar with local wine and spirits and deck with outdoor seating. Co-owner Holly Ann Amig enters the project with a restaurant background, having worked in the industry her entire adult life.

“I just got tired of working for everybody else. I had a lot of things I wanted to do that you just can’t do as an employee,” she said.

She is a firm believer food is a necessary accompaniment to beer.

“When people go out to drink they need food,” Amig said, adding without food they go someplace else. “This keeps them here.”

Devil’s Eye will serve pub-friendly food such as wings, burgers, grilled cheese, pizza, sandwiches, steaks and seafood as well as a kids’ menu.

As for the beer, part-time brewers will work together to create Devil’s Eye portfolio of several different styles, Amig said. In the beginning six beers will be on tap and eventually expand to about a dozen offerings.

2. Highway Manor Brewing

Nearly four years ago, Johnnie Compton III opened Highway Manor in Lower Allen Township specializing in adventurous sour and funky beers. His nearly 30 products sell mostly in Philadelphia and New York City as well as here in central Pa.

Now Compton has his eyes set on the next project, building a 100-seat tasting room at the brewery due to open at some point this year. For the first time the public will be able to take a seat inside Highway Manor at 2238 Gettysburg Road.

Compton admits he wasn’t eager about entering the hospitality sector, but it’s a logical next step to maintain Highway Manor’s relevance among beer drinkers.

“A lot of people are coming into beer. There is a lot of education about what we do and how we do it,” Compton said.

The tasting room – not intended to be a sour beer bar, by any means - will serve beer cocktails, natural wines and ciders mixed with a few of Compton’s favorite sour beers from other breweries to form a beverage hub. A 12 beer draft line will combine Highway Manor’s beers with guest beers.

On the food side, Compton said he plans to start basic with a simple menu of pub food favorites.

The start-up brewery will be a first for Huntingdon County. CEO Sean Steeg, who said a career change and early mid-life crisis sparked the idea for Juniata Brewing Company, has partnered with brewmaster David Welsch.

“My deal with him is you handle beer and I’ll handle the rest of the stuff,” Steeg said.

They hope to soon announce the brewery’s address in Huntingdon and open in time for Juniata College’s homecoming in September.

Plans call for a small-scale facility and five-barrel brewing system. They recently purchased equipment from GearHouse Brewing Company. The tasting room might accommodate up to 60 people.

“As you may have heard we are young and untested, so we wanted to keep the scope of what we are doing manageable and give ourselves room to grow,” Steeg said.

As for styles of beer, Welsch said Juniata Brewing won’t follow a specific style but produce a mix of classic and newer styles like New England IPAs. He admits to being partial to Belgian beers, stouts and porters, and acknowledges the portfolio will need to be broad enough to appeal to different beer drinkers.

You shouldn't have to feel guilty about taking breaks. #norefrigerationneeded Posted by Lindgren Craft Brewery on Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Father-son team Clifford and Michael Lindgren are hoping to make the leap from a two-barrel pilot system to something bigger in 2019.

The Lindgrens are eyeing a property in Duncannon where they will expand production to 20 barrels and open a tasting room in collaboration with a restaurant. They hope to finalize plans this year.

For now, they brew favorites such as I Love Mary Jane (Tropical Duncannon style) IPA and Weak in the Knees Pale Ale on the family’s Penn Township farm in Perry County. The beers are on tap at Mastracchio's Restaurant & Lounge in Newport and Sorrento's Bar & Lounge in Duncannon.

“It was always one day we are going to start a business together,” said the younger Lindgren.

After leaving college Michael Lindgren worked at Appalachian Brewing Company where he met Jason Simmons, who has been hired as Lindgren’s head brewer. Simmons has more than 15 years of experience in the industry.

“We want to be able to brew really interesting beers people enjoy,” Michael said.

Among their experiments was a beer brewed with sweet potatoes. “It was very light and crisp with a slight sweetness and it’s probably one of our more popular beers,” he said.

Three converted “beer curmudgeons” will bring Red Lion Alesmiths to the basement of the Shadesville Hub & Corner Café at 157 E. Broadway in Red Lion. Renovations are underway for a possible April opening.

The Broadway Ale House will serve eight beers on tap along with Allegro wines on the main floor of a new pub bar.

“One might describe the taproom feel we are going for as a sort of steam punk theme crossed with a Cracker Barrell country, Harley style and 70’s love child tie dye mash up. It is our hope that the synergy among us will help bring people back in to the center of Red Lion and revitalize the neighborhood,” said Chris Grothe, one of the owners.

Red Ale is a partnership between Grothe and Ed Miller and Rich Day, all lifelong friends and 1984 Red Lion High School graduates. What was a hobby eventually turned more serious as they gained confidence with their recipes.

Grothe said before the friends were serious home brewers they used to drink beer for the alcohol, not the taste. As a result, they are intent on brewing unique, groundbreaking beers.

“We believe we can make some of the best craft brew products in the region and beyond. And not only that, we believe we can make products that will encourage more people to rethink what they drink and why,” Grothe added.

They also hope to fill a need in the community by offering a place for people to gather including large groups for meet ups or banquets. Plans call for multi-course tasting parties, seminars, tasting events, trivia and beer festivals.

Brothers Wade and Drew Leedy are following their passion for craft beer.

The owners of Tommy’s Pizza in Gettysburg are branching out with Fourscore Beer Co., a 75-seat brewpub due to open later this spring at 603 S. Washington St. in Gettysburg in a former auto parts store.

“I like good beer and have for a while, and my brother got turned onto it,” Wade said. “The area needed a good hometown brewery.”

Wade is a former home brewer who has handled beer sales at Tommy’s where they sell a mix of cans and bottles and draft beer. The brothers are third generation owners at Tommy’s, a restaurant started by their grandfather.

Fourscore borrows its name from President Abraham Lincoln’s famous speech and will operate on a seven-barrel system. Ben Little, former brewmaster at Manor Hill Brewing in Ellicott City, Maryland, has been hired as brewer. Thirteen beers will be on tap.

“We’re going to have a little bit of everything. We’ll have the IPAs, some stouts, sour beers and some lagers,” Wade said.

To pair with the beer they will serve a small menu centered around bar food such as appetizers, sandwiches and salads. (No pizza, by the way.)

Owner Brooks Hemauer is taking his passion for home brewing to the commercial level.

He’s converting a detached garage at his home in Warrington Township outside of Dillsburg into a production facility. Construction is underway at the brewery.

“Mainly it is to have a business which not only can provide for my family but can also reinvest within our local community,” he said.

Right now, beers, including a Dilled Pale Ale and How Now Brown Cow Stout, are not available for sale but you can track them down at events such as PA Flavor in April. Hemauer said his portfolio will be diverse with something for everyone and eventually incorporate sour beers and barrel programs.

If all goes according to plan, he said he hopes to eventually open a taproom in Dillsburg.

8. Our Town Brewery

Our Town Brewery could open as early as the end of 2019 at 252 N. Prince St. in Lancaster, according to Lancaster Online.

There are not a lot of details but the 6,000 square-foot space will house a brewery and restaurant with seating for about 100. The project is being developed by Rob Patz and Rob Tarves, longtime friends who once worked together at a brewpub in Lewisburg, according to the site.

Tarves has experience from working at Spring House Brewing Co. and Mad Chef Brewing Co., both in Lancaster.

Wolf Brewing operates under the vision “artfully crafted, small batch creations with distinctive elements.”

It has actively brewing since 2011 when co-owner Derek Wolf started competing on the home brewing circuit. His claim to fame is 115 awards from all 50 states with 49 different beers.

Derek and Elaine Wolf have been extremely active in the local beer community with nearly a dozen collaborations with other breweries and participation in beer festivals and events such as Harrisburg Beer Week. Wolf has a slew of awards to its credit.

Up next, the Wolfs will open a permanent brewpub in Mechanicsburg. They are in the land development stage and hope to begin construction of the brewpub by the end of this year or by Spring 2020. An announcement about the exact location will happen in the coming months.