Brewery Visit: Sign of the Horse

Sign of the Horse Brewery opened up in Hanover on October 22, 2019 making them one of the newer kids on the block in South Central Pennsylvania. And, with so many breweries popping up in our state, it’s hard to get to them all. But with promises of tasty IPAs, we bumped it to the top of our “get to” list.

Sign of the Horse Beer & Food

Even if you’re not into IPAs, have no fear! Sign of the Horse actually has a wide variety of beer styles and even ciders to choose from. The ciders are brought in from Grand Illusion in Carlisle, PA. Another highly recommended place to visit!

Derek ordered a flight of 3 hop-forward ales including their widely popular ‘Flux’ New England Style IPA and 1 Pilsner. His favorite of the day was ‘Magnificent Obsession,’ an 8% ABV hazy DIPA. The ‘Flux’ hazy IPA was a close second. He also enjoyed the all Citra hopped, ‘Citra Come Lately’ IPA.

I, of course, am still on the sidelines with a “no gluten. no alcohol” order from the doctor. While I could not taste the beers (which all but kills me!), I certainly made sure to get my nose all up in that aroma from each glass!

FUN FACT:

“To honor the great history of Hanover, we have chosen the name ‘Sign of the Horse.’ Sign of the Horse was one of the first taverns in Hanover, [PA] in the late 1700’s. Thomas Jefferson stopped at the tavern on his way to draft the Declaration of Independence. George Washington has also made a visit to The Sign of the Horse tavern.”

I was also pleasantly surprised that I could custom order toppings on the cauliflower crust pizza available. Hugs and kisses to the chef who nailed my request of pesto, balsamic glaze drizzle, mushrooms and tomatoes. It was incredible! (Seriously… they should put this on the menu as the ‘Chelsie Pizza.’ Just sayin’.)

Other menu items include salads, sandwiches, pizzas and appetizers that could easily be confused as meals! Think pulled pork nachos, chicken tenders with various dipping sauces, and spinach artichoke dip just to name a few.

Brewer Interview

There are currently 2 brewers who contribute to the Sign of the Horse taplist: Jesse Mills and Matt Moore.

We sat down with Jesse Mills to chat about when he got his start, what he likes to drink, what are his brewing style specialties and what inspires him.

Where are you from?

Jesse: As a child I grew up in Shippensburg and I have a lot of family in Hanover, PA as well. Our family eventually moved to Lake Meade (East Berlin, PA). Then in 2005, my wife (Amanda) and I set down roots in Dillsburg, PA when our daughter, Rylee, was born. We’ve been there ever since and love it!

What do you like to drink?

Jesse: A lot of what I like to drink and brew hasn’t been that readily found in South Central PA. Over the years, I’ve found myself traveling anywhere from 100 to 400 to even 1,000 miles away to get specific styles of beers. I’ve been researching and tasting beers from some of the most highly rated breweries in the Mid-Atlantic region. I’ve worked many years crafting recipes that were inspired by those very breweries. And, I want to bring those styles and that quality of beer here to Sign of the Horse Brewery.

Looking back over the years which beers got you started on your craft beer journey?

Jesse: I have a thing for IPAs and always have. One of the very first beers that I ever had was Dogfish 60 Minute IPA. I remember tasting it and I’m like “this is really unique! What is this?! This is not a Pilsner, right?! This is like really hoppy and very interesting.”

And, the next one was Samuel Adams Boston Lager. I remember it being so flavorful for a lager. You could taste the hops in it. You can see a trend starting here with HOPS. This would have been in the early 2000’s just before our daughter was born. I remember digging deep into Boston Beer Company and learning how Samuel Adams Boston Lager was developed through a recipe by Jim Koch’s great-great grandfather. Interesting enough, Jim brewed Samuel Adams Boston Lager for the first time as a homebrewer, this would set the wheels in motion for me.

I, mean, I like all styles of craft beer. But I LOVE pale ales and IPAs!

Sign of the Horse Brewer, Jesse Mills (center) with Paul Albert (left) and Derek Markel (right) of All Grain Gangsters Homebrew Club.

FUN FACT:

Jesse is a member of the All-Grain Gangsters Homebrew Club that Derek is also involved in. 3 of the 8 members are either “professional” brewers or have been professional brewers.

When did you start homebrewing?

Jesse: I started homebrewing in April 2010. And I remember the month specifically because I didn’t have a way to control fermentation and the basement was sitting at like 65° during the month of April. I was told that was the perfect temperature for fermenting your beer. So I said, “let’s find out!” I brewed an all Cascade whole leaf hops beer. When the beer was finished and ready to drink, I opened it. The smell was great and it tasted great, too. Right then and there I knew that I wanted to be a brewer! It became a dream that led me to this point in my life.

But it wasn’t until 2012 when I started hitting my stride in homebrewing – when I was making my IPAs. They were hazy. They were cloudy. And, they were made using techniques that weren’t really being done by many breweries. Now it’s being done all the time – it’s become accepted. I started to gravitate towards those New England style IPAs just because that is the style of beer that I like to drink. With that said, that doesn’t mean that I’m only going to focus on that beer style when I brew. I’m definitely going to make New England style IPAs but not exclusively here at Sign of the Horse Brewery.

‘Flux’ New England Style IPA (6.5% ABV)

Hopped with Columbus, Citra, & Mosaic then dry-hopped with Citra and Mosaic.

I know you’ve made a lot of sour beers as well and have even won awards for those. When did you fall in love with that style?

Jesse: Well. Honestly, I started making those because I wanted to also brew something Amanda would drink. [laugh] She is passionate about sour beers. That’s her thing. And, she’s got a great palate for them. She can pick out the flaws right away. Not every batch of sours I brewed turned out well as I started to dabble in the style. Amanda could tell me right away if something was off and what about it didn’t taste right. She is my biggest critic when it comes to my sour beers! When a batch didn’t turn out quite right back then, it got dumped and I’d start again to improve my recipes and techniques. I remember my wife saying to me, “Don’t ever make another sour again! This one is bad – straight vinegar juice.”

From that moment on, it became more of a way to win her over. I was on a mission to make the best sour beer possible! Never once did it cross my mind I would eventually win an award in the style category (at Harrisburg Beer Week’s ‘Battle of the Homebrewers’ 2018). I just wanted something she truly loved. Looking back on it, her palate is really what got the beer to where it is today. She absolutely loves the Berliner Weisse style I brew. At the end of the day, that’s all that really matters to me! And, it’s another style that you’ll find on tap here at Sign of the Horse.

Is there a beer style you won’t brew?

Jesse: I don’t believe there is a style of beer that I will never produce. My palate and brewing techniques are constantly evolving.

Hazy IPAs or New England style IPA’s are currently some of the most sought out/popular styles within the market. Is it going to last awhile longer? Probably. But what’s the next popular beer style going to be? Not only am I a brewer but I’m also a craft beer lover, too. I’m always looking for the latest and greatest. I’m always going to be searching for what’s new and explore what other brewers are making that taste awesome and use that as inspiration. I want the beers that I brew to always be unique!

When’s Sign of the Horse Re-opening?

Re-opening? Yeah. Sign of the Horse Brewery experienced an HVAC fire early this year and had to close for 2 months to clean up and replace things damaged in the taproom. They are slated to open tomorrow… MARCH 11, 2020! So get out to Hanover, PA and drink those good beers, everyone. Cheers! 🍻