Michael Lindgren didn’t grow up in an avid beer-drinking household. But when he went on a Yuengling Brewery tour with this dad in college, he quickly came down with “shiny tank syndrome” and fell in love with the beer brewing equipment he saw. So, he did what anyone trying to follow their dreams would do. He dropped out. He quit pursuing his electrical engineering degree at Penn State and got a few jobs, and an internship, to get his foot in the door in the brewing industry with a plan to one day open up his very own brewery.
“Growing up, my dad and I always said that we were going to start a business together, but the businesses changed over the years,” Lindgren told What Now Philly.
Lindgren and his father Clifford Lindgren ended up starting their homebrewing beer distribution company, Lindgren Craft Brewery, out of an old converted milk house. Their first keg was sold in February 2019, and they began selling beer on tap to local restaurants and bars as well as hand bottling their brews for distribution. The Lindgrens plans will be fully realized once their new brewery at 5 N. Market St. in Duncannon, formerly PNC Bank, and the historic Duncannon National Bank site in the spring of 2022. They are shooting for March.
The brewery will boast a three-barrel system for their exotic brews and a 15-barrel brewhouse, that will increase production in the distribution side of their business as well as serve their brewery guests. Jason Simmons, who served as Lindgren’s mentor when they worked at Appalachian Brewing Company, is Lindgren Brewing Company’s head brewer.
The brewery will house indoor seating for about 75 to 100 people, a tasting room, and a small kitchen. Lindgren Craft Brewery will offer full-service dining with a menu of about 12 to 15 pub food items sourced from local ingredients. Customers will get to experience the incredible historical space and then make their way out to the brewery’s large outdoor area that will accommodate additional seating. Lindgren said they plan on keeping as much of the historical aspects of the space as they can, including the safety deposit vault room where they will offer a private dining experience. Lindgren Craft Brewery will also utilize the bank’s phone booth, which was the first of its kind in town at the time, and will remove drop ceilings to reveal 16ft. vaulted ceilings. The space’s waist-to-ceiling windows will also remain.
“There’s going to be a single table in there. If you want to drink in the vault, you can reserve the table. The goal is to have some flowers on the table, so it’s a nice little table getaway. Everyone is going to want to drink in the vault, and we’ll give them that opportunity,” Lindgren said. “It’s a pretty cool building.”
Lindgren Craft Brewery will keep a cabinet of historical artifacts on display, including some old handwritten deposit slips from 1924 they found in the attic that were from local companies making dropoffs for what were considered large amounts back then. In the meantime, you can follow Lindgren Craft Brewery’s Facebook and Instagram pages for updates and information on where you can score some of their handcraft beer blends.
