Happy Valley author spreading the word about local food, drinks as ‘seen through a glass’

Listen to just one episode of Lew Bryson’s new podcast, “Seen Through a Glass,” and you’ll instantly catch his enthusiasm for the central Pennsylvania craft beverage scene. A Happy Valley transplant who moved to Millheim from Bucks County for retirement, Bryson boasts a long history in the world of all things breweries and distilleries.

Bryson says his first introduction to German beer came in 1981, courtesy of a college professor. Then, he visited his first brewpub in the mid-1980s.

“(It) just blew me away,” he said, “sitting there at the bar, looking at the brewery and realizing they had three beers on tap. They’d made it. I happened to have a little pocket notebook with me and I got it out and wrote five pages of notes and thoughts. I’ve been writing about beer ever since.”

Later, Bryson worked at Whiskey Advocate as managing editor for over two decades, while also freelancing and writing about other spirits and beers. Now, though, he’s turned his sights on a region that he admits is sometimes “kind of underestimated.”

One of Bryson’s first introductions to the Happy Valley drinks culture came while he was working on a book on Pennsylvania breweries. That’s when he found Zeno’s in State College, and said he was impressed by the bar and the excitement there about craft beer.

That’s not an easy thing to do in smaller areas, he said, but pointed to Zeno’s, The Windber Hotel in Winber, The Knickerbocker in Altoona and The Old Corner in Lock Haven as others that have managed to keep the excitement about craft beer alive.

“Then, there was a guy I ran into at the old Schnitzel’s Tavern in Bellefonte,” Bryson said. “It’s got to be 20 years ago now. I went there on a break from a beer festival being held in State College. I sat down at the bar, just minding my own business. A guy down the bar says, ‘Have you ever had a Hefeweizen? They’re really good. You should try one.’ This guy was out looking for beer and he had found all four places within 40 miles where he could find it and he wanted to spread the word ... I’m trying to do that now.”

Bryson’s newly chosen medium for spreading the word? “Seen Through a Glass.” The podcast publishes biweekly, under-an-hour episodes that feature interviews, reviews and Bryson’s take on local foods and drinks.

“There’s almost always going to be an interview with either a producer or manager, and there’s going to be probably me talking about going someplace new, a visit of some kind,” he said. “Those are the major things — and I’m always going to be drinking something.”

Previous episodes have featured Barrel 21 distiller Erica Unruh; Barrel 21 and Otto’s Pub & Brewery co-founder Charlie Schnable; and Tim Bowser of Elk Creek Café + Aleworks. Any brewer, distiller or maker is fair game within the geographic boundaries of Williamsport, Dubois, Johnstown and Harrisburg. Even though the podcast has only published a handful of episodes thus far, Bryson envisions the endeavor becoming self-sustaining in the future, as he “gets back to the old days” of spreading the word about favorite watering holes.

“I can see the arc of my career trending downward now as I’m winding down (into) retirement. ... I’m not ready to quit, but ... this almost seems like a time to give back,” he said. “It’s getting back to the old days … when we told each other about things and that’s how you found out about this new brewpub that was a five-hour drive away or a new beer festival or a bar that had a great selection. We talked to each other. We wrote letters … I’d like to recapture that sharing.”

Bryson, though, has been a writer for most of his career, first and foremost, so he’s enlisted the help of his daughter Nora in adjusting his content to fit a podcast format. What he doesn’t need help with, though, is discovering all the great watering holes in and around Happy Valley. When asked about his favorites thus far, he quickly mentions Elk Creek Café, which just so happens to be a short walk away from his home in Millheim, as well as Shy Bear Brewing in Lewistown.

You can listen to Seen Through a Glass on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or the Podbean app, by going to seenthroughaglass.podbean.com.