Braving the snow to visit Voodoo Brewing

On a winter’s day in north-western Pennsylvania we braved the cold and snow to visit Voodoo Brewing located in the small town of Meadville, the home town of actress Sharon Stone no less!

We set off from Central PA and headed westbound on Interstate 80 on the Friday evening with clear roads ahead of us. Travel was straight forward and we stayed overnight at Grove City in order to do some Outlet Mall shopping the following morning. We woke up to about three inches of fresh snow with no sign of it stopping.

Once the shopping was complete we then headed north-bound up Interstate 79 which connects Pittsburgh to Erie and followed the single lane of traffic which was following a snowplow. After an hour we reached the small town of Meadville and located Voodoo Brewing just in time for its noon opening.

Four years ago we had looked into the possibility of visiting Voodoo Brewing but at that time they did not have a Tasting Room but it turns out that about three years ago they secured a building within 100 feet of the brewery.

The place was almost empty with just having opened its doors and on the menu were their six year round beers and a selection of one-offs and seasonal offerings. We opted for a flight of the year round beers which included the following together with our tasting notes and ratings (left-to-right in the photo):

• good vibes IPA (American IPA – 7.3% ABV) – west-coast grapefruit notes and bitterness – 3/5
• Wynona’s Big Brown Ale (American Brown – 7.5% ABV) – coffee dominated unlike the bottled version which has more chocolate & malt aromas and flavors – 3/5
• White Magick of the Sun ((Belgian-style Wheat – 7.3% ABV) – tastes like an American Wheat brewed with a Belgian yeast strain as it is clear, also has a lot of citrus notes – 3.5/5
• Gran Met (Belgian Tripel – 9.5% ABV) – some banana and strong cloves – 3/5
• Voodoo Love Child (Belgian Tripel – 9.5% ABV) – raspberries dominate the fruit flavors over the sour cherries and passion fruit – 3.5/5
• Pilzilla (Pilsner hybrid – 7.5% ABV) – more like an Imperial Pilsner with both strong hop and malt flavors – 3/5

In addition to the sampler flight we also has a light lunch. The interior of the pub has a long bar with plenty of additional seating and a rather odd ceiling that has numerous doors hanging from it…!

We had hoped for Big Black Voodoo Daddy (12% Imperial Stout) to be on tap but unfortunately it was not but had been three weeks ago so instead we grabbed a 22oz bomber to take with us.

Voodoo Brewing is worth a visit but more for people who are into hop-forward beers and want to try their one-offs or seasonals that are only available on-tap at their Meadville or Pittsburgh pubs. Their year round offerings are easily available throughout Pennsylvania in 22oz bomber bottles.