Since 2014, owners Mike and Kristen Brubaker have welcomed Elizabethtown locals and visitors to Moo-Duck Brewery on S. Wilson Avenue. The brewery offers handcrafted beers from six standard taps and six rotating taps. Their brews are served alongside a pub menu of salads, sandwiches, pizzas, and more.

For the Brubakers, Moo-Duck Brewery is an opportunity to be involved in their community and provide a space where neighbors can connect. The couple always looks for ways to support other Elizabethtown Area businesses, sourcing local ingredients whenever possible.

A Taste of Creativity

Mike’s interest in brewing beer began with a birthday gift from his wife, Kristen—a home-brewing kit. Within a year, he quickly outgrew the pre-made kits and began to exercise his creativity in their Elizabethtown home’s basement. He brewed larger batches, tested out different recipes, and developed his own style for brewing.

Word of his creations circulated their community of friends, and the couple received requests to create a custom brew for local weddings and other events. After entering and winning awards in brewing competitions, Mike pitched an idea to his wife: why don’t we just open a brewery?

Elizabethtown’s First Brewery

True to form for the enterprising couple, Moo-Duck Brewery was hand built by the Brubakers. Mike’s initial brewing system was handmade using recycled tanks, and the bar was built from scratch by Mike’s father.

Each brew is still carefully curated by Mike, using traditional and non-traditional brewing methods. Six beers remain on tap year-round. The other taps change seasonally when Mike tests out new recipes or brings back customer favorites. In addition, Kristen tweaks the pub’s menu from time to time to reflect the seasons and the current tap selections.

An essential part of the vision for Moo-Duck Brewery is its involvement in the community. Kristen insisted the brewery be located in Elizabethtown near where the couple lives. For Mike and Kristen, commitment to the community isn’t just a tagline. It’s how they grew their business.

Community-Focused Brewing

Once Moo-Duck Brewery opened, the couple joined the Elizabethtown Chamber and invited the Elizabethtown Rotary Club to host meetings in their pub—a relationship that still stands. Mike and Kristen also started a Charity Brew program, donating fifty cents from every Charity Brew they sell to benefit area nonprofits.

Moo-Duck Brewery also creates community connections by removing distractions. You won’t find any televisions in the brewery. Instead, the Brubakers want their patrons to focus on conversation, meeting new friends, and reconnecting with old ones.

“We get a lot of people who say we are a coffee shop disguised as a brewery,” says owner Kristen Brubaker. “What makes me happy is there are a lot of groups of friends that have formed just through meeting here at the brewery. I think that’s cool.”

We are proud to have Moo-Duck Brewery as a member of our Chamber. To learn more about the brewery and pub, visit them at mooduckbrewery.com.

To learn more about the benefits of an Elizabethtown Area Chamber of Commerce membership or to join, contact the Chamber today.