Birthright Brewing Company
For locals of the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton Metropolitan area, it is well known that Nazareth is part of the Lehigh Valley. This obvious fact, to most, can sometimes be lost on many newcomers and visitors to the Valley. One of the greatest things about running a brewery in the Lehigh Valley is the quantity and diversity of brands and beers. However, the vast size of the Valley can leave many holding tight to the city centers and not exploring the fantastic areas that surround and support the larger cities.
“Nazareth is in the Valley!” This was the mantra for our trip to Birthright Brewing Company. We had the pleasure to sit down with Owner, Wayne Milford, and Brewer, Joe Hernandez, to learn more about their operation.
Birthright Brewing Company was established back in 2018 by Owner Wayne Milford after building a successful career, which includes being Head Brewer for Dogfish Head and consulting for other breweries. Wayne rooted himself and his family in the Nazareth area, and with the help of Lehigh University’s Small Business Development Center, Wayne and his partners saw the viability of Nazareth for a brewery.
The name, Birthright, was inspired by a German tradition where the first-born child of the family has the expectation to start a new tradition for the next generation to continue. For Wayne’s family, the tradition he started was brewing. The logo of Birthright features a large stump with a large and small axe embedded into the stump. The stump represents the brewery being rooted in the community of Nazareth. The large axe represents Wayne, and the small axe represents Wayne’s children, the next generation of the business. If you ask Wayne, he will say that out of his three children, his youngest daughter, seems the most interested in following in her dad’s footsteps, and she is only eight!
Wayne’s goal was to establish a brewery with a communal feel. You can see this in the layout of the taproom, having large round tables, taking inspiration from that of the large ale house tables in Europe, where several generations of families can meet over conversation and good beer. These communal feelings are passed onto the community, where Wayne has a pay-it-forward mentality in his approach to the growing brewery industry in the Lehigh Valley. He is enthusiastic about partnering with up-and-coming breweries and helping them get on their feet.
The Brewer behind Birthright’s beer is Joe Hernandez. Joe is from South Florida and relocated to the Lehigh Valley with his family after being convinced by Wayne that Birthright was the brewery where he belonged. Joe brings with him almost a decade of brewing experience and prides himself on his pragmatic and scientific approach to brewing. Combined with Wayne’s innovative approach and experience, Birthright has a strong team.
The two different approaches of Wayne and Joe ensure Birthright is balancing the new cutting edge styles, while remaining “rooted” in tried & true styles. They’ve purposefully chosen a small batch system so that there is a turn-over in beers, and you’ll be able to have something new every time you walk through the door.
We had the pleasure of tasting and learning about a special beer, “Phantasm Punch.” Wayne and Joe expressed their excitement of having the opportunity to get their hands on phantasm powder, which is a grape husk powder from New Zealand. Joe explained to us that this powder is “packed full of the thiols that give huge tropical fruit notes that everyone is on the hunt for.”
Joe tells us,
“We Built this recipe to maximize thiols. We used a special yeast that frees up thiols in the wort. We added cascade hops in the mash to extract even more. Finally, we used high amounts of free thiols, producing a fruity beer that has huge notes of ripe mango and guava.”
The motto on the front sign of Birthright says, “Always Brewing Always Growing.” This couldn’t be truer! Besides the new and exciting beer coming out, Wayne has lots of things in the works. He already is partial owner and operator of “Side Hustle Brews’’, which is bringing craft beer and a craft brewery to Dubai, UAE. While there is a large production facility being built for the Side Hustle brand, the first beers came right out of the tanks at Birthright Brewing Company. Click the link below to find out more about the Side Hustle Brand.
Don’t think the growth stops there! Keep your eyes on the old hotel next to Birthright, as Wayne has large plans for two other establishments, that in our opinion, will make Birthright a hub for Nazareth!
We had a fantastic time talking and enjoying great beers with our friends at Birthright. Wayne and Joe showed us the care and dedication they have for their business and showed us their commitment to their community. In some ways, Birthright is working to rebuild the connection between people that we have lost during this pandemic.
Keep your eyes open for Birthright Mug Club Signups, which they will be releasing soon. In addition, Mondays are Game Night and Thursdays are Trivia at Birthright Brewing Company.
And remember,
“Nazareth is in the Valley!”
Birthright Brewing Company Info:
https://birthrightbrewingco.com/
57 S Main St, Nazareth, PA 18064
Research by: Leila Kaczmarek and Jerry Collins
Written by: Jerry Collins
Photography by: Jerry Collins