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Brewery · Hummelstown, PA
Rubber Soul Brewing is a locally owned craft brewery in the heart of downtown Hummelstown, just minutes from Hershey — brewing on site, serving a full menu of pub food, cocktails, and wine, with a sprawling outdoor patio that opened in summer 2024.
Our take Hummelstown sits right between Hershey and Harrisburg on Route 322, which means Rubber Soul is almost always on your way somewhere — a stop that doesn't feel like a detour.
Hummelstown is one of those small-town main streets that tends to get overlooked by people coming and going from Hershey, and Rubber Soul is one of the best reasons to stop. The brewery brews its own beers on site — IPAs, lagers, stouts, sours, and pilsners — and pairs them with a menu that goes well past pretzels and wings. We like it because it fills a real gap: if you want local craft beer in an actual downtown setting close to Hershey, without driving all the way to Harrisburg, Rubber Soul is the answer. The outdoor patio is a genuine asset when the weather cooperates.
Rubber Soul brews everything on site at the Hummelstown taproom, which keeps the connection between the pint in your hand and the people who made it short and direct. Beyond beer, they hold a full liquor license, so spirits, cocktails, and wine are on the table for non-beer drinkers in the group. The brewery has grown enough to be exploring expansion — a Lancaster location has been in the works — but the Hummelstown taproom remains the original and the heart of the operation.
A little history is worth knowing here: the brewery you visit today is a rebirth of an earlier Rubber Soul brand, which Mike VanGavree and three partners — one a longtime Hummelstown resident — bought out of bankruptcy in 2019 before opening this taproom in October 2020 inside the borough's century-old former municipal building on Hanover Street. Head brewer Donovan "Dono" Krebs came up through homebrewing and stints at Nodding Head and Manayunk Brewing. Practically speaking, the operation is bigger than a tasting room: a roughly 90-seat full-service restaurant plus a separate taproom-and-patio space, an on-site lot that fills at peak hours, and Trivia Tuesdays on the first and third Tuesdays of the month.
One thing the basic hours don't tell you: the kitchen closes about 30 minutes before the taproom does, so don't count on a full meal right at close. Hours are volatile — confirm current hours on rubbersoulbrewing.com or call ahead before a special trip.
136 S Hanover St, Hummelstown, PA 17036
Rubber Soul Brewing is in Hummelstown, PA. The map shows both pins — Rubber Soul Brewing and our shop in Grantville — so you can see exactly where it sits relative to us.
Beer styles and names are accurate as of our last check, but the tap list rotates constantly — Untappd lists well over 130 beers brewed to date — so confirm current offerings on rubbersoulbrewing.com. ABVs are omitted because we couldn't verify them from an official source.
It's a full-service taproom with a real kitchen. The menu includes brick-oven pizzas, smash burgers, lobster tacos, wings, homemade soups, and more — it's a proper meal stop, not just a flight and a snack.
Yes — they hold a full liquor license, so in addition to house beers they serve spirits, seasonal cocktails, and wine. It's a good spot for groups with mixed preferences.
Very close — downtown Hummelstown is under 10 minutes from the Hershey area by car. It's a natural add-on to any Hershey visit and easy to work into a day trip itinerary.
Kids are genuinely welcome — there's a dedicated kids menu — so it works for a family meal. Dogs are a different story: per Rubber Soul's own FAQs the main restaurant is dog-free because it lacks an outdoor grass area, and only service dogs are permitted. Plan around that if a four-legged family member is coming along.
It's first-come, first-served for regular seating — no reservations — so on a busy evening expect a possible wait. The full-service deck and patio only open once the temperature hits at least 65°F, which makes it weather-dependent; if outdoor seating is the whole point of your visit, call ahead to confirm it's open before you drive over.
Hummelstown's Main Street packs an easy afternoon-into-evening within a few minutes of the brewery, so it's simple to build a whole outing around a stop here.
A family-run Hummelstown winery minutes away — handy when your group is split between beer drinkers and wine drinkers.
A long-running cave-tour attraction that fills the afternoon, then dinner and a pint a few minutes away.
A retro diner that's a kid-pleasing earlier-in-the-day counterpoint before an evening at the brewery.
If your car's acting up while you're in town, we're a short drive up I-81 — easy to add a quick vehicle look-over to the same outing.
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Visiting the Hershey area and need a mechanic? NextGen AutoWorks is a family-owned shop in Grantville, about 12 minutes north — we handle auto repair, tires, and PA state inspections. Traveling and something went wrong? Here's what to do if you have car trouble near Hershey — or book an appointment.
Verified via: Rubber Soul Brewing (official site) · Rubber Soul Brewing — Visit Hershey Harrisburg · Rubber Soul Brewing — Yelp · Rubber Soul Brewing — official FAQs (dogs, kids, parking, crowlers, patio) · Breweries in PA — Meet the Brewer: Donovan Krebs (brewer background, building) · Untappd — Rubber Soul Brewing Company (beer lineup/styles)
Rubber Soul Brewing is an independent local business we're featuring in our guide — we're not affiliated. Details are from the business and public sources and were accurate at the time of writing; please confirm current hours before visiting.