Brewery expanding with new taproom at former Greenhouse property in Allentown
Illumination Brewing, a premium microbrewery, is planning to open a new taproom in May at 2114 W. Tilghman St. in Allentown’s West End. Illumination Brewing, a premium microbrewery, is expanding with a new taproom at 2114 W. Tilghman St. in Allentown's West End. The site previously housed Greenhouse Enoteca, an Italian-inspired restaurant that shuttered in 2022. The taproom will offer Funk Brewing’s craft beers, food and other drinks such as hard seltzers. Illumination Brewing co-owner Charles Laputka operates Illumination with three partners, Chris White, Josh Karoly and John "JP" Karoly III. The brewery team produces the Funk Brewing brand of beers at 19 S. Sixth St. and operates a taproom near Funk Brewing Brewing's headquarters in Emmaus. The Iron Menace lager, inspired by the park's new roller coaster, is set to be available for 21 years and older at Dorney Park or select local retailers, grocery stores and small beer distributors across Eastern Pennsylvania.
Published : 4 weeks ago by Ryan Kneller in Environment
ALLENTOWN – A popular craft beverage producer has a tasty new venture brewing in Lehigh County.
Illumination Brewing, a premium microbrewery, is planning to open a new taproom in May at 2114 W. Tilghman St. in Allentown’s West End, according to co-owner Charles Laputka.
The site previously housed Greenhouse Enoteca, an Italian-inspired restaurant specializing in dishes prepared with local ingredients, which shuttered in late 2022 after nearly four years of business.
The new taproom will offer Funk Brewing’s craft beers, along with food and other drinks such as hard seltzers, Laputka said.
Illumination opened its first taproom at the Slatington Farmers Market on Route 873 in Washington Township, Lehigh County last year.
Laputka operates Illumination with three partners, Chris White and brothers Josh Karoly and John “JP” Karoly III.
Illumination is the owner of the Funk Brewing brand of beers, and the brewery team – led by head brewer Scott Adams – produces the beer at 19 S. Sixth St. in Emmaus, Laputka said.
The group also operates a Funk Brewing taproom about a block away at 518 Bank St. in Emmaus.
Funk Brewing was founded by brothers-in-law Kyle Funk and John Norman in 2014.
“We bought the Funk brand and some of the equipment last summer,” Laputka said.
“We’re continuing to brew the Funk beer, and Illumination will be associated more with our seltzers. We haven’t started canning the seltzers yet, but they’re available on draft.”
Funk offers a wide variety of beers, including Funkadelphia (hazy IPA), Casual (American lager), Strong & Pretty (Belgian-style golden strong ale), Cookie Singularity (imperial cookie stout), Lemon Bikes! shandy (wheat beer with lemonade) and Lo-Cal 99 (“light” hazy IPA with huge American hop aromas; 99 calories per 12-ounce serving).
Five-, 12- and 16-ounce pours are available along with 64-ounce growlers to go.
Customers also can enjoy nitro pours such as Double Chocolate Milk Stout (sweet stout aged on cacao and vanilla) and flights of any four drafts.
The taproom also offers Pine Creek Spirits and Appalachian Spirits ready-to-enjoy cocktails along with non-alcoholic beverages.
On Tuesday, Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom announced a collaboration with Illumination Brewing to introduce the Iron Menace lager, a beer inspired by the park's new Iron Menace roller coaster.
The Iron Menace beer will be available for those 21 years and older at Dorney Park, one of Illumination's tasting rooms, Shangy's in Emmaus or select local retailers, grocery stores and small beer distributors across Eastern Pennsylvania. The brew is expected to be available in mid-April.
"This beer is incredible, and we're just excited to share it with everyone as we forge our own fate this summer," said Ryan Eldredge, Dorney's public relations and communications manager.
"We are so excited to be working with Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom to bring this great American lager, and some of our other incredible adult beverage options, to the park this summer," added Chris White, owner and CEO of Illumination Brewing LLC.
Painting and some other minor cosmetic upgrades are planned for the former Greenhouse property, which the partners purchased, Laputka said.
“The goal is to have a grand opening May 18 and maybe a soft opening a week or two before that to iron things out,” Laputka said of the Allentown location.
Brother and sister co-owners Antonio and Salvina Pitruzzella opened Greenhouse Enoteca in February 2019 in a renovated building that previously housed Roth's Flowers, which closed in 2015 after almost 80 years of business.
The site features a full kitchen, an outdoor patio and open-concept, indoor dining spaces, including a repurposed greenhouse.
Topics: ESG