Gunpowder Falls Brewing Company

Gunpowder Falls Brewing is an American-German craft brewery located in the rolling farm land at the very southern part of central Pennsylvania in the town of New Freedom (Shrewsbury Township). This is where the Gunpowder Falls begins its journey down through northern Maryland to the Chesapeake Bay. 

Gunpowder Falls Brewing began in Germany over twenty years ago. Well actually, it started in Los Angeles; but it all happened in Bavaria. Through a series of fortuitous occurrences and the help of many generous people,  Martin Virga began his apprenticeship at Kaiser Bräu in Neuhaus an der Pegnitz after graduating from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, CA. After his apprenticeship, he began his studies to become a Braumeister (brewmaster) at Doemens in Munich. (Doemens was founded in 1895 and is one of the oldest brewing schools in the world.) Upon returning to the U.S., Martin went to Baltimore and began working in the lab at G. Heileman Brewing Company. In the interim, serendipity struck and he was hired to help start the brewing operations at Capitol City Brewing Company in Washington D.C. After a few years with Capitol City, he left to start his own brewery, Ellicott Mills Brewing Company with the beer brand Alpenhof, in Ellicott City, Maryland. In 2004, Martin sold his interest in Ellicott Mills Brewing. However, his desire to brew certainly didn't die.