The Dranktuary opens in restored 1889 church, serving craft beer in Montgomery

The Dranktuary did not just open a taproom in Montgomery, Pennsylvania. It put beer inside a restored 1889 church that had sat empty for 26 years, and that change gives the place a kind of character most breweries spend a fortune trying to fake.

The brewery opened in March at 19 W. Houston Ave. in the former Christ Lutheran Church building, a structure that local history ties to the first days of East Houston Avenue itself. According to the Montgomery Centennial history, Israel Wagner opened a brickyard in Montgomery in July 1889 and supplied the red bricks for the church, while the church and E.K. Shollenberger’s home were the first two buildings on what was then little more than a winding road. The church later carried a 1,057-pipe organ, and an 814-pound bell was hung in the tower in 1892.

That history matters because The Dranktuary is not tucked into a generic warehouse bay or strip-mall suite. The old sanctuary and its restored shell give the brewery a visible local identity, one tied to preservation as much as pour quality. Kirk McCandless said the original part of the church dates to 1889, and the back addition had fallen apart badly enough that the building needed substantial rehabilitation before it could welcome fermenters and customers again.

Inside, the beer list is built for range rather than one-note IPA chasing. The Dranktuary offers craft beer, hard seltzers and non-alcoholic options, and its lineup has included stouts, porters, pilsners and some IPAs. McCandless and Kurt Dellomo had been brewing together for a decade, and they reportedly drove around the country to buy the equipment themselves. Untappd listed the brewery with 28 beers and 273 ratings, a sign that the menu already runs deeper than a token tap handle or two.

The brewery’s community angle is just as deliberate. Its year-round Fighting 13 amber lager sends $1 from each drink sold to the Montgomery Fire Department. McCandless also said the team planned to collaborate with the Montgomery Emergency Management Agency, and the ribbon-cutting event tied to the opening included food from that volunteer group.

A chamber column described the buildout as taking about 2.5 years of “blood, sweat & beers,” which fits the project better than any polished marketing line. The Dranktuary’s real hook is that it turned a long-empty church into a working beer destination, with enough history in the walls and enough local buy-in at the bar to make the place feel rooted before the first pint is poured.