With new ownership in place, Voodoo Brewing Company keeps the great beer and fun vibes flowing in Happy Valley all year long
There are plenty of places around State College where you can grab an excellent craft beverage, but at Voodoo Brewing Company, great beer is only part of the experience.
For Wes Day, the State College brewpub’s general manager, what makes Voodoo special is a little harder to define.
“Voodoo is about culture first. It’s about the vibe,” Day says. “It’s not something that you can actually put into writing. It’s about something that you have to experience.”
Well, Wes is a good guy, and I appreciate him letting me try to put that vibe he is talking about on the page. After all, it has been at the heart of Voodoo since the State College location opened along the banks of Slab Cabin Run in 2019, and I may have stopped by to experience it a few times over the years.
With its excellent outdoor seating and cozy pub atmosphere, Voodoo feels like a mix between a Caribbean tiki bar and an après-ski pub (especially after wicked sled rides down the hill at nearby Slab Cabin Park, lol).
After it opened, the location quickly became a local favorite for gathering with friends and enjoying some of the award-winning and nationally known brews, adding to our rich craft beverage scene.
Day says the goal is to create an environment where people feel comfortable enough to have fun and be themselves, all while enjoying a quality craft beverage.
“We always say it’s the vibe,” he says. “That’s why we name all our beers Good Vibes, Hazy Vibes, whatever it might be.”
That philosophy shows up in the people behind the bar as much as the beer itself. Day points to Voodoo’s primary bartenders, Andy and Ross, as examples. Each brings their own personality to the room, and regulars often come in specifically because they know who is working.
“Everybody’s personality bleeds into what we’re providing here,” Day says. “We tell every person that comes in that at the end of the day, you’re working at a brewery. If you’re not having a good time, then you’re not doing it the right way.”
Well, I have known these guys for years from when they were pouring me beers over at Otto’s Pub and Brewery, Centre County’s longest-running brewery. They have carried their love of serving craft beer to the other side of town, and you can feel that this crew is having fun and getting along.
That feeling carries over into the service and the atmosphere they provide, which includes fun events such as Cornhole Night on Mondays (weather permitting), Voodoo Bingo on Thursdays, and Pub Trivia on Tuesday nights.
These gatherings often turn into community-building events.
For example, Day remembers a young woman who came in one Tuesday night and asked about Voodoo’s weekly trivia. She wanted to play but didn’t have a team. Andy, the bartender that night, pointed her toward a group of regulars.
“Hey, these are our friends. They come in all the time. Why don’t you just sit with them?” Day recalls him saying.
She did — and came back the following three weeks, sitting with the same group, saying, “Now, this is my crew.”
That, perhaps, explains what Voodoo is trying to be: a place where people can vibe together.
“It’s a community,” Day says.
A New Chapter
Meadville, Pennsylvania-based Voodoo Brewing Company has been around since 2005 with satellite brewpubs across the country. The company recently entered a new chapter with a change in ownership. For the State College location, Day says, the transition has brought a renewed focus on the future.
“It’s not about riding the craft beer wave anymore,” he says. “It’s about creating a lasting impression on your community.”
The new ownership group had been in place for only about 110 days when Day spoke to me about the transition, but he said he had already noticed a shift in the company’s direction and was excited about what it would mean for the State College brewpub.
Moving forward, folks can expect updates to the indoor pub experience, along with more seasonal food and drink options. One example is a Voodoo rendition of a Gobblerrito, a Thanksgiving-style burrito with all the fixings that was a holiday tradition at the now-closed State College restaurant, Mad Mex.
Of course, the beer will remain a major part of the experience. Voodoo has more than two decades of brewing history behind it, and Day says the new ownership wants to maintain the consistency of the brewery’s flagship beers while also returning to more experimental releases.
Not into beer? Well, Voodoo also offers craft cocktails, nonalcoholic options, and local sodas, so there is something for everyone.
And, although Voodoo is one of those places to be on warm summer days, when temperatures drop, the fun is still going strong. Even during a big snowfall, the crew will be ready to pour some fun.
“After all, me and Andy are from Erie,” Day says with a chuckle. “We’re going to be there. Six inches of snow is a dusting. We’ll be there.”
Day says he and the team are grateful to be part of a thriving craft beverage scene here in Centre County and are grateful for the support they have received as they have gone through the latest transition.
And even though Voodoo’s beer isn’t brewed directly in State College, Day says the people who work there still feel firmly connected to the community.
“I’ve lived here in State College now for 12 years, and most of the guys have been here even longer,” he says. “Even though the beer’s not produced right here in State College, we still feel that we’re every bit a part of the community, and we love the people that we get to work with.”
For Voodoo, the beer may get people through the door, but the people and the atmosphere are what keep them coming back. Hopefully, I will see some of you there soon to take in the vibes. Cheers! T&G
Vincent Corso enjoys drinking local and meeting new people at Central Pennsylvania’s many interesting establishments.
