Our Story

Mark Garber, owner and brewmaster at Big Dog, is a life long resident of Lancaster county where he grew up working on his family's dairy farm. His love for craft beer got him started in homebrewing 20 years ago and it quickly turned into a passionate hobby. In 2009 he had the opportunity to turn his hobby into a business by opening Lancaster Homebrew, which has steadily grown over the past 14 years. He has enjoyed seeing the growth of Lancaster's homebrewing community, including several of his customers opening their own commercial breweries!
     In the winter of 2018, the plans for a brewery began. After several years of work and the help of his childhood friend, Dean Kroesen, the dream became a reality with the opening of Big Dog Craft Brewing in the winter of 2020. Mark loves brewing all styles of craft beers so everyone is sure to find something they will enjoy.

Dean Kroesen, owner, restaurant manager and pit master at Big Dog, is also a life long resident of Lancaster County. He has always loved craft beer and visiting breweries during his travels over the last twenty years and loves being a part of the local craft beer community.