— Visit Philly · Philadelphia Top 10 Guide · created about 2 years ago
One hundred years ago, Philadelphia was known as the greatest brewing city in the Western Hemisphere. In fact, it was in Philadelphia taverns that the American Revolution took hold. Today, area craft breweries have reclaimed the region’s reputation by brewing some of the world’s best beer and earning the recognition as Maxim’s “favorite beer burg,” among other notable designations assigned by the national press. Visitors can tour the facilities, sample the beer and pair the beers with food at most of these spots, and with more than 400 craft-beer restaubars, it’s hard to find a local pub that doesn’t devote a sizeable portion of its taps and refrigerator space to locally made brews.
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Spot 3 items to earn this badge.In less than two years, Philadelphia’s newest brewery has gone from contract brewing in a small suburban brewpub to opening a full-scale brewery with a bottling line and a tasting room, serving snacks and light fare. The brewery puts twists on classic styles, meaning that they brew their pale ale with whole-leaf tea and accent their IPA with fresh local honey. Want to check out the brewery? Stop by Thursdays and Fridays, 6pm - 9pm for growlers hours.
By the end of 2011, eaters and drinkers in Philadelphia’s western suburbs will have three McKenzie locations to choose from. The new brewpub in Berwyn will expand the its capacity to brew the beers that have earned it eight Great American Beer Festival medals and the top prize in a blind tasting of 28 local beers sponsored by Philadelphia Inquirer food critic Craig LaBan.
Started by two childhood friends, this suburban brewery formally began operations in 1996. In 2009, Victory expanded its fermentation cellar with the installation four 44-foot-tall tanks, each having a capacity of 13,640 gallons. These tanks increase Victory’s annual capacity by nearly a third, making it the 46th-largest brewery in the United States. Victory’s sole location in Chester County includes a full-service restaurant that pours some styles not available anywhere else.
This canal-side destination constantly updates its beer selections, which guests can sample from its ever-rotating choice of eight taps. Hungry patrons can wash down entrees from burgers to ahi tuna with beers that range from the fruity Schuylkill Punch, a Belgian ale brewed with 500 pounds of blackberries and raspberries, to Presidential Pumpkin, a seasonal selection made with pumpkin meat sugars and inspired by a recipe belonging to George Washington.
Since launching in 1995, the family-owned Sly Fox Brewery has grown to include two full-service brewpubs and a separate brewery with a 20-barrel capacity and the Mid-Atlantic’s first canning line. Renowned for its hoppy styles, the suburban brewery has garnered numerous gold medals at The Great American Beer Festival and has been called the third-best brewpub in America by beeradvocate.com.
Within two years of its opening, it’s nearly impossible to find a local watering hole that doesn’t carry at least one of Philadelphia Brewing’s four mainstay beers or additional seasonals. It could be that beers—all named after Philly locations or characters—evoke hometown pride, but it’s more likely that beer lovers just respect the flavor and body of Kenzinger, a crisp and smooth golden ale; Newbold IPA, a substantial beer with high hops levels; Rowhouse Red, a French farmhouse ale; and Walt Wit, an unfiltered Belgian White-style ale.
When Yards opened in 1988, it resuscitated the city’s brewing legacy by ending a decades-long period without any operational breweries. Now, two years after moving into its latest home, it’s churning out a yearly 12,500 barrels of its signature ales, a few seasonals and its unique Ales of the Revolution line, which brews based on recipes conceived by Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin and George Washington. In early 2010, a kitchen and dining room opened to give fans an onsite area to sit down and sip the suds.
With great food and an industrial modern design, the huge Old City outpost of New Hope-based Triumph creates a foamy splash on the block. Beer enthusiasts can easily forget that they are inside of a brewery—until they taste the rich ales, lagers, stouts and seasonal specialties. Whether replicating the classic styles of the Old World or creating beers that are new and unique, the brewers hold themselves to the highest standards of quality and purity. Triumph features up to eight varieties of beer on tap, each boasting a distinctive flavor.
In the heart of Center City, this cozy upstairs hideaway has won more international beer competition awards than it can hang on its walls. Beers here are brewed seasonally and in view of the loyal patrons. Nodding Head’s seven rotating styles on tap include Grog, Oleo, 700 Level and the 60 Schilling, and all compliment the kitchen’s burgers and Belgian-style mussels.
Philadelphia’s newest brewery is one that wholeheartedly embraces the concept of green living. Aside from cooking up innovative flatbreads with locally sourced ingredients and serving regional brews alongside of its own selection of alts, smoked wheat ales and Belgian-style dubbels, the owners have decorated their brewpub with recycled furniture and eco-friendly materials.
This iconic brewpub that closed more than a decade ago re-opened in the summer of 2007 in an historic firehouse at the edge of University City. Rosemarie Certo, who owns the 25-year-old company, serves exclusively her own unfiltered and unpasteurized beers on tap. Alongside Certo’s more traditional award-winning brews are alternative and experimental styles such as espresso stout, dark pale ale, gluten-free sorghum ale, fruit beers and barleywines. The restaurant also offers Pennsylvania wines and a wide selection of organic pizzas and locally grown foods.
The East Coast’s fastest-growing group of brewpubs now boasts eight locations, with the newest in southern New Jersey. Born in Newark, Delaware in 1996, this restaurant/brewery makes news every year by receiving gold, silver and bronze medals for beers like its Belgian Strong, Wee Heavy, Ironbound Ale and Krick de Hill.
