Great article in USA Today about how Philly is quickly becoming known for much more than cheesesteaks and brotherly love. Glad to see my favorite city, which always seems to get lost in the shuffle between New York and Washington, get its due. Of course, my mind quickly started racing trying to figure out some way that I can get my wife to let me go to a few “Philly Beer Week” events. Hmm…
Seriously, there’s some great stuff I didn’t realize about the Philly beer scene:
- Philadelphia’s beer history dates back at least to 1680, when city founder William Penn began work on his brewery.
- The first American lager is said to have been brewed in Philadelphia in 1840.
- By 1870, there were 69 breweries in Philadelphia and eventually an entire neighborhood called Brewerytown. But Prohibition shuttered many facilities, and the last city brewery, Schmidt’s, closed in 1987.
- Today, there are at least 20 breweries in the Philadelphia area, including Yards, Flying Fish, Stoudts, Sly Fox and Victory.
- Yuengling, the oldest brewery in America (1829), continues to operate about 75 miles away in Pottsville.
- The beer industry employs 16,000 workers in Philadelphia, producing about $422 million in wages and $122 million in taxes.
Be sure to check out the complete article at http://www.usatoday.com and raise a glass at Philly Beer Week, which actually runs a ten-days, but who’s counting?
Round Two of Philadelphia CityPaper’s Beer-a-Mid has begun, so we must say goodbye to eight contenders: Yuengling Lager, Troegs Troegenator Double Bock, Iron Hill Pig Iron Porter, Weyerbacher Blithering Idiot, Legacy Hedonism Ale, Dock Street Bohemian Dock Street Pilsner and Dogfish Head 60-Minute IPA.
Of course, this screws up my entire bracket because I had Yuengling going to the finals. Damn… oh well, time to let the voting begin for the Standard Tap and Khyber regionals! Victory Hop Devil and Flying Fish Belgian Abbey Dubbel are now my frontrunners.
Philadelphia Citypaper’s Beeramid is online now, where you can vote for your favorite Philly beer. Round one is the “Standard Tap Regional” with Yuengling Lager facing off against Appalachian Brewing Company Jolly Scot Scottish Ale while Troegs Troegenator Double Bock takes on Manayunk Brewery Schuylkill Punch. The full list of competitors also includes: Sly Fox, Iron Hill, Flying Fish, Weyerbacher, Yards, Legacy, Stoudt’s, Dock Street, Victory, Triumph, Dogfish Head and Nodding Head.
The scheduling breakdown:
- THE SLOSHED 16: Online voting begins Thu., Feb. 28; ends at midnight Mon., March 3
- THE 8 PACK: Online voting begins Tue., March 4; ends at noon Fri., March 7 (the first day of Philly Beer Week)
- THE FOAMY 4: Online voting begins at 4 p.m. Fri., March 7; ends at midnight Mon., March 10
They’ll announce the final two competitors in the March 13 issue. From there, online voting will run through Mon., March 17 and they’ll name the ultimate victor in the March 20 issue.
So, be sure to vote early and often @ http://www.citypaper.net/beeramid/
(And, unlike in November, you don’t have to worry about the electoral college getting in the way of the popular vote!)
