Note: This article will appear in the March/April issue of The New Brewer. We’re giving you an early look so you can plan your play!

If you came to Philly for the Craft Brewers Conference in 2016, the nonstop rain may have kept you from seeing much outside the Pennsylvania Convention Center. When you come for CBC April 20–22, use this guide to help discover just how sunny the region’s 100-strong brewery scene can be. Most breweries serve food and Pennsylvania wine and spirits, but don’t forget to check hours.

(Author’s note: The following is not intended to be an exhaustive list or description of the Philadelphia craft beer scene. Get out and have fun exploring the many other options that are not mentioned in this article.)

10 Years Later: What’s Changed Since CBC 2016?

Craft beer pioneer Tom Kehoe marks the most blockbuster change to the city’s beer skyline with the latest iteration of Yards Brewing (500 Spring Garden St), a bilevel brewery and restaurant that spans a full block of the Callowhill neighborhood. Catch a game on TV while sampling a flight of Yards icons such as Philadelphia Pale Ale, Brawler, ESA, and nitro Love Stout. Yards also has an outpost in Terminal A of Philadelphia International Airport.

Acclaimed former Sly Fox brewmaster Brian O’Reilly has set up shop at Yards’ old location with Mainstay Independent Brewing (901 N Delaware Ave). He and bar mogul Avram Hornik (Liberty Garden, Morgan’s Pier) have converted the former warehouse into Craft Hall, a 500-seat destination that contains the brewery, a smokehouse, a live-music stage, a kiddie playground, and a game room. O’Reilly carries on his legacy as a brewer who favors traditional European styles, namely clean German lagers and understated English ales.

Working out of a 19th century brewery’s horse stable that later became the shuttered St. Benjamin’s Brewing, Human Robot (1710 N 5th St) has popularized and patented Philly’s version of the Czech-style “milk pour” chug of thick foam—the mlíko pour, as the Czech call it—that professional beermakers travel the world to try. What’s more, owner Ken Correll of Memphis Taproom fame pours lagers out of a Lukr side faucet with a Czech-style option to sip a hladinka, šnyt, or mlíko level of head. (See the November/December 2024 issue of The New Brewer to learn more). Even if you’re not hungry, you will certainly regret passing by the Poe’s Sandwich Joint window without ordering a chicken cutlet, an Uncle Tony ribeye and cheese whiz, or an equally overstuffed vegan hoagie. Human Robot has also commandeered the former Crime & Punishment Brewing in Brewerytown (2711 W Girard Ave) and operates a taproom in South Philly (1646 S 12th St) and two suburban Pennsyvania locations (Jenkintown; New Hope).

Brooklyn’s Other Half Brewing (1002 Canal St) has planted a formidable flag in the middle of Fishtown’s entertainment district. Occupying the slick brewery, restaurant, and kid-friendly lawn first built by Chicago’s Goose Island Beer, Other Half serves its renowned IPAs alongside assorted in-house brews. Wear red during baseball season—Phillies fans fill the dining room for televised games.

Dock Street Brewery (1229 N Front St), owned and operated by the illustrious Rosemarie Certo for most of its 40-year lifespan, now occupies a compact space under the Fishtown “El” train tracks. The tasting room, run largely by her daughter, replaces the bricks in West Philadelphia but adds to the family’s extant beer/coffee/smoothies cafe in South Philly at 2118 Washington Ave. Order the old favorite Man Full of Trouble Porter in Fishtown after finishing a snack of grilled cheese and tinned fish.     

Fortunately, the 120-year-old firehouse first renovated by Dock Street didn’t sit empty for long. Two highly decorated brewers forged Carbon Copy, the city’s first combo brewery/winery (701 S 50th St). Though hardly a copy of Dock Street, the popular new brewery serves thin-crust pizza from the wood-fired brick oven originally imported by Certo and pairs the fare with light twists on traditional beers. Less than a year ago, the team opened a second location in Port Richmond at 3124 Richmond St serving the historically Polish neighborhood’s traditional pierogies.

Unfortunately you’ll have to scratch GABF darling Iron Hill Brewery + Restaurant off your itinerary. The landmark local chain closed all of its locations last year.

Close to the Convention Center

Practically mirroring each other in appearance and ethos, the independently owned Triple Bottom Brewing (915 Spring Garden St) and Love City Brewing (1023 Hamilton St) make for a feel-good mini-brewery crawl. Both fronted by female co-owners from mental health and social work backgrounds, the two offer lots of lagers and a welcoming sanctuary from a sometimes less-than-inclusive world. The semi-barren blocks of David Lynch’s old abode in Eraserhood may not offer much in the way of sightly scenery, but palpable indicators of civic engagement resound inside the breweries’ historic industrial architecture. In addition to beers brewed by former Iron Hill icon Kevin Walter, Love City’s whimsical beer garden enlivens a corner lot.

Newish and Notable by Neighborhood

Old City

SUCCESSION Fermentory (127 Spruce St) blends old and older in Philadelphia’s only operating pre-Revolutionary War tavern. Based on a 5-bbl farm in the suburbs, Succession’s annex reopens the colonial-era A Man Full of Trouble Tavern for the first time since 1994. The mixed-culture saisons, blended sours, and Berliner weisse beers all age for at least six months before they win their independence.

Northern Liberties/Fishtown/Kensington

These hip bordering neighborhoods house a tight concentration of breweries.

Pedigreed brewer-about-town Andrew “Ruby” Rubenstein brews collabs with the likes of the War on Drugs band at Sacred Vice Brewing’s (120 W Berks St) new location in Fishtown. Nestle into the living room-like tasting room, spin some vinyl, and sip on a grisette with Huell Melon hops aged five years, or a double IPA hopped and dry hopped with nine different varieties.

Brewery ARS has had beer lovers talking since it opened in a restored South Philly mechanic’s shop (1927-29 W. Passyunk Ave). So when twin brothers Andy and Sean Arsenault birthed a second garage brewery in Fishtown (2223 Frankford Ave), the beer cognoscenti revved their proverbial engines. Everything from standard pub ale to a salted caramel coffee stout to a West Coast Pilsner make their hearts race.

In 2020, New Jersey’s Source Farmhouse Brewery opened Source Urban Brewery (1101 Frankford Ave) to bring farm-to-taproom beer and food to Fishtown. Farmhouse ales, sours and lagers pour off 32 taps, including four Lukr side pulls and two nitro faucets.

Fermentery Form (1700 N Palethorp St) blessedly reopened after the pandemic and now actually posts regular hours instead of simply turning on the green light in their front alleyway when they feel like inviting in the public. For funky mixed-culture fermentations, descend to the delightfully dusty cellar. But don’t bring a crowd—the tasting room is barely big enough to cram in a few tiny tables and a pyramid stack to age and blend barrels à la the Champagne-style solera method.

South Philly

Relieved beer lovers released a collective sigh when Curt Decker opened Second District Brewing (1939 S Bancroft St) to replace his Nodding Head brewpub. With Second District, he and beer bar proprietor John Longacre (South Philadelphia Tap Room, Brew) moved the new brewpub’s operations to just off Passyunk Avenue. They offer carefully thought-out IPAs, Belgians, and quirky offerings such as Nitro Vietnamese Coffee Stout enhanced with locally foraged chicory.

Art Museum Area

Old-guard Victory Brewing (1776 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy) expands its empire to the museum district with a modern multi–story beer and food hall. Numerous bars beckon a lively bunch, while a rooftop patio peeps views as sprawling as the building. Exclusive “Brewed in Philly” beers pour next to taps spilling forth staples such as DirtWolf IPA made at Victory’s two original facilities in the ‘burbs in Downingtown and Parkesburg.

West Philadelphia

Two Locals (3675 Market St, Suite 100) brings Pennsylvania’s first Black-owned brewery to the University City district. Brothers Richard and Mengistu Koilor return to their childhood neighborhood with flavors from their Liberian and Jamaican homelands. Honor their heritage with Nubian brown ale and Sunday Dinner sweet potato imperial amber ale, plus events such as gospel karaoke.

OG Breweries Still Going Strong

After 20 years, Philadelphia Brewing Company (2440 Frankford Ave) still pumps out classics from the Kensington complex built for Weisbrod & Hess Oriental Brewing in 1885. PBC founders Nancy and Bill Barton pour flagships Walt Wit and Kenzinger (“beer-flavored beer”) from a beer garden and an eclectic, dimly lit taproom.

After 30 years, Brewery Techne’s Tom Baker still concocts a constantly evolving array of experimental recipes and almost-gone-but-not-forgotten creations from his earliest days at New Jersey’s dearly departed Heavyweight Brewing. He and wife Peggy Zwerver pour his wee heavies, California commons, and lemon meringue IPAs from an intimate on-site brewpub called Bar Hygge (1720 Fairmount Ave) that ensconces you in the environment of an early 20th century Parisian salon. If available, get the mythical Perkuno’s Hammer Baltic porter for a taste of Tom’s Heavyweight-era thumb.

Pizza cheese and dozens of toppings lie lovingly atop a sourdough crust cultivated, naturally leavened, and baked with the help of a brick oven at Urban Village Brewing (1001 N 2nd St). But don’t stop at the ‘za at this Northern Liberties stronghold. Co-owner and head brewer Dave Goldman dials in favorites such as The Wolf schwarzbier—brewed with local Deer Creek malt—and Wrong Way IPA, a hazy first sold in 2017.

Suburban Spots Worth the Train Fare

It’s worth taking time to check out some of the world-class breweries in the burbs. Access some by commuter rail, others by car.

The sixth generation family of brewers at von C Brewing (Norristown) draw from the towering legacy of third-great-grandfather Christian Schmidt, who produced 4 million barrels a year at the Christian Schmidt Brewing Co. he founded in 1860. (The Northern Liberties complex is now home to Urban Village.) Today the family welcomes all generations to its suburban taproom and beer garden for the Legendary Philly Lager they base on a 160-year-old Schmidt’s recipe.

2SP Brewing partner-brewmaster Bob Barrar keeps accumulating hardware for The Russian imperial stout decades after he first began racking up GABF medals for Iron Hill. You can try that and the famed Delco Lager at the brewery tasting room in Aston or pair it with fare from Philly’s Two Stones Pub at the outpost in Chadds Ford. Six miles from Aston, Sterling Pig Brewery (Media) marries smoked pork and brisket by the pound with acclaimed beers such as World Beer Cup silver medalist Shoat Pilsner.

Mutual Respect Brewers Co-op (Bensalem) brings together familiar industry faces Jeremy Myers, Mike “Scoats” Scotese, and Jason Macias with the musicians behind Broken Goblet Brewing for the country’s first brewing and distilling collective, restaurant, and music venue.

A quick commute to New Jersey takes you to both Tonewood Brewing locations, whose Fuego IPA and Freshies pale ale set a quality standard for the region (Oaklyn; Barrington). While you’re in the Jerz, peek into Farm Truck Brewing’s brand-new taproom in Audubon for chef-driven flavors such as oyster stout and wit conditioned on fresh-squeezed OJ.

Day or Overnight Trips

For a longer day or overnight trip, The Referend Bier Blendery (Kutztown), Tröegs Independent Brewing (Hershey), and Yuengling (Pottsville) are all exceptional in their own ways, as are The Seed (Atlantic City, N.J.) and Rabbit Hill Malt family farm (Shiloh, N.J., by appointment). And no long-distance brewery visit to the region is fully complete without a pilgrimage to Dogfish Head’s four famously off-centered locations in Lower Delaware (Milton; Rehoboth Beach; Lewes).  

Bars Within Easy Walking Distance

Pay homage to Monk’s Café (264 S 16th St), the nation’s premier Belgian bar. World-renowned for its two tap lists, Belgian mussels and frites, and old-school European vibe, Monk’s co-owner Tom Peters keynoted the last Philly CBC. Not far is McGillin’s Olde Ale House (1310 Drury St), the city’s longest continuously operating tavern. 

Don’t leave Philadelphia without buying lunch from one of the 80 vendors at the Reading Terminal Market (1136 Arch St), the city’s oldest indoor market since 1893. Leave time for crowds, shopping, and a draft at Molly Malloy’s. Around half of the pub’s three dozen taps pour Pennsylvania-brewed brews, and all-day breakfast sources from the market’s fresh food stands and Pennsylvania Dutch (aka Amish) section.

The most surprising beer bar close to the convention center may be Bar-Ly, an Asian fusion restaurant in Chinatown that rocks 60 taps, including Russian River’s Pliny the Elder when available. In the Gayborhood (aka Midtown Village), Strangelove’s sells beers mostly from Pennsylvania and New Jersey, along with 30 flavors of wings and a video arcade.

Inviting bar/restaurants line the sidewalks of tony Rittenhouse Square. Perhaps most notable are The Dandelion, a cozy English pub, and Tria, a classy yet unfussy wine-and-cheese bar that’s emphasized the importance of beer as an elegant tableside accompaniment since 2014.

In Old City, you’ll find Khyber Pass Pub, a live-music joint that feels deliciously divey despite spending several decades serving the world’s hardest-to-get beers. The food menu retains its legendary bacon grease popcorn, but is otherwise updated to New Orleans-style selections. And though Standard Tap and Johnny Brenda’s may require a quick Lyft ride to Fishtown, the gastropubs owned by longtime Philly Beer Week chairman Will Reed first made their name by introducing local beers to the locals, and rumor has it, originating the term “gastropub” in America.

[Editor’s note: Do you need to register for CBC? Join us in Philly.]