Philly Beer Week 101: plan often and plan early — with hundreds of beer week events, we're here to help you find some of the best.
(Photos by G. Widman for GPTMC)
Philadelphia’s affinity with great beer is historic — Philly has been brewing beer for more than 300 years. And now the world is starting to take note: already in 2011, Esquire ranked Philadelphia as one of America’s seven best beer cities, and Frommer’s rated Philly one of the 14 best cities for beer in the entire world.
Philly Beer Week is a shining example of why Philly’s beer scene is getting so much attention: it’s a 10-day celebration of “America’s Best Beer-Drinking City” held from Friday, June 3 to Sunday, June 12.
Established in 2008, Philly Beer Week is the largest beer celebration of its kind in the United States, featuring hundreds of festivals, dinners, tours, pub crawls, tastings and meet-the-brewer nights throughout Greater Philadelphia.
Through hundreds of events, Philly Beer Week highlights the region’s diverse beer scene — its world-class breweries, neighborhood taverns, trend-setting restaurants and rich beer culture and history.
Philly Beer Week invites you to try special dinners and tastings, take behind-the-scenes tours of Philadelphia’s best pubs and breweries, watch home-brewing technique demos, catch a cask ale festival and more. This year, the week includes five major festivals and more than 600 events.
With so many events, we want to try to help you determine what to attend and where to be. Below is a “Philly Beer Week 101″ guide to some of the biggest and best Philly Beer Week events. Use this primer as a starting point, and stay tuned for a lot more Beer Week coverage here on Uwishunu in the days and weeks to come.
The guide:
• With Love Beer Garden: This is going to be awesome. And it’s going to be Beer Week central! We’ve teamed up with Philly Beer Week and The Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia to launch a brand new pop-up With Love Beer Garden in the Four Seasons Hotel’s awesome outdoor courtyard exclusively for Philly Beer Week 2011.
Each day, a different local brewery will be on hand with some of their featured beers. Beer Garden patrons will be able to “Meet the Brewer” and enjoy the featured brewery’s beers. The brewer lineup includes Victory, Weyerbacher, Dock Street, Sly Fox, Yards and Stoudt’s. The With Love Beer Garden will offer beer, food, music, some special programming and more. Start your Beer Week evenings here and then move on to the other events around town. June 6-10, 4-8 p.m. Four Seasons Philadelphia. Pay as you go.
• Philly Beer Week Opening Tap: This is the official opening festival of the week, taking place within a few steps of America’s birthplace, at the Independence Visitor Center. Witness the arrival of the legendary Hammer of Glory; raise a toast with your favorite beer from one of 30+ local breweries; rub elbows with special guests including Mayor Nutter, Ben Franklin and Joe Sixpack; all to the tune of live music. Friday, June 3, 7:30 p.m. Independence Visitor Center. $41 ($15 designated drivers).
• Philadelphia Night Market: 30+ food carts and restaurants serving the best of American street eats; The Blockley Beer Garden, with top local beers from brewers like Victory, Rogue, Troegs and Yards; local bands, fire performers and crafts; say no more. We’re there. So will you be. Thursday, June 9, 6–10 p.m. 39th and Market Streets. Pay as you go.
• Craft Beer Day On East Passyunk: Eight East Passyunk bars are hosting events all day, from beer brunch to home brew demos to beer-bucket-and-pizza-deals to “Meet the Brewer” happy hours. Sunday, June 5, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Along East Passyunk Avenue. Pay as you go.
Below, we’ve got some more highlights.
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