June 27th, 2008 Joe Sixpack
Tom Kehoe at Yards Brewing tells me he’s going before a neighborhood board in Northern Liberties next week with plans to put a brewpub in his brewery at Poplar & Delaware. He’s thinking of something small with a limited menu.
To me, this is a no-brainer. The brewery is located in the midst of the Delaware Ave. nightclub scene. And, there’s yet another condo tower being built on the river, just across the street from the brewery. While Yards’ main enterprise is obviously a production brewery, failing to add a retail business at the location would be missing the boat. Plus, a brewpub would fit in perfectly in what is one of the best beer scenes in the city (Standard Tap, 700, N. 3rd, Abbaye, Ortlieb’s Jazz Haus, Foodery, Druid’s Keep…).
Meanwhile, there’s notable progress at the brewery. Many tanks are up, more are on the way. The bottling line has been assembled, grain silos are up and many plumbing lines are installed. It’s looking like the first test batches are a few weeks away.
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April 29th, 2008 Joe Sixpack
This one avoided my radar till just now… Nima of Shangy’s tells me that South Philadelphia Taproom (15th & Mifflin) is hosting a Bell’s beer blowout on tap starting at 8 p.m. on Thursday. Ten different drafts from the Michigan brewery will be pouring, including Oberon, Two Hearted, Double Cream, Expedition, Pale Ale, Amber Ale, Sparkling Ale, Lager of the Lakes, Porter and Cherry Stout.
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April 8th, 2008 Joe Sixpack
We should be seeing some new beer in Philly by early summer following the arrival of the new Roy Pitz brewery out in Chambersburg. Co-owner Ryan Richards says he and his partner, Jesse Rotz, are planning a June 7th grand opening and expect to be sending beer our way shortly thereafter.
Both Richards and Rotz, who went to school together at West Chester U., are Siebel-trained; Richards also studied brewing in Germany. They worked briefly at Victory Brewing, then Twin Lakes down in Delaware.
The brewery is in an old sewing machine factory that was built in the early 1900s. It’ll be keg-only at first, possibly adding bottles and - who knows? - a brewpub. “Right now, our focus is just selling fresh beer in the vicinity - Chambersburg, Shippensburg, Gettysburg, maybe Carlisle - plus West Chester and Philly,” Richards told me. (Stockertown Bev. is handling local distribution.)
The beer? They’ll start with two out of the gate: White Horse Hefeweizen and Lovitz Lager (described as a light lager flavored with locally grown watermelon). Later you can look for a rauchbier and an imperial IPA.
And what about that name - Roy Pitz? It’s from some cockamamie story about conjoined twins who lived in the area in the 1700s. I dunno whether I buy the tale, but to paraphrase Smuckers: With a name like Pitz, the beer better be good.
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February 9th, 2008 Joe Sixpack
Brewing has commenced at Philadelphia Brewing Co. in Kensington, and they’re saying they’ll have beer in kegs by the end of the month. That’s excellent news (especially since I’m planning on pouring their new Rowhouse Red at Joe Sixpack’s Philly Favorites fest during Philly Beer Week).
And, yes, there has been a keg or two of the brewery’s products floating around already, but they were brewed up at the Porterhouse brewpub in Lahaska where brewer Dean Browne also brews.
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January 28th, 2008 Joe Sixpack
Temple film student Stephen Metzger is working on a video about Philly beer history and Yards, featuring Marlon Brando as Tom Kehoe, Sean Penn as Rich Wagner and Jerry Mathers as Steve Mashington. Joe Sixpack plays himself in a stellar cameo, which is to say he appears while hammered.
The work in progress is posted here.
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November 23rd, 2007 Joe Sixpack
Just got word that the new Philadelphia Brewing Co. expects to be brewing by the second week of January. This is the new brewery that will take over at Yards Brewing’s current location in Kensington. (Yards is moving to Delaware Avenue in Kensington).
Co-owner Nancy Barton reports that Josh Ervine and John Rehm, both now working with Yards Brewing, will be the new company’s brewers. The company is in the process of obtaining needed state and federal licensing approvals. And they’ve got a new web site and logo.
No word, yet, on exactly what beers we’ll be seeing. But all this progress is great news as Philly gets set to welcome yet another brewery to the city’s beer scene.
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November 19th, 2007 Joe Sixpack
Wanna be a brewer? Dogfish Head is looking for someone for its Rehoboth Beach, Del., brewpub. As the ad says: The process of brewing/distilling is a physical one; the successful head brewer
must be able to lift up to 50 lbs., twist/turn, reach over shoulders and stand/walk/bend on a continual basis.
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October 27th, 2007 Joe Sixpack
Why they pay Steve Mashington the big money at Yards: “You can’t make beer without hops and barley…” Fox News reports on the rising cost of beer ingredients.
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October 21st, 2007 Joe Sixpack
Are you experienced? Harrisburg’s Troegs brewery steps back to the ’60s with its 10th anniversary celebration on Saturday. Check out the lineup that will be pouring at the brewery
Hopback Amber Ale, Troegs Pale Ale, Rugged Trail Ale, Troegenator Doublebock, Dreamweaver Wheat, Nugget Nectar, The Mad Elf, plus all 5 (yes, 5) of its 2007 Scratch series. Tix are cheap ($10/$20 door, pay as you go after 3 drinks) with good music and food. Info here.
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October 17th, 2007 Joe Sixpack
Tom Kehoe of Yards Brewing reports he has a new location for his brewery. It’s at 901 N. Delaware Ave., in the Northern Liberties section. He’s hoping to move in the 50 bbl brewhouse he purchased from the defunct Ybor City Brewing Co. as early as next week.
This location seems well situated for deliveries and bar-hopping (2 blocks from Standard Tap). It’s not far from the planned site of the Sugar House casino.
Kehoe, you’ll recall, has split with his former partners, Bill & Nancy Barton, who will continue brewing out of Yards’ old plant in Kensington, under the name of Philadelphia Brewing Co.
Here’s the place (photo Google Street View)
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