Springtime at the Brewery

I'd almost forgotten about this video clip I took of the first bottles to come off our line. By the end of March we bottled the Walt Wit with the other three closely behind. Ever since its been full steam ahead.




There's alot going on around here during the spring months. We've opened the doors for tours again! So come on by any Saturday after 12 noon and see all this for yourself.

Also, we've got the talented Jason Simon back on the brewing team. Jason worked with Josh and I at Yards before leaving to hang out at Dogfishhead Brewery for awhile. Now we're more than glad to have him back - he knows his way around the brewery - and with him around I can quit sleeping at the brewery and go home now and again!

HOPS! With the sun hitting our courtyard, my hops have begun to break ground - and fast. Last season I dug out some of the Belgian block of the loading dock area, loosened the Kensington dirt, and planted a few hop rhizomes. Now in their second season they are breaking ground 2 months earlier than last year and should give great yields! I'm digging out some more blocks to expose more soil and will be adding 5 more varieties this year.

Second year hops: Willamette, Brewers Gold, Hallertau, Crystal, Centennial

First year hops (new this season): Mt. Hood, Sterling, Chinook, Cascade, Northern Brewer

Pictures to come soon ...

Philly Beer Week concludes

As our first week of distribution and Philly Beer Week draws to a close I need to thank all the good folks who supported the cause. Everybody has been amazing.

I had the opportunity to meet many people this week, get lots of positive feedback, and think up some new ideas. Sometime its real nice to get outta the brewery. As a brewer, all the planning and technical brewing knowledge in the world is no replacement for sitting in a local pub and drinking every one of your beers - and talking to others who are. I'm so proud of what we've accomplished.

The Kenzinger is so dangerously drinkable - smooth and classy.

The Walt Wit is distinctive from most other white beers - crisp and spicy and pleasantly dry finishing.

The New Bold IPA has a solid malt character and a not-so-abrasively-bitter rounded hoppiness - fruity and herbal.

The Philadelphia-style Rowhouse Red is surprisingly funky with all its different malts balancing each other and showcasing an awesome yeast character.

I couldn't be much happier with the release of these 4 right from the start but I promise they're only gonna get better. We're going to get that bottling line up and running and release bottles next week. This has been a great beginning for us - and we've got a lot more tricks up our sleeves.

Again, I'm sincerely grateful to get the chance to drink our beer with you all in person. You could have been any number of places drinking with someone else but thanks for drinking with me.

Go get some!

So last Wednesday our first trucks rolled out of the courtyard loading dock with Kenzinger, Walt Wit, and Rowhouse Red. Kegs were tapped throughout the city - many immediately. Reports have been very positive so far and I've been told that by Friday we already had a few calls for re-orders!

Phoodie.com has a preliminary list: http://www.phoodie.info/2008/03/05/phoodie-exclusive-philadelphia-brewing-company-debut-taps-revealed/

New Bold IPA will debut at The Brewer's Plate on Sunday and will roll out for deliveries to local bars just in time for Beer Week.

I'm anxious to continue to get feedback (and orders) for all of these beers. In the meantime we'd better make some more.

The name says it all

MyFox Philadelphia has done a good job putting together a feature on PBC for Philadelphia Beer Week:

Click here to see 'Philly's Only Beer Brewery'

Also, from Phoodie.info :

Phoodie.info: Philadelphia Brewing Company's First Beers

Just in time for Philly Beer Week

... Some good reading about the upcoming Philadelphia Beer Week and an argument for our city as the best 'beer city' ~ I'd say pretty convincing.

" A Toast to a city of brews" by Craig LaBan



Also, here at PBC we have respectively filtered and un-filtered the Kenzinger and the Walt Wit! They're in the bright tanks, carbonated, and probably being pushed into shiny clean kegs by one of our hard-working PBC keg racking team members as you read this.

Detailed tasting notes to come but for now all you need to know is that they taste great. Upon first sip my initial thought was, ' I could drink a lot of these.' Simple - but the most important trait of a well made beer. Always a very good sign - echoed by all the staff/taste testers here at the brewery.

Very soon to follow will be the New Bold IPA and the Rowhouse Red - exciting stuff!

The next great beers

Don Russell's (Joe Sixpack) latest column recently got the gears in my head turning. It's about the wave of innovation going on in Italian craft brewing. (Italy - the next great brewmaster?)

The future of craft beer is in complex flavors. Its very important to recognize that complexity need not necessarily be at the cost of drinkability. The future is in the sophistication of people's palates and new and intriguing flavors. Whether this will come from advances in the art of brewing microbiology and yeast or finding new flavors in spices and herbs - I'm not sure. But thats where we're going. Hops will never go out of style but brewers who cannot think outside of hopping extremes are doomed to repeat Imperial one-dimensionality. Those who can respect the past but have the vision and the guts to think beyond its stylistic limitations will do well. Many forward-thinking folks across many different industries are already doing it. With beer a very niche group is getting it but its really going to take changing the way people think about beer - a beverage pigeonholed to the masses by many years of effective marketing. We are starting to undo this. There is still a long way to go. We have to continue to cross lines and blur boundaries. Beer versus wine? ~ that is just the beginning. There is no room for competition or argument - as far as I'm concerned it's all art.

... Unconventional yeast strains, bacterial cultures, spices, herbs, nuts and berries, wooden aging, different aging techniques, different sources of fermentable sugars ... there is more .. we just have to dream it up.

Putting the Boots back on

PBC First brews

Well now we've done it. The clock is ticking and your taste buds may never be the same. Sunday Feb. 9th and Mon. Feb 10th were the inaugural brews here at PBC! We mixed it all together in a giant steel pot and today our fermenters are bubbling away. It's actually a little more difficult than that but I'll spare you all the nerdy details for now.

Brew #1 was Kenzinger. I can't even begin to properly elaborate on the excitement. After a month and a half of reconstruction and anticipation it was as if the whole brewery finally exhaled a deep sigh of relief. And with that came the beautifully sweet aroma of barley mash and floral hops. We fired up the burners, dusted off the mill, and roused the yeast from its cold sleep. I've never had so many people up on the brewhouse platform on a brewday. What traditionally would have made me nervous was what made the first Kensinger brew fun. I counted six different people helping to mash-out ( physically pull the grain from the mash tun). As for the brew itself ... I'll keep my analysis to myself for now - its to early in fermentation to tell - but this brew is off to a good start.

Brew #2 the next day was Walt Wit. It's been too long since Josh or I have brewed a white beer. This one is especially exciting because we get a little more room to run and play. Thats the fun in Belgian-style beers. We got to test out our secret blend of herbs and spices along with a completely different yeast strain. Our spices for this beer are untraditional and I'm confident you'll find them in few other beers ( or none). I'm not going to list the spices just yet. I just can't decide whether to tell, but stick around - they're too exciting for me not to leak them eventually. Mostly, I just don't want anyone passing judgment before having a good couple of pints. As for yeast, if you're familiar with la Chouffe's fine beers then you'll have an idea.

So far so good. Wednesday and Thursday we'll be brewing The New Bold IPA and the Philadelphia-style Rowhouse Red respectively.

It's so nice to be back.