Philly: America's Beer Capital?

So which US city has the best beer scene? According to Philadelphia, it does. In anticipation of the upcoming Philly Beer Week, the Philadelphia Enquirer reports that the so-called sixth borough is actually seeming closer to a neighborhood in Brussels. Due to greater Philly's abundance of Belgian pubs, trappist ales, breweries and mussels, Philly is laying claim to being our nation's new brewing capital. And they have a point, though I'm not sure how much the mussels have to do with it.

Philly went through a brewing Dark Age when the Schmidt's Brewery (not to be confused with the better known Schmidt) closed in 1987 -- sucks they had to miss out on the money later raked in by the likes of PBR. Come on: classic German-immigrant name, retro bottles and cans, no taste -- hipsters would've been all over that shit! But recently, craft breweries have been popping up around Philly like Rocky sequels. And thinking back to the American beers I've been enjoying lately, most do seem to be from the area: Stoudt's, Weyerbacher, Sly Fox, Victory, and we'll throw in Delaware's Dog Fish Head even though they're 100 miles away.

I recently spoke with Chris Mullins Jr., who along with his father runs McGillin's Olde Ale House, the oldest pub in Philadelphia. Chris agrees that Philly's where it's at for beer.

"We consider Philadelphia the center of the craft beer industry. Where else can you find a dozen craft breweries putting out high quality beers, which are available at most bars in and around the city? Philadelphians now take great pride in this industry -- we're where Sonoma and Napa were a decade ago, and people across the US and abroad are just beginning to take notice."

At this point in the conversation I got defensive of my hometown beer scene: "Yeah, but we've got Brooklyn Brewery and Six Point!" Then I decided to move to Philadelphia.

It does seem that until all the Pacific Northwestern hopheads get off their yoga mats and step up, greater Philadelphia is at the forefront of the new American craft beer culture. Portland's got more breweries, but in general Philly's seem to be of higher quality. I guess that's fitting, given all the bock-guzzling Germans that settled there.

So really what I'm getting at is that we should all drive to Philly this weekend for Beer Week. The celebration (March 7--16) features enough beer drinking events (over 100) to keep even the most seasoned imbiber stumbling, slurring and bellowing about hops and malt. McGillin's will be hosting a meet & greet with the folks at Victory Brewing along with a "Meet the Brewer" event featuring Carol Stoudt of Stoudt's Brewing. And here's a more complete list of events worth stopping by -- check the Beer Week Web site for specifics.

Saturday, March 8

Drink Your Wheaties! Wheat Beer Brunch
Grey Lodge Pub
6235 Frankford Ave.
215-825-5357
www.greylodge.com

Sunday, March 9

Belgian Beer Basics Class
with Tom Peters
Monk's Café
264 S. 16th St.
215-545-7005
www.monkscafe.com
2 p.m. $25

Go Yeast, Young Man:
Tria's Fermentation School
1601 Walnut St.
215-972-9076
www.triacafe.com
6:30 p.m. $50

Meet & Greet with Victory Brewing
McGillin's Old Ale House
1310 Drury St.
215-735-5562
www.mcgillins.com

Tuesday, March 11

Meet the Brewer: 25 years of Chimay
Monk's Cafe
264 S. 16th St.
215-545-7005
www.monkscafe.com
6-10 p.m. Cash bar

Meet the Brewer: Carol Stoudt of Stoudt's Brewing
McGillin's Old Ale House
1310 Drury St.
215-735-5562

Beer Dinner Presented by Walter Staib &
Yuengling Brewmaster Andrew Frantianni
City Tavern
138 S. 2nd Street at Walnut
215-413-1443
www.citytavern.com
Cocktail hour: 6-6:30 p.m. (open to the public)
Dinner: 6:30 p.m. $65

Wednesday, March 12

Once Upon A Nation
Tippler's Tour
Independence Living History Center
3rd & Chestnut Streets
215-629-4026
www.onceuponanation.org
5:30 p.m. $30

Local Breweries Self-Guided Tour
7 Breweries and 8 Bars
6 p.m.-Midnight
$4 Pints until the sixtel runs dry.

Locations:
1. Jose Pistolas - Iron Hill - Vienna Lager
2. Good Dog - Dock Street - Satellite Espresso Porter
3. Misconduct - Flying Fish - Bourbon Abbey Dubbel
4. Black Sheep - Yards - Thomas Jefferson Tavern Ale
5. Devil's Alley - Sly Fox - Seamus Red Ale
6. Nodding Head - Nodding Head - BPA
7. Fergie's - Tröeg's - Nugget Nectar
8. Mcgillin's - Everyone

Thursday, March 13

1st Annual Philly Beer Geek Finals Competition
Johnny Brenda's
1201 N. Frankford Ave.
215-855-0100
www.johnnybrendas.com
Doors open: 7 p.m.
Competition: 8-10 p.m.
Tom Dalldorf & The Rolling Boil Blues Band: 10:15 p.m.$5 at the door or advance online. (Competitors free)
All Week

Beer & Comfort Food: A Sinfully Good Pair
The Devil's Alley
1907 Chestnut St.
215-751-0707
www.devilsalleybarandgrill.com
5-10 p.m.