NOTE: My original commentary from 4/20/16 has been moved to the bottom to get you to the event listings faster.
Our local breweries and bars are not rookies in putting together events throughout the year. Here's what's on tap thus far and open to the public from May 2-7. It's where you'll get to drink some of the area's and country's finest beers and rub elbows with some of the industry's brightest. Of course, as usual, please let me know if I'm missing anything.
(Find my top recommendations, as of 4/22, over at this link)
Alla Spina
Wed. May 4 — Happy Hour with Goose Island
Thu. May 5 — Sour Happy Hour with Almanac Beer Co.
American Sardine Bar
Wed. May 4 — Coronado
Thu. May 5 — Cinco de Mayo w/ Ballast Point
Bainbridge Street Barrel House
Mon. May 2 — Hosting Saltwater Brewery
Tue. May 3 — Hosting Shelton Brothers Importers and their UK brewers and beers
Thu. May 5 — Hosting Lakefront Brewery and Sprecher Brewing
Thu. May 5 — Hosting Bruery and Bruery Terreux
Fri. May 6 — Hosting Bunker Brewing and Finback
Sat. May 7 — Hosting Voodoo Brewery
BarLy
Mon. May 2 — St. Benjamin Event
Tue. May 3 — Stone Brewery Event
Wed. May 4 — Dominion Pinup Girl Event
Thu. May 5 — Lancaster Brewing Company Event
Bottle Bar East
Tue. May 3 — Hardywood Park
Wed. May 4 — Destihl
Thu. May 5 — Stone
Fri. May 6 — Burial Beer
Sat. May 7 — Wicked Weed
Brick and Mortar
Mon. May 2-Sat. May 7 — Ballast Point Tap Takeover
Brü
Tue. May 3 — CBC '16, Take 1: Almanac and Forest & Main
Tue. May 3 — CBC '16, Take 2: Surly and Gigantic
Wed. May 4 — CBC '16, Take 3: Jolly Pumpkin
Wed. May 4 — CBC '16, Take 4: Maine Beer Company
Wed. May 4 — CBC '16, Take 5: Green Bench and Wicked Week
Thu. May 5 — CBC '16, Take 6: Fat Head's
Thu. May 5 — CBC '16, Take 7: Prairie and Grimm
Thu. May 5 — CBC '16, Take 8: Cascade
Fri. May 6 — CBC '16, Take 9: Shelton Imports
City Tap House-Logan Circle
Tue. May 3 — Bell's Brewery Eccentric Cafe Experience
Thu. May 5 — Cinco de Sunlight at Collaboration Station
City Tap House-University City
Tue. May 3 — New Belgium & Friends
Wed. May 4 — Charlie Bravo Charlie; $100
Clarkville
Thu. May 5 — JDub's Brewing Night
Coeur
Tue. May 3 — 2SP + Bagby Brewing
Wed. May 4 — The Montreal Express Brasserie Dunham + Trou du Diable + Dieu du Ciel + Les Trois Mousquetaires
Devil's Den
Mon. May 2 — Ballast Point Tap Takeover
Tue. May 3 — Terrapin Brewing Tap Takeover
Wed. May 4 — Ommegang, Boulevard, & Duvel
Thu. May 5 — Michigan Brewer's Guild
Thu. May 5 — Stone Brewing Tap Takeover
Fri. May 6 — Sour Beer Invitational
Electric Factory
Thu. May 5 — Mastodon presented by Surly Brewing Co., Champion Brewing Co. and BSG Craft Brewing; $32.50
Fado Irish Pub
Wed. May 4 — Craft Beer Pub Quiz
Fergie's Pub
Tue. May 3 — Firestone Walker Beers, Bonney, Sweets, and Dice
Field House
Thu. May 5 — Yards Comedy Night After Party
Fox & Hound
Wed. May 4 — Craft Malt Tap Takeover; $Free
Good Dog Bar
Mon. May 2 — Two Roads & Sly Fox Event
Tue. May 3 — Firestone Walker Event
Wed. May 4 — Brooklyn Beer Event
Thu. May 5 — Green Flash & Alpine Beer Event
Fri. May 6 — Yards Beer Event
Han Dynasty
Tue. May 3 — Happy Hour with New Belgium
Hawthornes
Mon. May 2 — Sole Artisan Ales and Bunker Brewing
Wed. May 4 — Surly and Friends Rare Beer House Party
Thu. May 5 — Kings of Queens
Fri. May 6 — Who Doesn't Like A Threesome
Heritage
Wed. May 4 — Hop Trüb Lime Machine 80's Bash
Johnny Brenda's
Tue. May 3 — Introduction of Brotherly Suds
Jose Pistola's
Tue. May 3 — Late Night with Joe Gunn: CBC Edition
Wed. May 4 — Late Night with Joe Gunn: CBC Edition
Wed. May 4 — Brasserie De La Senne & Bagby Beer Company
Thu. May 5 — Cinco de Mayo Block Party Featuring Yards Brewing
Kite & Key
Mon. May 2 — New Belgium
Tue. May 3 — Firestone Walker Lunch
Wed. May 4 — Green Flash
Local 44
Wed. May 4 — Tired Hands + Bluejacket
Lucky's Last Chance
Tue. May 3 — Tuesday Tapping with Mispillion River
Tue. May 3 — Late Night with Green Flash/Alpine
Wed. May 4 — Great Divide Joins Us on Whiskey Wednesday
Fri. May 6 — Happy Hour with Stone Brewing
Martha
Wed. May 4 — A Barrel-Aged Symposium with Scott Vaccaro of Captain Lawrence
Thu. May 5 — Great Minds Think Alike: Jester King, Green Bench, and Tired Hands
Fri. May 6 — Martha Goes to Space! with Other Half Brewing, Oxbow and Monkish
McCrossen's Tavern
Tue. May 3 — Hop Till You Drop with Evolution and Fat Head's
Thu. May 5 — Sour Showcase with Free Will Brewing Company
Fri. May 6 — Get Goose'd
Sat. May 7 — Honey Bunches of Hall and Oats
Memphis Taproom
Wed. May 4 — The Mighty Memphis Taproom Welcome Wagon: Sly Fox welcomes Stone and Draai Laag
Thu. May 5 — The Mighty Memphis Taproom Welcome Wagon: SØLE and Forest & Main invite Burial Beer Company and Other Half
Fri. May 6 — The Mighty Memphis Taproom Welcome Wagon: 2SP hosts Half Acre and Wiseacre
MilkBoy
Tue. May 3 — CBC After Party with Ship Bottom Brewery
Monk's Cafe
Tue. May 3 — Wicked Weed
Wed. May 4 — New Belgium class; $45
Moriarity's Irish Pub
Mon. May 2 — Green Flash & Alpine CBC Welcome Party
National Museum of American Jewish History
Thu. May 5 — Amber Waves; $35
Philadelphia Brewing Company
Thu. May 5 — International Beer Run
Prohibition Taproom
Tue. May 3 — Goose Island CBC Tap Takeover
Wed. May 4 — DMV does Philly
St. Benjamin Brewing Company
Wed. May 4 — Kumpelbier Firkin Tapping
Smokin' Betty's
Tue. May 3 — Food Pairing with Green Flash and Alpine
Standard Tap
Wed. May 4 — May the 4th Galactic Pageant
Fri. May 6 — Tired Hands, Stone, and Other Half
Sat. May 7 — Sour Brunch
Strangelove's
Mon. May 2 — Pink Boots Society / CBC Kick Off
Tue. May 3 — Victory Brewing + Australian Hop Growers Association
Wed. May 4 — Brewery Pile Up (Perennial + Half Acre + JDub's + Free Will)
Thu. May 5 — Brewery Pile Up (Neshaminy Creek + Night Shift Brewing + Against The Grain)
The Abbaye
Tue. May 3 — U Buy The Glass: Taste of the Carolinas
Wed. May 4 — U Buy The Glass: Weyerbacher
The Bishop's Collar
Tue. May 3 — Jimmy Meiers & The Beers
Wed. May 4 — 10 Barrel & More Event
Fri. May 6 — Meet New Belgium's Head Brewer
The Cambridge
Mon. May 2 — CBC Trio: Almanac, Half Acre, and Wiseacre
Tue. May 3 — Short's 24 Tap Takeover
Wed. May 4 — Lakefront Brewery Happy Hour
Thu. May 5 — Funky Buddha, 3 Ways of Speedway, and more
The Industry Bar
Mon. May 2 — Brooklyn Beer Pairing
Tue. May 3 — Stone Brewing Late Night Snack & Beer Pairing Event
Wed. May 4 — Fat Head's Rare Beer Event
Thu. May 5 — Iron Hill World Beer Cup Event
Fri. May 6 — Ballast Point Hawaiian Friday Beer Event
The Institute
Mon. May 2 — I want Can-dy!
Tue. May 3 — Slinging Suds with Southern Tier
Wed. May 4 — Fun with Flying Dog and Play Doh!
Thu. May 5 — Fun with Flying Dog and Play Doh!
The Khyber Pass Pub
Tue. May 3 — Founders Takeover
Wed. May 4 — Baird Beer Event
Thu. May 5 — Epic & Elevation Event
The P.O.P.E.
Tue. May 3 — Surly Tap Takeover
Tio Flores
Wed. May 4 — 10 Barrel and Tacos
Tria Taproom
Tue. May 3 — 4 Countries, 4 Brewers, 4 Beers: Shelton Brothers Showcase
Wed. May 4 — A Romantic Evening with Dr. Bill and Rare Barrel-Aged Beers from Stone Brewing Company
Thu. May 5 — The Wonderful World of B. United International
Tria Cafe-Fitler Square
Wed. May 4 — Nebraska - Not Just A Bruce Springsteen Album
Tria Cafe-Rittenhouse Square
Wed. May 4 — We Lost Our Opening Staff to El Segundo - a Tria Alumni Reunion
Tria Cafe-Washington Square
Thu. May 5 — No Attitudes, Just Beer: Happy Hour with Surly Brewing Co.
Trocadero Theatre
Thu. May 5 — Yards Comedy Night
U-Bahn
Tue. May 3 — CBC Underground #1: Founders
Wed. May 4 — CBC Underground #2: Hwy. 128 Happy Hour
Wed. May 4 — CBC Underground #3: New Holland Jamboree
Thu. May 5 — CBC Underground #4: Firestone Walker
Thu. May 5 — Beer-lesque: Vixens, Vintages, & Variety; $20
Fri. May 6 — CBC Underground #5: Tröegs
Union Transfer
Wed. May 4 — We CAN Jam
Varga Bar
Thu. May 5 — Moscow Mule and Greyhound Lunch
Thu. May 5 — The American Cinco De Mayo Party of the Year
Fri. May 6 — The Officially Unofficial Award Show After Party Award Show
Xfinity Live! — CANCELLED
Yards Brewing Company
All Week — CBC Week
In case you weren't aware, roughly 13,000 industry professionals will be in Philadelphia from May 2-May 6. While their conference doings are closed to the public — as is typical at this sort of convention — parties and events of all shapes and sizes will be taking place all around town and many will be open to all.
I couldn't wait to finish mowing last night because I was stewing up a rant about the variety of events that I'd become aware of in recent weeks surrounding the upcoming Craft Brewers Conference (CBC) and biennial World Beer Cup (WBC).
Lacking a centralized promotional vehicle for the city's bars and breweries (and I'll be pleased to be corrected if I'm wrong), during the past couple weeks I've gathered what I've found in PR e-mails, FB postings, and random tweets and whispers in the wind. And until later last night, I sensed a real lack of focus on local breweries in these scheduled events.
After a couple more hours of sifting through yet more leads (which I imagine will continue right up until May 2), I now have a list of over 75 events in the first week of May coinciding with CBC/WBC. Quite a few bar events that I see are on the list now have a more proper focus on the breweries of the immediate Philly city and suburbs.
Still missing, however, is an event or events that focus on what we are often fond to say that we're proud of, but maybe haven't done the best job of representing to the broader market. Yes, I know the market is irrationally fixated on IPAs and beers masquerading as IPAs in name but aren't really IPAs. But we've always talked a big game in the lager world.
We trot out Dock Street's Royal Bohemian Pilsner, Sly Fox Pikeland Pils, Stoudts Pils, Tröegs Sunshine Pils and Troegnator Double Bock, and Victory Helles and Prima Pils as beers that have stood the test of time. They're joined by newer guys on the scene such as 2SP's DelCo Lager, Philadelphia Brewing's Kenzinger, and Neshaminy Creek's Trauger Pils and Churchville Lager.
While the rest of the country has slowly caught up with their own lager brewing, the greater Philadelphia region has excelled in this area for quite some time. So hey bar event organizers, let's recognize that. You say that a lager-ish, session-ish type of beer event is a tough sell for bars? Remember that these 13,000-ish brewers, owners, reps, and other industry personnel are not your typical customers.
It was Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head that was recently quoted: "At CBC, you’ll learn about your own business. At Philly Beer Week, you’ll learn about Philadelphia consumers." And Tomme Arthur echoed similar sentiments in the same article with "The two events reach totally different audiences, which is why I’m coming back for both. Any brewery that thinks they’re going to reach consumers at CBC is crazy."
Sure, they want the sours, the double IPAs, the barrel-aged stouts, and the oddly spiced one-offs. But there are already plenty of those events around this year's CBC and, quite frankly, available in many other parts of the country where these attendees call home. They're coming to Philly and they've heard that we've got a great pub culture and a spectacular lager-based history (have you told them where they can find the John Wagner historical plaque in Northern Liberties — have you seen it?). Let's show them.
Well, that wasn't quite the rant I initially imagined. There are still gaps to be filled on the CBC/WBC off-site events calendar. And hopefully I'm still to be pleased as the coming weeks unfold.
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