I first visited Philadelphia in the late 80’s as my then girlfriend, now wife was studying at the University of Pennsylvania. Founded in 1682 it is the sixth most populous city in the US and is known for many things.

Its history – the Declaration of Independence was adopted here and later the US Constitution was ratified in the city. Independence Mall showcases many sites including Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. UPenn claims to be the oldest university in the country and there are numerous others throughout Philly.

Culturally the city claims many museums dedicated to art, culture, history, etc. The city has a vibrant music scene and previously hosted the American Bandstand music show and developed Philly Soul in the 60’s and 70’s (Philly is known as the ‘city of brotherly love’ – remember Kenny Everett?).

The cuisine is fantastic and has developed hugely recently with many top chefs opening in the city. With this background its no great surprise that the brewery scene is also exciting with a wide range of breweries dotted around the city.

I was in Philly to judge World Beer Cup, attend Craft Brewers Conference and planned to visit a number of great breweries plus some dive bars that the city is famous for.

There is a large concentration of producers in NE Philly and that’s where I headed first. Yards Brewing Company started pouring in 1994. Founded by homebrew buddys Tom Kehoe and Jon Bovit the brewery has moved around the city over the years before settling at a 70,000 sq ft location in the Northern Liberties neighborhood.

Their initial love for classic ale styles has widened to include some excellent lagers, the ubiquitous range of pale ales, European styles and barrel aged beers. The brewery taproom has a big indoor space and a large, sunny terrace.

Located up the street from Yards, Triple Bottom Brewing is a brewery and a taproom on a mission. Founded in 2016 the name refers to their three principles.

Ensuring that they make great beer is central and no different to all breweries. However, the people in the team are equally as important. Folks from all backgrounds are hired to encourage the sharing of experiences and ideas.

Being in folks who are homeless or have a criminal record is no barrier to being employed here and the team is the brewery’s heart and soul. The third principle is that the brewery operates in as sustainable a way as possible to benefit the local community. Co-founder and brewer Kyle Carney has come a long way from Heriot-Watt University and Stewart Brewing.

Close to Triple Bottom Love City Brewing is based in a former rail parts factory in Callowhill. Founded by husband and wife Melissa and Kevin in 2018 it is established as a ‘woman’s owned business’.

It has a steam punk feel about it with high ceilings, exposed pipework and huge windows. I’ve always found Love City one of the friendliest breweries in Philly – both the team and customers. Core beers include lagers, stouts, pales and NoLo with their Unity IPA being available in many outlets around town.

Regular limited release beers compliment the line up. Pizzas are provided by Viva. This is another place that I find it hard to leave and they now have another location in Manayunk with Sophie’s BBQ providing solids to complement the range of liquids.

Tucked up a side street and an easy 5 minute walk from Yards, Future Days Beer Company was born out of college roommates Nick and Sean home brewing their favourite styles.

Winning a number of awards led the duo to host tastinsg of their new beers. A particular favourite was a Kölsch they christened Future Days. The brewery and taproom opened in 2014.

There is a small terrace outside with a dispense bar just inside the brewery. Upstairs is a larger bar and full taproom hosting regular events and a pool table. I really enjoyed their Short Porch German Pils.

Heading further north towards Fishtown there is a very concentrated number of breweries. Founded by Andrew, Matt and Sam in Brooklyn in 2014, Other Half opened their Philly facility in 2022.

Located near the waterfront the site boasts a massive indoor space looking on to the brewing kit. 28 taps pour their full range of beers with a constantly rotating selection of styles. Lots of pales but plenty of other styles to wet your whistle. After a long day I plumped for the Helles which perfectly quenched my thirst on the hottest day of our trip.

This is where the BA held the opening reception before judging began the following day. The garden is huge with plenty of options for seating. Food is typically US with various sandwiches, burgers and fried food.

A short walk up Frankford Ave, you head past Source Urban Brewery. This is the city location of their brewery which was founded in 2018 and whose first location opened a year later in Colts Neck, New Jersey, around 50km north east of the city.

Founded by Philip, Keri and Greg the aim was to provide a community hub which they realised when opening their farmhouse brewery on the site of a 130 year old dairy farm.

Ingredients are sourced locally where possible and beers can be enjoyed in the taproom itself, on the mezzanine, on the rooftop, on the front patio or in the biergarten. Source Urban opened in 2021 and has a very contemporary feel but with the same attention to detail.

Right in the heart of Fishtown is Forest and Main’s city location. The brewery opened in Ambler in 2012 which is north of the city, close to Fort Washington. Pouring excellent lagers, pales and saisons they also boast a number of beer engines dispensing fresh cask ales. I enjoyed a light mild here and everyone rated their saison highly.

The Fishtown address opened last year in a former police stables. They have partnered with New Jersey chef Dane Demarco’s Snack Shack and feature ‘elevated snackfood’. Close by are also Humble Parlor Brewing and Meyers Brewing Company.

Walk North of Forest and Main and left onto Cecil B Moore Ave where you will find two excellent but very different breweries. Fermentery Form is officially in West Kensington and focuses in producing delicious blended beers fermented in oak barrels with their own house cultures.

Only open on Fridays and Saturdays I was lucky to visit and meet the owner Ethan and his colleague Matt. I have to admit that I was very impressed with the complexity and finesse of their beers and would happily stayed until close if we didn’t have another appointment. Inspired by Belgian lambics there are a number of different series of beers including wine barrel hybrids and solera beers.

A few blocks away in the former stables of the Theodore Finkenaur brewery is the original site of Human Robot Brewing. Founded just six years ago by Chris, Jake and Ken the brewery now has four more locations in South Philly, Girard PA, Jenkintown PA and New Hope PA.

Alongside pale ales and sours expect a full range of tank Czech and German-style lagers and a additional lagers of draft – Zwickel, Mexican Lager, WC Pils for example. The taproom has a home-town vibe where friends go to catch up and beer judges wallow in the fantastic lagers. The sandwiches are huge.

Head up North Front Street and you walk up a block towards East Kensington to Evil Genius Beer Co. Founded by college friends Luke and Trevor in 2011 the company started out as a contract brewery (brewed at Susquehanna Brewing Co and Thomas Hooker) before opening their site in 2017.

Sporting a large taproom and beer garden this place is party central. Events happen all the time, we stumbled upon a speed dating night but missed the Pride Block Party and Drag Brunch. Noisy, hot and a great crowd. Earlier this year they also acquired the Californian based 21st Amendment Brewery.

Continue further up North Front Street and turn left on West Berks St and you will see Sacred Vice brewing on your right. Founded by cousins Justin and Matt in 2018 they moved from Amber St which is now used primarily for private events.

Open six days a week this cosy taproom hosts non-stop events including music (vinyl!), collabs, trivia and markets. ‘Ruby’ joined the team in 2021 as a partner and Head Brewer. You will find a full range of styles poured fresh from their 14 taps.

Back onto Frankford Ave and you will walk past the northern location of Brewery ARS (see below for information on their South Philly location). About 250 metres further up the street you will come across Philadelphia Brewing Company on your left.

Housed in the historic 1885 former Weisbrod and Hess Oriental Brewing Company, it was founded by William, Nancy and James in 2007 after William and Nancy left Yards Brewing.

They brew five core beers with seasonals and occasional one-off brews. Famous for their lagers and witbiers you can also enjoy their beers while watching the Phillies play in Citizens Bank Park.

‘Bar tip’ – head a couple of blocks to Meeting House. A truly fantastic local bar with an inclusive crowd and top atmosphere. They also serve their own beer. Pale, Dark and Hoppy plus a splash of Guinness and Orval. The food and ambience is unbelievable. This is one of Philly’s hottest bars right now.

A short walk West onto North Front Street takes you to our last stop in the neighbourhood, Lost Time Brewing Company. This is another of my favourite brewery taps that I visited during my stay.

There was a warm welcome and a relaxed, easy going vibe. And they’ve got pies too! I really enjoyed their Pilsner and Vienna Lager and could have stayed for the evening if I didn’t have a busy schedule. About half a mile up the street, deep into Kensington is the location for Rocky Balboa’s house from the movies.

Unfortunately the area is also known for rampant drug use and it was upsetting to see so many people, young and old dependent on drugs with Fentanyl addiction common. I found it very bleak and the memory is one that will not leave me.

Moving into downtown and South Philly there are less breweries – real estate is a premium here. One of the biggest and oldest is Victory Brewing.

Founded in 1996 by Bill and Ron in a former Pepperidge Farm bakery in Downington, the brewery has grown into 150,000 hL business. I was keen to visit as I remember tasting Prima Pils and HopDevil IPA in my tasting cellar when at Fuller’s.

The taproom and restaurant are certainly impressive and is located bang in the centre of town. A short stroll a few blocks north of Victory is Bar Hygge brewpub with its range of Techne beers from its 10-barrel brewery.

Close to City Hall is a location of the formerly bankrupt Iron Hill Brewery, contentiously brought back to life by a new group of owners including original founder Mark Edelson.

Head to Point Breeze, SW of Central City and you will find Dock Street Brewery South. This was the city’s first craft brewery, established in 1985.

I recall visiting their original site in Dock Street way back in the late 90’s which looked very much like the Cheers bar on TV. Meeting up there with a couple of beer judges we enjoyed some excellent Pilsners and Black Lagers. Founded by husband and wife Rosemary and Jeffrey they sold the business to another brewery in 1998.

However, following that business’ closing they bought the brand back in 2002. They are joined by their children Renata and Sasha in running the company. They have another location in Fishtown.

Further into South Philly is Second District Brewing brewpub, founded by Curt and John in 2017. The place has an excellent, friendly vibe with an excellent range of beers and vegan-friendly bar food. I was very excited to see that they have a barrel room with many mixed-ferm beers on sale. The aged hop Biere de Garde was excellent.

Walk down Passyunk Ave and you come to the South Philly site of Brewery ARS. Homebrewing brothers Andy and Sean opened their brewpub after almost ten years experimenting with recipes. Engineers by trade they remodelled an auto-body shop, crowdfunded to purchase some FVs and launched the brand. I enjoyed a dark mild while I was there. The atmosphere is homey and very rustic…

If you skip over the Schuylkill into University City you can also find a brewer there. Two Locals Brewing is owned by brothers Richard and Mengistu who used to homebrew at home. Mengistu arrived in Philly from Liberia aged 7 and Richard is a native. They opened the city’s first Black-owned brewery and taproom in 2024.

Closed when I arrived they charmingly welcomed me in, gave me a look at the brewhouse and kindly gave me a crisp and delicious Pilsner. Chatting to Richard it was cool to learn that he had paid a special trip to The Kernel while in London and was given a tour by our bro Mauritz!

In 2022 Kyle and Brendon, formerly of Tired Hands took over the Cedar Park West Philly firehouse that had been the former home of Dock Street for 15 years. Carbon Copy is a combination brewery and winery. Their aim was to provide a unique dining experience within a true neighbourhood bar. 2024 saw their Port Richmond location open where they teamed up with Mom Mom’s Polish kitchen. Earlier this year they opened their 3rd location in Bella Vista, close to Society Hill.

On my last full day I headed Northwest up Kelly Drive to Fairmont Park. I had arranged to meet some friends at a brewery but had time to visit Wissahickon Brewing Company. Based in East Falls, Tom started homebrewing and in 2015 opened the doors of hist brewery and taproom in 2017. 2025 saw the opening of their Olde Kensington taproom and a brewpub in Maple Glen.

The taproom is spacious with a big outdoor area, ideal for cooking outdoors. Inside is very cosy, lots of places to sit with walls adorned by local works of art, all for sale. I sat at the bar and had a great couple of hours chewing the fat with some locals and sampling some delicious award-winning lagers.

Walk uphill through the Thomas Jefferson University campus into Germantown and turn left onto Wayne Ave. Head down to Wayne Junction – the walk takes just over an hour and I was warned not to do it as the area is a bit… tasty. By the train station you will find Attic Brewing Company.

Another of my fave places that I visited. Germantown residents Laura and Todd turned their homebrewing hobby into a business when they opened their brewery and taproom in January 2020.

Boasting a huge 8,000 sq ft beer garden and a substantial multi-roomed inner space, Attic pours from 14 taps and partners with Deke’s Bar-B-Que for food. I had a great time chatting the the bar servers and Mike one of the brewhouse team.

They’ve won loads of awards for their beers and when I was leaving Mike rushed out to tell me the news that they had won gold medal at World Beer Cup for their Czech Dark Lager Nightjar. Tons of events, social and engaging – child and dog friendly, I would definitely return.

My friends and I headed up Germantown Ave expecting to visit the taproom of the mighty Tired Hands. Alas they had an emergency that day and were closed. I’d been to the brewery previously and was keen to try their beers again but up the street is Töska on the site of the old Earth Bread Brewery.

Owned by three brothers they brew in-house a mixture of US and European classics. I had a really good German-style Pilsner. Food is delicious wood-fired pizza – not American pizza I may add. Further up the street is Chestnut Hill Brewing Company, right in the heart of the neighbourhood.

Our final stop was in Glenside at The Ways Restaurant and Brewery as we were after food. Another cosy brewpub the menu focusses on traditional US bar food and a delicious selection of salads. Sticking to my lager theme I had their Vienna Lager which was a very traditional version of the style and a great way to round off a superb day.

As a footnote, if you are aiming to spend some time in the city do make sure that you visit the historic sites and take in the amazing architecture, And while you are doing that you may also want to explore Philly’s unique and outstanding Dive Bar scene…