Pennsylvanians have dedicated themselves to quality beer since the Eagle Brewery was established in the 1820’s, later to become the famed Yuengling Brewery (the oldest brewery in the United States). We visited Yuengling Brewery recently and would recommend the tour! Needless to say, Pennsylvania in general (and Philly more particularly) has got some solid beer culture and beer in Philadelphia is Here. To. Stay.

Craft beer has absolutely exploded across the country, but we were particularly interested in what Philadelphia had to offer. Philadelphia has a deep history in both The United States as well as the world of beer as we know it. Here are some of the breweries we visited on our weekend trio to Philly! …Yes, you can (and we did) visit 5 breweries in the Philly area easily in one weekend.

Evil Genius Beer Company

1727 N Front St, Philadelphia, PA 19122

215-425-6820

Evil Genius Beer Co. is my favorite brewery in Philly so far in terms of flavor profile. The beers we tried here were well thought-out and complex, but not confused. Be sure to make a reservation on their website to minimize your wait time upon arrival!

Beers we liked:

Has Anyone Tried Turning 2020 Off And Then Back On Again??
Style: Biere De Garde (French style farmhouse beer)
ABV: 8.3%
Notes: Aroma of hibiscus, orange peel, white pepper. Thick heavy mouthfeel, deep citrus notes, ends sweet and floral. The color is a beautiful muddy non-bloody blood orange color.

Fly Like An Eagle
Style: Hazy IPA
ABV: 5.5%
Notes: Brewed with oats and dry hopped with Azacca and Idaho 7 hops. This beer smells so good! It’s bright without being metallic, orange soda but not artificial. The hop flavor is strong and lingers. You’ll wait for the bitterness to come through and mar the beer’s performance, but it never does. Very well done.

Love City Brewing

1023 Hamilton St, Philadelphia, PA 19123

215-398-1900

This brewery is so cute! From the front door handles to the red string lights to the Love City mural to the partially torn down brick wall in the middle of the seating space, Love City has a great atmosphere that makes you want to settle in and enjoy the beer. And more importantly, that beer is tasty. The flavors come off a tad less refined than the brews of Evil Genius, but I had no complaints and would definitely still recommend. The locals seem to love it here, so come early to avoid a line especially as no reservations are accepted.

Beers we liked:

In Stereo
Style: Dry-hopped pilsner
ABV: 6.0%
Notes: The aroma reminds of a run-of-the-mill German pilsner, but the hop flavor adds a savory salinity that end with melon aftertaste.

Eraserhood
Style: Hazy IPA
ABV: 7.2%
Notes: This is a triple dry-hopped hazy IPA, bursting with mango and pineapple aroma. It is oddly but (very) pleasantly malty for an IPA, retaining a super clean finish. The hop bitterness does not linger at all, in a good way.

Midnight Cowboy
Style: Mole stout
ABV: 9.0%
Notes: This guy will sneak up on you! I’m a bit of a sucker for higher ABV stouts since Texas does them so well, and Love City Brewing does absolutely with this one. It is an imperial spiced stout with expected tones of dark chocolate and espresso, but also more unexpected flavors of cumin and cinnamon. Chile adds a roasty toasty depth without additional heat, so don’t worry if you’re not a fan of spicy beer.

Yards Brewing Company

500 Spring Garden St, Philadelphia, PA 19123

215-525-0175

Yards Brewing is one of the larger breweries of Philly and the ambience matches accordingly. They have the hospitality you expect from a brewery, but the feel is different and more commercial compared to that of smaller microbreweries. That said, larger breweries often come with larger brew lists and food menus which we were glad to take advantage of. Yards Brewing Company’s soft pretzel (a Philly food staple I came to learn about) is made with their Our Signature IPA and served with house-made Philly Pale Ale beer cheese and mustard— it rivaled that of other renowned and beloved soft pretzel providers in the city. Beer flights are a particularly good deal at Yards, each flight gives you a total 20 oz of beer and you get the variety!

Flights we tried:

Signature Flight
Brawler (very light but malty English Mild)
Loyal Lager (light American lager)
Philly Pale Ale (citrusy American pale ale)
Our Signature IPA (American IPA)

Revolutionary Flight
Washington’s Porter (roasty English-style porter)
Jefferson’s Golden Ale (complex golden strong ale)
Poor Richard’s Spruce Ale (spruce and molasses amber ale)
Extra Special Ale (malty ESB)

Forgotten Boardwalk Brewing

1940 Olney Ave STE 100, Cherry Hill, NJ 08003

856-437-0709

Alright, so this brewery is technically located in Cherry Hill, NJ but it’s so close to Philadelphia that I’m counting it as one of my Philly area brew spots. Forgotten Boardwalk Brewing is super cute, with a small neighborhood feel but big big tap list full of interesting beers! Seriously every beer on their tap list was so intriguing and I had difficulty narrowing down all the options. Forgotten Boardwalk has a old-timey carnival theme, complete with funhouse mirrors, retro jazz music, and beer names like Pocket Trick (imperial IPA), The Strongest Woman On Earth (Belgian Tripel), and Fortune’s Fate (oyster lemon gose). This wasn’t available in the time of COVID, but there usually is also a resident 50-cent skeeball machine that supports a rotating selected charity.

***Summer 2021 update– the skeeball is back! Currently benefiting the National Kidney Foundation!

In a word, Forgotten Boardwalk Brewing’s beers are refreshingly clean. I guess that’s actually two words, but whatever. Even their stouts and heavier IPAs finish cleanly without any lingering bitterness, but all the beers are still complex and well-layered. Everything is very drinkable. It’s a nice change from the current microbrewery norm of increasing complexity and heaviness which lends itself to decreasing crushability.

I’m (unabashedly) a stout gal. Give me a dark roasty complex brew and I’m a happy girl. Given this, I never would have thought I would enjoy cream ales, especially after my first handful of tries at other breweries. They just always seemed to underwhelm and come off too watery. Now enter Forgotten Boardwalk. Alright, alright– these guys know how to make a cream ale. It’s actually creamy! Light and not heavy on the nose, but still deep in flavor with a delightfully recognizable hint of Cool Whip on the soft palate. Try it for yourself!

Beers we liked:

Vic Secret
Style: Red IPA
ABV: 6%
Notes: Vic Secret pours a vibrant scarlet hue. I’ve had East Coast IPA, West Coast IPA, Double IPA, Triple IPA, English IPA, Belgian IPA…but this was my first taste of a red IPA. The head tastes absolutely like an IPA, but the liquid itself is more malty. It finishes like a whipped caramel.

Dark Ride
Style: Black Chocolate Salted Stout
ABV: 7.5%
Notes: This gem is brewed with black lava sea salt, house roasted cacao nibs, and Madagascar vanilla beans. How clean of a brew can something that’s called a black chocolate salted stout be? Forgotten Boardwalk Brewing clean. This is the end of the line. It was expectedly full-bodied, but thin in texture and superbly drinkable. Give it a try.

Lady No. 8
Style: Spiced Wit
ABV: 5%
Notes: This witbier is conditioned with watermelon, basil, and a blend of spicy peppers including devil’s tongue, dragon cayenne, habanero, and chocolate habanero peppers. It smells like melon and cucumber. The spice profile is gentle and rises slowly as you make your way through your glass.

Funnel Cake Nitro
Style: Nitro Cream Ale
ABV: 5.5%
Notes: The Funnel Cake (non-nitro version) was my first introduction to Forgotten Boardwalk Brewing. I’m a sucker for good can art — this one caught my eye at our local beer shop and I’m so glad it did! Funnel Cake Cream Ale is gently sweet and dough-y, one of the better cream ales I’ve tried (most other cream ales come out watery). Funnel cake is such a genius inspiration for a cream ale, and making it nitro adds even more texture to an already wonderful brew.

Flying Fortress

Style: Dry-hopped Cream Ale
ABV: 5.5%

Notes: Oh, so creamy! If you want a crushable brew that retains it’s “crafted-ness,” appreciate some sweet but only gently so, and have a palate for richness without heaviness, you’ve found your match.

Neshaminy Creek Brewing Company

909 Ray Ave, Croydon, PA 19021

215-458-7081

Ah, Neshaminy. Neshaminy Creek Brewing Company was one of the first breweries of the Northeast that caught our attention when hunting around for local beer after moving from Dallas to New York. We tried beer after beer and were never disappointed. It remains one of our go-to breweries to this day.

Beers we tried (during this visit to the brewery):

This Is Not The New
Style: Unfiltered IPA
ABV: 6.6%
Notes: Huge huge tangerine aroma, with bready sweetness from wheat and honey malts. It’s a gentler IPA in terms of the hoppy bitter hit, but doesn’t compromise on flavor.

Flat Earth Hippie
Style: New England IPA
ABV: 8.3%
Notes: My first thoughts: “oh, it’s nice.” In a good way, not a euphemistic way. Honestly smells like a lemondrop candy with a hint of basil flowers. Lactose gives sweetness, and dry hopping with Citra / Amarillo / Lemondrop hops provides a definite hop character without overwhelming bitterness. Brewed with malted wheat, flaked oats, and sweet orange peel — one of the better lemony IPAs I’ve tried.

Brewery hopping is one of our favorite activities when traveling to new cities! I hope this inspires you to try out a local beer hub and find a new favorite.