earth + bread – brewery

Philadelphia, PA

Pretty cool place, brewing nothing at all typical of most brew pubs.  Their focus is on making low gravity, English-inspired beers.  In the frenzied growth of craft brews in the U.S., these small beers were largely cast aside in favor of the next 15%, barrel aged, imperial stout.  Nothing wrong with those beers at all, but a change is nice, and Earth Bread certainly provides that.  What also sets them apart is their ability to make low-gravity beers that are original and full of flavor.  Their approach is much more complex than simply cutting a recipe in half to get a beer below, say, 5% alcohol.  Trying to extract a full flavor out of the diminutive grain quantity is truly an art that requires an intimate knowledge of malts and how small changes go a long way in the flavor of the beer.  Everything the brewmaster does, intentional or not, is out in the open.  When done right, these are some of the most impressive beers out there.  The earthiness of the hearth-baked flatbread also provides a commonality with the beer.

One of the more fun brews we had was made with cheerios.  It actually went beyond the apparent gimmick and turned out to be a well-rounded, bready, subtly sweet beer.  Also a nice lager, and a bitter made with lavender.

They also set themselves apart by being environmentally conscious, in a hippy sort of way.  They even host Green Drinks once a week!  Green Drinks is a very loose organization of environmentally-minded people that like beer.  I’ve seen it in various forms in several cities, but never in a brewery.  That would certainly keep me coming back every week.

 

stoudt’s

Adamstown, PA

My introduction to Stoudts was in Columbus, OH, at a bar called the Surly Girl.  Their menu proudly displayed the fact that Stoudt’s is one of very few women-owned breweries.  Maybe because the Surly Girl was such an edgy, hipster (think punk rock aerobics), and all around cool place, I expected Stoudt’s to be similar.  To the contrary, this was possibly the most old-fashioned brewery I’ve visited.  Right in the middle of Amish country, it’s the type of place you might take your grandparents for a steak on a Sunday afternoon.  Such an odd atmosphere for craft beer.  But it really worked.  They have a wide array of beers, many with a German influence.  The Scarlet Lady, their ESB, continues to be a reliable go-to beer.

victory brewing co

Wow.  Having had, and regularly seen, about three Victory beers – which I’ve always enjoyed – I expected a rather typical brew stop.  Maybe six beers, all pretty good.  I suppose I should have looked at the website.  But even that wouldn’t have prepared me for the massive, open taproom and surprising number of beers.  And attractive menu of local meats and cheeses.  Their flights?  A tough decision of 12 beers out of about 20.  Wow.  And an impressive offering of about 6 on cask, each of which complemented the same beer on a normal tap.  It always amazes me how different a beer can be when the only difference is how it’s conditioned.  Each of the 12 were fresh and tasty, and all we could deduce was that some were truly amazing, while some we merely liked.

yard’s brewing company

This place is sort of like Philadelphia Brewing Company’s younger, hipper brother.  Word has it these two places split because of some falling out, but they both seem content filling their respective roles in Philly.  I tried the Philadelphia Pale Ale, Extra Special Ale, Brawler, and two of their Ales of the Revolution: General Washington’s Tavern Porter and Thomas Jefferson’s Tavern Ale.  The Brawler was a perfect example (I assume) of an English session ale – a rare, but increasingly available style here in the states.  And really, all the others were outstanding.  The taproom is huge, spacious, and boisterous.  I would love to come back here.

philadelphia brewing company

My first stop in Philadelphia gave me everything I hoped for – a historic brewery in an old industrial neighborhood surrounded by lots of energetic people that love where they live and are making it an exciting place to live.  When we think of breweries mirroring what a town is all about, and being involved with their communities, PBC is what we have in mind.  The brewery hosts neighborhood meetings and seminars about environmentally-friendly living, and is a huge supporter of the developing neighborhood food co-op.  This is what all breweries can and should be about – a force of good in its community.  And by the way, the beer is very good, and they are proud of it.  Pretty standard offerings except maybe their fleur de lehigh, which is a wonderfully crisp summer beer with a hint of ginger.  The rest – ipa, red, wit, pale – are good working horse beers.  Their reliability and consistency just might turn out to be what a growing, changing community needs.