Philadelphia has long been an esteemed beer city dating back to the colonial times. Taverns and pubs were meeting places for revolutionaries. The tradition of immigrants finding community in pub life continued throughout the industrial boom – and not just in Brewerytown. In the late 1800s, there were over 100 breweries in the Kensington section of Philadelphia. In 1906, Weisbrod & Hess finished construction of their brewery, and as it remains, it is currently the sole functioning brewery in Kensington. That facility now belongs to Philadelphia Brewing Company. Nearly two years after separating from Yards Brewing Company, Bill and Nancy Barton have rooted themselves in the thick of a competitive craft brewery revival. The local competition reaches from the city limits to Downingtown, South Jersey, Delaware and the surrounding areas. PBC can compete with more established competitors because their line of beer is readily available, cheaper than most and tastes pretty good, too.
There’s a reason for the three aforementioned points. PBC beer is readily available because they put a conscientious focus on serving the area, and Philadelphia, in particular. They do something no one else on the East Coast does – hire their own drivers. By only reaching out as far as Philadelphia, Lancaster, Berks County and parts of South Jersey, beer stays fresh. Nancy Barton, co-owner of PBC helps manage their distribution, and has standards based on the relationship between proximity and quality.
“Beer is perishable. Some people think they can store beer in their basement and they can have this aged ‘whatever.’ It’s not usually a good idea. It’s the same as with the food movement,” said Barton. “That’s part of our reasoning with staying more local. Victory sells in 26 states – that’s great for them. That’s their business model. You can’t tell me Victory Hop Devil tastes as good here as if you got in Southern California. There’s just no way it can. It’s definitely the same thing as with your food. If you get it within a 20 mile radius you’re going to get fresh beer.”
In comparison, or by a traditional business plan, a local brewer will find a beverage distributor who will take a cut, even if a keg is going to California or a couple blocks away. If PBC can cut out a middle man, make a pint of their ale cost less, and ensure a fresh beer, you’d hope they make a decent brew.
As of now, PBC only has four mainstay styles of beer–its Kenzinger Ale, Newbold Indian Pale Ale, Walt Wit Belgian White Ale and Rowhouse Red Philadelphia Style Ale. They also have a few seasonal brews such as the currently available Fleur de Lehigh and out-of-season Shackamaximum stout. The commitment to a minimal lineup is partly due to the nature of a growing business, but it is also a strength.
Barton added that many of the local breweries like Dogfish Head, Victory and Slyfox have their own brew pubs, which make it easier for them to quickly experiment and test how the public likes a new brew.
However, even with four beers, and what probably can’t be said for any brewery, the company has trouble keeping up with demand. The brewery is in the process of adding new fermenters and using more of the factory space. Admittedly, the company hasn’t used all 40,000 square feet of the building.
Keeping in line with the rekindled tradition of holding Philadelphia as one of the best beer towns in the nation, Barton said the company may try introducing a lambic beer as a seasonal select beer, which no one in the area has tried making. This is exciting news for anyone who has ever tasted this unique style of brew. It is made from fruit and still has live cultures when drunk. Barton has been talking to a farm in Gettysburg that grows organic cherries, which the brewery could use in the drink. The flavor is similar to champagne and leaves a nice fruity aftertaste after each sip.
In a city that sells more Belgian beer than Belgium itself, and where you can get any beer your heart desires, there is still a welcomed place and steady demand for the stuff coming from the last brewery in Kensington.
For more pictures of the brewery head over to Flickr.
Actually, you can age beer. Not every style is ageable (Pils and Lagers don’t do well), but there are styles of beer that are like wine in that their flavor and characteristics change over time. They will eventually go bad, but usually not for 3 to 5 years or more depending on the style. Usually belgian ales (think Golden Monkey from Victory) will age nicely over a couple of years. Certain stouts (Victory Storm King) or barleywines (Weyerbacher Blithering Idiot) age very well also. IPAs stand up very well also, they were originally brewed to travel, hops is a natural preservative.
Though I am on board with local support, one also needs to consider quality of the products. I had HopDevil in California last year and it had far better flavor than PBC Newbold, IMO.
Local beer is certainly great and to be commended and supported but the allegation that one cannot distribute high quality beer and keep it in good shape is not true. What is true about shipping beer is that you need to be very diligent in who your business partners are in the distribution area and most importantly use freshness dating on each bottle to communicate directly with the end consumer. I’m more annoyed with craft beers that do not freshness date then what state the brewer shipped from. BTW, I have had Prima Pils and Storm King at the Stone brewery in Escondido, Ca and it was every bit as good as in Downingtown.
Also if you are using a bottling line that is basically substandard to the big boys, you have no choice but to keep local as no degree of care can make up for the high levels of dissolved oxygen that these low priced lines add to the packaged beer. To be fair to brewers like Victory (mentioned on the article about freshness), you need to understand the large capital investment they made to ensure freshness to the consumer – Low oxygen German brewhouse and Krones bottling lines give you the same degree of quality control that the Sierras and big brewers have. Add freshness dates and you have the ideal combination of brewers art and engineering for long shelf life.
Ah, you have to love the spin PBC is trying to pimp here. A complete revisionist history after PBC was utterly trashed in a competition for best local brewery. You know what’s bitter and makes good beer, hops, not sour grapes. And let’s talk about hops and PBC’s flawed spin about freshness.
When Britannia ruled the waves they wanted to ship beer to the troops in India; to keep it fresh, they overloaded the brew with hops and the India Pale Ale was created. If my memory is correct, there was no trucking the brew to India, it was sent by a very slow boat, and surprise, months later it was still fresh when it arrived to the troops. So yes, Nancy, I can tell you that Victory Hop Devil tastes as good here as if you got in Southern California.
As for a business plan, I’d suggest looking around at what’s left on Wall Street, diversity is key as is the ability to adapt and improvise, but feel free to lock yourself into banality. We’ve seen where the mindset of “stay the course” has gotten us.
Victory Brewing has several varieties of brews, even bottle-aged brews that, like fine wines, become better with age. Victory Brewing’s V-Twelve and V-Saison are premier bottle-conditioned brews that I suggest PBC try before convincing us that to be good you have to act like Budweiser and put a “born on date” on your product. Really, Philadelphia Brewing wants to be Budweiser, no there’s credability.
I will give PBC some solid Philly advice, when you’re going after the king, you better come heavy, or best not come at all. When PBC makes a real IPA, then PBC can talk about how Hop Devil tastes in California!
Just a quick word…Chris, I think you did a wonderful job with your article. Based on the above comments, though, I feel I need to clarify some of my quotes. Chris & I were talking about the “Buy Fresh Buy Local” food movement and how it related to our business. I do feel that buying locally produced products, whether it be beer or beets is a great thing. Not only do you know you are getting the freshest product available, but it helps to build a strong local living economy that will sustain our region and communities. I was in no way putting Victory down. When asked if we were planning to expand into other states, I said no and was merely using them as an example of a great brewery to look at that has successfully expanded their territory. I think they make a great, world class product and our region is lucky to have them right here in Pennsylvania. I’m not sure where some of the above comments stemmed from but I do think people should think before hit the “submit comment” button. We have a staff of very dedicated people that care deeply about their craft and do a great job. So, to write such negative comments is a real disrespect to them. If there is a certain issue with our beer than I would hope that the brewery would be contacted directly. Oh, and by the way Adam, this interview was done before the “Golden Local Award”.
Thanks Nancy for clearing that up. Some people just don’t get it.
Actually, you can age beer. Not every style is ageable (Pils and Lagers don’t do well), but there are styles of beer that are like wine in that their flavor and characteristics change over time.
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I’ve had beer from Victory, all kinds, and I gotta say, “It’s overrated”.
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Strange that Belgian beer is so popular. I thought that Chech beer is the best.
Thanks Nancy for clearing that up. Some people just don’t get it.
I’m not sure where some of the above comments stemmed from but I do think people should think before hit the “submit comment” button. We have a staff of very dedicated people that care deeply about their craft and do a great job