PHILADELPHIA >> Philly Beer Week celebrates its 10th year starting with the Hammer of Glory Relay which leads up to Opening Tap, its kick-off party featuring more than 40 breweries, at The Fillmore Philadelphia, 29 E. Allen St. Opening Tap is PBW 2017 from June 2-June 11. There will be 10 days of lively beer-soaked events in America’s “Best Beer-Drinking City.” The event is hosted by the non-profit Philly Loves Beer.
PBW stands alone as the largest beer celebration of its kind in the United States. The 10-day festival features hundreds of dinners, tours, pub crawls, tastings and meet-the-brewer nights, and highlights the region’s top-notch breweries, neighborhood taverns, trend-setting restaurants and masterful home brewers. PBW is the “Founding Father” of Beer Weeks, and continues to evolve and grow amid a crowded field of friendly imitators, with 77 Beer Weeks held annually in the United States, and almost 100 worldwide.
Opening Tap is held from 7-10 p.m. Thursday. General admission cost of $46 includes a souvenir glass and complimentary beers from 40-plus local and national breweries in 4-oz. tastings, including the debut of Gravity Never Fails, a collaboration porter brewed with experimental hops created by 2SP Brewing of Aston and Brouwerij De Ranke of Belgium. VIP admission cost of $92 includes an additional hour of access, beginning at 6 p.m., plus a buffet dinner from US Foods and sponsor RCCB Law. Designated driver admission is $15.
The official mascot of PBW, the Hammer of Glory, is a custom, hand-forged keg hammer travels throughout the region and across the United States as an ambassador for Philadelphia beer throughout the year. Leading up to Opening Tap, the HOG is passed Olympic torch-style from venue to venue on Thursday along the HOG Relay, a day-long, beer-fueled carnival that visits various bars, breweries and restaurants.
The HOG Relay concludes with the HOG’s arrival at Opening Tap for the ceremonial first tap of PBW2017. The newly nickel-plated keg mallet will strike a firkin of Brotherly Suds, a collaboration beer from seven local breweries, including: Troegs, Victory, Yards, Sly Fox, Stoudt’s, Iron Hill and Flying Fish.
In addition to Gravity Never Fails and Brotherly Suds, many participating venues and breweries will be releasing rare collaborative brews throughout the week, including Stones of Iron, a smooth-sipping Pilsner brewed by 2SP Brewing and Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant.
Special 10th anniversary events include a “Gravity Never Fails” luncheon at noon Thursday at Monk’s Cafe. The luncheon features a meet-and-greet with Nino Bacelle and Guido Devos (De Ranke) and Bob Barrar (2SP Brewing) to taste and talk about their Philly-Belgo collaboration. This special beer was made possible due to the fundraising efforts of PBW’s annual European Vacation, an all-expenses-paid raffle trip to Belgium for one lucky beer lover and their favorite local brewer (won by 2SP for 2017), organized and funded by PLB. The three world-class brewers will convene again June 6 for a Brew Day at 2SP in Aston, PA to rekindle their European magic on an American version of the collaboration beer.
For tickets and a complete listing of events and participating venues, visit www.phillylovesbeer.org
