the best craft breweries in suburban Philadelphia, part II

It’s been two whole years since I last wrote a round-up about some of my personal favorite Philadelphia-area breweries- you can check out that post here. The growth in the craft beer scene in the Philadelphia area doesn’t look to be stopping any time soon! I felt like it was time to create a follow-up post about some other great places worth checking out. Who knows- maybe this will become a bi-annual thing! In no particular order, here. we. go.

1. Vault Brewing Company

[photo of the upstairs bar courtesy of Vault Brewing.com]

Vault gets its name from its signature room inside this Yardley brewpub- the old bank vault that dates back to 1889, where guests can dine on their outstanding wood-fired pizzas paired with their unfiltered beer. The environment is modern and chilled out, with a stark industrial feel. If you can’t find a seat at the bar when you walk in, head to the back and down the stairs, where you’ll find some more space to sample their cloudy brews. Their website says that they brew twice a week and that each batch lasts less than a month. If you don’t have time to hang, grab some pounders to go! Some of my fav brews: Of Hops and Clouds & 5Cs IPA

2. Imprint Beer Company

[not much to look at, but don’t judge a brewery by its exterior . . . photos from Imprint’s Instagram]

Heading east from Yardley, this gem is tucked away in the back of an office park in Hatfield, Pennsylvania. Yes, the same Hatfield where the bacon and hotdogs come from. Only recently opened to the public, this small craft brewery earned its tasty reputation solely by doing monthly can releases. They are definitely doing a lot of things right, because in addition to the lines that can releases bring to the brewery, there are often crazy long lines to get pours as well. It doesn’t help that they are only open Friday evening, Saturday, and Sunday. BUT, if you have the time, the beer is delicious and they are always doing interesting things. Bonuses: they have food trucks on Friday & Saturday nights and you can get a three-pack of crowlers to go! Some of my fav brews: anything from the Schmoojee series, I Was in the Pool!, Nutthead

3. Workhorse Brewing Company

[exterior photo from straightfromthetap.org]

Finding this place was a game-changer. Tucked away off a backroad in King of Prussia, this brewery opened like the week after Imprint did? They are NOT fucking around when it comes to their flagship location. The facility it enormous, with room to grow. Their branding is impeccable, something that often gets tossed to the wayside with breweries (UMM WEYERBACHER I’M LOOKING AT YOU). Also, in the same vein, their website and its content is what ALL companies should strive for. Oh, and did I mention that their beer is perfectly on point. The brewer’s mission seems to be to craft the best flavors from traditional brew styles, get in the game, then experiment from there. They don’t serve food, but you can order in whatever you want and there’s plenty of space to stretch out. Some of my fav brews: the NE IPA is all you need. Seriously, it’s on par with fresh VT IPAs.

4. Root Down Brewing Company

[photo courtesy of readingeagle.com]

Phoenixville, the town where there are more breweries per square foot than anywhere else in America. I’ve tried them all and I’m here to tell you that Root Down is tops for me. The TVs play old kung-fu movies 24/7 at this mid-sized brewery with a hip-hop inspired vibe. The building used to house a soft drink manufacturer, so it’s apropos that it would become a brewery for its second act. In the back, there’s an upscale snack bar with a rotating menu. There are no flagship beers per say, so every time you come in, you’re bound to find something new to try. I lean towards IPA’s and sour beers and they are a plenty at Root Down. Some of my fav brews: Flying Guillotine, F’Root, the Flux series

5. REC ROOM by Conshohocken Brewing

[photo courtesy of mainlinetoday.com]

Conshohocken Brewing Company seems to be hell bent on taking over the world, or at least the Philadelphia suburbs. I named them as one of my top local breweries in the last round-up, but since that time, they have added 4 new locations (one just blocks away from Workhorse opened a few weeks ago)!!! Each one has a different feel to it and REC ROOM is just the most fun. Not even a full block away from Root Down, the brewpub offers their tasty beers paired with table games for all. If you’re in Phoenixville and looking for a solid beer, look no further! My fav beer from them will forever be Type A

6. Stickman Brews

[the bar in Royersford, one of two locations. photo courtesy of phillymag.com]

Writing this blog post, I discovered that Stickman Brews recently opened a second location- good stuff! However, my experience has only been with their Royersford location. I’ve been drinking Stickman on tap at my favorite local-craft-beer-and-fried-chicken-place for a long time now, so I was really excited to visit their taproom last year. Situated in the former home of Sly Fox’s brewing and canning plant, Stickman is turning out unique brews with equally unique names and can artwork. Opened in 2015, the brewer focuses on crafting “Americanized Belgian farmhouse ales”- you can read more about the brewer’s beginnings and philosophy in this Philly Mag article. Stickman offers a full menu and has an enormous shelf of games for guests to play, making it an awesome place to hang out with friends. Some of my fav brews: Ladies Who Lunch, Plant Matter, #realspeak

To find out about all the beer that the Philadelphia area has to offer, I recommend checking out drinkphilly.com -I subscribe to their newsletter for all the latest booze news!