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mors

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Hello,

So I have tickets to the NHC this year. I will be road tripping it with some friends. We will be crossing the entire southern half of the state (more or less I-76)... Any suggestions of places to check out?

I know we'll be checking out Yuengling and Monks Cafe...
 
Depends on how far you want to drive.

Sly Fox and Victory are pretty cool breweries in the Greater Philly Area. Victory is a great brewpub, great food and awesome beer. A bit out of the way but not too far from Yuengling to Philly is Troegs, haven't been to the brewery but it seems awesome. As far as in Philly, you have companies like Yards, Kensington, and some others. What's not too far outside of Philly on the Jersey Side you have just in NJ across from New Hope River Horse (though they're moving, not sure when and if they're still going to do tours) and another one that I don't know if they're going to be running tours by NHC is Flying Fish in Somerdale, NJ (about 20-30 minutes outside of Philly depending on where you are) , they just opened a new Brewery and I think (though I could be wrong) that they're going to have better touring hours than in the past, they used to only do Saturdays from 1-4 now I think they're planning on doing more days, probably at least do the whole weekend. But they ahven't opened up yet fully so I don't know.
 
I have been to Victory before on a road trip I took to Dogfish a couple years ago. I love their beers and the tour there was pretty sweet.

Yeah I have Troegs on my list... actually scheduled a tour there for the Tuesday before the conference :D

Thank you for the other suggestions near Philly. I'll be sure to check them out. Anyone have any insights on places on the western side of the state?
 
Get a day ticket for SEPTA, and take the R5 Thorndale Line... You can stop at Ardmore for Tired Hands Brewing (very creative saisons, and IPA's mostly), get back on the train to Wayne and go to Teresa's. It is an amazing beer bar on par with Monk's, and you won't have to deal with the crowds that will most definitely be at Monk's during the NHC. Honestly, I probably wouldn't even bother trying Monk's. It's usually packed anyway, so with all these beer geeks in town I can't imagine what it's going to be like then! After teresa's, get back on the train for your next stop in Collegeville. There is the Station taproom (another pretty cool beer bar), and then a short little walk to Victory Brewing.

That is what I would do anyway.... even if I had a car available to me.

For quick touring with your own transportation though, I would check out Nodding Head (Walking distance from the Marriott) and Yards (Delaware Ave along the Delaware River), Manayunk Brewing company (in Manayunk... you can also site see along the Schuylkill River... i.e. Boathouse Row on the way there, and then bar hop or eat somewhere up along Main Street), and then Dock Street in West Philly.
 
Those were obviously some things to do once you are here in philly...

You've also got Appalachian Brewing Company, and Troegs in the Harrisburg area... There are some in Pittsburgh too... East End Brewing company, Church Brew Works, Full Pint.

Lavery is in Erie, but I love all of their beers that I have tried!

Lancaster Brewing Company... Stoudt's are other's you could stop at...

Another cool Brewery in Philly area is McKenzie's Brewhouse. There are a few different locations around. Their Saison has won many awards from the GABF...
 
Triumph in Philly too... they also have a location across the river (New Hope) from River Horse Brewing in Lambertville, NJ if you head up that way. New Hope is an "artsy" area, but can be a fun day trip.
 
Cool. I'll def be stopping in Pittsburgh as my girlfriend has family she wants to visit there... and I'll need something to do while she's doing that... ;-)

Thanks for the suggestions.
 
I would recommend Al's of Hampden/ Pizza Boy Brewing Co. in Enola (Harrisburg area) They are making some good beers and have a nice lineup of guest taps as well.
 
Triumph in Philly too... they also have a location across the river (New Hope) from River Horse Brewing in Lambertville, NJ if you head up that way. New Hope is an "artsy" area, but can be a fun day trip.

It's not a brewpub, but if you make it to Triumph, check out Eulogy, which is right across the street. They have a pretty comprehensive beer list.
 
Cool. Thanks guys I'll be sure to put these on the list of possibilities for us. Appreciate all the suggestions.
 
If you are going to venture out into the burbs, in particular Manayunk Brewing (which i totally would do during the summer on a nice day - huge deck and good beers), I would do the following:

Cross over the park from Manayunk into Mt. Airy and go to Earth Bread and Brewery. Good beers, awesome flatbreads. Have a flat bread and a beer or two, then get in the car and go down Germantown rd (same road as EBB) about a mile into Chestnut Hill and stop at that Iron Hill location. Paul is making some fantastic beers there, and has twice as many "seasonals" as he has house beers. From there I'd travel another 10 min down the road up into Ambler and check out Forrest and Main. These guys are making some really good saisons, and why wouldn't they? One of the guys (I forget who to be exact) used to work at McKenzie's mentioned in a previous post. From here you could head up to Lansdale and check out Round Guys Brewing, or turn around and start for home (as that is a pretty full day). Since you'll have your own car, and it'll be a little late (Forrest and Main doesn't open until 4pm I believe, and it is TINY in there), you could jump on Rt 309 which will be right in Ambler, take it down to the PA Turnpike, head west an exit to 476, take that south and do one of two things: get on the Schuylkill (rt 76) and go back into the city, or if you still have some time, go down one more exit on 476 and check out Tired Hands. I have not been there myself yet, but I have heard some amazing things out of this place.

In any event, I would hit those places, as all that I mentioned do not sell beer outside of the brewery (accept for a very limited supply of Manayunk beer). Yards, Slyfox, Victory, you'll find these guys on tap all over town (especially Slyfox O'rielly stout which is edging out Guiness in alot of places). It's too bad the NHC doesn't coincide with the Slyfox Goat Races. Hands down the best brewery event of the year in the area. Look it up for more info, Peggy is a two time champion!
 
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