Beers in Philly - The Foodery and McGillins

Connecticut is a pretty crappy state when it comes to varieties of beer distributed. For that reason I make sure that whenever I travel I taste the local flavor and stop a liquor store to bring back some out of state goodies. During my visit to Philadelphia I went to two places worth mentioning, and both of them are worth revisiting.

McGillin's Olde Ale House
Philadelphia, PA
Menu / Beer

First off, good luck finding this place. It's on a tiny side street and is easily over looked, but you'd be making a big mistake if you just passed it by. I typed "beer bars philly" into google and McGillin's was the first result. Decision made.

McGillin's has had it's doors open and taps flowing since Lincoln took office, making them the oldest continually operating bar in Philly (I don't know what they did through prohibition). They'll be celebrating their 150th anniversary this New Years.

During their impressive century and half of operation they've definitely figured out how to draw a crowd. The food is cheap and completely satisfying. But more importantly there are 35 taps to choose from, all of which are affordable and available in a pitcher for around $13. I happened to be there on a Sunday when you can buy your own McGillin's pint glass for $5 and get $1 refills all day. And while you're there help yourself to some complimentary home-made soup.

The Foodery



This little place is half deli, half craft beer shop. With over 800 domestic and imported beers to choose from I actually did feel like a kid in a candy store. All beers are sold as singles, with the option to create your own six-pack and receive 10% off. Unfortunately this place was no bargain. The average price for a 12oz bottle (not including belgians, barelywines, and other specialty or high ABV beers) was about $2.50. A little math tells us that that's about $15 a six- pack. But hey, it's the holidays. Spoil yourself, spoil your friends, and make your resolution to never drink shitty beer again.

My beer purchases from The Foodery

-Kyle

Nips Yankee Swap

So, we haven’t written anything in about four weeks. Whoops. Let’s chalk that up to the Thanksgiving Tryptophan. We slept for a solid month. That’s our story and we’re sticking to it.

Anyway, we recently partook in a holiday drinking celebration that warrants documentation, the Nips Yankee Swap. Now, this event featured neither food nor beer, but because we were all drinking beers on the side, it counts. Don’t you love loopholes? Don’t answer that.

If you don’t know what a Yankee Swap is, first, remove your head from your rear end, clean it off, and return to your computer screen. Back yet? Okay, I’ll explain the rules. Everybody brings wrapped gift(s) to a party. An order for picking is determined, and the first person chooses a gift and unwraps it. The next person can then choose to either unwrap a new gift, or steal the gift that the first person unwraps. This unfolds for the rest of the participants, working in rounds if multiple gifts are involved. Hilarity ensues.

So the Nips Yankee Swap was this idea with a Charles Barkley alcoholic twist to it. Each person bought 3 different nips from their local liquor store. All the nips were put into a big bag, and rounds unfolded with people blindly pulling bottles out of the bag. After each round, contestants drank what they were left with. I ended up with Southern Comfort, 99 Apples and Frangelico. Random, I know. But so is Christmas.

Everybody, have a merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy New Year’s, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Ramadan, enjoy stewing angrily in Atheist Anti-Christmas, or whatever it is you do. Just eat a lot of food, drink a lot of beer, and do it safely. My new year’s Resolution is to write on the blog more. Crap, now it won’t come true.

-Ryan