Staying at Penn over spring break? Well, if you're over 21, you can join the annual festival to celebrate Philadelphia's unique beer-drinking history. Philly Beer Week begins today with a special event on Sunday called The Brewer's Plate, which celebrates Philadelphia culture by offering a gourmet experience consisting of the city's finest food and drink.
Philly Beer Week is a commemoration of Philadelphia's rich beer-drinking history, which all began when William Penn started work in his own brewery in 1682. The tradition continues to the present day, as Philly beer attracts tourists and contributes $422 million to distributors' wages.
The annual event promises to be an exciting 10 days filled with festivals, meet-and-greets and tours with dozens of local-area breweries and restaurants.
The Brewer's Plate, one of the marquee events of Philly Beer week, will take place at 6 p.m. on March 9. Consisting of 21 of the regions' top craft breweries and 21 of Philadelphia's most reputable restaurants, the event aims to create a gourmet experience representative of Philadelphia's culinary style according to White Dog Community Enterprises Executive Director Andrew Altman.
"One of its primary goals is to highlight the city's unique flavor and culinary culture," Altman said. All participating restaurants and breweries are located within 150 miles of the city, ensuring that the best brewers and chefs in Philadelphia will all be present.
"I think this particular event is unique because it's not a typical beer festival, but combines the best of local beer, with the best of local food," Katheryn Hague, the event coordinator, wrote in an e-mail. Perhaps the most unique element of the Brewer's Plate is the fact that each participating brewer and restaurant work together to determine the best food-beer pairings. In fact, in past years, participating chefs have incorporated the beer into the recipes, leading to exquisite food-beer combinations.
Proceeds from tickets are donated to White Dog Community Enterprise's program, Fair Food. This program promotes locally grown food in Philadelphia in order to encourage the connection between local farms and Philadelphia buyers to provide sustainable agriculture for the greater Philadelphia region.
Tickets cost between $60-$100 and can be purchased at thebrewersplate.org.
