(Press Release)
PHILADELPHIA, Pa.—Philly Beer Week (PBW) is excited to unveil a new venue and updated format for Opening Tap, the official kick-off celebration for the 10-day celebration of beer in America’s Best Beer-Drinking City™. This year, Opening Tap will be held on Friday, June 3 from 7 p.m. until 10 p.m. at The Fillmore Philadelphia (29 East Allen Street), a beautiful concert hall located in the lively Fishtown neighborhood. In addition, PBW has launched a new website, crafted by P’unk Avenue, featuring customizable itineraries for visitors planning their own PBW line-up and helpful details on participating venues and breweries.
Opening Tap 2016 (click here to purchase tickets)
- Tickets are now available for Opening Tap, including three tiers of admission:
- General Admission: $46
- VIP Admission: $92
- Designated Driver Admission: $25
- General Admission includes complimentary beers from over 30 local breweries – 4-oz. tastings, with souvenir glass are included with price of admission — plus the debut of Fire, Flood & Plague, the collaborative brew created by Amsterdam’s Brouwerij DeMolen and Philly’s own Yards Brewing. In an effort to highlight the incredible brewing talent of the Philadelphia region, PBW has narrowed its definition of local such that all participating breweries must be located within a 100-mile radius of City Hall. Fire, Flood & Plague will be a Porter, brewed with licorice — a favorite candy of The Netherlands – and hopped with Amarillo and Galena that clocks in at 9.9% ABV.
- VIP Admission includes an additional hour of access, beginning at 6 p.m., plus rare and exclusive beers from Brewery ARS that are not yet commercially available. VIP ticket holders will also be treated to a delicious buffet, provided by Whole Foods Markets.
- Opening Tap will also feature live music and entertainment, plus interactive brewer interviews and videos. Festivities will begin with the arrival of the Hammer of Glory, aka The HOG, and the ceremonial tapping of Brotherly Suds 7, a collaboration beer created by seven distinctly local breweries, including: Iron Hill, Flying Fish, Sly Fox, Victory, Troegs, Yards and Stoudt’s.
- Confirmed breweries pouring at Opening Tap will include: 2SP, Barren Hill Brewery, Cape May Brewing, Conshohocken Brewing, Dock Street Brewery, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Double Nickel Brewing, Evil Genius, Evolution Craft Brewing, Fegley’s Brew Works, Flying Fish, Forrest and Main, Iron Hill, Lancaster Brewing, Manayunk Brewing, Penn Brewery, Philadelphia Brewing Company, River Horse Brewing, Saint Benjamin Brewing, ShawneeCraft Brewing, Ship Bottom Brewing, Sly Fox Brewing, St. Boniface Craft Brewing, Stable 12 Brewery, Stoudt’s Brewing, Susquehanna Brewing, SØLE Artisan Ales, The Lion Brewery, Victory, Weyerbacher, Wyndridge Farm, Yards Brewing and Yuengling.
PBW is also excited to announce the debut of their new website, smartly redesigned to accommodate the ever-expanding festival’s comprehensive listings of year-round beer events
- The site’s new Events tab features searchable daily and monthly events, plus featured happenings at participating venues; each event includes a small heart icon; clicking the icon fills in the heart and adds the event to the visitor’s personalized Itinerary
- Attendees can build an Itinerary of endless events, during PBW and throughout the year, searchable by keyword and neatly categorized into Festival, Food Pairing, Special Guest, Brewery Spotlight, Fun and Games, Local Beer, Suburbs and Fundraiser
The site also spotlights all of PBW’s many Participating Venues and Breweries, with detailed information on each location, plus links to their own sites and social media channels.
- Every venue includes Beer Info, such as how many taps are available, whether the bar features beers on a beer engine, and whether take-out beer or growler fills are offered
- The venue’s hours are clearly outlined, along with thoughtful Venue Info such as whether a late-night menu is served, whether credit cards are accepted, whether a TV is available, and the nearest mass transit route and stop, plus an embedded Google map of the location
Headed by Executive Director Kristine Kennedy, the site also gives a well-deserved hat tip to PBW’s dedicated and diverse Board of Directors: President William Reed, Vice President Casey Wayne Parker, Treasurer Matt Satten, Secretary Christina Dowd, Terrance Leach, Curt Decker, Erin Wallace, Sheila Ballen, Mike “Scoats” Scotese, Patrick O’Malley, Adrienne Renzelli, Suzanne O’Brien, Tom Kehoe, Ed Friedland, Billy Smith, Tim Patton and Andy Farrell.