Philadelphia’s Best Beer Bars

Put down the pinot — Philly’s in the midst of a full-fledged beer moment. Here are our favorite bars to indulge in

The Best Bars for Unusual Finds

Beer Yard
Okay, it’s not exactly a bar, but if this Main Line distributor doesn’t have the beer you’re looking for – it stocks offerings from 553 breweries spanning 52 countries – you’re pretty much out of luck.
218 East Lancaster Avenue, Wayne, 610-688-3431, beeryard.com.

The Drafting Room
The two locations of this suburban taproom/grill always carry at least one gluten-free beer, like Redbridge Lager or Woodchuck Granny Smith Cider-and the thoughtful draft selection (most available in growlers!) will keep your allergy-free companions happy, too.
900 North Bethlehem Pike, Spring House, 215-646-6116, and 635 North Pottstown Pike, Exton, 610-363-0521; draftingroom.com.

The Institute
The Institute specializes in rare one-off craft beers. And owner Charlie Collazo does his homework: Past offerings have included Founders Backwoods Bastard and Ballast Point Three Sheets barrel-aged barley wine.
549 North 12th Street, 267-318-7772, institutebar.com.

Isaac Newton’s
The place for limited-edition beers. Recently, the bar scored a case each of Bethlehem Brew Works HopSolutely and He’Brew Jewbelation 13, not to mention a keg of Brooklyn’s Manhattan Project, which eager patrons gladly took home in growlers.
18 South State Street, Newtown, 215-860-5100, issacnewtons.com


The Memphis Taproom
A recent run-in with the PLCB hasn’t diminished this Kensington bar’s beer devotion: The Taproom continues to debut rare one-offs, the vintage-bottle menu still includes a bunch of aging lambics and -Trappist ales (that always break owner Brendan -Hartranft’s heart to sell), and the draft list is an ever-changing selection of some "pretty funky stuff."
2331 East Cumberland Street, 215-425-4460, memphistaproom.com.

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