Local 44 Expanding in West Philly

I’ll take a pint of the Cantillon Brewery’s traditional Lambic Lou Pepe and Highway 61 Revisited.

Okay, so that’s not exactly what you will be able to do at The Bottle Shop at Local 44 in West Philly (44th and Spruce), when it opens this spring as part of a Local 44 expansion. But the vision of owner Brendan Kelly is that his 400-plus bottle shop will be like a record store for the world’s top quality microbrews and craft beers, vintage and rare.

“You’ll come in, have a pint, walk around and talk about beer,” said Kelly. He said the employees would be knowledgeable about the beers (one would hope) and be able to facilitate those conversations.

And he’s talking vintage Lou Pepe or JW Lees here. The expansion process is underway right now. Local 44 already has a strong food program in the current location, and all the usual suspects in terms of craft beers: your Belgian Ales and Belgian Darks, your Doppelbocks and K?lsch. But now, partner and buyer Brendan Hartranft will have a chance to spread his proverbial beer wings and, like a stork, deliver a few gifts for the brew-mad. Just pretend the beers are babies, new and special, without the diapers–though you may have to parent a tight friend if they got all caught up in all those little darlin’s.