A Sneak Peek At St. Benjamin Brewing (Comes With History Lesson)


If you live at the intersection between history buff and beer geek, this upcoming event hosted by the Philadelphia chapter of The Society of Architectural Historians will hit you right in your sweet spot. On Thursday, March 27, the chapter will be meeting at the not-quite-open-yet Saint Benjamin Brewing in Kensington to hear beer historian Rich Wagner talk about the famed 19th century brewery architect Otto Wolf, who designed the St. Benjamin’s brewhouse as a stable for the Finkenauer brewery in 1895.

Wolf was a Philly native and Penn grad who made a national name for himself designing industrial buildings and well-known breweries like Schmidt’s. The rest of the Finkenauer site was demolished in the ‘50s, but in 2012 brewer Tim Patton bought the stable for his 3-barrel nano, which he hopes to open later this year. In the meantime, the 6 p.m. event will be a good time to get a sneak peek at his space and a sneak sip of his Foul Weather Jack English Mild.

Tickets are $20 for non-society members, and space is limited. RSVP to ffaphila@hotmail.com.