Yes, I know Philly Beer Week has come and gone. This year, the revelries took place Jun 4-13, with 195 participants and more than 1,000 successful events. Suffice to say, the event freaking blew up from 2009—which had 700 events over the course of 10 days—with a lot of new faces and venues clamoring to get in on the action. Talk about a good thing gone great.

In 2009, Ray and I attended a couple of events, but it was tough with some of the more interesting ones being smack dab in the middle of the workday. However, in 2010, we missed every single event. Not because we have no love for Philly Beer Week, but because we were A. super busy with condo prepping and ACL sprains; and B. going to SAVOR. But I downloaded the Philly Beer Week iPhone app—designed by six members of Philly’s CocoaHeads—and was pretty impressed.

So a month and change has gone by, the Royal Stumble survived, and I just received a press release letting me know to prep my drinking arm, because Philly Beer Week 2011 will be back with a vengeance, spanning June 3-12, 2011. According to the release, PBW 2011 will see the return of the Hammer of Glory (HOG)—”the official keg hammer of Philly Beer Week, and its over-the-top journey across the city to arrive at the Opening Tap, conveyed by everything from kinetic sculpture to zip line to Philly Roller Girls”; The Forum of the Gods, with some of the biggest names in brewing for an informal round table talk; and tons of events ranging from beer pairings to meet the brewer to festivals. There is also talk of an enhanced iPhone app, inspired by the 2010 version. I will definitely be downloading that!

So consider this a “Save the Date” of sorts, and prep that drinking arm. If Philly Beer Week could grow from 700 to 1000 events in a single year, just imagine what’s in store for 2011.

Brewfests, Craft Beer, Miscellany Comments Off