Philadelphia, PA June 10, 2018

Seven of us rolled out of our Graduate Hospital AirBnB on an overcast Sunday morning. Our plan – head east on South to Brauhaus Schmitz for German beer, then Finn McCool’s and whatever else met our fancy. Sadly, this was the last day of Philly Beer Week and our last full day in Philadelphia. Rain jackets in hand, our journey took us through the Odunde Festival. This long-running festival celebrates African cultural and occupies many blocks along South Street.

South Street is very diverse both culturally and economically. One highlight of our long walk is the Philadelphia Magic Gardens. This colorful mosaic garden has walls constructed of a curious mix of pottery, tile, miscellaneous objects and garbage. We didn’t stop, but a long line of people was waiting outside for a tour.

Brahaus Schmitz

Finally, we reached our destination, Brauhaus Schmitz, just in time for lunch. For the Columbia Pint Night crew, this is a Philly Beer Week must. This German-style beer hall offers hard to find German beers imported from the homeland.

Through Pierce’s recommendation, I ordered a Schöfferhofer. This radler is a combination of grapefruit juice and hefeweizen. At 3.5% this very sweet “beer” is thirst quenching and crushable.

Our knowledgeable server, Beau, talked us through the extensive German beer menu. Most of us sampled a flight of 4 to get a flavor Brauhaus’ beers. German beer goes well with the Brauhaus wurst platters. When the rain finally came pouring down, we had to stay for another beer, ah darn. Noch ein Bier bitte.

Finn McCool’s

Finn McCool’s is a regular on our Philly beer tour. Over the years, we have watched soccer and rugby, enjoyed good meals and beer, and even watched the best Guinness beer pourer in the city put a clover (Heather) on the head of a beer.

This year we missed out on Heather and her amazing Shamrock Guinness pours. However, we all enjoyed the impressive beer menu and I devoured their shepherd’s pie. Philly Beer Week newbies, Pierce and Jim, were up to the Finn McCool challenge.

Good Dog Bar

We wrapped up the day with a visit to Good Dog Bar where Pierce gave us a lesson in pool and Jim gave me a lesson in cricket darts.

Cheers!

Warren