Dock Street Brewing Company

Dock Street Brewing Company

Location	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania United States
Key people	Rosemarie Certo, Marilyn Candeloro, Vince Desrosiers, Sasha Certo-Ware
Annual production volume	2,000 US beer barrels (2,300 hL) in 2016[1]

Dock Street Brewing Company is a brewery in the Cedar Park neighborhood of Philadelphia, USA. It claims to be the first craft brewing company based in the Philadelphia area following Prohibition^[2] and one of the first in the country. The name Dock Street was chosen in honor of the seaport district of the same name in Philadelphia which was the largest producer of beer in the then-newly-formed country in the late 1700's.

History

Dock Street was created in 1985 as a bottled beer operation based in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. It was founded by photographer Rosemarie Certo and her husband Jeffrey Ware, a Philadelphia restaurateur.^[3]

In 1989, the pair opened a brewpub in the Logan Square neighborhood of Center City, Philadelphia's central business district.^[4] By 1996, the company was producing more than 25,000 barrels of beer and distributing to 24 states, making it the 26th largest microbrewery in the U.S.

Certo and Ware sold the company in 1998 to Poor Henry's Brewery & Restaurant,^[5] operated by a descendant of the family behind the Henry F. Ortlieb Brewing Company, also of Philadelphia.^[5] In 2000, Poor Henry's ceased operations.^[6]

Certo repurchased the brand and bottling operation in 2002.^[7] In 2007, the brewery reopened as a pizza-centric brewpub in the former Firehouse Farmers Market in the Cedar Park neighborhood in West Philadelphia. The facility features a 10-barrel brewing system, four fermenters and six lagering tanks,^[8] and produces about 1,000 barrels per year, with capacity for 1,200.^[1]

Awards and honors

The company was awarded with the Great American Beer Festival Silver Medal for La Biere des Amis (Saison), a Great American Beer Fest Bronze Medal for ABT 12 (Belgian-style Abbey Ale), a World Beer Cup Bronze Medal for Prisoner of Hell (Belgian Strong Pale Ale), Great American Beer Fest Silver Medal for Cream Ale, Great American Beer Fest Bronze Medal for the Amber Beer and International Gold Medals for its Amber Beer and Royal Bohemian Pilsner.^[2][9] Dock Street's Rye IPA is currently listed on Beer Advocate's list of Top Rated Rye Beers in the World at #15.^[10]

Several of Dock Street's beers were included in beer critic Michael Jackson (writer)'s books, including the 1988 book New World Guide to Beer and the 1998 book Ultimate Beer. The original brewpub was also mentioned in Michael Jackson's Beer Companion in 1993. Dock Street Bohemian Pilsner was the only Pennsylvania beer included in Jackson's 1988 book New World Guide To Beer, and was among just a handful of Pennsylvania lagers in the Pilsner category a decade later in Jackson's Ultimate Beer, published in 1998. Dock Street's Illuminator Doppelbock and Dock Street Milk Stout were reviewed in his 2000 book Great Beer Guide.

Dock Street Brewery and Restaurant was named one Philly's Best Pizza Places in 2011 by Philadelphia (magazine) as voted for 'The Best Toppings.' ^[11]

In 2015, Dock Street was prominently featured as part of the exhibit "Hucksters: The Tumult of Dock Street"^[12] at Philadelphia's Independence Seaport Museum in the museum’s Community Gallery exhibit space. The exhibit was curated by documentarian and author Erich Weiss.

Products

Dock Street currently offers two year-round beers, two bottled beers, several recurring seasonal beers and many one-off varieties.

Year-round beers

• Rye IPA
• Bohemian Pilsner

Seasonal and occasional beers

Bottled beers

• Rye IPA
• Bohemian Pilsner

Experimental Beers

In 2014, Dock Street Brewery released Dock Street Walker, a beer brewed with roasted goat brains in honor of the AMC television show The Walking Dead, a favorite of then-Head Brewer Justin Low and current Assistant Brewer Sasha Certo-Ware.

In 2015, current Head Brewer Vince Desrosiers, along with Assistant Brewers Sasha Certo-Ware and Mark Russell, devised Dock Street Beer Ain't Nothin' To Funk With in homage to the hip-hop group Wu Tang Clan. The barrel was fitted with a custom speaker set, build by Certo-Ware, that played the music of Wu Tang Clan on repeat 24/7 for six months. The finished product was served, alongside a control, labeled simply "The Control," to determine whether the music affected the flavor of the beer by agitating the yeast. Bottles of D.S.B.A.N.T.F.W. sold out in under an hour at the brewery and online sales crashed the website. The release party for the beer was attended by Wu Tang Clan member Inspectah Deck.

Partnerships

Dock Street has been a longtime partner and sponsor of the Philadelphia Film Festival.

In January 2012, the company partnered with the Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia, its former neighbor, to jointly brew four limited-quantity, seasonal beers for sale in the hotel's Swann Lounge: The Truffled Old Ale, Caliente Golden Ale, Cherry Verbena Saison and Spanish Fly.^{[13][14][15][16]} In April 2013, the companies renewed their partnership for a second year; O.P. Yum and Crackle and Squeeze are the first two varieties.^[17]

In 2014, former brewer Justin Low traveled to Belgium to brew with Anne-Catherine Dilewyns of Brouwerij Dilewyns. The beer they co-brewed, an 8.5% ABV Belgian Ale named the Philly Tripel, was the official brew of Philly Beer Week.^[18]

In 2015, Dock Street brewed a batch of Red Owl Ale for the Hotel Monaco, a Philadelphia hotel under the Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants umbrella.

Also in the same year, Dock Street collaborated on the Little Chicken Pale Ale with Philadelphia-based band Flightschool.^[19]

Dock Street partnered with Di Bruno Brothers on a Truffled Honey Saison in 2016.^[20]

Partnership Beers

• Satellite Espresso Stout (Stout with espresso beans, Satellite Cafe in Cedar Park, Philadelphia)
• Johnny Berliner (developed in conjunction with Johnny Brenda's in Fishtown, Philadelphia)
• La Biere des Amis (Saison; developed in conjunction with Brasserie Thiriez, of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France)
• The Truffled Old Ale (English Bitter with winter truffles; Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia)
• Caliente Golden Ale (Belgian Strong Ale with blue agave nectar and chiles; Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia)
• Cherry Verbena Saison (Saison with lemon verbena and cherry puree; Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia)
• Spanglish Fly (Biere de Garde with wormwood, yarrow and ginger; Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia)
• O.P. Yum (Brewed with wheat, oats and pomegranate; Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia)
• Crackle and Squeeze (Saison with Meyer lemons and cracked pink and black pepper; Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia)
• Red Owl Ale (Red Ale; Hotel Monaco)
• Philly Tripel (Belgian Ale; Brouwerij Dilewyns)
• Little Chicken Pale Ale (Pale Ale; Flightschool)
• Truffle Honey Saison (Saison with truffled honey; Di Bruno Brothers)

Programs and Events

Dock Street Philly Beer Week Music Fest is held annually on the last Sunday of Philly Beer Week. The concert is usually outdoors, free to the public and highlights local Philadelphia musicians and artists.

Dock Street Philly Beer Week Run is held annually on the last Sunday of Philly Beer Week and coincides with the Dock Street Philly Beer Week Music Fest.

In December 2015, the company began the monthly initiative "Rare Beer for School Supplies" ^[21] as a philanthropic enterprise to collect school supplies and books for West Philadelphia Public schools. Dock Street gives away a glass of a special and rare beer, announced in advance each month, to any adult that brings a donation for the initiative.

Benjamin Franklin Bridge Lighting

In 1987, Dock Street Brewery was a sponsor for the installation of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge Lighting system ^[22] which was designed by the firm Venturi, Rauch and Scott Brown (Robert Venturi).^[23] One of the 592 bulbs remains lit in the name of Dock Street Brewery.

Television and Film

Bottles of Dock Street's Amber Ale were featured in several scenes in the movie Philadelphia. The Amber Ale was also shown on the U.S. television series Thirtysomething

On March 28, 2014 the cast of E! News drank and reviewed a bottle of Dock Street Walker on air.^[24]

See also

• List of breweries in Philadelphia
• List of breweries in Pennsylvania
• Beer in the United States

References

External links

• Official website