Yards Brewing Company is a craft brewery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, specializing in ales, particularly those in the English tradition. In 1994 friends Tom Kehoe and Jon Bovit established Yards after producing their own homebrews since 1988. Within the first few months, "the Yards Guys" were producing one six-keg batch at a time out of their 3.5-barrel brewhouse, and supplying ESA, Entire Porter, and several other cask-conditioned ales to bars. After several partnership changes, Kehoe has continued expanding the Yards brand by moving to larger locations and incrementally increasing the overall output capacity. In 2015, Yards was capable of brewing 55,000 barrels.
History
Yards ESA was first publicly poured at the Philadelphia Craft Beer Festival on April 29, 1995, in booth 406. Dawson Street Pub purchased one of the first ESA kegs from Yards, and offered hand-pumped pours to customers during a happy hour on Friday May 19, 1995. The remaining ESA kegs were self-delivered by Bovit and Kehoe to Khyber Pass, Cavanaugh's 39th Street, and Sugar Mom's.
Brewery locations
The first facility was a garage-sized brewery located at 219 Krams Avenue in Manayunk. By the end of 1996, Yards had grown to a production capability of 795 barrels. In 1997 Yards moved to 5050 Umbria Street in the neighboring section of Roxborough. This larger facility allowed Yards to bottle its beer for the first time, and to contract brew for Manayunk Brewing Company, Dock Street Brewing Company, Barley Creek Brewing Company, and Gravity Brew Co., which has since closed. At the height of this location's production, Yards had brewed 2100 barrels.
Yards Brewing Company moved in 2001 to the old Weisbrod & Hess Brewery in Kensington. Tom Kehoe partnered and signed the lease for this property with Bill and Nancy Barton. At this new location, Yards was capable of brewing 10,000 barrels. It features a 100-person capacity pub-styled tasting room, featuring a 12-tap system, a century old billiards table, and a shuffleboard. That year it achieved status as a "Regional Craft Brewer" by the Brewer's Association and reintroduced the original 3.5 barrel system, "Yards One."
Despite the large output capacity, Kehoe desired an even larger facility. In 2016, Kehoe had stated that Yards was looking to move to a location on the 500 block of Spring Garden Street in Philadelphia. Out of the proposed location's 200,000 square feet, Yards' new facility would occupy 80,000 feet. As of March 2017, M&T Bank granted Yards Brewing Company an $8.5 million loan to begin constructing their new 70,000 square foot facility located in the now vacant Destination Maternity headquarters. The estimated cost for the completion of the project is $19 million. The remaining financial backing is reported to be coming from local and state financing. Construction is estimated around $6 million, while equipment is estimated to cost $13 million. Tom Kehoe stated that this "labor of love" would bring "new life to this area of Spring Garden" when it opens. The tentative launch date was set sometime between October and December 2017.
Ales of the Revolution
Yards Brewing Company associate the city of Philadelphia with the country's founding fathers, not only for history's sake, but also as some were brewers themselves. In 1999, Yards launched a collaborative effort with City Tavern, which specializes in recreating 18th century recipes, to lay the foundation of what would become the Ales of the Revolution series. By 2004, Thomas Jefferson's Tavern Ale and General Washington's Tavern Porter became available year-round. The following year, Yards began developing Poor Richards Tavern Spruce, in an effort to release an Ale of the Revolution for Benjamin Franklin's 300th birthday in 2006. Currently, Yards' products are distributed throughout the Mid-Atlantic region with 80% of its nearly 40,000 barrel production being distributed in the Philadelphia tri-state area (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware). As of May 2015 Yards is the largest brewery operating in Philadelphia.
Ownership
Friends Jon Bovit and Tom Kehoe had a long-standing history of brewing beers for their friends while in college. After completing a brewery internship with British Brewing Company in Maryland, the duo partnered and signed a lease for the original Manayunk facility.
Products
{| class="wikitable"
!Beer Name
!Year Introduced
!Style
!ABV
!IBUs
!Availability
!Description
|-
|Brawler
|1998
Reintroduced 2008
|English Mild
|4.2%
|11
|Year-round.
6/12/24 pack
1/2 keg, 1/6 keg
|Malt-forward, delicately hopped.
Hints of caramel and toast.
|-
|Cape of Good Hope
|2009
|West Coast Style
Double IPA
|9.7%
|75
|Limited Release: August
4/12-pack
1/6 keg, 1/2 keg
|Yearly changing recipe.
Notes of citrus, melon, and pine
from Ella, Azacca,
Galaxy, Mosaic, Citra, Chinook,
Citra, and whole flower Cascade hops.
|-
|Chocolate Love Stout
|2013
|Chocolate Stout
|6.9%
|25
|Limited release - December
4/12-pack
1/2 keg, 1/6 keg
|Brewed with 100% cacao Belgian dark chocolate.
Rich chocolate, dark roasted malts, hints
of vanilla and caramel.
|-
|Extra Special Ale (ESA)
|1995
|English Ale
|6.0%
|47
|Year-round.
6/24-pack;
1/2 keg, 1/6 keg
Hoff-Stevens cask
|British-inspired ale.
Subtle spiciness, floral, earthy, and smooth,
strong malt backbone.
Golden and Styrian hops.
|-
|General Washington's Tavern Porter
|1999
|Porter
|7.0%
|40
|Year-round.
6/12 pack
1/2 keg, 1/6 keg
|Brewed with molasses.
Dark, smooth, complex.
Hints of dried fruit.
|-
|Golden Hop IPA
|2016
|IPA
|6.0%
|55
|Limited Release: January
6/12-pack
1/2 keg, 1/6 keg
|Belgian yeasts, dry hopped Amarillo,
Cascade, and Mosaic.
Melon and citrus taste/aroma.
|-
|IBG Grapefruit Pale Ale
|2016
|Pale Ale
|6.1%
|N/A
|Exclusive Release
Philadelphia Independence Beer Garden
|Golden-colored pale ale.
Grapefruit zest, Azacca, Centennial,
and Cascade hops.
|-
|IPA
|1998
|East Coast Style IPA
|7.0%
|62
|Year-round.
6/12/24-pack;
1/2 keg, 1/6 keg
Hoff-Stevens cask
|Traditional-styled malty IPA,
Chinook and Amarillo hops.
Pine and Tangerine aroma.
|-
|Love Stout
|1997
|Stout
|5.5%
|33
|Year-round
6/12/24-pack
1/2 keg, 1/6 keg (Nitro only)
|Dark roasted malts, notes of chocolate
and coffee.
|-
|Philadelphia Pale Ale
|2000
|Pale Ale
|4.6%
|37
|Year-round
6/12/24-pack
1/2 keg, 1/6 keg
|Straw-colored pale ale.
Cascade, Centennial, Columbus
and Simcoe hops.
Crisp, hoppy, citrus.
|-
|Poor Richard's Tavern Spruce
|2005
|Spiced Ale
|5.0%
|22
|Year-round
6/12-pack
1/2 keg, 1/6 keg
|Influenced by Benjamin Franklin's recipe.
Barley, Molasses, and locally sourced
spruce clippings.
|-
|PYNK
|2001
Reintroduced 2013
|Fruit Beer
|5.5%
|6
|Limited Release: July
6/12-pack
1/2 keg, 1/6 keg
|Light body, sweet and tart cherries and raspberries.
Portions of sales go to breast cancer
research and awareness.
|-
|Rival IPA
|2016
|West Coast Style IPA
|6.2%
|55
|Limited Release: October
6/12-pack
1/2 keg, 1/6 keg
|Crystal and rye malts
Bravo and nugget bittering hops.
Whole-flowed Chinook hops
Centennial, Citra, Simcoe and Columbus hops.
|-
|Saison
|1996
|Saison
|6.5%
|30
|Limited Release: April
6/12-pack
1/2 keg, 1/6 keg
|Summer-wheat ale.
Belgian yeasts and Styrian hops.
Hints of banana, clove, and spice.
|-
|Sons of Ben
|2014
|Belgian Pale Ale
|5.0%
|37
|Limited Release: May
6-pack
1/2 keg, 1/6 keg
|Pale straw color.
Cascade and Amarillo hops.
|-
|Thomas Jefferson's Tavern Ale
|1999
|Strong Golden Ale
|8.0%
|42
|Year-round
6/12-pack
1/2 keg, 1/6 keg
|Based on Thomas Jefferson's recipe.
Brewed with oats, maize,
rye, wheat, and locally sourced honey.
|-
|Washington's Reserve
Bourbon Barrel Aged Porter
|2014
|Barrel Aged
Strong Porter
|7.0%
|34
|Limited Release: By batch
|General Washington's Tavern Porter,
aged for six months inside of bourbon barrels.
Crystal and chocolate malts, molasses.
Scent of vanilla.
|}
See also
- Barrel-aged beer
References
- Brewer's Desk blog ("No posts.")
External links
- www.yardsbrewing.com