Philadelphia Weekly

FOOD > GUIDE

Dock Street Brewery & Restaurant

Founded in 1985, Dock Street Brewing Co. was the first microbrewery in Philadelphia and one of the first in the country. It reopened August 2007 in a magnificent historic firehouse on the corner of 50th and Baltimore Ave., in a progressive, eclectic and counter-culture neighborhood that reflects Dock Street's philosophy. Dock Street has a rich brewing history, a reputation for exceptional quality, for innovation and brewing distinctive beers . Today, Dock Street continues to experiment and push the boundaries of the Craft Brewing movement which it helped create. It is a small artisanal brewery that is driven by making quality beers. Selections include the respected Ryepa, the crisp and clean Bohemian Pilsner, and the Bubbly Wit made with champagne yeast. Recent additions are Man Full of Trouble Porter, Prince Myshkin Russian Imperial Stout (ABV 9.5%) and Hop Garden Double IPA (ABV 9%) In front of the brewery, the BrewPub features a combination of Rosemarie Certo’s love of delicious freshly brewed craft beers coupled with handmade quality wood burning oven gourmet pizzas such as the Fig Jam Pizza, Margherita, and Flammenkuche.

Everyone's been singing Dock Street's praises for its elaborate, delicious pizzas and its tasty homebrewed beer. Everyone's right. This West Philly brewpub is just about the only watering hole on Baltimore Avenue that isn't the back/side/bar area of an Ethiopian restaurant, making it an interesting alternative for all those students and professorial types. It's the perfect place for meeting up with dates from Craigslist's Missed Connections--the drinks and food are impressively refined, the atmosphere is laid back, and there are enough people around to help in an emergency.