Russian River in Philadelphia

Elder and Blind Pig are only available on tap. Damnation can be found pretty easily. Redemption is available in decent-sized quantities a few times a year. Depending on the store you might find some of the sours, but they are usually $16-17. Most places that are cheaper sell out fairly quickly.

Edit: I should add that Elder and Blind Pig aren't always available, but when they are it's only on tap. A few places seem to get them fairly regularly (Monk's, Teresa's in Wayne are a few) but that's not normally the case. The thing with RR here is that there is plenty to get your fill if you live here or are in the area frequently, but if it's not the right time you may have trouble finding what you want.

 

Someone can (and will) correct me if I'm wrong, but it's been a while since I've seen Cigar City here and I don't believe Hunahpu makes it into distribution. I don't think Victory at Sea will be hard to find if it's in season.

 

To my knowledge, Philly doesn't get CCB bottles too often, but their cans more regularly. I just picked up CCB High Seas and Jai Alai in the suburbs of Philly yesterday.

Deschutes is around PA, and Troegs is easy to find.

 

Huna is brewery only

 

Local 44 has Consecration for $15 at the moment. That's about as low as you'll see any RR sours in Philly.

 

When in season, Victory at Sea is everywhere. May have actually seen some at a couple of Wegmans two weekends ago, not positive. Deschutes is also becoming more common, but it's still new to the area and I haven't really seen any of the "coveted" large format bottles pop up yet. Did get a bottle of the Imperial Smoked Porter, but I'm not sure if that was a Great Lakes or Deschutes distro.

 

Important questions:

When will you be here?
Where will you be?
How much time will you spend seeking out beer?
Are you looking for places to drink on premises or to take home?

It's really difficult to give good advice about Philly without knowing the answers to these questions. Suggestions will be totally different based on visiting relatives in the suburbs vs being on business in Center City vs Family Vacation vs Beer Excursion, etc.

There is a ton of great beer around here not available in Michigan that hasn't been discussed yet.

 

I just got some Victory at Sea yesterday (suburb of Philly)....you can sometimes find six packs of Jai Alai but it's hit or miss, some bars in the city have it regularly though not for take out. As some have mentioned Deschutes is becoming more and more common here. As V4M asked...are you looking for bottles to bring home or are you looking for a beer to sit down at drink?

 

Most places don't fill growlers of Elder or Blind Pig.

 

If he has deep pockets, Bella Vista has supplication and consecration 24 cases for $300 ish. We just got a fresh cigar city shipment, so it is very possible he could stumble upon jai lai or the other dry hopped IPA. As for deschutes, we get most all of their 12 oz bottle releases (think black butte, inversion, mirror pond, etc.) We also get dissident and abyss but they sell out the day they are put out. I highly recommend he goes to Local 44 or Bottle Bar east.

 

Ithaca Flower Power
Flying Fish Exit 16
Evolution Lot 6

Three great IPA/DIPAs that probably weren't on your radar that should be easy to find.

 

All are delicious and easy to find! Also, stillwater why can't IBU just made its way here. Sprecher hard root beer is all around, and if you're lucky, so are temptation bottles.

 

If you like hoppy beers ask Dad to pick up some Victory Dirt Wolf. I am not typically a fan of DIPAs (I am a fan of IPAs), but Dirt Wolf is an AWESOME DIPA.

Cheers!

 

I was going to suggest DirtWolf, but Victory distributes to MI, so he should be able to find it on the shelf.