Troegs posted this teaser on social media on 12/29: I haven't seen any info yet on the exact date(s) - usually it's a staggered rollout to the various states that they distribute to.
I saw a BIG stack of Nugget Nectar at my local Wegmans supermarket yesterday while doing some grocery shopping. I wonder if some of those beers will still be there come May? Cheers!
Oh here we go!!!!! Oddly enough, I will have to go to Chestnut Hill, South Philadelphia or New Jersey to find it. I live in a port of North Philly that does not have much craft (dear lord, the amount of macros in EVERY SINGLE STORE here is outrageous and ANYTHING you find is OUTDATED. Such as it is.)
Yep, I’ve been using the BrewFinder as well, thank you for pointing that out. Unfortunately, up here it’s a bit of a wasteland in terms of close-by options. The nearest hits showing up for me are several miles out, and while I do love Nugget Nectar, I’m not quite ready to make a 10-mile run for it (which is funny to say, because when I lived in Wyoming I’d drive two to three hours round-trip from the mountain just to grab a cappuccino in town and head back up). Funny how perspective changes. I’ll keep an eye on it and keep checking locally as distribution rolls out. Cheers!
Sorry to read that. Philly can be a great craft beer town but as I suppose with any larger city there will be pockets where things are different. I still remember when there was not much craft beer in the Northern Liberties (and next door neighborhoods of Kensington/Fishtown). My recollection is it all started with the opening of Standard Tap in 1999. And the craft beer scene in Fishtown started with Johnny Brenda's in 2003. Now if you go to those neighborhoods there are lots of choices for craft beer. I suppose the latest entrant is Forest & Main opening a satellite location a couple of months ago. Boy, how those neighborhoods have changed with lots of craft beer choices over the past 25+ years. Cheers! Edit: My first experience with craft beer brewed in Philly was the Sam Adams Brewpub located in Center City during the 1990's. William Reed, co-owner of Standard Tap, was a brewer there.
Totally agree. Philly really is a fantastic beer town—especially when you’re in the right neighborhoods. When I was living in South Philly, it honestly felt like you could stumble into a solid pint almost anywhere. I was literally three blocks from Second District Brewing, and spent plenty of time there—always enjoyed what they were putting out. I was also not far from Human Robot, which really reinforced for me just how strong the city’s lager game has become over the years. Right now I’m just in a different phase—here mainly to help take care of extended family—so beer hasn’t been much of a priority, and I haven’t been chasing what’s nearby the way I used to. But it’s been amazing to watch how the city has evolved, especially when you think back to the Standard Tap / Johnny Brenda’s days compared to now. Longer term, we’re likely heading back toward South Philly again—and eventually out west—with hopes of doing a small brewery/taproom project down the line. Cheers! Second District Human Robot SUD
My apologies if I keep on saying this too many times, but I think Philly is one the best and most beer centric cities in the US. As you know, the wife and I travel quite a bit, both at home and abroad. Best beer cities imho are Philly, PDX and San Diego. It’s a combination of different factors for each city, but all three have a nice spread of great breweries, taphouses and beer focused eateries. I would just add that when I first moved back East in 2001, I thought the N Liberties was already a well established, beer centric area of Philly. I had no idea the scene there was so recent. Of course even then, the Standatd Tap was the place to go.
Aww c'mon, I just did an 8 mile walk Sunday to a local brewery, you can do it! Ever been to Portland, Maine?
John, I attended National Homebrewers Conferences (now branded as Homebrew Con) at both Portland, Oregon and San Diego and I tacked on some extra days to explore the beer scenes there. Below is something I posted in a BA post about the Portland, Oregon visit: “I went to HomebrewCon 2017 in Portland and tacked on a number of days of vacation to visit and enjoy the local brew scene. I went to the pFriem brewpub in Hood River, the Occidental brewpub in Portland, had Heater Allen lagers at Belmont Station in Portland and a few others (including Von Ebert). I enjoyed those beers.” The above was specific to the lager beer scene there but I explored other beer aspects there including visits to Hair of the Dog, Breakside,…And I even had an opportunity to take a tour of Bridegport Brewing which unfortunately closed down in 2019. My exploration of the San Diego beer scene was confined to the city of San Diego (San Diego County is HUGE) so not as extensive as my visit to Portland, Oregon but I enjoyed all of the beers there. Cheers to the PDX/San Diego/Philly beer scenes!!!!! P.S. I have visited Portland, ME and visited about a dozen craft breweries there. I enjoyed some and others not as much. A brewery that I was heretofore unfamiliar with where I really enjoyed drinking those beers was Goodfire.
I couldn’t agree more about Philly. I love this city deeply — it’s personal for me. My grandparents have roots here going back to 1917, and over the years I’ve spent time in just about every corner of South Philly, Center City, and beyond. Philly has always felt like a place where food, drink, and neighborhood identity are tightly woven together. Funny enough, while Philly is home, I was actually born at the Naval Hospital in San Diego, so I’ve always had a soft spot for that city as well. I’ve been fortunate to experience beer scenes in a few different regions — including attending the 2016 World Beer Cup as a representative for Luminous Brewhouse out of Sheridan, Wyoming. That week was honestly surreal; it’s hard to put into words just how intense and inspiring that gathering was. What’s always stood out to me about Philly is how organically the culture developed — especially when you look back at places like Standard Tap anchoring things early on. Watching neighborhoods evolve over the years and seeing how the beer landscape reflects those changes has been fascinating. No matter the era, Philly’s connection to beer has always felt authentic to me.
Jack, I agree — Philly has always been home base for me, both personally and beer-wise. My family’s roots here go back over a century, and I’ve spent a lot of time across the city watching how the beer culture evolved alongside the neighborhoods. I was fortunate to attend the 2016 World Beer Cup as a representative for Luminous Brewhouse in Sheridan, Wyoming, which was an incredible experience. I was also part of the Sheridan homebrew club and worked closely with other brewers, helping share knowledge and training across breweries throughout Wyoming. That period really shaped how I think about beer from the ground up and gave me a lasting respect for homebrewing and collaboration. I did live in Bend and Eugene back in 2002, but at the time I wasn’t yet knowledgeable about beer, so I experienced Oregon before I really understood what was happening there. Looking back, it’s wild to think I left just before places like Ninkasi Brewing Company emerged — sometimes timing only makes sense in hindsight. Seeing different regions just keeps bringing me back to what makes Philly special: history, neighborhood identity, and a beer culture that feels earned rather than forced. Cheers!
Giovanni, have you visited Von C Brewing in Norristown, PA yet? That brewery was opened about 5 years ago by three brothers with close ties to Schmidt’s of Philadelphia brewing: “Family Brewing History The von C family is part of the family that started C. Schmidt & Son brewing in 1860. Our grandfather, Carl von Czoernig, was the great-grandson of Christian Schmidt, who came to Philadelphia from Machstadt, Württemberg, in 1851, with the famous strain of lager yeast that made Schmidt’s so popular back in the day. Our father was a master brewer, our grandfather was a master brewer and so on, all the way back to the founding father of Schmidt’s. Brewing great beer in Philadelphia is in our blood. At one point in time, two out of three drafts that were poured in Philadelphia were Schmidt’s beer. To the Philadelphia tavern customer, Schmidt’s and beer were practically synonymous. Even though it was only distributed in 14 states, Schmidt’s was able to sell over 2 million barrels of beer a year to an incredibly loyal customer base. People remember Schmidt’s being the biggest and best beer brewed and served in Philly. von C Brewing Co. will not only be tapping into that history, but it will bring it back and make history of its own.” https://voncbrewing.com/family-brewing-history They are so proud of their Schmidt's heritage that they installed a HUGE mural in the brewery’s taproom: They produce a wide range of craft beer brands including an English Dark Mild served on a beer engine: https://voncbrewing.com/draft-menu Their number one selling beer is a brand they label as OG Pils which they market as being inspired by the Schmidt's beer from the 1800’s. This beer is a CAP (Classic American Pilsner). They won a Gold Medal for this beer at the 2023 World Cup competition: "We have some of the biggest news we’ve ever shared… On May 10th, our O.G Pils Legendary Philly Lager took home the GOLD medal at the 2023 World Beer Cup in the American Pilsner category! Out of 104 entries in our category, we were ranked #1 by 272 judges - WOW! There were over 10,213 entries from 2,376 breweries in 51 countries in the whole competition making this one of the largest beer competitions in the world." Yep, Philly and the surrounding area is indeed a beer town. Cheers!
Oh man — I’ve definitely heard of Schmidt’s over the years, but I never really stopped to dig into just how deep their roots ran, or that a brewery of that scale once sat right there near the Schuylkill above Center City. It’s kind of wild to think about how embedded beer was in Philly’s everyday fabric back then. I haven’t made it out to Norristown yet, unfortunately, but learning more about Von C’s connection to that lineage has definitely sparked some curiosity. I may have to dig into Schmidt’s history a bit more and track down some of those old brewery spots — that kind of hands-on history always pulls me in. Their beers sound excellent.
