Blocktoberfest: Saturday on South Street

While thousands will be in Philadelphia for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day, there’s more than one event in the city this weekend. On the West Side of South Street, that’s South Street between Broad and 17^th streets, this Saturday, October 14, Blocktoberfest kicks off at 12noon.

The outdoor, all day event is free to attend. Food at Bloktoberfest is pay-as-you-go, and drinks are available via drink tickets and passes, which can be purchased for a discounted rate, online, ahead of time, or in cash, at the event.

Check out all the event details and ticket links below.

FOOD

Restaurants all along the festival’s three blocks will be selling their delicacies curbside, from venerable South Street institutions like Jamaican Jerk Hut to relatively new additions like Indian Restaurant, Sweet Freedom Bakery, and Quick Fixx. Food trucks will include The Dapper Dog and Nomad Pizza

Food at Bloktoberfest is pay-as-you-go.

BEER

Beer will be available at several different locations, provided by Bella Vista Beer Distributors. Beer passes are required. Passes are cheaper, if purchased in advance here. Additional tickets are $5 each and Cash ONLY. Beer pours will be 12 oz, so not tiny tastes here.

A Basic Beer Pass is $15 online/$20 day of, and comes with 3 drink tickets.

A Bonus Beer Pass is $25 online/$30 day of, and comes with 5 drink tickets.

1 drink ticket = 1 beer of any kind on tap at Bloktoberfest.

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MUSIC 

There will be two stages set up within the event, One at Jamacain Jerk Hut, and One at Tritone. Music runs from noon – 10pm. The lineup can be found here. 

ART

In addition to the beer, food and music, Blocktoberfest will also be hosting a pop-up art gallery open from noon – 8pm offering selected works of art and festival souvenirs. Paradigm Gallery & Studio, will be hosting a children’s arts and crafts area, as well as artists including The Studio’s Sean Montorana who will be onsite with original watercolor and ink paintings, STUDiO necklaces and a few hand-painted/hand-dyed tote bags for sale, as well as some give-aways like stickers and flyers.

KIDS

There will also be a Family friendly zone with face painters, balloon artists, and other all-ages entertainment planned throughout the afternoon.

The Institute is Turning 3!

In honor of its loyal customers that have made the past three years possible, The Institute is throwing itself a birthday bash this Saturday from 10am – 9pm. Grill and chill while The Institute dishes out burgers and dogs, on them.

Plus, they’ll be rolling out an outdoor sprinkler room, just for the occasion. That’s right. Like any 3 year olds birthday party worth a salt, there will be a sprinkler to run through.

Bring Your Own Towel.

By the way, The Institute is also looking for local artists, crafters and vendors for its Sunday Brunch Flea Market. No charge to participate.

The Institute Bar 549 N. 12th St. (12th & Green) Philadelphia, PA 19123 267-318-7772

Saturday’s Spring Beer Extravaganza = Deal of the Day!

Also on the PhillyBars215 Newsletter...the Spring Beer Extravaganza.

Where can $10 score you 14 drinks? At NoChe’s Spring Beer Extravaganza, this Saturday, June 11, from 8pm – 10pm.

NoChe is getting into the Beer Week spirit with kegs from around the country and the area. Saturday’s event will feature brews like Stone, Bell’s, Lagunitas, Yards, Sly Fox and Flying Fish.
The $10 admission fee gains guests tastes of 14 different brews…probably the best deal of the day.
NoChe 18th & Chestnut Sts. Philadelphia, PA

Beer Camp Philly at Jamaican Jerk Hut

Beer Camp, the oh-so-popular home brewer festival, is back and this time, it’s happening during all of the excitement of Beer Week. On Saturday, June 4, from 6pm – 9pm, the Jamaican Jerk Hut will host 10 different teams of home brewers and all the local beer enthusiasts that the colorful field can fit.

Collectively, the teams have produced nearly 100 gallons of over 20 different flavors and style of beer to sample.

Tickets to the event are $35 each and include entrance, beer, food by Jamaican Jerk Hut, and a takeaway Beer Camp pint glass with a 4oz tasting line printed on the side.

There are also VIP tickets available that will get beer lovers in the door an hour early to try out the local home brews with the brewers themselves from 5pm – 6pm. There are a limited number of VIP tickets available and they’re going to sell out quickly.

For more information, check out beercampphilly.com. Click Here for Tickets!

Jamaican Jerk Hut 1436 South St. Philadelphia, PA 19146

X-Men Quizzo & Movie Party at The Institute

Of all the beer bars in the city, The Institute on 12th & Green consistently catches my eye with cool events. And in the days leading up to Opening Tap, it’s the extracurriculars that will keep people coming in to one place over another, night after night.

On Thursday, June 2, from 8pm – 11pm, on the 2nd floor, The Institute will be battling it out X-Men style in preparation for the prequel’s release. X-Men movies will be playing on the TVs and the winners will get to join Institute owners at the midnight release of X-Men First Class.

I say, go all in and dress up…

Check out The Institute’s Beer Week Event Line Up.

The Institute 549 N. 12th St. Philadelphia PA, 19123

2nd Annual Charlie Brown Great Pumpkin Beer Event

On the corner of 12th and Green lies an off the beaten path craft beer bar. It’s not along a strip of stores or even in a neighborhood where you’d generally stop. But as they say, The Institute Bar is “making the ‘hood’ a better place one beer at a time” and this Saturday, October 2, from 12noon – 11pm, The Institute is celebrating fall in the hood with its 2nd Annual Charlie Brown Great Pumpkin Beer Event.

The first 10 people to show up at The Institute's Pumpkin Beer Event will receive a bottle of Black Flag Imperial Stout’09 or Brew Works Rudolf ‘09. The next five will receive a free bus ticket to the Craft Beer Express on November 13. Plus, the first 20 people to put down five pumpkin beers will get a free pumpkin pie.

The beer list for the event will include a total of 18 pumpkin beers from Dock Street, Dogfish Head, Elysian, Arcadia, Weyerbacher, Southampton, Roy Pitz, New Holland, Southern Tier, Smuttynose, Sixpoint, River Horse, Brew Works, Blue Point, Rock Art, Brooklyn and Wolaver's. There will also be a pumpkin inspired bar menu with eight pumpkin themed items to choose from.

The Institute’s two floors will be decked out in hay and pumpkins and the event is pay as you go, with no cover and a DJ on the 2nd floor. There’s also outdoor seating available and it’s supposed to be beautiful on Saturday, so get there early.

The Institute Bar 549 N. 12th St. Corner of 12th and Green Philadelphia, PA 267- 318-7772

This article was written for and can be viewed at philly2night.com.

New Craft Beer Search Engine Launches Friday!

Drinking your way through the extensive beer lists available in some Philadelphia pubs can get a little pricey. And once you’ve narrowed down your favorite, there’s no guarantee that the next bar you hit will carry the same selection. And this gets even trickier with seasonal brews. Well this fall, finding that certain pumpkin beer won’t be such a chore.

There’s a new website launching on Friday called PhillyTapFinder.com, the brainchild of husband and wife beer lovers who would run into the problem of having to stalk out their favorite brews all the time and wished there was a resource to direct them.

Well, my little beer enthusiasts, now there is! The PhillyTapFinder, Philadelphia's craft beer locator is an extensive resource of beers available in the bars around Philly, in participating pubs, of course. The site allows you to use the search box for “Brewsing” through by beer, bar, style or neighborhood. Otherwise, you can search by brewer, ingredient or even characteristic.

This is how it works. Say your looking for that pumpkin beer. Type in pumpkin and Sidecar Bar pops up. There, you can peruse Side Car’s whole draft list. Click the link and PhillyTapFinder gives you a map. Love the beers, but it’s just not in the right neighborhood for this particular outing? Click on the beers and PhillyTapFinder will direct you to other bars in the city with those particular brews.

There are about 60 craft beer bars that are currently listed on the site and they are constantly updating. The site is brewser – I mean browser friendly for iPhone and Blackberry and it’s free to join.

Beer tips are also welcomed and even rewarded through the Tap Tip portion of the site. Tap tipsters are encouraged to email or text in drafts they come across as well as photos of draft lists or chalkboards. As an incentive, tipsters can accumulate enough points through emailing in new drafts to win prizes like key chains and tee-shirts – and I mean honestly, who doesn’t love to win a free tee shirt!

This article was written for and can be viewed at philly2night.com.

BBQ Throwdown & Music Festival In NoLibs This Saturday

Chances are, if you were to ask two people their recipe for BBQ you will get two completely different answers. Some like it dry, some like it wet, some get a little smoky while others let it rest overnight and go at it in the morning.

Everyone’s got their own style but no matter if they are professional pit masters or weekend warriors, slow and low seems to be the winning technique. This Saturday, September 11, A Full Plate Café’ is hosting its 4th Annual Rib Cook Off to try and put this summertime debate to rest – at least until next year.

This finger-lickin’ competition, followed by the Northern Liberties Music Festival will be throwing down at Liberty Lands Park on 3rd between Poplar and Wildey. The doors open at noon and judging begins at 2pm. For a $20 entrance fee, BBQ lovers will get to sample all of the contestant’s dishes.

Each BBQ team, both professional and amateur, can enter to compete in three categories of grilling – ribs, whole organic chicken or a vegetarian item of their choosing. That takes care of the proteins, but what is a BBQ with out the sides? No worries. A Full Plate will be supplementing these soon to be award wining dishes with their vegetarian friendly sides like mac n’ cheese, roasted beets and southern slaw as well as desserts from The Flying Monkey Patisserie.

Winners from last year’s BBQ battle, like Koo Zee Doo, Sonata and Q BBQ, will be back at it again looking to bring home the title of “Best Ribs In The Philadelphia Area.”

After you’ve tasted all the ribs you can stomach and winners are crowned, the live music will keep the party going. The semi – annual Liberty Lands Music Festival goes from 4pm – 10pm, featuring local bands like Black Landlord – in case you missed them at the last BBQ event! And for just $10, get yourself a bottomless cup of beer.

This article was written for and can be viewed at philly2night.com.

Beer Fest At The Ball Park!

Just games out of the wild card, the Phillies are living up to their name, fighting their way into the fall. And with October right around the corner, any chance to get up to Citizens Bank Park is a good one – especially if one of those reasons is to taste over 35 different beers!

This Sunday, August 29th from 2pm – 6m McFadden’s and Citizens Bank Park are hosting the 3rd Annual Beer Fest At The Ball Park. This year, the event proceeds will be donated to the Pennsylvania SPCA to help animals in our area. Tickets are $40 in advance, available at www.beerheads.com and $50 at the door – that’s IF they are still available.

Each ticket gets you all the beer tastings you could want as well as food vouchers for hot dogs, pretzels and other stadium favorites. Over 20 breweries are participating in this weekend’s event, each bringing at least one beer to sample. Everyone who attends will go home with a keepsake tasting glass, plus, parking is free.

The Phills will be up on the big screens at 4:10 and the PSPCA will be onsite in the adoption RV, with cats and dogs that are in need of a good home. There will also be live music, prizes and games, including the “Beer-Amid 4 Charity,” a boardwalk-style test of skill involving empty kegs and basketballs. The overall winner will go home with two tickets to an upcoming Phillies game and all proceeds from the BEER-AMID go to the PSPCA.

McFadden’s At The Ball Park 1 Citizen's Bank Way Philadelphia, PA 215-928-0630

This article was written for and can be viewed at philly2night.com.