Celebrate German-Style Brewing at Philly Bierfest
Pennsylvanians have a lot to be proud of, but one of the best reasons is our beer—more importantly our German-style beer. It’s time to celebrate Pennsylvania’s German brewing heritage with the 5th annual Philly Bierfest on Saturday, February 27th from 2 p.m.-5:30 p.m.
This year, the German Society of Pennsylvania has teamed up with Philly Roller Derby to host this year’s Bierfest with over three dozen brands of beer from Pennsylvania and Germany with live music and food.
Some of the breweries that will be at the fest include Pennsylvania’s Free Will, Sly Fox, Victory, Barren Hill, and Stoudts, as well as German breweries including Ayinger, Paulaner, Rothaus, and Steigl. Food vendors include Di Bruno Bros., Wursthaus Schmitz, Devil’s Den, Frankford Hall, BRU, Little Bird Bakery, and Varga Bar.
German and American Live music will fill the halls with Polkadelphia’s oompah-funk and the Keystone Mountain Boys and there will also be “Roller-Derby Arm-Wrestling” and a PG-13 Berlin-style “BEERlesque.”
If you don’t know the difference between lager brewing and ale brewing, you can learn all about it at the new Sam Adams Lager Learning Lounge in the German Society’s Ratskeller. A wide variety of lagers will be in the Learning Lounge to sip on while playing a game of Beer Quizzo. In the Bierfest Academy, beer nerds can sit in on a Brewer’s Discussion Panel on “The German Connection: Pennsylvania’s Lager-Loving Terroir.”
General admission costs $48, but there is also the $65 VIP ticket, which allows festgoers to get in an hour early (1 p.m.) and receive a keepsake mug. The $78 VIP Plus ticket includes the VIP perks, but also a “Beer & Cheese Pairing Seminar” led by Marnie Old, Author and Bierfest founder, and Di Bruno Bros. owner Emilio Mignucci.
There’s also a “Beer-less” Admission for designated drivers and kids over twelve (under twelve is free), and for those with young children, Bierfest is offering free supervised “Kinder-care.” For festgoers coming a long way who don’t want to drive home, Bierfest has a hotel package with the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown for $99.
Bierfest will benefit the athletes of Philly Roller Derby, who will be pouring to raise funds for tournaments and a new practice facility, and the Brewers of Pennsylvania organization.
The fest is being held at the German Society of Pennsylvania at 611 Spring Garden Street.
