The Year in Philly Craft Beer: 2013

This is not a subjective top 10 list. PhillyTapFinder’s lists are based on actual data. When you click, we track it. When you search, we track it. Every year, we crunch these numbers and give to you the most searched-for beers, breweries, bar tap lists, styles, and neighborhoods. We think that you will find these results very interesting.

Top 10 Most Searched-For Beers in Philly - 2013



Russian River Pliny the Elder (CA) Russian River Blind Pig (CA) Russian River Pliny the Younger (CA) Southern Tier Pumking (NY) Troegs Mad Elf (PA) Bell’s Hopslam (MI) Russian River Supplication (CA) Goose Island Bourbon County Stout (IL) Founder’s Kentucky Breakfast Stout (MI) Russian River Damnation (CA)

Honorable Mention: Victory DirtWolf

PTF thoughts: For the second year in a row (here are the 2012 results), Russian River occupies 5 of the 10 slots. Very impressive and well deserved. It’s also amazing that at least 4 of the beers are seasonal releases with a fairly narrow period of distribution (Younger, Pumking, Mad Elf, and Hopslam). I was also impressed with the healthy distribution of styles: 4 IPAs, 2 spiced seasonals, 2 stouts, 1 Belgian-style, and 1 sour. I was thrilled to see that a local IPA - DirtWolf - made such a great impression so quickly. We may see DirtWolf crack the top 10 soon.

Top 10 Most Searched-For Breweries in Philly - 2013



Russian River (CA) Founder’s (MI) Bell’s (MI) Dogfish Head (DE) Goose Island (IL) Troegs (PA) Firestone Walker (CA) Stone (CA) Cigar City (FL) Evolution (MD)

PTF thoughts: Philly is so fortunate to get distribution from all of these amazing breweries from around the country. Goose Island moved up 5 spots from last year. They made a big push in Philly in 2013.

Hill Farmstead dropped off the list, but Philly has received very little from them (any?) in 2013. Hill Farmstead brews some of the best beers in the world and they will likely always have trouble keeping up with the demand. Their beers are that good. When the supply is there, I hope that Philly will be on the list for distribution. I never place blame on a brewery for satisfying their local market first.

It’s great to see Cigar City back on the list, as after a brief hiatus, distribution seems to have picked up again in 2013 (like Hill Farmstead, they made the decision to serve their local market first, but now they are back distributing in Philly).

I’m also thrilled for Evolution. That’s an impressive ranking for a brewery that has only fairly recently made a big push into the Philly market.

Top 5 Most Searched-For Bar Tap Lists - 2013



Alla Spina: tap list here. Monk’s Cafe: tap list here. Growlers: tap list here. Kraftwork: tap list here. POPE: tap list here.

PTF thoughts: Wow! Alla Spina has taken over the top spot. If you’ve seen their tap list recently, this should not really surprise you. They do a tremendous job. Congrats also to Growlers, who made a quick move considering they are only about one year old. Also, congrats to Monk’s and POPE, the only bars who have repeated in the top 5 back-to-back years. Check out last year’s list here.

Top 5 Most Searched-For Beer Styles in Philly - 2013



IPA Pumpkin-spiced Stout Sour/Wild Fermented Ciders

PTF thoughts: This list cracks me up because I don’t drink IPAs, pumpkin-spiced beers, or ciders. Oh well. I was a bit surprised that ciders were so popular. It’s nice to see cider-lovers are using PhillyTapFinder that often.

Top 5 Most Searched-For Neighborhoods - 2013



Rittenhouse Suburbs Fairmount/Art Museum Fishtown/Kensington Old City

PTF thoughts: It’s great to see the suburbs section get so much attention. We’ve actually recently split up the suburb section into various counties because so many bars were joining. We hope to make a strong push in the suburbs in 2014. I am surprised that South Philly did not make this list as I consider it one of Philly’s top craft beer neighborhoods.



I hope that you enjoyed reading this post. Seeing how things evolve over time is so interesting to me as new bars and brewers break through in Philly and as consumers’ interests change. Thanks to all of the brewers, distributors, bars, and consumers that make this one of the most vibrant craft beer cities in the world.