Philadelphia is thirsty, but the market "is not an easy sell" for new brews, Kehoe says. Remember Red Bell and Independence? In the late 1990s, they were among the best-funded of the city-based craft brewers that revived the local beer tradition a decade after former city favorites Schmidt's and Ortlieb's shut. They sold in yuppie bars in Center City and the South Philly sports venues, at premium prices. But they failed to catch on with neighborhood distributors or corner taverns, and were among the hundreds of U.S. craft brewers that cut back and closed after 2000.