Christina Domenico | Brewing a better beer culture

Beer may be becoming the new cheesesteak in Philadelphia. Left and right, gastropubs and bars devoted to craft beers are found throughout every neighborhood of the city. It's just as easy to find a microbrew as an "American without" anywhere you go downtown. Triumph, Tria and Eulogy are just the beginning of an entire set of bars that won't serve you Miller Lite.

That wave of beer is invading West Philadelphia. Over the next few months, two new beer-centric restaurants will open in University City, joining a legion of several other area pubs such as Local 44 and Dock Street Brewery. Blockley Pourhouse, in the old Koko Bongo space, will feature bottled and draft beers as well as weekly live music. And in August, the Tap House will be open and waiting to welcome students back to campus. Not only will the bar feature 75 American and European beers on tap, but it will also feature a large outdoor space equipped with six fire pits.

With these two additions, Penn might finally allow beer to join its supposedly classier cousin, wine, at the grown-ups' table. Taking the frat party out of the beer may be the best thing to hit campus - or at least the Radian - since Chipotle, proving that there's more to beer than kegs and beer pong. But are Penn students ready for a cultural upheaval?

College senior Jay Zolle, while declining to be called a beer connoisseur, values a good brew. His favorite bar right now is Local 44, which features 20 different beers with detailed descriptions, "so you end up learning more about beer in the process."

Although he enjoys sampling different brews, Zolle doesn't think that many students appreciate a better, more expensive beer. "Most students only really drink stuff from cans or kegs," he wrote in an e-mail.

And while I'm excited (and jealous) for next year's senior class, I can't help but agree with Zolle. Though I think there's a market for the type of offerings the bar will provide, I'm not sure if it fits the "college bar" mold - will all 75 beers be available during sink or swim? Will they serve my drink in plastic cups? But with Penn students' spending habits and location on its side, the bar has the opportunity to foster a strong following, if it can find its niche. And as for Blockley, those daring enough to venture past Chili's will, with any luck, become a core client base.

While Blockley will be at the northern edge of campus (and a little farther off the beaten path), the Tap House will take up part of the Radian's empty spaces - happily located between Smokes, Blarney's and Cav's - and could stir up the nightly wanderings of those with IDs, if it's able to tap (ha, ha) into that market.

From a larger, less Penn-centric perspective - which yes, does exist - Blockley, Tap House and Local 44 are just the newest entrants to the lively Philly beer scene, the size of which was apparent recently at the second annual Philadelphia Beer Week. The 10-day event hosted five major festivals and more than 400 events in 100 venues across the city and suburbs. New beers, both domestic and foreign, made their pouring debuts, attracting national press and recognition.

Unfortunately, the festivities fell over spring break, so I couldn't conduct any first-person research. But a quick visit to the organization's Web site touts Philly as "America's Best Beer-Drinking City."

It's natural for any city to invent a new marketing slogan every few years - I guess "Brotherly Love" has worn off. With so many brewers and venues featuring uncommon choices, Philadelphia might live up to that name. The sold-out events also indicate that beer truly is a popular ticket. The Daily News even has a weekly beer columnist, "Joe Sixpack," who has plenty to write about.

From the outside, though, that perception might take awhile to catch on - few hear "Philly" and think "artisan beer imported from small western European country." But with Beer Week growing its reputation and new locations opening by the month, Philly's pairing its cheesesteak fame with a beverage to go along with it. On campus, though, I'm not so sure students are ready to trade in their solo cups.

Christina Domenico is a College senior from North Wildwood, N.J. The Undersized Undergrad appears on Tuesdays. Her email address is domenico@dailypennsylvanian.com.

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