Beer-Tasting Event Caps Philadelphia History Museum's Brewing Exhibition
By Paul Kurtz
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- As part of its ongoing exhibition of craft brewing in Philadelphia, a center city museum tonight is hosting a beer tasting event with three local experts who will talk about the city's centuries-long love affair with beer.
"This is, literally, Benjamin Franklin's tankard," says Philadelphia History Museum executive director Charles Croce describing one of the many items that make up the "Craft Brewing: It's a Beer Revolution" exhibition that runs through June.
William Penn founded the first brewery in Pennsylvania, but many soon followed. Croce says that by the 20th century, the City of Brotherly Love had quite a reputation.
"Philadelphia's brewing industry grew to a point where there were 95 breweries in this city prior to Prohibition. After Prohibition, the city had only 15 breweries. And the last two, Ortlieb's and Schmidt's, went out in the early 1980s."
Then, in the mid-'80s, Dock Street Brewing began a craft brewing renaissance. Dock Street co-founder Rosemarie Certo is one of the three experts who will be speaking tonight to a sold-out crowd about their passion for beer.
The Philadelphia History Museum, also known as the Atwater-Kent Museum, is located at 15 South Seventh Street, between Market and Chestnut.
