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| Yards Brewing Company | |
|---|---|
| Name | Yards Brewing Company |
| Location | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Owner | Tom Kehoe |
| Opened | 1994 |
| Distribution | Regional |
Yards Brewing Company is a craft brewery founded in the mid-1990s in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It operates as a regional brewer producing a range of ales and seasonal beers with historical and stylistic influences. The company participates in industry collaborations, festival circuits, and local cultural programming.
Yards Brewing Company was established during the 1990s craft beer renaissance alongside contemporaries such as Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, Samuel Adams, Dogfish Head Brewery, Stone Brewing, and New Belgium Brewing Company. Its founder, Tom Kehoe, built the company amid Philadelphia’s brewing tradition represented by Yuengling, Pabst Brewing Company, Weyerbacher Brewing Company, Victory Brewing Company, and Philadelphia Brewing Co.. Early growth paralleled national trends with influences from Michael Jackson (beer writer), Charlie Papazian, American Homebrewers Association, and movements tied to Craft Brewers Conference. Expansion decisions were shaped by municipal contexts including the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, and zoning practices in neighborhoods like Northern Liberties, Philadelphia and Fishtown, Philadelphia. The company weathered industry challenges alongside peers such as Anchor Brewing Company, BrewDog, Bell's Brewery, Brooklyn Brewery, and Great Lakes Brewing Company.
The brewery’s facilities reflect urban brewery models similar to Dogfish Head, Brooklyn Brewery, Elysian Brewing Company, and Captain Lawrence Brewing Company. Its brewing campus includes production brewhouses, conditioning tanks, packaging lines, and taprooms comparable to installations at Magic Hat Brewing Company, Left Hand Brewing Company, Ommegang Brewery, and Allagash Brewing Company. Locations and renovations engaged contractors experienced with craft brewers like Tröegs Independent Brewing and Fulton Beer. The site hosts tasting rooms and event spaces used by cultural organizations such as Independence National Historical Park, Museum of the American Revolution, Philadelphia Orchestra, and neighborhood groups from Kensington, Philadelphia and Old City, Philadelphia.
Yards produces a portfolio of core and seasonal beers reflecting styles championed by Belgian breweries, English ales, American pale ales, and Imperial stouts. Signature offerings draw lineage from historical styles celebrated by Samuel Smith, Chimay, Goose Island Beer Company, Saison Dupont, and BrewDog's experimental series. Seasonal and specialty releases align with events like Oktoberfest, St. Patrick's Day, Valentine's Day, and Philadelphia Flower Show collaborations, and appear at festivals including Great American Beer Festival, Philadelphia Beer Week, Oktoberfest Zinzinnati, Brew at the Zoo, and GABF. Packaging formats and beer names reference regional heritage similar to marketing by Dogfish Head, Jack Johnson collaborations, and Moody Tongue.
Their brewing process utilizes techniques seen across the industry such as open fermentation influenced by Belgian brewing traditions, temperature control systems used by Weihenstephaner, and yeast management reminiscent of practices at Chimay and Sierra Nevada. Ingredients include malts and hops sourced in circuits involving suppliers like Yakima Chief Hops, John I. Haas, Inc., Cargill, Briess Malt & Ingredients Co., and agricultural regions such as the Yakima Valley, Willamette Valley, Barley Belt, and Great Plains. Water chemistry adjustments mirror studies from institutions like University of California, Davis, Siebel Institute of Technology, and Brewing Research Foundation. Barrel-aging programs draw on cooperage techniques linked to Bourbon Trail distillers, Buffalo Trace, Jim Beam, and wineries such as Chateau Montelena.
Distribution channels include on-premise accounts, off-premise retail, taproom direct sales, and packaged beer sold through wholesalers similar to networks used by Heineken USA, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Constellation Brands, and regional distributors like Wirtz Beverage Group and Festival Foods. Sales strategies mirror trends tracked by National Beer Wholesalers Association, Brewers Association, and retail partners such as Whole Foods Market, Total Wine & More, Wegmans, and Trader Joe's. The company participates in export and regional markets comparable to distribution practices of New Belgium Brewing Company, Left Hand Brewing Company, and Founders Brewing Co..
The brewery has been represented in competitions and media coverage alongside awardees such as Great American Beer Festival medalists, World Beer Cup entrants, and editorial features in publications like The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Beer Advocate, and RateBeer. Recognition sits within a community that includes decorated producers like Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, Bell's Brewery, Lost Abbey, and Russian River Brewing Company.
Yards engages with civic and cultural partners including Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, University of Pennsylvania, Temple University, and neighborhood nonprofits analogous to collaborations by Tröegs Independent Brewing and Founders Brewing Co.. The brewery hosts charity nights, festival sponsorships, brewery tours, and educational programs linking to organizations such as Food Trust, Mural Arts Philadelphia, Historic Philadelphia, Inc., and local civic associations. Events are promoted in coordination with city initiatives like Philadelphia Beer Week and regional food festivals including VegFest and Taste of Philadelphia.
Category:Breweries in Pennsylvania