Our secret snug is suddenly a hipster hotspot.
When Wissahickon Brewing Company opened its brewery and tasting room in April 2017, we couldn’t be happier. It’s a family operation, the Gills are good people, the beer’s awesome and it’s right nextdoor to our condo complex. Every night we note the food truck selections (when it’s Papermill we’ll be right down, thank you). When the weather’s yucky, we’ll suit up and splash down for a pint. We’d come to depend on the warm glow, the neighborly hum, the elbow room as our little oasis across the railroad tracks.
And then I guess summer happened. With the warm weather, we took to biking for beer all around the city and fell outta the weekend loop with our homeboys. Suddenly now we’re back to old habits and holy moly! It’s like a whole new WBC these days. Who are all these people? Need to adjust my expectations for a “typical” Friday night here now.
Just Kidding
Friday, Dec 14th. The vibe is still as relaxed as ever, but the place was jumping (and there’s a cooler selling takeout cans!) The big back brewery room has been hosting a lot of events lately: pig roasts, live bands, big games on their massive theater-sized screen, weekly “Warrior Yoga,” etc. Tonight, WBC introduced a new yoga that uses rescued baby goats to spread joy, save animals, and preserve farmland in nearby Montgomery County.
Baby goats, people! In diapers and suspenders!! A gentle, miniature breed known for their sweet disposition and marked adorableness – it is literally impossible to not go “Awwwwww!” when you see them. For a $20 donation to the goat rescue, attendees to this unique event could snuggle and bottle-feed them in a hay-strewn pop-up corral in the brewery. For $35, guest could do yoga with them.
Some of the goats have been trained to scale humans like Alpine crags, and balance upon them in grounded asanas like plank, dog, warrior, etc. It’s kind of cool to see but these are wee babies so it’s a wobbly process at best. Most people tried one pose just to do it and then spent the rest of their time cuddling kiddies and taking selfies. This isn’t a yoga class, but more like a novelty add-on to the main event: baby goats! For a really good cause, yet.
And the best part? They’re coming baaaaaaack! Follow @WissahickonBrew for event listings. Hats off to Millennials, if this is the kinda shit they’re bringing to the party. No complaints here.
You Oughta Know
Ordering beers after goat yoga, I caught myself singing along to a song I hadn’t heard or even thought about in forever. The Cranberries! Acoustic guitar – and the singer’s voice reminded me of Dolores O’Riordan and Dar Williams, Sarah McLachlan, Alanis.
When I finally see her, though, I think wow it’s Lisa Loeb’s daughter. And she’s singing with a guitarist who looks like Sam the Eagle and suddenly they bust out that Sixpence None the Richer song and I just about lose my mind, it’s all such a happy throwback.
Who knew? WBC’s tasting room is a great little spot for live music in East Falls. The bar provides a nice sound barrier for patrons who are more into background music, and also defines cozy seating for folks who want to enjoy the performance. Usually we’re the former but this night we were front and center for Brian and Jamie of Slightly Remastered. The 90’s hits kept coming, our GenX hearts were full.
So our hipster goat adventure landed with a flashback to our college days. Big props to both sets of kids (ha) for an anything-but-typical Friday night for us at WBC. We could get used to this.
Finally, gotta throw some love at the Gills – owners, brewers, servers and worker bees who have been reinvesting WBC’s success back into the company and community. Growth like this doesn’t happen by accident. They had a plan from Day One, and have attacked it like a machine, setting new goals as soon as they reach them. Perhaps some of our local organizations might learn a thing or two from these guys (I know we are).
Cheers to beer, baby goats and Britney Spears covers. Just your typical Friday night at WBC.
Wissahickon Brewing Company
Award-winning craft beer in a nice cozy “lodge” with food trucks (or BYOF). Come by Thursdays for Quizzo & Open Mic Nites.
3705 W. Schoolhouse Lane (at the railroad tracks before Ridge)
Open Tues – Thurs 5pm -10pm; Fri” 5pm – 11pm; Sat: 12pm – 11pm; Sun: 12pm – 6pm. Closed Monday
**Slightly Remastered Returns January 11th**
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