2beerguys beer blog

BEER EVENT: Philly Beer Week 2010

PHILLY BEER WEEK ANNOUNCES DATES FOR 2010 AND TREMENDOUS SUCCESS OF 2009

PHILADELPHIA, PA – With a line-up that featured over 50 of the biggest names in brewing and 679 successful events, Philly Beer Week (PBW) 2009 held in March became the country’s largest celebration of beer event, in only its second year. Plans for PBW 2010, which will be held from Friday, June 4 to Sunday, June 13, 2010 are already underway, buoyed by 2009’s stunning attendance of an estimated 35,000 attendees and reports from many participants of record-breaking sales in spite of the lagging state of the economy.

“We think that Philly Beer Week will only get better and grow bigger from year to year. Now that we are moving the event to a warmer month, we hope it will bring out even more attendees. We’re planning to host outdoor events throughout the city and suburbs,” says Don Russell aka Joe Sixpack, one of the founders of Philly Beer Week.

Annual festivals, bike races, meet the brewers nights and hundreds of other events will again highlight Philly Beer Week ‘10.

“For PBW ’09, the recession was forgotten for that week,” says Monk’s Cafe owner and PBW founder Tom Peters. “Visitors from across the country and as far away as England, Belgium and Canada converged on our city and attended Beer Week events in record numbers. Bars tapped kegs and sold them out in record time, and many set sales records at one event only to break them a few days later at their next event.”

Philly Beer Week 2009 included five major festivals, all of which sold out in advance and brought out an estimated number of 8,000 beer lovers. The other 670-plus events, spread among the 156 participating breweries, restaurants, bars and distributors, drew standing room only crowds into venues. Following PBW 2009, participants were invited to respond to a survey about the 10-day series of events. 88% of respondents reported that PBW 2009 drew new customers to their business, and an amazing 97% of respondents said they felt PBW 2009 was a success and planned to participate in 2010.

“We worked very hard to get the word out about Philly Beer Week, and it’s clear from the overwhelming response that people were motivated to join us for a few pints,” says Russell, who is also a noted author. “It is incredibly exciting to see people responding to what we’ve known for years: that this is a terrific city to visit, a terrific city for a great beer and by far, the best beer drinking city in America.”

Special collaborations between area hotels and public transportation drew guests to the area; SEPTA reported selling 1,500 all day, citywide passes for public transit over the course of the festival.

“We worked hard, and did events almost every day,” says Mike “Scoats” Scotese of The Grey Lodge Pub (6235 Frankford Avenue), who reported at 75% increase in sales over last year. “Crowds were high-spirited but not crazy,” he adds, a sentiment shared by many participants who remarked on the fraternal feel of the masses who gathered for PBW 2009.

“If I could have fit more people in my buildings, my sales would have been even higher,” says Michael Naessens of Beneluxx (33 South 3rd Street) and Eulogy (136 Chestnut Street). “We hit capacity most nights.”

For more information about Philly Beer Week 2009, and more on Philly Beer Week 2010, please visit www.phillybeerweek.org.