Beer City USA Polling Begins Sunday
Homebrewing and beer pundit Charlie Papazian will open his annual Beer City USA polling for 2012 on Sunday, April 15. The initial poll lasts until April 21and cities hoping for a spot in the final voting need 100 or more votes in the initial poll. Luckily for the Best Beer Drinking City in the USA, Philadelphia has already qualified for the final ballot.
The Beer City USA poll is a celebration of local breweries and local businesses, and Philadelphia has some of the best. With local breweries like Victory, Yards, Philadelphia Brewing Co, Sly Fox, Dock Street and Nodding Head leading the charge, there are plenty of micro- and nanobreweries popping up all around us. Round Guys just announced they were open for business; Forest & Main and McKenzies are pumping out great beer; Neshaminy Creek is set to open soon; and St. Benjamin Brewing just bought a location. The local scene is getting better by the minute.
But it’s not only the breweries. It’s the local businesses as well. The bars and pubs—and many higher-end restaurants—are all in on the secret that craft beer sells in Philadelphia, and the better you have, the better you are. New places are popping up seemingly every week, and each one knows not to shirk craft beer, because Philadelphia is a craft beer city through and through. Our local distributors get this more than anyone and have gone to great lengths to get us as much great beer from around the country—and the world—as we can handle.
Last year, Philadelphia came in 7th in the voting for Beer City USA with a mere 2.44% of the votes, compared to three-time winner Asheville, NC’s 46.68%. We’ve talked about why Philadelphia is the best beer city in the country before, and it’s time to start making our voices heard. Portland, San Diego and Asheville are all great places to drink, but none are like Philadelphia. And with those three cities amassing 72.48% of all of 2011’s votes, we need to show them that Philadelphia is not only a contender, but a winner.
Stay tuned for more information and pertinent links when they become available. Get out, spread the word, and be ready when the time comes.
Thanks for getting the word out! I will definitely vote.
Cheers!
G-LO
Excellent. And be sure to get the word out yourself! We need Philly to make an impact this year, and I know you and I are both very proud of our beer scene.