Until Prohibition, Philadelphia was known far and wide as one of the biggest beer-producing cities in America. After repeal… well, you probably know the rest. Smaller, independent breweries folded by the dozen, while mega-breweries like Anheuser-Busch and Miller flourished, delivering quantity over quality.
MoreThough i’m not a vegetarian, summertime piques my partiality for grill-ready burgers created from beans (or lentils), grains and vegetables. The trick to a homemade veggie burger that won’t fall to pieces on the barbecue is a simple three-step process: cook, chill and grill. This means that the night (or morning) before, you make the
More2 mins read
If you’re looking for a bold cheese to pair with beer, reach for Red Cat from Birchrun Hills Farm. This classic washed-rind stinker from Sue Miller isn’t as bossy as a ripe Epoisses—a pungent French delicacy—but it has the same creamy texture and beefy character. Think of stewed meat and bitter greens. The slightly astringent
More1 min read
Get out your granny cart and head to the farmers market for 10 pounds of plums (ask for discounted “seconds”), because this is the summer you’ll make sour fruit beer.
More1 min read
These days you can find any number of novelty beer mustards at boutique grocers, but nothing will be as delicious as the one you make yourself with a favorite local brew. Choose a bright, flavorful beer like Yards Philadelphia Pale Ale or Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA and your mustard will taste like biting into
More1 min read
Rock Out and Recycle Luxembourg’s Rock-A-Field music festival sets an impressive president for how to reduce the environmental impact of events that attract the masses. Soft drinks were served in reusable bottles, food in biodegradable containers, and the festival ticket served as a voucher for using public transit to get to the fest. All in
More1 min read
Beer is often called liquid bread, a nod to both grainy origins and covert calorie content. At Betty’s Speakeasy, owner Liz Begosh and pastry chef Adriane Appleby reverse the process, transforming locally brewed liquids into covetable cakes and fudge. “We don’t like to make overly sweet sweets,” says Begosh, a former pro cyclist-turned-pastry queen. “The
More1 min read
FACT: More than 4 million pairs of eyeglasses are thrown away each year in North America.
According to the World Health Organization, 1 billion people who need glasses lack access to them. In developing countries, and here in the U.S., inaccessibility means that these people are losing educational opportunities because they can’t see clearly to read,
1 min read
When you walk the walk like John Francis, you don’t necessarily need to talk the talk. Planetwalker: 17 Years of Silence, 22 Years of Walking is the true story of a native Philadelphian who, after witnessing a devastating 1971 California oil spill, chose to abstain from all motorized transportation. Instead, Francis walked. When his walking
More1 min read
How can you get back to the land when you don’t have any land to get back to? In his new book, The City Homesteader: Self-Sufficiency on Any Square Footage, Scott Meyer shows acre-less urban- and suburbanites how to grow and preserve their own food, raise small livestock and become ever more self-sufficient—from composting to
More1 min read