Return of an old friend

Rumor has it that today will be the day an old friend rises from the ashes, albeit in a completely new form. A variety of sources have suggested that the new Dock Street brewery will be opening its doors today at 50th and Baltimore in West Philadelphia. That makes two Phoenixes rising from the ashes out that way, since when I was in college I wouldn’t have gone out there with an armed escort, not even for the best beer in the world.

For those who don’t know it, there was a time back in the early days of the US microbrewing rennaisance when Dock Street was as well known as Sam Adams, and had every opportunity to become The Next Big Thing in the microbrew world. After a failed IPO and other missteps, Dock Street petered out in a series of mediocre brewpubs and a botched takeover by the briefly resurgent Ortlieb’s brewery while Sam Adams became, well, Sam Adams.

The Dock Street Amber and Bohemian Pilsner were brewed by the F.X. Matt Brewing Company in Utica New York, and were quite good, as were some of the seasonals. In the Philadelphia area you can still find cases of Dock Street Amber, which I had heard was brewed by Yard’s but which other sources say are still brewed by F.X. Matt. In any case, whoever took over after Henry Ortlieb hasn’t made a real effort to do much with the brand. I can only hope this new establishment lives up to the promise of the original brews, and rescuscitates a brand which deserved better.