Best of Philly Awards Show

Tuesday night was Philly Beer Scene's first annual, red- carpet Best of Philly awards show, and what a fun night it was! Held at World Cafe Live, beer lovers of all sorts - brewers, writers, distributors, pushers (sales reps), and drinkers - were present.

Being treated like celebrities

As soon as you arrived, you knew something special was going on. Photographers waited outside to capture your image as you walked in on the red carpet. More photo opportunities were afforded by the Philly Beer Scene/ Best of Philly Awards back drop immediately inside.

The emcee with the mostest

Philly Beer Scene, and Mat Falco in particular, should be congratulated on pulling together such a great show. Joe Gunn of Jose Pistolas was the perfect emcee. He was funny, engaging, and extremely entertaining, as were the presenters. Some had skits planned, some didn't, but regardless of how they presented, everyone did a really good job. The band, Swift Technique, was fantastic (and funny, especially when Joe asked them if they wanted something to drink).

Swift Technique

Since the theme was giving the best in the Philly beer scene their due props, you can imagine there was some tasty beer flowing. I enjoyed a couple of glasses of the Victory Ranch Double R IPA, but was disappointed that the Forest and Main IPA had already kicked when I finally got around to asking for one.

"Who cares about all that?", I can hear you saying. "I just want to know the winners!"  I'll be honest, I tried to capture as much as I could, but then long periods of time would go by and I'd realize that I hadn't written anything in a while and I'd be lost trying to remember what else had been presented. So, without further ado (and probably some missing) - The Winners (that I remembered to write down):

Best Brewery Rep: Mike Lubieski, Weyerbacher
Best Distributor in Philly: Bella Vista 
Best Belgian-style beer: Weyerbacher Merry Monk's
Best Bottle Shop in Philly: Craft Beer Outlet
Best Wholesaler: Origlio
Best European Beer Bar: Monk's
Best Beer Writer: Lew Bryson
Best Place to Watch Sports: City Tap House
Best Home Brew Store: Keystone
Best Dark Beer: Victory Storm King Stout
Best Pale Ale: Yards Pale Ale
Best Bourbon-barrel aged: Weyerbacher Insanity
Best Brew Pub: Iron Hill
Best Beer Bar: Standard Tap
Best New Bar in the City: Barcade
Best Brewery: Victory
Best Brewmaster: Chris Wilson, Weyerbacher

Forgive yourself if you didn't make it out to this year's event, but don't miss (what will hopefully be) the next one!

PS. check out the latest issue of Philly Beer Scene, which has the complete list of winners, including some not announced at the awards show.

Photos are courtesy of Stephen Lyford. You can see more here.