Introducing Manneken-Penn the Brasserie de la Senne/Weyerbacher Collaboration Brew for Philly Beer Week 2013

PHILADELPHIA, PA – During the sixth-annual Philly Beer Week (PBW) 2013, May 31 through June 9, beer drinkers will be able to enjoy a number of collaborative beers, brewed in cooperation by top local and international brewers, to debut during PBW.  One such special beer, brewed in Brussels, Belgium during PBW’s annual “Win a Trip to Belgium” event for local beer lovers, is Manneken-Penn, a Belgo-American Dubbel.  This past winter, raffle winner Matt Hohorst, along with head brewer Chris Wilson of Weyerbacher and Tom Peters of Monks Café traveled abroad to brew with Yvan De Baets at Brasserie de la Senne.  Manneken-Penn will be available for the first time on Friday, May 31, at Opening Tap (click for tickets).

“Collaboration beers are a huge part of what makes PBW special: brewers coming together and pushing each other to do ever more outrageous and delicious things,” says PBW Executive Director Don Russell.  “As always, we’re very excited to see what amazing new beers they’ve created – and to raise a pint to ‘America’s Best Beer-Drinking City’.”

Manneken-Penn is a 7.5% Belgo-American Dubbel whose name and label art were inspired by Philadelphia’s famed William Penn statue above City Hall, and Brussels’ landmark Manneken Pis sculpture of a playful naked boy – ahem – relieving himself.  Manneken-Penn was made with oats, molasses and a combination of American and European hops.  It is imported for PBW by Shelton Brothers and will be available both on draft and in 11.2 oz bottles.

Throughout the 10 days of PBW, beer drinkers will be able to enjoy other collaborative brews including:

·         Brotherly Suds 4, an English summer ale with a zesty citrus hop, brewed this year at Yards by Tom Kehoe, Bill Covaleski of Victory, Gordon Grubb of Nodding Head, Mark Edelson of Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant and Gene Muller of Flying Fish;

·         Dock Street Trappiste Pale, a Trappist-style IPA inspired by Orval, brewed by Dock Street, Scott Morrison, Tom Peters and George Hummel, fermented with saccharomyces in the primary fermentation and brettanomyces in the secondary fermentation for a moderate sour character, plus Sonnet and East Kent Golding hops for grassy, citrus-y flavor, available in 750 mL bottles from Dock Street exclusively during PBW;

·         Johnny Berliner, brewed by Dock Street and Johnny Brenda’s, a Berlinerweiss German-style sour beer that is clean, refreshing, distinctly tart and low in alcohol (4% ABV), making it perfect for summer;

·         Standard Pale, the sixth collaboration between Sly Fox’s Brian O’Reilly and Standard Tap’s William Reed, an American pale ale brewed with new hop varietal Calypso, which will be tapped by the HOG when it makes its way past Standard Tap on the HOG Relay, en route to Opening Tap, and poured for free until the firkin is empty;

·         DNA UK, from Dogfish Head and Charles Wells, a transatlantic collaboration that brings together the “DNA” of Dogfish Head’s famed 60 Minute IPA and a strain of yeast from Brit brewer Wells.  DNA is making its debut at PBW;

·         and Brewvolution II, a collaboration between Prism, Evil Genius and Boxcar that is a hard root beer drawn from Lancaster County’s Amish community and infused with root herbs and spices for all the character of a root beer with none of the saccharine sweetness.

Philly Beer Week 2013 will be held from Friday, May 31 until Sunday, June 9.  PBW is a 10-day celebration of “America’s Best Beer-Drinking City.”  Established in 2008, it’s the largest beer celebration of its kind in the United States, featuring hundreds of festivals, dinners, tours, pub crawls, tastings and meet-the-brewer nights throughout greater Philadelphia.  PBW highlights the region’s diverse beer scene – its world-class breweries, neighborhood taverns, trend-setting restaurants and rich beer culture and history.

For more information about Philly Beer Week, including the ever-expanding schedule of events both during PBW and throughout the year, a list of participants and other details, please visit www.phillybeerweek.org and follow them on Twitter and Instagram (@PhillyBeerWeek) (#PBW2013) and like them on Facebook.