Tuesday 13th of May 2014 12:22:09 PM

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Visited here on a Saturday afternoon and the place was packed. They had a really good thing going with regular tours going on, and beer and a bunch of cool merch. Tried a flight of their Revolutionary beers and they were all very nice (although the Love Stout had a bit too much of that roast/coffee flavour for my liking). Would have liked to take the tour but didn't really time. The atmosphere was really cool, more like a bar than a brewery. Would have been nice if there was more easily available parking though.

Sunday 24th of November 2013 11:21:45 AM

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I finally got the chance to stop here on a recent trip to Philadelphia. Yards is in a bit of a shady part of town, about a block from the Sugar House casino (also shady, although a convenient place to park if you drive to the Brewery).

The close a little early (7pm), so we headed right over when we got into town. They had 2 flight options - their Signature Ales, and then the more limited edition stuff (seasonals, etc). I'd never had Yards before, so I went for the Signature Ales. Overall, I was impressed with the taste and quality.

Then, as they were about to close down, they started setting something up - it turns out that they were having a fundraiser that night. A veterans organization was coming in, charging $30 / person, and serving all you can eat BBQ and an open bar for 3 hours. Needless to say, we stayed a bit longer than expected and I had an opportunity to try out some of the limited edition beers. I liked Thomas Jefferson's Tavern Ale. I also tried Poor Richards Tavern Spruce, which tasted a bit like a Christmas Tree - good in moderation, but a pint was too much.

Thursday 19th of January 2012 10:11:16 PM

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Yard's Brewing has a relatively large tasting room, with 18-chair wooden bar, shuffleboard and pool tables. Stainless steel brewing vessels are visible through large windows into the brew house. The adjacent bottling line can be viewed if you attend a scheduled tour. At the bar, you can order a sampler flight of up to a dozen beers, and you can also purchase a variety pack of bottled beers to go. Yard's offering includes Brawler English Mild Ale, Extra Special Ale, IPA (usually a couple versions), Philadelphia Pale Ale, their popular Love Stout, and a deliciously heavy Olde Bartholomew Barleywine (10%). Yard's also features a unique line of "Beers of the Revolution" brewed for Philadelphia's historic City Tavern. This series of flavorful, robust ales includes George Washington Porter, Benjamin Franklin Extra Hops, Poor Richard's Spruce Ale, Thomas Jefferson Ales, and more. I highly recommend visiting Yard's taproom (or City Tavern) to try these beers. There is free street parking until 11pm, or park at nearby Sugar House Casino.

Sunday 16th of August 2009 10:34:41 AM

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On Aug. 15th, we embarked on a LONG beer day in Philly. Yards was our second stop of the day. The tasting room/area is under construction, but the bar is big and there was enough room for everyone who was hanging out. Yards beers that day included Brawler, an English Mild. Nice toasty sweet caramel notes, light, flavorful session beer. Then we had the ESA. It was similar in profile to the Brawler except it had more alcohol which made the toasty/caramel notes less apparent. Next, one of the guys got a bottle of Thomas Jefferson Tavern Ale out for us. This is an 8% anything goes beer. Think of a Belgian Strong Golden, but brew it with an English Ale Yeast instead of a Belgian Ale strain. Good, but not my favorite type of beer. Honey and dark dried fruit flavors and some residual sweetness that was balanced because of the strength. Philly Pale Ale was next with a nice Cascade Hops Aroma. This beer reminds me of a beer that I brew (homebrewer) a couple times a year that I simply call "Beer Beer" because it's what I want to drink when I want a beer! Light but flavorful with good hop presence. They were out of the Yards IPA so I'll have to find that someplace soon. The Tavern Porter was last. Dark, espresso/coffee flavors, some sweetness that tasted like belgian candi sugar. Good beer for dinner but probably not going to kick this one back all night. Not real strong, but a bit heavy. Parking on Delaware Ave. is pretty easy. Free samples of whatever they have and as much as you want during tour times from 12-3 on Saturdays.