During our recent trip to Philly, we decided to have a relaxing end to a day filled with historical sites by going to City Tavern. The tavern and its staff are decked out in revolutionary era garb. The tavern is a reincarnation of the original City Tavern, destroyed in a fire in 1834, which was apparently a popular hang out for the founding fathers when they wanted a few brews.

In keeping with the theme, the tavern features the “Ales of the Revolution” line from Yards Brewing Company. I began with the General Washington’s Tavern Porter (right) which was based on a recipe written by George Washington himself and was recently found in the archives of the New York Public Library (who knew George was making his own recipes?). The porter was actually quite good. The description focuses on a “deep garnet hue…and a molasses base.” There is definitely a noticeable sweetness to the porter but it is not over bearing. Some coffee and chocolate flavors seemed to balance out the sweetness. The mouthfeel was a little bit on the full side but not too much. We again saw molasses in the Poor Richard’s Tavern Spruce Ale. The taste of spruce essence was noticeable and enjoyable but was eventually a little unpleasant as time went on and as the beer warmed slightly.

If you are making a historical visit to Philly, City Tavern is definitely worth the visit.

-Giancarlo