WISSAHICKON, PENNSYLVANIA

Just past the heart of town in the rolling hills of Northwest Philly’s East End neighborhood, WISSAHICKON BREWING COMPANY opened 2017 (before starting up an Olde Kensington site with full kitchen in 2025 and a third location in Maple Glen soon after). Family owned and operated, the tan brick facility stationing the 100-seat brewhouse features top-to-bottom windows looking out at the makeshift beer garden across the aluminum grain silo.

Inside the spacious warehouse main space, an aluminum-fronted wood bar with silver-tiled draught board services scattered wood and aluminum tables from the backspace brew tanks.

In the middle of a September ’26 Sunday afternoon, my wife and I helped ourselves to seven Wissahickon brews.

Dry light-bodied Kolsch brought fizzy lemon rot to grassy hop spot and mineral grained breading.

Dry-hopped New Zealand-styled pilsner, Schooner Nectaron, soaked musky orange oiling into toasted white breading, picking up subtle nectarine-tangerine-grapefruit sway and dank pine snip.

Zestful golden lager, High Hopes, a mild IPA-like alternative, merged tart Huell Melon hops with earthen herbed Saaz hops, leaving lemony pineapple juicing and wispy guava licks on the dry finish.

Another IPA-hopped lager, Philly United, let citric-pined Cascade-Motueka hops seep into dried maize musk as fizzy lemon misting moistened lightly toasted mineral graining.

Next up, hazy Citra-Mosaic-hopped pale ale, Wigwam, gathered dry lemon pith and orange rind bittering alongside mild pine resin.

Glowing yellow Imperial IPA, Devil’s Fool, stayed vibrant as sunny grapefruit and orange peel zesting reached light vanilla oats creaming.

Sharp pineapple-juiced wheat ale, Dog Daze, also had a hazy IPA resolve as lemon-candied guava and mango tropicalia prickled upside down pineapple cake sweetness ascending above honeyed wheat base.