Beer Week: Hill Farmstead at Eulogy Belgian Tavern

Friday night was the official opening of Philly Beer Week, so we hit up beer haven Eulogy Belgian Tavern to meet Nick and Theo from The Food Experiments and hosts of today's Philadelphia Cheese Experiment. Eulogy featured Hill Farmstead, a brewery in Vermont, where it just so happens that Nick's brother works.

(Philadelphia Cheese Experiment is 12pm - 4pm today at the World Cafe Live, and you can just pay at the door. It's $15 and includes tastes of all the cheese dishes in competition plus one beer from Brooklyn Brewery. We. are. pumped.)

Most of Hill Farmstead's beers were quite hoppy, with two double IPAs on tap called Abner and Ephraim, and one single, the Double Citra. Eulogy also offered the Earl, a hoppy coffee stout, and Florence ("Flora"), a Belgian white. There were a few others we didn't try. Fun fact: the beer names all come from the brewer's grandparents, great uncles and other ancestors. Nice touch.

Flora was the favorite because it was by far the lightest and easiest to drink. Very much like a Saison. The rest seemed great for hops fans, but we weren't feeling too hoppy that night.

Of the hoppy beers, I'd go with Earl. I am normally afraid of beers with the word "coffee" in the description but I actually didn't read it closely this time. The bartender recommended it as somewhat lighter than the other IPAs. Agreed, Earl was the most drinkable for a non-IPA girl.


It was mostly just a fun night to get to know the guys behind The Food Experiments better, as they are very chill and easy to talk to about pretty much anything under the sun. One thing about Eulogy though, is that it's just too damn small. It's known for its extensive, high quality beer selection, but if you don't get a seat it is very awkward to stand and try to have a conversation with more than one person and not get bumped around. Best spot to stand is downstairs near the entrance where there is a little more room to breath and you can stalk down a small bar table. Or make a reservation and eat there too - the food is very good and at least you get a seat.

It isn't much wider than you see here, and less so upstairs.