The Triangle

Issue date: 2/29/08 Section: Arts & Entertainment

Media Credit: MCT Campus There are over 700 breweries in or around the Philadelphia area. Take a day trip on a weekend and take a tour of one of these fine breweries.

Philadelphia has a great beer community with a ton of great craft breweries well within driving distance. These are just a few of the breweries that keep the beer scene strong in Philadelphia. They say if you love sausage, you shouldn't watch it being made. That couldn't be further from the truth when it comes to beer. If you have a favorite microbrewery in the area, it would be a great idea to go down and meet the people who make you drunk.

Flying Fish

The Flying Fish brewery is located in a low-key industrial park in Cherry Hill, N.J., Patrons can enter into the brewery right into a little office area and when they walk past that, they see where the tour actually begins. This room has some old New Jersey beer memorabilia and also showcases all of Flying Fish's products. This happens to be the best part of the tour, because it is where you get your free beer.

Right now, Flying Fish has samples of their Hop Fish IPA and their Love Fish, a rare Valentine's release. Unfortunately, New Jersey law says that you are only allowed four little four-ounce samples. I had my 16 ounces of Hop Fish and was ready to get on with the tour.

When enough people showed up, our tour guide showed us where the magic took place. Once in the back room brewery, tour goers get a whiff of boiling hops and malts and a full view of all of Flying Fish's operations. It's a modestly-sized operation. They can only brew one beer at a time, although they can output an impressive 167 bottles per minute. The tour guide is actually a brewer and can answer any question about the process. This is a great, informative tour and it also really gives you the sense that Flying Fish is an important part of the Cherry Hill community.

Tour rating: 4

Flying Fish Brewing Co.

1940 Olney Ave.

Cherry Hill, N.J., 08003

For tour information, visit http://www.flyingfish.com

Victory Brewery

The Victory brewery and restaurant is a bit outside Philadelphia in the suburb of Downingtown. They have one tour at 4 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Because they are expanding their restaurant, the tours are abbreviated and the only things on display are really the fermentation tanks, bottling line and storage room.

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