BEERS! (updated 04/11/24)
Bancroft Beer
Our daily drinker, named after the street our humble brewery rests on. Brewed with 2-row and Maris Otter malt. Singularly hopped with Mosaic. Punchy notes of Satsuma orange rind, lychee flesh, and fresh blueberry muffin with a clean and crisp finish. 4.20% abv
Available on draft and in 16 oz 4-packs to go
Bancroft Buzz
Typically for our anniversary we take Bancroft Beer, our beloved lil’ all-Mosaic house beer, and switch up the hop for a unique twist. When Chris from Greenstreet Coffee Roasters reached out to do a collab, we weren’t really sure what we wanted to do. But then we tried some of their Rwanda Cyesha, and 💡… Bancroft Buzz was born! Buzz is our standard recipe for Bancroft Beer, conditioned on Rwanda Cyesha beans. From Greenstreet: “This lot comes to us from Muraho Trading Company’s Cyesha Coffee Washing Station in Nyamasheke, Rwanda. Muraho was founded by two brothers, Karthick & Gaudam Anbalagan. Cyesha is their newest washing station, acquired in December 2021. Coffee from Cyesha is extra special because of the volcanic soil and high altitude, up to 1800 meters above sea level, of the farm. The washing station is also near one of the majestic African Great Lakes, Lake Kivu. The wind flow from the lake through the surrounding hills is ideal for drying coffees.” The result is a delightful little pale coffee beer brimming with fresh roasty notes, bright stone fruit and bold blueberry from the Mosaic. Creamy like a Bancroft Beer coffee ice cream float, sans the ice cream! 4.20% abv
Available on draft and in 32 oz crowlers to go
Mr. Pubbington
English style pub ale, now pouring from the nitro line. Brewed with English Pearl pale ale malt, flaked barley, and a nice selection of specialty malts. Hopped verrrrrrry gently with East Kent Goldings. Fermented cool with our house ale yeast. Velvety full bodied mouthfeel with notes hearty hearth fired bread loaves, hints of Tetley Tea, just enough honey sweetness, and a quick clean finish. 5% abv
Available on draft. Sorry, no to go on nitro beer!
Seven
Our Seventh Anniversary blend perhaps exemplifies what we do here at Second District more than any other project we’ve ever worked on. A blend of old world techniques with a nod to modern experimentation, and a little whimsy thrown in for good measure. Seven began as a blend of several releases from the late summer of 2022. We took some kegs of Wee Buddy, an English Summer Ale; Apricot Helix, an apricot-tangerine hard seltzer; Zestimated Antler, a lime zest conditioned version of our Nelson Pale Ale; and Future Rustic, a Bière de Coupage, and blended them all into one of our RAF tanks and allowed them to mingle for awhile. Once refermentation was complete (from the mixed culture inoculation provided by Future Rustic), we racked it into oak white wine barrels that had previously held our 5th anniversary blend for a lengthy two year slumber. The transformation of the liquid over that time is somewhere along the lines of a citrusy barrel aged saison, if we had to put our finger on a “style”; A melange of trifoliate orange skins, rubbed sage, classic barnyard, with a dry zesty finish. Most importantly, it’s just a really fun sip. Naturally carbonated in both bottle and keg. 6% abv. Cheers to Seven Years!
Available in 750mL bottles for onsite and to go
Oude Pêche
Mixed fermentation sour ale brewed with pilsner and wheat malts along with a little bit of Czech Saaz in the kettle. Fermented with our house RAF culture and allowed to condition in stainless for five months before adding 20 pounds per barrel of juicy ripe PA grown white freestone peaches from our friends at Green Meadow Farm. Pink Jolly Ranchers, old vine Chardonnay, vibrant acidity, clean mineral finish. 7.8% abv
Available in 750mL bottles for onsite or to go
Basic Instructions
Bi-Coastal IPA with the malt profile of modern East Coast IPA’s coupled with a more old school West Coast leaning hop profile. Basic Instructions starts with a base of domestic 2-row, oats, and wheat, then generously hopped with Simcoe, Mosaic, and Amarillo. Fluffy and doughy with great lacing. Mellow citrus, pine sap, and a healthy dose of the dank. 6% abv.
Available on draft and in 32 oz crowlers to go
Anger Quake
It seems we get around to brewing this one once every three years. Back after two years, 11 months, and one day since the last run, Anger Quake! Anger Quake is our all-Citra DIPA brewed with a dash of oats and rye. Notes of all the marijuanas, extra tall grasses, with complimentary tropical fruit cocktail. 8.25%
Available in 16 oz singles for onsite and 16 oz 4-packs to go
Signal Beam
IPA brewed with 2-row, oats, and wheat. Hopped with two fun older varieties that we’ve yet to play with here at Second District, Comet and Palisade. Fresh notes of squished tangerines, scoop fulls of dragon fruit, wild grasses, and a nice little floral boozy pop at the end. 6.5% abv.
Available on draft and in 32oz crowlers to go
Rutiger
Munich Helles. A beautifully simple unfiltered pale lager brewed with all pilsner malt, a bit of Tettnanger and Spalt Select, and fermented with our house lager yeast. Accentuated malt without being sweet, well attenuated and balanced by the lightly spicy restrained bitterness of the hops. Bread and honey showcase in the flavor, with supporting fresh herbal notes. Soft and dry finish. Incredibly refreshing and drinkable! 5.1% abv
Available on draft and in 32oz crowlers to go
Rye Lager
Brewed loosely in the vein of Helles lager, with the addition of two types of malted rye that make up 30% of the grist. It’s not often we get to play around with the subtleties of different grains when it comes to clean beers like lagers. Most of the time we use them in styles where the character gets masked by hops or fermentation profile. Here the malt remains the showcase and we get a glimpse of what rye has to offer. Nutty, toasty, and earthy up front with a more floral middle and spicy dry finish. We really dig this one! 5% abv.
Available on draft and in 32 oz crowlers to go
Smoked Dunkel
We take a traditional Munich Dunkel base and then add a little Bamberg twist with 25% beechwood smoked malt. Notes of hearth baked loaves of hearty bread slathered in Nutella with a light toffee sprinkle enjoyed while with the company of friends around a warm campfire. Just in time for BBQ season! 5.5%
Available on draft and in 32 oz crowlers to go
Chadwick
OG Philly style porter brewed with a special blend of roasty malts over layers of 2-row, Munich, Vienna, and Maris Otter. Hopped with East Kent Goldings and fermented with our house ale strain. Rich notes of toffee, bitter sweet chocolate covered espresso beans, and licorice root. 6% abv.
Available on draft and in 32 oz crowlers to go
The Keg is Always Cleaner
Draft version of The Glass is Always Greener. This lovely little grisette is brewed from a simple base of European pilsner malt and a bit of white wheat, with a blend of aged and fresh old world hop varietals. It then gets fermented with our favorite saison monoculture in one of our mixed fermentation tanks before being dry hopped with East Kent Goldings. Refermented properly in the keg to 3 volumes of c02. TKIAG is our ode to the classic green glass farmhouse ales of Belgium. It begins with a delicate floral malt base followed by layers of jasmine blossom, green tea, lemon balm, leathery funk, and a bone dry prickly mineral finish. Dangerously quaffable. 5% abv
Available on draft
About Our Brewer:
Ben Potts has been brewing in the Philadelphia region for over 16 years, working with some of the areas most well known breweries. With a background focused heavily on experimentation and pushing the boundaries of what we know as ‘beer’, Ben has done it all - from working with exotic fruits and spices, barrel aging, mixed fermentation techniques, to some of the most unconventional brewing ingredients possible. With that in mind, Ben brings all of his experience to Second District, creating both off-the-wall flavors and classically inspired styles, along with everything in between.
“When the former owner of Nodding Head teams up with a former Dogfish Head brewer, you get some really fantastic beer. Most of it is in classic, non-crazy styles, but with slight variations that make them interesting — this is a brewpub, so all batches are small.” –BillyPenn
“Head brewer Ben Potts’ seasoned background features three local mainstays in Dock Street, Dogfish Head and Tired Hands, so rest assured the beer will be great. The taplist features a diverse blend of mostly sessionable, straightforward and good, honest beers that everyone is sure to enjoy” –Breweries In PA
“Amazing atmosphere and really good vegan food and non-vegan as well. I tried two different kinds of craft beer and I was very impressed. The staff was very friendly and even though the place was crowded the service was awesome. I am definitely coming back very soon to this hidden gem in South Philly.” -Google Review
VISIT US
- 1939 S. Bancroft Street Philadelphia, PA 19145
- [email protected]
- (215) 575-5900
- @SecondDistrictBrewing
- @SecondDistrictBrewing
- @SecondDistBrew
