"There are 13 taps, ten of them on a specially-made ten-tap "T" which was commissioned from a North Philadelphia metal working shop. Local breweries and Belgian imports are strongly featured and backed up by an eclectic 100-bottle selection. As hoped, a new clientele is learning about craft beers. "We have an Italian, Asian and African-American neighborhood demographic," Longacre says, "and many of them are happily getting into good beers... They used to come in and ask for Miller Light. The other night, half of them were drinking Hoegaarden and the other half Yards IPA. Progress."

Progress, indeed. Sort of like a neighborhood that slid between the cracks and was rescued by the bar on the corner." - Jack Curtin, Celebrator Beer News

"The South Philadelphia Tap Room is a pretty damned fine establishment. A long spacious bar with booths, exposed brick and garlands of white fairy lights, it's downright pleasant, attracting a hip (but not hipper-than-thou) predominantly twenty- to thirtysomething crowd. And kudos to the bar staff: friendly and laid-back, but attentive.

There's Quizo on Tuesdays, and a great jukebox, but it's the vast array of beers that's the real selling point. A solid selection of regular draughts (including Leffe, Yards and the now inevitable PBR), a revolving choice of microbrews and more than 70 bottled beers from around the globe pull the punters in... By the end of the evening you might well resemble a degenerate, piss-soaked old dosser, but you'll feel like a million bucks. Trust me.

It's been claimed that Benjamin Franklin, a good man and one fond of a light refreshment of an evening, once claimed: "Beer is proof that God loves us." If that's true, the Tap Room is a hallowed church of everlasting bliss. Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition. - Neil Ferguson, Philadelphia Weekly