Pope Beers Celebrate the Papal Visit in the Most Philly Way Possible

Beginning mid-September, Manayunk Brewing will debut Papal Ale (fka Papal Pleasure), which City Paper reports is a Belgian-style amber brewed with South American sugar and aged in Malbec barrels. A post to the brewery's Facebook page shows some admirable commitment to the bit, with Father John Kelly of Manayunk's St. John the Baptist church blessing the brewing water. (It's official debut on tap should be September 18, and you'll also be able to find it on store shelves.)

Image credit: Manayunk Brewing Co./Facebook

PBC's limited-edition Belgian tripel honoring the Pope has arrived, with the Philadelphia Business Journal reporting a 60-barrel batch was made of the 9+% ABV brew. The brewery reportedly consulted with Dennis Hewlett, owner of the POPE, which already snagged a keg (and will generally be your go-to bar for all things Pope-related, unsurprisingly).

Image credit: PBC/Instagram

Though it's not overtly named for Francis or his office, City Paper notes that newcomer Crime and Punishment will roll out its own religious-themed brew in September, timed to the papal visit. Fittingly, Jesus Wept is a gose, a sour wheat beer with a distinctive saltiness.

Image credit: C&P/Facebook

After toying around with plans to procure some Argentinean hops (which proved implausible) or to incorporate yerba mate, the Jersey shore brewery settled on a pale ale employing "an unholy amount of hops," with nine varieties including Simcoe and Citra. They plan to make it available at their own taproom (as well as some other Pennsylvania and New Jersey spots) beginning September 21.

Image credit: Cape May Brewing Company

John Wible, owner and head brewer at Old City's 2nd Story, just today brewed a patersbier, which will go by the name of Pater Noster, in anticipation of the Pope's visit. Traditionally made by Trappist monks for consumption within the monastery (as opposed to the more-familiar dubbels and tripels that they make to sell), a patersbier is a more sessionable (and more rare) Belgian. Wible says this one will be 4.4% ABV, made with Pilsner malt and red wheat and fermented with Trappist yeast. His goal: To pick up on the theme of Catholicism without going gimmicky, and to offer his customers "a style that you don't see often, or at all." Look for it at the brewpub in a few weeks.

Image credit: 2nd Story/Facebook

A press release for Iron Hill's offering deems it a dubbel "loosely based on" patersbier, but however you want to classify it, expect a more sessionable Belgian-style mahogany brew. It clocks in at 4.5% ABV, so it's lower in alcohol than a typical dubbel, and comparable to the 2nd Story patersbier. (The style can range much lower at some monasteries, but both of these locals boast a smidgen less alcohol than, for example, Chimay's house brew, Dorée.) In honor of Pope Francis, they've included yerba mate in the recipe. This limited release (there are just four kegs to go around) will be available only at Iron Hill's Chestnut Hill location, with the first tapping scheduled for Friday, September 18 at 5 p.m. A 16-ounce pour will go for $6.25.

Image credit: Yelp

Yardley-based Vault describes this one as "an American-ized English IPA" and tells us it's a one-off brewed just for the POPE (so you should probably grab tickets for this event if you're a Pope-beer completist). Clocking in at 6.6% ABV and 87 IBUs, the extremely limited-run brew is made with Maris Otter barley, caramel malt, invert sugar and a combination of UK Fuggle, East Kent Golding, Challenger, and US Mosaic Hops.

Image credit: Vault/Facebook

Saucony Creek's offering is a Gose made exclusively for the POPE, so you'll have to hit their Pope Week events for a chance to try it.

Image credit: Saucony Creek/Facebook]

A beer can be considered "Pope-inspired" even if it's in the inverse, right? Flying Fish's Gene Muller told Forbes of the brew, "it is for folks who have no interest in walking over the bridge to Philadelphia ... It is a moderate amount of alcohol that won't force you to serve any kind of penance the next morning." Brewed just for the Somerdale, NJ tasting room, PBJ notes that the small-batch IPA is 5% ABV and will be made available during the weekend of the Papal visit.

Image credit: Flying Fish/]