Joseph Poon’s Joe’s Peking Duck will be opening Sunday, September 28th at 108 Chestnut Street.

The El Fuego location at 21st and Chestnut is looking to open Monday, September 22nd. [The Clog]

Jonathan Best Cheese & Dairy is a mainstay at the Chestnut Hill Farmers Market and is going to be opening a branch at the Reading Terminal Market.

Liquid Diet has a cool photo of the Yards men posing in their now functioning new brewery. Also of note is that by early 2009 there should be a tap room in which to sample beers. [Liquid Diet]

Zinc has a new chef, internally promoted Justin Bennett will add small-plates to the menu. [The Clog]

Joe Sixpack begins his column today talking about Budweiser American Ale but then he provides some insight into what’s going on over at Yards Brewery on Delaware Avenue as they prepare for their first official batch of beer at the new location.

Joe Sixpack: Budweiser’s on board the ale bandwagon [Philadelphia Daily News]
Yards Brewing Co. [Official Site]

So we’ve heard Yards Brewing Co.’s new brewery on Delaware Avenue is finally operational. The first test patch went into the system over the long weekend.

Good luck, it’s been a long time coming.

Yards Brewing Co. [Official Site]

Tonight Yards will be poured at the Democratic National Convention as part of A Taste of American Cities, an event put on by Democratic mayors. Yards Philadelphia Pale Ale will join long time stereotypes, soft pretzels and cheesesteaks in representing Philadelphia.

In other news, Yards is this close to brewing at their Delaware Avenue location.

Yards Brewing Co. [Official Site]

Joe Sixpack has some updates on the new Yards Brewing location at Poplar and Delaware Avenues. Owner Tom Kehoe will be meeting with the Northern Liberties neighborhood board tomorrow with plans for an on site brewpub. Also the first test beers to brewed at the new location are “a few weeks away.”

A new brewpub for Philly? [Beer Radar]
Yards opening a brew pub [NorthernLiberties.org]

Joe Sixpack has a nice rundown of what’s coming in beer, from what’s likely to be on your local tap handle to new locales for tap handles.

Now that the primary is over, we can focus on what’s new in the beer biz [Philadelphia Daily News]

Construction is continuing on the new Yards Brewing Co. at 901 N Delaware Avenue with great progress of late.

The new floor that can support the weight of the brewing equipment has finally been completed. Next comes the installation of that equipment and yes, brewing will start shortly after that.

Some other info that has come down through the grapevine is that there will be a bar on site. They’ve reserved an area about the size of the downstairs of the Standard Tap for the bar. The exact setup, hours and whether there will be food is still up in the air.

And from the Brewer’s Desk, “Skippy” reports that they’ve ordered a super cool fully automated bottling line which is twice as fast as the old one. Yards is also looking for a maintenance manager.

Yards Brewing Co. [Official Site]

In today’s edition of The Bite you’ll learn about two new spots for for fans of Indian food and Philadelphia’s breweries are set to double.

Expanding Palates [Metro Philadelphia]

A shortage of raw ingredients is shooting the price of hops and barley up which will likely mean your favorite beers are going to cost a bit more by the end of the year.

The shortage is a result of poor crops, high demand, the weak dollar and the increasing popularity of ethanol, which has prompted farmers to plant corn rather than hops or barley.

Go cry in your beer [Metro Philadelphia]

Daily News beer writer Joe Sixpack now has his own blog at joesixpack.net/blog. Check it out, he has the dirt on the new digs for Yards.

Beer Radar [JoeSixpack.net]