It had been a long drive from New York. Escaping the city at rush hour on a Thursday was as stupid an idea as it sounds, but all the frustration melted away when we finally got to Ambler, a leafy suburb of Philadelphia. Its Main Street is lined with timber-sided, colonial-style houses, and to our surprise, the brewery we were heading to turned out to be located inside one of them.
Forest & Main is unlike any other brewery I’ve ever visited—it’s not far-flung, or located in an industrial wasteland, for starters. The dining room of its 19th-century townhouse is now a restaurant; the lounge has become a bar; and the bathroom still has its original, roll-top bath. Out back is the brewery, made from repurposed dairy tanks.
We finished filming outside around dusk and settled down with some Saisons for the sunset. It was unseasonably warm, and the glasses seemed to catch fire in the dappled light. My hosts lined up a mix of aged and fresh beers, all brewed with wild yeasts gathered from the cherry tree in the garden and the hops that climb the brewery walls. Unprompted, the taproom chefs brought out a bunch of dishes they had left over from testing out the new autumn menu: French onion soup, butternut squash arancini, and artichoke dip. A quick beer turned into a bottle share over dinner.
