"Virtually from its founding, settlers and visitors to the Phildelphia area perceived possibilities for a thriving brewing industry there...Philadelphia offered an ideal setting for the brewing industry: abundant pure water, fertile soil for hops and barley, moderate climate and a location at the mouth of a large river which was soon to make it a major port...a dozen years later, another observer, Gabriel Thomas, wrote that Philadelphia beer 'hath a better Name, that is, in more esteem than English Beer in Barbadoes, and is sold for a higher Price there.' During the eighteenth century the city would become one of the main centers of brewing in the colonies." [from the text]
