Sundays were for the cousins when it came to Matt Brodsky and Justin Steinberg’s upbringing. And it stayed that way as they grew into adulthood and started home brewing beer in 2013 after Steinberg gifted Brodsky a book on Philadelphia’s beer brewing history for Christmas. It only made sense that they would build a business together named in honor of the sacred day they spent together consumed by their favorite vice, drinking and brewing craft beer. Now, almost four years after opening a part-time tasting room at The Loom, Sacred Vice Brewing Company is getting ready to open full-time in a brand new Philly location in May/June.
“We had a vision to join the long, illustrious history of Philadelphia’s brewing community back in 2013,” Brodsky told What Now Philadelphia. “We started as a lot of brewers do, as homebrewers. We figured if we like to make beer and people like to drink our beer, we had something.”
The new Sacred Vice tasting room and production facility will be located in the Berks Warehouse mixed-use building at 1833 North Howard St. and will be three times the size of their current location at 3233 Amber St. The 3,000 sq. ft. space will double the amount of seating and occupancy Sacred Vice currently has, allowing an estimated occupancy of about 100. There will be 10 to 12 beers on tap, an increase from the six at their current location. Sacred Vice’s new custom 10 barrel brewhouse will allow the company to brew 20 times the amount of beer that they are currently able to do with their half-barrel system. The brewing company will also utilize its broad sidewalk area for outdoor seating. Sacred Vice’s new location will keep the same “great aunt’s living room vibe as their current taproom. Brodsky and Steinberg estimate renovation and outfitting of their new space to cost about half a million.
“We found out pretty early on when we first opened that our system was too small, and we didn’t have the time or capacity to produce enough beer to meet the demand,” Brodsky told What Now Philadelphia. “That’s a big reason as to why we wanted to scale up in a new space to have the capacity to meet the taproom demand and share some with our friends in the Philly bar and restaurant scene.”
Sacred Vice currently operates as a part-time passion project taproom. Brodsky, who works in marketing and communications for an insurance company, and Steinberg, who does real estate title insurance, open the tasting room a few days a week for a few hours. Once in a while, they’ll sell a keg to a local restaurant or bar. The new location will allow the cousins to take their project full-time, operating with a full staff seven days a week selling beer to taproom customers and the local hospitality industry. Andrew Rubenstein will serve as Sacred Vice Brewing’s head brewer and partner.
“I can’t wait to be able to have great quality beer readily available at all times,” Steinberg said. “It’s been one of the biggest troubles we’ve had, having enough beer while doing things part-time. We’re excited to bring on a head brewer and dive into production.”
Sacred Vice plans to keep their original space and continue as a part-time tasting room or for private event space or for storage. Learn more at sacredvice.com.
