Head to the Guild Hall Brewing Co. on Oct. 20 and send some of your beer money to a local watershed! Credit: TTF Watershed Partnership.

At the start of the month, we lamented in the Philadelphia Inquirer (Sorry, this content has been archived) that water infrastructure, which is often underground and out of sight, just doesn’t seem to get the same attention or funding as things that we see daily, like roads and bridges.

In many ways, it’s the same with beer, too: hops, malt and yeast get all the glory among beer snobs. But, ask any brewer, and they’ll tell you the truth: great water is just as important, if not more so, as all the other stuff that goes into a quality brew.

It’s no surprise then that local breweries like Victory (Headwaters Pale), Saucony Creek (Stonefly IPA) and Sly Fox (SRT Ale) all have beers that pay tribute (and actual profits) to the health of our local waterways.

Now, beer and watershed lovers in Northeast Philly and lower Montco have a beer of their own to hoist while drinking to health of their local stream. Watershed Wit (Sorry, this content is no longer available) is a new brew from a new, Jenkintown-based brewhouse, Guild Hall Brewing Company. (Sorry, this content is no longer available)

Located a short walk from the headwaters of the Tookany Creek, they draw tons of water from the local watershed every time they fire up the brew kettle. Good water quality isn’t an abstract concept for this business; they’re intimately aware of the need to protect our rivers and creeks.

In recognition of this basic fact, they’ve pledged a whopping 10 percent of Watershed Wit proceeds to support Tookany/Tacony-Frankford (TTF) Creek Watershed Partnership’s mission to improve the health and vitality of the Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Creek. An incredibly dedicated group, TTF is constantly raising awareness about the need to protect and improve their watershed, and Philadelphia Water works closely with them on issues like education, water quality, and stream restoration.

To celebrate the release of this new, refreshing wheat beer (think Hoegaarden or Blue Moon), TTF and Guild Hall are throwing a tapping party dubbed “Creek to Craft” on Tuesday Oct. 20 at the brewery’s restaurant. Click here to learn more and get tickets.(Sorry, this content is no longer available) 

Even if you can’t make the party, remember – grabbing a pint or growler still goes to the great cause of protecting one of Philly’s seven watersheds! Can we say cheers?