The Schuylkill River Greenways National Heritage Area has introduced a new brewery tour that will pair beer tastings with lessons on history and the environment.

The unique Heritage & Hops Brew Tour being offered on Saturday February 24 will take 45 participants to four local breweries located within the Schuylkill River Watershed from Phoenixville to Reading, according to a Schuylkill River Greenways NHA press release.

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Each brewery, in addition to offering tastings of beers produced on site, will provide a presentation about its connection to the Schuylkill River, Schuylkill River Trail or regional history.

The Heritage and Hops Brew Tour has proven to be overwhelmingly popular. The event sold out one week after ticket sales opened. Cost of the tour is $55 per person

The tour will begin at Oakbrook Brewing, in Reading, where the presentation will focus on its historic firehouse location. The next stop will be Sly Fox Brewery, in Pottstown, where participants will learn about how SRT Ale supports the Schuylkill River Trail. After that, Hidden River Brewing Co., located in the Historic Brinton Lodge in Douglassville, will discuss the fascinating history of its 18^th Century building. The final stop will be Root Down, in Phoenixville, where the topic will be the history of Phoenixville and their building’s industrial past.

The Schuylkill River Greenways NHA is introducing the Heritage and Hops Brew Tour to draw attention to some of the unique breweries in the area, while simultaneously promoting regional history and underscoring the value of clean water.

“You can’t make great beer without clean water,” said Schuylkill River Greenways NHA Executive Director Elaine Schaefer. “We know the people who will take this tour all enjoy local beer. But they may not consider how integrally beer making is connected to protecting and preserving the Schuylkill River, which is a source of drinking water for over 1.5 million people.”

The Schuylkill River Greenways NHA, located in Pottstown, is dedicated to connecting people and communities to the Schuylkill River, and to encouraging people to value the region’s history and protect the environment. The organization is best known for its role in working with partners to build and improve the Schuylkill River Trail.

Building the trail and protecting the river both have economic development and community revitalization benefits that are related to the rise of breweries throughout the Schuylkill River region.

“Breweries benefit from the presence of the Schuylkill River Trail, just as they benefit from clean water,” said Schaefer. “Sly Fox Brewery created SRT Ale because they recognized that beer and recreation often go hand in hand.”

Schaefer said she is excited about the popularity of the tour. But she hopes the message about the importance of history and conservation resonates far beyond the tour itself.

“Beer and breweries are a valuable and fun piece of our regional culture. We want people to recognize the role the river and the Schuylkill River Trail play in building that culture,” she said.

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