Welcome to our “Meet The Brewer” series! Where we interview brewers in Pennsylvania, from breweries small to large. Let us know if you know anyone who should be featured, email us at [email protected].

Urban Village Brewing Company opened in June 2017 in Philadelphia, PA, with a 7 bbl brewhouse. The brewery is known for great beers, and also can collabs, that have been distributed widely throughout the Philadelphia areas. Dave Goldman is the co-owner and head brewer at Urban Village Brewing Company. Read more to find out his introduction to beer, important lessons he has learned so far, and more!

What was your introduction to craft beer?

I was at a party to watch the Flyers in the Stanley Cup Finals in 1997 and there were kegs of New Castle and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Loved them both and was really intrigued by how different they were from what I would typically drink. I’ve been a loyal Sierra drinker and hop lover ever since.

How did you get started as a brewer?

In 2011 my then-girlfriend and now wife bought me a homebrew kit for my birthday. A year later I went to Beer Camp at Sierra Nevada and decided I would be opening a brewpub and installed a brewery in my basement to work out recipes. Brewed almost 200 batches of beer between then and opening up Urban Village.

What style allows you to be the most creative, and why?

That’s a really tough question. I’m a long time hop lover and find that IPAs are the style I tend to be most creative with. There are so many options on which hops to use when to use them, which yeast to use and what grains to use all to create some really diverse options that are all IPAs. I know IPAs are a bit cliché these days, but that’s what got me into craft beer and is still my favorite style.

What was the first beer you ever brewed, and what did you learn from it?

The first beer I ever made was a kit for an Amber Ale and it was terrible. I learned that I would never buy a kit ever again. That being said, the 2nd beer I ever brewed was a 60 Minute clone recipe and it was awesome. Tasted it side by side with 60 Minute and it was indistinguishable. That brew got me hooked!

Where do you see the craft beer industry heading in the next few years?

I really have no idea. It’s so ever-changing. Everyone’s always talking about how lagers are on the rise. I love lagers and make some great lager beers and would be fine with that. I just don’t see it actually coming to fruition. Hazy IPAs and “fruited sours” seem to be what everyone is clamoring for. I’m not a huge fan of the latter as they are most commonly coming out. A barrel-aged sour with funky bacteria cultures and some fruit additions is awesome. Adding tons of fruit puree to a kettle sour is not really my bag. Who knows?

Describe what it’s like to be a brewer in Pennsylvania.

It’s pretty cool! There’s a great community of brewers in this state and an amazing community of consumers that really love craft beer. I love it!

What is the inspiration behind your beer names?

There’s no one theme to our names. Sometimes the style and or ingredients make the name. our Citra Pale Ale is CPA and our Keller Pilsner is Ghost Face Keller. More often than not though we pull names from old school hip hop songs though.

What is your favorite beer to drink right now?

For me, it’s always going to be IPAs. My program when I go out is to start off with an imperial stout and then move to some dry hoppy options. Some slight adjustments for the season would be some of our lagers. I love a good Schwarzbier or Munich Dunkel.

What is the most important lesson you learned in the beer industry so far?

The most important lesson I’ve learned so far is how nimble you have to be as a business. We opened up in 2017 with no intent on distributing kegs to bars or ever canning beer. A year later that’s a huge part of what we do and remains so.