Philadelphia, PABeer Halls and Biergartens

The Inquirer's Rick Nichols followed this South Street bierhalle as it took shape in 2009, a long, tall room he found crisp, airy and loud, with a whimsical ceramic tap tree over the bar and servers in dirndls. Craig LaBan reviewed it the same autumn and counted 20 taps pouring a rotating roster of German brews, beside Nürnberger brats made in house into meter long coils with caraway, marjoram and mace. The hall runs noon to midnight seven days. Order the brats and a märzen.

Stephen Starr's Fishtown beer garden runs year round, and Philadelphia Magazine says the outdoor area is big enough to absorb all comers whether you bring one friend or thirty. The menu is German biergarten food: giant soft pretzels, schnitzel and a range of bratwurst, with heat lamps and fire pits keeping the yard warm through winter. Weekend brunch draws families, and the magazine notes Santa turns up over the holidays. Order a giant soft pretzel and a bratwurst, and take a seat at one of the long shared tables.

A German American club that dates to 1873, with what Philadelphia Magazine counts as five acres of picnic grounds behind it in Northeast Philadelphia. The Inquirer describes the fare as bratwurst, hamburgers and pretzels next to a draft list of German and American beer, and Philadelphia Magazine says the beer list leans on pilsner and lagers. The biergarten runs Friday evenings from 5 to 10 through October, with live bands, some of them German themed. Order a bratwurst and a pretzel and sit out on the grounds.

Philadelphia Magazine puts the yard behind this Germantown brewery on its list of the city's beer gardens, a space the magazine says welcomes both dogs and children. Food comes from a full schedule of food trucks, and the brewery books live music and comedy alongside the beer. The yard opens off the taproom on West Berkley Street, a block of old mill buildings in lower Germantown. Order a pint at the taproom bar and carry it out to a table in the yard, then check what truck is parked that night.

The Fishtown brewery calls its home the Lab, and Philadelphia Magazine describes a beer garden alongside it that welcomes children and dogs, with games in the colorful yard and a menu of flatbreads to snack on. The magazine notes the rocking chairs set through the garden, and reported that the brewers kept the yard open through one recent winter. Beer names run to Purple Monkey Dishwasher. Order a flatbread and whatever is pouring, then take a rocking chair rather than a bench.