Food and Drinq

Brewer Tom Baker and his wife, Peggy Zwerver, sold Heavyweight Brewing in 2006 with an eye toward getting into brewpubs. One of their longtime customers was P.J. McMenamin at McMenamin's Tavern on Germantown Avenue in Mount Airy. When a nuisance corner bar nearby was shut down, Baker and Zwerver set out to build their dream. "I've always been fascinated by brewpubs and American flatbreads," Baker says. So that'll be the focus at Earth Bread + Brewery at Germantown Avenue and Durham Street.

Dreams take time, and nearly nine months after they signed a lease for 7136 Germantown Ave., Earth Bread + Brewery is getting close. Baker has just some finishing work (restrooms, decorations, etc.) to do as they wait for their brewery and restaurant liquor licenses.

The focus will be beers brewed on premises, select wines, salads and flatbreads. Simple. Baker is most proud of his hand-built wood-burning oven. (In the top photo, he's shooting a laser thermometer in there to get a reading. A day after he had a test fire going, it read 300 degrees.)

Baker/Zwerver are big on recycling. They cut a hole in the mezzaine level and installed part of their former brewing equipment in the basement. (Photo below.)

The first-floor bar was salvaged from a Manhattan tap called Collins, and the pine flooring was taken from a demolished building in Maine. The second-floor bar was found locally. You may remember the tables and chairs from Victory Brewing in Downingtown, which changed its furnishings in its recent renovation.

Twelve beer taps will include four made in-house. Twenty-five wines by the glass.
And with a nod toward neighborhood concerns, there will be no takeout pizza and beer. He mentioned beer geeks specifically when he said beer will have to be consumed on premises. "No growlers, especially at the beginning," he said.