Spirits of Independence - Powel House - Porter in Colonial America

Join us in exploring early drink in Philadelphia with Spirits of Independence. Nov 20 2026 - Powel House, Society Hill. 6:30 pm Porter was the brew of choice for many in the colonial era. The Powel family was connected to the most renowned brewer of porter of the time, Robert Hare, who had married into the Willing family. Speaker Steve Grasse is the author of Colonial Spirits: A Toast to our Drunken History, and he’ll give a talk about the importance of porter in the colonial era and the experience of brewing porter from a colonial recipe. Tasting of porter brewed by our partners at My Local Brew Works. Purchase tickets to the next events in the series below: Grumblethorpe - Colonial Wine Trade Hill-Physick House – Madeira in Colonial America Historic Waynesborough – The Colonial Rum Trade