Philly's Attic Brewing Vying For Win In Samuel Adams Competition

PHILADELPHIA — Germantown's Attic Brewing started in an attic.

Founder-owners Laura and Todd Lacy began making homebrews in their attic and in 2020, right before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, they opened their brewery in the northwestern Philadelphia enclave.

Now, with five years of experience (and a new baby), the Lacys are vying for victory on the national stage in the Samuel Adams Brewing & Business Experienceship competition.

"I'm so excited and overwhelmed," Laura Lacy said of being in the competition.

Attic is one of six breweries hoping to score a trip to Sam Adams' Boston Brewery, work side by side with its team of experts and mentors, learn the craft and business of craft brewing, and then collaborate on a special beer with Samuel Adams.

"They're one of the first craft breweries, they've been around as long as I've been alive," she said.

Just passing their five-year anniversary, Lacy said getting to spend one-on-one time with their team would be an incredible opportunity.

The winner will be named at Sam Adams' fourth annual Crafting Dreams Beer Bash in New York City on June 5. The event celebrates the shared passion of craft beer and the brewers that keep it alive, bringing together six finalists for the Brewing & Business Experienceship. Attendees will meet the finalists, hear their stories, and taste their brews before casting a vote for the 2025 Experienceship winner.

Attic is up against BRAMS Beer from South Pasadena, California; Laughing Sun Brewing Co. from Bismarck, North Dakota; Liquid Intrusion Brewing Co. from Brandywine, Maryland; Moor’s Brewing Co. from Chicago, Illinois; and Sneaky Penguin Brewing Co. from Raleigh, North Carolina.

For the competition, Attic is offering up its La Libertad Mexican Lager. It's a 5.3 percent alcohol by volume brew made with German noble hops, flaked maize, and Pilsner and Vienna malts. Attic just re-released the beer Thursday.

"For this event, we wanted to bring a beer that really showcases what we can do," she said. "It's a great example of a Mexican lager, the label art is very fun. I feel like it's a great beer."

Lacy said with growing concerns over increased prices of beers such as Modelo and Corona, Attic has brewed a large batch of La Libertad to give customers what they want, but in a product made locally and at a lower cost.

First and foremost, Lacy said it would be a "pinch me" moment to win and work with the Sam Adams team.

But, ultimately, winning would be about getting more Attic beer into people's hands.

"Our hope is [winning] will help grow our business," she said. "We have a very small brewery, so the reach that we have is small."

Brewing a beer with Sam Adams, which has a much larger capacity for production and distribution, would be a "game changer," for the Germantown company, Lacy said.

Philadelphia has some major events on the horizon — namely the nation's 250th anniversary as well as the MLB All-Star Game and World Cup games being hosted in the city — and Lacy hopes that being crowned winner of the competition and working with Sam Adams will help spread the Attic gospel.

"This is coming at a very opportune time for us," she said. "We're very hungry to win."

As for now, Attic has its beer garden open and a slate of food trucks, live performances, and more slated for the spring and summer.

And Lacy said there is free off-street parking at Attic.

Attic Brewing Company is located at 137 Berkley St. in Philadelphia.