Attention! Attention! Di Bruno Bros., the City of Brotherly Love’s world-famous “House of Cheese,” has officially entered into the beer business … and we couldn’t be more excited.
The chain’s Washington Square West location, situated at the corner of 9th and Chestnut on the main level of the Ben Franklin building (yes, where the infamous Silver Linings Playbook dance scene was filmed), recently celebrated the grand opening of its Bottle Shop featuring 150 beer options from local, domestic and global brewers.
Each bottle has been hand-picked with the same diligence as the store’s widely praised cheese selection. The man behind the bottles? Jeff DiMaio, the region’s only triple-certified specialist in wine, beer and cheese.
We recently sat down with DiMaio to discuss his career, the Bottle Shop and some of his top pairings for the summer:
PA Eats: You are a Sommelier, Cicerone and CPA (Certified Cheese Professional), so it’s no surprise that Di Bruno Bros. tapped you as the first Bottle Shop team leader. Tell us a little about your career path.
Jeff DiMaio: I have worked with wine for over 15 years. When I was opening the Borgata as a sommelier, I was given a cheese book, told that we were going to be involved with a huge cheese program and informed that I would double as the fromager. I later discovered that we were partnering with Di Bruno Bros.! Emilio Mignucci, the owner and vice president of DiBruno’s, came out to do the training personally. He was so inspiring, I knew I had found my calling. I have worked with wine and cheese throughout my career ever since.
How did you come to be a craft beer lover?
I found craft beer when I inherited a beer program while managing a couple wine shops. When you work with wine all day, you want to have a beer when you get done!
Di Bruno Bros. is universally beloved by cheese fanatics. What prompted the decision to get into beer?
There are five Di Bruno Bros. locations, four in the city and one in Ardmore. We are the first to have a bottle shop. The company got a liquor license for another project and had been sitting on it for awhile. Our owners eventually came up with this idea because craft beer is so hot right now.
How are the different bottles chosen?
There are about 150 different skews in the shop right now. I chose the selections, with the help of our merchandising coordinator Hunter Fike. We wanted an even mix of local, international and domestic options. The beers are chosen for quality and represent various styles. We also wanted to tailor the selections according to the season. We believe our beer selection needs to be chosen with the same careful attention given to all of our product selections at Di Bruno’s.
What bottles are you most excited to have in stock?
I’m really liking the Fat Head’s Headhunter IPA. Knee Deep’s Lupulin River and Simtra are amazing. We’ve got some great stuff from Two Roads; their whole range is really tasty and interesting. Ninkasi has also been impressing me. Then there are some very limited items from Goose Island that we just got in: Halia, Juliet and Madame Rose.
On tap I really like the Brotherly Suds 7, a collaboration between seven local breweries—Sly Fox, Victory, Tröegs, Iron Hill, Yards, Stoudt’s and Flying Fish. This beer really showcases the brewing talent we have locally.
Do you offer any speciality cheese plates at the bottle shop for beer lovers?
The cheese flight of the day is chosen specifically to pair with each of the beers in the beer flight. If you order both, you get four beer and cheese pairings. We have three ready-made cheese plates that are designed to pair with certain beer types: the session plate, the hoppy plate and the malty plate. In addition, we have 10 featured beer and cheese pairings that are displayed and chalked on the bottle shop walls.
Can you give us the scoop on some perfect beer and cheese pairings for summer?
Sure! I suggest trying:
* Brown ales with Alpine styles like Comte and Gruyere
* Boozy styles like Belgian quads or barleywines with blue cheeses
* Flemish reds and sour browns with Grana style cheeses like parmigiano reggiano
* Fruited lambics and sours with triple creams
* Bier de Garde with funky washed rinds
The shop is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m.–8 p.m., Saturday from 7 a.m.–7 p.m. and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Upcoming events will include beer and cheese table trivia as well as plenty of sampling because, let’s be honest, it isn’t a trip to Di Bruno’s without a few (hundred) samples.
Find the Di Bruno Bros. Bottle Shop at 834 Chestnut St. in Philadelphia; phone: (215) 519-3115.
- Photos: Laura Hibbs McKenzie
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