{"id":26733,"date":"2025-04-10T17:02:07","date_gmt":"2025-04-10T05:02:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/?p=26733"},"modified":"2025-04-13T02:25:28","modified_gmt":"2025-04-12T14:25:28","slug":"human-robot-twice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/2025\/04\/10\/human-robot-twice\/","title":{"rendered":"Human Robot \u2014 twice, during forty-eight hours in Philadelphia"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Neither human, nor robot. (But a very good dog<\/a>.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I’ve honestly forgotten how I first heard of Human Robot<\/a>. It might’ve been one of those rare cases of Instagram, like the proverbial stopped clock, recommending something I genuinely was<\/em> interested in. I love their whole vibe \u2014 the name,<\/span>1<\/sup><\/a><\/span> the lager focus, the aesthetic \u2014 but didn’t actually remember they were in Philadelphia until I checked the map of where we’d be staying when we were visiting for the weekend,<\/span>2<\/sup><\/a><\/span> and saw them right nearby. So within minutes of arriving in town, I was there with a heavy glass mug of Tmavy in hand and a big grin on my face.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
“…cool and friendly-like”<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The beer<\/em> didn’t last long. It was chilly up there, and a lovely dark lager was the perfect treatment for that, and also for resetting my brain after a few hours on the motorway from D.C..<\/span>3<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\u00a0 Next, I got the NZ-hopped ‘Party Pils’ \u2014 a lurid green glitter beer that the folks on the table next to me were enjoying and which was brewed in collaboration with a local industry-based activist group<\/span>4<\/sup><\/a><\/span> for a beer and metal festival on in town that weekend. The resulting heavy playlist and front-bar vibe was a throwback to afternoons at The Bendigo<\/a>, full of folks who liked their music loud but were semi-secretly just softspoken nerds and weirdos in the best way. The pilsner, if I closed my eyes, was deliciously reminiscent of home. And I love the extra spectacle of a beer like that, and had no time for the hate and scorn they got when they first appeared.<\/span>5<\/sup><\/a><\/span> None of that negativity was in the air that day, thankfully. Besides, if you can enjoy the aesthetics of a Lukr pour, or indeed the music selection or myriad other ways a place dresses up the drinking experience but are somehow categorically against this one<\/em> thing, something odd is going on.<\/p>\n

I spotted, with some surprise and even more delight, a mild on the menu under all those lagers. So with a pint of that, I sat and soaked in more of the surroundings where lots of little details \u2014 the glassware, pouring techniques, coasters, clever merch, and subtle elements of staff interactions \u2014 all gave a distinct sense of giving-a-damn<\/em> that some places just lack. But then it was time to wander downtown, because I needed a cheesesteak \u2014 I’d eaten one basically every day I worked at The Catfish<\/a>, and this was their home<\/em>.<\/span>6<\/sup><\/a><\/span> (It did not disappoint.)<\/p>\n